"Fran" <Fran.Beta@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:a8595520-7d79-4172-ba54-e6f107342a06@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Apr 18, 5:21 am, "Jason James" <a...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> "Noddy" <m...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>
> news:48073889$0$81878$c30e37c6@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
>
> > If sitting around spending hours writing code for a program that would
> > execute in 4 seconds total was your idea of a good night's
entertainment.
> To
> > keep it topical, saying the old days of computers was great is like
saying
> > you'd love to get back to the days of cars with cross ply tyres, drum
> > brakes, three on the tree and a rubber mat on the floor.
>
> Ahhh,..those were the days,..no engine or transmission management
computers.
> Worst thing that might happen, was closed-up points or a blocked
> fuel-filter. Then you had those massive outside vents (eg Valiants)
which
> blew a blast of fresh air right up around the cods. No carpet to get
****ed
> up by one's grandkids spilling Coke or a paddle-pop. Vinyl seat covers
that
> you could clean a sticky lolly off with a wipe. The list goes on and on
:-)
Yes, although did you ever get into the car wearing your swimmers when
it had been parked at Bondi or Manly for about 6 hours in the heat and
you were a touch sunburnt?
Ouch ...
Yeah,..exactly how I remembered dad's FC Holden. We were commanded to put
our wet and sandy towels on the rear vinyl seat, to save the seat :-)
I used to have an old XP falcon that leaked like the proverbial sieve,
and when it rained overnight the first hard brake you did would flood
the area of the floor where your feet were with a six inch bow wave of
dirty water.
Did you remove the rust-o-matic sound-deadening from under the mats which
would get wet and stay that way, slowly but surely eating away at the
floor-pan?
Car-wash machines were always fun,..I came out wetter than the car. Every
buggered piece of rubber sealing was revealed.
I recall driving up Spit Road one day in 1975 in my 1957 Beetle at
about 25 miles an hour in the driving rain with virtually zero
visibility because the wipers couldn't keep the rain off my
windscreen ...
It's incredible what we put up with in the 'old days'. A '57 Beetle may
have
had 6volt electrics as well. Holden used a vacuum motor to power the
wipers
up until the EJ (1963). Worked great until you encountered some
hills,..then the throttle was opened wider, causing a corresponding drop
in
vacuum. The ones on dad's FC used to stop altogether till he got to the
top.
What a bastard of an idea :-)
It was good that the cars were so mechanically simple, and I must
admit that there was something to those -three-on-the-tree
configurations that made you feel like an expert. When I learnt to
drive I was taught how to "double declutch" and it was good to be able
to show the skill off.
3 on the tree is still available on some local models used as Taxis. If
you
could do a double-shuffle with 3 on the tree,..that's not a bad
effort,..as
all the linkages slow things down.
In the end though, I think the walk down memory lane is as close as
I'd like to go to those days.
Yeah,..in many cases that is true for me,..the things I dont like today,
are
mystery-boxes (computer managed cars). You are totally at their mercy,
plus
the NRMA/road service can't do anything, except tow her to the first
rip-off
dealer****p.
Plus the fact is, many of our earlier cars would have to be thrashed to
stay
with the traffic. The speed limits are essentially the same,..but the
traffic light derby is much faster.
Jason
Fran
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