Whats the best old car feature?

"Sweet Trav" (thespunbearing) 09/17/2014 at 08:24 • Filed to: None

3

92

I'm not talking about looks or anything that had to do with performance, more the quirks and feature that make driving old cars awesome?

For me, Flip down license plates that double as fuel filler locations. As seen on this Monte Carlo.

Which allows you to pull up to either side at of the pump. Handy when there's a line at the filling station.

Also floor mounted hi-beams.

So what's the best old car feature?

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 08:28

6

Floor vents! I can't find a picture but having cool air flowing over your sweaty calves is just the best. That and vent windows. Vent windows are cool.

ly2v8-Brian > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 08:30

0

The other good thing about a hidden filler is that the quarter panels are nice and smooth.

Indicators on the fender, high beams activated on the floor. Wide, long, and low bodies. Design coming first instead of conforming to regulations.

I could go on.

CalzoneGolem > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 08:32

9

The smell of unburnt fuel

ly2v8-Brian > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 09/17/2014 at 08:33

0

Cars still have floor vents.

Sweet Trav > CalzoneGolem 09/17/2014 at 08:33

0

It's odd, I am immune to the smell, perhaps lifelong exposure. However when I drive other people in my car they relish in the "old car" smell. Race Fuel on the other hand...

McMike > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 08:37

8

Like cletus44 said, vent windows for sure

Also - Passenger door and trunk lock cylinders. Remember those?

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > ly2v8-Brian 09/17/2014 at 08:38

2

I'm talking about the ones that are purely from outside air blowing into the car without blower motors. It's like the breeze from a window on your legs. Not the standard hvac vents on modern cars. Visible under the right corner of the dash here

IDROVEAPICKUPTRUCK > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 08:38

2

Being stranded at the side of the road! Wait... that's not right....

Nerd-Vol > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 08:39

3

Poor safety.

I always feel on edge driving my miata.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 09/17/2014 at 08:39

0

Damn...I was going to say vent windows....love having it on my new to me truck

thebigbossyboss > McMike 09/17/2014 at 08:39

1

My car has those. It's only 11.

buford-t-justice > thebigbossyboss 09/17/2014 at 08:41

1

my '14 FoST has one too

Sweet Trav > Nerd-Vol 09/17/2014 at 08:41

3

Make sure to hit something hard, I don't want to limp away from this wreck.

buford-t-justice > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 08:41

1

The gas heaters from the old bug

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 08:41

1

vent windows

CalzoneGolem > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 08:41

0

I've got a solution

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Sweet Trav > IDROVEAPICKUPTRUCK 09/17/2014 at 08:41

0

Well, sometimes being stranded isn't that bad, if you're with the right person...

spanfucker retire bitch > McMike 09/17/2014 at 08:43

0

My 2013 car has a passenger door lock.

Nerd-Vol > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 08:44

2

All metal door handles. Less key scratching!!!

JR1 > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 08:45

6

A true hardtop

The lack of a b-pillar makes every car sexier

spanfucker retire bitch > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 08:46

1

I sure do miss engines locking up and refusing to start because it's too cold out. Ahh, the good 'ole days...

But really the thing I miss the most is visibility because the greenhouse is almost nonexistent with the pillars getting larger and larger for crash regulations and even just aesthetic purposes.

In my experience - though it may not be universal - the Japanese seem to be better at still keeping a usable greenhouse than anyone else. I mean, just look at the Subarus for example. The Forrester has to have one of the airiest greenhouses around. And my Mazda3 is only just barely less visible out the rear hatch than my old Matrix; I mean by like the slimmest of margins - not bad for a 10 year difference in automotive construction.

Sweet Trav > spanfucker retire bitch 09/17/2014 at 08:47

0

I can attest to the pillar thing, my '14 Fusion has huge cladding around the A pillar which reduces visibility, must be for the curtain airbags I didn't want.

deekster_caddy > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 08:48

1

Rear license plate gas door

Floor mounted high beam switch

Footwell vents (usually found in non-A/C cars). These were in the full size GM vans up through '96!!!

Front triangle 'vent windows'. The really cool cars had a crank handle for them! Great because you could point the air straight at yourself in the summer heat... (again, a must for non-A/C cars)

Bench front seats (especially good on long trips with a significant other)

Manual backups for electrical gadgets (my '54 MG has knobs you can use to turn each windshield wiper manually from the inside for when the wiper motor isn't happy, and a crank in the back you can put through the front bumper for when the starter gear binds or the starter motor craps out...)

deekster_caddy > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 09/17/2014 at 08:49

0

Oooh, 4 pedals! You know you're in a "real car" when...

