REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE

All AUTO QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

by Bob Hagin

Q. I've just acquired a 1967 Dodge A100 van with relatively low mileage, about 180,000 miles. It has a 170 cubic-inch slant six engine and an automatic transmission. I've been a Mopar enthusiast for many years, ever since my high school days, but I've always had Dodges, Chrysler and Plymouths with V8 engines. The reason I bought this van is because it has "barn" doors on both sides of it so that rear seat passengers have access from either side. The rear seat seems to have been put in after the van was built since it doesn't match the front seats. Does this van have any particular collector value? B. C. Tucson, AZ

A. Since you bought it on the strength of it being unusual, it obviously has collectible value but maybe only to you. Collectibility, like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder so don't plan your retirement around the idea of selling your van at a huge profit at some later date. Car collectors come in several categories. The knowledgeable investment collectors buy high-ticket vehicles like investors buy stocks; with an eye for what their projected market value will be down the road. They sometimes get burned since the value of exotic cars can be can fluctuate or be manipulated just like stocks. Other, less speculative collectors buy less exotic but still rare machinery just because they like to restore, drive and exhibit them. Then there's people like you and me who are opportunistic buyers who stumble onto something that just looks like it would be fun to own. I'm told that those double doors were put there for businesses that made town deliveries so that cargo could always be removed from the curb side even if the delivery was made on a one-way street.

Q. I have a 1983 Lincoln Town Car, 302 cubic-inch engine, electronic fuel injection and 145,000 miles. I change the oil and filter every 3000 miles and the automatic transmission fluid and filter every 30,000 miles. The recent smog tests have been very good - well below the limits. I'm interested in a patented device that acts to collect the heavy hydrocarbons in blowby gasses before they are recycled into the intake manifold. I'd also like your opinion in spark plugs that have twin electrodes. They are promoted as being able to increase fuel mileage and I wonder if they are worth the premium price. H.P. Magalia, CA

A. Motor oil, automatic transmission fluid and filters are cheap compared to major repairs and your maintenance program for your Lincoln is proof of that statement. The blowby vapor separator you refer to has been around a long time and at one time was part of a marketing program wherein if you bought two or more, you became a "representative." I've been approached three times by promoters during the past 15 years to participate. I'm not convinced it does any good since the blowby gasses get burned up via the positive crankcase ventilation system anyway. I've seen those ads for multi-electrode spark plugs too but I'd have to do a really objective test such as the several vehicles sparked by two consecutive sets of new plugs, one of which was the "miracle" plug. It only takes one spark to make the initial fuel charge ignition.

Q. We own a 1987 Cadillac Cimarron V6 with very low mileage. We bought it from a retired couple who used it as a second car and the husband just drove it around town. Now we find that the engine overheats. We've taken it to a mechanic and to a radiator specialist and both have said that there is no reason for it to overheat - but it does. H.F. St. Petersburg, FL

A. Sometimes a mechanic has to refer to factory bulletins. I found one that traces the problem to a faulty fan shroud design that allows too much air to recirculate under the hood. A modified shroud is available along with a new underbumper air deflector.