My own dear mother once asked me how I kept my laptop screen so clean, while jabbing it with her finger and leaving grubby marks.
“By never doing that, mum.”
In the period of about 5 years when touch screen phones were the norm but my mum did not have one, showing her any photo or anything else invariably resulted in her grabbing the phone by either the screen or the side buttons and seeming surprised that it changed picture or turned off
--
A few weeks ago my girlfriend mentioned that one of her car tyres looked a bit flat, and asked if I could pump it up. Yes it was (8psi when it should be 28) and the other three were in the low teens.
Apparently she noticed because it "looked flat" which it did, and not by noticing the deterioration of the handling of the vehicle.
Hey Cougar, he’s calling you old 😉
Only in his car choices* I'm a fully qualified old duffer myself, so I'm allowed to 🙂
*And maybe sartorial choices? He's gotta be rocking a flat cap, brown crimplene 'slacks' and open backed driving gloves to go with that car? Surely? 😉
Uncle was an engineer and I learned a lot when I was a kid about how stuff works. Also owned 3 Alfa's (which will find you out quickly if you are not "sympathetic") Each one mint when I passed them on. You either have it or you dont. Fixing up cars as a teenager helps. My car doesnt even have a dipstick...
70 years ago, most cars had overhead valve engines, usually with a chain drive, rear-wheel drive, and drum brakes all round. Drum brakes needed regular cleaning and adjusting to keep them working properly (which was still pretty underwhelming) and changing brake shoes was a much trickier job than changing disc brake pads. You needed to set the points gap and spark timing at every service and pulling off the cylinder head to do a valve grind was a regular thing.
Starting the engine when cold meant using a manual choke to richen the mixture, but if you got that wrong, the engine would flood. A lot of cars didn’t have very effective shielding under the engine bay so the distributor would get wet if you drove through a puddle and the engine would cut out. The drum brakes would also get wet and you’d change lanes if one side got wet and the other didn’t.
Modern cars are much, much better. Much more reliable and their performance, braking, and handling are far superior to the old shitboxes from 70 years ago.
Modern cars are much more reliable
Thanks for mancarboresplaining that to me, my car's 50 years old so I might know that and it wasn't my point was it? It was nothing to do with the practicalities of driving it.
In fact in your desperation to argue, you've made my point, modern cars are actually easier to work on!
Belts are easier to swap than chains (and old chains don't last as long) as the pulleys don't need to come off so as long as you lock everything properly it's just belt off, belt on, no need to re-time everything.
I disagree that changing disks is easier than drums, but if you want to believe I'm right and that modern cars are easier to work on that's fine.
Points - yup, one less job to do. Plugging in my laptop and booting up Forscan is about as tricky though.
There's new stuff to go wrong too, but for the most part it's rare. In a typical cars life it'll get through about 4 sets of brakes, 2 clutches, a cambelt, a couple of wheel bearings, some suspensions bushes and shock absorbers. None of that is any more difficult on a modern car to one 70 years ago. Things like the ECU failing is a new risk, but uncommon, on most car's it'll outlive the mechanicals. Look around a scrap yard and almost all cars these days die in crashes, or just reach a point where routine stuff becomes uneconomical to fix at MOT time.
My theory is that anyone who says "modern cars are too complicated to maintain myself" is also incapable of fixing an old car but just isn't admitting it.
Belts are easier to swap than chains (and old chains don’t last as long) as the pulleys don’t need to come off so as long as you lock everything properly it’s just belt off, belt on, no need to re-time everything.
<FMoC> someone hold my beer......</FMoC>
One of your best cars ever was a Vauxhall Cavalier – you need to get out more.
What do you suppose I was doing with it?
(OK, "best" was a poor choice of word. "Favourite" would be more appropriate.)
<FMoC> someone hold my beer……</FMoC>
To be fair, putting timing chains/belts in places that require complete engine disassembly isn't anew thing.
Who ever was rebuilding that didn't lube the bearing shells and crank journals before dropping the crank in - no mechanical sympathy! It looks like the engine was being run when the chain was completely knackered hence the ned to weld the bracket back on - no mechanical sympathy. 😉 Motorbike engine? Honda 750?
OK, “best” was a poor choice of word. “Favourite” would be more appropriate.
Fair enough and I agree. My best cars technically were not my favourites. My favourite car I have ever owned is either a Rover P6 or a Mk2 RS2000 which were both fairly old when I owned them and yes I could fix most things on them myself which I would not have attempted on the technically better cars.
I am going back to an old car (50-60 years old probably) when I can decide what to buy as with no Tax, no MOT and very cheap insurance (under £100 a year) it won't cost much as long as I keep it running myself.
Luckily I have the mechanical sympathy to drive one...
