Small Town Mechanics - A Dying Breed ?

[STEVE POLLARD]

I've been fortunate to have a close friend that is a master mechanic here in our small town for the past 35 to 40 years. It seems that everyone in the area that has a vintage car or truck, takes it to Brian to have it worked on. But in a few years, he'll probably be retiring and I'm wondering what's going to happen ? Most of these small garages are being converted to a convenience markets to sell gas and food only. Those small town garages are going away and that would leave the dealership garages, I'm not trying to put down those mechanic, I think that they do an excellent job on todays vehicles, but I've heard stories that some are at a loss when it comes to vintage vehicles and trying to diagnose a problem without the aid of a scanner.

 

Do you have a mechanic that you take your vintage vehicles to ?

 

Steve  

[demco32]

It is also the problem in Belgium.

Small garages like i have can no longer stay open because the law making and environment laws and investments in the shop are just to mush.

Young mechanics are no longer interested in learning the job because there is no future working with antique vehicles.

[Walt G]

Two brothers that I taught art to in school 40 years ago have a garage business /gas station that they inherited from their father and both went into. they have a partner as well. All of them can work on cars without the aide of electronic/computer equipment. They too have an interest in the older cars and one has at least two older cars a 1930s street rod and a 1968 Chevy that is stock. They are about 3 miles or so away from my house and one has to go into the eastern part of Queens Country ( part of NY City) to get to them. My old cars do not need major repairs but they are capable of that if needed. Service our modern cars ( my modern transportation is a 20 year old Envoy. as well.

[hidden_hunter]

There are still some thriving ones near here in suburbia, including one that still offers a full service petrol station

[EmTee]

Like everything else, the future of antique/classic car repair is becoming DIY.  In my opinion, the expertise will ultimately reside in forums like this one and networks of local club members.  Professional mechanics will become hobbyists.

[TAKerry]

Im pretty lucky I suppose. I am in a pretty rural area and there are plenty of mechanics around. The one problem I have is that the guy that rebuilt the motors for my Trans Ams owns 3 busy shops. He is a great mechanic, knows his stuff and is honest. I would not call him a good friend but a friend and he will go out of his way to help. Only problem is a high turn around rate of 'mechanics' at his shop that is local to me. There is one guy that has been there for a few years that I trust to work on my car. Seems that the other person rotates in and out a lot.

[Bhigdog]

46 minutes ago, STEVE POLLARD said:

Do you have a mechanic that you take your vintage vehicles to ?

You're talking to him.......

OTOH, other than changing oil or replacing brake pads I'm clue less when it comes to new cars. There is nothing to see when I open the hood of my 2021 Grand cherokee other than a sea of plastic shroud. If it has an ignition system I can't see it. I'm sure it has a battery but I have no idea where it might be. The only time I open the hood is when the car tells me it's time to change oil. It NEVER needs any. Grease fittings? Nope. Check the tires? Only when I rotate them. It tells both me and Chrysler if they are low. I suspect my next new car will even wash itself whenever it gets dirty...............Bob

[plymouthcranbrook]

Near me there is a local repair shop that had been a transmission repair specialist since the early 1950’s.  A few years ago after an ownership change they looked around and decided since the transmission rebuilding business has become more of a remove and replace operation that they needed to change their business model. They converted into an “all cars” shop. They still do newer vehicles but much more older ones as there are a lot of them around here. They have done a few jobs for me to my satisfaction including a trans service on my Volare. I see a lot of cars there so business is good it seems.

[28 Chrysler]

The small ones out here English is a second language.

An excellent one from the middle east there he was a head BMW mechanic. Now runs his own one man shop, he says he would never go back work in a big dealership again. 

[rocketraider]

There are a few around here but between demand and waiting on parts they stay backed up. I'm on good terms with all of them so I can usually get stuff looked at pretty quick.

 

One 3rd generation shop that had been in business since 1964 and had a top reputation closed in July. Seems the town wants to turn the 3/4 mile stretch of road it's on into a greenway, so it bought up all the properties thru there and is demolishing them. Viable, tax-generating businesses that have been part of the landscape for longer than I've been alive.

 

The first to go was "Ziggy's Pizza". First pizza joint that ever opened here, in 1947 when its owner returned from service in Italy after WW2. A high school buddy's family owned it. But it was a 1946 building and certain movers and shakers said it was derelict and didn't give the impression they wanted on that road into town. Building had always been well maintained but the town condemned it in order to get rid of it.

