Good mechanics, good parts people are hard to find

["hugh hemphill" <hugtrees@xxxxxxxx>]

I hear horror stories about mechanics but I have mainly had luck here in San
Antonio.  Mr. Inscrutable Happypants, the notoriously unhelpful carburetor
man from last year, aside, I have had mainly good if not great luck in San
Antonio.

The manager at my local NAPA fixed my otherwise intractable water pump
problem within three days, for only $25.00.  He suggested getting the one I
had been trying to replace for three years rebuilt.  Since I had been told
this was not possible by persons supposedly better informed than me, you can
only imagine my delight to hear such magical words.

Last year I had the front end of my 58 rebuilt.  I also mentioned the
parking brake no longer worked.  Not a good thing on a car with no "P"
position on the transmission.  I bought the front end rebuild kit for the
shop.  In the end, he did not use it.  It was found that the bushings on the
car were good.  It was the pins going through them that had deteriorated, so
only those were replaced.  Here's the beauty part.  He said he had fixed the
parking brake.  A bracket had failed.  He said he did not have enough time
to contact me so I could get the correct one, and, even though he knew I was
a stickler for originality, he had simply gone ahead and fabricated a new
one.  As a result, he said he was not going to charge me for the work on the
brake.

Ooh, a Scotsman's worst dilemma.  A freebie he could not, in good
conscience, accept.  Who ever hears about shops making parts anymore?  About
them actually effecting a repair as opposed to them replacing stuff?  About
apologizing for doing so, because of time restraints?  About saying he could
not accept payment for the work because he did not have my permission to do
it?  In the end we compromised about the bill.

The owner, with whom I was dealing, is the second generation proprietor of
one of the city's oldest independent garages.  My luck is he trained on
these cars as a young man and he encourages his employees to get to know all
kinds of cars.  When it comes to computerized modern cars he may not have
much of a future, as the diagnostic equipment is getting to be prohibitively
expensive and each manufacturer jealously guards its own computer codes and
programs.  I think this guy has decided he can make a living by serving
older cars.  Lets face it, as niches go, its hardly overcrowded.

Hugh