I’m Ray DeVilbiss, and I’ve been getting grease under my fingernails for most of my life. It started the way it does for a lot of us: a hand-me-down sedan that leaked oil, burned through alternators, and refused to start on cold mornings. I couldn’t afford a shop every time something went wrong, so I borrowed a socket set, bought a dog-eared repair manual, and learned by doing. Some fixes took an afternoon. Some took a month and a few bruised knuckles. Every one of them taught me something.
Over the years that habit turned into a way of life. I’ve spent countless evenings and weekends in garages, driveways, and borrowed shop bays, doing everything from brake jobs and timing belts to full engine rebuilds. I’ve dragged tired project cars out of barns and fields, stripped them down to bare metal, and brought them back to the road. Along the way I got hooked on body work and paint, which, given my last name, may have been inevitable. There’s something deeply satisfying about laying down a clean coat of color on a panel you straightened and prepped yourself.
Paint and body work taught me patience. Tuning taught me humility. I’ve chased horsepower with intake and exhaust swaps, played with ignition timing and fuel maps, and learned the hard way that every modification has a trade-off somewhere. These days I care less about peak numbers and more about building cars that are reliable, fun to drive, and honest about what they are.
Why I started DeVilbiss Car Club
For years friends and neighbors would wander over while I had the hood up and ask, “How did you figure that out?” Usually the answer was a mix of trial, error, old forum threads, and advice from older guys who’d seen it all. A lot of that knowledge is scattered, half-remembered, or buried under ads and copy-pasted articles. I wanted one place where I could write things down the way I’d explain them to a friend standing next to me in the garage: what worked, what didn’t, what it cost, and what I’d do differently next time.
That’s what DeVilbiss Car Club is. It’s an independent enthusiast blog, written for people who like to understand their cars and do as much of the work as they safely can, whether they’re in the US or anywhere else in the world.
What you’ll find here
- Repair guides – step-by-step walkthroughs of common and not-so-common jobs, with notes on tools, parts, and the traps I’ve fallen into.
- Maintenance – fluids, filters, belts, brakes, tires, and the routine habits that keep a car out of the shop and on the road.
- Unusual cars and situations – odd models, rare problems, strange noises, and the kind of head-scratchers that don’t show up in the standard manuals.
- Tuning – sensible upgrades, what they really do, and how to avoid turning a dependable car into an unreliable one.
- Paint and body work – spray guns, surface prep, primers, base and clear coats, rust repair, and getting a finish you can be proud of.
How I write
I write about what I’ve done, seen, or carefully researched, and I try to be upfront about which is which. When something is my opinion, I’ll say so. When a job is beyond what most people should tackle in a home garage, I’ll say that too. I update articles when I learn something new or when a reader points out a better way, and I’d rather admit a mistake than leave bad advice online.
Every car is a little different, so treat what you read here as a starting point, not a substitute for the factory service manual or a qualified professional. Work safely, use jack stands, wear eye protection, and take your time.
If you have a question, a correction, or a story about a project of your own, I’d love to hear it. You can reach me through the Contact page.
See you in the garage,
Ray DeVilbiss