This "collective wisdom of the elders" is shaping up to be a major crisis in the vintage car world, and especially in the vintage racing world. There are just no, or very few, young people with the knowledge or motivation to support some of these older vehicles. Possibly car clubs will take up some of the slack, but they can't possibly act as a substitute. And even car clubs for vintage stuff are drying up.
The "old timers" who knew how to perform certain tasks are dying off. Who knows why the differential fluid in an old Chevy flows through the closed driveshaft when parked on a hill and overfills the manual transmission and who knows how to fix it? they used to make a kit that rebushed and sealed the driveshaft. Are they made today? Who knows how to adjust the bearings on a car with splash lubrication? Who knows how to adjust a Fluid Drive so they don't CLUNK when shifting?
Who knows how to work on Huck brakes or install kingpins? Yeah, there are books but the "tricks" and "tips" learned by a generation or two ago are fading away.
I recently had a mid sixties Ford pickup pull up next to me at a light. It was a 3/4 ton so it had Split Rims. Try finding a tire shop that even knows what they are much less having the equipment to change one!
Showing my age again....
I used to watch the Velocity Channel quite a bit when the old “Wheeler Dealer’s” show was on. Wayne Carini (not sure about the spelling of his last name) on his Classic Cars Show has an old-timer mechanic who is the epitome of that dying breed of grease monkeys who can repair almost anything on any classic car.
What happens when there are none of these guys left? The average mechanic in today’s service departments at dealerships use technology to diagnose problems by plugging into the car’s computers. You can’t do that on a ‘56 Chevy or a ‘47 Dodge.
Isell, you are right. Owning a Classic car in 20-30 years and keeping it running is going to be very difficult when these mechanics are gone. Just think what Jay Leno pays the many mechanics he employs to keep his collection in tip-top shape. The only solution is to have apprentices working side-by-side with these old mechanics and paying them well. But those jobs are few and far between. The real money is in the techno mechanics in today’s modern service departments.
Agree with all above enjoyed reading the comments like always nothing like an old timer knowing that we the tricks to do things not like the books totally different totally agreed with above of that show chasing classic cars people old timer mechanic was his dad if I’m not mistaken could be wrong on that actually think it was it was a friend of his dad something like that haven’t seen the new episode in quite some time have a good day all you want back here tonight
I got one of those battery tenders probably two years ago for the battery for the car take the battery out and put it on the shelf love so simple to use I got the battery tender Junior I think it’s called small compact has a red cable to put on the positive battery terminal in a black cable to put on the negative battery terminal which is good for me
We have one in Florida - the car sits for 7 months. Battery Tender Plus $45. See it on Amazon For the new E400 I let the dealer put an official MB trickle charger on it....I didn't want to void the warranty, $200. They both do the same. (It would be like trying to do your own oil change and cancelling the warranty)
Yeh, remember when you could go into a hardware store and buy one nut or bolt, and today you have to buy a package that has 12 of them....11 you won't be using and will forget where you put them when you do need another one?
This "collective wisdom of the elders" is shaping up to be a major crisis in the vintage car world, and especially in the vintage racing world. There are just no, or very few, young people with the knowledge or motivation to support some of these older vehicles. Possibly car clubs will take up some of the slack, but they can't possibly act as a substitute. And even car clubs for vintage stuff are drying up.
The "old timers" who knew how to perform certain tasks are dying off. Who knows why the differential fluid in an old Chevy flows through the closed driveshaft when parked on a hill and overfills the manual transmission and who knows how to fix it? they used to make a kit that rebushed and sealed the driveshaft. Are they made today? Who knows how to adjust the bearings on a car with splash lubrication? Who knows how to adjust a Fluid Drive so they don't CLUNK when shifting?
Who knows how to work on Huck brakes or install kingpins? Yeah, there are books but the "tricks" and "tips" learned by a generation or two ago are fading away.
I recently had a mid sixties Ford pickup pull up next to me at a light. It was a 3/4 ton so it had Split Rims. Try finding a tire shop that even knows what they are much less having the equipment to change one!
Showing my age again....
I used to watch the Velocity Channel quite a bit when the old “Wheeler Dealer’s” show was on. Wayne Carini (not sure about the spelling of his last name) on his Classic Cars Show has an old-timer mechanic who is the epitome of that dying breed of grease monkeys who can repair almost anything on any classic car.
