Pre-war car experiences
Discussion
not familiar with vauxhalls of the era but driving and looking after my dads riley nine special and previously riley kestral, driving wise you have to be far more aware of the road and know some of the cars quirks (reverse H pattern shift in the riley) double de clutching for good changes is a must, excellent fun though and always brings a smile to the face.
looking after and living with, the riley isnt too bad spares are pretty abundant, but obviously it cant be treated like a 90's saloon, regular maintanence and checks and tune ups keep the car in fine fiddle. again this is for the riley but of the same age, vintag cars are brilliant and the vscc is fantastic.....go for it!
looking after and living with, the riley isnt too bad spares are pretty abundant, but obviously it cant be treated like a 90's saloon, regular maintanence and checks and tune ups keep the car in fine fiddle. again this is for the riley but of the same age, vintag cars are brilliant and the vscc is fantastic.....go for it!
Driving them is a great experience but:
They take a lot of amintaining. So many grease points which need doing, almost every weekend you will find yourself needing to do somehting.
Driving is hard work. Both physically- no power anything, and mentally. The barkes on all pre-war cars are awful. Modern drivers just dont understand this, and because you'll often drive slowly, they will overtake, then cut in frotn and brake. And your brakes will feel useless, so there will be plenty of "heart in mouth" braking during your journey.
They are a great experience, but do drive them before you buy. Modern cars
are so easy anmd comfortable by comparison that its not like driving a car.
They take a lot of amintaining. So many grease points which need doing, almost every weekend you will find yourself needing to do somehting.
Driving is hard work. Both physically- no power anything, and mentally. The barkes on all pre-war cars are awful. Modern drivers just dont understand this, and because you'll often drive slowly, they will overtake, then cut in frotn and brake. And your brakes will feel useless, so there will be plenty of "heart in mouth" braking during your journey.
They are a great experience, but do drive them before you buy. Modern cars
are so easy anmd comfortable by comparison that its not like driving a car.
I don't think they are quite as bad as William makes out.
My old man has a couple of pre war cars, one of which he has on the road all year round, and he's found the more you use them the better they are.
Yes, they need regular maintenance, but not really any more than say, an early mini. If you drive it a lot, then a quick lube once a month, adjust the brakes, check levels and that's about it.
On the subject of brakes, again some older cars are dire, some are really good, My Dad's Singer has brilliant brakes (big drums all round, hydraulically operated), with the stopping power limited only by the size of the tyres.
Obviously the larger the car the more you have to think about it, but once you get in the frame of mind, you adapt your driving style to suit.
Ownership of the members club is pretty much essential for a pre war car purely for access to spares and info.
Crankedup who posts on here drives pre war cars a lot, and i'm sure once he spots this thread he'll be along with plenty of good advice.
My old man has a couple of pre war cars, one of which he has on the road all year round, and he's found the more you use them the better they are.
Yes, they need regular maintenance, but not really any more than say, an early mini. If you drive it a lot, then a quick lube once a month, adjust the brakes, check levels and that's about it.
On the subject of brakes, again some older cars are dire, some are really good, My Dad's Singer has brilliant brakes (big drums all round, hydraulically operated), with the stopping power limited only by the size of the tyres.
Obviously the larger the car the more you have to think about it, but once you get in the frame of mind, you adapt your driving style to suit.
Ownership of the members club is pretty much essential for a pre war car purely for access to spares and info.
Crankedup who posts on here drives pre war cars a lot, and i'm sure once he spots this thread he'll be along with plenty of good advice.
I posted this before but it's very relevant here.
Starting a 1932 Ford Eight Model Y.
A short post to apprise those younger than I, which is most people, of particular Joys of Motoring in the 1950’s. For the first time, the average working class man could have a car, just. Being poor, and everybody I knew was poor, the cars we had were worn out. I was aware of another minority world of different cars because there were many good new cars in the fifties. Austin A30 through 90. Rover 75. Vauxhall Cresta. Jag 2.4 Morris Oxford and Standard Vanguard. Etc. These phenomena were seen about but were as far from our intimate acquaintance as caviar and smoked bavarian cheese. We also knew them all from well worn editions of ‘Autocar’ and ‘Motoring’ passed on to us from somewhere better off. The road tests in these books were super un-critical. ‘This two litre car achieved it’s maximum of forty miles an hour with incredible smoothness, the only sounds you could hear were the engine, gearbox, and back axle, this formed a reassuring background to your progress, signifying that everything was working in audible harmony.’ We knew a Herald from a Mayflower and their specifications, but we only saw them, our vehicles were very different. In my motoring youth, from age seventeen to twenties I don’t think I ever rode in a post-war car.