McMike > spanfucker retire bitch 09/17/2014 at 08:50

0

Does your 2013 car have keyless entry? I've noticed that the cars that have this feature, slowly start loosing keyholes as they get older

Sweet Trav > deekster_caddy 09/17/2014 at 08:53

7

That's the brilliance of MG! They KNEW the electronics would clap out, so they gave the Brits a fighting chance to persevere, then go to pub and tell everyone about it.

Alex B > McMike 09/17/2014 at 08:53

0

I used these once. It was weird.

Dunnik > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 08:54

4

Quarter glass.

spanfucker retire bitch > McMike 09/17/2014 at 08:58

0

Yes. There are buttons on both the passenger and driver side for entry, as well as physical key cylinders.

At least I'm pretty sure there's a physical cylinder. Honestly I use the passenger door so little, I can't even remember.

Scratch that, I'm a fucking idiot. No locks on passenger side, just a button.

Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 08:59

4

One picture, two features:

T-Tops & Shaker scoops.

ly2v8-Brian > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 09/17/2014 at 09:00

0

ah of course.

Fed(oo=[][]=oo)uken > CalzoneGolem 09/17/2014 at 09:05

0

This.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 09:13

3

The Breezeway window.

McMike > spanfucker retire bitch 09/17/2014 at 09:13

0

Sorry, I meant RFID-keyless, not push-the-button keyless.

Fed(oo=[][]=oo)uken > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 09:16

7

Greenhouses. Remember those?

Also being able to rest you arm comfortably on the sill? Remember that?

twochevrons > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 09:21

3

I miss how cold starts required a certain amount of skill – just the right amount of choke and throttle, otherwise it wouldn't start.

The simplicity of older cars is definitely a plus, as well as the fact that they were often designed with ease of maintenance a much higher priority than modern cars. Loads of space in the engine bay, components that could be repaired rather than replaced (the water pump on my MGA is designed to be disassembled and rebuilt, rather than swapped out). Roadside get-you-home fixes are much easier that way, and once you're home, the only tools you really need are a hammer and a healthy supply of swear words.

There's a degree of craftsmanship that you don't see in modern cars, too. Again, using my MGA as an example, there is a beautiful stamped brass plate attached to the intake manifold that shows the firing order. Sure, it would be just as effective to cast it into the cylinder head, or leave it to the service manual, but they went the better-looking route.

Speaking of service manuals, they're so much better for old cars, too. I have a pristine original printing of my MGA's manual (as well as a cheap spiral-bound one for garage use), and it's amazing. The text is all beautifully typeset and written in vastly more articulate prose than you would see in a modern shop manual, and the draughtsmanship of the countless cutaway and exploded views puts CAD software to shame. The scanned PDF copy here doesn't do it justice, but it at least gives an idea of the workmanship that went into even their internal documentation.

RafelX > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 09:22

5

Swiveling seats.

Milky > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 09/17/2014 at 09:24

0

That aero must be terrible.

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 09/17/2014 at 09:26

0

The first gen Freelander was actually sold with a retractable rear 'screen, which made evening cruises so nice.

RazoE > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 09:27

0

Flipdown plates are nice, until you get rear ended and the whole car fills with fumes.

RazoE > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 09:28

1

Simplicity. These days you have tons of plastic covers, and once you manage to get them off, everything's electronic!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Milky 09/17/2014 at 09:31

0

Probably why it wasn't repeated. And yet, this isn't the only car with a backwards-canted rear window. Some Ford Anglias, some Citroens, and others did this.

The way to make the aero *not* terrible would be to reduce the profile of the rear section of the roof to near Kamm's 2/3 cross-section... but that would bollux up rear headroom and rear visibility, and promote swirl instead of sucking out the air.

Alternately, you could go back to Mercury's Turnpike Cruiser, which had a retractable rear window but might not have been as bad due to a smaller turbulence envelope. Hard to say:

At least the Turnpike Cruiser had roofline scoops to produce positive air pressure in the cabin. That might have helped... maybe. However, it's probably still better than driving with side windows open on some models. Food for thought.

Sanettika > JR1 09/17/2014 at 09:32

2

That is one gorgeous example of why purple should be a color option on every car. Not sure about those wheels, but the rest of the car more than makes up for it.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut 09/17/2014 at 09:33

0

RAV4s and others like the Jeep Cherokee and older Blazers have roll-down rear windows as well, but in a sedan, it's practically unheard of.

crowmolly > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 09:39

4

"Swappability"

You could take almost any GM chassis and put almost any GM engine in there with ease. No cutting, custom crossmembers, etc, etc.

I4 Nova? Here, have a 427.

70's lo-po 350 in your Camaro? Here's an LT-1.

Biscayne with an I6? Have a 396.

Similar with the other makes, too. Nowadays you can't exactly take an Impala and throw an LS2 in there in a weekend.

