Old wives tales for cars

[CarlLaFong]

It was a Corvette in my town also. There must be hundreds of stinky Vettes out there, languishing.

[CarlLaFong]

There is also the old chestnut about the Cadillac with the Coke bottle in the quarter panel with the note inside asking "How long did it take you to find it, rich bastard?" Always a Coke bottle, never 7up or Dad's Root Beer. I have encountered a number of people over the years who claim to be the body man that discovered this heinous act of domestic terrorism. We have liars and damned liars. I prefer to term them as the latter

[padgett]

a) "I'm an engineer. Please explain the physics of how you think this happens. " Dew.

b) ""have liars and damned liars" and statisticians

c) my favorite saying involves a horticulture..

[Ozstatman]

Then there's the one about using clothespegs on the fuel line to prevent vapour lock. Don't know if it works🤔 but at least it doesn't interefere with anything. Seen this on a car once, see photo.

 

[padgett]

Heat sink and keeps it from touching hot metal. I used to build fuel lines that were as far from a hot engine as possible but then I live in a hot climate. Had to put my ROKU over a fan to keep it from overtemping. Moving air keeps things and people cool.

 

 

[Jim Bollman]

5 hours ago, trimacar said:

Or how about the all too common myth/belief that 6 volt car systems don’t work?  6 volts worked fine when the cars were new, if they don’t work now it’s corrosion or other issues with electrical path, small cables, bad starter...

 

Got that right I replace two this week one 6 years old and the other 7 and the auto supply place guy said I should convert to 12v. Told him no thanks these worked fine.

[Frank DuVal]

11 hours ago, 72caddy said:

Haha, i still put my batteries on a wood on top of concrete! 

 

Waste of time. Unless you are worried about acid leaking out of the battery and eating your concrete......😉

 

 

10 hours ago, plymouthcranbrook said:

Except your metal car sits on nonconductive rubber tires

 

And those tires are in the battery circuit? 

 

7 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

All I can say is, try it for yourself. Buy a new battery leave it on a cement floor in the basement or garage for a month and see what happens. I know a guy who thinks I am a fool for believing this, he leaves his spare batteries on the garage floor all the time. He also buys new batteries 2 or 3 times a year.

 

I do, all the time. No difference in sitting on concrete, wood, or in the car. They all self discharge. It's just how lead acid batteries work. 

 

These are used batteries, when did you last set a NEW battery on concrete? Didn't you buy it to put in a vehicle?

 

My test batteries (a 6 and a 12 volt) for auto radio repair sat on the concrete floor under my workbench for years. Of course they did need charging now and then, as I used them.....😁

 

Now having said all this, one thing that can affect lead acid battery storage is if the concrete floor gets COLD! Of course, if the floor is cold and the garage unheated, the battery will fail sitting on a shelf, in the car, etc.

[CarlLaFong]

There was a guy in my town who's car was so fast that he would tape a hundred dollar bill on the dash and if you could pull it off under full acceleration you could keep it. No one ever did. I think it might have been one of the steel Corvettes

 

[JD in CA]

The most widely known one, even among non-car people:

 

”you can get it in any color, as long as it’s black.”

 

I remember in high school auto shop, 1975,  shop teacher saying not to let your car “warm up” before driving it, just start it and go...not sure which is true, or neither...

[ericmac]

Ford specified the size and shape of the wooden shipping containers so they could be knocked down and used to make floorboards.  Yeah...right.

 

 

[zepher]

9 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

All I can say is, try it for yourself. Buy a new battery leave it on a cement floor in the basement or garage for a month and see what happens. I know a guy who thinks I am a fool for believing this, he leaves his spare batteries on the garage floor all the time. He also buys new batteries 2 or 3 times a year.

 

I have at least 2 spare batteries that are stored on a concrete garage floor and they never lose their charge.

Every few months I put them on a charger just to top them off and condition them.

They've been fine for a few years now and have been used to start cars with dead batteries.

[zepher]

8 hours ago, trimacar said:

Or how about “it’s rare, so it’s very valuable”.... not always true....

 

Tell me about it.

You'd have a real hard time finding another '26 Rickenbacker of any model but that doesn't mean mine is worth a whole lot.

[Brass is Best]

I bought it from a little old lady. She ran an add in the paper for a 1963 Chevy. I went to look at it and it was a Corvette! I only paid $5 dollars for it.

[joe_padavano]

12 hours ago, trimacar said:

Or how about “it’s rare, so it’s very valuable”.... not always true....

 

I like to point out that Pontiac Azteks are (thankfully) rare, but not valuable.

[PFitz]

Using detergent oil will destroy an antique engine by loosening dirt inside it, which will then clog the oil lines.

 

Paul

[60FlatTop]

"He really knows what he is doing. Maybe you can learn something from him."

