Recent Car and Truck Repairs

1970 Chevelle SS

We received an extremely well restored Chevelle SS in the shop recently…but it wasn’t running correctly. If I sound like a broken record again, it’s for a reason. The pictures of the engine tell a different story of “things gone wrong” with a rebuild. When this happened is up for debate, but what transpired after a problem was found is not. Once again “Attention to Detail” was missed.

1970 Chevelle SS
  • At some point a leak occurred at the rear of the intake manifold. In an attempt to stop the leak, a large quantity of RTV silicone sealant was applied on the outside edge of the mating surface of the block and intake. Needless to say, it didn’t work, but why it was done on such a finely restored automobile is beyond comprehension.
  • Now the rest of the story. Besides the leaking intake, the engine was running on (7) cylinders. Once we determined which cylinder was misfiring, we removed the valve cover and found one of the rockers off the valve stem. Additionally, we found the push rod tip was destroyed and missing metal. Since metal has a way of making it through an engine oil gallery, we pulled the motor and disassembled the main crankshaft bearing caps. Low and behold we found metal impregnated into the bearings…along with damaged crankshaft journals. So a full engine rebuild is in order.

It’s not rocket science in assembling an automotive internal combustion engine. The primary difference between a “hack job” and a “quality job” is time and attention to detail. Like you haven’t heard those words before. As they say, any job worth doing is worth doing correctly.

What Makes you Stop?

Well, to put it another way – What makes your car stop? That would be the brakes at all four wheels (we’re talking cars and light trucks). Since I’m like a broken record (LP Vinyl Record with a scratch on the surface), my stories don’t change one bit…and so it goes for the “Brake System” on our Classic Cars.

Over the past few months, we’ve had a few cars through the shop that have sat idle for many years. If I asked you to name the costliest item to repair after a vehicle sits dormant – I bet you would say the fuel system. Well, the fuel system can run up the price of repairs, but brake repairs are the costliest. Why is that you wonder? Because it’s not a small system, and nearly every part of the system is effected.

Brake Cylinders – Front Drum Brakes – 1964 Impala

Allowing a Classic Car, or any car for that matter, to sit for long periods of time degrades the Braking System. To name a few items that require replacement: rotors; drums; shoes; pads; calipers; hoses; brake cylinders; master cylinder, and on occasion the brake booster. Since brake fluid (DOT 3/4) is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air), and the internal parts are aluminum, rubber, and steel – the system turns into the best “galvanic corrosion” science project since the 7th grade. And since the same moisture that invaded the brake fluid sought out the steel brake drums and organic brake shoes/pads – they’ll need replacing also. Let me add one bit of worthy advice about storing your Classic Car – “Don’t leave the parking brake applied when you store your car!” Release the brake and chock the wheels, you can thank me later.

1966 Mustang Convertible rear wheel brake cylinder.
1969 Corvette Front Caliper

Lastly, if you have the time and the knowledge, flush your brake system every few years with new brake fluid. YouTube or Google how to flush the system if it’s something you plan on trying yourself. If you prefer, we can perform the work for you. My suggestion only pertains to the older cars that have sat dormant, or have limited drives down the road. It’s a small price to pay to prevent a bigger expense. Nuff said.

1965 Chevy El Camino

Automotive Rubber Products – Inspect and Replace as needed

Fuel Lines
Oldsmobile “A” Body Fuel and Vapor Hoses

A common theme among Classic Cars are: their propensity to have old and dry rotted rubber products.

Since many a car owner doesn’t have access to a lift, seeing and getting to the old fuel hoses and brake hoses is a difficult task. The saying “out of sight – out of mind” isn’t a good thing for rubber products that will keep you safely on the road. To put it into context, when’s the last time you changed your garden hose at your house? If you’re like me, it was anywhere from 3-5 years, and that’s using a good quality hose – not the Dollar Tree variety. So maybe it’s time to think about inspecting your car’s fuel hoses.

Additionally, Fuel and Vapor hoses manufactured in the 60’s through the 80’s are not the same as those manufactured today. The gasoline used in today’s cars has a percentage of Ethanol mixed in, and the rubber of years past does not play well with Ethanol – so failure is imminent if the hoses haven’t been changed recently.

Our most important responsibility to our customers is their Safety. As I mentioned in our mission statement, we don’t search out items needing repairs for “Our” benefit. Truth be known, we’ve got more work than we can handle, and we’re thankful for the work we have. But having a customer driving around with dry rotted fuel hoses, weak brake hoses, and rotted suspension and motor mounts isn’t safe. So have your car inspected, and either replace them yourself or find a competent shop that can…End of Story.

