As I was driving home tonite .........the old 49 Ford started cutting out .. to beat hell. It brought back old memories....... of all the constant things that used to go wrong with our old cars of the 50s. Im thinking its the generator not genning. Im thinking the battery got too low..(with the lights on) .... to supply spark to the ignition.. to make the spark plugs .......fire. Being the engine guru .......that I am (heh) .......... I turned off the lights... and kept the old girl running. (call it a sixth sense !!) The amp gauge was on the center .. indicating every thing was fine, Hmmmmmmmmm will have to check that out .. it SHOULD have been discharging. Pretty sure its the gen. since the voltage regulator is new....and so is the battery.
There are many other memories, .......when I drive my old cars...(the 51 Chev and the 49 Ford) ...Mostly fond ones .....of days that will never be relived again............ but included in those as I previously mentioned .....are the memories of the many problems of keeping those old relics running ... way back when. My old Chev ......of course is my favorite ......because its the duplicate of my High School Car.
Remember all the flats .......we used to have ?? I had one flat on my 97 Caddie in 40k miles !! Ive had one flat on my 01 Tahoe .......in 38k miles. Ive had none on my 03 Excursion .........with 16k miles and none on the Honda. Ah .. the good old days ???
An old car dealer buddy of mine.......whose not with us any longer.......told me one time .. so many of his customers would always say ....."Oh, they just dont makem like they used to, Ed !! " !!! And he'd say ..........."THANK GODDDDDDDDDDDDDD for THAT !!" Hehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!!!!!
Many times .......... Ive thought about the 8 or 10 great engineering feats that have made the auto .......since the 49 ford ...........such an improvement to drive. I suppose it depends maybe where you live..... but I think if we had to have only ONE improvement since my 49 ford and my 51 Chev.......(especially if you live where its humid or hot in the summer ... would be AIR CONDITIONING. )
Where do we go from there ? Id say ..........the Automatic Transmission. Power steering .. is right behind .....but very close. These two could even be interchanged, Im sure. ( The big old steering wheels on my old cars.. are hard to turn ... and it takes a lot of turning ..to boot.... not a fovoite thing for the girls..) From then on..............the improvements were subtle .......but actually quite important.
The most important I suppose.......was the safety belts.. and all the safety features ............crash integrity .......air bags.......disc brakes... anti lock braking ......... Although those were just plusses though....... and not necessarily ease of driving inventions.
My old 49 was 1500 dollars .........when it was new. A bushel of wheat was 3 bucks back then .. and two truck loads to the elevator .. would buy a new car !! Lawwwwwwwwwwwwwwdy. Twood have been good to be a farmer back then !!!
My dad ........was making about 200 bucks a month at the local elevator back in 49, owned by T.W. Jones... (the richest man in Hitchcock county ...WCC said he was worth .."a million dollars, boys" ) .. a job that required not only brawn ......but a damned good brain as well. So from the good job prespective it took 7 months pay from a good job ....to buy a new car .......back then. And how does that compare to now ?
I have a Honda CRV .. that is a sweet medium sized vehicle. Lots of head room !!! ( I pull it behind my Catmobile). This vehicle new .....was about 20k in 2001. 20k for 7 months .......or .....3k a month ........equals a 36 k a year job (a job somewhat equal to what my dad had .. back then ) .........buys a vehicle today of the same equivalent. So, are the cars equivalent ? Lawdy .......No way !!! This CRV gets 30mpg,(compared to my old bombs at 15..at best) it has power steering and an automatic front wheel drive tranny, along with air of course, plus all the other stuff that makes it safer to drive. The tires are radials.......and it handles about 100% easier than the old dinasaurs.
What a difference to get out of the 49 ...and into the Honda !! Like night and day !!! The good old days .......when cars were cheap????? Oh I dont think so. The only thing I can say about those old cars of the 50s .....is that when I drive one, I sorta feel like a kid again. The rumble of the duals and the rattles... bring back memories every once in a while... that I hadnt even thought about for years.
In ten years from now........if Im still around...... Im doubting I'll even remember my Honda.....but in 10 years .....I'll still own my 49 Ford. There are just some things that engineering cant do ......no matter how wonderful it is. Couple that with the fact that some of us wouldnt trade our first old buggys (if we still had'em.......for 10 Hondas......or anything else similar). The myth of cheaper cars of yore ........is just that.......a myth. But, the good old days of cars of yore is still magical, for me anyway........every time I get behind the wheel of one, push in on the clutch and press that old starter button. Meistie
--Posted By Larry Wall to Wall Family Blog at
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