Are you an old timer.

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Zmechanic
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Re: Are you an old timer.

Post by Zmechanic »

I'm no old timer, but I remember the first time my pops brought home a truck he bought that didn't have a V8 in it. I was not happy, gearhead from the beginning I guess. He even talked about how it got better mileage. Even as I kid I knew that meant things were changing. Previously it was always a big Chevy dually usually with a 454.
Olefud
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Re: Are you an old timer.

Post by Olefud »

I remember Pearl Harbor.
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Re: Are you an old timer.

Post by Walter R. Malik »

My first engine swap ... a 383 MEL Mercury engine into a 1961 Ford replacing the 292 "Y" block.
http://www.rmcompetition.com
Specialty engine building at its finest.
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Re: Are you an old timer.

Post by Olefud »

My first kart was a box of weld yourself tube and wheels with a 4hp engine. It was the hottest (only) kart available -from Go Kart-. My build was an early use of wedge.
jred
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Re: Are you an old timer.

Post by jred »

how about Cushman's I think anybody could drive them without a license
engineczar
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Re: Are you an old timer.

Post by engineczar »

Old enough to remember getting S&H greenstamps when you got your gasoline. Some even gave double stamps just to get your business.
enginenut2
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Re: Are you an old timer.

Post by enginenut2 »

Raised in a small rural, Tennessee town-serving highway 70/"Broadway of America"/ Bristol to Memphis Highway, and found entertainment and training in the small garages and service stations that would effect my life ever after.
Remembered when:
All tires had tubes and to watch a good tire man attact with "tar tools", hammer, and a blunt pick to break it down was awesome.

Bicycle tires were "lined" with old thin tires with beads cut off to get a few more miles at the end of their life.

Whizzer motor bikes were available for 15 to 25 dollars- usually with a bad magneto but easily cured by adding an old car coil and some telephone batteries.

A few televisions were around and in summer were wheeled to the door of the house so viewers could sit outside where it was "cool".

A few diesel trucks were showing up- usually Jimmys which could be heard for miles as they climbed the hill on the east of town.

Never saw a turbocharged diesel and the Macks' and Cummins powered usually had a provision for extra fuel at drivers command-when they blasted through gaining speed for the next hill they would have a foot or more of fire out the stack at night.

Harleys and Indians were available for next to nothing since all the young folks wanted the sportier British iron.

The first thing to do to a "fresh" old motorcycle was eliminate the mufflers--did you ever hear a 2 stroke "Famous James" or a Sears/ Puch with pipes only ? Lots of sound there with minimal speed.

The shops changed more engines than spark plugs. There seemed to be always another splash oiled Chevy with a bad bearing or a 1950-53 flathead Ford with a cracked valve seat.And the chevys with
a soybean timing gear stripped. Why did the early Chrysler v-8's experience so many crankshaft failures? And the farmers poor oil change habits plugged the y-blocks and chevy inlines rocker lube
passages.

Some of the Chevy babbit bearing rods could be changed from the bottom without removing the piston and some of the throws could be reground with a portable grinder after removing the pan and
rod.

An engine with more than 100,000 mi on the clock that had not needed overhaul was something to brag about.

A v8 Chevy that used no more than a quart of oil in 1200 mi was something to brag about.

Brakes that had to be adjusted.

The first air conditioned car you ever saw --the evap in the trunk.

Reconditioned spark plugs- rerefined oil pumped from a drum.

Every shop had to have a spark plug sand blaster to clean up the oil pumpers.

A "270" Duntov cam cost $21.00 and some change -dual point dist about the same - 250-300 327 short block for $220.00 or the 340-360 for $245.00. We scrapped a bunch of 283's and 265's

minimum wage had been raised to $1.00/hr and our county had less than 15% of the roads paved. The county had 2 road graders working every week day and an extra in the summer pulling ditches.

Highway 70 speed limit was: daytime cars 65 and trucks 55, nighttime was lowered to 55 for all.
I guess we learned a lot and it mostly kept us out of trouble.
Circlotron
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Re: Are you an old timer.

Post by Circlotron »

I remember when we had one each of electricity gas and telephone company, one kind of bank account, one kind of telephone plan, etc etc etc. Nowadays we are bamboozled by way too much choice in some things.
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Re: Are you an old timer.

Post by Gregory »

In the early sixties, what did we call the performance replacement push rods for the stock stamped steel ones - thinking of the Y block Ford.
tjs44
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Re: Are you an old timer.

