evolution of the motor car or how I lost a hobby
Occasionally it strikes me how much less I do on my cars than I did when I was a young man. Then and now I change bulbs, wiper blades, and, generally, reattach most things that fall off. But, then, the list would look something like:
- Change engine oil and filter.
- Change transmission oil (manual).
- Change oil in air filter (you remember VW engines, don't you?).
- Replace spark plugs and wires.
- Adjust valves.
- Set dwell (spark duration).
- Advance or retard timing (onset of spark).
- Adjust idle.
- Change brake pads.
- Rotate tires.
- Drain and flush radiator.
There were numerous one-time tasks:
- Replaced brake rotors in front.
- Replaced starter motor.
- Installed new valve cover gasket.
- Helped my son install a new flywheel pulley on a 72 El Camino with a 283 with 4B carburetor. (You could watch the gas gauge move to the left when you stomped on that thing.)
Now, I change the engine oil and filter, rotate the tires, and that's about it. The interesting thing though is how many of the tasks of my youth have gone the way of, I don't know, the Rambler. With computer controls on air and fuel intake, spark timing and dwell, and emissions, there's no more of the tune-up type tasks. The spark plugs on my 2002 Honda Civic get changed at 105,000 miles. (I'm not there yet.) There may be a few cars that use mechanical valve lifters, which could get out of adjustment, but I think 90% of cars today use hydraulic (or solenoid-type) lifters.
Mechanically, brakes are pretty similar to what was present in, say, the late 70s. The lining materials and fluid are better today. And there's the ABS stuff, but I don't think that gets in the way of a brake job. Then, it was mainly the foreign cars that had front disks; now a lot of cars have four-wheel disks.
I'm sure, on more than one occasion, I flushed a gallon or more of used antifreeze-water mixture down the drain, the thought of which makes me cringe. What can one say about the stupidities of one's youth?
