Lots of people who aren’t necessarily car people are thinking seriously about getting an old car – not because they want to go to old car shows but because they do not want to have to drive a new car. They want a computer-less car, without “connectivity” and touchscreens that doesn’t have catastrophically expensive-to-fix components, that doesn’t watch their eye movements or correct their driving in the name of “safety.”
Cars like that haven’t been made since the early 1980s, which was when the first primitive computer controls began to appear in mass market cars. You can gut the computer controls those cars were fitted with because they chiefly controlled the last batch of electronically controlled carburetors. Just disconnect all that stuff and use a same-type, non-computer-controlled carb; it’ll bolt right up. In some cases, you may also need to nix the distributor. Then just install a replacement that is a stand-alone unit. The rest of the car didn’t get computer controlled until – roughly – the early 2000s. Today – and since about a decade ago – literally everything is computer controlled, down to the power windows.
Now, if you do get a pre-computer-controlled car with a carburetor and a stand-alone distributor that is similarly not controlled by a computer, you’ll need to learn how to do a couple of simple things that cost nothing to keep things going because all they are are adjustments. No replacements.
You won’t need to “pair” anything, either.
You will need a few very basic hand tools, such as a selection of flat-blade and Phillips head screwdrivers (for making carburetor adjustments) and an offset wrench to loosen (and re-tighten) the bolt that holds the distributor in place. Plus an ignition timing gun – to check the timing and make sure you adjusted it correctly.
Carburetor –
You will have to adjust the idle mixture and idle speed. This has to be re-done every so often because – with carburetors – things sometimes need re-adjusting.
This is done by turning in (and out) the idle mixture screws to achieve the best idle quality (indicating the mix is about right). Usually, turning in the screws (there may be just one if the carburetor isn’t a multi-barrel carburetor) will lean out the mix while turning the screws out will result in a richer mix. The usual procedure is to seat the screws – meaning, turn them all the way in, until they lightly bottom out – and then carefully turn them out the number of turns prescribed by the shop manual. You will want to get one of these for your old analog car and the great news is they are readily available in hard copy format; no QR codes or computer crap here, either! Some fine adjusting of the in/out will be involved to get the best idle quality. You may also have to turn in/out the screw that increases/decreases the idle seed to get the correct idle RPM.
Note that this is all simple mechanical stuff that anyone who can turn a screwdriver can do. Just follow the shop manual instructions.
You may also have to adjust the choke – which is a mechanical door on top of the carburetor that snaps shut when the engine is cold, to temporarily richen up the air-fuel mix when the engine is cold, to assist starting. The choke is usually set by pushing down on the gas pedal – which is just that in analog cars (as opposed to an accelerator pedal, as in modern cars). When you push down on the gas pedal, you are closing the choke and causing a shot of gas to be squirted into the carburetor. Sometimes, it is necessary to adjust the choke linkage to get the choke to fully close – or open in a timely manner after the engine has warmed up enough to not need a richer air-fuel mix.
None of this costs you a cent.
If the carburetor is not original to the vehicle – or if you have modified the engine to make more power – you may need to install richer jets, which are screw-in/screw-out little plugs with small holes in them. The size of the hole determines how much fuel flows. You may also have to set the float, which is a thing that is almost exactly like the float in the tank of your toilet. It has to be set right to prevent too much fuel from entering the bowl – which is just what it sounds like – or too little. These two things – installing jets and setting the float level – are a little more advanced but not difficult to do and cost next to nothing other than your time and patience.
Distributor – 
In modern, computer-controlled cars, the ignition timing is controlled by the computer. In analog cars, it’s controlled by the orientation of the distributor. Rotate it a little one way and the timing increases – you’ll be able to see this by pointing your timing gun at the degreed marker on the crank pulley, which all analog-era engines have – or turn it the other way to decrease it. The shop manual – or a sticker under the hood – will tell you how many degrees is right. You use the offset wrench mentioned earlier to loosen the bolt tat secures the hold-down clamp, so you can turn the distributor. Use the wrench to tighten the bolt that secures the hold down clamp when you’ve got it timed right.