 

We'll probably see as many independent garages fall to that as from owners passing on.

[60FlatTop]

"Professionals" taught me the value of doing all the work myself.

 

I look back over the years and all of those disappointing instances come to mind. I am chuckling right now.

 

The highest recommendation seems to be "Go to old Leo, he's been doing those jobs for nearly 50 years in his shed".

 

Come to find out "Old Leo" is 50 years older than when he started, never leaned a thing, just aged.

 

Diagnostics is the worst.  Mechanics and doctors are quite similar in performing that task. I once worked with a man who told me he wouldn't go to a doctor and tell his he had something that needed to be diagnosed. He did say he would be quite comfortable holding up his arm with a compound fracture and the bone sticking through the skin simply holding the arm up and saying "Fit that!".

 

I will spend my money on books and tools. It is a low less expensive than paying some guy to learn your car.

[Paul Dobbin]

WE have learned to depend on each other for help & advice while and our old mechanic is getting pretty selective on what he still wants to work on.

Edited August 27, 2023 by Paul Dobbin
7 changed to & (see edit history)

[Pfeil]

3 hours ago, EmTee said:

Like everything else, the future of antique/classic car repair is becoming DIY.  In my opinion, the expertise will ultimately reside in forums like this one and networks of local club members.  Professional mechanics will become hobbyists.

I do most of the work myself, and I was an old school trained mechanic which means we did mechanical repair and diagnosing as well as doing all the things associated with a machine shop, but if I was to do everything today, I would have to have twice the square footage for all the machines to do the jobs.

 Of course, it bothers me that the automotive trade has been reduced to parts replacers who don't know a boring bar from a valve refacing machine. Not only is there a problem with mechanics/technicians, but also with the machinists or lack of. We're losing two trades.

[STEVE POLLARD]

5 minutes ago, Pfeil said:

Not only is there a problem with mechanics/technicians, but also with the machinists or lack of. We're losing two trades.

Good point.... there is one machinist in the area that I know of.... he is 74 years old and still does it part time...

[31 LaSalle]

2 minutes ago, Pfeil said:

I do most of the work myself, and I was an old school trained mechanic which means we did mechanical repair and diagnosing as well as doing all the things associated with a machine shop, but if I was to do everything today, I would have to have twice the square footage for all the machines to do the jobs.

 Of course, it bothers me that the automotive trade has been reduced to parts replacers who don't know a boring bar from a valve refacing machine. Not only is there a problem with mechanics/technicians, but also with the machinists or lack of. We're losing two trades.

Same here in the uk nobody wants to work on old cars. modern garages just want to scan the fault unplug the faulty part and plug a new one in

they would not know what to do with my 1928 Chrysler. Same goes for machine shops if they cant do it on the cnc machine they dont want to know

[demco32]

There is a lot more than just being a mechanic.

You must have knowledge in metalwork, woodwork etc. to have the work done.

Machines and  tools to be able to make or repair car parts because there are no part stores for the pre-war cars.

Make tools for a job take sometimes more time than the work on the car  you need doing.

I had in the shop a certificate young mechanic who did not know what a distributor is.

He can't tell the problem on an engine If he can not plug in his computer. 

 

[rocketraider]

27 minutes ago, 31 LaSalle said:

 Same goes for machine shops if they cant do it on the cnc machine they dont want to know

Local community college has a nationally ranked Precision Machining Technology program and I know several young folks who have graduated from it. These kids are working in nuclear fuel, jet engine and power generation turbine, and other high-tech manufacturing.

 

They're good at what they do, but if you were to sit one of them at an old non-computer-controlled Cincinnati lathe or mill, or Sunnen boring machine and tell them to make something, they'd be lost as last year's Easter egg.

 

Most don't want to go into automotive machine work either. One, the equipment is often old (meaning more difficult to set up) and two, automotive machine work doesn't pay as well as the other fields.

[californiamilleghia]

One of the problems is that the shop owners do not want to spend the time teaching someone who will stay a few years and then go down the street and open his own shop !

 

The Germans have it right with the Meister schools program,  learning a craft and then working as an apprentice in the shop .

 

Not sure how it is today , but it really helped German industry build a skilled workforce .

