Posted on 02/14/2014 11:09:59 AM PST by EveningStar
It's hard to picture what today's teenagers will wax nostalgic about 30 years from now when they reminisce about their first car. (It still required gasoline, perhaps?) Who knows how automobiles will change in the future; what we do know is how different they are today from 30 or more years ago. If you fondly remember being surrounded by two or three tons of solid Detroit steel with a whip antenna on the front from which you could tie a raccoon tail or adorn with an orange Union 76 ball, and enough leg room that you didn't suffer from phlebitis on long road trips, then you might also miss a few of these.
(Excerpt) Read more at mentalfloss.com ...
Oooooooooooooooooooooooo!
One of the first cars I ever drove on a road was my Grandpa’s cherry 68 Riveria. It had a nice little 430 inch engine. I wish I had it now.
Everyone knows the girl rides in the middle spot on the bench seat up next to you... regardless of the stick.
Wow... I just thought about start up procedure on my 64 Buick. Pump the gas to prime the carb with the accelerator pump and latch up the automatic choke... which opens back up as the exhaust manifold comes up to temperature. I need to put it back on the road.
you skip over the :) ?
For that matter why aren't turn signals auditory inside the cabin anymore?
I noticed four or five years ago that they had started to phase out the audible cue.
Sorry about my post #425.
Guess I didn't hear you.
Us elderly folks can't hear them anyway...
F150 with mechanical window handles and manual door locks....
Told my granddaughter to roll the window down.
She asked “There's no button. How do I do that?” 8<)
Many years ago, I bought a 1952 Lincoln SA200 welder with a magneto and a hand crank starter on the V4D Wisconsin engine.
As the seller was showing me how to start it, he warned me that it sometimes kicked back and sure enough it did. He also added that his brother had 2 teeth knocked cranking a combine with the same engine.
I bought an flywheel and starter for it soon after. I never broke anything but it sure hurt when it slapped you with the pointy end of the crank or tried to jerk it out of my hands.
A “crank”. I remember my grandfather driving a car that still had the hole for the crank, the crank itself, and could be started using it. It was not required to start the car, more of a backup in case the new fangled electric starter failed.
I had a Fairmont “speeder” I used for track inspections a long long time ago on the railroad. It had a hand crank start, 2 cycle engine. What was interesting about the unit was that the engine was designed to run in either direction.
The drive was a direct drive canvas belt and if you had to back up, you would hit the kill switch and then as the engine came to a stop, you would have the throttle half open with the timing still in full forward advance. right at the last moment as the engine came up to TDC as it slowed down enough, close the ignition switch, it backfires, and reverses direction, then you quickly reset the timing to full retard (full advance for reverse) to keep it going.
Not many could master the technique... but it sure beat having to crank it.
It fouled plugs routinely and it was just standard protocol to swap out the plug for a cleaned one when starting the day. Ignition was a Ford buzz coil.
Nope.
Nor Tom Cruise.
I did...sorry. :-)
Not really, they used to make the well bigger for the bigger tires. They shrunk the trunk, might have grown the gas tank into that space.
Sure you can. Royal Enfield is still in business.
http://www.autoinfoz.com/bikegallery/exterior/big/ext-1357383234Royal%20Enfield%20Cafe%20Racer%20500%20Bike6.jpg
I would like floor vents and side vent windows to return.
Shove it or let it lay..
Driver Returns On Foot (Ford backwards)
More Old Parts Are Reused..
Fix It Again Tony (hey, that one can make a come back!)
the list goes on and on..
Had a 4 door car in Brazil with manual locks.
What a pain it truly is to reach into the back seat to unlock that door. Contorting oneself.
All cause of Brazil’s ridiculous import tariffs making everything so expensive.
You and me both.
I used to have a Duster with a slant six and three on the floor. Loved that car. Got crappy mileage, but gas was cheap.
The thing about cars is this: They need very little work. My Chrysler 300M got regular oil changes, brakes and tires. That was it - for 185,000 miles. The omni and reliant were awesome for the price.
And I spent no time under any of those cars. They were simply reliable (once I figured out the codes). Keep gas in the tank, change the oil, replace tires and brakes, and you are pretty much golden. I will say that Chryslers are notorious for transmission problems (I had an older reliant and LeBaron convertible that had this issue) but that is not really a “new vs old” thing.
Older cars are much simpler, but also nowhere near as good as a newer car. There is a company that, for around $35,000 will give you a modern suspension on your 1970 challenger. It still handles pretty much like a pig compared to a modern Challenger right off the showroom floor.
And then there is this AMAZING video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aDs1sHJLFE
And an explanation here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ3Y0lxGz6s
Bottom line, I see most pre 1990 cars as not much more than a Model T with some nice body work. I exagerate, a bit, but you get my point.
Meanwhile, I’d LOVE to have an MG TC for the roads around where I live.
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