xtriple Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 Just thought of another one - rev counters (okay pedants, tachometers!). Can't have a car without one. Also not keen on this modern fad for not putting temp gauges on cars. I know that for years they have lied (ecu controlled so as to NOT scare the punters...until there really is a problem and it suddenly goes from 'normal' to OMFG that's HOT, in a nano-second!) but at least it's some kind of indication... Lights that are blue when cold and then go out only to be replaced with blazing red when it's all gone tits up, just not the thing old chap! mat_the_cat, Asimo and brickwall 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_earwig Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Oil pressure warning lights seem to have gone the same way. No light, nothing, all you get is a bong from the computer and a warning, followed by a con rod exiting the bonnet. xtriple, HMC and brickwall 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigmund Fraud Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Also not keen on this modern fad for not putting temp gauges on cars. Not particularly modern, actually. My 1970s DAFs don't have a temp gauge, neither did my 1980s Citroen BX ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosmoke300 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Just a too late lamp ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martc Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Not particularly modern, actually. My 1970s DAFs don't have a temp gauge, neither did my 1980s Citroen BX ! Neither did my H-reg. Mk 2 Imp - just an orange light, which was also the oil pressure warning. Just what you need in a rear engine water cooled car with a well known reputation for being both "delicate" and prone to boiling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayMK Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Swing axles (makes driving more interesting)German Ford V4 beatDaf variomatic - and the way the centrifugal clutch lets go when pulling up.Beige, tan or cream upholstery - also partial to red leather.and I'm another Commer TS fan - 3 cylinders, 6 pistons, 1 crankshaft, and it's a 2 stroke diesel. Just mad. Must pay more attention to wipers since so many of you are getting off on them . xtriple 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtriple Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 Must pay more attention to wipers since so many of you are getting off on them .Wipers are the new porn mate! RayMK 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Partridge Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I love wrap around rear headlights, like Frog Scorpio lights for example. I also like it when cars have doors which stick or a slightly dodgy window. It reminds you that it's old and a bit rubbish, and probably made by Brummies, but you still love it anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSdriver Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 That "old car" smell... especially on old Citroens where it has added elixir de LHM. DS20, Junkman and chaseracer 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadworkUK Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I like bizzare gadgets, like the built in dashboard parking timer in early Celica ST's, and the fact that early Rover Sterling column stalks were illuminated by fibre optics. My favourite ever feature on a car, EVER, was on dad's Mondeo Ghia X. The fuel computer has two LCDs and the red LED for the alarm system is between the two. When the car is locked and the alarm active, the LED flashes, and for a few seconds after you've started the car you can still see the unlit LED. Here's the infeasibly awesome bit: After a few seconds a section of LCD over the red LED goes opaque so you can't see it any more. It's LIKE MAGIC. Anybody out there who has a hi-spec MK1, check it out. You will be unable to control yourself. UltraWomble, Asimo, cobblers and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigmund Fraud Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Just a too late lamp ! Poverty-spec BXs have two : a yellow, "engine's almost fucked" one and the red, "engine's definitely fucked" one. Luxury* ! Junkman, UltraWomble and Partridge 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Partridge Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I love the "old car smell". Or in my case, the old British car smell. Oil, petrol, leather and a faint whiff of damp. Magnificent Rustbucket, chaseracer, HMC and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouseflakes Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 rear headlights There's that phrase again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChinaTom Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 the little clear plastic domes with the red pin for Renault 18 GTS/GTX/GTD/Turbo door lock indicators (what is the correct term for these?). Loved the little red dot on the central locking button on Renaults of that era too. Leccy window switches. Always fascinated by them - the positioning of them, the shape of them etc. Specifically fascinating is the little blank anonymous switch found between driver window and off-side rear on many models (safety cut-out) on BMWs, Mercs, Granadas, Hyundai Stellar GSL; between the rear window switches on 80's and 90's Audis. Loved the proximity of the rear window switches for the driver and rear passengers on Peugeot 405s. They are a few cm apart - can't see why the driver couldn't use the same ones as the rear passengers. Didn't a Citroen CX have the rear window switches positioned so only one pair was needed? Loved the location of the driver's control for rear windows on the Megane RX4 and high spec gen 1 scenics. Roof mounted switches on Alfa 90 (and 75s?). The BMW 8 series rears can only be controlled by the driver. The Rover 800 Coupe rears didn't even move! The leccy rear quarterlight style opening rears on the Fiat Ullyse, Lancia Y10 LX (and to a lesser extent the BMW Compact). The brilliant slider controls for them on a Cherry. I still don't know where the driver controls for