Cars used to be more modular. Meaning, major components were interchangeable – not just between the same models but also the same brands.
I’ll use my ’76 Trans-Am to explain what I mean.
A Trans-Am is basically a top-of-the-line Firebird. It came standard with mechanical equipment that the base Firebird didn’t – but you could also skip a lot of luxury equipment (AC and power windows, for instance) that you could have gotten, if you wanted, in the base Firebird. Everything was made to accommodate everything – or not. A Trans-Am ordered with power windows had round trim discs that popped into the hole in the door panels where the window crank handles would go if the car had not been ordered with power windows. If not, you got the window cranks that went into those same holes.
If you bought a base Firebird and later on decided you wanted to put the Trans-Am’s nicer seats – or bigger engine – in it, you could easily do that because everything just bolts up. No computer stuff to “pair” up. The hyperspecificity of modernity didn’t exist back then and it was arguably better back then, for exactly that reason. I could easily convert my Trans-Am’s factory power window setup to manual crank windows if I wanted to do that. Just as someone who owned a Firebird that originally didn’t come with power windows could easily install them. No CANBUS or body control module hypercomplexity. Just nuts and bolts and wires and switches.
The commonality extended to other makes within the GM hierarchy. I could just as easily install a Camaro’s Chevy engine in my Pontiac because the Camaro and the Firebird share a common subframe and (once again) pretty much everything is just a matter of bolting the parts you want to together.
GM – and it wasn’t just GM, this was common practice at one time – used common parts in multiple different makes across many years of production. A power window switch from a 1976 Trans-Am will work in any 1970-1981 Firebird and probably also any 1970-1981 Camaro, too. Steering wheels from both cars not only interchanged readily from Camaro to Firebird (and Firebird to Camaro) but also other GM vehicles of the same era. Major suspension components often were identical or nearly so and could be swapped from vehicle to vehicle. Back in those days, almost all cars – irrespective of make or model – used the same sealed beam glass headlights, either round or rectangular.
All of this reduced the cost to make vehicles and so it served to lower the price of vehicles and also the cost of fixing (or modifying) them.
Another factor that really helped was extended production runs, which used to be the norm. My ’76 Trans-Am shares a lot of interchangeable parts with other Trans-Ams (and Firebirds) that were made over a span of 11 years, from 1970 through 1981. Though there were styling changes over the course of those 11 years, many body panels (the doors, the front fenders, the trunk lid, etc.) are the same and so are most of the interior pieces. Plus they made a lot of these cars over the course of those 11 years, which not only means that even today – more than 40 years after the end of production – there are still a lot of viable used parts available and there are a lot of brand-new reproduction parts available, because it makes business sense for an aftermarket supplier to make parts that fit all those cars.
The so-called Fox-bodied Ford Mustang made from 1979 through the early 1990s is perhaps ab even better example. You can mix-and-match many major and minor parts from Mustangs built during those years. Not coincidentally, Mustangs made during those years were mass-market affordable – unlike today’s Mustang, which is a low-volume, near-exotic due to its cost.
Production runs are much briefer nowadways.
It is rare for a car that is “all new” this year to to be the same car six years from now. By ten years from now, more than likely that model (if it is still being made) will have next to nothing in common with the model being made this year. Compounding this is that – generally speaking – fewer examples of a given model are made each year. So fewer parts are made for that car – and there is less incentive for the aftermarket to make them as the years pass. In 1979 alone, Pontiac sold about a quarter-million Firebirds (and about half of those were Trans-Ams). Then add in the six figure Camaro sales that year. Then add in the previous nine years of sales of both cars, plus what would be sold in 1980 and 1981.
This doesn’t even get into the sales of closely related Camaro/Firebird kin, such as the Chevy Nova and its Pontiac Ventura analog.
Those days of commonality and interchangeability are gone, probably forever – along with affordability. Today’s cars may all look the same but they’re very different.
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Older Jeeps were a joy to fix up. Two examples:
1) Bought a ’67 Wagoneer in the early 80’s for $600. Realized the wipers didn’t wipe (springs in the wiper arms were about 90% rust). Visited my local small-town Auto Parts Store and told the counter guy what I wanted. He didn’t have Wagoneer wiper arms, but he brought out a pair of VW Beetle arms that were EXACTLY the same. 6 or 7 bucks each. Installed them – they worked perfectly.
2) Bought a ’77 Jeep CJ-5 a few years later. Tail lights wonky. Opened them up to see all the metal bits massively corroded. Back to the same parts store. Counter dude takes one look and says, “Those are universal truck tail light assemblies.” He was right. $10 each. I applied petroleum jelly to all internal metal bits (prevents rust) and they never failed me.
Back in the day, salvage yards had what was known as the “Hollander Interchange Manual”, a set of books which provided details for all of the parts that would fit and interchange with other years and models.
I don’t know if such a thing still exists, but being friends with salvage yard personnel was a great help.
