It was a good time for learning how to "tinker under the hood".
The autoinstallation of the newer PNP stuff is supposedly easier, but I don't think newbies can learn as much.
It sure was- I'm an old hotrodder at heart and love goosing machinery to make it better and faster...
And you're right about the PNP stuff- it's nice ( when it works like it's supposed to! ) but it really doesn't make you learn anything.