 

I remember how young I was the first time I heard it, how old I was the last time, and the 50 years that had passed between.

 

Oh, don't forget "Like New" from the guy who never had anything new, not even underwear or socks...... if he was wearing any.

[padgett]

Have always said that "desirable" is more important than "rare". Have had a number of cars that were not successful when new even a few that the total production was less than 100. Few were valuable.OTOH my most valuable car had 3200 produced. Is interesting that the most valuable cars are ones I had to special order, dealer wanted no part. Once I even had to pay a $1k deposit on a $5k car because the dealer did not think salable in my area.

 

Also many cars were not considered good looking then, look better today. The Aztek fits this category but its technical failures may make it a museum piece, one I drove was terrible.

[joe_padavano]

15 minutes ago, padgett said:

Also many cars were not considered good looking then, look better today. The Aztek fits this category

 

I'm guessing that isn't due to the Aztek aging well so much as the fact that all new cars look like crap. 😉

Admittedly the later Azteks without the cladding were less offensive than the originals.

[pkhammer]

 How about putting sugar in the gas tank will seize the motor?

 I had a fellow tell me once his engine was balanced and blueprinted. he even claimed to "have the blueprints around here somewhere!".

 I think it was another fellow that was arguing about how powerful his engine was that he had built. he claimed he had installed the "biggest power band" that he could buy.

 The one about taping the $100 bill to the dash is a classic.

[CarlLaFong]

I remember the guy that wrote his wife a letter and told he that he had run off with his secretary. He instructed her to sell his car and to keep half for herself. Several  weeks passed and an envelope came in the mail with a crisp five dollar bill in it. She had sold his Ferrari  as instructed

[Pfeil]

1 hour ago, pkhammer said:

 How about putting sugar in the gas tank will seize the motor?

 I had a fellow tell me once his engine was balanced and blueprinted. he even claimed to "have the blueprints around here somewhere!".

 I think it was another fellow that was arguing about how powerful his engine was that he had built. he claimed he had installed the "biggest power band" that he could buy.

 The one about taping the $100 bill to the dash is a classic.

Partially true;

1.How about putting sugar in the gas tank will seize the motor?

NO

2.I had a fellow tell me once his engine was balanced and blueprinted. he even claimed to "have the blueprints around here somewhere!". Correct

  

Every engine that comes out of the factory was balanced and blueprinted. You can believe most race cars that are built ( especially a "stock class" ) are balanced and blueprinted. All NASCAR engines are balanced and blueprinted. I myself have the blueprints for the 355, 389, 400,  428, and 455 Pontiac V-8's. but that's because I had to build them to a specification. Reputable engine builders will certainly balance a engine statically and dynamically and build a engine to a factory specification, but a blueprint is not necessary- simply a manual with the specifications.

 

3.  I think it was another fellow that was arguing about how powerful his engine was that he had built. he claimed he had installed the "biggest power band" that he could buy.

    I think this might be a misinterpretation of what was said. I take that statement with a grain of salt knowing what the intent of the statement meant. You have to understand what power band is. Some engines are designed to make peak horsepower and others ( like a Pontiac engine ) is designed to make power over a wide RPM range "a large power band". I get what they were trying to say. 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 28, 2020 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[joe_padavano]

15 minutes ago, Pfeil said:

Every engine that comes out of the factory was balanced and blueprinted.

 

"Balanced"?  Yes

"Blueprinted" in the sense of having all machined dimensions as close as possible to nominal? No.

 

Mass production at lowest cost and blueprinting are at odds. Today, the combination of automated inspections and emissions and economy laws have driven much tighter manufacturing tolerances into auto production, but the engines we're usually talking about had much looser manufacturing allowables. Here's one example: Oldsmobile published nominal combustion chamber volumes for it's cylinder heads. The chambers on production cylinder heads are invariably 2cc-4cc larger than these "blueprint" numbers. This ensured that the engines didn't have a detonation problem when manufacturing tolerances came in on the tight side, and also allowed the heads to be milled for a rebuild without exceeding the factory CR. NHRA stock class rules allow the heads to be milled to those blueprint numbers, picking up a small amount of CR in the process. This is exactly why two otherwise identical brand new cars will run differently - one stronger than the other. Allowable production tolerances were much looser than you'd use for a hand-built "blueprinted engine.

[Pfeil]

10 minutes ago, joe_padavano said:

 

"Balanced"?  Yes

"Blueprinted" in the sense of having all machined dimensions as close as possible to nominal? No.

