The trunkating of mechanical adventures

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Sat 14 Nov 2009 14:09
The trunkating of mechanical adventures - oilrag
In modern cars.

You just can`t get that feeling of `adventure` back, can you? in modern motoring, that is.

Those trips up to Scotland in the 60`s. Shap Fell in third gear, being happy that you could get up at 40mph. The little tribulations with points and the sticking piston in the SU carb.

No mobile phones for help and driving along those single track roads in the Western Highlands. Roads where you seldom met anyone else and the grass down the road centre wiped the sump clean of leaking oil.

As far as a test of machine goes - it`s gone. You could possibly drive around the world in some cars now without opening the bonnet. The adventure would all be external to the actual car.

But there was (at least in memory) a certain pleasure in the ultra fine detail of the car itself. You sat in the drivers seat and could visualize the oil flow, the blur of the tappets. Those little levers of Saturday morning adjustable delight...

The smell of oil and palm of hand thump - to loosen the cork gasket.......the tools now idle in the box. `Marking Time` as a First World War vet once told me, when , as a child, I asked without insight "what are you doing tomorrow"



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Sat 14 Nov 2009 14:24
The trunkating of mechanical adventures - Robin Reliant
Even back in the seventies it was quite common to be sitting in the canteen at work and hear someone say, "I'd love to go to Brighton this weekend, but the car would never make it".

And you wouldn't dare go on more than a local trip without a set of tools in the boot. The AA and the RAC were strictly for the management, the workers couldn't afford such extravagance. It's better now, but the sense of adventure has long gone from motoring.

Edited by Robin Reliant on 14/11/2009 at 14:25

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Sat 14 Nov 2009 14:33
The trunkating of mechanical adventures - Old Navy
I haven't carried "real" tools for about 15 years, I do have a multi tool gadget though, used once to change an indicator bulb when far from home. Probably get done for having an offensive weapon, I think it has a pen knife sized blade!

Edited by Old Navy on 14/11/2009 at 14:33

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Sat 14 Nov 2009 14:35
The trunkating of mechanical adventures - bathtub tom
Sounds to me like you need to buy an old car and go mud-plugging, or something similar.

It's surprising what you can break. ;>)
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Sat 14 Nov 2009 14:45
The trunkating of mechanical adventures - GroovyMucker
You can keep that sort of adventure.

I'd rather be sure I could get from A to B.

:)

I did a couple of corners last night trying to light up the ESP on the Focus. Couldn't do it despite the rain.

Edited by GroovyMucker on 14/11/2009 at 14:47

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Sat 14 Nov 2009 15:07
The trunkating of mechanical adventures - gordonbennet
Ah making room for a blinking great tool box, and carrying a large bottle of water (for the car) and the odds and ends you might need, points, condensor couple of spare plugs, the perfectly serviceable fan belt you replaced, towrope, footpump, jump leads, isopon etc and something to lie on.

Always made sure you had torch and wet/cold weather clothes and a brolly...still carry them you never know.

I miss the way it was back then, how some of us would pull up and give someone a hand to fix their breakdown, or give them a tow if needed, or help change a tyre ...years since fellow truck drivers would do that, they'd run you over soon as look at you now in many cases.
Changed head gaskets on the side of the road commonplace.

It's not 50's and 60's Britain any more, i'm glad it's virtually unheard of for normal cars to break down, i'm pleased swmbo and our other loved girls can press one button and lock the doors, and that she's street wise to the antics of scams and worse and she's not afraid.

It's no longer the type of country especially in cities to have those wonderful memorable motoring adventures.
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Sat 14 Nov 2009 15:16
The trunkating of mechanical adventures - Bagpuss
Always made sure you had torch


Except that when you came to use it you inevitably discovered that the batteries had leaked and covered the torch in a brownish white substance, rendering it useless. Ah, zinc-chloride batteries, something else thankfully long consigned to the technological graveyard.
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Sat 14 Nov 2009 15:26
The trunkating of mechanical adventures - Lud
Here is a truncated mechanical adventure.

I took my low-mileage Skoda Estelle 130, mechanically quiet except for noisy half-shaft bearings, to Prague to get the half shafts done and see the place.

The parts weren't available but the car was given a service it didn't need. On the way back it started to misbehave. I got an idee fixe about exhaust valve seat recession - it did have some - and failed to remove the carburettor and blow out the blocked idle jet that was really causing the trouble. After nightmarish periods in a Paris underground garage and a Sussex barn that damn near killed me, the car was much worse with the cylinder head off another car. Then the engine cooked itself.

Damn!
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