What happens when there are none of these guys left? The average mechanic in today’s service departments at dealerships use technology to diagnose problems by plugging into the car’s computers. You can’t do that on a ‘56 Chevy or a ‘47 Dodge.
Isell, you are right. Owning a Classic car in 20-30 years and keeping it running is going to be very difficult when these mechanics are gone. Just think what Jay Leno pays the many mechanics he employs to keep his collection in tip-top shape. The only solution is to have apprentices working side-by-side with these old mechanics and paying them well. But those jobs are few and far between. The real money is in the techno mechanics in today’s modern service departments.
Yes, it would largely affect the checkbook mechanics. But it is not cost effective to train up-and-comers how to fix something they will likely never have come through their door.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I got one of those battery tenders probably two years ago for the battery for the car take the battery out and put it on the shelf love so simple to use I got the battery tender Junior I think it’s called small compact has a red cable to put on the positive battery terminal in a black cable to put on the negative battery terminal which is good for me
We have one in Florida - the car sits for 7 months. Battery Tender Plus $45.
See it on Amazon
For the new E400 I let the dealer put an official MB trickle charger on it....I didn't want to void the warranty, $200. They both do the same.
(It would be like trying to do your own oil change and cancelling the warranty)
Got mine at Wally World for $20. But it's more designed for motorcycle use.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I am lucky to have an indy shop that isn't afraid of the fintail, but sometimes I wonder how long that will last. The car is pretty straightforward, but it can't be diagnosed by plugging it into a computer, and the mechanical FI setup is probably wildly complex and wacky to the eyes of a young tech. I think vintage car repair will be possible in the future, as there are younger mechanics in the ranks, but it likely will become harder to find.
I used to watch the Velocity Channel quite a bit when the old “Wheeler Dealer’s” show was on. Wayne Carini (not sure about the spelling of his last name) on his Classic Cars Show has an old-timer mechanic who is the epitome of that dying breed of grease monkeys who can repair almost anything on any classic car.
What happens when there are none of these guys left? The average mechanic in today’s service departments at dealerships use technology to diagnose problems by plugging into the car’s computers. You can’t do that on a ‘56 Chevy or a ‘47 Dodge.
Isell, you are right. Owning a Classic car in 20-30 years and keeping it running is going to be very difficult when these mechanics are gone. Just think what Jay Leno pays the many mechanics he employs to keep his collection in tip-top shape. The only solution is to have apprentices working side-by-side with these old mechanics and paying them well. But those jobs are few and far between. The real money is in the techno mechanics in today’s modern service departments.
Fin, your fintail is probably similar to a friends 84 bmw he drives in Florida. He has to take it to an Indie garage, the BMW dealers won't touch it....they wouldn't know what to do with his car. He is OK with that, hourly rate is much lower at the indie garage - and they know how to find parts online.
Just saw a Volvo commercial where they call it "the car you subscribe to". Is this another deal where if you don't own a smartphone you can't operate the systems?
no. it is like a rental. Includes the car, maintenance (not that there is any) and insurance. And you can swap for a different car on some regular basis. Not cheap though, but good for someone that needs a car short term.
We started a topic about Subscriptions, if you or anyone is interested. It's the "next new thing" for people who want to buy "all in" on a car, like a lease + insurance + early exit
Yeh, remember when you could go into a hardware store and buy one nut or bolt, and today you have to buy a package that has 12 of them....11 you won't be using and will forget where you put them when you do need another one?
Well, if you had a storage rack or two like I have, you'd know where to put all those "extra" bolts, nuts and screws.
If I knew how to do pics on my phone and link them here it would be easier for you to see what I mean. Now you're gonna have to try to visualize what I describe below. Don't blame me for the length of this post. I'm going to try to explain it so that even you will get the picture:
Many years ago (back in the early 70's) I built an octagon wooden rack to hold an assortment of small hardware. I chose an octagon vs. a hexagon because that would give me 8 surfaces to mount baby jar lids to instead of 6 surfaces. The octagon is about 5 inches, flat side to flat side, and is about 34 inches long (I'll explain later why I chose "about 34 inches"). There is an octagon on each end and one in the middle. It's made out of 3/4 inch pine lumber cut to fit on the 3 octagon sides (22.5 degree miter cuts). The lengths of wood allow for 10 baby jar lids to be nailed along the wooden strips. Two nails per lid so that the baby jar doesn't spin when putting the jar on and off. Now you may have guessed that I chose the "about 34 inch length" so that I could mount 10 jars along this wooden strip but you would have guessed wrong. I chose that length so that I could buy a standard 36 inch piece of 1/2 all-thread. I drilled a clearance hole for the all-thread through the center of all 3 octagon pieces before assembly. I could have drilled the holes through the end octagons when finished with the assembly but how do I drill the hole for the middle octagon support when assembled? See, I thought of that too.
