A Slight Detour on the Freeway

I have an old car.  It is a 1967 Toyota Land Cruiser.  I have owned this car for 15 years and I currently drive it on  a daily basis.  It used to be the car I pulled behind my motor home.  I have a friend who was thinking of getting an old mustang.  He loves them and had one when he was in college.  But he is worried about break downs.  He says he does not want to get stuck anywhere.  Yesterday while I was driving on the freeway I had an electrical problem and broke down.

I got the Cruiser off the Freeway and back home and it was an easy repair.  My friend took the opportunity to remind me of his argument that old cars break down.  This is true I said.  Then I reminded him of the Minivan I used to have.  It was a nice newer car with a very low miles.  I was driving from Las Vegas to Los Angeles on a hot summers day and in the middle of the desert and next to no where I broke down.  Of course it was late in the day and by the time I got towed to the nearest repair place they were closed.  I had to sleep in my car over night.  The fix was not simple. It was the fuel pump.  It seems that the fuel pump is located inside the gas tank and it sometimes overheats and causes vapor lock.  In order to fix the pump you have to pull the tank out of the car.  Anyway it was a major ordeal.

Of course the fuel pump on my Cruiser is on the side of he engine and can be replaced in a couple of minutes.  Yes, old car do sometimes have mechanical issues.  But I can fix them myself.  Old cars are a lot simpler.  There is no computer or air flow sensor or exhaust gas analyzer.  My friend remains unconvinced.  For me, I keeping the Cruiser.