Maybe You Remember...

[Eric]

Have you ever set point gap?
The answer dates you.
If the answer is yes, then (probably) you’re old enough to buy beer.
Back in the ‘80s.
Otherwise, you probably have no idea what “points” - in the mechanical sense - are. Much less how (and why) “gap” is an adjustment that must be made every now and then.
Your vintage may be a bit more recent if you remember what the first thing you needed to do in the morning to get your car started was.
Do you?
Hint: It’s the exact opposite of what you do today.
If you know the answer, you probably know what Grunge Rock is - and may even have some flannel shirts in the closet somewhere.
You push down the gas pedal to set the choke. That’s another bit of automotive apocrypha fading fast in the rearview.
The choke was a mechanical plate - mechanically or thermostatically controlled - that snapped closed to restrict airflow to the carburetor - another ancient device, long departed. Closing the choke richened up the air- fuel mixture to help get the cold engine started.
You sometimes had to pump the accelerator pedal several times, too, in order to feed some gas to the engine.
Then, you’d key the ignition and crank the starter. Sometimes, you had to crank the engine for awhile, until the mechanical fuel pump pushed enough fuel into the carburetor’s bowl to get things going.
There was an art to it.

Back in the day, a car’s starting protocol could vary. Some cars wanted you to depress the accelerator pedal halfway down while cranking; others wanted two pumps and then let it back up. Today, of course, the last thing you’re supposed to do is pump the accelerator pedal - and there’s no choke to set. Just turn the key.
Or - more commonly - push the button.
Here’s another golden oldie: The button on the floor for the high beams. It was cool because you didn’t need to take your hand off the wheel and fiddle with a stalk (as today). The one downside - if the car had a manual transmission - was that your left foot now had one more thing to do.
Which is probably why floor-button high beams are no more.
Fast-Forwarding a little bit, how about automatic seat belts? You opened the door - and the seat belt (the shoulder belt) retracted along with it. You closed the door and the seat belt automatically swaddled you like Baby Jesus. This was the baby step before air bags.
Be happy you missed it.
Did you know that - once upon a time - oil came in cans? Not plastic bottles like today that you can empty without making a mess.
Cans.
Like peas or corn come in - and you opened them similarly, with a punch. And - inevitably - made a mess. The spillage was Valdez-like, in part because there was no way to reseal the empties - which of course still contained enough oil to leak all over the place if one tipped over. This - like pre-Novocaine dentistry - is a thing about the past no one (me included) misses much.
One thing I do miss is being able to pop the hood without rooting around underneath the steering column/footwell for the release button. Cars built before the ‘80s usually had an outside hood latch. It was easier to pop the hood. For thieves, too.
Hence their disappearance.
T-tops are gone, too.
And for that, you can blame Uncle.
The problem, Uncle-wise, with T-tops is that it’s hard for the roof to support the car when it’s upside down after you’ve taken a Sawzall to it and cut out a third or more of the steel and replaced it with two removable glass panels.
Which is what they actually did.
Early T-roofs were installed after-the-fact, by the dealer or a shop the dealer sent the car to. They took a saw, rough-cut the holes, made them look presentable with trim - and fit the glass sections to the resultant opening.
Loosey-goosey.
That was the other problem with T-tops.
They tended to leak.
Later - factory installed - T-tops were much improved (tended to leak less) but there was still the problem of retaining the structural integrity of the roof itself. It could probably be done today, but T-Tops have gone out of fashion - like Jordache jeans and Mohawks. But Mowhawks are making a comeback, so who knows?
Maybe, as they say, there is hope!
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[Ken]

Nostalgia, it's a wonderful thing - in hindsight. The thing I miss least of all from those 'Good ole days' is the grease nipple.

Old cars had dozens of them, often fitted in the most awkward of places and woe betide you if you missed one.
Hubs, king-pins, steering bushes and links, pedals and linkages the darn things were everywhere. One old Rover
I used to look after for one of natures real old gentlemen - IIRC - had 32 of them. Then, on some of the real
oldies, there were not only the grease nipples but the occasional oil pot to consider. I must have had a dozen
various grease guns, with a multitude of rigid/flexible fittings and injectors, plus pump action oil cans and a
wide variety of greases and oils to cover the needs of the many cars I looked after.

Now it appears that the almost 'mandatory' safety checks that my dealer carries out at each service point takes
longer than the actual service itself.

Hey-ho, must be getting old.

Ken.

[grouch]

Nostalgia, it's a wonderful thing - in hindsight. The thing I miss least of all from those 'Good ole days' is the grease nipple.

Old cars had dozens of them, often fitted in the most awkward of places and woe betide you if you missed one.
Hubs, king-pins, steering bushes and links, pedals and linkages the darn things were everywhere. One old Rover
I used to look after for one of natures real old gentlemen - IIRC - had 32 of them. Then, on some of the real
oldies, there were not only the grease nipples but the occasional oil pot to consider. I must have had a dozen
various grease guns, with a multitude of rigid/flexible fittings and injectors, plus pump action oil cans and a
wide variety of greases and oils to cover the needs of the many cars I looked after.

Now it appears that the almost 'mandatory' safety checks that my dealer carries out at each service point takes
longer than the actual service itself.

Hey-ho, must be getting old.

Ken.

