[AT] AT Digest, Vol 145, Issue 25

[STEVE ALLEN]

This was written with tongue-in-cheek, right?

Neither I nor anyone in my family has ever had a Chevy Small Block fail, and the first one came into the family in the '50s.  But just in the last couple years I've lost two '99 Ford V-8s.  Complete failures, not even rebuildable.  And, of the folks I know who have bought "remanufactured" engines, it's about a 50-50 crap-shoot on their quality.  So, "assuming decent maintenance," give me my '69 327.  Sure, it's been massaged a little bit, but it has never failed (other than a bad valve, which was an easy fix) and has well over half a million miles on it.

No intent to cause a hassle, but I am no fan of the "new and Improved" (translation:  more expensive and unfixable).

The "original" Steve Allen

----- Original Message -----
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2016 15:43:58 -0400
From: Stephen Offiler <soffiler at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [AT] How Did We Get Here
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
	<at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
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	<CAP6upcg__eFHroRRP_26uXeGsgAa1NBBdP7i4WPMg2yrtBAmtQ at mail.gmail.com>
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Actually, there's a real answer to your question.  We got here with modern
engines made from much better materials, with much better manufacturing
processes, and much better lubrication.  There was a time, now decades in
the past, when engines would wear out and the corner garage could rebuild
for you.  They last FAR longer now, assuming decent maintenance, and engine
rebuilding at the corner garage is long gone.  These days, engines are
"remanufactured" in a factory setting, and either a short block or long
block is dropped in rather than rebuilding what's there.  So the demand for
Plastigage has dropped dramatically, to the point where people who you'd
think should know better have never even heard of it.


SO



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