You may, if the distributor isn’t the factory unit, have to adjust the curve, which is done via a set of weights and springs. You typically buy a set that is designed to work within the range of whatever is generally right for the engine you’re working on. Beyond that – and once set up and running properly – the only stuff you’ll maybe someday have to futz with is the coil (some are integral, as for instance GM HEI ignitions) and some are external and of course plugs wires and spark plugs. Analog cars go through spark plugs faster because their air-fuel ratio is not always exactly right, as it is with computer-controlled, fuel-injected cars. You might need to replace the plugs once every 30,000 miles or so as opposed to once every 100,000 miles. But plugs are cheap and easy to replace, requiring just basic hand tools and your time and patience.
You may have noticed a theme.
. . .
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what’s wrong with good ole fuel injection?
it works fine and you never have to adjust anything.
Just bought a set of extended metric allen key sockets yesterday to make easier work of getting the oil sump off a Moto Guzzi. Crazy Italians hide the oil filter inside the sump!
Been doing it for years with allen key and the open end of a box wrench for leverage.
The right tool makes things a joy rather than just being a PITA making do.
Can’t always afford all the cool tools but I do like a new tool. Literally any excuse I can justify – lol
Oops was related to comments at end related to tools
Here’s an opportunity for someone good at maintaining old cars.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/classic-car-museum-closing-because-nobody-can-work-on-carburetors-anymore-now-the-collections-for-sale
Well that’s just depressing.
Another fun fuel injection system that is purely mechanical – Bosch Continious Injection System (CIS). Used on lots of VW, Mercedes, Porsche, etc.
Technically electro-mechanical but there is no ECU.
Why are our cars being used to spy on us? There is a reason, and most people won’t say it. The people that rule over us are obsessed with controlling us. They are not nice people, the are psychos, religious lunatics, and they are of one particular faith which says God chose them. God, of course, did not chose them, they chose themselves, because they are supremacists, and Trump is their Golem.
——————-
https://www.unz.com/jfreud/semitismor-jewish-supremacism-not-antisemitism-is-the-great-plague-of-our-times/
Semitism(Or Jewish Supremacism), Not Antisemitism, Is the Great Plague of Our Times
There’s so much talk of rooting out ‘antisemitism’, but the force pushing the world to the edge is Jewish Supremacism or ‘Semitism’.
——————–
That is a good article. A primer why you might be looking for an older car, which doesn’t have all this Jew high tech spy shit plastered all over it. If you hate modern cars, know who is making cars you don’t want, they same people who make the wars you don’t want, or the worthless script they make you use. It’s all coming from one tribe, one that needs to be removed from our society, so we can live free without dealing with their paranoid insanity.
meme of the day:
chabad trumpenstein destroying the world for jews
https://i.imgur.com/8B5T6b7.png
just remember folks, donald trump won’t prosecute the epstein class because those people are his friends
Trump’s friends are baby raping cannibals
I’d take a older, reliable ECU car over a car with a carubretor for a daily driver. Something from the early 2000’s would be ideal. You can diagnose pretty much anything yourself with a generic reader, and you aren’t locked out of the computer. The car will self-tune its fuel mix for temperature, season, and there’s no adjustment.
Instead of learning about idle screws, and chokes and points, you need to learn about the O2 sensor feedback loop. It’s no more complex than carb tuning, just different, and these basic ECU’s last forever, and injectors and O2 sensors are fully generic. OEM sensors for one of my older cars were like $300. Generic Bosch was like $40, but it has no plug, so what you need to do is cut the plug off the old one and learn how to solder a wire.
Now, for a fun car, I’d take an old, 100% mechanical one. Any car with an ECU forces you to deal with plastic degradation in the interior.
I don’t miss carburetors and distributors with their contact points and vacuum and centrifugal advance. ECU fuel injection and spark control with an ignition coil at each spark plug is vastly better and easier to maintain.
If you have a popular vehicle model that sold in the millions (including siblings) and that retained common parts over several model years, parts are relatively easy to find. I can find just about anything for my 2002 and 2004 Silverado 1500s.
Plenty of older vehicles with simple (e.g. TBI) fuel injection systems out there.
I do like ones up through the mid-2000s.
Avoid anything with ultra-high-pressure direct injection, of course!
including diesel?
Some history lessons on points up thru HEI, and redesigned carbs GM employed late 70s.