 

Mass production at lowest cost and blueprinting are at odds. Today, the combination of automated inspections and emissions and economy laws have driven much tighter manufacturing tolerances into auto production, but the engines we're usually talking about had much looser manufacturing allowables. Here's one example: Oldsmobile published nominal combustion chamber volumes for it's cylinder heads. The chambers on production cylinder heads are invariably 2cc-4cc larger than these "blueprint" numbers. This ensured that the engines didn't have a detonation problem when manufacturing tolerances came in on the tight side, and also allowed the heads to be milled for a rebuild without exceeding the factory CR. NHRA stock class rules allow the heads to be milled to those blueprint numbers, picking up a small amount of CR in the process. This is exactly why two otherwise identical brand new cars will run differently - one stronger than the other. Allowable production tolerances were much looser than you'd use for a hand-built "blueprinted engine.

as in all engines are built to a blueprint spec.

[Rusty_OToole]

21 hours ago, joe_padavano said:

 

I'm an engineer. Please explain the physics of how you think this happens.

I don't think it happened, I know it happened. As to why, since you are the engineer I should be asking you. All I can add is that the building was over 100 years old and quite damp. I think the dampness may have had something to do with it but that is just a notion.

 

I also have a pair of 6V batteries that were badly sulfated and useless after being stored in my 100 year old basement for one winter even though I put them on a board and put a charger on them once in a while. I can't explain that either.

[joe_padavano]

13 minutes ago, Pfeil said:

as in all engines are built to a blueprint spec.

 

And yet, not what "blueprinting an engine" means.

[Pfeil]

27 minutes ago, joe_padavano said:

 

And yet, not what "blueprinting an engine" means.

That wasn't the question though.

[Akstraw]

23 hours ago, zipdang said:

Always rev the engine as you shut it off to aid in restarting later.

 

I once owned a 1970 Mercedes 280SL, and the owner's manual recommended revving the engine prior to shut off.  It did not, however, give the background rationale.

 

[Akstraw]

One popular in VW circles is:  "a Porsche engine will bolt right in"

[Brass is Best]

With a Ford Model A everybody you see at a gas station has to tell you. You have to back those cars up hills if they are too steep. 

 

 

[Pfeil]

57 minutes ago, Akstraw said:

One popular in VW circles is:  "a Porsche engine will bolt right in"

It just depends on what Porsche engine and it will work vise versa. You know before Porsche designed their own engine case ( the three piece case) they bought the engine cases from VW. Let me rephrase that, Porsche's designer Franz Reimspiess designed the VW engine in 1938. Porsche bought his first engines from VW, and VW used Porsche's design. along with other VW components. 

Edited June 28, 2020 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[Peter J.Heizmann]

1 hour ago, Pfeil said:

That wasn't the question though.

 

Correct.  It something about Wives Tales.  I am still trying to find out who the Engineer was that designed the snow-chain stretchers for tires...😄

[Rusty_OToole]

39 minutes ago, Pfeil said:

It just depends on what Porsche engine and it will work vise versa. You know before Porsche designed their own engine case ( the three piece case) they bought the engine cases from VW. Let me rephrase that, Porsche's designer Franz Reimspiess designed the VW engine in 1938. Porsche bought his first engines from VW, and VW used Porsche's design. along with other VW components. 

I saw an article on a diesel engine developed by Porsche for VW in the early fifties. It was a dog and they never built any for sale but the 2 piece crankcase became the basis for the Porsche engine.

[Pfeil]

1 minute ago, Rusty_OToole said:

I saw an article on a diesel engine developed by Porsche for VW in the early fifties. It was a dog and they never built any for sale but the 2 piece crankcase became the basis for the Porsche engine.

 

 Christophorus, and VW Trends magazine did articles did articles on this VW project in 1951. I have the articles. The three piece VW diesel was a modified three piece Porsche case and the data obtained from the test was incorporated into the later 1.3 and 1.5 Porsche cases. However the three piece case came before this engine.

[Restorer32]

As a teenager I rode with a friend from York, PA to Reading PA.  He had heard of a Corvette that was for sale for $500 because a guy had died in it and no one could get rid of the smell.  We inquired at the police station in Reading and were laughed at.  

[Restorer32]

"My Grandfather had a Packard but it was a a Straight 12".

 

 

 

 

[alsancle]

19 minutes ago, Restorer32 said:

"My Grandfather had a Packard but it was a a Straight 12".

 

In a related vein:   "Such and Such has a Duesenberg in the Barn".

 

Spoiler:  It is ALWAYS a Buick,  and once in a century a guy like me gets lucky and its a Stutz.

 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

"I remember these when they were new" says the 75 year old gent about the 90 year old car.  I always nod politely in agreement. 😉

[Steve_Mack_CT]

"The prior owner rebuilt the engine, but I don't have any paperwork on it."

[PFitz]

Customer with a 90+ year old car.

 

Customer. "I have an all original car".

 

Me. "How do you know all the parts are original?"

 

Customer. "They were on it when I bought it."

 

Paul

[Buick35]

2 hours ago, Restorer32 said:

"My Grandfather had a Packard but it was a a Straight 12".

 

 

 

 

I read an ad for a Mustang with a straight eight.