I’ll just leave these here…
I bloody loved the Cav
A very very long time ago, for a short period *, I was a driver for a hire car firm. Needless to say all of the cars we rented out were knackered, usually with barely functioning brakes*, with a couple of notable exceptions. Any Cavalier that came in was instantly looked after by the mechanic not us plebs who were glorified car-washers, and he'd spend hours on them. The other exception were the Volvo 850 turbos, also given the loving treatment. Turns out the mechanic used to work for Vauxhall at one of their production plants, and owned a mark i, ii & iii.
*a short period as I crashed one of the shagged Renault Clios into the valeting tent at Newcastle airport due to its non-functioning brakes 😳 as a casual driver it was a one accident and you're out policy 😢
Fair enough and I agree. My best cars technically were not my favourites. My favourite car I have ever owned is either a Rover P6 or a Mk2 RS2000 which were both fairly old when I owned them and yes I could fix most things on them myself which I would not have attempted on the technically better cars.
I think that's part of it. My first was an early 90s plate, it was pretty much a Goldilocks car. It was - relatively speaking - dripping with toys like "electric windows" which today would be weird not to have but at the time almost had a stigma for being poseur (see also: mobile phones). But it was also of an age where buying a Haynes manual wasn't an outrageous proposition either. Best of both worlds.
That aside, it was just nice. It was comfy, it swallowed up motorway miles, it was the lap of luxury compared with the mk3 Escort it replaced, it was spirited enough for a 20-something with more spunk than brains, and it was wholly predictable when physics exceeded driver ability.
I had four or five of them in the end, before the world of company cars supplanted student bangernomics and Bank Of Mum. But that first GL Cav was special to me.
They also have a few semi-compact tractors, on the road always being driven at full hand throttle instead of using the pedal, still full throttle when stopped moving and then moving off again.
Just would like perhaps explain this behaviour since I am a trainer for a local authority in Scotland and regularly train people in the use of compact tractors,
They are (mostly) hydrostatic, which means for the controls (drive, steering, brakes, PTO) to work, the hydraulic pumps need to be operating at maximum throttle. This is controlled by the hand throttle and the pedals are really only for forward and reverse up to max speed which is probably not much more than 15mph!
Not running at full throttle would be showing a lack of mechanical sympathy!
If any of you do want to drive an old car they let you have a spin round the block at the amber gate car museum.
Right next to some excellent riding and distillery if you want a spirits/ car/ bike combo day out.
Several of my dad's and uncles cars are on offer
https://drivedadscar.com/cars-available/
I doubt my dad's mark 3 escort or Capri would be much fun.
My uncles xjs might be fun . It had an electronic trip computer ( wild!) That go down to 3mpg when he had his foot down showing off in the 80's.
Just would like perhaps explain this behaviour since I am a trainer for a local authority in Scotland and regularly train people in the use of compact tractors,
@e... These are semi-compact with a clutch and geared transmission, type you'd get on a farm. Seems the drivers are carrying over the driving technique.
Glad to see the discussion has moved on from handbrakes.
My PC has been to the local repairer twice in the same time.
In the 30 years I've owned PCs, don't think I've ever had to 'repair' one.
So like when you get a car you suddenly notice the same make and model...
Out for a walk this evening and waiting at a junction. A car comes up the road then last minute indicates to turn into the road, car slows down but the driver doesn't change gear until the car nearly stalls (accompanied by the horrible sound from the engine).
I'm speechless. That's a Bentley, by the way.
https://twitter.com/mistergeezy/status/1739903678763385328
I find it amazing when looking at cars mot history, who the hell doesnt check tyres and bulbs on a car going for its mot? It seems a lot of us!
I was at Kwik-Fit recently when a lady came in to collect her car, ‘reg? Blank face… make/model? Blank face… colour? Blank face…!!’
in the end a mechanic remembered what she dropped off…
The actions of the person int he tan jacket though. Appears just to be an unconnected bystander, but just loses the plot and starts slapping the car like thats going to help the situation any.
The actions of the person int he tan jacket though. Appears just to be an unconnected bystander, but just loses the plot and starts slapping the car like thats going to help the situation any.
I'm pretty sure he's the owner of the car that she hit.
A common complaint from parents was how the staff treated the person’s home – from wasting electricity to damage as you describe. I genuinely think it was how they managed their own homes though, they didn’t learn despite repeated complaints.<br /><br />
They aren’t paid to care, and that often goes for the people, as well as anything technical or technological.
I can see video footage or stills from my formative years and go “that’s a Mk2 Fiesta” or whatever. Today, perhaps it’s the same phenomenon as modern music to old ears but they’re all so bland and interchangeable. Mundane silver lumps that haven’t changed much aesthetically since the Sierra took a a defibrillator to the design industry 40 years ago.
