Gray Matters by Stuart Carlson and Jerry Resler for September 27, 2022

See if there’s a video for it on YouTube.

Once rebuilt a Chevy 350 small block ( cooked the heads ) lot of fun . Now a days I look at a new car engine and say to myself Ya Right so not going to happen, I’ll pay some one to work on it !

I had a ’69 VW bus. I could yank the engine, change the pistons, jugs, and rod bearings and put it back together in 4 hours. The complete overhaul only cost $110. It was a great truck.

Sigh. Me too. My dad wouldn’t let any of his kids get their license without knowing the basics. Change a tire. Change the oil. Dry a wet distributor cap, change the spark plugs and wires. Check fluids. When my kids got their licenses in the 1990s I did the same. Now 2 grandkids have been through the same thing at their moms’ insistence. Though it’s been a while. I don’t even know if cars have distributor caps anymore lol. Now I let the garage do it. It’s kind of rough from a wheelchair. I miss it.

In EV’s there isn’t even a dipstick. Today’s youth will never know grease under their fingernails.

This is why I’m keeping my 23-year-old Jeep. I can work on it and parts are plentiful. Heck, I drove a ‘49 GMC pickup for 55 years for the same reasons -easy to work on and reliable and bonus: it helped me make my retirement very secure. Keeping up with the Jones’ is a fool’s game.

Can’t find the dipstick? Check to see if it is electric.

I’ve heard of people owning a modern vehicle for years without ever opening the hood. Always taking it in for service. Prompted by the vehicle, dealer, or manufacturer.

Drove a school bus for 20 years, did a full engine check with fluid checks twice a day; imagine the frustration with my new’sh Hyundai that has no dipstick for the transmission or ability to add! [grin] Still kick the tires though.

My car has a belly pan, so changing the oil takes an extra 30 minutes to take it off to get to the oil plug and put it back on.

Get a Tesla. It’s empty under the hood.

My present car doesn’t have a dip stick.

Truth

I bought my Chevy S-10 back in late ‘96 and it was already getting hard to find trucks with manual transmissions. I didn’t think of it at the time but that’s my security system these days…. not nearly as many today that know how to drive a manual, let alone steal one 8^)