MGB Brake Caliper Hose

This Car is a Money Pit

Slightly burned HEI Distributor Cap

Whatever old car you own, no matter what brand, it will always take your wallet or purse for a spin. It doesn’t matter if you’ve inherited the car from your grandfather, father, or another relative. It doesn’t matter if you searched and searched for your Dream Car, High School Car, or the one you sold when marriage and kids came along. Read my lips – “they will all cost you money” and sometimes money you don’t have.

So what’s a car enthusiast to do? Answer: Spend time researching the correct shop for the repairs. Not all repair shops are created equal; kinda goes without saying, but it’s true. As I mentioned on the “Inside Story” of our Website, it’s like picking a Dentist for the first time. It couldn’t be any clearer than that statement. Talk to the shop owners; see if they have time to drink a cup of coffee and discuss your project; talk with the technician (often shop owners won’t allow that); walk around the shop space; look at their current projects; get references of past customers; look at their past work in person; read their reviews (with a skeptics eye); talk with the local car club members. After you’ve done all your homework, bounce it ALL off your significant other, and then go with your gut feelings.

Lastly – “Drive the Car!” or “Drive the Truck!” I can’t overemphasize this enough. Your Classic Car won’t last longer by sitting in the garage. If you don’t believe me, come see us and we’ll show you some pictures to prove it. And if you like, I’ll show you the invoice (name blanked) of the customer who thought the same thing – but was wrong.

Body mount bushing

Automotive Wiring Harness Repairs and Installation

1972 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu getting a new wiring harness and an AC system

As the saying goes – Nothing lasts forever, and so it is with your car or trucks original wiring harness. Time, the elements, the ozone, and many an owner will cause the demise of an original automotive wiring harness.

At All Classic Car Service we’ve seen our share of “hacked-on” wiring harnesses. Some we just shake our heads at; stare in disbelief; or don’t touch for fear of creating a big blue flame in the shop. We’ve seen household romex solid copper wire, lamp cord wire, and extension cord wire being used for all sorts of repairs. The connections of those wires run the gambit. Trailer connectors are the most common. Followed closely with twisted ends and a household wire nut. Sometimes black electrical tape is used, and on occasion, duct tape or masking tape.

VW Bug Dash Wiring harness – Unaltered Picture

What we have noticed over the years is – most shops don’t want to touch a messy wiring harness repair. We can relate to that sentiment as well, but we don’t run from the challenge. I can give you three reasons why repair shops avoid wiring harness repairs:

  1. It’s time consuming. It would be hard to estimate the time and costs associated with replacing the harness on a Classic Car since the “flat rate” time calculation software doesn’t go back past 1984 (Mitchell, All Data, Identifix). So they avoid giving you a heart attack when you come to pay the bill, avoiding the discomfort on both ends.(*)
  2. They lack the expertise. Not every mechanic is a wiz at electrical problems. Especially if they are use to “plug and play” diagnostics (OBDII style computer diagnostics). Some mechanics are just afraid of burning up a wiring harness (because they’ve done so in the past), once bitten – twice shy.
  3. You can’t Fudge-It. For the most part, it either works or it doesn’t work when it comes to electrical repairs. Unlike a carburetor adjustment, you can’t say “….it’s better than when it came in!” But for electrical, either the lights On or it’s Off.

    Back to number 1, the longer a repair takes, the more attention to detail it will take. Lets face it, humans are lazy. The best money made at an Auto Repair Shop is a repair job that comes and goes quickly. Long term projects never make the shop owner or mechanic any real money.
1974 Triumph TR6 needing a new wiring harness

Lastly, if you forgo any repair, don’t let it be your cars wiring harness. Many a car and house has burned down because of a faulty wiring harness. Do yourself a favor – replace the wiring harness when the time and money permit. Try it yourself, or have a shop do the repairs. But by all means, don’t cut corners.

Use a good harness from M & H Electrical Fabricators, YearOne, Summit, Jegs, Classic Industries, Moss Motors, or a number of the other specialty wiring harness suppliers. Don’t go cheap. (Oh – we’re not a fan of the Painless wiring harnesses. Mainly because we like OEM style repairs. They work fine on RestoMods and so forth, but if you like to keep it original, go with an OEM style harness.)

(*) As a hunter and collector of old Auto Repair manuals, I have a few old hardback Chilton / Mitchell Flat Rate repair books. We use them as reference when calculating Classic Car repairs.

Pre-purchase Inspections

Transmission cooler lines

I’m not sure I’ve mentioned pre-purchase inspections before, but it needs to be mentioned now.

Often we get calls or emails from owners of newly acquired classic cars, and are asked about our services. The common theme of the conversation stems from an oil leak or running issue. We schedule a date, and the vehicle is either driven in or delivered by a flatbed truck…the later being the norm.

