Is it time to go backwards

[philw696]

Not a mask in sight either Phil lol , my brother in law was a body shop paint sprayer , and i can remember looking in awe at his paint stirring ruler when he cut in half , looked totally psychedelic

I'm still alive too along with all the Asbestos clutches and brakes I have changed with bare hands eating with them as well.

 

[lozcb]

I'm still alive too along with all the Asbestos clutches and brakes I have changed with bare hands eating with them as well.

I agree Phil, health and safety although a good thing in moderation , has gone a little bit over the top and become a whole other industry in itself, I have refurbed around 15 properties over the years and up untill 2010 was artexing the majority of the ceilings , now my niece organises maintenance for a housing association and the slightest whiff of an artex ceiling and they have to get a company in to get it tested and and made safe lol

 

[philw696]

 

[lifes2short]

Mag wheels or a heated rear screen
View attachment 69880

heated rear screen for when you had push it home would be useful

 

[Phil H]

1903:


PH

 

[lozcb]

1903:
View attachment 69897

PH

Not very woke Phil lol only very expensive foreign labour employed

 

[Phil H]

Not very woke Phil lol only very expensive foreign labour employed

The same book has another ad which is about as un-woke as you can imagine. Although it is of it's time and illustrates how attitudes have changed, I don't think Matt would appreciate me posting it

PH

 

[Nayf]

Always fancied being a car fettler but never learned even the basic the skills, and probably ruined a few cars trying.

A few years ago, when I worked on Classic Cars magazine, I fancied upping my technical skills, so I bought a W123 Coupe. It was everything my Alfa 156 Selespeed wasn’t - robust, simple, distinctly unelectronic. It also wasn’t much fun either. I thought it would be good to learn to spanner on. So when the engine blew up on the M1 one night it provided the perfect chance to do an engine swap. I roped in a handy mate to show me the ropes... well, I say handy...
Disassembly was ok, but he never put anything in a logical place, on the proviso that ‘if anything’s left over when it’s finished, we’ll know we’ve missed something’. Seeing as he was giving up one day a weekend to help, I stupidly nodded. Then things went from bad to worse; fixings snapping, that kind of thing. And then worse - a water carrying bolt to the head snapped, which required drilling out. Laser Tools’s bolt remover merely laughed and snapped. And then my handy friend became unavailable for weeks on end as my 1970s car sat on the drive. In the end I got my dad’s mate to do it in two weekends.
The moral of this long winded story is that if you’re a) not immediately mechanically minded b) Not have a vast f*ck up fund, then it is incredibly daunting. I’m 37 and there wasn’t really anything in my curriculum that lent itself to showing me the joy of mechanical tinkering, I can’t imagine it’s got any better since.
Still, I’d like to learn spannering and was actively considering a third Alfa for this purpose until my GTA decided to eat road furniture.

 

[philw696]

Another one I did in the mid 80s a VW Scirocco GTi.

 

[lozcb]

Another one I did in the mid 80s a VW Scirocco GTi.View attachment 69899View attachment 69900View attachment 69901View attachment 69902

Feck me Phil times were hard then , no socks , i see the P38 worked wonders on those wings

 

[Vampyrebat]

Loving the scimitar in the background , obviously a man of good taste

We do a few different walks every day for our family lock-down, one of them we pass a farm where I think the guy is a bit of a hoarder. He has these two sorry looking cars and a vintage racing motorbike, what it is I don't know...........Maybe someone into bikes might be able to identify it??!!

 

[philw696]

A Scimitar is one car I have always fancied especially the earlier one with the 3.0 Essex engine think they were pure style back in the day.

 

[lozcb]

A Scimitar is one car I have always fancied especially the earlier one with the 3.0 Essex engine think they were pure style back in the day.

Agreed Phil , if only they would of made them of metal , they would have stayed the test of time a little better

 

[philw696]

Feck me Phil times were hard then , no socks , i see the P38 worked wonders on those wings

Can't explain the no socks but used to buy the P38 in the Big tins.
Would do my days work and then work most evenings and weekends on my own projects and my own customer cars.
Good times and my adjacent neighbours saw me as an asset.

 

[Phil H]

The Essex has a reputation for overheating in Scimitars due to a hot spot at the back of the engine, so the cooling system needed to be in good nick to avoid blown head gaskets. When mine went I had the heads skimmed and the rad rebuilt, added a Kenlowe with a manual override, and it was fine from thereon. Some folk fitted swirl pots, but I don't know how effective they are.

PH

 

[rossyl]

A few years ago, when I worked on Classic Cars magazine, I fancied upping my technical skills, so I bought a W123 Coupe. It was everything my Alfa 156 Selespeed wasn’t - robust, simple, distinctly unelectronic. It also wasn’t much fun either. I thought it would be good to learn to spanner on. So when the engine blew up on the M1 one night it provided the perfect chance to do an engine swap. I roped in a handy mate to show me the ropes... well, I say handy...
Disassembly was ok, but he never put anything in a logical place, on the proviso that ‘if anything’s left over when it’s finished, we’ll know we’ve missed something’. Seeing as he was giving up one day a weekend to help, I stupidly nodded. Then things went from bad to worse; fixings snapping, that kind of thing. And then worse - a water carrying bolt to the head snapped, which required drilling out. Laser Tools’s bolt remover merely laughed and snapped. And then my handy friend became unavailable for weeks on end as my 1970s car sat on the drive. In the end I got my dad’s mate to do it in two weekends.
The moral of this long winded story is that if you’re a) not immediately mechanically minded b) Not have a vast f*ck up fund, then it is incredibly daunting. I’m 37 and there wasn’t really anything in my curriculum that lent itself to showing me the joy of mechanical tinkering, I can’t imagine it’s got any better since.
Still, I’d like to learn spannering and was actively considering a third Alfa for this purpose until my GTA decided to eat road furniture.

That's brilliant, well not for you at the time, but a brilliant story nonetheless. I have done a little bit but not a lot. I have also lacked the space to learn since my mid-20s, a downside of London.

 

[3leftovercrest]

never really liked that elongated shape, the little baby one did it for me

one of the most beautiful cars to own and drive I have had....

smell of fuel, brake grease, walnut, plastic and leather......

can’t be beaten for a man my age!!

 

[3leftovercrest]

Although this little shitbag is causing me a major headache currently!!

 

[Doctor Houx]

I think we are a dying breed. Millennials don’t dream of doing up an old banger usi g tuning and bodywork repair with Isopon skills they learned from watching their Dad doing it on a Sunday morning.

As others have said, Millennials want everything to be new with instant gratification and regular upgrades. Education is not focused on manual skills and such jobs are seen as low paid and boring. Couple that with very little DIY parts on a modern car, higher standards for the MOT and scrappage schemes and the availability of Uber etc and that’s why many don’t even bother to get a driving licence. How many of us were itching to get a moped at 16 and car licence as soon as we were 17 compared to now?

IMO, the proliferation of electric cars will make owning an ICE car like owning a horse. This will become a hobby and sport and only collectible cars will be kept and driven. Thank god I was born when I was and have lived through a golden era of ICE engines, beautiful cars that I could be passionate about.

 

[Phil H]

Yep, the weekend jobs were satisfying whether cleaning carbs, chasing ignition faults, rebuilding suspensions, etc. My son finds it hard to check the washer bottle these days, and yet he gets really stuck in to diy.

one of the most beautiful cars to own and drive I have had....

smell of fuel, brake grease, walnut, plastic and leather......

can’t be beaten for a man my age!!

Loved those, do you still have it?

PH