Blast from the past - remind us of a thing

[DickyC]

witteringon said:

Manual wipers operated by a lever at the top of the screen
... and if all else failed (e.g. blizzard conditions), opening windscreens that allowed you to squint through the gap.





Kids today ......don't know they're born

I took Mrs C's elderly SLK in for a service and asked if they could increase the tickover a bit. 600rpm tickover seemed low to me

"There's an old bloke in Reception talking in some ancient language."

Apparently, even in cars built towards the end of the last millennium, you can't adjust the tickover.

[Tim Cognito]

Wouldn't be surprised if this has been posted (multiple) times in this thread before but they popped into my head the other evening.

[nicanary]

witteringon said:

DickyC said:

CammyN said:

DickyC said:

Chrome windscreen wipers.

You occasionally see dramas set in the forties, fifties and sixties featuring cars with black wipers.

Outrageous behaviour.

....and windscreen wipers on Fords that slowed down when you went up hills,


Windscreen washers that were not electric.

Vacuum operated wipers.

Now you're talking.

Manual wipers operated by a lever at the top of the screen
... and if all else failed (e.g. blizzard conditions), opening windscreens that allowed you to squint through the gap.





Kids today ......don't know they're born

As an apprentice mechanic my dad used to collect new cars from Coventry and deliver them to Norwich. He once had to drive virtually the whole distance in thick fog (what happened to that?) and had the windscreen wound out all the way. Freezing cold but the only way to see where he was going.

Pre-WW2 so no pansy sat-nav. He was all of 15 years old.

[motco]

DickyC said:

CammyN said:

DickyC said:

Chrome windscreen wipers.

You occasionally see dramas set in the forties, fifties and sixties featuring cars with black wipers.

Outrageous behaviour.

....and windscreen wipers on Fords that slowed down when you went up hills,


Windscreen washers that were not electric.

Vacuum operated wipers.

Now you're talking.

Side valve 1172cc engine and three speed gearbox - no synchromesh on first gear or reverse. Drum brakes all round with no servo. Solid rear axle and probably solid beam axle at the front. No cabin heater, crossply tyres, and 6 volt electrics with positive earth.

[Starfighter]

Sticks. said:

The Mk1 Escort screenwash was operated by a foot pump, left of the clutch.

Same in my ‘78 Fiesta. My Spitfire has a pull on the dash.

[The Don of Croy]

Error_404_Username_not_found said:

We went to see Chariots of Fire. It was the Big Picture of the day.
The B picture (support film) was "Gregory's Girl". Nobody had heard of it then.
Loved it.
Maybe because I'm a Glasgow kid?

My big brother was at Uni in Edinburgh during filming of 'Chariots', got paid £20 per day as an extra with a free haircut thrown in.

At the big race meeting where Eric Liddell was surprisingly beaten, the crowd is shocked into silence but the bloke standing next to my bro yells out "fkin' 'Ell Liddell" into the silence.

They had to do another take.

[DodgyGeezer]

Starfighter said:

Same in my ‘78 Fiesta. My Spitfire has a pull on the dash.

you sure about that - dad had a Fiesta 1100S (the S was, as we all know, massively important!) which I learned to drive in. Certainly don't remember a foot operated windscreen washer

[Mikebentley]

hidetheelephants said:

DickyC said:

Chrome windscreen wipers.

You occasionally see dramas set in the forties, fifties and sixties featuring cars with black wipers.

Outrageous behaviour.

Or lacking a tax disc! The country is going to the dogs.

People that soaked tax discs in brake fluid to remove the details written in at the Post Office so that they could fill in their vehicle’s information.

[DickyC]

Mikebentley said:

hidetheelephants said:

DickyC said:

Chrome windscreen wipers.

You occasionally see dramas set in the forties, fifties and sixties featuring cars with black wipers.

Outrageous behaviour.

Or lacking a tax disc! The country is going to the dogs.

People that soaked tax discs in brake fluid to remove the details written in at the Post Office so that they could fill in their vehicle’s information.

Now you tell me.

[dandarez]

DickyC said:

Mikebentley said:

hidetheelephants said:

DickyC said:

Chrome windscreen wipers.

You occasionally see dramas set in the forties, fifties and sixties featuring cars with black wipers.

Outrageous behaviour.

Or lacking a tax disc! The country is going to the dogs.

People that soaked tax discs in brake fluid to remove the details written in at the Post Office so that they could fill in their vehicle’s information.

Now you tell me.

I can recall a dubious mate using a cotton bud dabbed with a little brake fluid...
'soaking' a tax disc would have defeated the object I think!

[DickyC]

There was a chap in the village where I grew up who had two identical black Rover P4s. The one with the central light; the Cyclops. Anyway, he had two cars, but they shared an identity. He ran one and worked on the othe one. When the worked on one was ready, he swapped the number plates, took the other one off the road and worked on that. No one ever shopped him as far as I know because it didn't seem like such a bad thing.

The Russians are going to nuke us any minute, what difference would it make?

[Super Sonic]

Steamer said:

Vacuum operated Lights...

...Because driving a classic at night needs added drama

Vacuum operated lights? How did the vacuum produce illumination?

[Doofus]

Super Sonic said:

Steamer said:

Vacuum operated Lights...

...Because driving a classic at night needs added drama

Vacuum operated lights? How did the vacuum produce illumination?

Have you ever dragged on a cigar or a cigarette?

Suck = glow.

[hidetheelephants]

Super Sonic said:

Steamer said:

Vacuum operated Lights...

...Because driving a classic at night needs added drama

Vacuum operated lights? How did the vacuum produce illumination?

The dipping mechanism and in some instances the on/off was operated by a vacuum, generally within the headlamp shell. I think mainly in the era of big separate lamps, 1930s and earlier. It seems bonkers now, but back then makers were still learning what the best way of making a car was, cars had dynamos supplying limited electrical power so using vacuum might have made sense.

[WrekinCrew]

DodgyGeezer said:

EmBe said:

My 13 year old thought I was joking this morning when I told her fresh Orange Juice used to be considered a starter in many pubs and restaurants when I was a kid.
And when we had it at home, which was rare, it came as a concentrate in a can that you dissolved in water.

oh yes! Mum used to tell me off for getting it out of the freezer on the basis that OJ was for 'special' not just for thirst/drink as and when...

Edited by DodgyGeezer on Friday 28th June 19:52

There's still VAT on fruit juice so the Government considers it a luxury food.

[hammo19]

Happy days labelling and loading

[eldar]

dandarez said:

I can recall a dubious mate using a cotton bud dabbed with a little brake fluid...
'soaking' a tax disc would have defeated the object I think!

Labels soaked off some beer bottles were a good substitute for a tax disc, apparently.

[CammyN]

][/I had that projector, a clunk like a 45mm breach loader when you pressed the slide button

I still miss my Kodachrome.

Edited by CammyN on Saturday 29th June 14:00

[Starfighter]

DodgyGeezer said:

Starfighter said:

Same in my ‘78 Fiesta. My Spitfire has a pull on the dash.

you sure about that - dad had a Fiesta 1100S (the S was, as we all know, massively important!) which I learned to drive in. Certainly don't remember a foot operated windscreen washer

actually a [Yorkshireman]
1100S, luxury.
Mine was just a straight 1100, no of these fancy electric washers.
[/Yorkshireman]

[CammyN]

Things that you attached to your windscreen wipers,



I think the idea was that the blade stuck to the screen a little better, usually in off-white