The rack is held to the ceiling joists in the garage. I made "L" brackets from 1 1/12 inch by 1/16 inch flat metal, cut and bent to form a 90 degree bend (about 12 inches each leg). Holes are then drilled through one of the bracket legs for the all-thread to pass through and 3 holes are drilled along the other leg for 1/4 inch lag screws to hold this gizmo to the ceiling joist. That sucker, when the jars are filled, is heavy but it ain't going nowhere with those lag bolts, honest. OK, done with that. Got 80 jars for small hardware. About 2 years later when I'm almost done patting myself on the back for making that gizmo, I find out I ain't got enough jars for all the stuff I need to store. What a dope I was thinking I could get away with just one rack. Now I have 3. Because they are on the ceiling they are out of the way, yet easy to get to when I want something.
Both of my son's liked that thing so when they bought houses they wanted me to make one for them. Being the great father that I am they each now have one.
OK, now you have the verbal plans so that you can make one. The way I look at it, you NEVER need JUST ONE of anything. If you need one screw today you can bet you're going to need another one in the future. No sense running to the store to get one the next time when you already have some in your own stock and you have them easily sorted out for use, where you can find them, right?
There, that wasn't so bad, was it?
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
@oldfarmer50 You're getting the salvage title discount, so don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Can anyone explain why 45% of the Facebook car ads with "salvage title" in the ad also says something like "minor damage/minor accident."
Do they think people are stupid?
Actually it takes very little to earn a Salvage Title. On a ten year old car a very minor accident can well exceed the value of the car so the insurance company totals it. Here is a great car that can be easily fixed perhaps by using used parts and bingo, it has a salvaged title!
I know of a nice Honda S-2000 that was a theft recovery. They stole the hardtop and most of the interior and a few under the hood parts- TOTALLED- SALVAGE TITLE! A smart buyer bought it as is and was lucky to find a wrecked one. He had no use for a hardtop but for less than 1000.00 he was able to make himself a great S-2000. Forever marked with a Branded Title but he doesn't care! He took photos before and after and when it's time to sell he will have no trouble selling it. The older the car and the less the value the less a branded title hurts it! No, a lot of people aren't stupid!
I had one insurance company tell me they went by the 80% rule. 80% of value = total = salvage. Even on an old car, that can be a hefty repair bill. Besides, usually these advertisements are for recent model cars, less than 5 or 6 years old. Obviously, on a 15 year old car, you care less about salvage title, but still, "minor accident" is a misnomer as in your example, there was no accident at all!
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
IMO fb is most guilty of letting foreign entities of dubious merit and motivations in on its data, not to mention the actual locations of those posting "news" and stories. They definitely failed 2016. Vladdy is smiling at the instability.
I suspect the local dealer would gladly accept my car, but the bill would break me and the car wouldn't be fixed right. MB is great for supplying old parts - you can still get just about anything mechanical for my car, direct from MB itself, but working on a model that ceased production in 1965 might not be so simple. No worries, for now anyway I have an indy who is both skilled and honest, and has a loyal following. I am in a higher cost of living area, so the labor isn't dirt cheap, but still a bit less than the dealer. For older cars or massive overhauls, I'd never go to the dealer, there's no real benefit to justify the price. For routine services on a modern car, it can be very close in price, do what is most convenient.
Fin, your fintail is probably similar to a friends 84 bmw he drives in Florida. He has to take it to an Indie garage, the BMW dealers won't touch it....they wouldn't know what to do with his car. He is OK with that, hourly rate is much lower at the indie garage - and they know how to find parts online.
Yeh, remember when you could go into a hardware store and buy one nut or bolt, and today you have to buy a package that has 12 of them....11 you won't be using and will forget where you put them when you do need another one?
Well, if you had a storage rack or two like I have, you'd know where to put all those "extra" bolts, nuts and screws.
OK, now you have the verbal plans so that you can make one. The way I look at it, you NEVER need JUST ONE of anything. If you need one screw today you can bet you're going to need another one in the future. No sense running to the store to get one the next time when you already have some in your own stock and you have them easily sorted out for use, where you can find them, right?
