Hot Rods I took the 56 chrysler in for a front alignment this morning

Rainman, the thing is I had a 56 Chrysler Windsor a few years back and when I took it{ same place} there they had no problem with this one. Bruce.

 

Bruce if you do buy new parts, check them over very carefully. there is a lot of **** being made. i bought some stuff from napa and some stuff from Kanter and had to return a couple things because the tolerances where no where close or the part was made wrong. check everything.

 

........................Just a thought here, Bruce. If you are in the local NAPA Store, don't be shy about asking those guys behind the counter who might be local that does work on older cars, maybe even in their home garage. Use all of the resources that come to mind. There's a "cottage industry" out there consisting of guys who got fed up with working for someone else or retired and still like to make a few bucks working on older cars. DO NOT under any cir***stances bring them anything computer controlled! You won't be invited back!....Don.

 

Bottom line here is the "tech" didn't know how to align a '56 Chrysler or didn't want to fool around with rust, and seized this or that.
Maybe you can find a guy in your area who does older cars ...... without the shrugging shoulders.

 

Bruce I had one of my 65 galaxies aligned at a local tire shop and then a year later I took my other there and they told me they could only do the toe in so it looks like they changed people who do their alignments so is probably the same where you went.

 

What happened to them...Do they go bye-bye after a certain time? If so, that's really ****y.

 

I usually have to fully rebuild all the front suspension on my old cars for them to handle right and be able to hold a decent alignment. Standard fare in this game we play, get to it [emoji106]

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I had a wheel alignment on a modified vehicle, done once. They quoted me for an hour shop time, but spent three hours on the job. They stayed with the original quote. They are still in business.

Another shop charged me for a complete gasket set they used one or two gaskets out of. So I interpret plus or minus, having to do a lot with(+), or without(-), customer service. How does making sure you get the profit margin on a gasket helping the customer?

Remember when they used to fill your tank, wash your windows and check the oil for a couple bucks worth of gas?

Which would you darken the door at a second time? There is the odd person out there that are still in business to help people. That's where I try to go over and over, and guide others where to go, when the occasion arises.

 

.........................Sadly, and I say this with all due respect, I would bet that at least 50% of those reading this thread don't remember that 'cause by the time they were driving, it wasn't common practice.

 

Arominus, Thanks for the information.Bruce.

 

Thanks DOCTOR SATAN, I will check in to it.Bruce.

 

31Vicky, so its A frame bushing? That's all I wanted to know.Bruce.

 

Lothiandon, I used to be 1 of those guys that filled your gas tank, washed your windows and checked your oil growing up. LOL. Bruce.

 

tb33anda3rd.Will do and Thanks .Bruce.

 

Don, I don't think you will have to worry about that in this family.LOL.Bruce.

 

Bob, I do know a place that works on tractor trailer and tractors and will go there after we check the front end for worn parts.Thanks . Bruce.

 

Jeff I think you are right. Some one just sent me a bunch of reviews on this place and they were all were not good! Bruce.

 

Regarding the gaskets.....were the gaskets needed available individually, or only as part of a set? And, if available individually, were they also available in a timely way? If using a 'set' as a source was necessary, then there is absolute justification to charge the customer for the cost of the set. What value would an incomplete set have to the shop owner?

"A couple of bucks worth of gas" in the time period you are recalling was probably about eight gallons, and in today's market, about $20 to $24. It's all relative. As for Checking the oil, it was a twofold proposition. Many, if not most, engines of that era "used" some amount of oil. The service station served your interests by checking your oil to prevent running too low and potentially damaging your engine, and served their equally legitimate interests by gaining the opportunity to sell you the oil you needed.

Your final paragraph, middle sentence, implies that a business should exist solely to provide service regardless of consideration if they make a profit or not. That best defines a "Charity". A more realistic view might be that the foundation of any "business" is to earn a living by serving a real or perceived need and being compensated for providing that service....in other words....doing so at a profit.

Ray

 

My '59 Ford sat for so long before I got it, I replaced everything in the front end. The made in India tie rod set came with wonky castle nuts, used the old ones and 2 of the boots fell apart even before I drove the car. Ball joints were common to a lot of newer cars so those were brand name. I aligned it last October and it steers nicely. I used a friend's shop with him helping, it still took the 2 of us almost 3 hours to get it done.

 

Worked as a mechanic for 40+yrs at Ford dealers doing drivability concerns most of the time. Did a little front end work on the bigger trucks but all of the other stuff was handled by the front end guy. From my point of view when someone came in and asked for a tune-up there was usually something wrong with the car that a tune-up wouldn't fix. You'd end up spending time to figure out what was actually wrong with the car. I've heard the same ***** from front end guys too. As far as being "too busy" or " losing money" talking to the customer, you may lose a bit taking the time talking to them but you will lose money if you don't because he's not coming back. We used to tease the automatic trans guy who would spend way too much time talking to customers to the point he'd have to stay late to finish his work. Paid off for him in the end. Those customers usually came back and would send others there for work.