Regarding vent windows, they look cool and the 60mph airflow is great. But I don't miss the security problems that they offer.

crowmolly > RazoE 09/17/2014 at 09:44

1

Just like how vent windows are nice, until you leave the restaurant and your car is missing.

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > RazoE 09/17/2014 at 09:44

0

Solution: don't get rear ended

Coty > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 09/17/2014 at 09:45

1

I always love when you talk about the Chrysler because mine has pretty much the same stuff.

Coty > crowmolly 09/17/2014 at 09:49

0

We have a Biscayne here with an I6 for sale, and I'd leave it just like that, just to be different.

crowmolly > Coty 09/17/2014 at 09:53

0

And that would be a fine choice if that's what you are into. But the option would exist to throw a 496 or something in there if you wanted to.

Coty > crowmolly 09/17/2014 at 09:58

0

Valid. But yeah, I6 with two two barrels, three on the tree, and big cast iron split manifolds.

crowmolly > Coty 09/17/2014 at 09:59

0

Dual 2's? That's awesome!

Coty > crowmolly 09/17/2014 at 10:01

0

The setup is gorgeous. Might take a picture later.

This is the car.

Meatcoma > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 10:04

0

I agree with your suggestions. floor mounted hi-beams were the best. And why should I worry about what pump I pull up to? Have the gas stations put another 1.5 ft of hose on their pumps.

Sweet Trav > Meatcoma 09/17/2014 at 10:05

1

because my solution doesn't break up body lines ;)

deekster_caddy > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 10:17

1

Exactly! Not a question of if, but WHEN! Nowdays, the electronics crap out, you might as well start walking...

JEM > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 10:17

0

4 ashtrays, each with their own lighter.

Milky > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 09/17/2014 at 10:40

0

This is the first thing that came to my mind.

and a modern interpretation?

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > deekster_caddy 09/17/2014 at 10:46

0

you know you're in an American car when... Seriously that is the worst location for the parking brake lever.

I actually prefer where it was in my Tacoma.

desertdog5051 > deekster_caddy 09/17/2014 at 12:28

1

Ahhh...Lucas Electrics. Taking driving to a whole different level. I have rewired about 60% of the '78 MGB. I'm sure I am not done yet.

deekster_caddy > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 09/17/2014 at 12:32

0

It must get really confusing when you want to blip the high beams to pass while going around a corner trying to e-brake drift and shift at the same time. I mean, really...

deekster_caddy > desertdog5051 09/17/2014 at 12:34

0

Make sure the main battery cables to the back seat are in decent shape. Did '78 still have two 6-volts under the rear seat?

Meatcoma > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 12:36

0

I'm agreeing with you! I'm saying, put it in the middle behind the plate so I don't have to worry about what side it's on. The gas stations should just add another 1.5 foot of hose.

desertdog5051 > deekster_caddy 09/17/2014 at 13:30

1

That was one of the first things I changed. One 12 volt battery. When something quits working right, I get out the schematic and find the wire and change it completely. Seems to make things easier than trying to track down the problem. Seems like a lot of the problems lie in the wire itself. It was a Texas car so no major corrosion issues except for the floors that rusted because of leaking windshield pillars.

thebigbossyboss > Fed(oo=[][]=oo)uken 09/17/2014 at 14:32

0

I love having my hand on the sill. I drive around like that until the really cold weather comes.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > JR1 09/17/2014 at 15:42

1

This, I love not having a b pillar in the Montego

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > spanfucker retire bitch 09/17/2014 at 15:43

0

Somehow my Montego starts with no complaint all winter long in Michigan.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > deekster_caddy 09/17/2014 at 15:45

0

Quarterlights are the bomb. I have some on my 95 F-150. I still run the A/C anyway, because the South has summer air more akin to pea soup than air.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 15:46

0

The high beams are the best. No question.

Loudness, because I can get away with being loud as hell in the Montego and people are still happy to see it lol

PAYING ATTENTION TO THE DAMN CAR is a great old car feature. There's no time for texting in an old car, you're paying attention to driving. It requires a lot more attention than modern cars.

Giant trunks, quite useful. If I wouldn't piss off half the golf course (direct contradiction to point #2 of mine) I'd load up with the Montego when ever I golf with buddies. I'm sure I could get 4 golf bags in there with extra room

Sn210 > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 15:53

3

Remember what engines used to look like? And remember having room to work on them yourself?

KirkyV > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 15:53

7

When it comes to car design, there's nothing I want more than for someone to figure out how to make these work with modern regulations.

Sweet Trav > Sn210 09/17/2014 at 15:56

0

Yep.

Sweet Trav > KirkyV 09/17/2014 at 15:57

1

Many people are fans of these, I've always found them silly. Ruins the lines.

KirkyV > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 16:00

2

I adore them. I like the way they look, down or up, and I love the action of them physically raising up.

