Anyone remember??

[martc]

A selection of replacement filler caps at the petrol station (Wiseco or was it Welco?), rather than butter and milk. The more "economically minded" motorist would just jam an old rag in the filler hole.

 

Coat hangers for aerials.

 

Taking an old starter motor (or alternator/dynamo) into Halfords to swap for a recon one.

 

Anoraks for goalpost, marvellous isn't it etc etc

[richardmorris]

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.

For a while I had to hit the starter on my 2cv with my maglite. Worked perfectly until I could afford a new starter. You could even stretch through the open window with your left hand to the key AND reach the starter with the long torch with the right. Only really a pain in the neck when it was raining.

[cros]

I was once on my way to  France in a 435cc 2cv (early '70's) and though the cars had been sold here earlier they uncommon, particularly this model which was an import. I knew little about them and the car spluttered to a halt near Winchester, the points burnt out. A small garage produced a set of just the contacts and after knocking off the pitted ones attached the replacements with a tiny nut. I made it to France and eventually to Italy (it takes a while on only 435cc)  where I was able to the correct part. Garages used to do this sort of thing, they existed to fix cars and sell petrol rather than flog 6 different types of pasta and folding chairs. I'm just wondering why anyone would buy a car with this engine size when a 602cc version was available.

[martybabes]

The sound of Army Land-Rovers' tyres on the road.

 

A loose-fitted freight train's wagons when starting or slowing.

[Clanger]

[Vantman]

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

 

Unfortunately not,just the pump.

[cros]

∆∆∆ You just need the car that straps onto it then. I've just remembered how smelly these cars were, I think that the crankcase fumes were vented under the bonnet and found their way into the car. There was no air filter at all, so engine life was short, 25000 miles or so. It must have been the last car without hydraulic brakes, though the rod set up was very good.

[pompei]

Radio suppressors.  The AM radio would crackle and pop when anything with an electrical current went past ...

[daveb47]

A russian friend used to start his old petrol lorry on cold mornings by pouring half pint of petrol in carb(No airfilter)

Then throw lighted match in carb while pressing solonoid.

Worked every time.

[oldcars]

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 is so like me with the Reliant in winter.

[scdan4]

A selection of replacement filler caps at the petrol station (Wiseco or was it Welco?),

 

yes, and bulbs, and always a rack of key rings.

 

 

Buttons (proper big round red manly ones) on petrol pumps to select 2, 3 or 4 star.

[Paul Dupart]

^^ And about half a dozen different sized fan belts, sufficient range to fit every car on the road... 

[hauserplenty]

I remember the gas station signage, when I was a wee lad:

Full serve/self serve...Regular (leaded), Unleaded, Premium Unleaded (96 octane)

 

The hose which they used to run across the pavement in front of the full service pumps--when you drove over it a bell would ring to signal the attendant.

 

Parts stores which sold "universal" radiator hoses, chrome plated engine parts, aftermarket steering wheels, lead substitute, and Sea-Foam.

 

Not to mention bumper stickers: EZ DUZ IT, RUST TEST IN PROGRESS, and MY OTHER CAR IS A ROLLS-ROYCE.

 

Also I once had an '81 Dodge Colt, which had a choke that wouldn't open. I used to fire it up, then quickly open the hood and jam a pocket screwdriver into the throttle plate after it began to stumble a bit. Then I could (usually) drive it for the rest of the day. Upon returning home I had to remove the screwdriver or it wouldn't start the next day...Come to think of it, sub-$500 cars in general. Those days are gone...I gave the car to a Mexican family, who could register it in Baja without replacing the $800 catalytic converter, which was about $799 more than the car was worth...

[HH-R]

How come the cardboard over the radiator trick isn't needed nowadays? Knackered thermostats? Viscous fans? I was thinking all aluminium engines warming up quicker but there's still plenty of iron blocked cars for sale. I saw a Jeep today with a covered radiator (not sure with what), GR8 4 warped head.

[the judge]

I know someone mentioned interference on radios,but we used to get taxi radio speech too!

[warren t claim]

I know someone mentioned interference on radios,but we used to get taxi radio speech too!

Nowadays the problem is that DAB radios cut out whenever a two way radio is used in the near vicinity.

[Richard]

I don't get that with mine, but it cuts out when there's a bendy bus alongside.

[jonny69]

∆∆∆ You just need the car that straps onto it then. I've just remembered how smelly these cars were, I think that the crankcase fumes were vented under the bonnet and found their way into the car. There was no air filter at all, so engine life was short, 25000 miles or so. It must have been the last car without hydraulic brakes, though the rod set up was very good.

 

Mine was never smelly. The crank fumes were vented down a pipe that ran down the front of the engine and it seemed to be a better arrangement than Ford used on their later pre-crossflow engines. Maybe my sidevalves weren't as knackered as my pre-crossflows!

 

You're thinking of the oil filters, they had no oil filter - and engine life was short because of that and the crank design which threw the oil out at high revs.

 

I'm with with you on the brakes! They might have been cables, but they were big old drums and would pull the car up no problem. The tiny hydraulic drums on the later 100E were rubbish in comparison!

[cros]

^^^ No air filter on my car, just a factory fitted tin cover over the carb inlet to stop things falling in.

There were lots of signs for 'Benzole' at garages. No idea what it was, but it came in handy for scoolkids to make jokes about sniffing it.

[Junkman]

I'm just wondering why anyone would buy a car with this engine size when a 602cc version was available.

 

Tax.

[Lacquer Peel]

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.

 

My Nissan Vanette's starter needed a thump now and again, a bonus of having the engine under the seats is I could whack the starter and turn the ignition key at the same time.

[mouseflakes]

230 mile return trip was made with it on the end of rope

 

Jeez!  That's some feat of endurance.

[cros]

Tax.

Originally yes, but why I bought the fucker is still a mystery.

[cros]

Jeez! That's some feat of endurance.[/quote

 

I was fine, but the poor bugger in the Viva must have suffered with no heater. We got the car running and he drove the car back to Essex the next day. He was just a blocked I had worked with and I never heard from him again.

[Pillock]

I don't get that with mine, but it cuts out when there's a bendy bus alongside.

Aaah, sometimes I get that too!

[FakeConcern]

Caution Air Brakes on the back of trucks

 

[jakebullet]

Last weekend Kinky girl got treated* to the cosy cottage experience in Staithes. There's no mains gas there so as night falls everyone bangs on a coal fire. The smell n smog took me right back.

[HH-R]

Small bits of coal down back lanes/in the gutter, never see that now.