1960: Becoming a mechanic

Alastair becomes a mechanic through his apprenticeship with the Post Office.

My Father wanted us all to go to University. He was convinced from birth that we’d all be vets or university professors. Of course that’s the worst thing you can do with your children: tell them they’re going to do. If you want your children to do something tell them not to do it and then you might have a chance. My eldest brother went to university, my middle brother went briefly, but I had no intention: I wanted to get a job. My father was set against the idea and told me so, but he was too late as I’d already got one successfully. ’You have to find yourself a trade,’ he said. I knew liked fixing cars a lot and driving driving: ’I’ll be a mechanic.’

I was an apprentice mechanic for the Post Office in New Zealand, which was a brilliant job. I thought it was boring at the time, I wanted to be a mechanic with Jaguar agencies but none of them wanted me. My father was a senior civil servant and he talked to the Post Office and they took me on. Well it turned out to be a fantastic place to be an apprentice mechanic because 1) you didn’t have to do any work and 2) they had every type of vehicle. There were great big trucks, two-stroke lawn mowers, police cars, Jaguars, Ministerial cars… every range. It soon became apparent that I was quite good at being a mechanic and I soon had my own apprentice working under me.

We moved to Wellington because my father got promoted. I was seventeen. Wellington was the seat of government and the Post Office provided the cars for all of the government departments. They had a huge range of vehicles including the Queen’s Rolls Royce. At the age of seventeen I was preparing the Queen’s Rolls Royce and the Prime Minister’s Jaguar. The more sophisticated and complicated the job: I got to do it. They wanted someone to volunteer: ’I’ll do it.’

I went to night-school and got my certificate to say I was a qualified mechanic: an A-grade mechanic. The Garage I was working in paid A-grade mechanics £22 a week. I was on £7.50 a week because I was still classed as an apprentice. I was now married (at nineteen to Jean) so I was getting the married mans’ minimum wage. The guys I was working with were getting £22 and I was their boss. It didn't seem right so I took action.

• 1943 Alastair's early years
• 1955 Licence to drive
• 1957 Alastair's High School years
• 1959 Evading the police
• 1960 Becoming a mechanic
• 1966 The Tasman series
• 1966 Leaving New Zealand
• 1967 Joining McLaren
• 1967 CanAm Door Catches
• 1967 Monza
• 1968 South Africa
• 1968 CanAm
• 1969 Driving the Formula 1 Cars
• 1973 Fittipaldi joins McLaren
• 1973 McLaren Team manager
• 1974 Montezemolo
• 1975 Hunt replaces Fittipaldi
• 1975 Hunt gets paid little
• 1976 Inventing the Air-Starter
• 1976 Six-speed Gear Boxes
• 1976 Misbehaving in Canada
• 1976 Japan
• 1977 Adidas Uniforms
• 1977 Changing Tyres
• 1977 Leaving McLaren
• 1979 Nelson Piquet
• 1980 Skirts on Formula 1 Cars
• 1981 Leaving Formula 1
• 1982 Making Lists
• 1982 Signing on
• 1982 Creating Space Station
• 1991 Highland Fling
• 1991 Classic Marathon
• 1992 Getting the Austin A35
• 1992 El Salvador
• 1993 Carerra Panamerica
• 1993 Centre of attention
• 1993 Nicest car in rally
• 1993 LeJog
• 2000 London to Sydney
• 2000 Porsche Racing
• 2000 Porsche Crashing
• 2001 Ferrari
• 2001 Inca Trail
• 2004 Berlin - Moscow - Berlin
• 2005 World Cup Rally
• 2007 Norway
• 2008 Liège-Brescia-Liège
• 2008 An Icelandic Odyssey
• 2008 North & West Africa
• 2009 West Coast America
• 2009 London to Casablanca
• 2010 New Zealand Festival of motor racing
• 2010 New Zealand Big Sky Adventure