I got into a debate the other day with a reader about the future of the car hobby; about whether today’s cars are fundamentally disposable appliances that work great for a long time – their chief virtue – but when they do finally begin to wear out, the cost to replace their numerous complex systems (especially the electronics) will be so high that most people will simply throw the car away in favor of a new one.
Like cell phones, for instance.
Also, that the new stuff’s complexity is a turn-off to tinkering, especially for beginners– the new crop of the old car hobby. Teenagers who have yet to acquire the higher skills (and more expensive tools) needed to work on today’s cars.
And so – for the most part – do not.
I gave the example of my old muscle car from the ‘70s as a point of comparison, focusing on its fuel delivery system vs. that of a modern car.
It consists of a single major component – a carburetor – which is a “stand alone” mechanical device that mixes the air and fuel.
It is held in place by four bolts and can be removed from the car in 5 minutes or less.
It can be disassembled in about the same amount of time with basic hand tools – and is amenable to adjustment.
You can tinker with it.
This is appealing to beginners.
There is something tactile about turning mixture screws, changing out jets. It’s physical and hands-on. You can see what you’re doing. And you are doing something more than pulling and replacing non-repairable electrical stuff you can’t tinker with. And which requires both a fairly sophisticated knowledge of electrical things as well as more sophisticated tools, too.
There are no wires or harnesses connected to my car’s carburetor. No sensors that plug into it; no computer that controls it. The air-fuel ratio is determined by turning in and out mixture screws, replacing jets and metering rods… not code.
There is a physical cable connected to the accelerator pedal. You can work it back and forth by hand. See the throttle open and close.
Nothing electronic can go wrong with it because there are no electronics.
And carburetors last a very long time.
My car has its original factory carburetor. It has been mixing air and fuel for more than 40 years. Barring physical abuse (such as damaging the metal castings by over-tightening the mounting bolts) it will probably continue to do so for another40 years.
It may at some point need to have its throttle shaft repaired; these do wear out eventually. And every four or five years or so I tear it down and give it a thorough cleaning, replacing wear parts like the float, the accelerator pump plunger, needle and seat, gaskets, etc.
These parts cost about $50.
In the Worst Case Scenario, the carb may at some point have to be replaced with a new one. At most, the cost will be about $400. Or buy a good (rebuildable) core for about $150.
