Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

[Gregg Axley]

That's a great story about the Morris.
Oh sure you could take apart a modern engine, but you'd need an awful long holiday to put it back together!
The simplicity is what I love about my streetrod, which is 70's technology except for LED lights and a 20 inch electric fan to keep the engine cool.
It's easy to work on, compared to our 07 Saturn!

 

[C-dot]

What happened to to cars that were easy to fix?

Cheaply made cars that are designed to deteriorate quickly so you will have to take it to the dealership every time you start it up happened.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Through high-school, I always drove cars from the 50s-70s and one 87 Caprice, all carbureted, all easy to work on. I had those cars in pieces in so many parking lots, it's not even funny. I always kept a tool box, jumper cables, oil, anti-freeze, and other essentials in the trunk. There wasn't much you couldn't fix with that stuff, a can of Gumout, and a wrench or a screwdriver.

Cheaply made cars that are designed to deteriorate quickly so you will have to take it to the dealership every time you start it up happened.

I rememeber that until the late 80s it was possible to do some fairly major work on a car with a minimal toolkit. As a child, with a car obsession, I seem to recal nearly all cars having a simple toolkit in the boot that would contain spanners/wrenches, spare spark plug and bubs, some fan belts and maybe an oil filter.

There were very few breakdowns that could not be fixed at the side of the road with that simple toolkit and a knowedgeable mind.

Then engines started to get modern and it became harder to work on them without specialist equipment. The last three cars we owned (all built in the noughties) only came with a spare tyre and jack and warning in the manual to not mess around with the engine in case we cause the computerised management system to throw a wobbler.

My step-father had a Morris 1000 until the 1990s and he once dismatled part of the engine in a hotel car park whilst we were on holiday in order to recitfy a timing issue. I couldn't see anyone doing that with a modern engine.

Come to mention it, our car has warrnty seals on various engine bay components. What happened to to cars that were easy to fix?

 

[grundie]

That's a great story about the Morris.
Oh sure you could take apart a modern engine, but you'd need an awful long holiday to put it back together!
The simplicity is what I love about my streetrod, which is 70's technology except for LED lights and a 20 inch electric fan to keep the engine cool.
It's easy to work on, compared to our 07 Saturn!

Our current car, a Hyundai, has lots of warranty seals in the engine bay. Even if I had the means to work on the engine (tools, plus expensive computer interface) I couldn't because our warranty would be void.

This results in the weird situation where we worry about breaking down when travelling in case we find ourselves too far away from an authorised Hyundai service centre.

I miss the days when any mechanic could work on pretty much any car.

 

[JimWagner]

Modern cars are one thing that I'd have to say have improved over time. I used to work on all my cars all the time. They needed to be worked on all the time. Tuneups every 10-12,000 miles. Brakes, front and rear, every 20,000 or so. Ball joints. Electrics. You name it, it broke down or wore out. You used to think you had a high mileage car if you coax 60,000 miles out of it before a major engine rebuild.

The last few vehicles I've owned, all Chevies, have quite easily gone well past 100,000 miles with nothing much more than regular oil changes. I never even needed to change the spark plugs. The pickup before the one I currently own had over 100,000 miles on it, still had the original front disk brake pads on it, still not needing to be replaced. If some idiot hadn't run into me I'd still have it. Other than regular oil changes and replacing the battery I never touched it.

My current pickup, a 2008, already has about 57,000 miles on it and has only had oil changes as well.

While I liked my cars back in the 60's through the 80's I really have no desire to going back to having to constantly work on them. It's popular to say modern cars aren't as good as the old ones, but having owned cars (all new) during those years I have to disagree.

 

[C-dot]

While I liked my cars back in the 60's through the 80's I really have no desire to going back to having to constantly work on them. It's popular to say modern cars aren't as good as the old ones, but having owned cars (all new) during those years I have to disagree.

Sounds like you've made some good choices with modern cars. Chevrolets and Dodges will pretty well last forever with little maintenance. My 12 year old Pontiac has needed a few overhauls in that time, and the transmission has deteriorated pretty badly.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I could do without plastic bumpers/body parts. The slightest nudge in a parking lot and the joints break and you either have to shell out big bucks for a complete replacement -- no more banging out dents -- duct-tape it back together, or just let it hang there.

