Grease, Gears, and Grit: 25 Throwback Photos of Mechanics Hard at Work
Before the fancy auto shops, electric vehicles, and computerized tools of today, car repair was a gritty, hands-on task. From grease-stained coveralls and bulky toolboxes to engines you could actually fix with a wrench, mechanics back in the day had to rely on their experience and a whole lot of elbow grease. Take a look at the machines, shops, and faces behind the repairs with these 25 vintage photos of mechanics.
1. ‘Car Mechanic at Work in 1919’
2. A Group of High School Girls Learning How To Become Auto Mechanics in Washington D.C., 1927
3. Need a Flashlight?
4. ‘My Uncle (a Mechanic) in 1968’
5. ‘Female British Military Mechanic Fixes a Jeep Motor, 1945. She Would Later Get Promoted’
6. Mechanics Service and Polish a Pullman-Standard Sleeper Rail Car in Worcester, Massachusetts, 1958
7. Grace Wagner, a Student at Central High in Washington D.C., Learning the Art of Auto Mechanics, 1927
8. Mechanics Pictured Servicing a Chevrolet at the Tydol Service Station in Eatontown, New Jersey, 1950s
9. Princess Elizabeth Serves as a Mechanic in the ATS [Auxiliary Territorial Service] During World War II, Years Before Becoming the Queen of England, 1940s
10. ‘A Member of the Mechanized Transport Training Corps Changing a Wheel at an ARP Post in Lambeth, London, 1942’
11. A Car Mechanic Fixes an Engine in Brooklyn, New York, 1949
12. ‘My Dad When He Was Working as a Mechanic in Binghamton, New York, in the 1970s’
13. Technicians Run Diagnostic Tests on a Chevrolet Using Early Testing Equipment at a Service Station in San Diego, California, 1937
14. A Mechanic Leans Out of a Moving Car to Oil Gino Sciardis’ Bike Chain During the 1949 Tour De France
15. ‘Toy Train Mechanic Everett Swan Tests a Balky Engine, 1976’
16. ‘My Grandfather, a Lifelong Mechanic, Sitting on a Jeep in Korea in the Early ’50s’
17. Aircraft Mechanics Work on the Engine of a P-39D Fighter Plane Nicknamed ‘Shrimp’ in Townsville, Australia, 1943
18. ‘My Grandpa, an Italian-American Mechanic in 1947. He’s Currently 91.’ Go Gramps!
19. A Young Mechanic Puts Some Muscle Into His Work as He Tightens a Massive Industrial Valve, 1920s
20. ‘Mechanic Mary Josephine Farley Works on a Motor in the Corpus Christi Naval Air Base Repair Shop, August, 1942’
21. NASCAR Mechanic and Inventor Henry ‘Smokey’ Yunick, Known for Bending the Rules and Driving Officials Crazy, 1960s
22. ‘Aircraft Mechanic Class 2A Posing for Their Graduation Photo in Front of a B-18 Bolo Bomber at Hickam Field in Oahu, Hawaii, 1940’
23. ‘Auto Mechanic Sam ‘Scotty’ Scott, Standing Next to a Car With an Open Hood, 1941′
24. Colorized Image of Mechanics Working at a Texaco Service Station in Washington, DC, 1924
25. Mechanics Repairing a Car In My Great-Grandfather’s Garage in Thuringia, Germany, Late 1920s’
Curious about other professions?
We took a look at the evolution of mailmen with 20 Vintage Photos of Postal Workers Throughout the Decades. You can also check out what hairstylists were doing in years past with 20 Vintage Photos That Capture the Evolution of the Beauty Salon, or get a glimpse into suburbia with 17 Vintage Photos That Capture the Daily Life of Suburban Housewives.