What were our cars then? They were twenty years old or so, from about 1930 to the War. Nothing Post-War was within our purchasing power as the war had only been over five years in 1950. We had Ford Eights, Morris Eights, some Standards, the odd Hillman Minx, I recall a Vauxhall and one brave soul had a huge straight eight Packard left behind by the Americans. I remember it going along our road only twice, with a hissing noise like a flock of geese as it sucked in petrol by the gallon, and it’s front wheels pattered up and own independently like pogo sticks. It remained on the verge, where all our cars lived, for years.
In the beginning these cars belonged to our parents, not us, and lucky ones like me got to drive them when we had passed the test, and until we got our own worn out car.
My Dad’s car was perhaps typical. A Ford Eight Y type, about 1932 I think. Black, four door, brown rexine seats, one dial, a tall wobbly gear lever and a memorable curved bakelite demister stuck on the windscreen. Six volt battery. We could not afford good batteries, so starting was by the handle. We could also only afford a big can of Spitfire oil to put in the engine. There were no multigrades. This oil, when cold, was like refrigerated treacle. The starting procedure was not as it is with a modern car. It was as follows:- You got up about an hour before normal to start the car. If it is frosty, say an hour and a half. You go out and remove the small paraffin stove kept alight under the sump all night. You remove the two old coats over the engine. You fill the radiator with kettles of boiling water and start turning the starting handle. When you can jerk it reasonably over compression on an upstroke of the starting handle then you wedge out the choke five eighths of an inch, exactly, with a spring clothes peg, switch on the ignition and run out to the front to jerk up the handle some more. The handle and crankshaft dogs were pretty worn and it was possible to pull it up with no resistance sometimes and fall back and generally hurt yourself. If the dogs are in and the jerking is sufficiently smart the engine will sometimes cough encouragingly. It has not started but it has 'fired'. This is an encouraging sign. Switch off a minute to let the battery liven up, check the clothes peg and back to the handle. A few more coughs and it carries on and the engine runs. Runs is an overstatement, it coughs sufficient times to keep going round, then you dive inside, snatch off the clothes peg, pull the choke right out then nearly right in, performing a ballet with your foot on the accelerator. This starting choreography is different for all cars and has to be learnt the hard way. If we are not expert enough then the engine goes dug-aluggle-dug-dug-aluggle-stop, disaster, it is ‘flooded’. In this case you have to go indoors and wait half an hour then try the same procedure all over again. In obdurate cases the plugs have to come out and the electrodes bent nearly shut so there is a spark. We also used to scrape pencil lead over the plug points as an aid to super sparking. Dug-aluggle-dug-aluggle-pobble-obble-obble...... Success. We can go to work and you can see that all that extra time was necessary.
Now we drive it. Inside the car is bitter cold. We switch on the bakelite demister and in time, much time, a thin line of clear screen appears above it, through which we can peer. Steering in imprecise, it has to be concentrated on all the time and much depends on the camber of the road. If the road is cambered on the left then the wheel has to be turned to the right about a quarter of a turn to counteract it. If to the right, the opposite applies. If the road is flat, the wheel has to be continuously sawed from side to side to keep the wheels straight. We knew about the merits of ‘slick’ tyres long before Formula One. If minute examination revealed any trace of tread at all then the tyre was fine.
We are now in progress and by holding it in second gear, to prevent it jumping out with a 'spang', have reached top and are bowling along. Our eyes are staring a long way ahead to reserve a similar stopping distance, in the event of obstruction, as that of a fully laden freight train.
So what with being virtually unable to stop or start it, peering through the demisted slit like a tank driver, holding it in gear, and working the steering wheel like a kid on a fairground roundabout, it was a complete nightmare compared to today. Fortunately we didn't know that at the time.
Starting a 1932 Ford Eight Model Y.
