When Was the Last Time You Worked on Your Own Vehicle?

For readers that are too young to remember this...most of your dads were shade tree mechanics. Many memories were made and vehicles repaired on Saturday/Sunday afternoons under the nearest shade tree.

There was a day when owning your toolbox was a necessity. You carried it with you in the trunk of the car or in the bed of the truck. A membership card in the wallet to AAA wasn't something that most carried back then. If your vehicle had mechanical problems, more times than not, you were able to diagnose the situation and take care of it on your own.

You would what needed to be done to maintain your vehicle. Oil changes were performed, tune-ups were attempted, (remember setting the gap on the spark plugs?) and headlights and tail lights were changed out with the help of friends and family.

With federal mandates regarding a car's emission beginning to appear, and the fuel crisis of 1973 to 1974, on-board computers evolved slowly in the mid 80's. It slowly got to the point where you could hardly do any work at all on a vehicle because of the changes.

Rebuilding a carburetor or setting the timing on the newer cars or trucks is a thing of the past. Even changing out a battery has become impossible because of where they are located these days.

It was a simpler time, and one that many will cherish as time passes.