The best points distributor design is the GM with the slide up window in the cap. Hook up the dwell meter (Yes Virginia, you’ll need one for a points distributor) stick an Allen wrench into the adjustment screw & perfect dwell setting in a matter of minutes.
HEI, if it has vacuum advance the constant movement of the plate will eventually fracture a wire in the trigger coil assembly. Also make damn sure when replacing the cap (contains the HEI coil) that the ground strap common to the coil is intact and is installed. Without that strap the electronic module on the base plate will prematurely fail. Use the heat paste when replacing that module. Carry a spare module with screwdrivers and 1/4 drive socket as a “kit” for roadside replacement, glove box with a flashlight. Ask me how I know – halfway to work one morning. They will fail without warning.
Carbs, to meet emissions first they modified the power valve by making the fuel holes smaller, which with the faster choke warmup made for a guaranteed bog in the throttle until completely warmed up. I drilled out those holes in Mom’s 78 Buick no more bog, that was dangerous unless fixed. Then the Quadrajets no more power valve, the metering rods had a vacuum piston so open throttle less vacuum up go the rods = more fuel. Again, big bog to outright stall until completely warmed up. However those rods are adjustable drill into the tiny aluminum plug carb top deck, screw in a small screw and yank it out. There is an odd shaped flat adjuster. Hold down the piston with a tiny screwdriver and use a tinker toy for the adjuster. That split in the end of a tinker toy just fits that odd flat. Unscrew just a bit, richer cruise mix without rejetting.
Lots more to know! Sparkey out for now.
I’d be OK with SOME electronic stuff.
One of those is electronic ignition. Electronic ignition has been around since the 1960s, and has some advantages over points: namely, no fiddling with points, no wear on the points which causes spark to degrade over time, ability to fire a
hotter spark, and more precise timing.
I replaced the points in my 1968 Olds Delta 88 with the Pertronix Ignitor system, and noticed improvements in driveability, power, and economy. Of course, I kept the old points and condenser just in case.
Such a system is relatively cheap and simple, and doesn’t try to sell me anything or rat on me.
I’m also OK with the bolt-on throttle body injection systems for the same reasons. But keep your original parts handy!
“You may have noticed a theme”
I guess so. What I notice is the theme of being an extrme Lo Tek avoiding “computers” you’re intentionally limiting the choices to the Stone Age of automobiles.
An Electronic Control Unit (ECU) is not necessarily a “computer”. I have 1970s vintage fuel injected cars where the ECU has no microprocessor, no memory, and is entirely made of discrete components (resistors, transistors, etc.). The system runs open loop without O2 sensors. It is all analog.
Even if the ECU has a microprocessor from up to the early 2000’s they are still exceedingly reliable and open up a world of better performing engines without the need to do all the futzing you’ve outlined. I have a 91’ and 97’ – the only “computer” is the ECU that handles the fuel injection. Those cars are way easier to maintain than anything I have with a carburetor. They start easily on sub-zero mornings.
These ECU’s that run fuel injection are easily maintained and repaired.
Even with carbs and jets, it’s not like your average hobbyist has or needs the ability to make his own jets or venturis. Even if you know how to tune but don’t have the right jets or Venturis you’re hamstrung to a degree.
Being an extreme Lo Tek just artifically limits your options.
This limitation is not being imposed by our host, nor is it atificial:
What you do not understand, is beyond your control.
You do not own what you cannot control.
When a computer is involved, understanding what it does means understanding the code it is running, and controlling it may mean *changing* the code it is running.
With modern cars and phones, even when this is possible, even for the few who have those skills, it’s just not practical to do so.
So it is *we* who impose these limitations, by virtue of deciding that we want to be in conrol of what we would otherwise pretend to own.
