Anyone remember??

[richardmorris]

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.

My cx DTR did that. I thought it was steaming up too much so took the front carpets out and chipped the frozen water out of the footwells.

[Vantman]

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.

 

 

I have a brand new boxed one of those!

 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Pushing cars,present company excepted ,I bet most people these days wouldn't know how to bump start a car.

Come to that towing on a rope, either to start a car or just to move it. You rarely see people towing and when you do it, you get a lot of funny looks.

A couple of years ago I towed a Hilux with a Mk4 Espace, even I thought that was fucked up, it was like I'd entered a parallel universe. The fact that my retard brother had filled the Hilux with petrol and the DCi Espace grenaded as expected a few months later, wasn't apparent to incredulous bystanders at the time.

[For Fiats Sake]

Our local garage sold Pink paraffin from a pump. Also had a dispenser for two stroke oil for motorbikes next to the petrol pumps - which where attendant only - I used to push the lawnmower there to be filled up when I was a nipper, watching the numbers click round with strange fractions at the end, the petrol smell was intoxicating.

It was a BL garage which sold VIP petrol. I always loved the smell of that car showroom, looking at the gleaming cars (our farm cars were always caked) snaffling the odd brochure and wondering what unipart was.

[fred]

Having to De Ice the inside of the windows and the outside - and pegging the choke whilst feathering the accelerator trying to get the old FD going,

 

And banging a 6 inch nail  through the floor plan just to make a drainage point

[cros]

My longest tow occurred when a friend was told by the police that they'd found his Viva untaxed in Carlisle a month after it had been disappeared by his ungruntled Mrs. I set off from Northants with him in a borrowed 'firms' 1.3 Marina (the best car for the job) and arrived at closing time. With the temperature around freezing all attempts to start the Vauxhall failed so the 230 mile return trip was made with it on the end of rope. We addressed the issue of the Viva's lighting with a length of lamp flex tapped into the Marina's boot wiring and wrapped around the towrope.

The only incident on the journey was when a tyre broke up on the second axle of an 8 wheeler that overtook us on the M6. The tread detached itself and spun off between our two cars, passing over the rope without actually hitting either vehicle. Miraculously the cable wasn't damaged either.

The Morris maintained a creditable 55 and I remember watching the lorry's lights disappearing into the distance ahead on the otherwise empty motorway; it didn't seem strange at the time but his speed must have been much higher than today's HGVs.

Being on the end of a towrope is probably a dying art- back then you rarely saw cars being shifted on small recovery trucks, there were probably fewer breakdowns that couldn't be fixed at the side of the road.

[pompei]

I remember making a shield for my Minis to prevent the plug leads getting wet. And painting the leads with waxoyl. I also remember the rear subframe snapping on Scotswood Road but that is a different story.

[steve_earwig]

Also had the joys of the car chugging away to itself on the choke, the 1300 in particular wouldn't drive in cold weather until it was up to temp so it'd sit outside my house every morning running on the choke for 10 mins smogging the street out while I had a cup of tea inside where it was warm... Also cranking, lots and lots of cranking with the car half heartedly coughing and spluttering as I mutter "come on, come on, start you bitch" under my breath while praying the battery doesn't go flat.

I used to do something similar with my 1.3 Marina, although I didn't like leaving the choke on for so long so I had a long thin screwdriver which I wedged over the clutch pedal, under the brake and over the throttle which I pushed it down just a little to give it a high idle while I went indoors to drink me tea. One day I came out to find the screwdriver had slipped and it was idling* at about 5,000rpm. Nice and warm that morning, let me tell you.

 

I suspect if you did this these days you'd either get a talking to from a copper or find your car missing.

[brownnova]

My favourite towing experience was when my parents fairly modern (at the time) Ford Escort broke down at a petrol station across town. I was working nearby so cycled home to get the decrepit brown Nova, and towed them across town home. We certainly got some funny looks!!

[Andrew353w]

The air-cooled Dafs were supplied with a screen you slotted (as in "placed", not shot!) in front of the air intake if the temperature was below 10 deg. C I never used one in any of my Dafs as it never seemed to make any difference! Air cooled cars always seemed to have brilliant heaters, but the slightly ominous smell of exhaust fumes used to worry me a bit....

 

My collection of eastern European chod over the years were usually fitted with radiator blinds operated from the passenger compartment, to help with quicker warming. My Wartburg & Moskvich had this feature and I know early front-engined Skodas did, too. One warm, you opened the blinds and the car's thermostat took over. I did help quite a bit. 