We had one yard like this back in the day. Super helpful, reasonable prices. Everyone there knew cars, trucks, parts inside and out.
I’m sure there’s an online version.
In the good old days of the early 2000s, I kept my 1968 Oldsmobile Delta 88 going—and made it go faster—with a Dr. Frankenstein menagerie of GM B-body parts.
I’ve wondered if the dark side of interchangeability is that it was really conducive to the whole badge engineering thing that was a factor in the demise of Oldsmobile.
I will say that it seemed GM was getting it somewhat right in 1968, because my Delta 88 was noticeably different from its corporate siblings. You could not mistake a Delta 88 for a LeSabre, Bonneville, or Impala—You could see certain common elements, like roof lines if you tried.
But when GM took away each division’s engineering departments, that’s when everything went south.
Amen, Bryce!
I still like the ’82-up Firebird, but I would like the third gen cars much more if they had Pontiac V8s. Not because the 301 was better than the Chevy 305/350 but because the 301 is a true Pontiac V8. If it had gotten sorted out, with fuel injection and a properly set up turbo, it could have been a contender (as Brando might have said). I always feel a little sad when I see an ’82-up Trans Am with the off-center turbo bulge hood scoop – knowing the original plan had been for a 301 turbo to be under the hood.
There was a stark difference in build quality across GM brands. Chevy for everyday, wider tolerance in body panels/assembly fit. Pontiac leaned towards better performance. Hot GTOs, even the Tempests got the “wide track Pontiac” vibe. Then once that was over & everything got smogged out, you could get a mid sized Pontiac with “radial tuned suspension” those really were a nice driver no mush lazy steering in those rigs. Plush Buicks for Grandma comfort, Oldsmobile for the up and coming office middle manager crew, then once you got that corner office time to head to the Cadillac dealer!
GMC trucks always seemed to be better build quality than their Chevy cousins. I carpooled with a guy in a really early (1989?) of the next gen redesigned GMC trucks. That thing was top drawer build quality. Solid doors, no rattles, quiet, 5 speed manual that was a perfect shifter (I drove it occasionally). We ended up with a 1991 Silverado, new, with misfit doors, dash rattles, seat frame squeaks, howling rear axle. We ended up keeping it but was not a great early experience getting it sorted out.
GMC was commonly paired with either Buicks or Olds, seldom by itself.
Ahhhhhh, the ol’ junkyard. It was a great day rooting around in one! You just never knew what you might find.
About 10 years ago Dad and I went to a Pull-a-Part in Knoxville, TN. It was like a jailhouse shakedown getting in/out of there and they did not have what we needed even though the polo wearing computer geek that worked there said it was “in the system”. That place was depressing. It made me long to be cussed out by a shirtless fat guy with an old break action shotgun in his hand.
Last spring my daughter needed a wheel for her Crown Vic. She went to Pull-a-Part. That same day, I went to a real junk yard in McCreary County, Kentucky. Upon wheeling up there was an ol’ Confederate Flag snapping defiantly in the breeze. Upon exit from my Mercury three dogs ran up to greet me in a friendly manner. One was missing an eye, one was three legged, and one seemed to be whole. This skinny ol’ red with a mullet was there running the joint. I asked him if he had a wheel and with his cig, he pointed me to the area I needed to go. Lo and behold there was a good wheel on the roof of a Vic exactly where he said it would be! I gave him cash and admired the 68 Roadrunner he was “fixin’ up”. It was a great day! My daughter was jealous when we compared our “salvage yard” experiences.
You know you’re in the real bone yard when Rex the dog greets you!
There are plenty of vehicles that still share mechanical parts for many years. Look at f-series, super duty, and mustangs. Mechanically, nearly identical since 2015. It’s the modules that have become ridiculous and render the vehicle nearly obsolete.
Yup.
Sort of funny to see cars from the 70s being glamorized.
Model T’s were pretty modular.
The Chrysler LX series of Dodge Charger, Challenger, Magnum, and the Chrysler 300 had tons of components shared among them and that platform was in existence for over 20 years.
Hello, “Betty” –
I used the example to make the point; of course the Model T (and A) and so on had the same desirable qualities.
Don’t get me wrong I have vehicles from the 70s.
The broader point being modularity exists wherever you had large production numbers. As you’ve written about, finding a rear defroster switch or center console for your TA becomes problematic when you’re looking for something that wasn’t widely ordered & built.
The Japanese were masters of modularity in the 90s.
The biggest issue as outsider points out is when modules went from having dedicated part numbers for specific models with non-volatile memory to generic modules with flash memory, that needs specific tools to configure the module for particular build combinations.
I have cars with analog ECUs that are entirely transistor based and contain no memory whatsoever. 50 years on they are still widely available (due to production volumes) and they still function.
“ Hello, “Betty”
Since you’re so hung up on usernames . . . Who is Badger?