There, that wasn't so bad, was it?
jmonroe
I would rather have a life....I have tennis and pickleball games to play. If I need another screw it will take less time and cost me a lot less just to go to the hardware store and buy a package of screws. When I take one out I throw the package into the tool drawer. If i need another screw I will try to find it, or go back to the store and buy another package...still easier than making octagonal racks....and where do I get the baby food jars....did you have to buy some mashed pear to get all those jars?
yeah. I need a picture of this. All I got out of it is a bunch of baby food jars hanging from the ceiling.
You got it!
Are you kiddin me?
@driver100 and maybe even @stickguy I can understand but I thought you knew how to visualize. I'm really disappointed with YOU.
jmonroe
Why not just buy one of these;
I have the exact storage box with drawers - but mine is navy blue!
Yeh, remember when you could go into a hardware store and buy one nut or bolt, and today you have to buy a package that has 12 of them....11 you won't be using and will forget where you put them when you do need another one?
Well, if you had a storage rack or two like I have, you'd know where to put all those "extra" bolts, nuts and screws.
If I knew how to do pics on my phone and link them here it would be easier for you to see what I mean. Now you're gonna have to try to visualize what I describe below. Don't blame me for the length of this post. I'm going to try to explain it so that even you will get the picture:
Many years ago (back in the early 70's) I built an octagon wooden rack to hold an assortment of small hardware. I chose an octagon vs. a hexagon because that would give me 8 surfaces to mount baby jar lids to instead of 6 surfaces. The octagon is about 5 inches, flat side to flat side, and is about 34 inches long (I'll explain later why I chose "about 34 inches"). There is an octagon on each end and one in the middle. It's made out of 3/4 inch pine lumber cut to fit on the 3 octagon sides (22.5 degree miter cuts). The lengths of wood allow for 10 baby jar lids to be nailed along the wooden strips. Two nails per lid so that the baby jar doesn't spin when putting the jar on and off. Now you may have guessed that I chose the "about 34 inch length" so that I could mount 10 jars along this wooden strip but you would have guessed wrong. I chose that length so that I could buy a standard 36 inch piece of 1/2 all-thread. I drilled a clearance hole for the all-thread through the center of all 3 octagon pieces before assembly. I could have drilled the holes through the end octagons when finished with the assembly but how do I drill the hole for the middle octagon support when assembled? See, I thought of that too.
The rack is held to the ceiling joists in the garage. I made "L" brackets from 1 1/12 inch by 1/16 inch flat metal, cut and bent to form a 90 degree bend (about 12 inches each leg). Holes are then drilled through one of the bracket legs for the all-thread to pass through and 3 holes are drilled along the other leg for 1/4 inch lag screws to hold this gizmo to the ceiling joist. That sucker, when the jars are filled, is heavy but it ain't going nowhere with those lag bolts, honest. OK, done with that. Got 80 jars for small hardware. About 2 years later when I'm almost done patting myself on the back for making that gizmo, I find out I ain't got enough jars for all the stuff I need to store. What a dope I was thinking I could get away with just one rack. Now I have 3. Because they are on the ceiling they are out of the way, yet easy to get to when I want something.
Both of my son's liked that thing so when they bought houses they wanted me to make one for them. Being the great father that I am they each now have one.
OK, now you have the verbal plans so that you can make one. The way I look at it, you NEVER need JUST ONE of anything. If you need one screw today you can bet you're going to need another one in the future. No sense running to the store to get one the next time when you already have some in your own stock and you have them easily sorted out for use, where you can find them, right?
There, that wasn't so bad, was it?
jmonroe
How long did it take you to eat all that baby food to get your supply of jars?
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Will think in the next 20 or 30 years will be harder to find someone to work on the older stuff like some mentioned above but hopefully not totally impossible
Yeh, remember when you could go into a hardware store and buy one nut or bolt, and today you have to buy a package that has 12 of them....11 you won't be using and will forget where you put them when you do need another one?
Well, if you had a storage rack or two like I have, you'd know where to put all those "extra" bolts, nuts and screws.
OK, now you have the verbal plans so that you can make one. The way I look at it, you NEVER need JUST ONE of anything. If you need one screw today you can bet you're going to need another one in the future. No sense running to the store to get one the next time when you already have some in your own stock and you have them easily sorted out for use, where you can find them, right?
