Nels,
These cars are not really a peck of trouble at all. They are just
somewhat behind state of the art 1952 cars. Time has probably caused
less harm to them than to most vehicles of the same age. Their
maintenance, care and feeding are things that most owners can accomplish
at home, with a fairly basic toolkit.
Cars wore faster then. Engine rebuilds at 60,000 miles were common.
Look at old magazines such as Life and you will find adverts for Piston
Rings. Piston Rings!! When was the last time you saw an advert for them?
Just today, a lister mentioned oiling the hinges on the cars. MG
suggested that in the owner handbook. Does Honda? Who cares anyway--who
would want one of them in 52 years?
Aside from the question of engine blow-by, which really does need to be
answered to your satisfaction, the other issues are minor. You can
rebuild the entire brake system of the TD for a few hundred bucks. Try
that on a modern car. Gas tank leaks are fixable, or you can have
someone make a new tank. 50 years before a leak isn't bad, really. The
50 year old analogue, spring wound clock probably needs only a cleaning
and oiling to get it ticking accurately once more. Shock absorbers
(dampers) can be sent out for rebuilding for less than the cost of a
couple of sets of modern tube shocks that wear out.
That's not to say that they do not have problems that modern vehicles
do not. One problem is that the original carpets were wool, so moths can
eat them.
But don't be discouraged by the comments that I and others have made.
A solid TD is a solid automobile.
A happy TD makes a happy owner. Just as one needs a good wife, good dog
and good horse (though not necessarily in that order) a TD completes the
package.
Bob
>
> That's a kind of scary and discouraging reply, as I had no
> indication previously these cars were potentially such trouble.
>
> Is there some specific reason you suspect "a peck of trouble"?
> Something specific about this car, or is it the model in general?
>
> I'm in eastern Massachusetts and the car is just over the border in
> New Hampshire so if there is someone qualified in the area I wouldn't
> mind hearing from them.
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