A short post to apprise those younger than I, which is most people, of particular Joys of Motoring in the 1950’s. For the first time, the average working class man could have a car, just. Being poor, and everybody I knew was poor, the cars we had were worn out. I was aware of another minority world of different cars because there were many good new cars in the fifties. Austin A30 through 90. Rover 75. Vauxhall Cresta. Jag 2.4 Morris Oxford and Standard Vanguard. Etc. These phenomena were seen about but were as far from our intimate acquaintance as caviar and smoked bavarian cheese. We also knew them all from well worn editions of ‘Autocar’ and ‘Motoring’ passed on to us from somewhere better off. The road tests in these books were super un-critical. ‘This two litre car achieved it’s maximum of forty miles an hour with incredible smoothness, the only sounds you could hear were the engine, gearbox, and back axle, this formed a reassuring background to your progress, signifying that everything was working in audible harmony.’ We knew a Herald from a Mayflower and their specifications, but we only saw them, our vehicles were very different. In my motoring youth, from age seventeen to twenties I don’t think I ever rode in a post-war car.
What were our cars then? They were twenty years old or so, from about 1930 to the War. Nothing Post-War was within our purchasing power as the war had only been over five years in 1950. We had Ford Eights, Morris Eights, some Standards, the odd Hillman Minx, I recall a Vauxhall and one brave soul had a huge straight eight Packard left behind by the Americans. I remember it going along our road only twice, with a hissing noise like a flock of geese as it sucked in petrol by the gallon, and it’s front wheels pattered up and own independently like pogo sticks. It remained on the verge, where all our cars lived, for years.
In the beginning these cars belonged to our parents, not us, and lucky ones like me got to drive them when we had passed the test, and until we got our own worn out car.
My Dad’s car was perhaps typical. A Ford Eight Y type, about 1932 I think. Black, four door, brown rexine seats, one dial, a tall wobbly gear lever and a memorable curved bakelite demister stuck on the windscreen. Six volt battery. We could not afford good batteries, so starting was by the handle. We could also only afford a big can of Spitfire oil to put in the engine. There were no multigrades. This oil, when cold, was like refrigerated treacle. The starting procedure was not as it is with a modern car. It was as follows:- You got up about an hour before normal to start the car. If it is frosty, say an hour and a half. You go out and remove the small paraffin stove kept alight under the sump all night. You remove the two old coats over the engine. You fill the radiator with kettles of boiling water and start turning the starting handle. When you can jerk it reasonably over compression on an upstroke of the starting handle then you wedge out the choke five eighths of an inch, exactly, with a spring clothes peg, switch on the ignition and run out to the front to jerk up the handle some more. The handle and crankshaft dogs were pretty worn and it was possible to pull it up with no resistance sometimes and fall back and generally hurt yourself. If the dogs are in and the jerking is sufficiently smart the engine will sometimes cough encouragingly. It has not started but it has 'fired'. This is an encouraging sign. Switch off a minute to let the battery liven up, check the clothes peg and back to the handle. A few more coughs and it carries on and the engine runs. Runs is an overstatement, it coughs sufficient times to keep going round, then you dive inside, snatch off the clothes peg, pull the choke right out then nearly right in, performing a ballet with your foot on the accelerator. This starting choreography is different for all cars and has to be learnt the hard way. If we are not expert enough then the engine goes dug-aluggle-dug-dug-aluggle-stop, disaster, it is ‘flooded’. In this case you have to go indoors and wait half an hour then try the same procedure all over again. In obdurate cases the plugs have to come out and the electrodes bent nearly shut so there is a spark. We also used to scrape pencil lead over the plug points as an aid to super sparking. Dug-aluggle-dug-aluggle-pobble-obble-obble...... Success. We can go to work and you can see that all that extra time was necessary.
Now we drive it. Inside the car is bitter cold. We switch on the bakelite demister and in time, much time, a thin line of clear screen appears above it, through which we can peer. Steering in imprecise, it has to be concentrated on all the time and much depends on the camber of the road. If the road is cambered on the left then the wheel has to be turned to the right about a quarter of a turn to counteract it. If to the right, the opposite applies. If the road is flat, the wheel has to be continuously sawed from side to side to keep the wheels straight. We knew about the merits of ‘slick’ tyres long before Formula One. If minute examination revealed any trace of tread at all then the tyre was fine.
