Remember The Old Days?

[Setec Astronomy]

I was just thinking about how much more (mechanical) maintenance we used to have to do in the old days. Remember this stuff?

Cap and rotor...remember them? And for you really old guys...points and condenser.

And when we had distributors...timing adjustment, timing lights...and distributor wrenches!

Remember when we used to have 3 or 4 V-belts? And they used to have to get tightened and replaced.

Remember when radiators used to be brass and copper and used to leak? Especially those top hose connections on GM cars.

For that matter...remember when coolant hoses used to fail? And you used to have to change them periodically to prevent that.

Speaking of that...remember when you used to have to change coolant every 2 years? Before Dexcool went to 5 years and others longer.

And then thermostats...who here has put a thermostat in a pot of water on the stove to see if it would open?

How about changing air filters every 12,000 miles...or plugs every 30,000 (or less before electronic ignition and unleaded gas). Now we've got 100,000 mile plugs, and some air filters go to 50,000 miles.

And always having a can of carb cleaner around to spray that varnish off the carb...and changing fuel filters...like that pain in the neck one that screwed into the GM carbs.

Stuck chokes, missing snorkel tubes to bring warm air from the exhaust manifold up to the air cleaner, vacuum operated butterflies for that. Having a can of ether and being worried whether the car would start if it was 5°F? Having to let the car warm up so it wouldn't stall? (and a special callout to those early '80's GM cars with the limiter caps on the idle mixture adjustment, that would stall as soon as you put the car in gear, even during the summer...I won't even tell you what the dealer solution was for that...or has the statute of limitations run out on defeating emissions controls?)

Greasing suspension joints...boy I used to hate that...but I forced myself to do it...and who remembers greasing a universal joint? Or when CV joints were new and the boots would split all the time and throw grease all over everything?

PCV valves? Remember changing them?

Exhaust systems that would last only 4 or 5 years...or 2 if you did all short trips.


There's so much less to do today, and so much less that goes wrong...we have that much more time for detailing!


On the other hand, it seems like we change oil almost as much as we used to (although thankfully, it is less), and the brake designs today are horrible...exposed sliding parts that get full of rust and grit. And of course we have oxygen sensors that have a limited life, and other sensors that things happen to.


What do you guys remember that I forgot?

[Belair]

When I was a kid I remember the driver pushing the gas pedal to the floor to get the metal button next to the pedal to start the car.

Steering wheels that were skinny and didn't tilt nor lock.

Stick shift on the column.

Glass headlights.

Tires made only of rubber without steel belts; the rayon ones would hum at certain speeds on a '55 Dodge.

No turn signals and usually no side mirrors nor backup lights.

No radio.

Chrome hood ornaments so that you could tell one make of car from another.

On my Dad's '51 Buick the hood opened from either side instead of the front; it weighed about 30 lbs. The yellow can of Simonize.

A rear wiper on a '48 Chevy sedan, first and only one I ever saw.

A 2 door coupe without the metal post was so much cooler than the 4 door sedan with the post.

Small front vent windows that cranked open and round chrome handles in the dash that opened & closed the floor vents.

No seat belts on the cloth seats; cloth headliner matched the seat color, on older cars it would sag. Same cloth on the door panels.

One dim single light on the roof inside; the metal ring around it unscrewed so the bulb could be replaced easily.

Rear seats big enough to sleep on and the transmission hump on the floor.

A trunk that could hold lots of stuff besides a full sized spare, sometimes hid kids going to a drive-in who wouldn't have to pay.

Chrome grilles and bumpers and hub caps, rusted quarter panels from the salted roads.

No plastic inside nor out.

A cover that didn't lock for the gas cap.

Metal sun visor halfway down the windshield and the small light reflector on the dash so you could see the one traffic light above you.

More panel trucks than pickups.

The standard issue factory tinkling sound from the rear springs on a '57 Chevy.

You never saw a foreign car. The closest you came was a Ford made in Canada that looked weird compared to ours.

[BillyJack]

I don't have to go far to remember all that stuff in Setec's post.
Just gotta go downstairs to the garage where my El Camino resides. No points or condenser, but all the other items apply.

Bill

[dad07]

Yep I remember......

4 wheel drum brakes...that was a pain to keep adjusted.
.2 piece rear main seals that always leaked.
Solid lifters that always needed adjustment.

Using a microfiche to look up service procedures.

Rebuilding calipers and wheel cylinders and the assortments of hones needed.

rear wheel drive axle seals and the set screw that always broke and made for a long day!

