Do you recall ever paying $8.50 to have a muffler replaced? Neither do I. If you lived in Grand Junction in the mid-1960s, though, you probably went to this shop for your automotive repairs.

Check out the ad below. It boasts mufflers for just $8.50, not to mention the only "tailpipe bender in town." Back in 1966, if you needed car repairs, you probably visited A-1 Muffler on the corner at 457 South 5th Street in Grand Junction.

Check out the deals - muffler just $8.50 and up. Duals just $42.50 and up. Not only that, it seems Bud was the "only tailpipe bender in town." According to the ad, "We can bend to almost any angle."

I was sorting through some old Bob Grant photos over the weekend and encountered a few shots of A-1 Muffler and a few scans of their Daily Sentinel ads from the 1960s. The muffler shop was around long before I was born (1970) and remained well into my adulthood.

From the period of 1966 to roughly 1970, it was owned and operated by my dad, "Bud" Jordan. Check out the Daily Sentinel ad dated October 16, 1966, proclaiming "A-1 Muffler Service Under New Management." It was under new management and new ownership.

Jump ahead to the year 2020. What is the current average cost to replace a muffler? According to carbibles.com, you're looking at anywhere from $160 to $240 for parts and labor.

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I stopped by the website usinflationcalculator.com and adjusted for inflation for the years 1966 to 2020. According to the site, at a cumulative rate of inflation of 695.7%, the current cost of a muffler replacement would total $67.63. That's a far cry from $160 to $240.

Does the name not ring a bell? Are you thinking to yourself, "Hey, there isn't a muffler shop on that corner." You're correct, there is no muffler shop there anymore. For that matter, there's nothing there anymore. It's a parking lot. Every time I drive by it, I see plumbing trucks stored on the lot behind a chain-link fence.

Take a little trip back to the 60s (another intended pun) and check out one of Grand Junction's few auto repair shops of the time.

Grand Junction's A-1 Muffler of the 1960s

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