What you need how to do post Trumpian era:
walk long distances
ride a bicycle, know how change a bike tire. stealth camping
siphon gas from government vehicles
learn how to make change from the new $1000 Trump bill when you buy some groceries and some gas
wear a NBC mask after Russia lays waste to our cities with nukes
learn how to wear a kippah and ‘prayer hump’ the wall at the local synagogue or holocaust indoctrination center
push a wheelbarrow full of money to buy a loaf of bread
dumpster diving for food
gleaning from fields after harvest, at night, with night vision goggles
canning and drying food
know how to post anonymously when Israeli run government implements Project Pogo and Zypher to eliminate patriots
load ammo to stave off the illegal hoardes from mexico
know how to kill the grid to stop electronic surveillance when the government goes completely rogue and hostile
learn how to make your license plate disappear when traveling in a hostile town full of flock cameras
be sure to save the hollow points for the snitches
learn how to vote harder goyim, the candidate this time is different, I promise
Amerika … love Jews or leave, don’t get caught with Mein Kampf
Chat says – “In Mein Kampf (1925–26), Hitler … claims concerning Jews include:
Racial antisemitism: He portrays Jews not primarily as a religious group but as a supposedly distinct and inherently dangerous “race.”
Conspiracy claims: He alleges that Jews exercise coordinated influence over institutions such as finance, the press, politics, and culture, presenting unrelated events as parts of a single Jewish conspiracy.
Marxism and capitalism: He (correctly) claims that Jews are behind both international finance/capitalism and Marxism
German national decline: He blames Jews for what he sees as Germany’s political, cultural, and economic problems, including Germany’s defeat in World War I.
—————-
I haven’t ever read that book because I already know what is true. The same tribe, the same problems, the host eventual catches on to the parasite, which results in the inevitable conflict of the Jews being outed and confronted by the bleeding nation, as it is happening right now in filthy corrupted hyper-indebted and culturally destroyed Amerika, land of the brain dead religious Judeo freaks who love war for Israhell, a land of corrupt warmongering morons who are following the baby raping cannibal death cultists toward a final dead end and total annihilation.
That’s what you must overcome and survive or be a genetic loser and out of the gene pool.
“Iran’s central military command said in a statement on Sunday that it had received information that the United States, with the backing of some regional countries, was preparing to resume military actions against it, state media reported.”
On numerous talk channels Prof. Marandi, Iranian professor, is saying Iran expects to be attacked again. This is dire for us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNKoN44NmnE
If Orange POS Trumpenstein, the deranged Jew loving lunatic, attacks Iran again, it is all over folks, Iran will wipe out any remaining US bases, and probably blow Jewlandia back to hell. Gas and diesel will go through the roof, along with interest rates sending the world into another great depression.
No one thinks, if we put a bullet is orange man’s fat head we wouldn’t have to suffer. How stupid is our society to allow this one deranged lunatic to destroy our entire economy because he refuses to resign even though he is being sexually blackmailed.
Trump needs to be removed immediately by any means. This is a national emergency, we can not allow the mad orange caligula to continue his demented plans to fellate Israel.
Next step is lose the attitude before it takes a chunk outa yr ass. . .
Don’t forget the EGR valve, on my ‘75 Dodge Dart with the 225 six I just plugged it until it was time for the “emissions” check; re-installed it then removed it again soon as I got back home.
Alternately you can move to a place that eschews inspections….
Things You’ll Need to Learn How To Do
With Doctor Copper (the metal with a PhD in Economics) at a record $6.82 a pound this morning on the Comex, learning to safely strip copper wiring from houses, street lights and substations under low light conditions will be a vital skill in our Mad Max future.
Where have copper pennies gone?
Long time passing …
Where have copper pennies gone?
Long time ago …
— Pete Seeger, Where Have All the Flowers Gone? (1955)
Hi Jim,
Probably need to remind the would be thieves out there that it’s not a good idea to steal the copper with electricity in it. Back in the mid 70’s when copper was really expensive some genius broke into one of our substations and tried taking the copper bus bar that had 13,8kv running through it. Poor schmuck burned off both his hands, tough lesson to learn.
It’s interesting, I’m an advanced gear head, and have rebuilt and adjusted thousands of carburetors, but I’ve never been comfortable re-jetting. While I understand in theory getting that last bit of efficiency/performance, in fact that stoichiometric ratio is going to be pretty close, close enough to work well until you move way outside design parameters, and on a street engine I just haven’t had the need.
Hi Ernie,
My special interest, as you know, is ’70s-era stuff and much of that stuff was jetted lean from the factory. Add in the ethanol gas used today, and going richer can markedly improve not just performance but also drivability, at least in my experience. I actually kind of enjoy experimenting. I have acquired a bunch of jets (primary as well as secondary metering rods) for the Qjet over the years and have gotten to be pretty good at dialing these strange beasts in!