the rears are on a top spec Renault 21. Then the Japanese designers took away the fun with door mounted controls for all (reassuring gesticulation towards SD1 and Roller drivers). Amazed that Cortina Ghia owners had to diy for a ciggie - surely the Granada set-up could have been an option? Same with Mk1 Cavaliers. Even mk1 Carlton owners had to tick an option to get them. I could go on... but won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorfolkNWeigh Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Smells In the summer I was at a show standing near to a TR6 ,when the owner opened the boot, the smell of plastic,hardboard,petrol etc brought back memories of my Grandad's Herald,1300 and 2000 and all those summer days out and picnics in the late 60's early 70's. It actually brought a tear to my eye. Not that I was kept in the boot.The point is it was a specific Triumph smell. Do modern cars have smells? mercrocker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_earwig Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Yes, although it's mostly rotten eggs due to catalytic converters. mercrocker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pillock Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Whatever glue Ford was using in the late 80s to stick interiors together. Smells lovely, and very different to other cars. I like armrests and floor-mounted pedals (as opposed to dangly ones) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaseracer Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Wipers are the new porn mate! Adjustable intermittent wipe. My first (1990) XM had it, but not the second (1993, nominally higher spec). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinkersaab Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 The smell noise and feel of the boot and catch on my old allegro. If i am in my shed i sometimes just open , sniff and close the boot just cos i can, and carry on with what i was doing...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Thumbs Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 The sensation that I'm doing 60MPH when in actual fact I'm doing 30. Magnificent Rustbucket and chaseracer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Partridge Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 The smell noise and feel of the boot and catch on my old allegro. If i am in my shed i sometimes just open , sniff and close the boot just cos i can, and carry on with what i was doing...... I like the sound of the boot catches and the sound of the doors slamming on '90s Rover Group stuff. Leyland Lawrence 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan84 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 The sound of something that has been sat for a while, especially with a drop of stale fuel finally coughing and spluttering into life; the thrill of the battery dying, and then at the last second before all hope is lost it finally kicks into life mat_the_cat, Partridge, oman5 and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warren t claim Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Alfasud foot operated heater control and "too cold to thrash light" were useful and charming features. The chocolate handbrake cable that worked on the front wheels most certainly wasn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Sterling Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 The smell of a Rover 800 leather interior. Mk1s had a particular smell, I remember many, many years ago as a penniless teen whilst waiting for MA_Sterling to come back from shopping, I spotted a Mk1 Sterling in the car park. I walked up to it and as I walked up beside it, that smell came wafting to my nose, it was nostalgic, really took me back to when FATHA_Sterling had a Mk1 Sterling. I also love the central locking sound, the boot opening/closing sounds and the deep exhaust sound from when it idles, this of course when I thas a good strong and clean exhaust. Still, I've got a 3 Mk1s in my collection in which I can enjoy those things. Partridge 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bub2006 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 After driving the metro for a few days it has a few things I like. Electric Windows,central Locking and a rev counter on a 80's giffer car are unheard of,the illumination of the auto box selector and the clock being in the overhead console like higher spec orions and escorts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Partridge Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 The smell of a Rover 800 leather interior. Mk1s had a particular smell, I remember many, many years ago as a penniless teen whilst waiting for MA_Sterling to come back from shopping, I spotted a Mk1 Sterling in the car park. I walked up to it and as I walked up beside it, that smell came wafting to my nose, it was nostalgic, really took me back to when FATHA_Sterling had a Mk1 Sterling. I also love the central locking sound, the boot opening/closing sounds and the deep exhaust sound from when it idles, this of course when I thas a good strong and clean exhaust. Still, I've got a 3 Mk1s in my collection in which I can enjoy those things.I know what you mean about the exhaust sound. And twin pipes are for winners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pandamonium Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 OEM wheel trims. drum, dugong and DS20 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sudsprint Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Horizontal twin headlamps and a matt black grill (Series 1 Manta/Dino Coupe/Triumph 2.5PI) Lancia Beta HPE rear end styling 60s/70s rally cars photographed in the snow mercrocker and Sloth in a bowl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sloth in a bowl Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 SAAB weird wheels Jim Bergerac, warren t claim, Richard and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sloth in a bowl Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Plain 3 spoke alloys DSdriver 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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