I have a genuine interest in people, and especially those who read my column in HMM. As much as you may want to know more about who I am, the same holds true for me–I want to know more about you beyond what car you own or the problem it may be having. For this reason, my website includes a little bio about who I am as a person, and not just as a contributor to this muscle car magazine.
My web page does not have a counter. I do not know how many people visit it, if even any have gone there. But if you have seen it and were inclined to read the welcome page, you will know that my true love is for animals of all kinds. Over the years, you may have also gleaned that I suffer from mono vision, along with being considered legally blind in one eye. Though I have been blessed with fairly healthy eyes, gun-sight vision is not something I have ever known. Yet, somehow my eyes even in this weakened form, have the ability to see things that others with 20/20 vision may miss.
This ability to “see” has been a boon to me in my career. Maybe due to my weak vision, I spend more time studying mechanical devices than most, doing my best to mentally digest as much about them as possible. I do not have a photographic memory, but I guess if you study something intently, it then becomes imprinted in your mind. This aspect of who I am has proven to be a real asset when diagnosing engines, since you need to know what looks right before you can tell what looks wrong. Let me provide an example.
Years back, I worked for HMM subscriber Tim Donovan, who at the time was one of the principals of the Allen Test Products distributorship in New Jersey. There I taught ignition scope patterns, engine management and emission analysis to the repair industry. I also accompanied the sales force to potential customers’ locations to do technical demonstrations. It was a great job that I truly loved.
When performing a demonstration, I would usually be presented with what the industry would label as a “problem car.” This was a car that had been deemed unfixable after going from shop to shop. That was fine since it helped to demonstrate the ability of our equipment, but only to a trained eye that could understand the data being presented. I very quickly learned that diagnosing the problem vehicle would often lead to a sale, but frequently, the proprietor of the repair shop would ultimately become the dissatisfied owner of a very expensive piece of diagnostic equipment if none of his techs knew how to interpret the data it provided. Simply put, and not being a braggart, when I was originally demonstrating the scope, it had not diagnosed the problem with the engine–I had, using it as a tool. The purchaser often did not have eyes to see that.
When I went to the shop to perform training, the stage was typically set for buyer’s remorse. With rare exception, there would be a parade of poor-running cars all waiting to be diagnosed. As much as I tried to impress upon the people I was training that they needed to be able to recognize a good scope pattern or emissions output before they could spot something that was wrong, it usually fell on deaf ears. I would always state that after the official training for that day, I would be glad to work with them to identify the problem with the poor-running car. This offer was met with only marginal results, and soon thereafter, both the scope and Ray were being bad-mouthed within the community.
The reason for me telling you this has to do with the number of muscle car enthusiasts who are being deprived of the joys of this hobby because of a problem with their ride. Often, just keeping your eyes open can solve the problem. I receive many letters to “Ask Ray” that would not need to be written if the person only knew what looked right so he could be able to see what looks wrong.
In like fashion, simply having eyes that see can usually help to avoid ending up with a car that should never have been purchased in the first place. From there, the ownership experience becomes one of burden instead of pleasure. It’s a lot harder to correct a car ruined by previous owners than it is to simply maintain a car that is in proper order.
Simply opening your eyes can avert potential mechanical issues. Does the gasket surface have dirty areas? Is it not flat? Do the threads of a fastener seem compromised? Does a fuel or brake line refuse to thread in evenly? Does the part you are replacing look different from the one you purchased? Vision is a wonderful thing, if you recognize and apply what you see. From my experience with machinery, most issues occur because the person working on it chooses to not see and acknowledge what is right in front of him. Wishful thinking does not work with mechanical apparatus, or with much else in life for that matter.
So, the moral of the story is, look before you leap, and do not discount what is obvious because it does not fit into your idea of the way you believe things should be. If you apply this edict, you will be a much happier muscle machine owner.
