The Random thought thread

[nomadpete]

4 minutes ago, old man emu said:

You know you are old when you see the first model Commodore or an XD Falcon with historic plates.

We see a lot of normal cars and bikes with historic rego. Yeah, it makes me feel old.

Worse still my bike, a model which I recall lusting after back when first seen in showrooms, is now on historic rego, same as it's owner. Not 'collectable' like OME's though.

 

I cannot understand the logic behind spending maybe $20k and a thousand hours 'restoring' an old car that was never desirable even when new. But it seems many do. Nostalgia is an expensive thing to keep in the garage.

[red750]

My first job out of high school was as a car detailer at a country Ford dealership when the XK Falcon was first released. Left after about 3 months to join the bank.

[nomadpete]

33 minutes ago, red750 said:

My first job out of high school was as a car detailer at a country Ford dealership when the XK Falcon was first released. Left after about 3 months 

Well there's a job that won't be stolen by A.I.

[willedoo]

41 minutes ago, nomadpete said:

I cannot understand the logic behind spending maybe $20k and a thousand hours 'restoring' an old car that was never desirable even when new. But it seems many do. Nostalgia is an expensive thing to keep in the garage.

It's interesting seeing what comes up on marketplace around the district. All the desirable stuff gets snapped up fairly qiuckly. In that category is old Holdens, Falcons, Chevs and Fords. F trucks always sell quick for high prices. They are the sort of vehicles most people in the market for classics want. On the other side of the coin are old cars that are going for bargain prices but the sellers have trouble moving them. In that category I'd put things like Wolseleys. I can see someone like the Two Ronnies wanting one, but that's about it. As far as the rough stuff goes, anything American is highly desirable for the ratrod market, but the old pommie stuff is stuck in a narrow, less flexible niche.

[facthunter]

A lot of it is not nice at Highway speeds has no Power steering or Air conditioning and dangerous in a Prang and drum brakes that Overheat.  If you get a 69 Mustang you can get everything for it, New.   It's a classic design. Nev

[willedoo]

The thing that concerns me about old cars on the open road is that lack of a collapsible steering column. It's like driving around with a crowbar aimed at your chest.

[facthunter]

Modern cars do it SO well, and you don't have to work on them all the time.. Your Pride and joy can get scrunched anytime also. Things like Morgans are full of wood. Truly a lot of this stuff wasn't much when it was NEW. Triumph Stags for Instance and the Mayflower at the other end of the scale... Some Lotus Models would be collectable, "D' Type Jaguar Ford GT40, any Shelby. Late 20's Bentley and Vauxhalls.. Motorbikes are easier to store, and transport  and you can see all the Mechanicals but a lot more delicate and subject to Monstering by Butchers. Read' Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'.  It's a textbook in some psychology Classes. Nev

[onetrack]

Brakes are the worst thing on older cars - especially GM brands brakes. Not for nothing were Holden drum brakes known as "go-faster" brakes. And they pulled like buggery, either right or left, depending on the road surface, and you never knew which way they'd pull. 

The brother and I bought a new HR Holden sedan in 1967 and we ordered it with disc brakes, the first time disc brakes were available as an option on Holdens. We were staggered at the difference in braking as compared to our near-new EH ute. We did put a PBR VH40 brake booster on the EH, and it did make a considerable difference to its braking. 

Old VH40 or VH44 boosters are in great demand for reconditioning and installing on older models of drum-braked vehicles. 

[onetrack]

A correction, thanks to faulty memory cells. We installed the smaller VH44 unit on the EH - the VH40 is the larger, higher pressure unit, generally used for the bigger commercial vehicles.

[facthunter]

Naturally, as a Mechanic I worked on a Lot of Holdens but never got around to Buying one. Fairly straight forward to work on. I used to like Chevs but you couldn't afford them. Nev