Women Mechanics

As a pneumatic wrench grunted nearby, three students labored over a brake rotor in Norfolk Technical Center's auto shop. One boy maneuvered pliers; another tugged on the caliper.

The third student strained a ratchet wrench against a bolt. Slim hands and long nails grimed, her brunette hair in a bun, Ilene Baker concentrated on the job.

Working on cars is quintessentially a guy thing - think Fonzie on "Happy Days" or the hot-rod boys of "The Dukes of Hazzard." Ilene and the other two girls in the technical center's automotive program know this. They work alongside 60 guys. And none of them cares.

"Every time my mom gave me a Barbie doll, I'd rip it apart," said Baker, 17. "Every time she gave me a toy car, I'd keep it forever."

The two-year auto technology course plunges students into the guts of motors and complex repair jobs, on the shop floor and the classroom.

This recent morning, Pierre Howard, one of the two shop instructors, had some students breaking down engines. Crankshafts, pistons and alternators were strewn across workbenches. A scent of motor oil hung in the air.

Howard said the typical first reaction from his male students is, "Why is she in here?"

"But by week two," he said, "the ladies are digging into those books, learning the intricate parts of the engine, and they're answering the questions the guys can't answer. I shake my head and say, 'That's why they're here.' "

Tony Molla, communications vice president of the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, said that for years, about 1 percent of the country's auto mechanics have been women.

Many are particularly adept at diagnostics, and some own repair shops, often with a spouse, he said. Car dealers also are posting women at service write-up counters. "They listen better and are less threatening to women, who are 50 percent of people bringing cars in for service," Molla said.

At Norfolk Technical Center, all three of the auto shop girls have at least two things in common: They like working with their hands, and they don't mind getting dirty.

Brittney Muse, 16, may have motor oil in her blood. The high school junior was 5 when she helped her father put a new engine into a 1968 Mustang. To this day, she loves Fords.

At the technical center, she's learned a lot about engines and is masterful with brakes and tires.

"When you have a car that's not working and you work on it for a week, when it starts up it's such an exciting moment," she said.

Looking at her nails, Muse added, "sometimes you get grease and oil under them. The tips turn black. It's pretty cool!"

Baker's mother, a nail care professional, wanted the same manicuring career for her daughter, but Baker had different plans.

"You know how Bill Gates is big with computers? I want to be big with cars. I want to learn about everything with cars," Baker said.

Baker previously took auto shop at a U.S. military base school in Japan, where her father was deployed. Transplanted to Norfolk a year ago, she's changed the spark plugs, swapped out wiring, put in a thermostat and repainted much of her own car, a 2002 Hyundai Accent.

To Baker, the joy of auto mechanics is problem-solving with her mind and hands.

"I like doing it all manually, where you have to get on your hands and knees and take it apart without using computer diagnostics," she said "That's what makes it more fun."

Like Baker's mother, Kristiana Barnard's dad has warmed up to the idea of a grease monkey daughter. Initially, he was concerned about the cultural bias that claims only men make good mechanics, but he ultimately gave her his backing.

These days, "I'll come home and say, 'Dad, we took our pistons out of our engine and cleaned it,' and he'll say 'I remember when I did that!' " said Barnard, whose favorite car is the muscular Challenger. "He's happy, because none of my siblings have an interest in cars."

Of the three girls in Norfolk Technical Center's class, Barnard, 16, had the least experience in mechanics or the jargon. "He'll say certain things all the guys know about in a car and I'm like, 'Hold on, what's that?' "

That's why she hits the textbooks, sometimes reading ahead, as Howard has noticed in class.

"Instead of just giving me what I ask, she can elaborate on it," he said. In fact, Barnard's average score on written tests and hands-on assignments is 100.

Barnard, though, is the only one of the shop girl trio who isn't committed to an automotives career. She likes art, playing the guitar, reading history and writing.

Classmate Tyree Pugh said he never believed girls could work on cars until Barnard joined the class. He's since changed his mind.

"They can all do a great job on what they do - better than half the guys in the class," he said. "I give them the most respect."