HOW OLD?

[Travlr]

Been there too!!
Amazing. I forgot all about that. That was back when my grandpa was still around. We never did get the tic tic tic to go away but she always ran great. Wish I had some pics of the ol girl. I drove that thing all over northern Oklahoma and people thought I was crazy. Guess that was back in the mid to late 90s.

My first vehicle was a '49 Ford pickup. I remember skidding around in the pasture with the accelerator pounded as hard as I could into the floor, shifting madly, and trying to stay stationary on the slippery seat. I took the head off one day just to see what was inside the engine and bolted it back on with no fresh head gasket or any kind of sealants and just cranking down as hard as I could with a combination wrench... and it ran just as good as it did before I did surgery on it. My dad traded it in on something and never gave me a dime. Fun times...

 

[Rafter S]

I can still remember being amazed the first time I rode in a car with electric windows. I was in junior high, and a buddy's mother had just got a new Thunderbird and gave me a ride somewhere.

 

[greybeard]

If I never see points and condensers again I will be happy! You can also add vacuum wipers and bias ply tires to the list.

That, was bread and butter for us. Plugs/points/condenser, blow out the air filter or wash it if it was oil bath type air filter. That was brother & I's job. and we could do it on just about any 50s-mid 60s vehicle in about 20 minutes. But, I hated cars with a big GM type ac compressor. In the way of changing plugs on that side of a v8. The only thing that was really hard to change points in was the old Ford 9N tractor with the distributor up near the radiator. Did my last one in 2017 and I hated it.
The only thing I owned with vacuum wipers was my '61 vette.

People forget too, how often you had to change (or clean) spark plugs when gasoline had lead in it. That was a once/year thing for most as the lead would make depositson the electrode which would make the points burn. (Cha-ching--cha-ching cha ching went dad's oldlever type adding machine..) .... We had a Champion spark plug cleaner/tester for those that just wanted plugs cleaned instead of replaced. It had an abrasive media blower/blaster that cleaned each plug as you stuck it in a hole, then connect an electrode to the tip, pushed a button and watched the spark quality thru a little mirror. Hi-tech back then. Quicker just to put new plugs in. I changed a LOT of spark plugs in my teens.
What we charged back then seems pitifully low amount but a dollar was a lot of $$ then.
I think item 2 on the first picture was a freeze plug but not sure.




First ride I was in with electric windows was a '54 Packard. Actually, it used a hydraulic/electric setup to raise the windows, with a big spring to assist lowering them. Belonged to my father's best friend and he was always having trouble with it. A straight 8 engine and the thing sat low to the ground, but it did just float down the highway at 80mph. A pita to work on.

While I'm diggin up bones from my own wayback machine, how much was a gallon of gasoline in E Texas 52 years ago? 16 gallons totaled $6.05= about 38 cents/gallon.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

This is stamped on the birth certificates of all native Texans.

 

[Rafter S]

That, was bread and butter for us. Plugs/points/condenser, blow out the air filter or wash it if it was oil bath type air filter. That was brother & I's job. and we could do it on just about any 50s-mid 60s vehicle in about 20 minutes. But, I hated cars with a big GM type ac compressor. In the way of changing plugs on that side of a v8. The only thing that was really hard to change points in was the old Ford 9N tractor with the distributor up near the radiator. Did my last one in 2017 and I hated it.
The only thing I owned with vacuum wipers was my '61 vette.

People forget too, how often you had to change (or clean) spark plugs when gasoline had lead in it. That was a once/year thing for most as the lead would make depositson the electrode which would make the points burn. (Cha-ching--cha-ching cha ching went dad's oldlever type adding machine..) .... We had a Champion spark plug cleaner/tester for those that just wanted plugs cleaned instead of replaced. It had an abrasive media blower/blaster that cleaned each plug as you stuck it in a hole, then connect an electrode to the tip, pushed a button and watched the spark quality thru a little mirror. Hi-tech back then. Quicker just to put new plugs in. I changed a LOT of spark plugs in my teens.
What we charged back then seems pitifully low amount but a dollar was a lot of $$ then.
I think item 2 on the first picture was a freeze plug but not sure.
View attachment 25400

View attachment 25401

First ride I was in with electric windows was a '54 Packard. Actually, it used a hydraulic/electric setup to raise the windows, with a big spring to assist lowering them. Belonged to my father's best friend and he was always having trouble with it. A straight 8 engine and the thing sat low to the ground, but it did just float down the highway at 80mph. A pita to work on.

