[Mgs] Diminishing returns

[Richard Lindsay]

   I hope you're right Steve, but I might add that 'finding a way' and
'modifying' isn't really 'restoring'. Also, at least here in Texas,
touching anything on a car that might affect emissions is illegal. Taken to
the extreme, just changing an air filter might be considered 'illegal'. And
all cars younger than 25 years have to pass inspection. That means the
OBDII has to verify that the car is still clean and safe. One can't
register a car in Texas with a failed inspection.
   I'm sorry to sound negative and defeatist. I have just had a couple of
bad experiences. One from the inability to source a NLA mass air sensor for
a Mondial T, and the other, the CAN buss in the XK8. Both of these issues
were solvable but at terrible expense and arguably  difficult in the home
garage.
   I should add that I do have more modern cars that I maintain at home
(illegally?): an '84 BMW 633CSi and a '91 M-B 300SL. Both with manual
gearboxes. Parts for these cars are readily available since they are shared
with other models in their makers' lines.

Rick
WD4KIB

On Tue, Nov 15, 2022, 6:36 AM steve at coastaldatasystems.com <
swestfisher at coastaldatasystems.com> wrote:

> I recall back in the ‘80s people saying exactly the same thing about the
> EFI and fuel injection that started showing up in new cars. They would say
> these cars can’t be fixed, modified, hopped up, whatever due to the complex
> electronics.
>
> The kids of today will find a way. It’s a different skillset to be a
> “tuner”, or replace the engine management system on a modern engine with
> something aftermarket, but folks are still doing it. And they will find a
> way in the future.
>
>
>
>
>
> Steve West-Fisher
>
> N4IK
>
>
>
> *From:* Mgs <mgs-bounces at autox.team.net> *On Behalf Of *Richard Lindsay
> *Sent:* Tuesday, November 15, 2022 6:54 AM
> *To:* MGs <mgs at autox.team.net>
> *Subject:* [Mgs] Diminishing returns
>
>
>
> Hello MG friends,
>
>    I recently attended an 'All British Car Show' in a neighborhood called
> 'The Woodlands', here in South Texas. It was a fun show with MGs ranging
> from a single 1934 PA through to many MGB Tourers, all dominating the
> collection of British marques. Just guessing, I estimate about 30 or so
> cars in total were on display.
>
>    Two issues came to mind, one obvious from talking with the owners, and
> another a worrisome trend.
>
>    Firstly, almost all of the MG owners and restorers were gray haired old
> men. Now, I won't make any gender related comments but it is obvious that
> our hobby and passion lives on, mostly in old people. That's just fine
> because retired people have more free time to pursue the hobby. But where
> are the younger people? Will there be replacements for us as we fade away?
> And what will happen to our cars? I already see too many cars
> left languishing or worse, decaying in garages and storage.
>
>    Secondly, I wonder about the whole car hobby in general. What cars are
> being restored today? Sixties 'muscle cars' may always be popular but so
> many of them are resto-mods, not restorations. But what newer cars can be
> restored?
>
>    I recently gave away a rough Jaguar XK8 because it had a failed CAN
> buss, and therefore couldn't pass safety and emissions inspection. Most of
> the repair parts for that car are still available, if at better-than-gold
> prices, but how many hobbyists can diagnose, repair, and restore serial
> computer networks like the Jaguar's CAN buss?! BTW, a CAN bus is a serial
> computer network not terribly unlike the old strings of Christmas lights
> where if one lamp goes out, they all go out! Well, except in the XK8, if
> one component like the transmission reverse safety switch goes out, the
> whole network goes down. Everything from the engine to the seat position
> computers! And do you think Jaguar sells the diagnostic tool to find the
> 'burned out bulb'? Yea right.
>
>    My point isn't to criticize Jaguar. Rather, it's to make the point that
> modern cars, especially the interesting and exotic ones, just aren't really
> restorable - not by hobbyists like the next generation of potential
> enthusiasts (or us?!). So is ours a dying hobby? I fear so. And in the
> extreme, do you want your grandson attempting to restore a 400 volt
> electric car? Yikes.
>
>    So what should we do? Well, first of all I think we should save all the
> old British cars that we can. Wait! Don't we already do that?! My wife says
> that, "I never met an 'old junk car' that I didn't love!" I also think we
> should introduce our cars and our hobby to younger people, especially kids.
> Car shows and tech sessions help with that. Not only might that exposure
> help to preserve our cars, maybe, but also there's lots to learn pulling
> spanners that wiggling an X-Box controller just can't teach! There is a
> kind of perverse value in 'busted knuckles'.
>
>    As we say, 'YMMV' but my grandson loves my old cars and he can handle a
> Whitworth spanner quite expertly. My granddaughter likes the cars too but
> 'My Little Ponies' are more fun, for now.
>
>
>
> Yes, YMMV,
>
>
>
> Rick
>
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