We are now in progress and by holding it in second gear, to prevent it jumping out with a 'spang', have reached top and are bowling along. Our eyes are staring a long way ahead to reserve a similar stopping distance, in the event of obstruction, as that of a fully laden freight train.
So what with being virtually unable to stop or start it, peering through the demisted slit like a tank driver, holding it in gear, and working the steering wheel like a kid on a fairground roundabout, it was a complete nightmare compared to today. Fortunately we didn't know that at the time.
eccles said:
I don't think they are quite as bad as William makes out.
My old man has a couple of pre war cars, one of which he has on the road all year round, and he's found the more you use them the better they are.
Yes, they need regular maintenance, but not really any more than say, an early mini. If you drive it a lot, then a quick lube once a month, adjust the brakes, check levels and that's about it.
On the subject of brakes, again some older cars are dire, some are really good, My Dad's Singer has brilliant brakes (big drums all round, hydraulically operated), with the stopping power limited only by the size of the tyres.
Obviously the larger the car the more you have to think about it, but once you get in the frame of mind, you adapt your driving style to suit.
Ownership of the members club is pretty much essential for a pre war car purely for access to spares and info.
Crankedup who posts on here drives pre war cars a lot, and i'm sure once he spots this thread he'll be along with plenty of good advice.
Have you still got the Minor Nick?My old man has a couple of pre war cars, one of which he has on the road all year round, and he's found the more you use them the better they are.
Yes, they need regular maintenance, but not really any more than say, an early mini. If you drive it a lot, then a quick lube once a month, adjust the brakes, check levels and that's about it.
On the subject of brakes, again some older cars are dire, some are really good, My Dad's Singer has brilliant brakes (big drums all round, hydraulically operated), with the stopping power limited only by the size of the tyres.
Obviously the larger the car the more you have to think about it, but once you get in the frame of mind, you adapt your driving style to suit.
Ownership of the members club is pretty much essential for a pre war car purely for access to spares and info.
Crankedup who posts on here drives pre war cars a lot, and i'm sure once he spots this thread he'll be along with plenty of good advice.
How's your dad? Saw him at Malvern a few years ago - he hasn't changed
Happy new year mate, Al.
alsaautomotive said:
eccles said:
I don't think they are quite as bad as William makes out.
My old man has a couple of pre war cars, one of which he has on the road all year round, and he's found the more you use them the better they are.
Yes, they need regular maintenance, but not really any more than say, an early mini. If you drive it a lot, then a quick lube once a month, adjust the brakes, check levels and that's about it.
On the subject of brakes, again some older cars are dire, some are really good, My Dad's Singer has brilliant brakes (big drums all round, hydraulically operated), with the stopping power limited only by the size of the tyres.
Obviously the larger the car the more you have to think about it, but once you get in the frame of mind, you adapt your driving style to suit.
Ownership of the members club is pretty much essential for a pre war car purely for access to spares and info.
Crankedup who posts on here drives pre war cars a lot, and i'm sure once he spots this thread he'll be along with plenty of good advice.
Have you still got the Minor Nick?My old man has a couple of pre war cars, one of which he has on the road all year round, and he's found the more you use them the better they are.
Yes, they need regular maintenance, but not really any more than say, an early mini. If you drive it a lot, then a quick lube once a month, adjust the brakes, check levels and that's about it.
On the subject of brakes, again some older cars are dire, some are really good, My Dad's Singer has brilliant brakes (big drums all round, hydraulically operated), with the stopping power limited only by the size of the tyres.
Obviously the larger the car the more you have to think about it, but once you get in the frame of mind, you adapt your driving style to suit.
Ownership of the members club is pretty much essential for a pre war car purely for access to spares and info.
Crankedup who posts on here drives pre war cars a lot, and i'm sure once he spots this thread he'll be along with plenty of good advice.
How's your dad? Saw him at Malvern a few years ago - he hasn't changed
Happy new year mate, Al.
I bought the Mini jem in my profile, then sold that after having it 16 years, and i've now got a Ginetta G15 , so i'm finding out all about Imp bits now!
