Back in my day•••••

We had a Super modern Chrysler product. It had a digital AM radio. As in no fm. Just am. And it had presets. 

I remember our first K car seemed like a space ship. Cruise control?? Fuel injection? What do you mean we don't have to pump the gas while cranking? And it lasted 170k miles! (And was totaled it still had plenty of life left.)

In reply to Joe Gearin : you forgot about 4 track and then 8 track tapes!!  

Don't forget about the record player on the transmission hump.  

I put an aftermarket 200 watt Power Booster in my trusty 1980 Corolla.  Didn't sound any better.....but sure added loudness!  

We had a '70 Dodge Monaco wagon when I was growing up.  It had a 3rd row rear facing seat.  As a kid, it was the holy grail of seats.  You fought your siblings to the death to ride back there on trips. 

My first car, a '67 Jeepster Commando, had two seats and a steering wheel.  I cleaned the inside out with a garden hose.  You could repair anything with a basic socket set, a screw driver, a bit of wire and duct tape.  I blew the center chunk out of the back axle and drove it home with 4wd engaged using only the front wheels.  $75 later and about an hour to replace entire axle assembly and it was back in service. 

Back in my day almost everyone's garage or shed had at least one of these even if they only needed it for the lawnmower. I've wondered how old the folks are now who wouldn't recognize it from 20' if they just saw one somewhere. Car guys had at least 3 of them, two cheap ones they bought at first that leaked and then one good one (like the one below) they used regularly while the first two they bought were kept as spares/loaners.

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In reply to NOT A TA :  Easy fix.

If you bought tires they sent you a Christmas record. I wasn't around for that, but those records are still all over the place when you look for vinyl.

I used to pop my high beams on and off with my foot and a button on the floor.

If you were cheap (or young and poor like I was, with a car that burned a lot of oil) my local gas station sold used motor oil for 25 cents/quart.

ebonyandivory said:

I used to pop my high beams on and off with my foot and a button on the floor.

^^^ Reminded me of pumping the windshield washer with a foot pump on the floor. Think the last car I drove with one was a Falcon.

In reply to NOT A TA :

Dad’s 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible had a wonderbar radio that would automatically find the next station on the dial.  AM only of course

There were no parasitic drains on batteries from modern radios so you could store the car without disconnecting it and expect to fire it up again in the spring.

And most of my cars had starting handles if the battery did run low (these were still available up to and including MGA and TR-3 and were darned useful for setting valves as well).

In reply to wspohn : ah yes the hand crank.  Not only a way to start a car with a dead battery, but setting valves,  points, getting it on top dead center,  and many other maintenance chores.  

In reply to NOT A TA :

Still have one.  Got it from my Dad's garage.   Used it many times.  No twist off oil containers back then.

In reply to stuart in mn :

Oh yeah, young and poor.   Bought my used oil in a cardboardy type can in Pathmark.  Used the opener/funnel as pictured above to fill a 1962 VW, with a seeping engine case.

In reply to frenchyd :

First time I saw or used one was on a Model T.  I was a kid, and it amazed me.  First engine I worked on was a Clinton 3 1/2 hp. glass bowl carb.  Used a piece of clothes line to start it.  Went on my home made mini bike.  I think I was 12 or 13.  Long time ago.

My 1st car was a 1/4 midget with a Clinton and DIRECT DRIVE, push start and kill switch to stop. I remember using the wrap around cord on mini bikes, scary to think we rode those things with our ankle right next to that pulley with the rope slot.

  I agree, young and stupid.  Ankle next to the pulley, and usually a header made from straight pipe, from your Dad's plumbing box.  Daily double for burning and tearing up your legs.  Not that I'm in the market, but those old Horizontal shaft small engines go for some big money.  I see them at the County Fairs often, on display.

Embarrassing moment: as a youth I was driving a 58 MGA that I was learning to maintain and work on. Took a girlfriend to the local drive in (remember those?) for a burger and when I went to start the car again, the battery was flat (limited budget didn't extend to a new battery and you couldn't always park on a hill....).

We were sitting among all sorts of 50s and 60s Amercian cars with lumpy idles and loud exhaust - no other British cars to be seen.  I had to get out the hand crank and restart the car (which it thankfully did) to the sound of hooting, honking and catcalls.

Still own the car and married the girlfriend!

I had a 1960 MGA.  News to me they had a hand crank.  Then again, it did have a later model MGB motor in it.

I would look for soda bottles early in the morning, if we found four we could ride the mini bike most of the day. Barefoot of course.

I had a 1960 MGA.  News to me they had a hand crank.  Then again, it did have a later model MGB motor in it.

 

They all had a hand crank. You probably never noticed it as they were kept in clips high up under the tonneau panel forward of the spare tire. 

TRoglodyte said:

I would look for soda bottles early in the morning, if we found four we could ride the mini bike most of the day. Barefoot of course.

OMG I forgot about that. And that feeling when you had a few dollars in your pocket from your efforts. You felt so rich.

In reply to dculberson :

My brother and I would go out on our bikes with big trash bags on the handles.  We'd pick up cans and bottles all day, then ride them down to the P&C to redeem them- NYS had a nickel apiece on them.  Cans were strongly preferred to bottles, as they were lighter.  We'd net $3 or $5 for the day's efforts.  

My MGA was a heap.  But someone fabbed a AC Cobra nose on it.  That's why I bought it.  The handle probably went to the wayside.  It also had a ply wood floor.  Ooh Boy.  At least no rusted floors, just termites.  

Ah yes, bottles.  Get a few, and go buy a Spaulding, a broom stick, and some Bazooka bubble gum.  We were all Mickey Mantle.