There, that wasn't so bad, was it?
jmonroe
I would rather have a life....I have tennis and pickleball games to play. If I need another screw it will take less time and cost me a lot less just to go to the hardware store and buy a package of screws. When I take one out I throw the package into the tool drawer. If i need another screw I will try to find it, or go back to the store and buy another package...still easier than making octagonal racks....and where do I get the baby food jars....did you have to buy some mashed pear to get all those jars?
Ya know, I have a hard time trying to figure you out. In one breath you say you have a life and want to play tennis and pickleball, then in the next breath you say you are willing to go to the hardware store every time you need to buy hardware. Did you ever think that if you had a jar rack like I described you wouldn't have to run to the hardware store so often and you'd have more time for tennis and pickle-balling. I'm sure you have a typical @driver100 reason for doing that but I'd never understand it.
Now, to answer your question and @oldfarmer50's too, about the jars. Back in the 70's I worked with a guy whose wife had quadruplets. It doesn't take long to get baby jars when you have a source like that. They were more than happy for me to take hundreds off their hands. When I say hundreds I mean hundreds. I built 3 racks (80 jars each rack) for myself and one for each of my sons. I still have a box in the basement with at least 50 or 60 jars to this day. You do the math. They are jars from Enfamil baby formula and water, with nice full screw on lids. Not the quick 1/4 turn lids.
In the future, when you buy your hardware in multi piece packs and since you are probably going to misplace the hardware you don't use right away, forward what you don't use to Edmunds c/o @jmonroe They know where I live.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
yeah. I need a picture of this. All I got out of it is a bunch of baby food jars hanging from the ceiling.
You got it!
Are you kiddin me?
@driver100 and maybe even @stickguy I can understand but I thought you knew how to visualize. I'm really disappointed with YOU.
jmonroe
Why not just buy one of these;
Never gonna happen for several reasons:
(1) Would take up too much space on my workbench. Like I said, my racks are on the ceiling out of the way until I need something.
(2) That rack only has 18 drawers. I have 240 bottles.
(3) Regardless of the color, that is cheating and only a pretend handyman would be caught dead with those things cluttering up valuable work bench space. :@
I could go on but you get the point.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
In the future, when you buy your hardware in multi piece packs and since you are probably going to misplace the hardware you don't use right away, forward what you don't use to Edmunds c/o @jmonroe They know where I live. jmonroe
240 jars with different sized screws. I can go to the hardware store 6 blocks away and buy the screws I need by the time you find the right one and unscrew the fancy shmancy lid. And, who needs 240 different sized screws....I probably use about 5 of them a year?
Many years ago, I saw a design for some adjustable shelving in a Popular Mechanics magazine. Built my own variation of it in the garage of my first house. When the people we sold the house to, put it on the market, I went to see it with one of my kids. The shelves were presented as a nice feature along with the small cedar closet I built into the same unit.
2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
I'm watching the Barrett-Jackson auction and they sold a 2012 Shelby GT 500 for $32,000. About the same as I paid for my regular 2015 GT. 700+ hp. not bad.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I have a big work bench and not much use for it, so the 2 versions of those cases I have fit just fine with plenty of work area to spare.
I have a good size work bench too. Mine is 2 feet deep from the back wall of the garage to the front edge and it runs 16 feet along that back wall. I call it a tool bench because I have 16 feet of peg board mounted on the back wall that is about 8 inches off the tool bench top and rises about 4 feet up from there. If I placed those rinky-dink cabinets on the back of my tool bench, in addition to taking up too much space in the back of the bench, it would rise too far above the lower edge of the peg board. My peg board is FULL of tools and along the bottom edge in one area is where my assortment of about 22 screw drivers hang below the bottom edge. Some, almost touching the tool bench. That cabinet looks like it is at least 18 inches high. Therefore, it would get in the way of too much of the lower part of my peg board.
Everyone learns to work with what they have and the design I just described is what I started out with when we built our my first house in 1969. I wouldn't know how to do it any other way. In fact, both of my sons copied my design. I guess you get used to something and beat it to death unless it doesn't work for you. I'm too old and too lazy to change now.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
In the future, when you buy your hardware in multi piece packs and since you are probably going to misplace the hardware you don't use right away, forward what you don't use to Edmunds c/o @jmonroe They know where I live. jmonroe
240 jars with different sized screws. I can go to the hardware store 6 blocks away and buy the screws I need by the time you find the right one and unscrew the fancy shmancy lid. And, who needs 240 different sized screws....I probably use about 5 of them a year?
