Today I read an article, editorial comment, actually, in "Car & Driver". It centered around the time when carburetors went obsolete, and questioned, based on projected Environmental restrictions, whether we may have reached "saturation" with current state of the art. The guy had an interesting intro about Rochester Carburetor's Quadrajet (GM Division), and it's efforts to meet regs time after time, by tweaking the danged dinosaur, various thingies added on, but never made the call. Clearly, only Electronics could respond fast enough, always, with reproducible results of success within the acceptable "window". So, we got "Electronic Fuel Injection". (EFI). This dates back to about 1989. Today, the efforts have become so technically convoluted, that our BRAKES are no longer just that: they dictate whether our vehicle is allowed to continue to even run! My own early adulthood was molded and shaped by the then prevailing aura of Automotive Engineering. I studied, bought technical publications, worked "hands-on" as much as possible, built things impossible to make (4-speed overdrive transmission), 3-speed "2-speed Merco-matic" transmission, etc. As Chip Foose was quoted in an interview, today's kids do not care to learn how to DO, or why DOING provides results. They only want to BUY the perfected results. Different world now, folks. Is it the "dead & Dying" previous technical leadership that is molding the future of transportation? Frank
When I was in my mid teens my dad bought a 1926 Ford 'T' coupe like the one in the photo below. He got it at an estate sale, along with a small load of parts. We got it running and dad taught me how to drive that 'T'. You need all your hands, feet and attention to drive one of those. It was great fun to chug around the neighborhood in it. Unfortunately, it was one of those things dad bought to resell for profit, which he did after about 1 week. Were I to win mega millions in the lottery, I would not buy a new vehicle, but a restored older, simpler and maybe more reliable one.
Pardon me if this is not relevant to this thread. Our country has an issue with the Montero of Mitsubishi. It is an SUV with a power of 2.5 liters engine (not sure with the number though). There are more than a hundred complaints that are mostly documented that the said SUV has that syndrome called SUA - sudden unintended acceleration - which means that when the engine of the vehicle is started, the SUV would run by itself and no matter what the driver would do... always to no avail. There are CCTV footage that shows some of those cases. Some drivers said they had their foot on the brakes but the Montero kept on running. Until now our DTI (department of Trade and Industries) still had to conduct an investigation on the matter. Those affected were models 2002 to 2010. Related to that SUA issue of Mitsubishi's Montero, I came to know that the cars now are computerized. So that's the black box under the hood which they say should not be wet when the vehicle treads a flooded road. As to the operation of the car, when you step on the gas, you are actually stepping on a button that informs the computer about your need for gas and the computer would trigger the gas in the fuel injection. With the brakes, the same thing, the pedal is a button that tells the computer you wanted to stop and the computer would pull the brakes for you. Oh my, isn't that a bit scary to think that your life depends on that computer?
This is similar to what my first car looked like, only it wasn't nearly so pretty, as it was a functional truck and not a show car. It is a 1951 Ford pickup. The back was made of wood but I had the idea that this was a modification made by a former owner. It went all the way around though, and I think it was four boards high, not three. I would love to have one of these again.
Hey, Ken the photo you posted just made up my dull morning and perk it up! Really a classic! hahaha... Made me wonder if that thing on the back of the car was part of a barn it just went through with it. Someone might be missing part of his barn. LOLS!
Why someone might have replaced the metal box with wooden slats, I don't know, but mine was like that too, only the wood more closely resembled barn wood.
I remeber when all dads could fix their own cars. And how teenage boys would invite friends over to work on a car in the driveway. Now, people have to take vehicles to a shop because the computer and circutry in the car is too complex. I find that really sad and very expensive.
@Texas Beth My "spin" on it is, anything designed and built by human beings ought to lend themselves to being understood by anyone having some technical ability. True, a bit is inherited, skills, learned while young, gleaned from technical studies and courses. Today's computer-run cars are not all that difficult to understand. What IS the "monkey-wrench" in the works is that the secrets of programming methods used by the builders are locked up in the computers. IOW, one has no way of knowing which direction the designers' train of thought was going when setting up each facet of the operating method. For example, seeing trouble, the computer "self-diagnoses" it, alerts the driver by illuminating a tiny dashboard light, and stores "trouble codes", called DTCs (Digital Trouble Codes). If a true potential for disaster exists (like, the engine might disintegrate), it even has the ability to post DTC P2105 "Forced Engine Shutdown"! Now, second-guess what degree of anxiety on the part of the programmer would cause him to generate that code: Flat tire? Washer fluid low? Headlight burned out? Obviously (hopefully), not. Engine nearly out of oil, probably. Us "shade-tree" mechanics are pressed to "second-guess" those designer thoughts in attempting to fix our cars today! Frank
Yes, it's expensive, but............with how high today's wages/salaries are, many, many folks can (and do) afford it. I get really amazed at how many people take their vehicles to our local Dealer. The labor cost and parts cost is very high with the dealership, but many don't care and simply pay it.
I do remember when I was a "backyard mechanic" and done a few things on my old vehicles.........changed plugs, oil, belts, hoses, replaced generator, alternator and starter. Not anymore! I will refill fluids, replace burnt out brake light and change air filter, but that's it. Physically, I just can't do anymore than that. For anything else, we go to Midas or Goodyear and oil change done by Dealer. It costs us, but wife and I don't have to worry about me injuring myself. BTW, getting a new, actually, completely rebuilt, but new for us, GM/Chevy 4bl Quadra Jet Rochester Carb for our boat. The choke on our old carb was a "manifold heat-up" type, but on the new carb will be an electric choke. I told my wife, if we sell this boat and get another one, it will definitely be and "EFI" type. EFI start a whole lot faster than the old carburetor type does (like we have now). Unfortunately, when an "EFI" needs repairing, it can be very costly.
I used to get a real kick out of watching these guys. fix it yourselfer's a lot of youngsters today are beating the bush looking for those old rusted out cars in barns and fields and fixing them up
In 1946 my dad bought a 1926 Hudson super six that was heading for the scrap yard. He got it started and made it home to our back yard. I recall riding that far with him in it. We had to roll down all the windows because of how bad it was smoking. Well, dad spent his evenings after work and a weekend or two on that car. Don't recall what all he did, but it ran smooth as a baby's butt when he finished. It still needed new tires, but dad sold it as is and bought a 1928 or 29 Ford 'A' 1 ton with a flat bed. It didn't need any work and he made a bit of money hauling stuff on weekends.
Many years ago, my mom and dad had one of the old Model A's and they made a trip to California from north Idaho, lived there a few years, and then moved back to Idaho. I remember part of one ancient vehicle sitting out in the weeds where they lived in Idaho when I was born, and it was probably what was left of the old Ford after sitting there all of those years. It eventually disappeared, so someone probably just stole whatever was left of the frame. My dad always said that he liked working on those old cars because most everything could easily be repaired on them, often just using hay-wire. (I am guessing that this is where we got that old saying about something "going haywire" from) Here they are along the way to California, mid-1920's era.