Old wives tales for cars

[Jim Bollman]

1 hour ago, padgett said:

I keep a 50a "dumb" charger just to add enough of a surface charge that a "smart" charger will take over.

Me too.

[trimacar]

1 hour ago, oldcarfudd said:

Q.  Why are the employees so proud of the new Lucas vacuum cleaner?

 

A.  It's the only thing they make that doesn't suck.

My favorite, guy wakes up in hospital after a heart procedure, looks down and says “Oh my God, a Lucas pacemaker....”

[zipdang]

We've strayed from wives' tales.😁

[JACK M]

On ‎6‎/‎29‎/‎2020 at 4:24 PM, Pfeil said:

My favorite is English beer is not served cold, it is served at room temperature (Lucas refrigerators).

 

I tossed my Lucas refrigerator because I couldn't get it to stop leaking oil.

[Grimy]

16 hours ago, trimacar said:

My favorite, guy wakes up in hospital after a heart procedure, looks down and says “Oh my God, a Lucas pacemaker....”

I kept for years a cartoon clipped from Punch, the British humor magazine, showing a man sitting up on an operating table telling the assembled doctors, "Oh no you don't!  You're not putting a Lucas pacemaker in me!"

[FLYER15015]

On ‎6‎/‎30‎/‎2020 at 7:09 AM, Buick35 said:

Enough about the batteries,I just wanted to know if mothballs in the aircleaner work.

Yup, they do.

Out here in dry Colorado, after cleaning the dog food out of the air filter on my 1985 Ford  F-250 THREE times, we quit feeding the dogs outside, and dropped a half dozen moth balls in the air filter to keep the ground squirrels from building their nest in there.

Also dropped several all round the engine bay, as if left for a long time, they will eat the wire insulation.

 

Plus, I always keep a few in the Buick and the Chrysler's back seat area. Wool upholstery you know.

Spectators at the car shows say they smell like their grandma's house.

 

No, I have not dropped any moth balls in the gas tank to raise the octane rating yet.

 

However, back in the sixty's, we always stopped at the dry cleaners on the way to the track and got some used naptha,

to fill the oil bath air cleaner of the old Desoto stock car we raced.

Better than NOX for the first lap or two. If your out front, they can't hurt you.........

 

Mike in Colorado

[54vicky]

On 6/29/2020 at 7:24 PM, Pfeil said:

What beer would that be??

he mentioned it in earlier post Ruko I believe without looking back

Edited July 1, 2020 by 54vicky
spelling (see edit history)

[Pfeil]

Wives tale; My husband the VW mechanic, sleeps like a baby;

 

[padgett]

Old trick when SCCA used LeMans starts was to fill the float bowls with nitro. Good for one lap then gone. Castrol R would mask the smell. Speaking of LeMans starts anyone remember the dime ?

Edited July 1, 2020 by padgett (see edit history)

[Fossil]

6 hours ago, Pfeil said:

Wives tale; My husband the VW mechanic, sleeps like a baby;

Did that come from this book? Probably the best publication the VW owner could ever have. That's no wives tale. 

[Pfeil]

11 minutes ago, Fossil said:

Did that come from this book? Probably the best publication the VW owner could ever have. That's no wives tale. 

Yes it did, but I would NEVER follow any of the methods ( except the authors Idea of how a VW Porsche should be warmed up) of repair. 

[padgett]

+1 on great book. Built my Westphalia that way right down to the RVEECO oil cooler and went all over the western United States until I fried a coil on the way home. Junk 62 Chev coil got us home.

[Pfeil]

4 minutes ago, padgett said:

+1 on great book. Built my Westphalia that way right down to the RVEECO oil cooler and went all over the western United States until I fried a coil on the way home. Junk 62 Chev coil got us home.

Oh you used the home made balance beam to balance the rods? Never a thought of balancing the whole rotating assy.

[Fossil]

Rebuilt my 1970 VW van with that book. Parts in a zip lock bag is a great idea. Setting the torque on the flywheel nut with a 5 lb. hammer was perfect. 😁

Ran that van all over and never had a problem. 

[Pfeil]

Just like the book says;  " A manual of step by step procedures for the complete IDIOT!"

At the VW dealership I worked at we kept this book around for laughs. Fun reading on your lunch break. It was the most read of all the comic books. 

Edited July 2, 2020 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[kgreen]

Old tale I heard often from years back:  "You gotta beat a newly rebuilt engine to break it in right".

[zepher]

11 minutes ago, kgreen said:

Old tale I heard often from years back:  "You gotta beat a newly rebuilt engine to break it in right".