“My special interest, as you know, is ’70s-era stuff”
-Gonna play devil’s advocate here. I owned some of those cars when I was young and very poor, and fixed them. Many were not all that great. And try finding parts for some of them today (like a console?) I do less work on the more modern EFI cars I have now.
You’d have to go all the way back to the pre-1975, pre-emissions era for the truly simple stuff that had nothing but a 1 bbl carb and a distributor, and there just aren’t that many of them left that can be made roadworthy.
Fuel-injected, OBD II cars are more reliable and not that difficult to fix. The real difficulty is dealing with cars newer than 2012 or so that have fucking modules EVERYWHERE and components like airbags and instrument panels that are coded to the ECM.
In SOME cases, there are cheap fixes for that, too.. I had an airbag deployment on a 2016 that would have cost me well over $1000 for a new module plus dealer programming Plus another thousand-plus for a factory seat belt pretensioner and an new factor airbag.
I bought the belt and the airbag from a junkyard for $75 each, and got the module reprogrammed online for $69. So some of this stuff is doable. Legal restrictions on the sale of parts like used airbags and catalytic converters are a bigger hurdle sometimes than the actual fix, and proprietary software that only the dealer has can be a big problem if no one has created a hack for your particular problem.
But on pre-2010 OBD II cars, there are fewer of these issues and plenty of easy fixes.
I don’t disagree with anything you’ve written, X –
It’s the stuff made since about 10-15 years ago, with the “connectivity” and body control modules and DI and so on that can get thrown in the woods, as far as I am concerned!
It’s well, especially if you’re making do with a “Queer Jet”, to acquire several different sets of metering jets, accelerator pumps, and floats. If you can, get a BRASS float, which last, the plastic ones DON’T, especially with the adulterated piss palmed off as “gasoline” these days. The ethanol-laden gasoline, which, thanks to the GOP sucking off the “Corn Lobby”, can be up to 15 percent of a gallon of “gas” w/o having to disclose it, is another problem in keeping vintage rides, hot rods or just a bone stock Valiant with a Slant Six or a VW Beetle. That’s why, whenever I’m out of the People’s Republic of Calipornia, I gas up at a Maverick that has the “Ethanol Free”, even if it’s as expensive as “premium”, because, yeah, one has to PAY a PREMIUM just to get REAL gasoline, even if its lacks tetraethyl lead.
BTW, there’s no reliable medical evidence that tetraethyl lead is dangerous in the typical doses, it was “explained” by useless attempts during the Twentieth Century to educate “Knee Grows”, and why they REMAIN a gaggle of dumb asses. Even after leaded gasoline was phased out a half century ago, they’re as stupid and violent as ever!
I’ve heard stories of junk yards that have parts for old, analog cars blowing up. Anyone else here hear of such stories? If that’s the case, there are some truly malicious psychopaths out there who don’t want the masses driving such cars PERIOD; they want us ALL driving new vehicles that have all this surveillance technology. Of course, they’ll say it’s for Saaaaaaaaaaafety, but given their behavior the past several years, it’s REALLY for constant monitoring AND control of the masses.
I’d like to examine these accounts. As a general rule, what comes OUT of a JUNK yard tends to be JUNK. It’s amazing the outrageous prices many full service salvage yards will charge; but that’s good ol’ fashioned “supply and demand” doing its thing. I’m dubious used car parts are being systematically sabotaged just to frustrate attempts to keep old rides on the road.
If you’ve the means to aquire, house, and operate: consider getting an old verticle mill.
This weekend at the orange bog box store, a display at the entrance featured ‘WD40 King of the Hill Limited Special Edition.’ The words ‘of the’ are printed over an outline of the State of Texas.’
WTF — are y’all drinking this stuff now? Aging it on a garage shelf till it’s just right?
First questions on my mind: how much can I save by purchasing the plain old non-limited edition? How much MORE can I save by buying some other brand entirely, without the stupid-ass marketing gimmicks?
Don’t mess with Texas.
Licensed by Fox, no doubt. BWWWWWWAAHHHHHAAAAAA!!!!!
