Anyone remember??

[daveb47]

Clothes pegs to hold choke out,tin foil/cardboard in front of radiator,seat covers.All the things that were essential to your daily motoring.

[srad34]

I remember seeing Austin 11/1300's with tin foil grilles all the time!

[bub2006]

Staple things growing up for me was cardboard in front of rad in winter by my dad. Casually kicking 7 shades out of his old opel commodore when it wouldn't fire in the morning. Next door neighbour had a new (at the time) transit van and that backfired,coughed and spluttered every cold day. Still miss seeing folk washing and tinkering with cars on a weekend. Also the unmistakable smell of uncatalysed engines.

[drum]

I noticed the wife's Alfa 147 wouldn't go above 70 degrees C yesterday and bemoaned the fact it needs a new thermostat. Forgot about the cardboard fix...

[UmBongo]

My dad used to put newspaper under the bonnet in cold weather.

[garbaldy]

Yes I can remember all that and also pouring boiling water over the water pump to de freeze it so I could run it melt the ice, all because I forgot to blanket it.

Also can remember Sunday used to be car cleaning day and you would see at least a dozen guys out with hoovers and shammys i cant say I've seen a car being hand washed or polished for years, also remember the grey exhaust pipe and smell of a decent carbed car on leaded 4 star.

[Taff]

asthmatic old Fords & Austins grinding into life on a cold morning, while the one bloke in the street who had bought one of those new-fangled Datsuns roared off with one turn of the key.

 

Heady days...

[panhard65]

I was thinking only yesterday how soft we have become when some silly bint with a Zafira was on the telly moaning because Vauxhall have told her she can't use the heater. She was wrapping her kids up in blankets because it would be so cold. She has obviously never driven a 60's or 70's car where you need the ice scrapper for the inside of the screen.

[oldcars]

I was thinking only yesterday how soft we have become when some silly bint with a Zafira was on the telly moaning because Vauxhall have told her she can't use the heater. She was wrapping her kids up in blankets because it would be so cold. She has obviously never driven a 60's or 70's car where you need the ice scrapper for the inside of the screen.

Should give her my Reliant, its like a fridge in the winter 

[LabRat]

The last Felicia I had used to freeze up the inside, even with the bloody blowers on!

 

 

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[Bren]

My first SD1 leaked so much water into the cabin it would freeze on the inside in very cold weather.

 

To be honest, owner's of some modern vauxhalls still have that experience of nostalgia cos'their washer battles freeze iin cold weather due to their location.

[Sloth in a bowl]

In my Datsun I use my right foot to push the chokes in once the motor is warm as they have been replaced to an odd location and when strapped in, I can't reach it with my hand.

One choke needs a different extension than the other as well.

[MarvinsMom]

me dad had some beige faux sheep skin- fluffy seat covers on the seats of the marina when we were growing up to prevent burn't skin in summer and frost bite in winter.

 

later he also had a bead seat cover thing in both the mk2 sierra and mk1 mondeo. I've not seen one of them in years yet at one point they were almost THE accessory to have.

[Vantman]

In winter I covered the engine of my A40 Somerset every night with my fathers old army greatcoat and always started it with the handle. When it got really cold I used to hang a small greenhouse type heater from the headlining as an interior heater and drove to work with it still in place and alight! Those were the days!

[nigel bickle]

Wipers lifting at speed ( over 50)

 

Rear screen demisters that didn't, and robbed the Dynamo of so much power that tick over wobbled.

 

Cross plies tramlining.

 

Drum brakes failing after crossing a ford, or any other soaking.

 

A series misfires after heavy rain

 

Could go on and on..

[Craig the Princess]

later he also had a bead seat cover thing in both the mk2 sierra and mk1 mondeo. I've not seen one of them in years yet at one point they were almost THE accessory to have.

My dad had these in both his Dolomite and mk2 Cavalier. Never thought they were comfortable.

 

I used to love the rear window flashes saying Fiesta, 205 etc. This sort of thing

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/pHYErVB.jpg

[nigel bickle]

Rear window flash's?

 

I still fit them!

