I spotted this article is about a shop called Downtown Wheel Alignment
in Wichita. The world has passed the owner Jim Miller by and he does
not even know it. Jim claims he does alignments the way NASCAR
does it, no computers, no fancy sensors. He doesn't even have a
computer to look up service information. He waits for printed catalogs
and repair manuals to come his way via the US mail. He does have a
public library across the street, that I am sure has access to the internet and maybe Mitchell or AllData.
Street cars are not circle racing cars. Yes, you can measure camber,
caster and toe. Yes, you can translate degrees into inches. But there
are angles like the included angle, setback and thrust angles that can
not measured effectively by "toe bar" and bubble guages.
Okay, I am sure the angle can be accurately measured if the time is
taken. But, in auto repair time is money, and I am sure Jim has paid
for an computerized alignment system many times over in lost time.
This is the view of the shop from Google Street View
Downtown business keeps rolling along
Auto shop does work the old and careful way
By Richard Carter
In 1991, Jim Miller decided he was either going to get out of the automotive repair business or purchase Downtown Wheel Alignment, the shop where he was working.
He purchased the downtown business and has no regrets.
An employee there since 1987, Miller bought the shop from its second owner, Bobby Arnold, and then switched everything out.
“There’s nothing left from the old equipment except for the pit machine for 1-ton vehicles,” he said. “Everything else is new. The lifts, the alignment machines and everything.
“We do it the old way, kind of like NASCAR, with the tow bar and the camber caster gauge. No computers.”
More at the Times Record News
About the Author
Andrew Markel
Editor, Brake & Front End Magazine
amarkel@babcox.com
Andrew Markel is a former technician and service writer and he brings this practical knowledge to the Brake & Front End team as editor.
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