MECHANIC OFFERS FREE WORK TO AID MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY.

Byline: Alicia Doyle Daily News Staff Writer

Auto repairman Mitch Schneider wants to do more than talk shop.

In June, the Simi Valley man will offer free inspections of fluid levels, belts, hoses, tires and horns in motor vehicles. Instead of billing his customers, Schneider will ask them to make a donation to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

``It bothers me that the only time we ever see anything about the automotive repair industry is when there's a scam or a rip-off,'' said Schneider, 49, co-owner of Schneider's Automotive Repair on Los Angeles Avenue. ``I wanted to do this to show that we're people like everyone else, we work as hard as everyone else, and we care about what goes on in the world and the community.''

A 30-year veteran of the auto repair industry, Schneider has often thought about how he could use his services on a broader level.

Growing up in the 1950s and '60s, he remembers watching Ed Sullivan, Abbot and Costello, and Burns and Allen. But more vivid are his memories of spending long Labor Day weekends with his family watching the Jerry Lewis muscular dystrophy telethon.

The life-threatening disease is actually any of several inherited illnesses characterized by progressive weakness and wasting of muscles, according to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The most common form - Duchenne - affects boys, beginning with leg weakness before age 3 and progressing toward death before age 30. Another form attacks facial and shoulder muscles and affects both sexes, usually from adolescence.

There is no known treatment.

When he became an auto repairman, Schneider kept watching the telethons. He recalls the first time he saw the International Association of Firefighters, Anheuser-Busch and other organizations supporting muscular dystrophy research, presenting check after check.

``I remember thinking, wouldn't it be great if a group of individuals from our industry - garage owners and working technicians - could get up there in front of millions of people on national television to show the world that we care?''

With that idea in mind, Schneider submitted a column in February to Motor Service magazine, which has subscribers at auto repair stores, automotive wholesalers and parts manufacturers across the country.

Schneider said the response was overwhelming from garage owners nationwide wanting to donate time, tools, technology and expertise to perform multipoint vehicle inspections at no charge to motorists.

``For the first time, repair shop owners and their technicians are coming together in a positive and proactive way to do something great for somebody else,'' Schneider said.

If the June event is successful, Schneider plans to have a fund-raiser twice a year, rotating with different charities every six months. His ultimate dream is to go on national television and present a huge check to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Schneider's goal in June is to raise $1,066,000 - the amount raised during Jerry Lewis' first telethon in the early 1960s.

``More than anything else, I want it for the kids,'' he said.

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Photo: Mitch Schneider will inspect cars for donations to d isease research.

Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News