Interactive Quiz. A little humor for those over 50!

topdownman said:

Does anyone remember right and left hand threaded lug nuts?

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I remember them. I seem to recall Mopar used them in the 60s to make sure the lugs nuts didn't come loose and the tire fall off. It used conventional right hand threads on one side and the left hand thread on the other side of the car.

BernieD said:

My first new car was a 1960 VW Beetle; no heater (manifold blower doesn't count) and no gas gauge (just the reserve lever accessing the last inch or two of gas in the tank). The car never failed to start and I was really upset when it was -15?, I was the only car on the block to start and had to drive 20 miles to an appointment, the manifold heater useless. Also, Marlene always managed to be driving when the fuel cut off requiring the fuel reserve lever, but never seemed to remember to fuel up right away. But she always managed to run out of fuel in front of a gas station and was able to coast to the pump. I wasn't so lucky and came up with the brilliant idea of refueling every 250 miles on the odometer. Worked well for a few months and then missed the refueling stop and had to go to the reserve. After a long period of non-use the nozzle on the tube had clogged and we needed the fuel tank cleaned. :'(

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I had a '58 Beetle - not new though.  I bought it in '63 as I recall.  Traded for it with my '55 Nash Ambassador.  It had the reserve gas tank lever, too.  The way it worked was there was a small 2-3 liter cup sat in the tank.  With the lever not in the reserve position, the cup was upright.  When you turned the lever to the reserve position, you tipped over the cup full of gas.  When you filled up, you had to have the lever in the non-reserve position to make sure the cup got refilled.  Interestingly, my VW also had a gas guage - probably an aftermarket one.  I drove the car from Whidbey, Is, Wa. to Springfield, Mo. when I was transferred to Memphis in '63.  We drove to Pomona, Ca. to see my sis on the way then hot footed it to Missouri as hard as the little bug could go - may 70 mph on a downhill run.  I got stopped in New Mexico for no tail lights.  The wiring has terminal strips here and there instead of plugs and all I did was tighten a few screws and the light came on.  The LEO just gave me a warning ticket.  Then 2 days after we got to my folks in Springfield, the crankshaft broke.  I had to have the engine overhauled.  They put in new rings and bearings, a new crank, rebuilt the clutch and rebuilt the generator.  Cost me $212.00.

My second car was a 1960 VW bug with the reserve fuel lever.  At that time turning the lever opened a second, lower intake in the tank - gave you an extra 1.1 gallons to drive up to 27 miles to a gas station.

I wrecked that car by swerving on a country road to miss a deer.  The rear wheels tucked in and the car wound up lying on it's right side.  I climbed out the driver's door, lifted it back onto it's wheels and drove it home.  Then sold it for parts.

After going through a couple of other cars I bought a new 1970 VW bug.  I used it to deliver newspapers each morning while I was in college, then in 1980 I was between jobs and decided to take the summer off and tour the country.  The car had over 180,000 miles on the original engine, so I decided it would be prudent to rebuild it before the trip.  I pulled the engine and let a VW shop to do the work.  The mechanic called halfway through the job and asked why I wanted it rebuilt as all the parts were still within the manufacturing specs.  All I had done was change the oil every 2500 miles (VW called for 3000 mile changes).  I kept that car another 3 years before giving it to my sister, who then got T-boned at an intersection. She wasn't hurt, but the car was totalled.

Just anther little VW story.  I had a 1965 VW Westphalia, a gift from my FIL. It was purring nicely for many years until.... I took it on a trip from North to California. The trip started out nicely untill...the steering didn't feel right. Bouncy Bouncy. I stopped at a roadside service station to have it checked. Next thing I knew they put on new shocks. An expense I had not counted on. But... what choice did I have.

Then all was fairly well until we entered the San Joaquin valley going South. A strong headwind for hour after hour.Max speed about 35mph, pedal to the medal for hours.. The Westie didn't like it after a while.

Power-loss became evident, but it kept on plugging away. We got home alright going North again but....
but the fix was was another unexpected expense. New engine (Short block). Valves were almost disintegrated (burnt up). I didn't blame the Westie, she hung in there and got us home safely.

  Whatever all this means, I don't know.  ;D duh...

Carson FL

How about the VW bug, keeping air in the spare tire so you could wash the window and still have enough if you ever had a flat. That was the one I had when I was stationed in Germany years ago....

Molaker said:

Looks like an Isetta to me.

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This one is an Isetta, made by BMW interestingly enough. They were made from late 54 thru 61. There were some predecessors made by Iso before BMW bought the rights. The early models had fixed "bubble" windows. Then in late 56 on they made the "sliding window" models which this one is (1957).