While I'm diggin up bones from my own wayback machine, how much was a gallon of gasoline in E Texas 52 years ago? 16 gallons totaled $6.05= about 38 cents/gallon.

View attachment 25402

I never was much of a mechanic, but I had an uncle who was a mechanic his whole adult life. He told me a story one time about when he was working for a dealership, and a guy brought in a truck he was having problems with. He said it would start okay, but after driving for a while it would quit. It wouldn't start again unless he waited 15 minutes or so, and then everything was okay again, but again for just a little while. He had taken it to several places and no one could figure it out. My uncle told the customer "let's take it out for a ride so I can see what happens."

He said he got behind the wheel and the owner got in the passenger seat, they took off and headed out of town, and sure enough after they'd got a little ways the engine died. My uncle said he couldn't figure it out, but he needed to take a leak, so he stepped out and took care of that. Just before he got back into the truck he happened to hit the gas cap with the side of his fist (it was one of the pickups with the tank right behind the seat). When he did he heard a little "psst."

He got back in and told the guy they could head on back to the dealership. The guy said "No we can't. We'll need to wait a while before it will start again," but sure enough, it started up right away, they went back to the dealership. My uncle put a new gas cap on the truck, and send him on his way.

For those of you, like me, who aren't mechanically minded, the gas cap wasn't vented properly, so as the truck ran for a while it would pull a vacuum in the tank and the gas wouldn't get to the carburetor, so the motor would die. When my uncle bumped the cap with his fist it let some air in, so it started up right away.

 

[MurraysMutts]

@greybeard surely u know its easier to change points on the Ford 8n,9n,2n if ya pull the distributor??

Easy to time too! U time it on the bench

 

[Travlr]

That, was bread and butter for us. Plugs/points/condenser, blow out the air filter or wash it if it was oil bath type air filter. That was brother & I's job. and we could do it on just about any 50s-mid 60s vehicle in about 20 minutes. But, I hated cars with a big GM type ac compressor. In the way of changing plugs on that side of a v8. The only thing that was really hard to change points in was the old Ford 9N tractor with the distributor up near the radiator. Did my last one in 2017 and I hated it.
The only thing I owned with vacuum wipers was my '61 vette.

People forget too, how often you had to change (or clean) spark plugs when gasoline had lead in it. That was a once/year thing for most as the lead would make depositson the electrode which would make the points burn. (Cha-ching--cha-ching cha ching went dad's oldlever type adding machine..) .... We had a Champion spark plug cleaner/tester for those that just wanted plugs cleaned instead of replaced. It had an abrasive media blower/blaster that cleaned each plug as you stuck it in a hole, then connect an electrode to the tip, pushed a button and watched the spark quality thru a little mirror. Hi-tech back then. Quicker just to put new plugs in. I changed a LOT of spark plugs in my teens.
What we charged back then seems pitifully low amount but a dollar was a lot of $$ then.
I think item 2 on the first picture was a freeze plug but not sure.
View attachment 25400

View attachment 25401

First ride I was in with electric windows was a '54 Packard. Actually, it used a hydraulic/electric setup to raise the windows, with a big spring to assist lowering them. Belonged to my father's best friend and he was always having trouble with it. A straight 8 engine and the thing sat low to the ground, but it did just float down the highway at 80mph. A pita to work on.

While I'm diggin up bones from my own wayback machine, how much was a gallon of gasoline in E Texas 52 years ago? 16 gallons totaled $6.05= about 38 cents/gallon.

View attachment 25402

I've found some of those old receipts occasionally. I bought an old roll top desk and in the process of cleaning it up and refinishing I found everything from buggy/stable to model A paperwork tucked in cracks.

I just passed my grandfather's tool chest down to my son last year. Part of the legacy was his apprenticeship papers to learn pattern making. Sand casting twenty foot iron wheels and gears down to the small stuff. If I remember right his training was five years and he started at fifteen cents a day. I remember there was a fund that accumulated of a penny a day and when he finished his apprenticeship he got the entire amount. I think journeymen made 7 dollars a week, big money then.

 

[faster horses]

Heck, I can remember riding in a car that didn't have turn signals--none of them did at that time. Then turn signals appeared on the scene.
Some people still don't know what they are for.

 

[wbvs58]

OMG, I could be your mother. Thanks for reminding me.