Edited August 27, 2023 by californiamilleghia (see edit history)

[f.f.jones]

I just turned 80 but can still do all the normal maintenance on my old cars. No problem finding shops to rebuild engines, transmissions and drive lines for post WWII cars and light trucks. Parts availability is more of a problem as well as labor costs.

However, over the years, when pressed for time I have relied on three local mechanics since the late 1970's. The first one retired after running his shop for thirty five years, leaving it to his son, a talented shade tree mechanic. The son retired in the early 2000's and closed the shop. The next reliable and talented mechanic who can work on cars old and new, just turned 65 and says he will retire as soon as he can pay off his wife's divorce agreement.

As I write this, I am searching for another repair shop to keep in reserve, in case something comes up that I can't handle. One of the main criteria is that the mechanic be young enough that he doesn't retire before I expire.

Edited August 27, 2023 by f.f.jones (see edit history)

[Trulyvintage]

I met my customer this afternoon 

in Des Moines, Iowa to settle up 

for direct enclosed transport

of his Uncle’s 1926 Ford Model T

Roadster that was left to him.

 

I drove empty from Albuquerque, NM

to Las Vegas, NV to pick it up.

 

My friend Ron Custer recommended 

me for transport - he helped me load out

with his wife Karen on Tuesday - but 

my customer had already contacted me 

and asked me to transport for him.

 

 

The Model T has been sitting since the passing of his Uncle - so I recommended my friend Dean Yoder in Iowa City, IA

to get it up & runnIng again.

 

 

Dean is well known and respected in

the Model T Family and The Early 

Brass Car Family for his mechanical 

knowledge & expertise.

 

After I drop the Model T off

Ben Yoder ( his son )

will be doing some work on my trailer 

replacing the interior paneling.

 

If aluminum welding is needed -  my primary welder Reg is a mile down the road at Sharon Center Welding.

 

My primary diesel mechanic is 

Rudy Nelson who owns 

Nelson Automotive LLC in

Winslow, AZ.

 

 

I visited Rudy this trip to have my 

cooling system flushed in my 

Ford 7.3 OBS CC Dually and 

have a heater core bypass valve

installed.

 

My nationwide network of 

service providers keep me 

running down the road.

 

Good Service isn’t Cheap.

Cheap Service isn’t Good.

 

 

Jim

 

 

 

[Bryan G]

I have several mechanics I can rely on, but the clock is ticking. One is semi-retired, a couple are closing in on Social Security age, the other is my age (early 50s). I'm not sure I can name a good local shop owner much younger than me. The best vintage engine man within 100 miles retired a few years back. His son took over the business. I asked the father about doing a valve job for me and he said he's done. I asked for recommendations, thinking he'd send me to the kid. He told me he doesn't know where to go. I did the job myself.

[TAKerry]

There was a really good mechanic shop almost right across the street from where mom and dad lived. He serviced all of our families cars along with our work trucks. Father, son and nephew. They had old school knowledge and had a very busy shop. The son had a 32 street rod that he built. I took my 190SL to the son one day to look at the brakes. He would not let me leave it there. Said he wasnt into 'project cars' that he didnt even like building his street rod. Focus was on oil changes at this point. Right after the father passed away the 2 cousins would spend most of their time in the spare work bay where they set up a kitchen table. It was always full of donuts, snacks and coffee with a tv to watch. Needless to say their hearts were not in the mechanical trade. He floundered along for a year or so then closed up and went to work in a totally different environment. 

[charlier]

I am fortunate that I still have a family owned/operated shop that works on my old vehicles. Dad retired about a year ago, The son runs the shop and the used car lot and the daughter runs the office. Both are in their early-mid 50s so the clock is ticking. I still do the simple things on my old vehicles like oil changes, water pumps, hoses and other simple maintenance tasks. If it requires a lift or is something I do not want to do (ie a timing belt and tensioner on an interference engine) then the vehicle goes to them. 

 

There are very few shops around here that have the expertise to work on old vehicles. Smaller shops that work on new vehicles are also disappearing faster than they used to as well. Not a good, long term, prognosis for small shops in general.

