You know you drive an old car if...
Discussion
You know what a "Choke" is.
You find yourself topping up the oil at the start of every trip.
You move away in traffic and everything behind disappears in a smokescreen.
You spend all your spare time trying to solve that elusive misfire, or brake pull.
Every trip out in the car takes much longer than anticipated because whenever you park up it is immediately surrounded by beaming old men who want to recount their tales of ownership!
You are on first name terms with the owner of the local spares shop/garage/scrapyard.
You start off with one old car, and pretty soon your garage/driveway/garden is full of them.
You permenantly have oil and grease in your hair/on your clothes/under your fingernails.
You find it getting steadily harder to see out of the windscreen as the seat steadily collapses.
You open the door after a mild rain shower to find an inch of water collected in the footwells.
On the coldest of mornings, you have to drive along with all the windows open to demist the car as the heater is so inefficient.
The locks are so worn that any old key will fit.
You know what a starting handle is, and have nearly had your wrist broken by it!
You know what "double-declutching" is, and how to do it. Not only that, you are an expert at it.
When driving you have to keep constantly correcting the steering due to play in the worn steering box/kingpins.
You know what a grease gun is, and know the location of every one of the 37 grease and oil points without viewing the Castrol Lubrication Chart.
You end up with an oil slick on the drive every time you park the car.
Five digit odometers are the norm. Is it 32000 miles, 132000, 232000, or 332000? It's anyones guess.
You find yourself turning off the wipers and heater while the headlights are on to attempt to get a charge on the ammeter.
You know what "trafficators" are.
You heave a big sigh of relief when it passes its MoT.
You effect repairs with cable ties, gaffer tape, string and wire by the side of the road.
You know the name, address and postcode of your favourite spares supplier off by heart.
You have to work out an average speed from the speedometer. If it was flickering between 20 and 50 mph, you are probably doing about 35 mph (not bad going!)
You get overtaken by EVERYTHING. A 40 mph cruising speed is normal. Anything above that and the noise becomes deafening.
You find yourself topping up the oil at the start of every trip.
You move away in traffic and everything behind disappears in a smokescreen.
You spend all your spare time trying to solve that elusive misfire, or brake pull.
Every trip out in the car takes much longer than anticipated because whenever you park up it is immediately surrounded by beaming old men who want to recount their tales of ownership!
You are on first name terms with the owner of the local spares shop/garage/scrapyard.
You start off with one old car, and pretty soon your garage/driveway/garden is full of them.
You permenantly have oil and grease in your hair/on your clothes/under your fingernails.
You find it getting steadily harder to see out of the windscreen as the seat steadily collapses.
You open the door after a mild rain shower to find an inch of water collected in the footwells.
On the coldest of mornings, you have to drive along with all the windows open to demist the car as the heater is so inefficient.
The locks are so worn that any old key will fit.
You know what a starting handle is, and have nearly had your wrist broken by it!
You know what "double-declutching" is, and how to do it. Not only that, you are an expert at it.
When driving you have to keep constantly correcting the steering due to play in the worn steering box/kingpins.
You know what a grease gun is, and know the location of every one of the 37 grease and oil points without viewing the Castrol Lubrication Chart.
You end up with an oil slick on the drive every time you park the car.
Five digit odometers are the norm. Is it 32000 miles, 132000, 232000, or 332000? It's anyones guess.
You find yourself turning off the wipers and heater while the headlights are on to attempt to get a charge on the ammeter.
You know what "trafficators" are.
You heave a big sigh of relief when it passes its MoT.
You effect repairs with cable ties, gaffer tape, string and wire by the side of the road.
You know the name, address and postcode of your favourite spares supplier off by heart.
You have to work out an average speed from the speedometer. If it was flickering between 20 and 50 mph, you are probably doing about 35 mph (not bad going!)
You get overtaken by EVERYTHING. A 40 mph cruising speed is normal. Anything above that and the noise becomes deafening.
volvos60s60 said:
Don't forget the time honoured technique of right foot rocking between brake & accelerator to prevent the engine dying as you stop at traffic lights.......
Became a master of this many moons ago with an elderly Sierra. Engine would also stop from time to time on the motorway unless foot was permanently on the gas, cue great fun and brown trouser moments restarting the car while doing 60(wouldn't go any faster)Ah, those were the days.
usually a mixture of
,
,followed by
volvos60s60 said:
Don't forget the time honoured technique of right foot rocking between brake & accelerator to prevent the engine dying as you stop at traffic lights.......
and add in or substitute hand brake for foot brakeand watching temp gauge is a strict habit
Edited by Nigel At on Saturday 5th February 17:46
kamilb1998 said:
You know what a "Choke" is.
You find yourself topping up the oil at the start of every trip.
You move away in traffic and everything behind disappears in a smokescreen.
You spend all your spare time trying to solve that elusive misfire, or brake pull.
Every trip out in the car takes much longer than anticipated because whenever you park up it is immediately surrounded by beaming old men who want to recount their tales of ownership!
You are on first name terms with the owner of the local spares shop/garage/scrapyard.
You start off with one old car, and pretty soon your garage/driveway/garden is full of them.
You permenantly have oil and grease in your hair/on your clothes/under your fingernails.
You find it getting steadily harder to see out of the windscreen as the seat steadily collapses.
You open the door after a mild rain shower to find an inch of water collected in the footwells.
On the coldest of mornings, you have to drive along with all the windows open to demist the car as the heater is so inefficient.
The locks are so worn that any old key will fit.
You know what a starting handle is, and have nearly had your wrist broken by it!
You know what "double-declutching" is, and how to do it. Not only that, you are an expert at it.
