I'm a mechanic

May 28, 2023

A MECHANIC has shown how severely a classic car owner neglected his vehicle's functionality while beautifying its exterior.

The 1937 Chevrolet Coupe shown in the technician's video featured an orange body in mint condition, but a closer look at the vintage model's parts revealed a different story.

Uncle Tony's Garage (@UncleTonysGarage) posted a video clip on YouTube of Tony Upchuck talking to his mechanic friend, Jim, who works at another location 30 miles away.

Tony says: "I’m wearing the right shirt today."

He reveals the written text on his shirt's back, reading: "This is sketchy even by my standards."

Tony was visiting Jim to drop off some brake parts when Jim asked him to check out the 1937 vehicle his shop had on a lift.

The two mechanics said certain gearheads buy these classic cars and throw all their time and resources into making their vehicle pretty, but they don't care if it’ll kill someone.

Tony proceeds to walk underneath the lifted vehicle's rear with Jim.

Jim said: "The [Chevrolet] car had no turning radius, and then we put it up in the air and the wheels; each one was in a different direction."

Next, Tony pointed toward the vehicle's rear suspension and noted how it featured a newer part improperly mounted to its original 1938 stock leaf springs.

Tony clarified that this configuration has parts that don't line up, which would cause the car to hop while driving repeatedly.

The experienced mechanic walked to a different section of the Chevrolet's underside to show that the vehicle's rubber fuel line was extremely close to the exhaust, creating a fire hazard.

This vintage model also was reported as having a mix of metal and wood flooring and an exhaust that mechanics would need to remove to get to the engine starter that's normally accessible.

Tony walked to the Chevrolet's front underside alongside Jim and noted that the car had a mounted Mustang two-front suspension with insecure bolts.

But this wasn't the suspension's most significant issue.

Tony walked away from the Chevrolet to another area in the garage, where the car's suspension was on the floor.

The experienced mechanic showed viewers the suspension and said: "Obviously, the subframe didn't sit square in the chassis, so they lengthened the tie rod on the rack, but they butt welded it together."

Butt welding is one of the simplest types of weld joint designs, which makes the modification more likely to break, especially since it was missing a layer of sleeve protection.

Tony explained how the extended tie rod links to the Chevrolet's steering, and a separation within the component could cause a loss of driver control.

The mechanic added: "This is the most dangerous thing I have ever seen attempted on a modified car."