Engine Repair for Classic Cars

Jerome Hatch of Hatch Carburetion aims to keep older models and hot rods on the roads.

Jerome and Victoria Hatch with their children, Isabella and Thomas.

Cars have been around for over a hundred years, and for most of that century, carburetors were an integral part of the engine. But a couple of decades ago, carburetors were replaced with fuel injection systems; therefore, carburetor repair is no longer a big part of auto mechanic training. But there are still many people who restore and drive classic cars. Where will these people go to get engine repair?
    Jerome Hatch of Hatch Carburetion is interested in seeing that these cars can still roll down the highway. He has been working on cars for 20 years, doing all types of engine repair, but he is especially committed to keeping classic cars, hot rods and tractors rolling as those who can do carburetor repair become fewer and farther between.  
    “I’ve been to antique car shows and looked at vehicles where everything else will be restored but the carburetor because they’re afraid to touch it, as it is such a finicky precision part,” says Jerome. “That’s where I come in.”
    Jerome started working on engines when he was just a small boy working out in the garage with his father, who was first a GM mechanic and later an aviation mechanic. He says that his father had him help tear down and rebuild engines and do tune-ups. “My dad still has pictures of me helping him,” he says. “I was probably the only five-year-old around who was changing points in a distributor.”
    Because of this early training, Jerome has extensive knowledge of the carburetor and as he frequented car shows and races, he found that he was part of an ever decreasing number. That’s why he decided to open his own business in 2012. Since that time, he has had clients from as far away as Kansas and Arkansas. One very successful drag racer in Kansas recently hired Jerome to rebuild his carburetor and won $1,500 his first night out.
    “An otherwise good engine can have a bad carburetor and will be a bad engine,” Jerome explains. “But with a good carburetor, that engine will reach its full potential.”
    Jerome doesn’t just want to rebuild a carburetor to run properly; he wants the carburetor to look like it originally would have. He carefully takes the old carburetor apart and cleans it. Once it is clean, there are just raw materials. He then studies original design and strives to rebuild the carburetor to its original state, even making the component parts the same color. In this way, he feels he is helping to preserve history by giving others a blueprint to work off of in the future.
    “When I do these, I like to think someday down the road, someone doesn’t just see an original showpiece on the outside of the vehicle,” Hatch says, “but they can see a showpiece when they open the hood also.”

For more information, contact:

Hatch Carburetion

(918) 557-6448

www.hatchcarb.com