The discovery of mechanical issues then begins to unfold, and it isn’t always positive. It’s a very disconcerting event for the owner and us. The only comparison I have is: it’s similar to a visit to the Doctor for an aliment, only to find out it’s much worse than you had thought. Your heart sinks well below your chest; you become flush in the face; your spouse gives you the look of despair; you envision a much lighter bank account; your prized stallion is a mere plug; anger engulfs your thoughts; and like John Wick 2 you’ll hear these words from Winston: “What have you done?”

Missing Parts

So how do we prevent those feelings I mentioned above? Well, it begins with a pre-purchase inspection. It can occur at our facility, the seller’s facility, or another location that can be agreed upon. It isn’t a drawn-out process, and it isn’t expensive in comparison to after-the-fact repairs. A typical inspection will take roughly and hour, along with a short test drive and some paperwork documentation.

The good thing for you is, it’s all transparent. You can stand, watch, listen, take pictures (we also take pictures), and ask questions. Knowledge is power as they say. While it won’t make the sale any less painful, it will make the purchase the wiser. You can Pass, Run or Punt the ball. It will be strictly up to you. By the way, if the seller refuses to allow the pre-purchase inspection, you might want to run-away from the purchase…just saying.

1969 Chevrolet Corvette

We had the pleasure of meeting Mark B. the other day, and getting to know him and his 1969 Corvette. Seems he’s been having a few driveability issues over the last few months and searched us out for some needed repairs.

It’s always difficult to give advice after the fact, but as you may have read in my other posts, sometimes you’ve got to be brutally honest with a person. Not that Mark didn’t know it, but whomever did the repairs previously, didn’t do him any favors. I realize I sometimes sound like a broken record, but “attention to detail” isn’t a forte of many of the shops in our area. If you pay good money for a repair – then it better be a good repair. Lets see: wires touching the headers, improper voltage to the coil, non-existent secondary power to the coil from the starter, carburetor mixture incorrect, and the list goes on.

Starter wire “rats nest”
Shorted plug wire
After repairs to the spark plug wires.

Mark B. loves his car and truly cares about how it runs and drives…and so should the people who work on it. Hopefully we gained his respect and confidence when it comes to his Vette’s repairs.

Before he left, we gave his car a thorough inspection and a detailed list of our findings. He’s got the skills to repair many of the items himself. For those that require a heavier hand, we’re available for that work when the time suits him.

If you see Mark driving his Corvette around the Atlanta area, and the opportunity presents itself, stop and talk with him. I’m under the impression the Vette won’t be sitting in the garage on a nice day – so there’s a good chance you’ll see it zooming by somewhere in Cobb County.

1973 Triumph TR6

Glenn B. had us complete a few Preventive Maintenance items on his 1973 Triumph TR6 recently. Seeing that he has a long road trip planned for the beginning of November, it was a good plan to have us go over it thoroughly.

Old rotting fuel line replacement, a leaking oil pan gasket, brake light switch, and a new aluminum radiator were some of the items we completed to help make the trip go smoothly. Additionally, we replaced the clutch slave and master cylinder and gave the little supercharged 6 cylinder some fine tuning to correct a pinging issue.

He drove away with a smile on his face and a smoother running TR than when it arrived. Thanks Glenn for trusting us with all the repairs to your fine British Roadster.

1965 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa

Bill R. brought his 1965 Corvair Corsa in for a few needed repairs to the electrical system, a leaking fuel system, and a nuisance oil leak . We completed the rebuild to his (4) One Barrel Rochester Carburetors, replaced the oil pan gasket, reworked the fuel system and fuel pump, and replaced / installed a few electrical wires.

While it was on the lift we gave it a full inspection and identified other items that needed repairs – some immediately and some in the future.

Notice anything wrong with this picture?

If you said it looks like the lower control arm ball joint isn’t seated in the spindle you would be correct. We attempted to just tighten the nut but seems it was installed with “Alabama Loctite”. Meaning, the nut was cross threaded on the ball stud. Getting it off wasn’t easy either – since anyone from Alabama knows, the shaft and ball would spin in the socket like a tire stuck in the Alabama mud after a rain storm.

Not that we’re experts by any means – but whomever worked on the car last – knew it wasn’t correct. And not only was it not correct, it wasn’t safe by any stretch of the imagination.

Oh, I forgot to mention – all the castellated nuts on the suspension were devoid of cotter keys. Well maybe all but one – but it sure looked odd.

We should be seeing Bill shortly to replace the original 53 year old Harmonic Balancer and a few motor mounts of the same age. It was a pleasure working on Bill’s car and having him as our customer and friend.

It’s a nice looking car and soon a nice running and safe car.

(Yes – we fixed the ball joint and tightened all the suspension nuts and bolts…including installing all the necessary cotter keys.)