Chromatography Forum

My first car was a 1952 Ford Anglia sidevalve called Lucy with trafficators! and a vacuum operated wiper system that slowed up over 30mph. You started it with a handle to save on the battery. Maximum speed 55mph, rod operated brakes, and a widow making 10HP engine But she was obviously lovely!

Same colour and model as this



To be honest I don't miss lying under it and her successors in winter constantly ( or so it seemed) bleeding brakes, replacing drum brakes, greasing the nipples, replacing/repairing hoses, thermostats, gaskets, water pumps, thermostats, carburettors, distributors, dynamos and replacing cross ply tyres with cheap remoulds every 3k miles.

I always noticed how bright red that blood looked on your scraped hands against the black grease on them.

Then again it was all I could afford at the time - at £20! it cost me most of my months salary

But I must admit that stripping down and cleaning the MS on a GCMS in the warmth of the lab was very pleasurable.

Ralph

That is a nice looking vehicle there, I love vintage vehicles like that. They were sort of like the older Mass Specs I started out on, if you didn't know a little something about how they work and how to fix them you were in trouble Now even the service engineers just pull and replace parts until it works again, no getting in there and tracking down exactly what is broken.

My first vehicle was a 71 Ford F100. At 16 years old my Dad pointed to it sitting behind the shop at work and said "If you can make it run you can have it". I bartered with my cousin for a new engine short block and between that and two others I had in the back of the shed at home, made one that would run. Of course Dad being a mechanic, he helped to make sure I did it right, but it was fun and I probably got more enjoyment from that one than any other I have owned. I wish I could find a photo of it now, it was school bus yellow so everyone knew when I was coming through town lol.

Cool! envy!

Was it like this?



Your Dad was clever to teach you like that.

You have reminded me of spending happy hours (in the Summer!) scavenging car scrap yards for spare parts to keep the old jalopy going. Seats, radiators, wiper motors etc. You had to take it off yourself and everything seemed to cost " That'll be a fiver mate" (£5)

Regards

Ralph

I can feel a new thread coming on -My First Car or Cars that I have known

Cool! envy!

Was it like this?



Your Dad was clever to teach you like that.

You have reminded me of spending happy hours (in the Summer!) scavenging car scrap yards for spare parts to keep the old jalopy going. Seats, radiators, wiper motors etc. You had to take it off yourself and everything seemed to cost " That'll be a fiver mate" (£5)

Regards

Ralph

I can feel a new thread coming on -My First Car or Cars that I have known

Exact same color! Same front bumper but my grill had chrome pieces in across the gap dividing the upper and lower plastic pieces, chrome pieces along the bump out on the upper side and chrome and black pieces along the bottom with the SportCustom badge on the rear of the bed and I had the tall West Coast style chrome mirrors on the sides, looked like them came off a tractor trailer rig.

Right before I got out of high school it caught fire and burned the engine compartment and under the dash. I spent a couple years rebuilding it and wiring it by hand the hood was blue, one fender was gray primer and a door was red primer before we finally sold it. Ten years later I saw it going down the road and couldn't believe it was still running

I agree absolutely with sentiment about younger people looking to replace things rather than repair. However my sons have seen me "fix" my house. It was built in 1876 and there has never been the option to replace rather that repair, so hopefully it has put them in the right mind-set.
My first car (NES 912M) was a white 1973 BL mini bought at an auction for £220. Not only did it give me a sense of freedom but also taught me how to fix cars and the sheer enjoyment of tinkering. Best job on it was setting the valve clearances. Worst job was the bypass hose on the cooling system.

Ahh happy times!

GCguy

I had an original mini as well - was great fun to drive and yes, replacing that bypass hose was a swine of a job.

Regards

Ralph

In between the 1952 Ford Anglia and the brilliant Mini I had

A Morris Traveller = the original half timbered Tudor car



Followed by

A later "Harry Potter" Ford Anglia - this colour.



Looking back. these were nowhere as good/large/ impressive/or as well specced as the equivalent American cars of the era - but they were mine

Would have loved to have ( and still do) a late 40s Buick or equivalent or a Willys Jeep!

Regards

Ralph

I've been on a bit of a hiatus from the forum, but I just wanted to say that you guys (possibly gals too) are just plain entertaining to read. These water cooler topics are great and I enjoy them immensely.

Thanks for the entertainment and the interesting posts elsewhere in the forum. I'm glad to be part of it.

Ty