Didn't I say you'd have a reason? How did I know that?
FWIW, I don't have 240 sizes of screws. I have space for 240 sizes of various pieces of small hardware that fits into those glass bottles. I have storage space elsewhere for the bigger stuff too. When you are into home repair like I am, 5 sizes of anything wouldn't even get me started.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
I'm watching the Barrett-Jackson auction and they sold a 2012 Shelby GT 500 for $32,000. About the same as I paid for my regular 2015 GT. 700+ hp. not bad.
You're off topic. We're doing garage hardware storage racks and tool/work benches today. :@
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Maybe you should try something like this: btw....what happened to the car waxing?
You're getting there but I don't see any hardware in those containers. I think this is a photo shopped pic.
EDIT: I forgot about answering the waxing thing. Not time yet. Was in the lower 70's today with a good bit of wind but still too early for washing outside. I always wax in the garage.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Not such a fun day today. Off to the hospital for 0730 to have a renal biopsy. This is where they stick a needle into your kidneys and suck out a sample of tissue to analyze the cells. I was told it would be painless. They lied. They froze the surface but I could feel what was going on inside. Not good. After the first one I complained and they knocked me out for the rest of it. I woke up back in the ward for 4 hours bed rest and observation/monitoring.
Not such a fun day today. Off to the hospital for 0730 to have a renal biopsy. This is where they stick a needle into your kidneys and suck out a sample of tissue to analyze the cells. I was told it would be painless. They lied. They froze the surface but I could feel what was going on inside. Not good. After the first one I complained and they knocked me out for the rest of it. I woke up back in the ward for 4 hours bed rest and observation/monitoring.
Getting old really sux.
Sorry to hear that @ab348. It's funny that all of the medical procedures are painless to the doctors and techs. But I bet if they were the ones who had to do it, they would opt for anesthesia.
Not such a fun day today. Off to the hospital for 0730 to have a renal biopsy. This is where they stick a needle into your kidneys and suck out a sample of tissue to analyze the cells. I was told it would be painless. They lied. They froze the surface but I could feel what was going on inside. Not good. After the first one I complained and they knocked me out for the rest of it. I woke up back in the ward for 4 hours bed rest and observation/monitoring.
Getting old really sux.
Hoping the test is OK and you're feeling your old self tomorrow.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Comments
What happens when there are none of these guys left? The average mechanic in today’s service departments at dealerships use technology to diagnose problems by plugging into the car’s computers. You can’t do that on a ‘56 Chevy or a ‘47 Dodge.
Isell, you are right. Owning a Classic car in 20-30 years and keeping it running is going to be very difficult when these mechanics are gone. Just think what Jay Leno pays the many mechanics he employs to keep his collection in tip-top shape. The only solution is to have apprentices working side-by-side with these old mechanics and paying them well. But those jobs are few and far between. The real money is in the techno mechanics in today’s modern service departments.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
See it on Amazon
For the new E400 I let the dealer put an official MB trickle charger on it....I didn't want to void the warranty, $200. They both do the same.
(It would be like trying to do your own oil change and cancelling the warranty)
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I am lucky to have an indy shop that isn't afraid of the fintail, but sometimes I wonder how long that will last. The car is pretty straightforward, but it can't be diagnosed by plugging it into a computer, and the mechanical FI setup is probably wildly complex and wacky to the eyes of a young tech. I think vintage car repair will be possible in the future, as there are younger mechanics in the ranks, but it likely will become harder to find.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
If I knew how to do pics on my phone and link them here it would be easier for you to see what I mean. Now you're gonna have to try to visualize what I describe below. Don't blame me for the length of this post. I'm going to try to explain it so that even you will get the picture:
Many years ago (back in the early 70's) I built an octagon wooden rack to hold an assortment of small hardware. I chose an octagon vs. a hexagon because that would give me 8 surfaces to mount baby jar lids to instead of 6 surfaces. The octagon is about 5 inches, flat side to flat side, and is about 34 inches long (I'll explain later why I chose "about 34 inches"). There is an octagon on each end and one in the middle. It's made out of 3/4 inch pine lumber cut to fit on the 3 octagon sides (22.5 degree miter cuts). The lengths of wood allow for 10 baby jar lids to be nailed along the wooden strips. Two nails per lid so that the baby jar doesn't spin when putting the jar on and off. Now you may have guessed that I chose the "about 34 inch length" so that I could mount 10 jars along this wooden strip but you would have guessed wrong. I chose that length so that I could buy a standard 36 inch piece of 1/2 all-thread. I drilled a clearance hole for the all-thread through the center of all 3 octagon pieces before assembly. I could have drilled the holes through the end octagons when finished with the assembly but how do I drill the hole for the middle octagon support when assembled? See, I thought of that too.
