Do-It-Yourself Mechanics Extol Virtues of That Ol’ Time Ignition
Automobile manufacturers are proud of the advanced technology in their new cars and trucks, particularly the ever more sophisticated electronics systems that operate critical mechanical, safety and emissions systems.
During the next decade, the content of sophisticated sensors, computer chips and other advanced electronics in new vehicles will double to 20% of each vehicle’s value, says David Cole, director of the University of Michigan’s Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation.
Such technology offers obvious benefits. But the trend spells more bad news for some motorists, who fear becoming even more dependent on high-cost maintenance that can be supplied only by dealership technicians and on specialized electronics repair components sold only through manufacturers’ authorized parts networks.
That’s why people like Salaam Allah and Larry Artz own precomputerized vehicles that they can easily maintain themselves at a fraction of the ownership cost of new models.
Allah of Pasadena owns a 1982 Chevy Caprice equipped with an Oldsmobile engine and a distributor he rewired himself. He has begun to accumulate repair parts to keep the Caprice running for the long haul.
“Those of us who earn a minimum wage, the working folks, can’t afford a new car,” Allah said. “You are dodging the repo man. You are dodging the smog man. You can’t work on your own car. I don’t see that as a philosophy that is going to work. The new-car people are out to lunch. We have to keep our old cars. I am glad there is a rebellion going on.”
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Though probably not quite part of a genuine rebellion, Allah is clearly not alone. Across the country, people are finding that older vehicles can be workhorses, rather than mere showpieces at classic-car meets. As a result, the average age of passenger vehicles has steadily risen to nearly 9 years.
Artz, a technician at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, drives a 1967 Chevy II Nova station wagon that he got at a junkyard.
“I have a sizable stockpile of older Chevy II parts accumulated from junkyard acquisitions and from swap meets over the past 12 years or so--enough to keep my cars running for a long time,” he said.
An informal network of precomputer car buffs is forming. Artz cites the example of a friend who dumped his 1984 Chevy Suburban for a 1967 Suburban just to rid himself of the electronics.
These motorists--and their older cars--are not going to win any environmental awards. Much of the electronic content in today’s cars and trucks is dictated by emissions regulations under the so-called on-board diagnostics II, or OBD II, policies promulgated by the California Air Resources Board and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Many drivers see their old vehicles as symbols of defiance against auto makers and government bureaucrats saddling the public with high-cost autos with short life spans.
“I like the freedom to install parts on my vehicles without worrying whether they are approved by the CARB,” Artz said, referring to the fact that California influences emissions policy nationwide. “Today’s new cars are so expensive that even if a major repair has to be done to my older cars, it will not exceed in most cases 5% to 10% of the cost of a new car.”
As both Allah and Artz have correctly deduced, advanced electronics are likely to limit the life expectancy of newer vehicles. Chips now control such key functions as engine ignition, fuel systems, brakes, air bags, charging systems and even windshield wipers.
Major manufacturers have a policy of providing parts for just a limited time, usually five to 13 years. While Allah or Artz can jury-rig their older cars if parts are not available, it isn’t clear what they could do on a new vehicle if the engine-control module (the central computer) went out of supply.
Cole, meanwhile, says new cars represent a “strange quirk.” On the one hand, they boast more durable corrosion-resistant bodies and the ability to go 100,000 miles between tuneups. But they are also dependent on a supply of proprietary electronic parts that no backyard mechanic could duplicate.
“Even the guy who designed it can’t do anything, unless you’ve got a house full of diagnostic equipment,” Cole said. “The people who are dirty-hands mechanics, rich or poor, are attracted to cars they can work on.”
And that trend appears to be growing in popularity. Each summer, Cole notes, Woodward Avenue in suburban Detroit is flooded with people cruising in their cars from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. Want ads are flush with listings of old cars and trucks. Many people are drawn to these vehicles, in which the owner is still the master of the engine compartment.
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Ralph Vartabedian cannot answer mail personally but responds in this column to automotive questions of general interest. Write to Your Wheels, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. E-mail: ralph.vartabedian@latimes.com.
