Mechanic Musings
Dear Classic American
I was intrigued reading the Viewpoint section of CA 392 ‘Autumn Blues’ regarding Huw Evans’ Trans-Am and the electric gremlins that may turn-up in cars of that vintage. As you might very well know, it takes an awful lot of time, money, sweat and determination to keep cars of that vintage ‘alive and kicking’. In my view, it is not necessarily the affordability and availability of spare parts, so much as the knowhow of ‘oldschool’ mechanics, who are a dying breed these days unfortunately.
With my two mechanics having passed-away, I did indeed have problems finding trustworthy car mechanics. Truth be told, the ones I did find were either not knowledgeable enough or didn’t want to tackle cars that were approximately 35 years old (my Pontiac Trans-Am and Tempo), either because more modern ones were more straightforward to service, or because they hadn’t encountered US cars before.
Anyhow, having experienced an extreme flooding event in Rhodopolis (thanks to some guys who cemented a nearby stream/torrent, waste then entering our garage causing damage to the T/A and the Tempo) both cars were taken off the road for approx. 1½ years while I searched for a reliable car mechanic. After asking, testing and the like, I was pointed in the direction of a couple of guys who were recommended by my classic car club, the Greek EOOE (Federation of Historic Vehicles).
To my amazement, they took their time and checked the entire car(s), top to bottom, inside and out! They charged me only a fraction of what someone else would have asked and in their words ‘took their hats off’ to me for keeping 35-year-old (Trans-Am) and 41-year-old (Tempo) cars on the road! They are very knowledgeable (they actually live and breathe their profession) and are passionate and honest – virtues that are unfortunately disappearing nowadays. Although there still are some final finishing touches to be made, both cars are drivable and only exit the garage when weather and traffic conditions permit (i.e. mostly on Sundays!).
Leo Kounis
Rhodopolis
Greece
Ah, the difficulties of finding a good mechanic to work on your American car – I think unless you are a mechanic yourself, that is something that is essential to owning an older American car in this country (and even in North America now, or so we hear!). It’s something we’ve known for years and unfortunately when mechanics retire, finding another can be a bit of a nightmare!