 

As a child I remember old double decker buses having a blind on the front of the radiator that the driver had to leave his cab to adjust. But then I am THAT old!

[Andrew353w]

A tin of Easy Start and if that didn't work, a paraffin soaked rag on the fire poker set alight and held over the intake whilst someone else cranked the engine over.

 

Bloody hell, that DOES sound dangerous!!

[conkerman]

Not on an old dazzler. Volvo F10s were always awful for smoke on startup. Maybe they were just fucked.

 

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[brickwall]

Pushing cars,present company excepted ,I bet most people these days wouldn't know how to bump start a car.

 

 

 

 "Excuse me boys, but could you fellows please  push my car whilst I bump start it.?"

 

Quite common back in the day, plus the few coins you got went far in the local shop.

[Richard]

 "Excuse me boys, but could you fellows please  push my car whilst I bump start it.?"

 

Quite common back in the day, plus the few coins you got went far in the local shop.

 

I've pushed a few cars only for the driver to operate the starter instead of bumping it. Sometimes it even worked.

[MarvinsMom]

Not on an old dazzler. Volvo F10s were always awful for smoke on startup. Maybe they were just fucked.

 

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the bedford tk at the yard where i once worked was EXACTLY the same on a cold start up. 

 

a proper smokescreen that would hide the bottom of the yard from view, a real dizzler engine!

[Craig the Princess]

We used to live near the top of a big hill, had to push about 50 yards before the gradient started. I was convinced as a kid my dad wouldn't jump in before the car ran away down the hill. He always managed it though.

[robinmasters]

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

 

Spare wheels you could get to without taking everything else out of the boot.

[Pillock]

Or just "spare wheels".

[Twiggy]

The Red-X bottle on a wee stand next to the petrol pump, and squirting in one squirt for every gallon. I seem to remember that it cost 1d per squirt.*

 

Manufacturer`s tool kits which included a pair of tyre levers.

 

Wheels balanced on the car after the tyres had been fitted.

 

Pink or blue "paint" which you applied to the chrome  to preserve the chrome plate.

 

Valve radios which took an age to warm up.

 

Metal sun visors which fitted outside the car.

 

Draining the cooling system to avoid it freezing up because you were too tight (or skint) to buy anti freeze.

 

White wall tyres which were just flaps over  half of the tyre

 

* 1d = one old penny of which there were 240 to the £

[PhilA]

Going out in the morning to start the car to warm it up. Pull choke fully out, crank over cough into life on not all cylinders. Close door, put heater fan on, crack window a bit to allow air circulation.

 

Start to scrape ice off outside of windows. Try to hurry around to other side of car as it begins to do the over-fuelly hunt.. rrr..bRRRMmm.... krrrnkbbrrRRRRrrrmm.. ..rrnnkkrrmmmmRRRRRRmmmmm... krankatankarrrRRRRRRrrrr.. to get there just as the engine dies. Push choke in, hold down throttle, crank and crank and crank, faff with choke, get it running.. sit for a few moments and try and gauge where choke needs to be for it to stay running for the longest period.. start to scrape ice off inside of screen because you're in there and the only way for it to stay running is to poke at the throttle occasionally.

 

Eventually drive off, peering through a letterbox of clear glass at the base of the windscreen, carbs popping and snapping as you get the mixture too lean, stalling out at the top of the road whilst attempting a rapid escape from a busy junction, sitting 1/3 the way out into the road cursing under your breath and then actually tearing off down the road once the belligerent thing decides to start again.

 

 

My old man actually still has one of those paraffin heaters in the garage, that he would put under the sump.

 

The Raydyot one in the top left. Actually, speaking of, what ever happened to Raydyot?

 

Also, mornings of stealing the hair dryer off mother to warm the air filter housing and carb in an attempt to make the car easier to start.. once smoke started to come out of the oil and gunge in the wires of the filter, it was usually hot enough to try. Yes, A-series. heh.

 

--Phil

[drum]

You can make it snow on the inside if you scrape the interior ice off the windscreen while the blower is on.

 

My longest tow was in a Bedford cf minibus that I had converted into a campervan*. The timing belt went ping on a Saturday night while driving past Loch Torridon with my now wife. My dad came and got me with an F reg land rover 90 and towed me the 200 miles home. Must be over 20 years ago but he still likes to remind me about it.

