I find it best, when going out to work on the car, to isolate myself from thoughts of work, family, school, etc. I don't even turn on the radio if I am working on something that requires concentration or attention, and leave my phone and the dogs in the house. I find that I make fewer errors and am more efficient when I can create a distraction free work zone.

And I ran a car out of gas this spring...it had not run since 1988, got it running, had it idling, it died...checked EVERYTHING, except gas. Gauge read 1/4 tank. Eventually I looked at the clear filter and saw it was empty. It started right up again once fuel was in the system.