I will happily debate that point, having spent five or six years driving a very wide range of vehicles produced within the last ten years or so. Go back to the 70’s or so, and there were saloon cars from Ford, Vauxhall, Hillman and the other main manufacturers that were pretty much indistinguishable from each other, basically a three-box structure, whereas now I can often tell a make or model apart in the dark just from the design of their lights. I can easily identify a Vauxhall from a Peugeot, or a Hyundai or a Nissan or a Ford - there are significant differences in their design ‘language’. <br />But don’t get me started on the hopeless ergonomics, or lack of in many modern cars - the frankly insane obsession with touchscreens in many cars by some manufacturers should be subject to an industry-wide inquiry because of the clear and present danger to the public. Peugeot fitted a hexagonal steering wheel in their 208 series along with a ‘holographic’ display that means the actual car’s speed is blocked from the driver’s vision by the top of the steering wheel, and no amount of adjustment of the seat would allow me to see how fast I was going - and these cars were intended for learner drivers; I was applying the driving school livery decals, so actually driving the cars. And I can post photos to prove it. <br />But other manufacturers were paying attention - Ford for one; they fitted actual analogue dials and physical buttons and controls, unlike VW who’ve had to start re-designing their car interiors.
Mechanically, though, it’s virtually impossible to do anything more than check oil and water levels now, and in some cars replacing light bulbs is incredibly difficult - it took at least
45 minutes to replace a sidelight bulb in my W-reg Ford Puma, and that came under ‘roadside repair’! You needed a large size Torx wrench, when hardly anyone knew what Torx bolts were, to undo a row of bolts to take the radiator grill out, then undo some more bolts to release the headlight units, detach a couple of drain tubes, remove the headlight unit from the car, remove the rear of the unit to access the bulbs, take the bulb out and replace it, then reverse the process.
Some Renault cars required the car to be jacked up, the wheel to be removed, inner wing to be removed in order to access the rear of the headlight before you could even get at the bulb, let alone change it. That was around £150 at a dealer. Little wonder most people gave up on even thinking about fixing anything on their cars.
Long gone are the days you could fix pretty much anything with a small set of spanners, some screwdrivers, a hammer, a jack, some wheel-stands and a Haynes manual. With the help of a mate and a trolley jack, we replaced the rear axle, the front king-pins, front brakes, all four shocks, brake master-cylinder and a variety of other bits and bobs on my 1954 split-screen Morris Minor in a lockup garage down the road with no power supply at all, only a torch.
That’s a Bentley, by the way.
It’s a Chrysler 300C with fake badges. Very commonly done by the chav crowd.
That’s a Bentley, by the way.
Yeah, and its not mechanical unsympathy either. Some kind of mental health emergency by the look of it.
My thoughts are, most treat cars, pc’s etc just like a phone. If it doesnt ‘boot up’/work instantly boot it harder.
20k miles service intervals on diesel euro6 engines is just asking for trouble, but not normally for the first few owners
Peugeot fitted a hexagonal steering wheel in their 208 series along with a ‘holographic’ display that means the actual car’s speed is blocked from the driver’s vision by the top of the steering wheel, and no amount of adjustment of the seat would allow me to see how fast I was going
I had a Pug as a courtesy car a few weeks back. I could not get the wheel in any sort of position where I could clearly see the dash, either over it or through it. On returning it the dealer asked "what did you think?" I said, decent enough aside from this issue, he replied "oh good, I thought it was just me."
45 minutes to replace a sidelight bulb in my W-reg Ford Puma, and that came under ‘roadside repair’!
Years back I got a phone call from a mate, he was in Halfords car park having just bought a headlight bulb for his Astra van and was struggling to fit it. After applying appropriate levels of derision I went down to help.
Several degrees of "WTF?" and obligate stubbornness later, we schlepped into the store to crib the Haynes manual. "Step 1: drain and remove radiator."
I find that level of ridiculousness hard to believe. The front always looked the same as the cars. What year?
I am cursed because I do have mechanical sympathy, I used to regularly wash and clean my cars, keep the tyres pumped up weekly, don't idle my vehicles, checked the oil and coolant regularly, have them serviced and maintained on time, however despite that I've had more bad luck with expensive repairs and accidents than most people I know.
I meticulously looked after my last car, the paint still failed on the roof, I punctured two expensive tyres a week after fitting them, an injector went and flooded the sump with petrol which cost 800 quid, the gearbox broke at 60k miles and needed a 2 grand repair, then a month later it was crashed into and written off.
Then my colleagues who take on expensive lease cars and never check a single thing, let their tyres go bald because they never have MOTs to remind them, miss their required services by thousands of miles and never check a single thing themself just trundle along in a stress free motoring life without worrying about anything then hand the car back after 3 years and move onto the next one.
Sometimes having mechanical sympathy doesn't actually gain you anything hence why people don't bother learning it.