 

We were expecting him about lunchtime but he appeared at 8 in the morning having left home in the small hours.

[mossymossy]

In the 70's my Dad was a sales rep. He did about 50000 miles a year. Just about every year he would turn up in a brand new Mk111 cortina and later in the seventies Mk 1V cortinas. These were new cars, but I still remember all the kids in the street  turning out every morning in winter before school to push him down the road to bump start the cars. Apart from one year, he changed his job and brought home a blue N reg saab 96. I was horrified, all the neighbours must be laughing at us as this beetle looking turned up. It never failed to start. We didn't have it long, but I grew to love it. Had my first driving lesson in it aged 10 on Southport sands. I would love one now. Starting to get pricey though.

[richardmorris]

My favourite towing experience was when my parents fairly modern (at the time) Ford Escort broke down at a petrol station across town. I was working nearby so cycled home to get the decrepit brown Nova, and towed them across town home. We certainly got some funny looks!!

My new to me 2cv sheared its fan pulley in Llangollen. No breakdown recovery, so my dad drove from Wrexham in his bx txd and towed me back on a rope ( I didn't know it was the pulley, or I'd have taken it off and driven it- just knew it made an awful clonking noise). I was frozen and reached 75 on the 2cv speedo.

[MarvinsMom]

Going out in the morning to start the car to warm it up. Pull choke fully out, crank over cough into life on not all cylinders. Close door, put heater fan on, crack window a bit to allow air circulation.

 

Start to scrape ice off outside of windows. Try to hurry around to other side of car as it begins to do the over-fuelly hunt.. rrr..bRRRMmm.... krrrnkbbrrRRRRrrrmm.. ..rrnnkkrrmmmmRRRRRRmmmmm... krankatankarrrRRRRRRrrrr.. to get there just as the engine dies. Push choke in, hold down throttle, crank and crank and crank, faff with choke, get it running.. sit for a few moments and try and gauge where choke needs to be for it to stay running for the longest period.. start to scrape ice off inside of screen because you're in there and the only way for it to stay running is to poke at the throttle occasionally.

 

Eventually drive off, peering through a letterbox of clear glass at the base of the windscreen, carbs popping and snapping as you get the mixture too lean, stalling out at the top of the road whilst attempting a rapid escape from a busy junction, sitting 1/3 the way out into the road cursing under your breath and then actually tearing off down the road once the belligerent thing decides to start again.

 

 

My old man actually still has one of those paraffin heaters in the garage, that he would put under the sump.

 

The Raydyot one in the top left. Actually, speaking of, what ever happened to Raydyot?

 

Also, mornings of stealing the hair dryer off mother to warm the air filter housing and carb in an attempt to make the car easier to start.. once smoke started to come out of the oil and gunge in the wires of the filter, it was usually hot enough to try. Yes, A-series. heh.

 

--Phil

 

THIS-

 

my dad had the EXACT same one shown in the top left of the picture on a shelf in the garage when i was small, i often wondered what EXACTLY it was but never asked.

[Noel Tidybeard]

I remember making a shield for my Minis to prevent the plug leads getting wet.

my mini still had its factory fitted shield which at only 6-7 inches square was somewhat smaller than the later job but still did a sterling job

[cros]

I have a brand new boxed one of those!

 

sept 2012 001.jpg

That's smart. Do you have the heater as well?

[UmBongo]

I remember, as an apprentice with the "Post Office Telecommunications Board" a couple of the old timers lighting a wee fire underneath the Diesel engines of the gang trucks of a winters morning because they were bastards to start in the cold, that and running a gas ring in the cab as they had no heaters! Kids nowadays, they don't believe you etc,etc.

 

They had to do that on the Eastern Front in the 1940s, too.

[Rocket88]

this is what's required.............

[New POD]

I remember in 2004 asking a woman in Tesco service station if she would turn the ignition key whilst I hit the starter (of a cavalier mk2 1.8 Cdi automatic) as it was jammed.

 

She refused. I assume a bloke holding a hammer might have put her off.

[xtriple]

I remember the lovely ways we used to keep cars running when they were cold, foot on the throttle while braking with the other foot, or using the handbrake to slow down. 'Cos I used to drive autos even back then  (big engine fan!) and they still had carbs and points left foot braking was a skill soon learned. I still do it as well: as soon as I get in an auto, I left foot brake which I can do no problem even though the same stupid leg will not work a clutch! Something to do with pressure/how far needed to push I guess?