Dear Tom and Ray:

About a year ago, I bought a 1968 Chevy Bel Air for $1,500, supposedly with 75,000 miles on it. I don't know if the "little old lady driving to church" story was true or not, but the interior looks good, the doors and windows are tight, and after I had the valve seals replaced, it runs great. I have two questions. Is there really any way to tell whether a mileage story like I was told is true? And how do I get replacement body and interior parts for a car this old? -- Michael

Tom: Well, the only way to know whether the little old lady was driving it to church or drag racing with it on the weekends would have been to follow her before you bought it, and it's too late for that now. I suppose you could also try to get her to tell you the truth by threatening to call the AARP and have her membership revoked, but that wouldn't be sporting. There are other, more ingenious ways of figuring out whether the odometer is on its second or third trip around.

Ray: Right. A good mechanic ought to be able to tell you pretty quickly whether the car has 75,000 miles, 175,000 miles, or 275,000 miles by checking for evidence of wear in some key areas.

Tom: The driver's seat is one such area. 175,000 miles worth of butts sliding into and out of that seat looks a lot worse than 75,000 miles. The same with the pedals. The rubber on the gas and brake pedals are really worn down after 175,000 miles. After 75,000, they still look OK. And there are other parts an experienced mechanic/sleuth can look at to draw a conclusion.

Ray: And while most mechanical parts for this car are still available through regular auto-parts stores, you're right that interior and body parts may be a little harder to come by. For those, I'd suggest you pick up a copy of Hemmings Motor News (which is published in Bennington, Vt.). That's a phone-book-sized directory of old heaps and parts for old heaps like yours.

Tom: In fact, that's probably where that little-old-lady racer got those replacement seats and pedals so you wouldn't know she was selling you a Bel Air with 175K on it!

Changing your oil regularly is the cheapest insurance you can buy for your car, but how often should you change it? Find out by ordering Tom and Ray's pamphlet "Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It!" To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1997 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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