Is older Camaro (late 60s, early 70s) easier to maintain than current cars?

On Wed, 3 Nov 2004 10:21:31 -0400, "Joe" puked:

They may be easier to access and fix, but you generally have to do more accessing and fixing.

-- lab~rat >:-) Do you want polite or do you want sincere?

I would say that the repairs are easier to access rather than easier to repair. A late model car with some sort of fuel injection will usually tell you what to look at when something goes bad. A simple thing like changing the plugs in my 68' takes about 20 minutes or so because of the relatively open engine compartment and all plugs can be reached from the top. On my 88' Formula one side is reached from the top and the other is from the bottom, the easiest I've found so far at least. Parts do seem to be cheaper on older cars though, unless it is a part that is specific to that car.

Right now I'm replacing the intake gaskets on the 88' (TPI), and it is a truly trying experience. It's quite a bit more complicated than pulling the distributor, removing a couple of hoses, a fuel line, and taking out 8 bolts as is the assembly on my 68'. You have to pull the throttle body, fuel lines, coolant hoses, electrical jacks, vacuum hoses, plenum, runners, fuel rails, distributor, ignition coil, etc. etc. All before you can remove the intake.

Try finding a model that already has the a/c installed. It'll be much cheaper in the long run. Putting in an a/c system with factory parts is expensive. There are companies that sell complete bolt in systems to convert non a/c cars that are reasonably priced.

Good luck with your decision.

...Ron

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