The old man still has the Singer, he'll have had it 50 years next year!, and is going to sell the Hotchkiss this year. Glad to see you're doing well, and hope the crunch doesn't affect you too badly!
Eccles sums up pre war motoring very well and I think is a fair reflection of ownership. Myself having driven a fair few sportscars (modern) and hot hatches can honestly say that driving vintage is great fun.
I try to stick to 'B' roads in the countryside, its loads more fun and your out of the way of moderns. Having said that I find moderns are very tolerant of being held up by an oldie, just be sensible keeping an eye on whats going on and pull over when you feel its about that time to do so, be fair.
I have found that maintenance is inexpensive (now I've learn't a bit)and part of the vintage experience.If you drive around 2000 miles year then maintence is not an major intrusion but its good to have a quick look over your car each week checking the oil water wheel nuts and anything else you may take an fancy to doing.
I have an altogether different mindset when driving my oldie, no hurry and enjoy the drive are the two main principles.
Insurance is next to nothing and road tax free of course. As has been mentioned join the relevant car club and you will find an wealth of great help and advise.
Purchase the best car you can afford and your money will be well spent and reasonably safe when you want to have an change.
My times run out, I have the call to join further celebrations. More later if you have any specific questions. Good luck
I try to stick to 'B' roads in the countryside, its loads more fun and your out of the way of moderns. Having said that I find moderns are very tolerant of being held up by an oldie, just be sensible keeping an eye on whats going on and pull over when you feel its about that time to do so, be fair.
I have found that maintenance is inexpensive (now I've learn't a bit)and part of the vintage experience.If you drive around 2000 miles year then maintence is not an major intrusion but its good to have a quick look over your car each week checking the oil water wheel nuts and anything else you may take an fancy to doing.
I have an altogether different mindset when driving my oldie, no hurry and enjoy the drive are the two main principles.
Insurance is next to nothing and road tax free of course. As has been mentioned join the relevant car club and you will find an wealth of great help and advise.
Purchase the best car you can afford and your money will be well spent and reasonably safe when you want to have an change.
My times run out, I have the call to join further celebrations. More later if you have any specific questions. Good luck
peterperkins said:
I posted this before but it's very relevant here.
Starting a 1932 Ford Eight Model Y.
A short post to apprise those younger than I, which is most people, of particular Joys of Motoring in the 1950’s. For the first time, the average working class man could have a car, just. Being poor, and everybody I knew was poor, the cars we had were worn out. I was aware of another minority world of different cars because there were many good new cars in the fifties. Austin A30 through 90. Rover 75. Vauxhall Cresta. Jag 2.4 Morris Oxford and Standard Vanguard. Etc. These phenomena were seen about but were as far from our intimate acquaintance as caviar and smoked bavarian cheese. We also knew them all from well worn editions of ‘Autocar’ and ‘Motoring’ passed on to us from somewhere better off. The road tests in these books were super un-critical. ‘This two litre car achieved it’s maximum of forty miles an hour with incredible smoothness, the only sounds you could hear were the engine, gearbox, and back axle, this formed a reassuring background to your progress, signifying that everything was working in audible harmony.’ We knew a Herald from a Mayflower and their specifications, but we only saw them, our vehicles were very different. In my motoring youth, from age seventeen to twenties I don’t think I ever rode in a post-war car.
What were our cars then? They were twenty years old or so, from about 1930 to the War. Nothing Post-War was within our purchasing power as the war had only been over five years in 1950. We had Ford Eights, Morris Eights, some Standards, the odd Hillman Minx, I recall a Vauxhall and one brave soul had a huge straight eight Packard left behind by the Americans. I remember it going along our road only twice, with a hissing noise like a flock of geese as it sucked in petrol by the gallon, and it’s front wheels pattered up and own independently like pogo sticks. It remained on the verge, where all our cars lived, for years.
In the beginning these cars belonged to our parents, not us, and lucky ones like me got to drive them when we had passed the test, and until we got our own worn out car.