45 minutes to replace a sidelight bulb in my W-reg Ford Puma, and that came under ‘roadside repair’!
My car is similar. One side (can never remember which) headlight requires disassembly of various bits of engine to access the bulb replacement.
I've driven a lot of vehicles in various cycle races - the races get sponsor vehicles from some local dealership - and most have some sort of complete irritation of a design aspect somewhere within them. A fellow driver needed someone else to show him how to put the thing in gear and take the brake off. We all went to fill the cars up the night before the race, got back to the hotel and he was still there, revving the engine and pressing buttons and wondering why it wouldn't move.
Several degrees of “WTF?” and obligate stubbornness later, we schlepped into the store to crib the Haynes manual. “Step 1: drain and remove radiator.”
Jesus. I thought having to jack up the car and take the front wheel off to access a hatch in the inner wing was bad enough on my 320.*
*TBF you're supposed to be able to just reach in and do it but I reckon you'd have to be a double-jointed safecracker to manage it.**
**Cue 15 people who think it's easy!
Vacuum cleaners... After injuring myself on holiday last year, I took it upon myself to clean the chalet's Shark vacuum. Must have been years since it was cleaned, even emptied. Enormously satisfying to hear the difference in motor effort before and after.
Sometimes having mechanical sympathy doesn’t actually gain you anything hence why people don’t bother learning it.
This goes to a more fundamental issue with some (or many?) people where the only factor considered in any decision is whether it benefits them.
I think I’m fairly mechanically sympathetic.
I am definitely mechanically polite, always apologise to the car if I’m not gentle with it, hit a pothole etc.
45 minutes to replace a sidelight bulb
My V70: remove two 'tent pegs' and the whole headlight unit comes out with access doors easily accessible.
Jesus. I thought having to jack up the car and take the front wheel off to access a hatch in the inner wing was bad enough on my 320.*
The other one that always stuck with me, visiting my mechanic one time, he had an old Jaguar in. What's the old sporty one that everyone likes? E-type or F-type I think, not really my area of knowledge. It was baby blue. I remarked "oh, that's nice, Pete." Pete, ever the wordsmith, replied "it's a hateful bastard." He went on to explain, it was in to have the brake pads replaced. This required the entire rear axle assembly to be dropped out.
What’s the old sporty one that everyone likes? E-type or F-type I think
E-type. Old Jags were always bastards to work on. They had inboard rear disk brakes and used the drive shaft as the lower suspension link. From the point of view of pure performance, this makes sense (lower unsprung weight and lower weight overall by eliminating a lower suspension link), but it was nuts as far as servicing a production road car went.
But that wasn't the main problem. The Lucas mechanical fuel injection needed expensive maintenance to keep in tune. I had a friend who worked for an independent Jag specialist. They did a brisk business replacing the fuel injection systems with carburetors. The other big improvement you could make to a Jag was to replace the Jag engine with a Chevy V8 - lighter, cheaper, more powerful, better fuel economy.
E-type. Old Jags were always bastards to work on. They had inboard rear disk brakes and used the drive shaft as the lower suspension link.
I had a P6 many years ago, they also had inboard rear disks. A mechanic friend at the time said that one common way of changing the rear pads was via a hole cut in the boot floor.
The Lucas mechanical fuel injection needed expensive maintenance to keep in tune.
Guess what? I also had a car with that Lucas abomination fitted. The fuel "distributor" bit was based on a cylindrical rotor inside the main body. The clearance was such that if it was left without being run for any period it was prone to corrosion from moisture in the fuel which seized it up. The annoying thing was the designers must have known this was an issue because it was driven from a shaft which had a sacrificial coupling to save causing further damage to the drive mechanism. I suspect including the coupling was just so they didn't have to make the rotor from stainless or maybe just include a decent inline filter.
I'd forgotten how many shit cars I've had.
Mrs WF doesn’t drive much, and being German tends to drive too far to the left for my liking.
MrsJ is forrin and does the same thing. With recent rain there are giant potholes and deep ditches at the left side of the road. Driving with her is torture. To be fair nothing bad has happened yet, but when it does there will be mucho expense.
Close them gently by hand.
I could have slapped my mate the other day... my coffee cups are stored in a cabinate with a glass window... but most of my kitchen cabinates have plain wood doors.
I heard it slam & ratttle from the living room... how the glass didn't pop out, or simply shatter, is a mystery, but I'm glad it didn't.
Its a kitchen cab door, FFS...you don't need to drop-kick it into the next dimension to close it?!
Lol, reminds me of my colleague going Basil Fawlty on his Megane coupe a few years back after trying to replace the headlight. From memory you had to jack it up and remove the wheel & wheel arch liner to get access.
Silly thing was though, at the time in France by law you had to carry round a set of spare bulbs in the boot. As if anybody is going to stop mid journey and take the front end of their car off to replace a single bulb.
