kat's old car, 1977 Corvette
Most people take their vehicles to a garage nowadays to repair them. Or for preventative maintenance. When I was growing up, most people worked on their vehicles themselves. Teenage boys were known for working on their cars and often their parents' cars too. I remember as a young teenager, sitting with my girlfriends, while all the boys were underneath their, and each other's cars. In the sixties, what was more important than a guy's looks, was his wheels! The cars of that period were outstanding in my mind and still are. I always pause to study a Cheville, a Mustang, A GTO or a Tbird. I loved to have a boyfriend with a fast car!
My father was an auto mechanic, and he welcomed our friends to park in our driveway, as he gave them a hand and knowledge on repairing their cars. Mickey, my brother, was always working on his car. I can still remember him having me sit in the driver's seat of his Chevy, while he and some friends would push it, so I could "pop the clutch" to get it started. At that time, we lived in Flagler Beach, FL and had a lot of friends. Our driveway was a big circular one and if my brother was home, that driveway was usually full of cars. He knew how to fix them having learned from my father, and back then, that was powerful knowledge!
Hubby's 66' Harley Sportster
Now though, if you know how to fix your own vehicle and can do the repairs yourself, you will save a lot of money. I am fortunate that my husband knows how to fix our truck or he can figure it out. What he has found to be invaluable for repairs is researching on the internet. He has been rebuilding his motorcycle, a 1966 Harley Sportster. Finding the parts he needed and ordering them online saves him the time of searching all over and driving around. He has also been watching videos on utube that show the whole process of doing various repairs or preventative maintenance. He now has a diagnostic tool
that he can hook up to the computer on our truck, and hook his computer to it. It tells him what is wrong with the truck. After you fix it, he can clear the codes out. Nice little item!
Our old Ford Van was great!
Another good reason to know how to fix a vehicle is that you can buy a cheap one and it will need to be repaired often, but if you can do it, then you may have a bargain. Our old van, was like that. We bought it for $150. and used it a lot. It could carry a lot of stuff and was great for camping too. When it finally died, it made a good dry spot for storing hay. Now we have a good truck and it has only recently had a problem that needed repairs. My husband though, was able to do the repairs himself. Saved us a ton of money! How about you? Do you do your own repairs?
Copyright © 2012 Kathleen G. Lupole
All Photographs Copyright © 2012 Kathleen G. Lupole
1 comment:
Ah, the good old days! I remember the days when men knew how to properly handle cars. It seems people nowadays are more interested in putting their fingers on their tablets and computers. Anyway, it’s still good to know that there are people who find joy in tinkering with their cars. Now that’s what I call a grease monkey!
@Michelina Douglass
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