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End of an era

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DrEntropy

DrEntropy

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For the last week we've been emptying the shop in Sarasota. Just bare walls 'n floors now. Twenty five years... hard to believe it has been that long.

Everything weighs more than it used to, takes up more space as well. The coffee maker was the last thing packed, ceremonially. :wink:
 
Bittersweet, I'm sure...
 
Closing the shop?

Details! Details!

What's happening in your neck o' the woods?
 
Mickey said:
Bittersweet, I'm sure...
Click to expand...


Yeah, but it needed doing.

Can't give much in the way of details, Tom. Suffice it to say:

The major portion of the millennial generation have no interest in owning '60's~'70's~'80's Eurotrash. The client base has diminished profoundly, so it was time. Still some projects but they will be done with much less in the way of overhead. Now it's time for personal projects!
 
I can agree with your comments doc.
Both my son and daughter want no parts of my TR6. On top of that they would not have a clue to do even the simplest repairs.
I feel your pain doc....
 
Now it's time for personal projects!

And that may be the best time!

TM

 
Am a member of a British car club and some of the members with Old British cars do not have a clue either.

One commented that the shop he had the car towed to could not work on it as it did not have a OBD2 connector.

David
 
David - I'm a member of an international Mercedes-Benz classic car group.

One member told me he was having problems starting one of his classic MBs, one he's owned for over twenty years.

I asked when was the last time he cleaned the fuel filter. His reply:

Where's the fuel filter?

Proof positive that having dollars doesn't mean having sense.

TM
 
The sound of amazement from some club members when I show photos of the work I am doing on the car. The club seems to range from the very skilled to the complete mechanical novices.

Where did you learn to do all that etc.

David
 
Does this mean that the Alfa will (Gasp!) run again.
The suspense is killing me!
 
AngliaGT said:
Does this mean that the Alfa will (Gasp!) run again.
The suspense is killing me!
Click to expand...

Quite possibly, Doug.

We attended an "Italian Street Festival" yesterday at the local Alfa~Fiat dealership, along with members of the local A.R.O.C. Good food and companionship, offers of test drives in the new Stelvio, Gulia and Fiat 124... no driving the 4C or Quadrifoglio, though. :grumpy:

The A.R.O.C. folks were kinda jabbing me to get on with it. One guy drove in with a 1969 boat-tail, Weber'd up 1750. It had me droolin'.
 
Doc, one of the main reasons I started teaching was that no one needed an MG or TR mechanic in my neck of the woods anymore. My old boss changed the name of the shop and now builds hot rods instead.
 
Yeah, that is a familiar tale, Walt. I expect there may be a future need for the older skills, but with the trend to both electric and contemporary fuel management cars we will see the eventual end of gasoline as a fuel. Our beloved vehicles will be mandated as landfill. And perhaps, if history survives they will be termed a "transitional" footnote.
 
DrEntropy said:
Yeah, that is a familiar tale, Walt. I expect there may be a future need for the older skills, but with the trend to both electric and contemporary fuel management cars we will see the eventual end of gasoline as a fuel. Our beloved vehicles will be mandated as landfill. And perhaps, if history survives they will be termed a "transitional" footnote.
Click to expand...

Maybe though I have heard Jay Leno speculate that in the same way the motorcar turned the horse into an object of leisure, that likewise electric and alternate fuels may "save" gasoline for hobby cars - my hope anyways.
 
I tend to agree with Jay Leno's thoughts that gasoline engined cars will become more of a leisure object. In the future I see guys driving their old fossil fueled cars on the weekends and taking them to shows but not using them for daily commutes. The hobby will become more expensive and there will be room for a few good mechanics in the field but the days when you could find a gasoline mechanic in every town and cheap parts for your car will be a thing of the past.
 
the days when you could find a gasoline mechanic in every town and cheap parts for your car will be a thing of the past
Click to expand...

It already is isn't it with modern computerised cars!
 
waltesefalcon said:
and cheap parts for your car will be a thing of the past.
Click to expand...

I hear ya, but not sure I agree. The internet has only recently made parts "cheap" (inexpensive); and shipping costs and speed are to the point where it almost does not matter where the parts come from. International shipping remains expensive, but again, suspect that will change as the world continues to get smaller.

Having said that, I completely agree with the general sentiment, that when gas cars go the way of the dodo bird, things will be worse off for folks that like to drive the "old-timers".
 
catfood said:
It already is isn't it with modern computerised cars!
Click to expand...

Often thought this. Can you imagine going into a collector car supply shop in need of some sort of ignition module for a 1992 Ford Taurus (presuming they'll be collectible) in 2040? Me neither (on both accounts). LOL
 
I've found a lot of the sport-compact guys who drive their Civics, etc., with the fart pipes are genuinely piqued by the old British Cars. They like the idea of a four or six cylinder small car, and the ability to work on the car using simple hand tools definitely stirs their imagination. Don't be surprised if you see an LBC Renaissance once these younger folks get a bit older and want to start working on projects.

In the world of music, we're seeing this with the Fender Rhodes electric piano. For about a decade, the Rhodes dominated the keyboard world. Then along came the Yamaha DX-7 in the early 1980s and the value of the Rhodes dropped overnight. By the 90s, people were literally giving them away. Then, a funny thing happened. Young record producers "rediscovered" the Rhodes, and suddenly their values began to climb again...to even higher values than when they were the dominant instrument, because now they are much more rare.
 
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