Automobiles

[Meagain]

I remember when cars were a lot simpler than they are today:

To start one you had to pump the gas once, if you were lucky, that would set the choke. Then you turned the key, which was on the dash. Ford had them to the left of the steering wheel supposedly so a passenger couldn't mess with it.
Nobody locked the doors.
Windows had handcranks, unless it was a Lincoln, Imperial, or Caddy.
Heaters were an option.
Radios were an option and only had one speaker and AM.
You could buy retread tires. For you young people, those were used tires that had the been reground and a new tread glued onto the old body.
There were vacuum operated windshieldwipers that only worked if you didn't press on the gas.
The dimmerswitch was on the floor.
Some cars had footpumps to spray the windshield.
Chrysler lug nuts werre righthand thread on one side and left on the other.
Almost all cars had bumper jacks.
If you had a clock, it never worked.

[Gyva02]

lol... I love the old cars so much. my 63 scout has the lug nuts your talking about, on one side its oppisite. Never seen a foot pump windshield sprayer yet. My 28 Studebaker has the vaccum windshield wipers you talk of, also has the windshield tip in or out for OLD style A/C.


But yes Ohhhhh so simpler and faster to fix....

20's and 30's ALL THE WAY......



Mike..

[Boogabaah]

ahah my dad still has his sisters car seat from the early 50's. it just basically hangs over the seat. two metal bars curving back over the seat with a basket thats got leg holes in it for the baby up front. :eek: i wish i had a picture to show you

[themnax]

i rember when not having one didn't make you a second class citizen!

i definately remember 40s and 50s chevy/gmc 'light' turcks (pickups and panel vans) in the 1/2 3/4 and 1 ton range with that 235 overhead cam inline six. and a granny fourspeet with a big stick on the floor. those were my favorite. until the mid to late 60s datsuns came along. which were in many ways quite functionaly simular only way better on gas.

dead battery? no problem. park on a hill and pop the clutch (in second, in first the compression would stop you dead). am radio with tubes if you had that. air conditioning? open a window. but real gauges that actualy told you what was going on if you had any understanding of how things worked. not idiot lights that light up to tell you you should have chainged the oil 60,000 miles ago and now you're going to need a new engine.

=^^=
.../\...

[denimstar]

We had a 66 dodge PU. I loved that truck it was bare bones no radio no heat. The dash was metal. LOL it was great.

[fylthevoyd]

and they were built for speed....and you felt safe in them having your ass wrapped in heavy guage metal...instead of plastic and aluminum.....trucks and 4 wheel drive vehicles were for working practicality and utilitarian uses.....not a social status symbol...that is an over-grown gas hog...and each manufacturer's style was different in appearence....instead of the common look alikes of today


and with an ounce of common sense you could work on your vehicle...and maintain it yourself...instead of having a computer tell you what was wrong....and a tune-up and oil change was a saturday afternoon activity that most people did themselves

[shaggie]

One of the Chryslers around 1960 had push buttons instead of a shift lever. Don't remember which model. Those kind of cars were works of art.

Many cities have some great classic auto shows. It's like going back to another world. I like the ones where they play the 50s music. Some people are extremely dedicated to restoring and maintaining their cars. I give them a lot of credit.

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[freeinalaska]

..yeah and you could actually work on them yourself without a computerized diagnostic machine. (Still the proud owner of a 1969 Chevy pick up)

[shaggie]

LaSalle was a beautiful car.

http://www.100megsfree4.com/cadillac/lasalle/lasalle.htm

.

[hotwater]

LaSalle was a beautiful car.

http://www.100megsfree4.com/cadillac/lasalle/lasalle.htm

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I noticed in the opening credits of All in the Family on TV Land, Archie Bunker and Edith mention a LaSalle

"Our old LaSalle was great, those were the days" :)


Hotwater

[Alaskan]

I was told I came home from the hospital in a Kaiser, 1 day old I don't remember that one.
I do remember our 1954 Buick Road master. What a car, it was huge. On trips I would climb up on the rear window deck, behind the backseat and take a nap.
Cars didn't have seat belts in those days, I can imagine a child doing that today, you would get pulled over and the parents would be arrested for child endangerment.
............................................Alaska n.......................

[shaggie]

Kids used to ride in the bed of pickup trucks.

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