Shadetree mechanics
Posted on July 22, 2010 by Jesse O'Brien in In the Garage
I’ve always been a big fan of simple cars that are easy for owners to maintain. Older cars with carburettors and distributors are wonderful first cars to work on, since they don’t have any complicated electronics to work on. A test light and timing light is all that’s needed to test the electronics for owners, and the mechanical tools you’d need really aren’t required.
I have to agree with Kenwood Tire (a local tire/repair shop) when they say that shadetree mechanics are a dying breed though. Pretty much any vehicle made after the obd2 standard was created requires special scanners (many obd1 cars also require specialized tools). It’s more important than ever to go with an old car to keep the tradition of working on cars by hand alive. They’re less expensive to buy, less expensive to own/maintain, and offer a special kind of class that newer, more complicated cars can’t offer.
As far as safety goes, new cars are in a class of their own. Many older cars didn’t have safety requirements other than mandatory seatbelts, so modern cars with crumple zones and advanced seat belt designs obviously win.As far as efficiency goes, several older cars can get 50mpg with minimal modifications, using modern cars. Those same safety requirements add lots of weight and bulk to modern cars, decreasing their efficiency.It’s definitely a give-and-take situation where a balance needs to be found for every person, but I put a lot of faith in defensive driving techniques, proper maintenance, and modern seatbelts as my safety equipment.
Unfortunately, older cars just can’t compete with the modern stuff for safety or efficiency.
Jesse, thats a really good point. I belief that a stock CRX HF makes 40-50mpg, don’t quote me on that. haha. But I remember being at a Washington DC car show and seeing the CRZ hybrid concept. What a joke! It’s a million pounds of complicated technology and it doesn’t even come close to a CRX. They just don’t make em’ like they used to!
my crx si right now, not beating on it gets anywhere from 35- 45….when i had it my lighter hf shell with a si motor i was consistently getting 40-43… i loved it, my new car i bought this morning didnt do too bad either on its 300 mile maiden voyage, ill make a post soon
When you consider MPG to HP ratings though, moderns engines pull off some very impressive feats sometimes. As gimmiky as “displacement on demand” is, the MPG some of the new cars muster is impressive.
…that being said, I wish manufactures would actually work at making a REAL gas sipper today. The smart is dumb…
I had a ’04 dodge ram diesel. Before that I only really had worked on my 85 jeep. It took me a while to learn how to work on it, but with a scanner/programer I was able to pull codes, reset errors, and tune it. People will always find a way to be able to work on their cars. I know I dont see me stopping anytime soon, and I have a BMW, now that is a PITA to work on.
new cars are easier to take care of compared to older ones but what’s the fun in that
not entirely. with older cars there is not BS, and when the fuel system is bad, there are very little if many electronics that you will have to deal with in order to figure out the issue. Mechanical fuel pump, clogged lines or filter, bad carb… that’s about it for that specific issue.
I think older cars have the best form of safety equipment – fear. Driving without antilock brakes, airbags, stability/traction control, crumple zones, etc. forces the driver to be safe and not rely on a computer to bail them out when they do somethung stupid. Give yourself a good scare and see how much you change your habits.