Don’t mess with Texas=Don’t mess with Israel
If Texas goes “blue” for the first time in over 30 years it will be because the of the (((noticing))) has gotten to point that Texas not brainwashed by megachurches have reached the understanding the treasonous Repuke party needs to be burned to the ground, not that the Blue Team is anything other than a different flavor of evil.
My dad’s old Charger is of this vintage. At one point my one nephew expressed an interest in it, so I held back on listing it on the auction sites. When I began explaining how all this stuff is required maintenance, along with running no ethanol gasoline (or rebuilding the carb), and that it will likely not perform as well as he expects because of the detuned nature of malaise-era muscle cars he suddenly lost interest.
The car still sits in the garage.
People think it would be fun to have an old car, or an old house. What they don’t realize is that they’re more work than pleasure. If you enjoy wrenching, that’s not work it is a labor of love. If not, well, there’s always VR goggles.
Don’t give up so easily. Up to the 1975 model year, even in Calipornia, no smog inspection is required, and “Leno’s Law” was just passed, so fairly much, you can “set things right” with most “Malaise Era” rides. The trick is that often its stock carb has solenoids and other gizmos intended to work with emissions equipment; so if the engine is in good shape, you’ll likely have to drop an aftermarket carb, or figure out which ports to plug and parts to disconnect so things like EGR and TCS (Transmission-Controlled Spark) still don’t try to work. They’re not that hard to figure out, and keep going if you must, or get around if you’d rather do without them.
The “fun” is that you fiddle with the damn thing YOURSELF. Sure, modern tech with computer-controlled fuel injection can be “low-maintenance”, and there’s nothing wrong with that, at least until the engine control module dies and either you have to get one from the “stealership”, and THEY have to program it, even though you could replace it yourself, because the codes are proprietary. It’s the difference between your ride being a car or truck versus an APPLIANCE.
“ least until the engine control module dies and either you have to get one from the “stealership”, and THEY have to program it”
This is a half truth and mostly pertains to cars post 2000’s
90s era ECUs are largely controlled by non-volatile memory that is burned onto the microchip. There is no need to get them programmed.
There are lots of reliable shops that repair older ECUs. No need to get anything from a stealership.
Cars and light trucks prior to the 2000 model year now make up less than ten percent of those still titled and registered. That’s not actually bad, historically, as to have even that many of 26 y.o. and older vehicles still running at all is a testament to how well they were built and the determination of their owners to keep them running.
I’d like to know WHO “repairs” ANY ECUs. Certainly NOT in Calipornia. It’s hard as hell to get one, but at least the pre OBD-II aren’t too bad to replace. The 1996 and newer, all having OBD II, it’s a crapshot, depending upon the maker. Suffice it that anything post-2010, you’re “SOL” if the “brain” dies. Even worse is having to have what should be an easily replaceable component, a headlamp, have to not only be replaced, glass bezel and all, as a UNIT, which is completely unnecessary, but the replacement has to be “flashed” by the dealer to work with the “body module”. That’s nothing more than engineering planned obsolescence into cars for items that not many years ago most car owners could grab a lamp or an element at Autozone, spend $20 to $40, and often didn’t even need a Philips screwdriver to replace in three minutes!
Hence why the 2020 Ford (con)Fusion that’s paid for and thankfully still running fine with but 65K miles on it will be the last new ride, let alone post-2010 vehicle, that I’ll ever buy. I prefer that which I can understand and maintain.
Best advice I’ve got is to start by working on an old lawn mower. If you’re still interested after cleaning and painting the deck, degreasing the engine, removing and cleaning/ repairing the carb, changing the oil, checking/ cleaning/ gapping the plug, sharpening the blade, valve adjustment on an L head engine, etc. You just might be ready to work on your own old car otherwise you might be in for a surprise.
You just described my routine as a 14-year-old, maintaining a go-kart with a mighty Clinton L-head engine. Vroom, vroom! Damn, could it skitter round the corners in our subdivision …
When I was growing up, many a nine or ten year old kid had his own “mini bike” with a 50 cc or even an 80 cc engine (some were kits using lawn mower Briggs and Stratton engines), and discussion at the lunch table was how to “hop it up” by fiddling with the carb or a better “slipper” clutch! Even if those kids didn’t become mechanics or engineers, they did learn one thing: SELF-RELIANCE.