My Dad’s car was perhaps typical. A Ford Eight Y type, about 1932 I think. Black, four door, brown rexine seats, one dial, a tall wobbly gear lever and a memorable curved bakelite demister stuck on the windscreen. Six volt battery. We could not afford good batteries, so starting was by the handle. We could also only afford a big can of Spitfire oil to put in the engine. There were no multigrades. This oil, when cold, was like refrigerated treacle. The starting procedure was not as it is with a modern car. It was as follows:- You got up about an hour before normal to start the car. If it is frosty, say an hour and a half. You go out and remove the small paraffin stove kept alight under the sump all night. You remove the two old coats over the engine. You fill the radiator with kettles of boiling water and start turning the starting handle. When you can jerk it reasonably over compression on an upstroke of the starting handle then you wedge out the choke five eighths of an inch, exactly, with a spring clothes peg, switch on the ignition and run out to the front to jerk up the handle some more. The handle and crankshaft dogs were pretty worn and it was possible to pull it up with no resistance sometimes and fall back and generally hurt yourself. If the dogs are in and the jerking is sufficiently smart the engine will sometimes cough encouragingly. It has not started but it has 'fired'. This is an encouraging sign. Switch off a minute to let the battery liven up, check the clothes peg and back to the handle. A few more coughs and it carries on and the engine runs. Runs is an overstatement, it coughs sufficient times to keep going round, then you dive inside, snatch off the clothes peg, pull the choke right out then nearly right in, performing a ballet with your foot on the accelerator. This starting choreography is different for all cars and has to be learnt the hard way. If we are not expert enough then the engine goes dug-aluggle-dug-dug-aluggle-stop, disaster, it is ‘flooded’. In this case you have to go indoors and wait half an hour then try the same procedure all over again. In obdurate cases the plugs have to come out and the electrodes bent nearly shut so there is a spark. We also used to scrape pencil lead over the plug points as an aid to super sparking. Dug-aluggle-dug-aluggle-pobble-obble-obble...... Success. We can go to work and you can see that all that extra time was necessary.
Now we drive it. Inside the car is bitter cold. We switch on the bakelite demister and in time, much time, a thin line of clear screen appears above it, through which we can peer. Steering in imprecise, it has to be concentrated on all the time and much depends on the camber of the road. If the road is cambered on the left then the wheel has to be turned to the right about a quarter of a turn to counteract it. If to the right, the opposite applies. If the road is flat, the wheel has to be continuously sawed from side to side to keep the wheels straight. We knew about the merits of ‘slick’ tyres long before Formula One. If minute examination revealed any trace of tread at all then the tyre was fine.
We are now in progress and by holding it in second gear, to prevent it jumping out with a 'spang', have reached top and are bowling along. Our eyes are staring a long way ahead to reserve a similar stopping distance, in the event of obstruction, as that of a fully laden freight train.
So what with being virtually unable to stop or start it, peering through the demisted slit like a tank driver, holding it in gear, and working the steering wheel like a kid on a fairground roundabout, it was a complete nightmare compared to today. Fortunately we didn't know that at the time.
Spot on and an very good read, wonderful stuff.Starting a 1932 Ford Eight Model Y.
A short post to apprise those younger than I, which is most people, of particular Joys of Motoring in the 1950’s. For the first time, the average working class man could have a car, just. Being poor, and everybody I knew was poor, the cars we had were worn out. I was aware of another minority world of different cars because there were many good new cars in the fifties. Austin A30 through 90. Rover 75. Vauxhall Cresta. Jag 2.4 Morris Oxford and Standard Vanguard. Etc. These phenomena were seen about but were as far from our intimate acquaintance as caviar and smoked bavarian cheese. We also knew them all from well worn editions of ‘Autocar’ and ‘Motoring’ passed on to us from somewhere better off. The road tests in these books were super un-critical. ‘This two litre car achieved it’s maximum of forty miles an hour with incredible smoothness, the only sounds you could hear were the engine, gearbox, and back axle, this formed a reassuring background to your progress, signifying that everything was working in audible harmony.’ We knew a Herald from a Mayflower and their specifications, but we only saw them, our vehicles were very different. In my motoring youth, from age seventeen to twenties I don’t think I ever rode in a post-war car.
