What's Wrong With These People?

by Andrea L. Algar
Motorheads Performance

That's the question Guy Algar blurted out in total frustration! Disbelief and aggravation sure were evident as Guy dug deeper and deeper into the 1969 Dodge Charger's previous engine and transmission installation. His inspection continued to reveal incomplete and shoddy work. "What happened to people taking pride in doing things right?," Guy mutters.

"All these people watch a few episodes of Chip Foose's 'Overhaulin,' Boyd Coddington's 'American Hot Rod', or something as insane as 'Pimp My Ride' and think they can make a million dollars fixing up other people's old cars," exclaimed Guy. "They throw up a sign they're in business and just wait to see what sucker comes in. Who knows what type of training and experience this person has working on cars, much less a classic muscle car like this Charger. They get the customer all excited about being able to get the latest and greatest fad they've seen done on TV, and for the customer the nightmare ride begins."

Guy states, "I haven't seen a matching bolt on the engine yet! There are just two bolts holding the Fairbanks (racing) engine on. The bolt holes for the 3 header bolts go right into the water jets and three are cross-threaded because they were put in crooked." But, that's not all that would be found. The brand new heads were wrenched down with three 3/8 wrench heads, while the rest were all 7/16. All but two were cross-threaded, and one was never put in at all! "Mopar usually has studs put in because they go into the water jets," says Guy. "Anyone accustomed to working with Mopar knows this. It's obvious that the guy who worked on this car knows little, if anything about a Mopar car from this time. He really made a mess with the car."

Exasperated, Guy continues, "I'm sick and tired of seeing work done so poorly, and so incorrect. As a trained and experienced mechanical engineer, we're taught to work with exact specifications, and there are always reasons for this. There is a reason that a 3/8" bolt was chosen over a 7/16" bolt for instance. This is what the designers of the engine labored over so that the entire engine worked exactly as required. You just can't go swapping out one size bolt for another, using a bracket for one make/model car in a different one, or putting engine gasket goop where it doesn't belong."

One thing is for certain, the men and women who learned old school mechanics are a dying breed. There are fewer and fewer out there who truly know what is correct, who have the experience, and still fewer who have the desire to do it right. This has become evident when you explore NASCAR's reasons for allowing EFI on their cars. Not many know that the precipitating reason for this was because NASCAR was having growing difficulty finding mechanics who knew anything about carburetors! We'll go into this in more detail in an upcoming article on the changes in NASCAR, but its mentioned to drive home (pun intended) the point that fewer and fewer mechanics with old school knowledge are out there still working on cars.

The mechanical engineers who designed these cars didn't "guess" at what would work, and they didn't "assume" something would hold together. They designed these cars not for the individual piece, but for how the sum of all the carefully engineered pieces would fit together to produce the horsepower, torque and performance that was being requested. Instant gratification has replaced common sense and know-how. A set of fancy headers is put in without thinking through the performance consequences, or even proper fit.

And, some great old cars are being ruined by people who just maybe shouldn't hold a wrench. We had one customer who had an all-original 1962 Corvette whose carburetor was failing. He had been to a number of shops who all told him that the the parts to fix his Carter ABF carburetor were no longer available and that he would have to replace it with a different carb. Our customer didn't want to replace the original carb and was firm on keeping the Carter! Guy, who has been working with carburetors for over 40 years, found the necessary parts, cleaned, rebuilt and installed the Carter. Knowing what to look for, what was necessary to fix the problems, where to obtain the correct parts, and how to tune the carburetor was essential for this project, and it made a huge difference to the owner, who is grateful he was able to keep his gorgeous classic Corvette all original.

"This is a case where todays mechanics simply don't know carburetors," Guy explains. "You can't blame the schools. Why would they teach technologies that for the most part do not exist today? But it certainly can be an issue for a classic car owner. You can't replace the hands-on experience of working with these older cars." Each manufacturer configured their engines and accessories differently and you need to now the five "w's" and the one "h"  (remember grade school) in order to do the job right. Who, as in which manufacturer, What as in what part, Where as in proper part location; When to replace vs fix; Why as in the part purpose; and most importantly the How to do the job right!

Knowledge is key. What is the correct procedure in making the repair, installation or upgrade, etc. What is the correct part and where do I find it? Which bolts are hand-turned and which should be torqued (and to what specific spec). The old school mechanics knew how to tune by ear, and many could diagnose most problems just by listening to the engine. "Technicians today read a computer to tell them where to look for the problem, and they usually don't know how to diagnose or repair a classic car. But I think worse than that are the 'hacks' who don't do things correctly, either because of haste, lack of proper parts, tools or equipment, or simply because they don't know," exclaims Guy. "I see far too many projects come into my shop where someone has butchered a transmission tunnel, put the wrong clips or bolts in, torqued a bolt that should have been wrenched by hand, or used quick-fix techniques that don't last and/or create bigger problems down the road. I've even had some come in where I was amazed that my customer didn't die on the way to see me because some part was barely hanging on from a poor installation or was sold with serious defects. As a classic car owner myself, I feel for my customers because I wouldn't want it to happen to my car."

Some "trend setters" modify old cars or trucks to the extent that they'll never be able to be returned to anything close to original again, or who take perfectly pristine cars and chop them up into images they've drawn up in their fantasies. Don't let a shop, or a starry-eyed TV star wanna-be talk you into doing things to your car or truck that doesn't sit right with you. Remember, fads come and go. Once the fad has passed, your car won't have the same value. Wait until you read the story I've got coming up next week on what happened to one guys ride!

Guy challenges owners to stick to your guns when it comes to ensuring that your ride gets done the way you want. Fads aside, if you're trying to restore your vehicle to original factory specs, keep your car original, or restored original with some modification or performance work, take the time to make sure that the people working on your car really have the knowledge necessary to complete the job correctly. Don't end up having to hear that the person who worked on your prized purchase was "a hack"!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Andrea L. Algar is co-owner of a classic car performance and restoration design shop in Leesville, Texas. Motorheads Performance specializes in repairs, maintenance, performance upgrades and restorative work on cars and trucks from the 1920’s through 1970’s. Her husband Guy L. Algar is a Mechanical Engineer with over 25 years experience. He holds 5 ASE Certifications from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence and has been working on old cars and trucks for over 37 years. Together they share their passion for old cars and trucks with other enthusiasts from around the country.