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Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary
Being reparable is very important. However, although there are a few things I can't seem to do on my newer cars because of lack of experience or tools, it seems the most important thing is how available are parts, and if they are of a decent quality.
It doesn't do much good to have an engine that's super easy to rebuild if you can't get pistons, for an example.
Other than that, for the most part brakes are still brakes, engines are still engines, and transmissions are still transmissions. You might have to take off the intake manifolds to change the sparkplugs, but sparkplugs are still sparkplugs.
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Sometimes the lack of a specific OEM part may render some adaptation unavoidable, but some classic vehicles have an impressive aftermarket support enabling owners to find either some parts closer to OEM spec or performance-oriented ones.
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On older cars I do everything that's supposed to make the engine explode only to get better fuel efficiency. More ignition timing advance, leaner mixes (at part load, full load I keep at around 12:1 and don't let it ping). I've even modded the heads to get a higher compression ratio. Just don't let it ping and don't drive it like it's stolen and you'd be amazed at how much better fuel efficiency you can get with a little tuning. Of course there's always the chance of blowing your engine.
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As some models, most noticeably utility vehicles, featured engines detuned in order to cope with lower-grade fuels and lube oils available when they were new, some tuning might not be so troublesome at all.