I'm Nick C, and these are my answers...

1. I have occasionally seen a user with a high network-wide rep (ie has a lot of positive interaction on other SE sites) cause a lot of friction on a site they have recently joined by insisting that "the site is doing it wrong." If this occurs here, and causes trouble with the easy going Mechanics community, how would you handle the situation?

I would work closely with the other moderators to ensure consistency. I believe in always going for a 'quiet word in their ear' first, just to let them know that things might be done a little differently here to what they are used to - indeed, almost every SE site has a slightly different culture. Only if that fails would I consider escalating it, as retaining existing members is, to me, more important than accommodating someone new.

2. What, if any, previous moderator (or similar) experience do you have from a different Stack Exchange site, a different website, and/or the real world (e.g. arbitration)?

I've not been a mod on an SE site before, bit I have run websites, forums and email lists outside. I've always endeavoured to be fair and balanced, and only once have I had to go so far as to ban someone from a site.

3. How would you deal with a user who produced a steady stream of valuable answers, but tends to generate a large number of arguments/flags from comments?

As with Q1, I think a quiet word is usually the best way to deal with such behaviour. Often I find that the person has a valid point, but is simply going the wrong way about expressing it, and most will soften their approach when asked. I'd encourage people to go to chat with long or extended discussions (especially as it's so easy to create a new room here), the results of which could be formulated into proper answers. As with Q1, I'd liase with the other mods before considering any kind of escalation.

4. How would you handle a situation where another mod closed/deleted/etc a question that you feel shouldn't have been?

Talk to them, and with the other mod(s). Moderating is a team effort, and it may be that there was a very good reason for it that I hadn't spotted (or vice versa, they may have missed the reasoning I used to keep it open). Bringing in a third mod allows a consensus to be reached, and I'll always accept the view of the majority.

5. During Beta (and even today), we pride ourselves as being a very welcoming SE site to newcomers. One might argue that this has a lot to do with the manageable level of questions and new users coming in to the site on a per-day basis. Now that we've graduated, increased site traffic is a realistic possibility. What policies would you adopt to ensure that the site's association with the "Be Nice" moniker remains?

By continuing to be nice myself, and encouraging others to do so. I think (hope) we'll continue to grow at around the same rate as we have been recently, and so more of our existing users will gain high privileges, and as we lead by example, hopefully the new users will buy into the philosophy. As with the earlier questions, I'd always advocate a gentle approach at first, so new policies would only be enacted if the mod team, and other high-rep users, felt it had become necessary.

6. It is a distinct possibility that you would not be able to answer as many questions while moderating. Why do you believe that you could contribute more to the site's overall benefit as a moderator rather than a regular user?

I think I already spend more time on moderation type tasks (reviewing, editing etc) here than answering questions, so I don't think a huge amount would change there. I'm active at a different time of day to many of the other high-rep users, so I'd be able to ensure there was a more even coverage of moderation, so that, for example, we could continue to jump on spam quickly and make sure things get dealt with before they have time to get out of hand.

7. Moderators, like all humans, are susceptible to fluctuations in the space-time continuum. There will be easy-going periods and times when they are overwhelmed with things in life. More often than not, site moderation will take the backseat. Evidence: of the five moderators on this site throughout Beta, (to my knowledge) only two remain active. How much time do you realistically think you can devote to the site? What would you do if you believe it is difficult to continue with moderation responsibilities in the long run?

I currently give around half an hour to an hour each day, spread through the day, and I'm confident that could continue. If I had a situation where I didn't think I could continue, I'd firstly discuss it with the other mods (especially for short-term issues), and if it became clear that I'd not have time longer term, I'd back out and allow someone else to take over.

On the other hand, if I and the other mods were still giving the same amount of time, but the workload was piling up, I'd suggest that perhaps it had become time to increase the size of the team.

8. We have a high percentage of unanswerable questions that lie in wait for further information/clarification from the asker. This is not always due to laziness or neglect on the OP's part; it can take weeks for them to find the opportunity to collect further details about the problem. As a moderator, what would your policy be towards such questions, and how would you mitigate the issue of accumulation of unanswerable queries on the site?

This is probably the biggest issue we face at the moment, particularly as some users quickly jump on the close vote. I try to avoid voting to close on such a question until it's been inactive for at least a week (or longer if it looks like the OP is trying to find further details), but I'm certainly keen to close them if they've been abandoned for months - when we had the first 'purge' of unanswered questions last winter, we had many that had been sitting there for 6 months or more, and these should certainly be closed.

9. What mechanical experience do you have, and where did you do the bulk of your learning on the subject?

I'm entirely self-taught. I've been involved in motor sport since starting university 14 years ago, and as a student I couldn't afford to get anyone else to fix my cars - I had to learn to do it all myself. I think I've got a pretty good mechanical aptitude, and I'm a firm believer that the basic principles of engineering are the same whichever field you are in, even if the implementations vary.

10. As a moderator, how will you keep your fellow moderators in check?

By talking to them - as per Q4, I think moderating is a team effort, and the mods should consult regularly, especially about anything contentious. If one of the mods was persistently ignoring the wishes of the others, and the needs of the community, then I'd consider escalating to the SE staff, but I don't believe that would ever be necessary here, given the nature of this community and it's users.