Posted on 02/14/2014 11:09:59 AM PST by EveningStar
I PUT a full sized spare in my 04 Sentra (when it was time for new tires I bought 5), the board wobbles a little but I like knowing if I get a flat I’m not on some time or speed limit.
Yeah, the ones where the kids in the back seat would go “flip, flip, flip, flip” for the entire 7 hour car trip!
Mini vans don’t have gas pedals.
The hand crank was not an unmixed blessing.
The engine has to be tuned correctly for this method to work. In the very old automobiles, there was a manual spark adjustment, a hand-controlled throttle, and an external choke access. If the spark was too far advanced, for example, the cylinder would fire before top dead center, causing a nasty kick-back on the crank, and if the person was trying to start the engine by “spinning” the crank, with both hands on the end of the crank, it was a guaranteed broken shoulder or wrist. The ends of the bones of the forearm would break just above the wrist, the “Model T wrist”. The proper technique was to wrap the fingers only over the end of the crank, squatting on the left side braced against the front fender, and PULLING the crank over the top. That way, if the engine does fire prematurely, the crank is snatched out of the curled fingers, and doesn’t take the rest of you with it.
But the system would work at below-freezing temperatures.
Easier was parking at the top of a slope, nudging the vehicle forward, with the clutch depressed, then popping the clutch quickly to turn the engine over, then disengaging it just as quickly to make sure the motor is running smoothly, then you can simply drive away.
But apparently you can’t do that any more.
Windshield washers operated by pushing the rubber ball on the floor.
Don’t see chrome bumpers or chrome period.
Floor mounted headlight dimmer button.
“Opera lights” on the outside (had a Buick with those)
Manual shift transmission. It used to be “standard” equipment. Now it’s presented as optional, and will soon completely disappear.
I avoid driving my car under water.
How about a group of cars that I miss: Station Wagons.
Gauges that tell you battery charge (in combustible engine vehicles), oil level, oil pressure, etc. Everything now is an idiot light that says “BAD!” without details.
Running boards.
Cars one can actually work on and fix.
1. Late 80’s dodge omni sits in my garage for several months. Simply will not start. I discover the way the car flashes the check engine light to tell you what ails it. In this case it is a $17 electrical part on the fender wall about two inches square. I replace it, car starts right up.
2. Later 80’s Reliant. Strands my daughter at her job. Will not start. Code says map sensor is defective. Pick one up at junk yard for free. Install and car starts right up.
3. 2001 Chrysler 300m with 110,000 miles and original spark plugs. Starts missing bad. Code says number 5 coil is dead. Buy new coil for $48. Install, no more miss.
I love working on modern cars.
carburetor
You in Florida, too?
My bike was pretty much the same as this one (same color):
This was the only year you could get this configuration. The 1984 was a Shovelhead, and the 1986 was an FXR.
Steel bumpers.
Our scion will automatically lock itself if you unlock it but don’t bother to open the doors. The algorhythm is defective though. One time it locked the keys in the car all by itself. They were sitting on the passenger seat.
I’m now afraid to shut the doors if the keys are in the car in any way, shape or form.
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