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

[willedoo]

Bit of a coincidence we're discussing brakes. I've just got back from picking the ute up from the mechanics. New rotors and pads on the front, front wheel bearings serviced, new clutch master cylinder and a flush and fluid change for clutch and brakes. I brought the old rotors and pads home, they look a bit scary. One of the pads was down to about 1 mm. The rotors were well below legal.

[willedoo]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

I used to like Chevs but you couldn't afford them.

My dad was a Chev man in his day. His first vehicle was a Chev Maple Leaf truck he bought when he came back from the war. As well as doing farm work with it, he drove it to all the local dances and used it for personal transport. Then he got married and bought a Chev sedan which lasted until he changed to an FC, then a FB, then the rust prone HD, and his last Holden was a HT. He had an FJ ute on the farm as well.

 

I had a few in my day. First car was an FE, others were EK, EJ, EH, HD, HQ, HJ and the current Rodeo which is as much Isuzu as Holden. The only one I miss is my dad's Canadian Chev truck. He traded it and an old Dodge truck we had on a AA-160 International. He still had the AA-160 when he passed at 89.

[facthunter]

IF you tow things you'll wear them faster. The trouble with a lot of drum brakes they FADE when they get hot.. The discs can get Hard spots and wear unevenly and then shudder at higher speeds.   Worn too thin and you can really Be in trouble. Nev

[facthunter]

 A lot of owners considered the HR to be the Worst. Next door to My Cousin was a GM employee at Fishermens Bend, who bought one cheap(er) but had to NOT sell it for a specified Period. A year I think. He Had so Much go wrong with it, some of it quite dangerous so he stopped driving it and sold it after specified time had Elapsed. The Person who Bought it was Killed in it by some fault or other. I think it was the first Model to get Curved side windows and the body ended up a bit wider but the track wasn't. Ralph Nader was VERY condemning of GM products in Australia quality control and Lack of sophistication. Using old(er) less efficient design.  The 202 wasn't a great Motor. Stroked to the Limit and a lot of Core shift in the block.. . Also inclined to strip the Fibre  timing gear that drives the Camshaft which will bring you to a complete stop without much other damage. That can happen throughout the range and even Chevs had them. Nev

[old man emu]

I remember the HD being called the Holden Disaster, and the HR the Holden Revenge.

[facthunter]

HD ute wasn't to bad 4/5 on the floor would make it better and better seats. Have a Look at the Malloo Utes. HSV did some good work here.  Nev

[Litespeed]

Over the past 10 years the old bike market has changed greatly.

 

The most sought after bikes for actual use and still able to handle daily duties and modern traffic are the big euro bikes.

 

The BMW twins and K series fours are popping everywhere with full restorations, original recomissioned and retro modded.

 

They are highly prized, easy to work on and suit today's heavy policing regime. Plus parts are available new from factory.

[Litespeed]

Unlike most other bikes, the cranks on the big BMWs are extremely solid and failures or wear are very rare, same with most mechanical items.

It means dirt cheap parts second hand, a friend is replacing his K1200 crank- previous owner failed to service it.

 

The crank in perfect condition only $150 from a wrecked bike. Try finding a jap bike crank or Harley one for that price.

 

Even better, you can remove the crank with the engine in place and box still attached, takes 30 mins to remove. Crank is driving a gear to the flywheel, just remove sump and unbolt the mains. New bearings, for crank and seals, total job under $500.

 

 

[facthunter]

They weren't all that Poplar when they were NEW.. Maybe they appeal to the Older riders compared to  some others these days. There's a 3 and 4 cylinder version. Not everyone likes an engine turning on a fore and aft axis in a bike and the effects of a shaft drive.  Nev

[facthunter]

Harley Davidson Market a Ute based on a  ford F 350 I think. Really Fancy Paintwork. Nev

[facthunter]

 The LATEST  BMW's are the Best thing there is According to My eldest who has raced a lot when a bit younger and is still a Bike Nut. They Lent him one for about a week.  Some are built in the USA. Nev

[Litespeed]

None are built in the USA. BMW would never stoop so low. They do however make the X series AWD cars there.

 

The biggest baddest cruiser the R 1800 flat twin is proudly Berlin built.they are about to release a R2000, yep a two litre twin.

Also a new version of the six cylinder K1600 as a wild 1800 cc.

 

The biggest selling large bike model in the world is the  mighty GS range, now the R1300GS, expensive yes, but sales envied by Harley and Ducati Adventure bikes.

 

Some of the new small 450 models are built now in China and India using their designs and machines. This makes them as cheap as the competition. 

 

Some of the smallish parallel twins were Austrian built.

 

As fast road machines, tourers, adventure and racing BMW have been the top of the market for the last 20 years. Now they are tackling the small Learner approved -lams market and will sell a motza.

 

My current beasty is a 2005 K1200R motorsport, the new hyperbike that year with a mere 167hp, 138 nm and only 214kg. The fastest acceleration for a Bike on the planet, 2.8 seconds to 100, limited by Aero to 280km/h.

 

The Japanese absolutely lost their minds when a shaft driven bike slaughtered their hyperbikes. Then BMW made a six version to take Goldwing sales for those who wanted actual very high speed touring.

 

Then the S1000R came out and slayed the race tracks.

 

Modern R and K shaft driven bikes have none for the rise and fall of the shaft of old generations. Handling and brakes are world class, even a tourer will scare a sports bike rider.