Your door panel picture – another lost design/style feature. Minimal plastic, actual padded/upholstered/carpeted panels. Now it’s all cheap molded hard plastic. Our 91 Silverado the last we own of this design type, looks so nice!
The bone yards were a savior for budget based repairs. I got a salvage radiator for my 70 Firebird from a wrecked 79 Camaro. The bone yard boys knew what was compatible right down to subtle changes like trans cooler fittings size or that newer radiator with a narrower inlet “Here’s the sleeve to adapt your older large diameter hose to this inlet fitting”. This was before the computer age, yet they all had the ‘data’ to make it go. That $100 factory radiator in near new condition beat the hell out of $250 for an aftermarket from the parts store.
When I bought my 1975 VW Rabbit there were 3 available trim levels. I ended up with the mid level because I wanted leatherette seats instead of cloth.
That trim level did not include fully reclining seats. They only reclined third of the way.
I took it on a cross country trip a week after I bought it. I couldn’t afford hotels so I planned to sleep in the car at rest areas.
I wished I had those recling seats.
Anyway I was getting something from the back seat and notices a little round stop punched out of the frame. I could rotate the knob and the seat would go back to the small 4-5mm stop.
Taking a chance, on my next I asked the attendant if he had a small file I could borrow. I took it and filed off the stop on the passenger side. 5 minutes lateei has fully reclining seats
The seats from the two trim levels were exactly the same except for that little punch.
I miss the old days of simple, reliable and easy to.fix or modify machines.
That’s a bit like pre-installing seat warmers on all models, but then not letting you use them unless you pay an additional fee. The practice seems underhanded, but I can appreciate the workaround.
Not to mention the prosperity of salvage yards full of cheap parts such interchangeability enabled.
More on Eric’s theme from The Verge:
‘Last year Consumer Reports concluded that “nearly every automaker that sells cars in the U.S. is collecting and sharing so-called ‘driver behavior data’ with other companies and continues to do so.”
‘Customers are forced to accept overlapping policies for the car, the connected services, the smartphone app, and the financial services through which they received their loan — all of which include data collection provisions.
‘What is clear is that there is significant demand for simpler vehicles. People are asking why they can’t just buy a car without all the sensors and data collection. They look at new concepts like the Slate Truck and wonder whether they could also use something more bare-bones.
‘But automakers have every incentive to keep collecting data because there is money to be made from it. As long as the broader data economy rewards companies for gathering and monetizing information, there’s little reason for automakers to voluntarily abandon the practice.
‘Redditors are crowdsourcing a list of new cars (from 2019 onward) that aren’t digitally connected and/or transmitting data to the car company’s servers. Spoiler alert: It’s a pretty short list!’
https://archive.ph/IicRm#selection-2237.6-2239.184
JUST SAY NO to digital dogshit.
Great article! I remember when you used to be able to go into any parts store in America and get damn near everything to get you running. Even the “Help!”/Dorman parts section took up a whole aisle and had you covered without paying dealership markups on those odds and ends.
Nowadays, I find myself driving 100-some miles to procure the only ‘84 El Camino (and by extension virtually every GM of the era) master cylinder available off the shelf within a pseudo-reasonable distance.
Thanks, El Guapo!
Olds VWs are another example. They are like automotive LEGO. You can mix and match and swap in/out almost any part that fits one Beetle to another (newer or older) Beetle.
Here’s a VW ad you’d like
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/48/51/c4/4851c47260bcb13df8474a84ca6443d0.jpg
Morning, Horst!
I miss the ’74 Thing I once owned. I’d love another, but they have become high dollar collectibles now. I paid a few hundred bucks for the one I had. Today, good luck finding one that isn’t a total rust bucket for less than $10,000.
‘Interchangeability and Simplicity Equal Affordability’ — eric
If the design and quality are acceptable, they also equal reliability — both from the individual owner’s perspective, and from a broader fleet perspective. Since the median age of the US auto fleet continues to rise, interchangeability and simplicity should have increased to accommodate this ‘customer preference’ of keeping vehicles a long time — which is actually an economic necessity, as the US empire dies and living standards fall.
Sadly, auto makers have gone in the opposite direction, with more complexity and more custom short-production-run parts such as chips, modules and douchescreens. Why? Because they adopted the cell phone as the conceptual model for vehicles.
Moore’s Law succinctly expresses the mentality of the electronics industry: the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years, with minimal increase in cost. Thus, each new generation of chips is quickly leapfrogged in a couple of years, like salmon swimming upstream. ‘Tick tock,’ as Intel calls it: time waits for no one.
Vehicles would have no need for this vast computational power, but for ulterior motives: making them first into connected spyware, and ultimately into fully-automated johnny cabs. This is so patently objectionable that I will no longer buy a connected vehicle, and thus no longer participate in the auto market. I’m a flaming “don’t wanter,” looking only to put their sorry ass out of business for good.