Whatever happened to...

[Redstone]

Whitewall tires?
Wing windows?
Cars with two-tone paint?
Three on the tree?

Just wondering.

Redstone

[indy_azcat]

1. spinners, low riders, and 4 on the floor?

:shrug:

[qnr]

2. Wing windows - died a horrible death due to the quest for higher gas

mileage & aerodynamics.

[rug]

9. They were a pain in the ass anyway.

Too small for the tollbooth in winter and not much ventilation in summer.

[qnr]

12. they did do a good job of defogging windows in heaterless cars though n/t

Edit: s/the did/they did/

[Redstone]

10. Yeah, but I LIKED wing windows!

You could get some air in the car when it was raining without getting soaked.

Plus, they were good for (insert name of ethnic group here) air conditioning; you know, you could turn them "inside out" and get a nice blast of air right up the old left armpit.

(The "ethnic group" part was different depending on where you were. In Philadelphia, it was called "Italian air conditioning;" in Houston, "Mexican air conditioning." As you all know, I'm not insulting any ethnic group here, just reporting a societal phenomenon. I suppose these days it would be called "Redneck air conditioning.")

Redstone

[qnr]

11. Yeah. They claim vents do the same thing. I don't think so. n/t

[fleabert]

39. I got nice ones on my gas guzzling Jeep Wrangler.

they aren't known for aerodynamics though. right now, she doesn't even have doors, much less windows. :-)

[Left Is Write]

3. Whatever happened to Randolph Scott?

[Floogeldy]

4. The Spanish Fly?

B-)

[sparky_in_ma]

5. I miss the wing windows

:-(

[Floogeldy]

7. They were great for smoking in a car

Sucked the smoke right out.

B-)

[Redstone]

15. That was one of the best things about them.

You cold leave them open in the winter, and they'd keep the car from getting smoky, without the car getting cold like it does if you open the big window.

Redstone

[Swede]

6. Yeah,they had some great DU names back when.

I miss those guys.

[yvr girl]

8. Three on the tree

huh? :shrug:

[Redstone]

13. Column-shift manual transmission.

With three gears. You may be too young to remember.

Redstone

[yvr girl]

16. I don't remember them

I'll take the young comment.

[redacted]

38. Deleted already answered

[Floogeldy]

14. I'm gonna take a wild guess . . .

. . . gear shift lever on the steering column, manual transmission, three gears (not including reverse).

I could be wrong.

B-)

[Redstone]

17. OK, who besides me is old enough to remember

the positions of the gear lever on a three-on-the tree for each gear?

No cheating, no Google. If nobody can answer in five minutes, I'll tell you.

Redstone

[BrotherBuzz]

21. Up and down for first

down and up for second...straight down for third...Boy, that sound weird but that's the way I remember it. Never really needed the clutch between second and third if you listen to the engine. I miss rosalynn, the '41 chevy coupe I learned on.. Well, I don't miss the vacuum wipers. ;)

[Redstone]

28. Vacuum wipers! What a riot those things were;

step on the gas and they'd stop.

Who came up with THAT brilliant idea, do you suppose?

Redstone

[BrotherBuzz]

33. Nighttime- going up a grade in a driving rain!

LOL, what a nightmare!

Whop...Monday...Whop...Tuesday...whop...Wednesday....Oh, but going downhill was cool...whopwhopwhopwhopwhop :)

[GOPisEvil]

23. The Ford P/U I used to drive for work was:

Up and towards the driver was reverse.

Down and towards the driver was 1st.

Up and towards the dash was 2nd.

Down and towards the dash was 3rd.

This was an early 70s model Ford P/U.

[Redstone]

27. You got it! Now I don't feel so old,

knowing I'm not the only one who remembers.

Redstone

[The_Casual_Observer]

18. You can bid against Koreans and Japanese for all that stuff

on Ebay!

[Kathy in Cambridge]

19. Reminds me of a Buzzcocks song

"Whatever Happened To?"

Whatever happened to - twin sets
Whatever happened to - hi-fi
Whatever happened to - TV sex
Whatever happened to - you and I

Your passion is a product
(of) highlight and detail
That come hither look
Bonus offer retail

Whatever happened to - pick-up trucks
Whatever happened to - yellow pages
Whatever happened to - burning books
Whatever happened to - new ages

Your emotions are cheap
Cut price cash and carry
Your heart on your sleeve
For any Tom, Dick or Harry

Your love is a cashed-in cheque
Oh oh that's the way of all flesh

Whatever happened to - Chairman Mao
Whatever happened to - God above
Whatever happened to - the cow
Whatever happened to - plug-in love

Your pasteurised life so fit for consumption
Ooooo those undressing eyes so strictly commercial

Your love is a cashed-in cheque
Oh oh that's the way of all flesh
All flesh
All flesh

[Magrittes Pipe]

43. Dammit! You beat me to it!

Score one for Boston. ;)

[Kathy in Cambridge]

46. I've had it in my head since last night

x(

Pete Shelley really knew how to write catchy songs.

