Featured Girl Mechanic of the Month:
Samara Ksyniuk (@samybee101)
This post is part of the Girl Mechanic of the Month series where we feature a real-life girl mechanic and some of her best work and let her tell us a bit more about her story.
Why, you ask?
Well, first, because girl mechanics are somewhat of a rarities and by that I don’t mean those cuties posing in short shorts in front of a friend’s Integra and tagging the picture with #girlmechanics on her Instagram! I mean REAL girl mechanics, working on REAL cars, getting dirty with REAL grease. And every time I come across a real girl mechanic like that I just want to show her to the world to prove everybody that they really exist.
So, our website seemed to me the perfect place to do that!
Also, being a car mechanic myself, I always thought it would be great to have more girls around. It’s always a guy thing. You work with guys, ride with guys, talk with guys, race against other guys, guys jokes and such. It sure lacks a bit of a feminine touch sometimes. Car show girls just don’t make the cut!
And finally, I have to admit it, who doesn’t like a cute girl in a mechanic suit? 😉
So without further ado, let me present to you the featured girl mechanic of the month:
Samara Ksyniuk
(@samybee101)
MD – First things first, what’s your name?
SK – Samara Ksyniuk 🙂 I love architecture, mechanics & vehicles, RUSH (the band), fashion/beauty, food, fitness, nature, hiking, bees, and dirtbiking!!
MD – How old are you?
SK – 22 years old
MD – Where do you live?
SK – Saskatchewan, Canada
MD – How did you learn car mechanic?
SK – After swamping the 85 Toyota Pickup this spring, my boyfriend and I
decided to attempt our first ever engine swap!
Now, let me give you a little bit of background information: neither of us are mechanics, but combined we sure as hell make a damn good mechanic. So we bought an engine hoist, and dove in head first (haha pun not intended) into one of the most challenging mechanic jobs, especially for first timers! Luckily, a local small motor mechanic just so happened to have a (hopefully) running 22RE. So away we went, spending (I kid you not) EVERY single day after work and EVERY single weekend attempting something we’ve never done (or ever thought we would do).
By watching YouTube videos, reading forums, doing LOTS of research, and just trial and error, I was able to learn fast enough to understand what the heck I was doing! Well, for the most part..! Turned out, the 22RE that we bought was one year newer, which meant we not only swapped engines, we swapped out 60% of the parts from it as well! Ask me anything about a 22RE, and I bet I can answer your question ?? We completed the engine swap in 19 days straight. I know that may sound like a long time for all you skilled mechanics, but for someone who never really knew anything about it, that was pretty damn quick! Also, is it weird to say thatI really friggen enjoyed it? I LOVE MECHANICS. I spend most of my past time self-educating myself by studying mechanics and constantly working on vehicles.
MD – Where do you work?
SK – I am actually an Architectural Technologist currently working at a structural engineering firm. I also have my own side business where I draft and design residential and commercial buildings, as well as designing interiors, and specializing in construction. Although, this year I feel more like a mechanic than an architectural technologist!
MD – What kind of car do you drive?
SK – I drive my friggen AMAZING 1999 Toyota Solara!!! Solara-Samara….sounds like a perfect match right? She’s gotten me through ice-covered highways and too many blizzards to count. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to attempt the roads I’ve driven on if it wasn’t for my Solara. I’ve also pulled a car out of a snowy ditch and my dads truck out of a snow bank. Badass!! (Yeah, I’m a total car bragger :p) Oh yeah, I also drive a 2006 Yamaha TTR-125 off the beaten road.
MD – Most importantly, do you drive stick?
SK – Do I?!?!! I wouldn’t have it any other way!
MD – American, Japanese or European?
SK – Japanese.. I can’t get enough of Toyota. The reliability and quality are unstoppable.
MD – Do you have some kind of side project? What are you working on as a hobby? Tell us a bit about it.
SK – There is constantly a different side project! But I’ve come to terms that we just can not catch a break! Pretty
much every time we drive a vehicle, we discover something new to fix or to replace.. do you guys feel the same way?! Or is that just our luck??
The Toyota Pickup is a constant side project! It was not taken care of from previous owners so now we are facing a lot of adventures (in more ways than one!) with this truck! My favorite side project is hands down the Toyota Pickup! It’s very easy to work on and I think it was the perfect beginner truck to learn mechanics! So far on the Toyota Pickup, we have swapped engines, changed the clutch, replaced the windshield, replaced the timing chain and guides, welded a new bumper on, put on some LED ditch lights and reverse LEDs, welded the frame..bla bla bla. And there is always more work to be done!
