Parts & Labor with David Moyer

“I came for the cars. I stayed for the people.” It’s a popular saying among car collectors. The camaraderie, sense of shared purpose, technical advice, social events and even an occasional romance enrich our lives. At some point, we’ve all turned to other LCOC members and asked where to get something fixed or where to buy an obscure part. “Is there any way I can locate this rare gadget that goes between the phramas and the fitzmosis?” you ask, helplessly, and hopelessly because you’re 90% sure there isn’t. Ask the right friend, though, and as a thin smile forms, he leans toward you and triumphantly replies, “there’s a guy.”

“There’s a guy” begins countless discussions that solves countless problems. I was delighted to find a Lincoln service specialist within my small state when I bought my car. I was amazed to learn of a man whose only job was convertible tops on a single make and model of car built over only seven years. Someone else within driving distance specializes in windshield wiper refills for classic cars. How in the world do these businesses come to exist? “When I grow up, I want to be an astronaut.” “Not me, I’m going to rebuild power brake boosters for half-century-old Lincolns.”

It got me wondering who these resources are as people. What led them into their businesses? Why do they do what they do? What mistakes did they make along the way? How did they discover secrets of engineering not in the manuals, or correct flaws in original designs without infringing on authenticity. What makes them tick?

In this series, you’ll meet some of the people whose names you only know from the internet, forums, Facebook pages or from an LCOC meet where you asked a question and another member gave you a wink and said, to your relief, “there’s a guy.”