Sweet Trav > KirkyV 09/17/2014 at 16:01

0

Opel GT had the best action, the rotation.

KirkyV > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 16:01

0

I like the rotation, but I appreciate the simple boxiness of the RX7.

deekster_caddy > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 09/17/2014 at 17:18

0

I know... my '73 Buick starts every time, all the time. Sometimes it just needs an extra pump or two. He's right on about the A-pillars though. I am constantly leaning my head side to side in my Volt, especially looking to the left. It seems dangerous in a small car.

deekster_caddy > Dunnik 09/17/2014 at 17:21

0

Especially if you could control them with a crank handle from the inside!

Matt Urban > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 17:22

0

Pull out switches. 2nd the floor mounted hi-beam switch

Delusion77 > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 18:31

0

Quarterglass vent windows

T-tops (because ragtops are for secretaries)

short dashboards

pop up highbeams

boxy wheel arches & flares

The Compromiser > thebigbossyboss 09/17/2014 at 20:51

0

Brother in law was at the hospital. Guy came in without his arm from the elbow down. Got bumped by a mirror going the other way. Arm stays inside the car now. If you will excuse me I'm taking the motorcycle for a ride now.

The Compromiser > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 20:54

0

No wires, motors, or switches.

2/60 A/C.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 21:40

0

Great discussion.

http://oppositeblog.kinja.com/

Sweet Trav > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 09/17/2014 at 21:41

2

I'll be doing a top 10 list compiled from this tomorrow.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Sweet Trav 09/17/2014 at 21:41

0

Sweet!

thebigbossyboss > The Compromiser 09/17/2014 at 22:08

0

That sucks. I'll take my chances though!

Can't go through life being scared of shit like that.

The Compromiser > thebigbossyboss 09/17/2014 at 22:43

0

I work around a lot of industrial stamping, molding, assembly equipment. I've seen crushed arms, crushed and torn off fingers, severed digits still in the glove, reconstructed tendons with a bridge and wires coming out of a guys arm and hand, crushed hands, severed hands that have sucessfully been reattached...

Thats with safety guarding and modern Workplace Laws. I've had the arm on the sill with the hand on the window frame before, but not a lot. I watched a guy get hit in the back of the head by an old school pickup mirror at 80 kms. Looked like he was going to miss right to the last second...

And you missed the bit at the end about climbing on a 2 wheeled organ donor card.

anon-sxmcyecofnu1eocpqsk9iq > KirkyV 09/18/2014 at 00:59

0

HHHNNNNNNNNNNNNGGG

thebigbossyboss > The Compromiser 09/18/2014 at 06:41

0

Hey, I'm not doubting that you can get hurt around industrial equipment!

I used to do construction, and even in my short 12 months on the job I watched one guy grind off most of the end of his finger with an angle grinder, someone get beaned in the head by a 2x4, and of course myself get cut straight across my neck by a piece of tile that came up from a mini jack hammer. When that happened my boss accused me of "slacking off" because I went to the washroom to see how badly I was bleeding from my neck!!

How the hell did someone get hit in the head with a pickup mirror at 8o? That's one of those injuries I would imagine would occur at low speed as someone was trying to squeeze the pickup into a parking spot.

The Compromiser > thebigbossyboss 09/18/2014 at 08:25

0

That is from high school, not work. We had to walk to the next town over for a BBQ as part of a charity thing they did every year. We were walking down a sideroad and some guy in a pickup came barrelling through. Everyone was walking on the sides of the road but not all of us were far enough over I guess. This is all run of the mill stuff. My dad used to get crushed between buses every few years (he was a bus driver), I used to crash my dirt bike bike on track during mixed class races and have to get dragged off from under the whoopdee doos while the guys in the 250 class were shooting over my head (the hard life of a 4 year old).

When I was in Gr8, we had shop and I flicked a piece of debris from the bandsaw blade. while it was running. took the inside of my index finger. down to the bone up to the first knuckle. Wrapped it in a wet paper towel and waited for the teacher to finish marking projects. then when it was my turn I took the towel off. A big spurt of blood shot out and I asked if I could get a bandaid. there were a lot of screaming girls for that one. I almost passed out in French class later on. Good times.

I used to be a bouncer in the 90s-00s. I have woken up a few times in the hospital after shift. I would finish the night out and then fall into a heap. It probably explains the Charger I bought however.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > deekster_caddy 09/18/2014 at 09:30

0

Yeah, I don't like giant A pillars. I learned to drive on a 1st gen Dodge Durango, that thing had monster A Pillars, oh and just to add to the fun had window deflectors which made the situation drastically worse.

Trevor Mohr > Sweet Trav 09/18/2014 at 11:59

0

Pulling the choke?