A recent trip to a local auto repair place got me thinking. Before I scheduled a service visit the guy on the other end of the phone said, "Wait a minute. Let me find out when my old car guy will be here..."

Sure enough, a grizzled, gray-haired gentleman ended up working on my Custom Cruiser as he was the only one who knew about "cars like that." Keep in mind mine is from 1989, not 1949. But when confronted with a carburetor, none of the "new" guys would touch it.

[For the best, I suppose.]

It's always been in the back of my mind to get a thread going here about your/our recommendations on great repair shops, by geographical area or something. But it now seems to me that it might end up being a list of anyone who can competently work on such "archaic" beasts as ours.

SO, if you know anyone in the Southeast Michigan/Northeast Ohio region that knows a thing or thousand about what it takes to keep a car like mine in top form, please let me know. And feel free to chip in with your favorite mechanic's info wherever you are, as I'll bet there's at least one of us who would love to hear about them.

When it comes to second-party car repair there's nothing better than the joy you get when you realize the wrench-turner has seen your problem before and knows just what to do. [Throw in reasonable prices and you've hit the jackpot, baby!]

Drew

 

Great story, and a good idea for a thread.

Where I live, I have, over the years, when I have taken my various vehicles in for service at my local GM dealer, seen vintage cars in their repair shop. Not many. Maybe a half-dozen in 20 years. But apparently the owners of these cars assume that, say, a Buick is a Buick, and if you take your Buick to a Buick dealer, whether the car is a '59 or an '09, the dealer ought to be able to fix it.

I've asked the service writer about them when I see them, and he just shrugs his shoulders and says that they work on older cars just like they would any car, the only issue sometimes being getting parts. But they don't turn the cars away.

I realize that you can't do this for every make. There are, after all, no Packard dealers to take your Packard to. But for anyone owning a vehicle where the manufacturer is still in business, even people like us, for whom even though the make is gone the manufacturer is not, taking your car to a dealer representing that make is probably not an unreasonable thing to think about doing if you've struck out at all your usual repair shops.

 

Wow, it is getting tougher. My uncle was a mechanic, and was getting close to retirement as I was learning about cars in general in the 80's. I can remember him then telling me "These carburetors now ain't like they used to be", and as I type this I'm reminded of a Jetson's episode where someone George knew was showing Elroy his old car (so old it had wheels). He was pointing to something in the engine bay and said "that's called a carburetor..."

I'm not sure about your part of the country, but I've always sworn by Dennis Hall at Black Point Auto in Scarborough ME. Even though my car hasn't been mobile since August, he's been very helpful with advice. Probably because I've been going to him for everything any of my vehicles have needed for over 10 years.

 

I had a similar experience when I had my '71 Chevelle. A Goodyear garage in town had a guy there that had been there since 1970 and he did all the 'old car' alignments and the only one who know about cross shafts and shims, etc. He always did a fantastic job. It's a great resource if you can find an 'old timer' .

 

I took my 64 Olds 98 to a Firestone tire dealer in the past to get an alignment and once they got it in the bay they came and told me they couldn't align it. They couldn't get the fender skirts off. Rather than showing them how the fender skirts worked I just took the car to school and aligned it myself.

Unfortunately, people who work on older cars are getting harder to find. Recently, I've done all the work on my Oldsmobile except the machine work and interior work.

 

Do you mean guys in southeast Michigan and Northwest Ohio?
I'm in northeast Ohio and Michigan is a ways left from here.

My old time Oldsmobile dealer line mechanic, and one of my best friends, up and died on me a few years back. We would BS for hours in my garage while leaning over the Vista's fenders staring at whatever, wouldn't get a thing done.
The only guy I know now I trust my car with is the guy who painted it, otherwise I do everything myself. I could of painted it too but sometimes you just have to let go.

I remember that Jetson episode like it was on yesterday.
Henry Orbit the janitor fix-it guy was the owner of that car, he inherited it from his great-great-great-grandfather or something like that.
He had it stored on one of the parking decks for the aerocars IIRC.

I bet Astro the dog would rike to go for a ride in a Roldsmobile.

 

Since Oldsmobile has gone away, I have not taken any of my cars to GM and will not. The dealerships will not take reasonable care of your car. They are interested in getting the work done and the car out of the way. I now do the work myself.

 

I'll think this is a great thread! I'll throw in my two-bits worth. Absolute Autowerks in Richardson TX works on our older Oldsmobiles. I love it when Ashley (owner) says he can "rebuild a 350 A/T with his eyes closed", or "a Rocherster 4BBL carb is great, just has to be set up right, and it'll be a long time until you have to touch it again". He has been working on our Oldsmobile's since 1989, when we first got Big Red. Continues now with the Silver Bullet, and CCRider ('92 Custom Cruiser), plus the two drivers. I highly recommend his operation and pricing.

 

I do all of my own work on the Oldsmobiles. The dealers work on the Cad and my wife's car as all repairs are computer generated. We do have 2-3 good independent garages and speed shops around here that can work on anything but they do charge a lot and are always busy. I am not that great with carbs so have I that done at one of the speed shops. Always been treated fairly.

A friend is a service manager for a Toyota dealership and was telling me a story about a guy whole brought in a 72 Landcruiser for a tuneup he has owned it since new and was also new to the area. He noticed a couple of service techs looking at it with the hood up but not working on it. Went over to ask why they were standing around. Neither of them had ever worked on a car with a carburetor or a distributor. (we're talking a stovebolt 6 here developed from the old chevy 235 architecture) He grilled all the techs in the shop and no one could work on it. He ended up doing the work himself. Has since hired a tech with a hotrod background who can work on the older cars.

Go figure we know have auto techs and they have replaced mechanics

 

I can only WORK on cars with carbs..........I dont even change my oil on the DDrivers any more.........

 

Well hell, they're the only cars that NEED to be worked on! When's the last time anyone with a fuel-injected car did anything to it other than routine maintenance? I know, I know. Before everybody on here jumps and tells me their fuel-injected horror stories, I'm talking generally here.

My '02 Dodge Dakota has needed nothing in 9 years and 95,000 miles except for oil changes, brakes, tires, etc. Nothing at all has been done to the engine, and it hasn't been needed.

Even a tune-up nowadays is nothing more than changing the spark plugs in most cases, and most modern cars don't require even that before 100,000 miles.

There's a reason that fuel-injection replaced carburetion!

 

There are very few people around who can rebuild one of the old 4-speed Hydramatics.

 

Hey Drew. Try Hals Auto Clinic in Farmington Hills Michigan. They are on the web just google them. Phone number is 248-477-5951. I went to High School with Hal. He is a huge motor head, and worked on my car's back in the day (86' Olds Cutlass Supreme) Tell him Joe McFadden referred you and he will charge you 10% more...lol.
They do great work and stand in front of all their repairs.

Joe

 

i learned working on the old cars. but other then my delta i don't see many carbs any more see plenty of tbi cpi tpi there not that bad to work on. but i still like to work on the olds ones from time to time much easier trouble shooting for sure.

 

Garages now should give you a card to get punched each visit,pay for 3 attempts and the 4th attempt is free.
railguy

 

Ain't that the truth. happens with the multiple error codes. Domino effect that keeps bringing you back