 

I did this when I worked in a gas station in the sixties. $2 was the standard order. Maybe once or twice a day you would get a fillup (big spender). The uniform, paid for by me, was Imperial blue shirt, gray slacks, polished black shoes and black leather bow tie.

Gas was 49.9 cents a gallon and the gas station's share was 19 cents. The boss told me it was not worth his while to even sell gas, except it brought in customers for service and repair. I got 90 cents an hour for pumping the gas, checking oil, washing windows etc. We had one very old customer driving a very old Cadillac who came in once in a while for a fillup, wanted all fluids checked, all windows washed, all tires pumped up every time. He got it. That one customer took 20 minutes.

Last I heard the station's share was down to 6 cents on a $1.06 liter of gas. They can only stay in business if they do a big volume, like 50 times the gallonage we used to sell. And most of their profits come from selling Nachos cigarettes and lottery tickets.

But everyone wants the cheapest price especially of gas. Nobody would pay the price for full service these days, it would be too expensive.

So now you know why all you see anymore is big self serve stations.

 

Compare the price of a 5 quart container of Pennzoil or Quaker State and a Fram oil filter at Walmart compared to Advance Auto Parts and you'll save about $10 total for both items including tax at Walmart. Some people like to save money and some don't but I'm pretty sure most people would rather have the extra $10 in their pocket....

 

Wally World charged me 100.00 to mount and balance 4 rims and tires...so about right

On another note...was out of town and had my kids high pressure power steering line and sensor go out...told her to drive it to the shop a few blocks away..well 400.00 bucks later it's fixed. 2 hours labor to change a power steering line, put in a sensor, and re fill the system...I was shocked, I called the guy to confirm the labor and he said the 2 connections are a pita to get at...hence 2 hours labor.

 

Friend of mine has a PhD in mechanical engineering and spends a fair bit of time doing consulting and research projects for Nascar teams and for companies in the automotive industry.

He told me a while back that he had done a study where he compared the traditional front end alignment equipment to the latest whiz bang computerized alignment racks to find out which equipment is most accurate. The traditional equipment came out on top in every comparison he did.

Unlike some people here, he's not anti-technology. Rather, he's a genius when it comes to figuring out how to use high tech equipment to measure stuff to extreme levels of accuracy. So he was able to use his own techniques to come up with accurate measurements of front end geometry to a high degree of confidence, and then see what results both kinds of equipment gave for the same test vehicles.

The new stuff makes for a good show for the typical customer who thinks everything in the world has to have a touch screen else its old tech and obsolete.

But if you want accuracy instead of a fancy show, find a shop that's using old style equipment and old style mechanics who understand what they're doing and why they're doing it.

 

That sounds easy enough, right?

 

as you get Older you have a Tendency of letting other
Mechanic do the Work on your Car
a few years ago I met a Mechanic who used to Drag Race
and turned in the 9's & since I had done the Same with my Car
back in the 70's, we hit it off Realy Good & have been good Freinds
He works on my Car & his Brother.


on another Note there is a Service Station that Just Pumps Gas & checks the Oil
and Washes the Windshield for you, They have Gas that dos not have the Ethanol
in it, just straight Gas.

Just my 3.5 cents
Live Learn & Die a Fool

 

Guess it depends on where you are. We're lucky here in that there's a good shop that's been operating in the same old building since the 60's. The owner is about 70 and has a couple employees in their 40s or 50s who have been with him forever. He's right out there working on stuff with them and has a cluttered up desk in one corner where he hand writes work orders and bills.

He's the type who, if he has to replace anything major, has the old parts laid out when you go to pick up the car because he wants the customer to see what's been replaced. Pretty much every car guy type person I know in the area uses him because he's good, honest, and reasonable. I took my OT C6 vette to him 6-8 months ago, and for a 4 wheel check plus resetting the camber on the front (too much negative right from the factory), the bill was 70 bucks. Beats the hell out of the $49.95 special done by some 18 yr old kid at a muffler shop or quick lube.

 

I was going to start a thread about a lot of the points being brought up here. Seems to me a fella who knew cars could have made a pretty good living from the 20s through maybe the 80s or so by just hanging out his shingle. No Ph.D. required. A couple bays and lifts. All those tasks and maintenance that a lot of people can't or won't do. Tires, oil changes, tuneups &c. Do good work and you'll have all the business you can handle. Maybe I'm looking at it through rose colored gl***es, but cars have changed so much it can't be the same dynamic. Have to take half the car apart to get at anything, and then the poor ******* blows a gasket when it costs $1500

 

I had used a variety of alignment racks over the years. Fancy Visualiners were the bees knees at one point. But they had to be maintained or they were worthless. The best rack I ever used was a manual Bear. Nice and simple, all I had to do was calibrate the toe gauge every morning.

Today, the newer cars have camber and toe adjustments on the rear wheels. Everything on the rear of the car has to be in spec before you tackle the front end, which may only have a toe adjustment. Gauges get hung at all 4 wheels and you can do old cars on them too. From what I've seen on the new ones, many shops issue a printed report with the alignment and will do an alignment check as a hook to invalidate your tire warranty or dig more $$ out of your pocket.