What were our cars then? They were twenty years old or so, from about 1930 to the War. Nothing Post-War was within our purchasing power as the war had only been over five years in 1950. We had Ford Eights, Morris Eights, some Standards, the odd Hillman Minx, I recall a Vauxhall and one brave soul had a huge straight eight Packard left behind by the Americans. I remember it going along our road only twice, with a hissing noise like a flock of geese as it sucked in petrol by the gallon, and it’s front wheels pattered up and own independently like pogo sticks. It remained on the verge, where all our cars lived, for years.
In the beginning these cars belonged to our parents, not us, and lucky ones like me got to drive them when we had passed the test, and until we got our own worn out car.
My Dad’s car was perhaps typical. A Ford Eight Y type, about 1932 I think. Black, four door, brown rexine seats, one dial, a tall wobbly gear lever and a memorable curved bakelite demister stuck on the windscreen. Six volt battery. We could not afford good batteries, so starting was by the handle. We could also only afford a big can of Spitfire oil to put in the engine. There were no multigrades. This oil, when cold, was like refrigerated treacle. The starting procedure was not as it is with a modern car. It was as follows:- You got up about an hour before normal to start the car. If it is frosty, say an hour and a half. You go out and remove the small paraffin stove kept alight under the sump all night. You remove the two old coats over the engine. You fill the radiator with kettles of boiling water and start turning the starting handle. When you can jerk it reasonably over compression on an upstroke of the starting handle then you wedge out the choke five eighths of an inch, exactly, with a spring clothes peg, switch on the ignition and run out to the front to jerk up the handle some more. The handle and crankshaft dogs were pretty worn and it was possible to pull it up with no resistance sometimes and fall back and generally hurt yourself. If the dogs are in and the jerking is sufficiently smart the engine will sometimes cough encouragingly. It has not started but it has 'fired'. This is an encouraging sign. Switch off a minute to let the battery liven up, check the clothes peg and back to the handle. A few more coughs and it carries on and the engine runs. Runs is an overstatement, it coughs sufficient times to keep going round, then you dive inside, snatch off the clothes peg, pull the choke right out then nearly right in, performing a ballet with your foot on the accelerator. This starting choreography is different for all cars and has to be learnt the hard way. If we are not expert enough then the engine goes dug-aluggle-dug-dug-aluggle-stop, disaster, it is ‘flooded’. In this case you have to go indoors and wait half an hour then try the same procedure all over again. In obdurate cases the plugs have to come out and the electrodes bent nearly shut so there is a spark. We also used to scrape pencil lead over the plug points as an aid to super sparking. Dug-aluggle-dug-aluggle-pobble-obble-obble...... Success. We can go to work and you can see that all that extra time was necessary.
Now we drive it. Inside the car is bitter cold. We switch on the bakelite demister and in time, much time, a thin line of clear screen appears above it, through which we can peer. Steering in imprecise, it has to be concentrated on all the time and much depends on the camber of the road. If the road is cambered on the left then the wheel has to be turned to the right about a quarter of a turn to counteract it. If to the right, the opposite applies. If the road is flat, the wheel has to be continuously sawed from side to side to keep the wheels straight. We knew about the merits of ‘slick’ tyres long before Formula One. If minute examination revealed any trace of tread at all then the tyre was fine.
We are now in progress and by holding it in second gear, to prevent it jumping out with a 'spang', have reached top and are bowling along. Our eyes are staring a long way ahead to reserve a similar stopping distance, in the event of obstruction, as that of a fully laden freight train.
So what with being virtually unable to stop or start it, peering through the demisted slit like a tank driver, holding it in gear, and working the steering wheel like a kid on a fairground roundabout, it was a complete nightmare compared to today. Fortunately we didn't know that at the time.
My father-in-law had several pre-war cars. His Model A was an amusing vehicle simply because of it's agricultural nature. It was great for trials and on road it was a very easy car to get along with. His '37 Bentley Special was severely modified so probably doesn't count, but his Lea Francis P-Type was a really nice car, we even ventured onto a motorway once. The roof was outstandingly watertight and it was very reliable.
I usually hav at least one pre war car on the go, and being a classic car dealer get to drive many, many others. Every car is different. Every model is different, certainly, but each individual car is different to drive. With a modern car you just get in and go. With a pre war one, it will take many journeys to become familiar with all the foibles.