I had a '57 Chevy 3200 pickup once that had 62 zerk fittings. (The real name for grease fittings.) It had 4 on each spring. Each spring had one on the front, back and an upper and lower one in the center. 4 springs and you have 16 before you even got to the mechanical parts. It also had grease bolts on both rear axles. You pulled the bolt out, packed the hole with short fiber grease (I never did find out the difference between long and short fiber grease. I suspect it made no difference with later type bearing grease.) and tightened the bolt back in to force it into the bearing.

My '52 B3PW Power Wagon had even more. I never did find all of them. Each time I serviced it, I found new ones. It would drive all day at 30, complained at 35 and at 40 mph you waited to hear the pistons fly out of the block. The 5.88 gears may have had something to do with that.

[Ken]

My '52 B3PW Power Wagon had even more. I never did find all of them. Each time I serviced it, I found new ones. It would drive all day at 30, complained at 35 and at 40 mph you waited to hear the pistons fly out of the block. The 5.88 gears may have had something to do with that.[/QUOTE]

Interesting, Grouch. I had never heard of the term 'Zerk' so was unaware that it was the name of the fitting's inventor until I looked it up on'Wikipedia', to wit, 'A grease fitting, grease nipple, Zerk fitting, or Alemite fitting is a metal fitting used in mechanical systems to feed lubricants, usually lubricating grease, into a bearing under moderate to high pressure using a grease gun.'

All the manuals I have used used have always used the term 'Grease Nipple', I guess that is our usual UK English nomenclature. We still live and learn - info filed away for future reference.

Ken.

[grouch]

My '52 B3PW Power Wagon had even more. I never did find all of them. Each time I serviced it, I found new ones. It would drive all day at 30, complained at 35 and at 40 mph you waited to hear the pistons fly out of the block. The 5.88 gears may have had something to do with that.

Interesting, Grouch. I had never heard of the term 'Zerk' so was unaware that it was the name of the fitting's inventor until I looked it up on'Wikipedia', to wit, 'A grease fitting, grease nipple, Zerk fitting, or Alemite fitting is a metal fitting used in mechanical systems to feed lubricants, usually lubricating grease, into a bearing under moderate to high pressure using a grease gun.'

All the manuals I have used used have always used the term 'Grease Nipple', I guess that is our usual UK English nomenclature. We still live and learn - info filed away for future reference.

Ken.[/QUOTE]


I've always had trouble with British spellings in English compared to American spellings. Not to mention different words. Bonnet for what we call a hood. Although both also can cover a persons head. Boot for what we call the trunk. Aussies are sort of like Brits but they are a bit like Americans and a bit unique too.

Here's a picture of my old Power Wagon. I miss it but I was offered enough money that it got to be for sale. I think it's the only vehicle I've ever had where I actually made a profit on it.

[Dave Brand]

The fiance of one of my nieces is in the process of restoring an ex-US military WWII Power Wagon. It's pretty well all there, just needs work; parts availability seems surprisingly good.

[Ken]

I've always had trouble with British spellings in English compared to American spellings. Not to mention different words. Bonnet for what we call a hood. Although both also can cover a persons head. Boot for what we call the trunk. Aussies are sort of like Brits but they are a bit like Americans and a bit unique too.

For many years I was working on an international military project between the USA, UK, France and Germany. I was told by one of the Americans that they were often confused by my 'English' whereas the French and German members of the consortium found they could understand my presentations better than those of the Americans. It is a strange old world where one of the biggest differences is the language we both share.

Ken.

[grouch]

The fiance of one of my nieces is in the process of restoring an ex-US military WWII Power Wagon. It's pretty well all there, just needs work; parts availability seems surprisingly good.

Drivetrain parts are extremely common. The Power Wagon was a specific model. Dodge took the 1939 pickup cab, WWII 3/4 ton weapons carrier chassis and one ton axles to make the Power Wagon. It ran from 1946 to '68 in the U.S. and 1971 for export. Later on they put 4 wheel drive under a regular pickup and called it a Power Wagon too. The regular pickup is called a W series PW and the heavy duty models are the M series. The military version was the M37 and there were a bunch of variants to that one. The flathead 6 was used in commercial equipment and everything from basic Plymouths to heavy duty trucks. I drove trucks over the road with the flat 6. About 45 mph mostly.

[grouch]

For many years I was working on an international military project between the USA, UK, France and Germany. I was told by one of the Americans that they were often confused by my 'English' whereas the French and German members of the consortium found they could understand my presentations better than those of the Americans. It is a strange old world where one of the biggest differences is the language we both share.

Ken.[/COLOR]

I remember a few years back one of the French politicians wanted to ban "Americanisms" that were getting into the French language. Words like "Chauffeur" and "limousine". At least I know now us Americans don't have a lock on stupid politicos.

[Ken]

I remember a few years back one of the French politicians wanted to ban "Americanisms" that were getting into the French language. Words like "Chauffeur" and "limousine". At least I know now us Americans don't have a lock on stupid politicos.

Was he not aware that the term 'chauffeur' is from the French - it was the original term for the stoker who fired the boiler on the early steam engines (ships, trains and vehicles) and heated up the early 'hot-bulb' units which provided the ignition source on early automotive engines. There is also a link between limousine and Limousin area of France.


Ken.

[grouch]

Was he not aware that the term 'chauffeur' is from the French - it was the original term for the stoker who fired the boiler on the early steam engines (ships, trains and vehicles) and heated up the early 'hot-bulb' units which provided the ignition source on early automotive engines. There is also a link between limousine and Limousin area of France.


Ken.

Evidently not. There was a list of 15 words he wanted banned. all of them French in origin. We have towns here in Indiana with names like Terre Haute, Vincennes, and Lafeyette.