 

I always heard you have to break it in the same way you're going to drive it.  If you're going to drive it hard then you need to break it in hard.

Same thing just worded differently.

[trimacar]

On 6/30/2020 at 10:16 PM, zipdang said:

We've strayed from wives' tales.😁

I agree, so we need to get back on track..."Gee, with all the unrest in the world and everyone out of a job, antique cars will go down to 5 cents on the dollar and I'll buy one"....oh, well shucks, not maybe an old wive's tale, but a lot of people thinking this way, and dismayed that the old car market hasn't tanked.

 

Back to old wive's tales....

 

[lump]

On 6/27/2020 at 3:08 PM, Buffalowed Bill said:

Use of detergent oil in an old car, especially one that had lived on a diet of non-detergent oil, would break loose deposits of sludge, causing bearing failure. Engineering studies have proven that this old wives tail is simply untrue. 

Wow, that's one that I have believed for a long time, Bill. I would love to read a study about that (not that I don't believe you...I'm just surprised, because it does seem to make sense that all the sludge might break free and cause troubles). 

 

Cheers! 

 

Edited July 3, 2020 by lump (see edit history)

[lump]

Many of these old wives tales in this thread are familiar to me...such as the paper money taped to the dash, etc. 

 

Another one that was common around my region was about the guy who answered a classified ad for a "1954 Chevy station wagon," which was offered by a widow for only $100. When the buyer arrived and opened the old lady's garage, the car was a 1954 Waldorf Nomad Corvette wagon prototype! 

 

Heard it many times, in many different variations. 

[lump]

Just recalled another one, which was mentioned months ago in another thread. 

 

First time I heard it, a man was telling my young father about a motorcyclist who yelled to the biker along side him, "Watch me scare these those two guys on motorcycles!" Then he swerved into the oncoming traffic lane, intending to ride his motorcycle between two oncoming "motorcycles." He realized too late that the oncoming "motorcycles" were actually a Pierce-Arrow automobile, with its widely-spaced headlights! 😜 

 

I've heard the same story a few times since that first telling. Let's hope it never was true. 

[Buffalowed Bill]

Lump,

 

I would love to be able to find the article, and I've looked. The bit I'm enclosing is from something I wrote some time ago. I notice that I didn't talk too much about the sludge removal. The article indicated that lab tests indicated the very little sludge was removed by detergent oil, little more then conventional oil. Newer oil with it's included "dispersent" additives did help to keep new sludge from settling out, and forming additional deposits. The article indicated that the term detergent was more a marketing tool used in the day because of the popularity of the new detergents, that were used to clean everything from dishes use in shampoos. The article spoke to the unfortunate long term consequences of advertising that at that time had lingered for 30+ years. Now it's been another 35 years and it's still with us.

 

I don't know why I get immersed in these discussions but... I also want to make it clear that the information that I'm responding with is thirty years old, so don't shoot the messenger. I'm not going to go to the wall over this. Thirty or more yeas ago I read a long article from Valvoline, regarding modern motor oils. The article covered the evolution of motor oil as it pertained to the advances made subsequent to the early 50's OHV cam shaft problems, modern oil's limitations and the misconception regarding the term detergent.

The article indicated that the addition of zinc and phosphorus left a sacrificial film on reciprocating parts which decreased wear. This was prior to the removal of those two elements, because of cat. problems.

The part of the article that I wanted to respond to, was Valvoline's statement the detergent oil does not remove slug inside an engine. They indicated that detergent was an unfortunate marketing term, used because of the popularity of the new technology (detergents). They suggested that a more appropriate, descriptive term would have been dispersent. It in affect, holds the small particulate matter, too small the be filtered out, in suspension until it is drained out at oil change. In other words it stopped or slowed down the settling out process that causes slug.

Over time the detergent package deteriorates. As I understand it, synthetic motor oil contains more sustainable "detergent" packages, and because modern engines are cleaner running with closer tolerances, oil change intervals can be extended. The process has not changed it's just that molecular structure that has changed and the "detergent" (dispersent) package has become more long-lived, more suitable for newer engine

[padgett]

a: sludge

b: From the 60s I remember that what made a 10W-30 different from a straight 20w was long chain polymers that over time would decay. Since I have had oil pressure gauges in most of my cars (took the cure from Jags "40 psi at 3,000 rpm") and my rule of thumb is that when I see a slight drop in hot idle oil pressure, it is time to change the oil. Have been doing that since Quaker State 10W-30 was 24 cans to a case. I also recall Herb Adams (Pontiac engineer) saying that "at hot idle you don't need any oil pressure" I still want at least 20 psi at hot idle (500 rpm).