When driving you have to keep constantly correcting the steering due to play in the worn steering box/kingpins.
You know what a grease gun is, and know the location of every one of the 37 grease and oil points without viewing the Castrol Lubrication Chart.
You end up with an oil slick on the drive every time you park the car.
Five digit odometers are the norm. Is it 32000 miles, 132000, 232000, or 332000? It's anyones guess.
You find yourself turning off the wipers and heater while the headlights are on to attempt to get a charge on the ammeter.
You know what "trafficators" are.
You heave a big sigh of relief when it passes its MoT.
You effect repairs with cable ties, gaffer tape, string and wire by the side of the road.
You know the name, address and postcode of your favourite spares supplier off by heart.
You have to work out an average speed from the speedometer. If it was flickering between 20 and 50 mph, you are probably doing about 35 mph (not bad going!)
You get overtaken by EVERYTHING. A 40 mph cruising speed is normal. Anything above that and the noise becomes deafening.
Swap "old" for un seviced or looked after and i'd agree, non of my old cars do any of that, mainly cos i built em right and look after em right You find yourself topping up the oil at the start of every trip.
You move away in traffic and everything behind disappears in a smokescreen.
You spend all your spare time trying to solve that elusive misfire, or brake pull.
Every trip out in the car takes much longer than anticipated because whenever you park up it is immediately surrounded by beaming old men who want to recount their tales of ownership!
You are on first name terms with the owner of the local spares shop/garage/scrapyard.
You start off with one old car, and pretty soon your garage/driveway/garden is full of them.
You permenantly have oil and grease in your hair/on your clothes/under your fingernails.
You find it getting steadily harder to see out of the windscreen as the seat steadily collapses.
You open the door after a mild rain shower to find an inch of water collected in the footwells.
On the coldest of mornings, you have to drive along with all the windows open to demist the car as the heater is so inefficient.
The locks are so worn that any old key will fit.
You know what a starting handle is, and have nearly had your wrist broken by it!
You know what "double-declutching" is, and how to do it. Not only that, you are an expert at it.
When driving you have to keep constantly correcting the steering due to play in the worn steering box/kingpins.
You know what a grease gun is, and know the location of every one of the 37 grease and oil points without viewing the Castrol Lubrication Chart.
You end up with an oil slick on the drive every time you park the car.
Five digit odometers are the norm. Is it 32000 miles, 132000, 232000, or 332000? It's anyones guess.
You find yourself turning off the wipers and heater while the headlights are on to attempt to get a charge on the ammeter.
You know what "trafficators" are.
You heave a big sigh of relief when it passes its MoT.
You effect repairs with cable ties, gaffer tape, string and wire by the side of the road.
You know the name, address and postcode of your favourite spares supplier off by heart.
You have to work out an average speed from the speedometer. If it was flickering between 20 and 50 mph, you are probably doing about 35 mph (not bad going!)
You get overtaken by EVERYTHING. A 40 mph cruising speed is normal. Anything above that and the noise becomes deafening.
Especialy the last bit
When leaving the driveway without extra coolant and oil is akin to not wearing trousers....
When you leave rust alone, due to it being 'structual flakes'....
At least once a journey you go 'whats that noise'....
Your fan is on a switch on the dash....
Filling up at the petrol station means filling up everything, petrol, oil, coolant, brake fluid, clutch fluid...
There's a haynes manual as reading material beside your toilet...
You carry a fire extingusher...
You carry a tow rope, jump leads and so forth...
You can bump start your car by yourself, in about 10 metres either going forwards or in reverse...
When you leave rust alone, due to it being 'structual flakes'....
At least once a journey you go 'whats that noise'....
Your fan is on a switch on the dash....
Filling up at the petrol station means filling up everything, petrol, oil, coolant, brake fluid, clutch fluid...
There's a haynes manual as reading material beside your toilet...
You carry a fire extingusher...
You carry a tow rope, jump leads and so forth...
You can bump start your car by yourself, in about 10 metres either going forwards or in reverse...
jt racing said:
When leaving the driveway without extra coolant and oil is akin to not wearing trousers....
When you leave rust alone, due to it being 'structual flakes'....
Your fan is on a switch on the dash....
Filling up at the petrol station means filling up everything, petrol, oil, coolant, brake fluid, clutch fluid...
ahh, the joys of a GRP air cooled car. When you leave rust alone, due to it being 'structual flakes'....
Your fan is on a switch on the dash....
Filling up at the petrol station means filling up everything, petrol, oil, coolant, brake fluid, clutch fluid...
- when you can tell exactly which part is smoking/burning through a combination of where the smoke is appearing from the bonnet surround and the smell.
-when you stop and savour the smell of a straight through exhaust when one passes you in the street
AC Motors said:
kamilb1998 said:
You heave a big sigh of relief when it passes its MoT.
When you've pumped the thickest grease you can fine in all the suspension bushes and kingpins to take up the wear !classic
AC Motors said:
jt racing said:
There's a haynes manual as reading material beside your toilet...
.
.
Christmas brought me the Haynes manuals for the Spitfire (not the Triumph one), Vulcan and Concord. For some reason the Mrs didn't seem to agree that now I had the manual there was no reason left not to buy the toys though.
Why don't Haynes do a value pack with two copy of the manual though. After all you need one copy in the car and one by the toilet for reading matter.
Your subconscious is always scanning the road for a run off area/ hard shoulder in case you break down. I am often wondering what if it dies here, can I push it etc. Last time I broke down was the clutch going at the entrance to a single lane bridge, queue of cars in front and behind me. I reckon the hoots and abuse would have been plenty if I were driving a modern car but in a classic people don't seem to mind as much!
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