MD – What is your dream car?
SK – Honestly, a mint 4×4 Toyota Pickup would be my dream vehicle. Off-roading is one of my favorite things to do! I’ve actually waited in a parking lot for a random owner of a 1992 Toyota Pickup to finish grocery shopping just so I could see under the hood and ask if he was selling his truck! Turned out, he knew the owner of the auto body shop that my boyfriend works at and said if he ever decides to sell it, he will know who to talk to! It was well worth the stalking…er..I mean waiting ?? I do however love to drag race my buds for fun, or just random people who pull up to me.. you’d be surprised how many people want to race my Solara! Not to brag or anything, but I usually win ?? If I had all the money in the world to buy my dream car, besides a mint Toyota Pickup, I’d completely sup up my Solara. Yeah, crazy, right?
MD – What do you like most about the job?
SK – Well, even though I’m not a mechanic by trade, I am absolutely passionate about it! The interesting thing about it is that there is always something different to work on! And since every vehicle is different, you are constantly learning. It is very rewarding when you complete a project. I’ll never forget the first start-up sound of the new engine after we swapped it…
MD – What do you hate most about the job?
SK – Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my fair share of frustrating moments with mechanical work. I think one of the most frustrating things is when you can’t order a specific part. Everything else I know just takes time and I know I will eventually get it….eventually.
MD – If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?
SK – Umm.. OK this might sound weird, but if I could, I’d trade places with somebody who tours with the band Rush so that I would be able to hang out with the whole band. They are my HEROES.
MD – If you won $20 million in the lottery, what would you do with the money?
SK – Well, first I would pay off my student loan, I know, boring! Then I would pay off my boyfriend, parents, and brothers debt! Then I’d like to purchase land and design and build my dream home with a HUGE shop so that we can work on vehicles at home. Something I’ve been planning for is to build a subdivision on some family property. My brother is a carpenter so I feel like we would be a kick-ass team. I would hire a team of different trades people to construct the houses I design. I would travel a lot too! Dream big or go home! I’d also love to treat all my friends and family with fun things! This includes surprising my two best friends with a long visit, one is in British Columbia and the other is in Alberta!
MD – A penguin walks through your front door wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why is he here?
SK – Ohmigosh, I’d, first of all, hug the shit out of it! Then he’d probably say something like “Your squeezing me too tight Amiga!” in a Spanish accent of course bahahaha
MD – Where can people reach you? (link, website,email,social media, anything you want!)
SK – Well my YouTube channel is “Samy Bee”. There is a mixture of everything on there: from fashion to beauty to outdoor adventures to cooking to mechanics! I’ve pretty much got it all! I will be uploading a YouTube video of the engine swap. If you are interested, check out my channel. The video should be up in a couple of weeks.
My Instagram is “samybee101”
If you couldn’t tell, I kinda have a thing for bumble bees.
MD – Any last shoutout or thank yous?
SK – I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to read this article about me. The Mechanic Doctor is very unique by featuring “just your average mechanic” and allowing them to show the world what a true bad-friggen-ass mechanic that they truly are! Most hard workers don’t get enough (or any!) recognition, so I really appreciate The Mechanic Doctor for giving out opportunities like this! Also, thank you to my mechanic trainer, my boyfriend, for putting up with all my questions that literally went like this 97% of the time:
Me: “Hey, what does this do?”
Him: “I don’t know, I’m not a mechanic.”
…….
Me: “Where is this thing supposed to go?”
Him: “I don’t know, I’m not a mechanic.”
……
Me: “How come this thing is connected to the…”
Him: “I don’t know, I’m not a mechanic.”
bahahahha
Please note: Most of these pictures unfortunately don’t show me actually physically working on the vehicles…I mean, let’s be real, who would actually say : “Hey! Take a picture of me while I’m troubling shooting the leaking antifreeze problem!” hahaha Trust me, my hands are dirty for a reason!
That’s it for this month! I hope you liked it!
Make sure you come back next month for another “Girl Mechanic of the Month” post! Also if you are one yourself or if you know some girl mechanic who would like to get featured here, leave a comment below, send us an email to: [email protected] or reach us on any social media and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
In the meantime, cheers and have a nice day!