Post by tjs44 »

remember drag racing with a FLAG man,push starting dragsters.Tom
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Re: Are you an old timer.

Post by pdq67 »

GLHS60 wrote:
PackardV8 wrote:
Gregory wrote:You know the first car (year and make) to have a 4150 Holley style carburetor.
1957 T-bird.

First to use the Carter WCFB?

First to use Stromberg 4-bbl?

First to use Carter AFB?
My guesses:

White Cast Four Barrel: 1952 Buick straight 8

Stromberg ????

Aluminum Four Barrel: 1957 Buick

Thanks
Randy

PS:
I cheated and Googled: "Stromberg 4A Aeroquad" only available on 1953-54 Buick V8's.
Question??

What carb had a cast-iron base plate?

pdq67
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Re: Are you an old timer.

Post by pdq67 »

If not mistaken, IL didn't have any speed limits, pre-1955 or so.

Dad drove the Big Packard, "straight-8", wide open when going between towns.

And out in the country, several of the county highways were made with one lane concrete, the other gravel.

So if you were on the gravel, but driving on the concrete when you met a car, you had to slow down and pull over on the gravel to let him by.

We took a vacation down to TX on e summer in the big Packard and Mom wanted to see what the state looked like. but Dad drove all night wide open going from San Antonio, TX to Memphis, TN. I never saw Mom get so mad at Dad because she never saw any of TX, what, driving at night..

My older sister and I slept most of the night in the rear foot wells as Dad poured the coal to the car!

pdq67
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Re: Are you an old timer.

Post by Pete1 »

I remember the first time I sat in a midget. The company I worked for owned the fastest Ford powered midget in the country at that time. Even Edelbrock's 27 car couldn't stay with us.
I was the crew chief and we raced every Friday night. Our regular driver flew in from a town 150 miles away after work, grabbed a taxi to the track and we made hot laps easily with time to spare. One night the plane was delayed and it was getting close to hot lap time. The owner told me to get my helmet and gloves on and go warm up the car. Since I was racing roadsters and sprint cars at the time, he had confidence in me. I was familiar with the car because I had warmed it up many times in our parking lot and front street at the shop.
I had never driven it on the track though.
Anyway, after it warmed up and I ran 3 or 4 fairly hot laps, I got on it hard. I was amazed at how well it handled. It almost drove itself through the corners. There were about 8 other cars on the track at the same time and I was amazed at how easily I was passing them. I also noted as I passed the pits that almost everyone in the pits was standing at the fence watching me. After a couple more laps the owner signaled me to come in.
After parking the car and getting my helmet off he said quietly to me with a monster grin on his face, You looked good but you were going WAY too fast for a pitman. You unofficially broke the track record and it was in traffic.
The track record at the time was held by an Offy and it didn't sit too well with the Offy guys that a Ford went faster.
The regular driver showed up in time to qualify with fast time and a new official record and go on to have a clean sweep.
Them was the good ol' days.
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Re: Are you an old timer.

Post by woody b »

From Jed on the 1st page.




If you know how to install a rope rear main seal. ------ Yes, done it many times.
If you can fit a set of king pins.-------- Also done it many times.
If you have ever rebushed a Chevy center bell crank.------ Once
If you used to ride your bike to baseball practice.----------- Many times
If your mom took you to your baseball game on public transportation bus because she didn't drive.----------Mom drove, we didn't have public transportation.
If you ever made a 302 out of a 283.------- once. I didn't bore the 283 block. I had a good 327 block with a damaged crank, a good 283 crank, and some pistons I bought at a flea market.
If you would grind a 350 forged crank to a 9/16 stroker because it had a badly spun rod.------- A couple times. Didn't grind it myself, had it done to save a "good" crank.



Not "engine" or speed related, but I've rebuilt wheel cylinders, master cylinders and power steering pumps. I also rebuilt one water pump. I've also pumped gas...not for myself. Full service station I work at when I was a teen.

Not automotive related, but someone mentioned local drug stores. When I was a kid if I broke a guitar string my parents would get me one string from the local drug store. When I got all "A's" on my report card they'd take me to "town" (10 miles away) and I'd get a whole set of strings.

During High School we all had gun racks with guns in our pickups in the parking lot. Once I got a new shotgun. The Principal came out in the parking lot to check it out. Picture a Principal and a bunch of students in the parking lot at a high school looking at a gun these days.
I used to be a people person, but people ruined it.
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