Old Car Facts

[HarryD]

As found on the interwebs:

From decades of experience of working under, in and on top of old cars, we have come up with the following consistent observations:

Old cars are cool but they’re also, well, old.

Old cars often leak. They leaked when new; they leak now. It just is.

Old cars are typically not driven much, which often causes problems down the line.

Existing parts on old cars are tired, worn and often in need of repair or replacement.

Replacement parts for old cars are often either difficult to find, available only from Lower Botswana – or simply unavailable.

Available replacement parts are often of poor quality. Sometimes you can tell; sometimes you just can’t.

Old car problems are often very difficult to diagnose. Sometimes the diagnosis takes far longer than the repair. Again, it just is.

Old cars are very often difficult to repair. For example, removing an old fastener can take 10 seconds – or it can take well over an hour. Just depends.

Old cars almost always have things wrong with them other than those prompting a visit to a repair facility.

Repairs on old cars almost always uncover unanticipated challenges, leading to unanticipated costs and delays. Snags...Will...Happen. Nature of the beast!

It is not unheard of that repairs to an old car exceed the value of the car to begin with. Definitely something to consider.

An old car’s owner typically has little idea of what’s been done to the car throughout its lifespan, unless he or she owned the car from new – and even then, things may have been done and forgotten about that will affect the requested repair.

Servicing an old car is definitely NOT like servicing a new car!!

[PeteKz]

Sounds a lot like old human bodies.

[ant7]

[GH85Carrera]

I understand the post is supposed to be humerus. BUT, first we must define what is an old car.

Any car from the 20s or 30s is for sure old. But are 1980s or 1990s cars old?

My daily driver is a 1986 El Camino with 385,000 miles and my toy is an 85 911 with 196,000 miles. Both cars get a lot of compliments. With cars from the 80s, there there is always some project that needs to be taken care of. I can go to the garage and tinker on minor projects anytime I want.

I am in the middle of a oil change and valve adjustment on the 911 right now. I should finish that up today.

A couple of weeks ago I replaced the old R4 AC compressor for the AC on the El Camino. Back in the 80s they were made by AC Delco and lasted for years. Now they are all junk, made in China and my last one lasted 15 months. So I replace it with a Sanden compressor. That required a new bracket setup and some new hoses. It blows cold again.

My cars a my main hobby. Tinkering in my garage with the car on my scissor lift, I can spend the day doing minor things. I have done all the projects on my 911 and I feel sure driving it cross country. I have driven it too 41 states and Canada.

So is a 80s car an old car? Kinda, but not really.

[proporsche]

Glen, the white 911 is your how come you still have the wiper arms the wrong way ..or you like it like this??

Ivan
lovely El Camino:-)

[AG81]

Originally Posted by proporsche

Glen, the white 911 is your how come you still have the wiper arms the wrong way ..or you like it like this??

^
I've clocked mine the opposite way (RHD) for a long time. I just got tired of looking through them.

[proporsche]

Originally Posted by AG81

^
I've clocked mine the opposite way (RHD) for a long time. I just got tired of looking through them.

well if you have them adjusted correctly like mine no need to look trough them;-)))
Look.

[john walker's workshop]

He means that the straight arm should go to the outside.

[proporsche]

Originally Posted by john walker's workshop

He means that the straight one should go to the outside.

yup..your left to right right to left
Thanx John ;-)

Ivan

[nickelplated5s]

HarryD, I had the pleasure of meeting you last weekend and you were extremely gracious. Now for the shins and giggles - ...uhm, decided to refrain You'll see my 67 in the spring at an AX. If we get a dry several days around here we can possibly do a drive. There's another member here might join in.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by proporsche

Glen, the white 911 is your how come you still have the wiper arms the wrong way ..or you like it like this??

Ivan
lovely El Camino:-)

I fixed that recently. That photo is a year old.

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by nickelplated5s

HarryD, I had the pleasure of meeting you last weekend and you were extremely gracious. Now for the shins and giggles - ...uhm, decided to refrain You'll see my 67 in the spring at an AX. If we get a dry several days around here we can possibly do a drive. There's another member here might join in.

Cool.

However, I can’t seem to place you though.

[PeteKz]

He was chatting with me while standing over near your car in the morning. He has the lovely red-head wife.

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by PeteKz

He was chatting with me while standing over near your car in the morning. He has the lovely red-head wife.

Gotcha

[fanaudical]

Thanks for the warning, Harry! I'm so glad I own an air-cooled 911 and not an old car...

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

Thanks for the warning, Harry! I'm so glad I own an air-cooled 911 and not an old car...

Just keep thinking that.

[fanaudical]

I do keep thinking that.

Compared to the new stuff in my garage, the 911 is a joy to maintain and easy to repair. Diagnosis is usually straightforward and I have no shortage of documentation and support references. The company that built it even freely shares information and publishes a complete parts breakdown with part numbers for the entire car. There is a vast aftermarket support group. It doesn't need many special tools (and I've already got those). No proprietary software. And there are plenty of people with real knowledge willing to offer advice.

Now let's look at my Dodge truck or the wife's Audi Q3: It took me months to find a manual for the Q3 and it was expensive. Fluids and filters for anything but oil are difficult to find and have to be sourced from multiple vendors. DIY maintenance info is almost non-existent. Almost everything needs a special tool. Parts are hard to find from anybody but the dealer network and that's if you can ID the parts. I can at least find parts for the truck - but quality parts are another issue. And it's suddenly becoming riddled with niggling electrical issues all related to the awful TIPM or various poor-quality wiring. Both are nice appliances, but I'm disappointed with the DIY experience. Older stuff wasn't this bad...

[dw1]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

I do keep thinking that.

Compared to the new stuff in my garage, the 911 is a joy to maintain and easy to repair. Diagnosis is usually straightforward and I have no shortage of documentation and support references. The company that built it even freely shares information and publishes a complete parts breakdown with part numbers for the entire car. There is a vast aftermarket support group. It doesn't need many special tools (and I've already got those). No proprietary software. And there are plenty of people with real knowledge willing to offer advice....

I emphatically agree.

Also, since my 911 is an '87 and I am only the second owner, is it really "old"? It is certainly not "old" in the way a '60s muscle car is, and of course it is MUCH better built and much better taken care of.

There are many newer high-performance cars I wouldn't having, but working on a 2013 C63 AMG convinced me that it is just plain not as enjoyable as my 911.