terrymcgean The Flame Still Burns
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...to put in a full day of commercial wrenching and then set to work on things that don’t necessarily have to be done. That’s a real enthusiast.
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ecently, I’ve been hearing that the old car hobby is going to fade away as today’s players “age out.” This sort of talk has been going on for years, and I’ve argued the point that the hobby is alive and well on more than one occasion. As a challenge, I’m usually asked, “Okay, so where is it hiding?” The people asking don’t necessarily want to know about the next generation of enthusiasts interested in vehicles from the ’80s and ’90s — the cars of their own youth. The real question is, usually, “What happens to the vintage hardware of earlier periods? Does it become obsolete and unwanted?” I’ll cut to the chase and say that I don’t think so. There’s been interest in cars and trucks from periods that predate certain enthusiasts’ lives by a few generations now, though I admit that it’s good to see proof of this from time to time. I got a chance recently while working on a story for another one of our magazines. A friend of mine is attempting to install a later-model overdrive manual gearbox in an earlier pickup truck, which requires some internal modifications to the transmission. Neither my friend nor I trusted ourselves to successfully dismantle a transmission we were unfamiliar with, so we enlisted the help of a professional. In this case, it was the proprietor of an independent transmission shop a couple of towns over. I’d driven past the place on numerous occasions and always took note of the number of interesting old cars and trucks sitting in the lot out front. I didn’t know who owned the business or the vehicles, but I planned to — eventually — stop in and investigate. That opportunity came when we set off to get our transmission modified and my friend turned into that very same lot. The mystery transmission expert would be our guide through the gearbox. Walking into the shop revealed the sort of scene I’d expected after seeing what was outside: The place was packed not just with transmissions, but with engines, parts, vintage machine equipment, and other forms of specialized tools. It gave the appearance of many decades’ worth of accumulation, so I was surprised when the owner emerged and appeared to be younger than me. Not a “kid,” mind you, but probably on the low side of middle age. Turns out, he’d started the business about 15 years prior, and his penchant for the cars, parts, and tools of yesteryear led to the place looking like it had been there since the ’50s. Don’t misunderstand — the shop is not an indoor junkyard. Rather, it looks like the sort of place a well-seasoned expert with a passion for his trade would have created to ply his craft. That’s just what our host did for the next couple hours, after the regular workday had ended. He
HEMMINGS CLASSIC CAR SEPTEMBER 2022 I Hemmings.com
tore into our transmission, identified what needed to be done, and smoothly and methodically moved through the process. He worked on a bench that was clearly set up just the way he needed it to be, with frequently used tools hanging on hooks on the backstop and a shelf of more essentials just above. It was refreshing to watch — I hadn’t been in a place like this, with a seasoned veteran of the work at hand, in many years. And it was good to see that the guy doing it wasn’t anywhere close to thinking about retirement. But what about the old cars that first attracted my interest? Yeah, they’re all his. The gathering consisted mostly of Mercurys from the ’60s; it turned out the best examples were inside an extension of the building, away from the main section where custom work went on. After spending his days taking care of late-model customer jobs, the shop owner would often step over and put some time into his own projects. I can tell you from my own experience and observations over the years that it takes serious dedication to put in a full day of commercial wrenching and then set to work on things that don’t necessarily have to be done. That’s a real enthusiast. In fact, after working on our transmission until nearly 10 p.m., our new friend told us there was no charge when we tried to settle up. When pressed to accept some sort of compensation, he said it had been a long time since he’d had the opportunity to hang out in the shop, work on something interesting, and talk about old cars with other gearheads. The process still provided the kind of enjoyment that made him feel as though what he was doing was not actually work. My friend who owns the gearbox is a metal fabricator, and when the shop owner refused monetary payment, the two worked out a barter deal for some fab work on one of the classic Mercs. Everyone left smiling and more than one old-car project seemed to take a step or two forward as a result. So, does the old car hobby still thrive with younger generations? I’d say yes, and it lives in places like that shop where I spent an enjoyable evening. During our time there, my friend and the shop owner spent a fair amount of time referring to other people in their respective “networks” who each felt might be able to help the other. They were just two car guys from neighboring towns helping each other out, keeping cars much older than themselves — and a hobby — alive. I don’t think we have anything to worry about. Write to our editor-in-chief at tmcgean@hemmings.com and follow him on Instagram @tmcgean.