 

[jamespowers]

Modern cars are one thing that I'd have to say have improved over time. I used to work on all my cars all the time. They needed to be worked on all the time. Tuneups every 10-12,000 miles. Brakes, front and rear, every 20,000 or so. Ball joints. Electrics. You name it, it broke down or wore out. You used to think you had a high mileage car if you coax 60,000 miles out of it before a major engine rebuild.

The last few vehicles I've owned, all Chevies, have quite easily gone well past 100,000 miles with nothing much more than regular oil changes. I never even needed to change the spark plugs. The pickup before the one I currently own had over 100,000 miles on it, still had the original front disk brake pads on it, still not needing to be replaced. If some idiot hadn't run into me I'd still have it. Other than regular oil changes and replacing the battery I never touched it.

My current pickup, a 2008, already has about 57,000 miles on it and has only had oil changes as well.

While I liked my cars back in the 60's through the 80's I really have no desire to going back to having to constantly work on them. It's popular to say modern cars aren't as good as the old ones, but having owned cars (all new) during those years I have to disagree.

I suppose that depends on how much electronic junk you have on your new car. My new (2008) Cadillac has had a ton of things replaced in it in a very short time. Every window motor, every door handle, every emblem, the radio, the navigation system, the backup camera, some interior pieces and trim and a few other things I cannot remember now. I might not have had to work on the engine or chasis but anything electronic that could die did. I have had much less work done to my 57 Chevy Bel Air in the same time period---and it has about a million miles on it.
You can have all that electronic junk that is prone to failure---my problem now is that the warranty will run out in September. Then I'll have to pay to fix all that stuff myself.:eeek::eusa_doh: I am sure that will cost much more to maintain than any of my 50s vehicles. [huh]

 

[jamespowers]

I could do without plastic bumpers/body parts. The slightest nudge in a parking lot and the joints break and you either have to shell out big bucks for a complete replacement -- no more banging out dents -- duct-tape it back together, or just let it hang there.

The paint also cracks on those plastic bumpers at the slightest impact. I have had mine repainted three times now.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

My bumpers are big and chrome, just the way I like 'em!!!

The paint also cracks on those plastic bumpers at the slightest impact. I have had mine repainted three times now.

 

[jamespowers]

My bumpers are big and chrome, just the way I like 'em!!!

Well, so are mine on most of my cars.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Ah, yes I'm familiar with your fleet. You need some with some di-noc on them.

On that note, cars with paneling down the side have disappeared. I'm one of about 4 cars in the area sporting the woodie sides.

Well, so are mine on most of my cars.

 

[jamespowers]

Ah, yes I'm familiar with your fleet. You need some with some di-noc on them.

On that note, cars with paneling down the side have disappeared. I'm one of about 4 cars in the area sporting the woodie sides.

I would love to see woodies like this on the road:

They have disappeared though. Most are in private collections---not driven anymore.[huh]:eusa_doh:

 

[Gregg Axley]

Lizzie, maybe someone should make colored duct tape to match popular car colors...

 

[jamespowers]

Lizzie, maybe someone should make colored duct tape to match popular car colors...

They already do:

 

[AtomicEraTom]

They don't make them anymore, though. I've seen too many go to demo derbies, too. Makes my blood boil.

I would love to see woodies like this on the road:

They have disappeared though. Most are in private collections---not driven anymore.[huh]:eusa_doh:

 

[jamespowers]

They don't make them anymore, though. I've seen too many go to demo derbies, too. Makes my blood boil.

You're kidding?! Demo derbies?!:eeek::eusa_doh:

 

[C-dot]

I could do without plastic bumpers/body parts. The slightest nudge in a parking lot and the joints break and you either have to shell out big bucks for a complete replacement -- no more banging out dents -- duct-tape it back together, or just let it hang there.

Plastic bumpers are one of the many banes of my existence. When my front bumper went, I was surprised to discover that it was padded underneath by styrofoam, and - you guessed it - more plastic. I managed to bend it back into shape with a hairdryer, but its still cracked and peeling paint. I couldn't care less, because whats under the hood has cost me enough without replacing the plastic bits.

 

[Gregg Axley]

Bent it back with a hairdryer? :eusa_clap

 

[MikeBravo]

You can have all that electronic junk that is prone to failure---my problem now is that the warranty will run out in September. Then I'll have to pay to fix all that stuff myself.:eeek::eusa_doh: I am sure that will cost much more to maintain than any of my 50s vehicles. [huh]

Isn't that what's called a "lemon"?