Chapter
Maintenance—The Key to the Automotive
Fountain of Youth
EXPERIENCE MADE ME A BELIEVER
Back in the old days when I was a young aspiring auto technician out to conquer
the world of automotive repair, I was hard pressed to find a car engine that
would go over 50,000 miles without needing some major engine work. These
engines found their way into our shop, requiring major repairs like replacing a
head gasket, doing a valve job, or replacing rod and main bearings or piston
rings. I attributed this to what I thought was poor design and inferior lubricants,
and I held this philosophy until I met Sheldon Siegel.
Sheldon, an advertising executive in New York City, lived in my little town in
southern New Jersey. He commuted 90 miles one way to the city every day.
Sheldon drove a 1965 Comet Caliente convertible with a small 289-cid V-
engine backed by an automatic transmission. He also owned a 1972 Buick Gran
Sport. The Buick was his “nice car” for home and “da wife,” as he would say.
When I met Sheldon, the Comet had slightly more than 120,000 miles on it,
and the Buick registered 75,000 miles. No major engine work had been done on
either of these cars. I was amazed and confounded but as I got to know Sheldon,
I realized why he was able to get such high mileage out of his cars. Every 3,
miles Sheldon would bring the Comet in for oil changes. Traveling as much as
he did, this translated into every three to four weeks. I became his personal
service technician and, month after month, serviced Sheldon’s cars. He had the
tires rotated and balanced every 5,000 to 6,000 miles, the transmission serviced
every 30,000 miles, the cooling system flushed and filled every 24,000 miles,
and on it went like clockwork. Sheldon diligently followed the factory-specified
maintenance intervals.
Time passed, and the miles racked up on the Comet reached 200,000 without a
hitch. Then one day Sheldon decided to retire the Comet because of the external
body rust. He gave me the car so I could tear it down and inspect it, hoping to
discover the source of its longevity. I assured him that the autopsy of the Comet
would serve humanity if I could unlock the mysteries that afforded it such a long
life.