Just a few I remember

[Bunky]

Choke pull off valves were always failing and usually not if but when you had to rebuild your carburetor. I remember that it was hard to tune some GM cars as they never seemed to idle right plus the back glass always rusted out. Some cars needed a little trick to start ...pump the gas and catch it right as it started. I still remember a 1972 Chevelle with their standard clutch-- what a clutch spring. Nothing lasted under the hood (spark plug wires, hoses, etc). GM silver paint...gone.

[PaulMys]

I was just thinking about how much more (mechanical) maintenance we used to have to do in the old days. Remember this stuff?

Cap and rotor...remember them? And for you really old guys...points and condenser.

And when we had distributors...timing adjustment, timing lights...and distributor wrenches!

Remember when we used to have 3 or 4 V-belts? And they used to have to get tightened and replaced.

Remember when radiators used to be brass and copper and used to leak? Especially those top hose connections on GM cars.

For that matter...remember when coolant hoses used to fail? And you used to have to change them periodically to prevent that.

Speaking of that...remember when you used to have to change coolant every 2 years? Before Dexcool went to 5 years and others longer.

And then thermostats...who here has put a thermostat in a pot of water on the stove to see if it would open?

How about changing air filters every 12,000 miles...or plugs every 30,000 (or less before electronic ignition and unleaded gas). Now we've got 100,000 mile plugs, and some air filters go to 50,000 miles.

And always having a can of carb cleaner around to spray that varnish off the carb...and changing fuel filters...like that pain in the neck one that screwed into the GM carbs.

Stuck chokes, missing snorkel tubes to bring warm air from the exhaust manifold up to the air cleaner, vacuum operated butterflies for that. Having a can of ether and being worried whether the car would start if it was 5°F? Having to let the car warm up so it wouldn't stall? (and a special callout to those early '80's GM cars with the limiter caps on the idle mixture adjustment, that would stall as soon as you put the car in gear, even during the summer...I won't even tell you what the dealer solution was for that...or has the statute of limitations run out on defeating emissions controls?)

Greasing suspension joints...boy I used to hate that...but I forced myself to do it...and who remembers greasing a universal joint? Or when CV joints were new and the boots would split all the time and throw grease all over everything?

PCV valves? Remember changing them?

Exhaust systems that would last only 4 or 5 years...or 2 if you did all short trips.


There's so much less to do today, and so much less that goes wrong...we have that much more time for detailing!


On the other hand, it seems like we change oil almost as much as we used to (although thankfully, it is less), and the brake designs today are horrible...exposed sliding parts that get full of rust and grit. And of course we have oxygen sensors that have a limited life, and other sensors that things happen to.


What do you guys remember that I forgot?

Remember this stuff? Hell, I live it every day of my life working on boats. (Yup, still have an old '85 SeaRay with big block chevy's (Crusader conversions) with points & condensers). Lol

Lots of Rochester QuadraJets, and Holley dual feeds. (Those are carburetors for you young 'uns) ;P
And the chokes stick. A LOT. Lol

[Klasse Act]

I remember flipping my air cleaner lid upside down so my 2 barrel sounded like a 4 barrel, LOL! I barely remember tires being in non-metric sizes, i.e. LR60's or HR60's for instance.

[Two3zz]

Tires made only of rubber without steel belts; the rayon ones would hum at certain speeds on a '55 Dodge.

Lol. When I was much younger, (clearing throat) I had to save money to buy new tires. Ah, the old Goodyear Polyglas. Rears didn't last long. The tire shop, a Goodyear outlet was 2 blocks away on the boulevard. The salesman eventually knew me by name. I would be seen carrying a tire under each arm walking home. Had to then save to have them mounted and balanced. Let's just say in the 70's.

[Setec Astronomy]

I remember flipping my air cleaner lid upside down so my 2 barrel sounded like a 4 barrel, LOL!

LOL, I remember the kid around the corner who taught me how to do that, he had an A-special, a Monte Carlo or a Grand Prix, I can't remember...wait, it was a GP.

Stick shift on the column.

Glass headlights.

Three on the tree! I remember the first car I saw with non-sealed beams. Me and my friends were walking around the lot at the Lincoln-Mercury dealer, and they had a bunch of '84 Mark VII's. Sometimes when trying to replace a headlight bulb these days in an especially awkward spot, I think wistfully about sealed beams, that came out from the front...the only wrinkle was when GM started using Torx screws and we had to figure out what that was and where to get a driver for it.

[Larry A]

Remember 8 miles per gallon , but gas was only 32 cents a gallon. Gas stations that pumped gas for you and checked your oil , because a old car would burn oil at a quart every 100 miles.The old wax that we used on our cars , thats if we waxed our cars at all.Useing rubbing compound to bring back the shine on faded paint. Washing a car with laundry soap. Having a girl sit next to you with a bench seat. That all I can think of right now.