[Andy J]

All the shops where I live are either dealerships or large independent shops with 5-20 mechanics.There are two shops that I trade with,one owned by a man and his son in law,the other by a friend of mine who works by himself. My friend is 71 and has a one bay shop in his backyard and he has made a very good living in this shop.He charges $45 per hour and is a whiz at ignition and electrical problems.However,he isn't far from retirement because he has Parkinson's disease that he has so far managed very well.He has scaled down to lighter things like brakes,suspensions,engine accessories,and AC work.

 

The other small shop will do anything.Their labor is $100 per hour.I use them if I have something the other man won't work on.

 

All the dealerships charge $110 per hour or higher.My daughter works at the Chevy dealership in town and their rate is $149 per hour.

[brasscarguy]

Having been the Subaru business for 30+ years the technician issue is on going and has been for the last 15+ years.

 

My nephew is at the youthful age of 62. His specialty is brass era cars up to the  early 50's. Won't touch anything with an OB2 plug  As I'm now 80 not interested in doing the heavy work anymore, I gave him a KR Wilson babbit shop,  Kwick way line boring machine and a Tobin Arp rod pouring and sizing tools, also my Kwick Way cylinder boring bar plus all the hand tools pouring jigs. He promised me he would stay in the business until I die.

 

He has a shop full of work with a waiting list. I was taught babbit work by my father back when I was 16. I also worked for free on Saturdays by Seattle's real  model T expert Otis Clinton. Rode the bus both ways to and from his shop I still remember most his teachings and the things he imparted to me. 

 

The work is there if someone wants to learn, just gotta put in the time and effort.

 

just saying,

 

brasscarguy

[John_S_in_Penna]

On 8/27/2023 at 9:16 AM, TAKerry said:

I'm pretty lucky I suppose. I am in a pretty rural area and there are plenty of mechanics around. 

I agree:  There are plenty of small independent

mechanics around.  My cars back to the 1950's

are well cared for.

 

As for early cars (such as my 1916), there are

a number of good restoration shops here in

Pennsylvania, where antique cars abound, who

would be qualified to work on it.

 

Life is far better than doom and gloom.

[Walt G]

15 minutes ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

Life is far better than doom and gloom.

Yes, and that is why we love our old cars. Well stated John. I never had any brothers or sisters, so in my early teens when I got an old sedan the people that were members of the car clubs I joined became my family as well. Some of those friends are still vertical 60 years later, I hope that I was a "brother" to some of the people I have met. There was a time when if you collect or admired an old car your were considered the "crazy" one in the family. Then the cars started to take on an aura of "rare, &  valuable" so the same people who thought you were crazy now thought you were rich - they changed not us.

[rocketraider]

Friend and I were piddling around here yesterday, working on my lawnmower and his 77 LeSabre Estate.

 

We were testing the mower after changing blades and the thing wouldn't rev past idle. Found the throttle cable broken. Natcherly the part is discontinued and superseded.

 

Friend's dad was the longtime machine shop foreman at a local NAPA, and that NAPA also did a lot of lawnmower repair. He mentioned the shop kept spiral coiled cable in stock and in case of a broken one they'd fab one up and in a few minutes the mower would be up and running again.

 

There may still be shops that can do things like that, but not around here.

 

So, to the trusty internet we go, and managed to find the superseded part # cable and lever assembly. Supposed to get here Monday.

 

Twenty years ago when that NAPA machine shop was still in business we'd have had the mower repaired yesterday. As it is, I can only hope the new cable arrives on time and fits right!

[Restorer32]

My Son, age 40, grew up in our restoration shop working mostly on pre war cars. The business is now his and he is in a good spot.  He is experienced with pre war stuff and that's what he enjoys working on.  He has almost  more work than he can handle.

[demco32]

On 8/27/2023 at 7:40 PM, californiamilleghia said:

One of the problems is that the shop owners do not want to spend the time teaching someone who will stay a few years and then go down the street and open his own shop !

 

The Germans have it right with the Meister schools program,  learning a craft and then working as an apprentice in the shop .

 

Not sure how it is today , but it really helped German industry build a skilled workforce .

The problem is that hiring, employ  a young mechanic is to expensive.

We have to pay social security , healthcare, vacation money  and more.

If the mechanic make like $20/h it cost the company $90 or more.

This hourly wage can't be charged to customers because they have to learn so mush and don't know as mush like an old mechanic knows.

An other problem is that when you as full mechanic learn the profession to a young student mechanic they start working for themselves and all effort and time invested in that person is lost for the company.