Yo. Don’t worry, just experiment and you’ll get the hang of it eventually. It’s pretty easy once you’ve got the hang of it.
I’ll give you some pointers.
Tools:
[ul][li]Hacksaw. 100% Absolutely essential. Although I think you might be able to use a circular saw as well. Found in hardware stores, garages, public works sites etc. Very hard to craft these by hand unless you have a full metalworking setup ready-- crucible, forge, metal chisel etc.[/li]
[li]Wrench. Again, hardware stores, public works and garages. Pretty common, very essential.[/li]
[li]CBM: Integrated Toolset really, really helps a lot, but it’s not strictly necessary so don’t worry if you don’t have it.[/li]
[li]Welder or Acetylene Torch-- You’ll usually find one or both in a garage-- you only need one. Start with the torch if you find one, as they don’t need batteries.[/li]
[li]no welder or torch? makeshift welders can be crafted with a little skill in electronics.[/li]
[li]if you still can’t craft a welder or find an Ace Torch… Duct Tape.[/ul]
What to do.
[ol][li]Read some mechanics books. Many things take quite high mechanics skill to do-- i.e repairing bodywork takes like 2 skill, adding a second engine takes +12.[/li]
[li]Take your hacksaw and wrench, start stripping bits of existing vehicles to train. totally wrecked vehicles blocking roads are great for this.[/li]
[li]Find a vehicle in good condition-- ideally one you can just add fuel to and go. Try to stay away from stuff with broken (gray) engines, four missing tires etc.[/li]
[li] Start repairing anything that’s nearly broken on it with your torch or welder-- e.g red body panels etc.[/li]
[li] Repair the gas tanks before you add gas, or it will start leaking out.[/li]
[li]once your mech skill is high enough, find a sports car and rip the V12 engine out of it and stick it in your doom train.[/li][/ol]
Additional stuff.
[ol][li]Cars need vehicle controls to drive.[/li]
[li]If you hit something at over 30mph without weearing a seatbelt, you’ll be thrown through the windshield. Get some rope and craft a 5-point harness.[/li]
[li]You need a battery with some charge to start the engine.[/li]
[li]Alternators charge your battery while the engine is running, even if you’ve just left it parked on the street. Try and find a storage battery or two-- you’ll probably be running a lot of electricty through-- headlights, music, turrets, mini-fridges, toostations/kitchens etc.[/li]
[li]Get some solar panels. just take them off a nearby solar car and stick them on.[/li]
[li] Larger engines are noisier. i.e a V8 truck engine is noisier than an inline-3, a V12 is noisier than a V8.[/li]
[li]Mufflers (exhausts) cut the noise of the engine dramatically. always fit a muffler with V8s and V12 engines. Once you start getting multiple engines, you need one muffler per engine.[/li]
[li]Electric engines are the quietest. Bike pedals technically count as an engine and are obviously quieter, but that’s just being picky.[/li][/ol]
Once you’ve got it sorted, start adding stuff like RV kitchens and drainkable water tanks, Vehicle Welding rigs for mid-drive repairs, mini-fridges to keep drinks nice and cold and meat from rotting, floodlights, turrets and armour-- most types of armour can be crafted-- however the best is military composite-- and that can only be obtained from scavanging military vehicles. Second best is probably Hard plating, spiked and then steel. There’s some other ones that you can experiment with too-- wood, bone, rebar, goo etc.
There’s superalloy armour as well, but that’s more like thin titanium stuff. Very light, but not very hard-wearing unless it’s been buffed recently. Very rare too.
Actually that’s a thing, maybe we should have a super-alloy speedboat.