Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Things are subject to change

Yep whether they are good or bad times, they are subject to change. I talk about cars a lot, I love the old cars. I know it is nostalgia, in all fairness those cars seemed to be tougher, but they did not last as  long.

  1951-buick-deluxe-0021951-buick-deluxe-001

(Dad squeezed 120,00 miles out of his 1951 Buick very unusual, Shirl nearly wrecked this one)

My dad loved his cars. He would have the oil changed and actually sit down in the drivers seat and say to his car, “now don’t you feel much better?”  How many miles do you have on your car? 80K or 180K miles? Well for many years the best the average Joe could get out of an engine was 60,000 to 80,000 then it was using a lot of oil and needed an over haul.

(The 2011 Buick Regal quiet a change in 60 years, huh?)

11-buick-regal-01

Now it is not unusual for a car to go 200,000 miles and never be in the shop. I had a friend who bought a new Cadillac. He drove it 175,000 miles and never even changed the spark plugs. In reality, the new technology, and oils allow better performance. However, there is not that ‘romance’ with the newer cars, they appear to be sort of ‘cookie cutter’ design, at least for me.

When we buy a car now it usually has near a 100,000 miles on it, and it doesn’t bother us.

 

It is the design and memories of the old cars that I love. The excitement of the new models coming into town covered with tarps, no one could see them until the day they were to be shown all over the USA.

It was a festive occasion, we could NEVER afford them, but we went to see them. many dealerships gave out hot dogs and sodas, it was a free lunch or supper, who could pass that up?

Remember the old rust buckets? You seldom see these newer cars ‘rusted out’. But there is a boy’s love still in me. I loved being able to pull the spark plugs and clean them, whether they needed it or not. I learned to set the points, even more technical, wow.  Then getting a timing light and ‘setting the timing’, now that was really a bragging point.

Then someone taught me the ultimate, cleaning your valves without taking the engine apart. (haha). Fill a coke bottle with water, hold the carb at a fast idle and pour the water in the engine. Too much and you kill the engine, but when you got it right you could fog the area with steam coming from the tail pipe. Impressive, I don’t think it done anything, but it was fun and really showy.LOL

Thanks for coming by the log.

Nite Shipslog

PS: Medical terms from down here:

Colic............................... A sheep dog
Coma.............................. A punctuation mark
Dilate.............................. To live long
Enema............................ Not a friend
Fester............................. Quicker than someone else
Fibula............................. A small lie

Todays car:

100_1178

Our present Van, 2004 Honda Odyssey, I believe it had 80,000 on it when we bought it last year.

11 comments:

Cher' Shots said...

We went to a car show a few weeks ago and commented on how 'tough' they were made. They were so heavy! Loved seeing them. We've been talking of getting a new vehicle but we both just LOVE our 2001 Yukon XL. Most of it's 90,000 miles are from driving to and from Alaska. We have no troubles with it and seeing how Thom babies it, its in prime condition. So we put the buying on the back burner again!
'love & hugs from afar'

Paula said...

Like your instructions on caring for a car. Those terms sound familiar to me as Mel took care of our cars. I always had to help bleed the brakes. My odometer went all away around on Ole' Blue and then went some more in 13 years. My grandson drove her two years and John drove her about two years. Now his daughter is driving her. Oh and your medical terms are good too.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

You are right about cars lasting longer. My last car which I wrecked had only 75000 miles on it and I was counting on it going to 150,000. I was so angry at my self for causing the wreck that did in that car. It was a good one. Well accidents do happen and I'm still trying to get over it. I'd never buy a brand new car though as the used ones do last and they cost a lot less. You are lucky you can do all that work on your own car. The labor is always what costs so much. Hope all is well there and you are enjoying your Wednesday. It's just beautiful here in Ohio.

Anonymous said...

One thing about those old Buicks, you could see that big silver "smile" a block away. They also would hold three to four teenagers in the trunk when going to the drive in movies.

Jimmy

TARYTERRE said...

I'm driving a Plymouth Voyager with approximately 174,000 miles. It's in great shape and I love it. My parents would drive their cars until they were paid off and then get a new one every three years. Love the pics of old cars.

Ken Riches said...

We love our newer Mustangs, bought them new, and they are solid and have V-8's. Just turned 100K miles on my 2006. Expecting to get another 100K.

shirl72 said...

I can't tell cars apart today. I use to know
all of them because they look different. I like my CRV it has given good service. My 59 2 dr. hardtop Dodge was just as pretty as the 57 chevy.
I remember Dad's 54 Buick. I still think the older cars were pretty and had style.

Shirl

Anonymous said...

299,000 on my Chevy Lumina sedan. Still plugging away.

Lucy said...

I will probably have to post anonoymous. Will have to try to figure out what is going on. Joe had A 5i Ford falcon when we got married and he drove it for 15 years. Put it in a pond and ha d a wrecker from work pull him out and he drove it home. That was before he married me. Wild then. Changed oil several times and kept opn driving it until the floor board on three drivers side rusted out so bad he couldn't fix it any more.

Fred Alton said...

120,000 on my '01 Pick-em-up and going strong. No major repairs. AND it's paid for!!! I'm not sure if you remember the old blue '36 "straight eight" Pontiac Frances and I once owned. Paid $35.00 for it...but had to pour oil into it every hundred miles. Whew - those were THE days. Ha. I once tried to replace the battery on a late model Buick. (1998? not sure) After working for half a day, I still had to call for a mechanic to get the old battery out of the car. Horrible experience. If my truck will continue to 200,000 I'll pass it down to one of the grands.

shirl72 said...

You have got to find a 2 dr. hardtop 59 dodge
all white with black fins. A beautiful car.

Shirl