[davepl]

My daughter, our youngest, is likely more into it than the boys, but since I had this picture handy, start them young! This is my initial teardown - I let them take apart anything they couldn't hurt, really. You don't want an iron head falling on your feet, so leave one bolt in :-)

As a kid I spent a lot of time just "watching" my Dad, and my kids are less eager, as there are more interesting things to do these days. We only had 2 TV channels and computers weren't around, so watching Dad was relatively entertaining... not so much these days.

Still, not much beats rotating the crank with a wrench and actually -seeing- how the motor really works.

That learning process never ends - I hang around a local classic auto restoration/build shop, watch them, and ask a lot of questions. I've learned a ton that way. In fact I try to learn one new thing a day - I'm sure it averages out at least to that.

[Edit: That's how long it took me to do my truck - in the three years since I started the kid on the left is now an All-County high school offensive lineman!]