[Magrittes Pipe]

47. Yeah, but I don't mind.

Whoops....

[Redstone]

20. OK, time's up. Here's another gem from my vast store

of utterly useless information:

Gear-lever positions with a three-speed steering-column shifter:
First gear: down and toward yourself.
Second gear: up and away from yourself.
Third gear: down and away from yourself.
Reverse: up and toward yourself.

Like riding a bicycle, I'd bet I could jump into an old car or truck and do it again without even thinking. And probably even remember there was no synchromesh in first gear, meaning you had to be at a dead stop to shift into it.

Redstone

[BrotherBuzz]

25. First can be found on a roll in you double-clutch...

you know, get all those gear moving and talking with each other.

[Redstone]

26. Yes, though you have to match the engine revs

as well as double-clutching. I do indeed remember feeling the gears with the shifter to see if I'd done it right. Especially with several MGBs I had that had worn-out second gear syncromesh cones (a common thing with those cars).

Redstone

[BrotherBuzz]

31. Correct...

Especially in a testy '53 MG. Hey, you right, we never forget this stuff.

Times have been better

[Redstone]

35. A 1953 MG? That would have been a TC, right?

And those beasts didn't even have synchro in second gear, did they?

Dang, I bet you even remember "lift dot" fasteners like the ones used for the convertible tops back then.

Redstone

[BrotherBuzz]

36. Yes

LOL, by the early seventies my top was just a frame that I stored in a California carport. All I had and needed was a wind skirt that kept me toasty warm. A lot of water under the bridge but I think my skirt was attached with twist dots, not lift - help me out there.

[redacted]

22. What's Three on the tree?

I'm not THAT young, but what does that mean -- other than 3 kids in a tree.

[Redstone]

29. See # 13 above.

Redstone

[In_The_Wind]

24. oops I'm startin to feel old again

cause I remember 3 out of 4 of those things

[Redstone]

30. What's the one you don't remember?

Redstone

[In_The_Wind]

32. three on a tree

we all used to climb trees ... as far up as we could go BTW I never fell out of the tree and broke anything

but 3 on a tree is new to me:)

[Redstone]

34. See #13 above for an explanation of "three on the tree."

I bet you'll remember it then; it was that standard transmission on American cars for a long time.

Redstone

[In_The_Wind]

37. I remember it well

I started to drive (legally) back in 1963. :7 ye ha love the smell of burning clutch while I was learning to drive a standard on dirt roads with more that a few ruts and hills

[RebelOne]

40. Anyone remember the headlight switch

being on the floor of the car? If so, you are as old as me.

[Debbi801]

41. Not the headlight switch, but the high beam switch, for me...

I loved it there, it was so much easier to turn the high beams off and on with my foot. :-)

[Redstone]

42. Not only the dimmer switch, but the parking brake as well.

I don't know why that changed...having the parking brake operated by a pedal under the dash is so much better than having the damn thing sticking up out of the console between the front seats.

Redstone

[flvegan]

44. How about a car that the average Joe could fix in his driveway?

I had a pre-fuel injection computer emission blah blah blah Corvette. I could change the oil, the alternator, the radiator, etc. Myself. Anything that didn't need a mechanic to diagnose a problem, I could take care of.

I love my newer Mazda, but I don't have a super deep 10mm socket, so I couldn't even change my battery a couple weeks ago. Only after much cursing and 2 trips to the local Auto Zone (the book was wrong on the size) could I swap out my headlight bulb. Sigh.

[MadHound]

45. Ah, lovely memories,

And since I collect old iron, I keep up with such things now.

Anybody ever have a car where you turn the key on, and then pressed the starter button that was on the floor or the dash? Ever have to polish all that chrome, both inside and out(takes me eight hours on my old '49 Desoto)? Suicide doors, suicide knobs? I just love old iron, I think the best part of owning an old car today is taking it out on the road, and watching all of the respect you get from other drivers. Even folks in SUVs and Hummers don't want to fuck with you, for they generally realize that in any sort of collision, they would lose, badly.