The rack is held to the ceiling joists in the garage. I made "L" brackets from 1 1/12 inch by 1/16 inch flat metal, cut and bent to form a 90 degree bend (about 12 inches each leg). Holes are then drilled through one of the bracket legs for the all-thread to pass through and 3 holes are drilled along the other leg for 1/4 inch lag screws to hold this gizmo to the ceiling joist. That sucker, when the jars are filled, is heavy but it ain't going nowhere with those lag bolts, honest. OK, done with that. Got 80 jars for small hardware. About 2 years later when I'm almost done patting myself on the back for making that gizmo, I find out I ain't got enough jars for all the stuff I need to store. What a dope I was thinking I could get away with just one rack. Now I have 3. Because they are on the ceiling they are out of the way, yet easy to get to when I want something.
Both of my son's liked that thing so when they bought houses they wanted me to make one for them. Being the great father that I am they each now have one.
OK, now you have the verbal plans so that you can make one. The way I look at it, you NEVER need JUST ONE of anything. If you need one screw today you can bet you're going to need another one in the future. No sense running to the store to get one the next time when you already have some in your own stock and you have them easily sorted out for use, where you can find them, right?
There, that wasn't so bad, was it?
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
@driver100 and maybe even @stickguy I can understand but I thought you knew how to visualize. I'm really disappointed with YOU.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Nutty conspiracy theories nonwithstanding.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
And mine is black, I think (I don't use it all that often).
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and let us know! Post a pic of your new purchase or lease!
MODERATOR
2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
great idea for a storage rack...how much is all that baby food going to cost me and how will I get rid of it?
Count on an engineer to make a mountain out of a mole hill.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Now, to answer your question and @oldfarmer50's too, about the jars. Back in the 70's I worked with a guy whose wife had quadruplets. It doesn't take long to get baby jars when you have a source like that. They were more than happy for me to take hundreds off their hands. When I say hundreds I mean hundreds. I built 3 racks (80 jars each rack) for myself and one for each of my sons. I still have a box in the basement with at least 50 or 60 jars to this day. You do the math. They are jars from Enfamil baby formula and water, with nice full screw on lids. Not the quick 1/4 turn lids.
In the future, when you buy your hardware in multi piece packs and since you are probably going to misplace the hardware you don't use right away, forward what you don't use to Edmunds c/o @jmonroe They know where I live.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
(1) Would take up too much space on my workbench. Like I said, my racks are on the ceiling out of the way until I need something.
(2) That rack only has 18 drawers. I have 240 bottles.
(3) Regardless of the color, that is cheating and only a pretend handyman would be caught dead with those things cluttering up valuable work bench space. :@
I could go on but you get the point.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
jmonroe
240 jars with different sized screws. I can go to the hardware store 6 blocks away and buy the screws I need by the time you find the right one and unscrew the fancy shmancy lid. And, who needs 240 different sized screws....I probably use about 5 of them a year?
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Built my own variation of it in the garage of my first house.
When the people we sold the house to, put it on the market, I went to see it with one of my kids.
The shelves were presented as a nice feature along with the small cedar closet I built into the same unit.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Everyone learns to work with what they have and the design I just described is what I started out with when we built our my first house in 1969. I wouldn't know how to do it any other way. In fact, both of my sons copied my design. I guess you get used to something and beat it to death unless it doesn't work for you. I'm too old and too lazy to change now.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
btw....what happened to the car waxing?
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
FWIW, I don't have 240 sizes of screws. I have space for 240 sizes of various pieces of small hardware that fits into those glass bottles. I have storage space elsewhere for the bigger stuff too. When you are into home repair like I am, 5 sizes of anything wouldn't even get me started.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
EDIT: I forgot about answering the waxing thing. Not time yet. Was in the lower 70's today with a good bit of wind but still too early for washing outside. I always wax in the garage.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Getting old really sux.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.