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Come on down, it may not last long!
My first owned vehicle was a 1951 Dodge half-ton. Everything on it was pretty much as Holy Cow describes, but I added turn signals and lap belts. It was pretty fun to drive, but the floor leaked on rainy days, the defroster was anemic to the point of being dangerous, and the 6V starter was barely adequate (meaning that I had to push-start it more times than I can count). I sold it for $200 shortly before I got married, and sometimes wonder where it is nowadays.
Lol my daily driver is an 84 Olds Cutlass and it’s gas filler is behind the license plate. Same with the Caprice that was my winter beater and just got replaced by my 05 Silverado work truck. So every car I’ve had from age 18 to 37 had the gas filler behind the license plate.
- Posted by: @jim-frame
..and the 6V starter was barely adequate (meaning that I had to push-start it more times than I can count)..
I had a ’49 Chevy PU when I first got married. I can definitely relate to the holes in the floorboard..but they only leaked when it rained… 😉
The old 6v battery was only good for a couple of cranks on a good day. I got really good at being able to discern with my eye the slightest incline in a parking lot so I could push start it should the need arise.
Oh, the good old days…I’m sometimes glad they’re gone. I think my shoulder surgeries in later life were a direct result of driving cars with no PS and manual transmissions. Nowadays I don’t even like to drive my old Wrangler because it doesn’t have electric windows.
I’ve become so sissified in my old age.
@jim-frame
If you wanted some fresh air in the cab you could reach under the dashboard and push on a lever that would raise an inlet between the windshield wipers above the level of the center portion of the hood.
That was a guarantee to get a breeze going up your pant leg. I don’t know when they started it, but my ’55 Chevy PU also had “side” vents just forward of the door down near the floorboard. You could get a pretty good breeze going…and the floor stayed clear of dust and gum wrappers too.
Truck drivers loved the effect that those vents had on the skirts of that era.
@paden-cash I can’t recall when the ball dryer vent under the steering wheel stopped but it was nice to have in my 70 Nova and my 83 Monte Carlo. Been all trucks since those and I can’t remember any of them having it starting with my 94 Silverado.
@holy-cow “We had a handy dandy air pump that worked by pulling out a spark plug and then screwing in the connector to the long hose that could reach any tire on the pickup.”
Now that is a feature that makes beautiful sense. Engines are essentially air pumps – makes sense to use what you got.
I used to have a brass fitting and check valve for a spark plug hole with which one could inflate a tire. I purchased it a flea market. Never used it. It’s somewhere in my garage.
I always wondered if the tire would also have fuel vapors mixed in with the compressed air…maybe that’s why they quit making them.
@paden-cash Yes, I was trying to envision how that mechanism would work. I assumed a check-valve would have to be present.
Hmm, fuel vapors. Yes, I can see the downside to this idea now.
- Posted by: @jflamm
70 Nova
That was a bad ass street car in the olden days. ????
@flga-2-2
Still a bad ass car, though maybe not as impressive performance wise as it was back in the day. That’s easily fixed though.
@flga-2-2
Neighbor kid had a brand new one. His tires were lucky to last a month because he spun out all the time to prove what a hot little thing that was with a big motor in it..
@flga-2-2 muck fires are a phenomenon i haven’t had to suffer in over 30 years, and i won’t cry if i never have to again.
What gets my hackles up is lowering of vehicles. Then when they come to try and sell it they use words like “stance”, “sacked”, “slammed”, “sleeper” … and lie on the ground to take photos to change the perspective to try and hide the fact that it is now an ugly, useless POS that nobody wants. (Tough morning here, including no breakfast).
The bottom part of that front end would be ripped off at the first railroad crossing, if it made it that far first (one-half mile).
Yeah, our roads are bad enough without doing that.
I did lift my truck a couple inches and went up a tire size. Better chance of making it out of the woods if I end up in that situation.
@flga-2-2
In parallel, here’s what the Aussies did.
@flga-2-2 I wish mine was a badass with a big block! It had the 235 straight 6 with a Powerglide. We had a small block on the engine stand ready to build but then stupid 17 year old me decided he needed something a little more plush with AC. That’s when the 83 Monte Carlo came in. Still haunts me to this day.
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