Sunday, Sep 29, 2013 at 11:43
Quote - "I am old enough to remember when cars which had clocked up 50,000
miles (approx 110,000 KM) were burning oil and needing an overhaul and with modern cars just run in." - end Quote ..
Graeme - In fairness to the older engines, the cars and trucks of the 1940's and 1950's had to put up with vast amounts of dirt roads and the accompanying clouds of dust, and the relatively poor filtering and sealing.
There have been big advances in road and highway conditions, as
well as filtering quality and seal quality. I guess you haven't forgotten that a lot of lip seals in this era still used leather in the seal lip!?
In addition, maintenance was poor in this era, because many vehicle owners had little understanding of maintenance requirements.
As a final feature, oil quality and oil additives have reached heights that the old vehicle designers could only dream about.
It's said that engine design is limited by the oil quality available - and it's only advances in oil capabilities that have enabled modern engines to produce the power they do, from the smaller displacements of today.
I reckon if I bought a new FJ Holden today, I could easily get 200,000kms out of the engine without the need for overhaul, with todays fantastic sealed roads, and improved oils and filtering.
One things for sure - you couldn't beat the starting ability of a
grey Holden engine!
Even with crook plugs, an out-of-tune carby, and worn rings, you still only need to get her over compression twice, and she'd fire right up - even on that dreadful 6 volts!!
I'd like to see a modern engine with a corroded wiring harness and an ECM with dirty contacts, do that! LOL
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