As different as a lot of the members here are, I bet we can all identify with one problem that I've encountered since my move from the south side to the north side of my area; finding a decent auto parts store. All the box stores around here hire run of the mill retail workers off the street (like most do) and after some searching I finally found a carquest where I can ask for a PCV valve in a different style without him asking "what year vehicle?" "What engine?" Even the local Napa is mediocre at best. Anyway, my last trip trying to buy a carb kit made me think of a couple times I went to "the zone" a few years back. They hired a fella that had no business working on anything, period. A couple of conversations we had went like this: Me: I had the throttle body bored out for more cfm and fitted it with bigger injectors. Him: Sweet! Is it a 355 or 383 now? Me: Niether, I only had the throttle body bored. Him: Ummm, so how many cubes is it now? Me: 350, same as stock. Him: But I thought you had it bored? Me: It's hard to understand... Another time Me: I'd like all new urethane bushings for my rear suspension Him: Why don't you do what I'm doing with my Camaro and just weld an x in there Me: Umm ok, how will that work? Him: you know, just rip it all out and weld an x in (proceeds to draw me a picture of a body, a rear end, and an x welded between them) Me: (loving this) Ok, so where will it pivot? Him: you know, right in the middle. Mines gonna be awesome! I witnessed the same guy try to sell a customer a head gasket because his coolant was boiling in the overflow bottle after the car was shut off, for like 20 minutes. I explained to them both that a leaky radiator cap will release pressure into the bottle long after the engine is shut off and they both were enlightened. Anybody else been in the same situation?
The Jalopy Journal