Did you misplace one?

Ken

 

[Brute 23]

I can remember taking the plug out and hitting it with a brush just to be on the safe side. Then having to open the compression release so you could crank it by hand. You had to make sure and get the handle off before you closed it because if it doesn't fire it might break your shoulder.

... oh wait, that was yesterday We still have those motors that go down every time it rains.

 

[wbvs58]

My first vehicle was a '49 Ford pickup. I remember skidding around in the pasture with the accelerator pounded as hard as I could into the floor, shifting madly, and trying to stay stationary on the slippery seat. I took the head off one day just to see what was inside the engine and bolted it back on with no fresh head gasket or any kind of sealants and just cranking down as hard as I could with a combination wrench... and it ran just as good as it did before I did surgery on it. My dad traded it in on something and never gave me a dime. Fun times...

Probably had better compression after tightening it down.

Ken

 

[greybeard]

I can remember taking the plug out and hitting it with a brush just to be on the safe side. Then having to open the compression release so you could crank it by hand. You had to make sure and get the handle off before you closed it because if it doesn't fire it might break your shoulder.

... oh wait, that was yesterday We still have those motors that go down every time it rains.

Arrow/Ajax or an old 1 lung Waukesha?

 

[greybeard]

@greybeard surely u know its easier to change points on the Ford 8n,9n,2n if ya pull the distributor??

Easy to time too! U time it on the bench

sure. Also easier to pull the distributor if you remove the radiator and hood............which entailed removing the fel...

 

[MurraysMutts]

sure. Also easier to pull the distributor if you remove the radiator and hood............which entailed removing the fel...

Now I'm jealous. I've never had a fel

 

[Brute 23]

Arrow/Ajax or an old 1 lung Waukesha?

Arrow... you are good!

 

[greybeard]

Now I'm jealous. I've never had a fel

I don't have any good pictures of it handy. It was 'ok'. Hyds came from a little Brown & Sharps type pump that was driven off a bolt on shaft coming thru the engine crank handle opening in the bottom of the radiator. It was power up, gravity down. Had an attachment for a front bucket that had no tilt, just pulled a handle that moved a 1/4" cable that pulled a pin to dump. We always had a brush fork on it tho.

The way the frame was made, it bolted to the rear axle housing under the fenders and you had to climb over the frame on the side to get in the seat, or come over the back. When we were kids, we could just put a hand on each rear fender and kinda propel ourselves up into the seat.

I saw that tractor launch my father thru the air, over the fel and into the back of his truck, which I was driving to pull start the tractor.

 

[greybeard]

Arrow... you are good!

was good. now just old. Those Ajax/arrow engines used to be all over before everyone went electric or diesel.
Blessed to have a good memory even if my body has exceeded it's warranty by a 1/2 billion miles.

 

[Brute 23]

was good. now just old. Those Ajax/arrow engines used to be all over before everyone went electric or diesel.
Blessed to have a good memory even if my body has exceeded it's warranty by a 1/2 billion miles.

There are still a bunch down here pump jacks. A lot of single and dual cylinder Arrows. We actually have electric starters that go on the battery of your truck now for the big ones. Ajax are real popular because of rich gas. The high speed, turbo, motors do not like it. The Ajax have air starters. Waukesha comp are pretty much gone. It's all I had when I started.

 

[Lucky_P]

It sounds like there are a few people here who are too young to remember the after market AC you could buy for vehicles back around the late 60's.

I remember my mom bought a used 1966 Impala that had the after-market AC in it. Also had after-market seat belts... first car we'd ever had that had them in it.

I learned to drive in a 1954 flatbed Chevrolet... 3 on the column, had the starter button on the floor, and an overdrive thingy that you pulled out to engage it. Windshield wipers ran off vacuum from the carburetor. Kids today wouldn't know where to start...
Only thing worse was a John Deere 'B' that dad bought... had a hand-clutch, and... I've forgotten how all this worked, but it had been modified by some pulpwooders... had a blade on the front (for pushing trucks) that went up and down, powered by a hydraulic cylinder powered by a hydraulic pump that ran off the PTO - and a winch off a small bulldozer mounted on the back that also ran off the PTO. It took about 6 hands to run everything on that monster.
I'm 3 years older than my oldest tractor (that's my youngest driving that '61 JD 2010)

 

[greybeard]

Lucky_P, what are the raised areas he's driving on?