Currently I have a 1930 Morris Cowley Speedster and a 1935 Rolls Royce 20/25 Limo. They both get used a lot, the Cowley for local runs and PCTs, the Rolls for weekends away etc. The Rolls drove from Aberdeen to Le Mans and back for the classic and never missed a beat.
Some good advice above, the best being drive before you buy. I recently lost the sale of an Austin 7 Pearl. The guy and his wife fell in love with it and wanted to buy. It became obvious that he had never driven pre-war cars so I refused a deposit until he had driven it. He came back on the next dry day, all excited with a wedge of cash in his pocket. The Pearl was a good example, but at the end of the test drive he could not live with the acceleration, speed, vague steering, etc etc. I would rather lose a sale than sell something that someone will not be happy with, and indeed the Pearl sold shortly afterwards to a man with 3 other Austins.
If you want any advice, feel free to contact me.
Currently I have a 1930 Morris Cowley Speedster and a 1935 Rolls Royce 20/25 Limo. They both get used a lot, the Cowley for local runs and PCTs, the Rolls for weekends away etc. The Rolls drove from Aberdeen to Le Mans and back for the classic and never missed a beat.
Some good advice above, the best being drive before you buy. I recently lost the sale of an Austin 7 Pearl. The guy and his wife fell in love with it and wanted to buy. It became obvious that he had never driven pre-war cars so I refused a deposit until he had driven it. He came back on the next dry day, all excited with a wedge of cash in his pocket. The Pearl was a good example, but at the end of the test drive he could not live with the acceleration, speed, vague steering, etc etc. I would rather lose a sale than sell something that someone will not be happy with, and indeed the Pearl sold shortly afterwards to a man with 3 other Austins.
If you want any advice, feel free to contact me.
Thanks for your responses guys, I am seriously grateful for the feedback. I drove the car at the weekend and I was a little surprised that it wasn't so difficult to drive. Ok, the steering is a bit vague and you need to predict when you need to brake, but I could live with that. It wasn't so slow that it would drive you crazy, it reached about 55mph and would sit there all day. Gearwise, no syncro on 1st or 2nd, but you could drive it in just 3rd and 4th. The car is not cheap, the dealer wants £12k but would negotiate a little. It is immaculate though and had a ground-up restoration including engine rebuild. I think I have talked myself into it.
Edited by Aero8 on Wednesday 7th January 09:22
Aero8 said:
Thanks for your responses guys, I am seriously grateful for the feedback. I drove the car at the weekend and I was a little surprised that it wasn't so difficult to drive. Ok, the steering is a bit vague and you need to predict when you need to brake, but I could live with that. It wasn't so slow that it would drive you crazy, it reached about 55mph and would sit there all day. Gearwise, no syncro on 1st or 2nd, but you could drive it in just 3rd and 4th. The car is not cheap, the dealer wants £12k but would negotiate a little. It is immaculate though and had a ground-up restoration including engine rebuild. I think I have talked myself into it.
Any pictures?Edited by Aero8 on Wednesday 7th January 09:22
I would heartily recommend joining a few clubs, I'm sure there is one for Vauxhalls of that age, the VSCC is good for (slightly) older cars. You should get cheaper insurance and all sorts of help and advice.
Car is for sale here:
http://users.autoexposure.co.uk/rugbyclassicmotorg...
Fane, thanks for your comment, thats worth considering. So for VSCC I would need to find a pre-31 car. Maybe I should look a little further with that in mind before making a decision.
http://users.autoexposure.co.uk/rugbyclassicmotorg...
Fane, thanks for your comment, thats worth considering. So for VSCC I would need to find a pre-31 car. Maybe I should look a little further with that in mind before making a decision.
Aero8 said:
So for VSCC I would need to find a pre-31 car.
... or one of the PVT list. http://www.vscc.co.uk/vsccweb/membership/default.j...Although the 30/98 is seen as a typical VSCC car, the GM built ones are less well regarded, old boy!
Fane said:
If it were my £12k, I'd be more inclined to go for a 30's Riley saloon.
You might even find a vintage Riley 9 tourer for that ammount.We are playing with the VSCC at Brooklands on Sunday, I'll be looking confused in my 12/50, and Sarah will be running round in her A7.
http://www.vscc.co.uk/vsccweb/news/news.jsp?id=518
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