[Frank DuVal]

Or at least 5 to 10 psi to keep the oil light off , depending on rating of your switch......  Keeps customer complaints down.😉

[yachtflame]

I left a 12v battery on my garage cement floor for three years while my street rod was being stored. I got the rod out this summer and put the battery in it. Was showing 12.1 volts so I charged it and it’s been working all summer so far!

[alsancle]

On 7/2/2020 at 8:25 PM, lump said:

Wow, that's one that I have believed for a long time, Bill. I would love to read a study about that (not that I don't believe you...I'm just surprised, because it does seem to make sense that all the sludge might break free and cause troubles). 

 

Cheers! 

 

maybe a tale too, but conventional wisdom is detergent oil in a sleeve valve engine will clean out the deposits that are keeping the engine from smoking.

[60FlatTop]

On 7/2/2020 at 11:32 AM, Pfeil said:

Just like the book says;  " A manual of step by step procedures for the complete IDIOT!"

At the VW dealership I worked at we kept this book around for laughs. Fun reading on your lunch break. It was the most read of all the comic books. 

 

I had the version of that book for my carbureted Rabbit. Enjoyed the book. Reminiscent of Zap comics are, maybe Fritz the Cat. Funny how things stick with you. My wife and I were at a restaurant over in the next county, now that they are open again. A youngish, obviously statuesque woman walked past our booth. After a long look (stare), I looked across the table at my wife looking at me. "Reminded me of Zap Comics" I chirped.

Hippie stuff. I was surely never a Hippie. My wife was.

Bernie

 

[padgett]

I missed the hippie movement in Florida and South East Asia. Came back in 70 to find my mother had sold my 67 Camaro autocross car (was under 21 when acquired so in her name) and was presented with a 66 Caprice covered with flowers and peace stickers. Had to drive that until my four speed/positraction/AC '70 Buick GS which had to be ordered came in.

[Buick35]

1 hour ago, padgett said:

I missed the hippie movement in Florida and South East Asia. Came back in 70 to find my mother had sold my 67 Camaro autocross car (was under 21 when acquired so in her name) and was presented with a 66 Caprice covered with flowers and peace stickers. Had to drive that until my four speed/positraction/AC '70 Buick GS which had to be ordered came in.

The same thing happened to me only mine was a 68 Mustang G.T.fastback. When I came home from Vietnam I found out that my dad traded it for a torino,I think.I should ve gone to Woodstock instead of the Army!

[Guest]

17 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

Reminiscent of Zap comics 

 

Another R. Crumb fan?

I knew we were kindered spirits. 😄

[Buick35]

5 hours ago, GregLaR said:

Another R. Crumb fan?

I knew we were kindered spirits. 😄

Keep on truckin.

[Akstraw]

Not really automotive, one of my favorites (it must be true, I learned it in third grade) is:  

 

Stained glass windows in old churches are thicker at the bottom than at the top because glass is a liquid, and it flows slowly over time.

 

We should start seeing this effect on our 'original' brass cars soon.

[60FlatTop]

7 hours ago, GregLaR said:

Another R. Crumb fan?

I knew we were kindered spirits. 😄

 

PM sent.

 

I was asked to leave the pits at our local stock car track because of my "Mr. Goodbar says" t shirt.

[JACK M]

One promotor that we raced under wanted a comic theme.

Lots of super hero's and such, but me?

 

 

[Bush Mechanic]

Mr Natural, wasn't it?

 

I used him as my logo on a rock concert food stall, back in the day. Now I see him every time I look in the mirror!  There could be worse fates.

[JACK M]

16 hours ago, Bush Mechanic said:

Mr Natural, wasn't it?

 

I used him as my logo on a rock concert food stall, back in the day. Now I see him every time I look in the mirror!  There could be worse fates.

 

How soon I forget names and such these days, but a member from down under that died a year or so ago used Mr. Natural as his avatar.

I commented on that and he told me that he didn't know about Mr. Natural but simply liked the image.

[CarlLaFong]

WTH does any of this OT BS have to o with automotive old wives tales??????

[Guest]

1 hour ago, CarlLaFong said:

WTH does any of this OT BS have to o with automotive old wives tales??????

"I betook myself to linking fancy unto fancy...."

 

sometimes they just wander 😄

[padgett]

The work of R. Crumb and company would certainly be known by old wives.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

There is at least one crusty Model A wheel, transmission or engine in every old barn.