Best advice ever.
I’m follow several speciality vehicle forums and the one theme that prevails is there are a lot of guys out there that fancy themselves as gearheads but they are constantly F’ing up stuff because rather than learn basic skills on a mower, they are now learning them on expensive hardware.
Recent example: Eric mentions lightly seating mixture screws. Well this dope forced a needle to the seat so hard, the tip of the needle broke off in the seat inside the carb. Yeah – now have fun with that.
There are people that have no business messing with 50 year old cars when they haven’t paid their dues of leaning the basics on a lawnmower, chainsaw, or whatever.
Hi “Barney” –
I have an old two stroke weed whacker engine I might take apart to show people how it works and goes back together; I agree, working on these simple engines is the way to learn.
All for it Eric – if you really want to bring along the younger generations and get people to migrate to lower tech cars they can maintain and repair the basic knowledge has to come from somewhere.
I do what I can on a couple specialty forums . There are younger generations out there that want to learn but sadly they weren’t taught. The knowledge is disappearing. It’s amazing how many “kids” and middle age men have no basic knowledge of how to turn a wrench.
A few years back I had to teach my teenage nephew how to use a drill. It was pretty sad. I went out of my way to shame by BIL for not having taught this poor kid how to use a drill.
Can’t think of a better and more honorable use of your “reach”.
Teach that kid how to use a power drill, and in time, his GF will ask him to “Drill”!
Roger that, Barney!
I have had one notable success: My buddy’s nephew. I call him (cue Emperor Palpatine voice) my young apprentice. He is learning. I taught him to drive stick, too. He got an early 2000s Mustang GT. He’s a good kid!
🙂
Now if only you can figure out how to scale that x100 or x1000.
There’s definitely interest out there but it seems to be the exception rather than the rule.
I’ve considered opening my shop to folks that want to observe or learn how to do restoration or repair work.
But then we get into liability, potential for theft or having people scope out future robbery, etc. probably better conducted somewhere that isn’t my personal property. Sad state of affairs.
Even worse: Joel Salatin says the young people he hires to work at his farm don’t know how to use a hammer. What can they do? Play video games. Like the title of his book says, Folks, This Ain’t Normal.
First step would be to buy a set of imperial, not stupid metric, wrenches.
Worst advice ever
Metric tools vary in smaller increments than imperial which commonly varies by 1/16” increments.
A metric tool will often substitute or SAE with minimal over size slop and will work. Example 13 mm for 1/2”, 19 mm for 3/4”. But if you swap SAE for metric they are too far oversize and will easily strip or round fasteners.
Better advice – buy 6 point tools. They round out fasteners far less than 12 point tools.
If you’re going to fancy yourself as a someone capable of wrenching – buy the appropriate tools for what you are fixing.
If you’re into British bikes – you’ll quickly discover imperial and metric tools are both useless and that you needed a set of Whitworth tools.
See also 70s GM cars. My 79 Pontiac was a mix of real fastener sizes and Metric. Power steering hose fittings, one end was like 15 mm, the other 5/8. Fun times.
Yeah mixed SAE and Metric cars are the worst.
Doing crew work racing Vipers was the worst. Eventually had to have tool “kits” for common jobs so that you could quickly do work without constantly shuffling back and forth trying to figure out if you need SAE or metric for a job. Ugh!
Britt bikes are often a mix of imperial and Whitworth – drives me nuts!
Buy ’em BOTH. It’s amazing how many SAE sizes are still used.
Any excuse for more tools and I’m all in
lol
Amen to that!
A few years ago, I got this very cool (to me) tilt attachment for my engine hoist. It makes getting the angle lined up just right so. much easier. Now, one o’ these days I will spring for a proper transmission jack. (I have for years been using home-built “sexual chocolate” cradles made out of scrap wood plus my floor jack…
What’s fun is when you’re doing an under the car auto trans removal with the home baked floor jack “attachments” 5/8 plywood about the size of the trans pan. Then the transmission slips and the torque converter falls off and you try to scoot & roll away from the quickly spreading Exxon Valdez size pool of trans fluid.
You ALWAYS want to INSERT at the proper angle…