[AGL] off topic question - need transmission shop recommendation

[Kathy]

Gerry, I had Cressida for 15 years- hope you enjoy yours half as much  
as  I did mine and you get to drive it twice as long.
Have safe trip and a merry what ever
  kathy
On Dec 12, 2006, at 9:05 AM, Gerry wrote:


> Well Mike, glad you got your trans serviced in a way that is  

> acceptable to

> your high standards. I salute you in sticking with a vintage  

> machine and

> taking good care of it. For the record, there are Jiffy Lubes and  

> there are

> Jiffy Lubes, thousands of them, probably a dozen in and around the  

> Austin

> metro area. In my zone there are no trans shops and just one Jiffy  

> Lube

> which employs mostly young men with some mechanical acumen. I  

> watched the

> technician service my trans and his work was first class, knew what  

> he was

> doing and did it by the book. The equipment was first class (no  

> doubt the

> same as that of the trans shops). The cost was half of what a  

> dealer or

> trans shop would have charged--an important consideration for those  

> of us on

> Social Security who drive 15 to 20 year old cars.

>

> I have listened to Click and Clack forever, since they started. In the

> beginning, same as you, I liked them, they had a good enthusiasm  

> and were

> sincerely concerned with the few callers they attracted, also quite  

> funny

> and original. These days I find it hard to sit through a complete  

> show. They

> have become media idols and they are very full of themselves. The  

> shows have

> become very predictable and not as interesting. The calls are screened

> carefully to be sure that there are always a half dozen or so  

> female 30

> somethings who want advice on what car to buy, yawn. The nitty gritty

> mechanical advice is limited to popular cars. The laughter is often  

> forced

> and phony, breaking up at every gag leads to boredom. Dewey,  

> Cheatham, and

> Howe ain't funny anymore. So while I don't say that they are a  

> drag, their

> shows have fallen quite a lot from the old days. BTW, only the  

> older brother

> is an MIT grad. I used to give them 5 stars, now it's more like 2.5  

> or 3.

> They are kind of like Siskell (sp? RIP) and Ebert, innovators who  

> eventually

> ran out of original ideas and became parodies of themselves.

>

> I made contact with the brother of the previous owner of my  

> Cressida. He is

> a retired mechanic who watched over the car since its original  

> purchase.

> Nothing but raves and good news about the car. If anything it has been

> over-maintained! I must confess that I made the deal hastily, based  

> upon

> intuition rather than a careful mechanical inspection, jumping at  

> the good

> price. Later I did the inspection and found everything to be in  

> apparently

> excellent condition, but I was still a little paranoid at my haste,  

> hesitant

> to take off on a 2K journey. That is no longer the case, I am  

> leaving for

> California next week, confident that the wheels are not a concern.  

> Looking

> forward to Christmas in my old neighborhood in Terra Linda (Marin  

> County)

> with family and old friends.

>

> Does anyone know if the resurrected Avalon Ballroom is still in  

> business?

>

> G

>

>

>

>

>

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: "Michael Eisenstadt" <mike.eisenstadt at gmail.com>

> To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s"

> <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>; "Hans-Peter Otto"  

> <hpoPhotog at mac.com>

> Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 6:10 AM

> Subject: Re: [AGL] off topic question - need transmission shop

> recommendation

>

>

>> Hans,

>>

>> I shouldnt have said it the way i did. I know you

>> have American citizenship. Also German citizenship????

>> I was thinking of how one can ask a question on

>> the Internet and get the answer back from half

>> way around the world in under 5 minutes.

>>

>> Have you considered retiring back to Austin?

>>

>> about the car. I finally did what i should have done

>> at the beginning: call a parts store and see if there

>> is a transmission filter and gasket kit for this model.

>> Well, they do sell such a kit, which means that the

>> dealership (Leif Johnson) salesman was full of it

>> telling me this model has a metal screen not a

>> replaceable filter.So the B & M Transmission guy

>> was advising the correct precedure (dropping the

>> pan) and the dealer and Jiffy Lube do it the easier

>> way not having to steam clean the old gasket

>> off the pan.

>>

>> I am going to be taking it to Chapman Transmission

>> (also on S. Lamar) who were recommended on

>> the Click & Clack Web page (B & M not

>> mentionned). Jiffy Lube has a TERRIBLE

>> reputation and so does Leif Johnson Ford.

>> Chapman's procedure, like B & M's, is to drop the

>> pan.

>>

>> When you have an idle moment, you should

>> visit the Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers

>> Web page and listen to one of their broadcasts.

>> These are 2 endearing brothers from Boston

>> who own a auto service shop and take calls

>> and answer car questions. You may or may

>> not have heard them (on KUT). They are

>> muy funny. Back in the 60s, in Cambridge

>> Mass they started up a do-it-yourself auto

>> shop (the Good Times Garage) where

>> customers used the garage's tools and

>> advice to work on their own cars (very

>> 60s). It was a total flop. The younger brother

>> then went into the garage business for real.

>> The older brother is actually a business consultant.

>> Interestingly they both went to and graduated

>> from the Mass. Institute of Technology (MIT).

>>

>> Ciao!

>>

>> Mike

>>

>> ----- Original Message -----

>> From: "hpo" <hpophotog at mac.com>

>> To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s"

>> <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>

>> Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 5:53 PM

>> Subject: Re: [AGL] off topic question - need transmission shop

>> recommendation

>>

>>

>> Pleasedon´t forget Mike I am only an expatriot, a guest worker in

>> Krautonia

>> hans

>> berlin

>>

>>>>> - - - - - - - - - - - - ->

>>

>>      Hans-Peter Otto

>> Freelance Photojournalist

>>     Reichstrasse 101

>> 14052 Berlin, Germany

>>

>> Mobil   +49    172 321 5956

>>  Tel     +49    30 667 75450

>> Skype            hpoPhotog

>>

>>

>> On Monday, December 11, 2006, at 04:24PM, "Michael Eisenstadt"

>> <michaele at ando.pair.com> wrote:

>>> Hans,

>>>

>>> the internet, ya gotta love it!

>>>

>>> some german in berlin points me the right way. i'll

>>> call them right after i get straight. unless your view is

>>> that it is best to call them while bent.

>>>

>>> please advise!

>>>

>>> Mike

>>>

>>

>>