It also has no fuel gauge, uses a bottom feed petcock opened by a lever operated from inside. The petcock is similar to a motorcycle with two holes in the drain tube which sticks up in the bottom of the tank. Turn the fuel on towards the passenger side for the higher drain hole and to the drivers side for the reserve or lower drain hole. All gravity fed fuel similar to the old Fords except I haven't run into a hill yet that I needed to back up instead of drive forward when low on fuel.

Now for another little known piece of history. Why the unique front door?

Would it help if I told you that the original designer of the car was a refrigerator designer/manufacturer?

Ken

I bought a used Isetta when I was in the service in Germany in '65.  It had no door lock so I'd get out, push it up against a wall or fence (didn't need to parallel park), and chock the wheels.
It was as I recall, very economical with the resulting slowness, but perfect for a single GI wanting to get off base & sightsee. 

See, almost everyone has a VW story. We're still making VW stories with our '73 beetle.

Wendy

Wendy said:

See, almost everyone has a VW story. We're still making VW stories with our '73 beetle.

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Wendy

Of course everyone has a Beetle story. Where else could you buy a new car with sunroof, radio, whitewalls and sales tax for under $2,000?

$2000 in 1965 dollars is about $14,000 today.  There are quite a few nice little cars you can get for that price now.

Like Ron Paul is fond of saying, the true price of gas is about a dime a gallon, before taxes.  But it must be a silver dime.  The melt value of the metal in a 90% silver dime is currently about $ 2.13, close to the base price of a gallon of gas before taxes.

Lou Schneider said:

$2000 in 1965 dollars is about $14,000 today.  There are quite a few nice little cars you can get for that price now.

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But not with sales tax and a sunroof. :'(

BernieD said:

Wendy

Of course everyone has a Beetle story. Where else could you buy a new car with sunroof, radio, whitewalls and sales tax for under $2,000?

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Bought a Chevy Luv in 1973 for $2125 out the door with a radio.

Wendy said:

Bought a Chevy Luv in 1973 for $2125 out the door with a radio.

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I drove wore a cute little Chevy Luv truck back in my electrician days. Company truck. One day I forgot to feed the squirrels and it would not start.

pkunk said:

I bought a used Isetta when I was in the service in Germany in '65.  It had no door lock so I'd get out, push it up against a wall or fence (didn't need to parallel park), and chock the wheels.
It was as I recall, very economical with the resulting slowness, but perfect for a single GI wanting to get off base & sightsee.

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My door lock doesn't work either. But who's going to steal it? Everybody in town knows who it belongs to, and if you've ever seen it you'll probably remember it.

65 miles per gallon is pretty good mileage, but it'll take a while to get anywhere far. I use mine just around town and to friends houses. I do love parking with the door to the curb and watching people as I get out. As you probably remember it's better to back into the curb so you can see getting back on the road. Backing out blind on a city street for 3 feet or so because a truck parked beside you is scary.

Thanks for your service and if you're in my neck of the woods let me know and we can go for a ride. An extra hand to wave to everyone is always welcome.

Ken

I and 3 other sailors were out roaming the San Francisco streets quite late at night about 100 years ago.  The houses on either side of the hilly streets had several steps up to the front porch - most were several feet wide with about 8 ft. wide porches in front of double entry doors.  We came upon an Isetta parked at the curb and just couldn't help ourselves.  We picked it up, carried it up the steps and set it across the front doors then went on about our business, mischievous as it was.

Molaker said:

I and 3 other sailors were out roaming the San Francisco streets quite late at night about 100 years ago.  The houses on either side of the hilly streets had several steps up to the front porch - most were several feet wide with about 8 ft. wide porches in front of double entry doors.  We came upon an Isetta parked at the curb and just couldn't help ourselves.  We picked it up, carried it up the steps and set it across the front doors then went on about our business, mischievous as it was.

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YOU'RE the ones!!! I've been looking for you for years.......

bucks2 said:

YOU'RE the ones!!! I've been looking for you for years.......

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:-[

Richard...

That pic of your gas station reminded me of that great era, when you could 'fill her up' for a couple of bucks, AND the station attendant would pump the gas, check the engine oil level (and show you the dipstick), wash the windshield and even check the tires for proper air pressure if you asked!!!

TheBigLarry said:

I am running around in a 1985 Jeep CJ-7 with the dimmer button on the floor,
and I like it there. . . . .As God intended.

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I had a floor mounted dimmer switch in my 1980 Olds, liked it in the summer, but not so much in the winter. Get in with snowy boots, turns to slush from the heat, freezes to ice when you turn off the car. Next time you drive the car, the switch did not work unless you wait for the heat to melt the ice or kick it so hard as to try to pass the switch through the floor.

Molaker said:

:-[

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You don't understand Molaker, I need to get it off the porch. Get your buddies together and come over.