Reminiscent - Or How I make You All Feel Young.
Submitted: Thursday, Jun 08, 2006 at 22:00
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WDR
Talking to a
young fella about the old days and one thing lead to another. I have started to think of some car related inventions I have seen - No doubt some of you could add more - - It also makes me wonder how we stayed alive (I could really give some hair raising stories on that one):-
Tubeless tyres
Safety rims
Cross tread tyres
Radial tyres
Puncture plugs.
Disk Brakes
Seat belts
Air bags
Syncho on first gear
Four on the floor with synchro
Indicators
Airconditioning
Electric windows
Electric mirrors
Elimination of quarter windows (retograde step that - they were great airconditioners)
False leather (I fondly remember the beautiful smell of an old Austin 90)
Lights that worked.
Lights that went on when you opened the door
Computers
Non metal materials (Old cars were designed to kill in an accident)
Laminated window screens etc
(Does anyone remember the old vacuum wipers that went slower as you increased speed)
(I won't go into mechanicals - take too long)
Slipping bands (that started the abovementioned conversation)
Traffic calmers
Humps
Roundabouts (I do remember one)
Give way signs
Speed limit in the country (70-80 MPH was standard in the chev ute between
Adelaide and
Ceduna on the old dirt Eyre Highway.) 80mph = 128KPH and blowouts were common (I always drove one leg even though I was only 14 or 15) -( I think that is why I am a little confident in a 4X4 on dirt - How easy is that! )
etc etc etc
We really are progessing aren't we.
Reply By: Geoff (Newcastle, NSW) - Friday, Jun 09, 2006 at 12:32
Friday, Jun 09, 2006 at 12:32
This reminds me of a conversation I had with No.1 daughter, all of 16yo and nothing to learn.
She was asking me about learning to drive, actually she was telling me how good she is. Buggered if I can tell how she knows that, she's driven my old VL Commodore around a car park a couple of times. Tells me she'll never drive my Troopy, manuals are a pain.(There is a 4wd god) Again, I don't know how she learnt that, she's never even sat in the drivers
seat of a manual!!
Anyway, she asked me what I learned to drive in. Easy, 1953 model Dodge 1 ton truck. 3 speed column no synchro on 1st, 6 volt electrics, side valve six cylinder awesome power, I could beat a Leyland bus off the traffic lights!!
It had an ignition key and a foot pedal starter on the left hand floor that manually pushed the starter onto the ring gear and engaged the electrics. Basically a foot operated solenoid. It was on the left for two reasons, that's where the starter motor was and the truck was made for the American market, left hand drive and converted in Australia by Chrysler.
No heaters or anything beyond what it actually needed to run.
It was totally theft proof, there where only two people who could start it, Dad and I. Don't know how many timnes I had to rescue my brother from a flat battery because he couldn't start it!!
Any way, I digressed, back to No.1 daughter. I was telling her all about the Dodge.
Her answer? Why would people make cars like that?
Ahh, she's her mothers daughter.
Geoff.
| Geoff,
Landcruiser HDJ78,
Grey hair is hereditary, you get it from children. Baldness is caused by watching the Wallabies.
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