[AGL] off topic question - need transmission shop recommendation

[Jon Ford]

Mike-- I find their show entertaining, and they have a good web page, but 
for the life of me I can't understand why anyone serious about getting a car 
fixed would call them up, when the person could speak face to face with a  
mechanic who could actually inspect the car, motor-to- face. Some of the 
callers do seem to be from small towns where there aren't too many mechanics 
around, so maybe that explains it. Or maybe they just want to get on the 
radio to have their 5 minutes of fame. Why there are so many women callers 
may be for several reasons-- entertainment value, or because many  women are 
afraid of/intimidated by face to face encounters with nasty old greasy 
mechanics. But I'm getting into sexist territory here so I'd better shut up.

Jon



>From: "Michael Eisenstadt" <michaele at ando.pair.com>

>Reply-To: survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 

>60s<austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>

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

>60s"<austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>

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

>recommendation

>Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 10:13:54 -0600

>

>Gerry,

>

>Interesting what you say about Tom & Ray. Yes of course they

>screen their calls. As for forced laughter, yes Tom the older one

>has a forced laugh. My take on it is that the younger brother

>being somewhat the smarter of the two has been the dominant

>throughout their grownup years and that the older's laughter is a

>defense mechanism. The younger brother doesnt laugh or at least

>not in the same way.

>

>They do fewer interesting diagnoses, yes i agree. I think this

>reflects more the enormous and mostly not understood change

>that has occurred in car design and quality control at the factory.

>As you well know, pre-comuterized cars with mechanical spark

>distribution and timing adjustments and carburetors could be fixed

>under a shade tree. Nowadays that is for the most part impossible.

>But there is an upsides to this. The contemporary car needs far less

>repair. I am still amazed that in 3 years, nothing in our car has needed

>repair. When we bought it the previous owner, when asked if he

>had kept his repair bills, said he hadnt repaired anything yet. The

>car is 9 years old and no repairs?

>

>When i do eventually see a engine trouble light message, i will

>borrow Ed Penak's laptop cum computer reader accessory

>or get my own and at the least read the trouble code. Maybe

>it will be something i can poisonally deal with.

>

>So Tom & Ray's advice and diagnoses has changed with

>the changing demographic of the cars on the road. They still

>are very good at diagnosis, more accurately, the younger

>brother is the whiz at diagnosis. He apparently still runs an

>a repair shop. It is my understanding that BOTH brothers

>are MIT graduates. 20 years apart in age, their symbiosis

>has much charm.

>

>Mike

>

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

>From: "Gerry" <mesmo at gilanet.com>

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

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

>Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 9:05 AM

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

>recommendation

>

>

> > 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

> >> >

> >>

> >>

> >

>


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