 

Sad

[cms206]

Funny this has come up, I've just had to stop one of our new starts tossing the sheet of MDF I cut about three years ago to cover the radiator in our ex-Kenya Dennis Dragon to make the sod run warm when it's cold out.

[Lankytim]

The SIERRA touch...

[doobietoo]

Dad used to carry a brick in the floorwell of his 1500 wolsley as the handbrake was u/s. I remember him stopping, opening the door and leaning out to put the brick under the wheel all while keeping his foot on the brake....

[mercrocker]

Taken this morning.....

 

Choke Peg - check.....

 

 

 

 

Baggy nylon seat covers, ditto.... (Also just spotted there is another peg jammed in the window to stop it rattling!)

 

 

 

Driving gloves, winter sparrow fart o'clock for the use of....

 

 

   

   

Mrs Rocker's old cake icer - HRW?  Wot?

 

 

 

Patent boot prop, overnight drying out for the use of....

 

[cros]

Clothes pegs to hold choke out,tin foil/cardboard in front of radiator,seat covers.All the things that were essential to your daily motoring.

My memory is fucking ropey, but I can just about recall juggling the clothes peg as I performed the ritual yesterday. Actually I have two pegs, one yellow and one blue for when its extra cold. The original choke knob (presumably looking like the throttle one) must have broken before I got this Morris 10 and was replaced by the previous caring owner with the wonderful 70's item that all proper motorist will know and love. Completely useless, I've never had one that stayed out without a peg.

 

Seeing Mr. Rockers wooden peg has shamed my gaudy plastic one.

Edited November 20, 2015 by cros

[Station]

I remember putting a piece of cardboard in front of the rad in the middle of winter and suddenly having the heater work - it was glorious.

[chaseracer]

...he also had a bead seat cover thing in both the mk2 sierra and mk1 mondeo. I've not seen one of them in years yet at one point they were almost THE accessory to have.

 

I've just ordered a new one for the Blingo...

[Taff]

My memory is fucking ropey, but I can just about recall juggling the clothes peg as I performed the ritual yesterday. Actually I have two pegs, one yellow and one blue for when its extra cold. The original choke knob (presumably looking like the throttle one) must have broken before I got this Morris 10 and was replaced by the previous caring owner with the wonderful 70's item that all proper motorist will know and love. Completely useless, I've never had one that stayed out without a peg.

 

Seeing Mr. Rockers wooden peg has shamed my gaudy plastic one.

 

No shame there, M'learned friend. The bakalite/70's choke knob/yellow peg looks like your actual motoring evolution to me

[martc]

while the one bloke in the street who had bought one of those new-fangled Datsuns roared off with one turn of the key.

He would still have to swing his air intake pipe from "summer" to "winter" position.

[cros]

My first car was a 1953 Anglia. It was a fully loaded example with heater. Because these cars lacked a water pump a small device driven by a pulley rubbing on the fan belt needed to be engaged to circulate the water each time the heater was required. Another issue was that the 6 volt dynamo was unable to meet the demand placed on it if the headlamps were in use, so winter journeys at night would see the battery slowly discharging until you were forced to choose between lighting or heating. Ford had thought this through as the next time you had to start the engine it would inevitably need hand cranking which would warm you back up again.

[flat4alfa]

I remember white dog poo

 

And having to move the flap on the air intake

[jonny69]

Just reminded me, I need to reconnect the choke!

 

My first car was a 1953 Anglia. It was a fully loaded example with heater. Because these cars lacked a water pump a small device driven by a pulley rubbing on the fan belt needed to be engaged to circulate the water each time the heater was required. Another issue was that the 6 volt dynamo was unable to meet the demand placed on it if the headlamps were in use, so winter journeys at night would see the battery slowly discharging until you were forced to choose between lighting or heating. Ford had thought this through as the next time you had to start the engine it would inevitably need hand cranking which would warm you back up again.

 

My 1954 Pop had a different type of heater to that; it was a matrix mounted in the top hose and the engine fan blew through it straight into the car. It was REALLY effective! I put a 12V alternator on mine though, for all the 6V reasons, and it never let me down.

[Cavcraft]

Have to admit to considering seat covers for my modern car.