<<<<<<<<Bill '59 Crown wrote:
What I can't understand is why mechanics would not want to work
on these older cars. It is certainly much easier than working on today's
cars
with all that extra junk in the engine compartment.>>>>>>>>>>>
I think this was a sincere comment and
as such deserves an answer. Bill, as I'm
sure you realize there's a lot more to the
"junk" under the hood of a modern car
than most of us ever think about. Current technology and design allows
specific power output and levels of reliability that could only be dreamed
of
in the days when our beloved Imps were
built. Most importantly, for our health and the health of our children and
grandchildren, the level of emissions is
a miniscule fraction of what our Imps
emit, even in the best of tune. And I mean literally, by a couple of orders
of
magnitude. Today's technicians use lab
scopes and scanners as much as any other tools, along with an ability to do
electronic troubleshooting at a gut level.
Much as we love our Imperials, in some
ways they have more in common with
Model Ts than they do with todays cars.
Not a bad thing, just how it is.
As for why mechanics would not want to work on the old cars, several reasons
come to mind, in no particular order:
1) Unfamiliarity. Many have never
worked on cars like our Imps and there
aren't enough left around to spend the
time getting familiar with. There's a huge difference between hobbying and
trying to earn a living.
2) The old mechanics who knew these
old crates are mostly gone now, and the
old service data long discarded in most shops. Technical specs and
information
are on the computer now, and they don't
include stuff before '85 or so. Time marches on, as it always has.
3) Parts are unavailable through normal
distribution channels, other than routine
service items like ignition and such.
4) As we all know, what may be a simple
job on a younger model can turn into a major kerfluffle on an old Imp,
simply due to age, rust/corrosion, fragile old
parts, etc.
5) Because of items 1 thru 4, an older
car tends to wind up taking waaaay more
time in the bay than a modern car of the
type that the shop routinely services. Time is money.
6) Last but definitely not least, in many cases the owners of older cars are
notoriously....... er, um, ....thrifty.
Even worse, as a result they sometimes
shop for a mechanic based on price rather than quality, wind up with a less
than satisfactory job, and then use that
result to confirm their suspicion that
mechanics are all incompetent and dishonest.
I have a number of customers who have
collector cars like Imperials along with their modern transportation, and
want us to work on the old cars as well.
We do it with the caveats that they may have to chase their own parts, that
it's
likely to take much longer than their
'01 Chrysler, and that we won't lower our quality standards. I think you
can
still easily find such a shop in your own town.
And don't forget that part of the beauty of these grand old ladies is that
you CAN work on them yourself to a great extent. Part of the fun, too.
Enjoy.
regards
Michael
Roger and Michael in San Diego
67 Crown Convertible "Moby"
73 LeBaron Coupe "La Bomba Negra"
56 Sedan
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