Buick35 Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 I've just recently heard this saying pertaining to old cars.I think it must have started on this forum. I've sorted out laundry and money but never cars.Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 Greg I have heard it many times, think it started in sportscar world. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkhammer Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 (edited) I've heard it quite often myself in the world of racing. Not sure what other phrase would be more appropriate to describe a car that's been gone thru and all that needed fixing has been fixed. Certainly not "restored". A car can be well sorted out and not be restored, just ask Ed. Edited June 28, 2022 by pkhammer misspelling (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 People talk of "sorting out a car," but that's not an accurate use of language. It really means to sort out the PROBLEMS as you would separate the sheep from the goats, keeping the good things and getting rid of the bad. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt G Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 35 minutes ago, pkhammer said: Not sure what other phrase would be more appropriate to describe a car that's been gone thru and all that needed fixing has been fixed. Certainly not "restored". A car can be well sorted out and not be restored I have heard and used that term since I got started and owned pre war cars for over 55 years. Austin Clark used it as well. We felt it means that you got a car looked over and corrected any problems, adjusted everything, rebuilt as necessary to make it reliable to drive any place any time. Day or night. Ie: one has to "sort out " the wiring because the original was failing and could cause an issue . The " sorting " always referred to me and my friends at least as something mechanical or having to do with something that would safely prevent the vehicle from going down the road. Never used in reference to cosmetics or upholstery. I was never in the sports car world so do not know its application there. Some terms get interpreted by different people in different ways - an "original " car may mean totally unrestored to someone where someone else may look at it having "all original" parts. It is why when I write articles/stories I always try to use the term as it was when used when the car was built - what was a town car pre WWII is not exactly the same as what Lincoln built in the 1970s . It is like defining the name 'station wagon' - originally it was a wagon that carried passengers and their luggage to the train station . What can be the accurate use of the language to one person has a whole different meaning to someone else. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1912Staver Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 In racing it means a car that is mechanically brought up to snuff so there is no underlying shortcomings. The car is then run at several track days for sorting. Spring rates and preloads, corner weights, shock settings , brake bias, anti roll bar adjustments etc. Things like gearing and carb jetting will depend on which track you are running at and will be part of post sorting , venue fine tuning and set up. That's why real race cars are way more adjustable than regular production cars. And why I got away from production based cars on the track. By the time they are even remotely competitive you have spent large amounts of time and money just getting to the point something like my Lola leaves the factory at. Just make sure there are no underlying mechanical problems and get down to sorting / track specific set up. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brass is Best Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 1 hour ago, pkhammer said: I've heard it quite often myself in the world of racing. Not sure what other phrase would be more appropriate to describe a car that's been gone thru and all that needed fixing has been fixed. Certainly not "restored". A car can be well sorted out and not be restored, just ask Ed. A car can also be restored and not sorted out at all. I have sorted out many "restored" and "perfect" cars. 8 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 Takes considerable work to "sort out" a car to be truly driveable - and most restored cars cannot get out of their own way. 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 (edited) Also, such as our 1935 Auburn 851 Phaeton - the car had a 40K plus mechanical restoration 40 years ago and since then has probably had another 25K+ in maintenance over 50K miles verses the normal restored car that never sees such mechanically = also a definition of "sorted out." Edited June 28, 2022 by John_Mereness (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 My brother that is more into antique bikes than myself, and also races an antique bike has talked about 'sorting' them for many years now. I thought it was a British thing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 1 minute ago, TAKerry said: I thought it was a British thing. Agree! Plus, it sounds cool when some guy with a British accent says "we sorted the suspension on the old Moggie and would have won if we didn't slide off the bloody track in the damned rain" ... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 HA! Sounds like you have been talking with my bro.!! He lives in the Great White North and his father in law was a Brit transplant, he picked up some of his habits! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 12 minutes ago, TAKerry said: My brother that is more into antique bikes than myself, and also races an antique bike has talked about 'sorting' them for many years now. I thought it was a British thing. Yes, it's definitely an English term and concept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 Sorted out means you have sat down with a alcohol beverage and all of your receipts from your restoration/build. And you have sorted all of them out. Added them all up. Then start trying to justify spending that much money while you sip your beverage. 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 To me, sorted out means to get the vehicle tour ready. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt G Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 (edited) 52 minutes ago, Hudsy Wudsy said: Yes, it's definitely an English term and concept. Ok, now this all makes sense; although my paternal side of the family has been in the USA since about 1922 both my father and his father before him were born in England. I am the first to be born on this side of the pond. I must have first heard that "sorted out" term from my grandfather - who I never ever called grandfather or Grampa but "Pater". Edited June 28, 2022 by Walt G (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, keiser31 said: To me, sorted out means to get the vehicle tour ready. Yes, but it has a much broader connotation to it. "Getting your things in order", but also correcting a situation or person. You might have to "sort out" your neighbor or son if their behavior was objectionable. Edited June 28, 2022 by Hudsy Wudsy (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f.f.jones Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 I recall my British friend and business partner frequently using this term 60 years ago, mostly related to primitive computers and their quirks. He wasn't into motor cars. There were a number of other uniquely British expressions he used, some became more commonplace over the years, some did not. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28 Chrysler Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 To fix the pesky little problems not the quirks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brass is Best Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 Sorted out is when you can get in it without spares or tools and drive anywhere without wondering how you will get home. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunsmoke Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 I watch Coronation Street 5 days a week, a British Soap Opera which has been running continuously since 1962! "Get it sorted", or "sort it" is used frequently whenever there is an issue that needs to be taken care of (personal beefs, relationship trouble etc). Interestingly, the guy who uses it most often is a character named Kevin Webster, who ironically is the itinerant Mechanic in Weatherfield! (the fictional community) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 13 hours ago, Xander Wildeisen said: Sorted out means you have sat down with a alcohol beverage and all of your receipts from your restoration/build. And you have sorted all of them out. Added them all up. Then start trying to justify spending that much money while you sip your beverage. Beverage is fine. Regarding the other thing, never do that... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1932 plymouth pb sedan Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 To me nothing is ever "sorted out", you have a chance of breaking down, did you pack up the spare parts just in case? Who cares, take it out for a ride anyway. Another one is "do you have all your ducks in a row?" My ducks are not even in the same pond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericmac Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 I think there are various gradients to this concept. We have all seen advertisements for cars that run and drive...and do so, barely. Then there are cars that are mechanically restored but that description can range from a car that received a tune up to a stem-to-stern mechanical restoration, both with or without addressing the electrical, fuel or cooling systems. There are "turn-key" cars that seem to imply a great car in every way....but they are not. "Fully sorted" should, and often does, mean everything has been done correctly and everything works as it should from the factory. To me, the best description is the car that "needs nothing" though those cars are very few and far between. Even the best restored car I owned (an AACA Senior Grand National winner) had a couple things on my to-do list when I sold it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 14 hours ago, Gunsmoke said: I watch Coronation Street 5 days a week, a British Soap Opera which has been running continuously since 1962! "Get it sorted", or "sort it" is used frequently whenever there is an issue that needs to be taken care of (personal beefs, relationship trouble etc). Interestingly, the guy who uses it most often is a character named Kevin Webster, who ironically is the itinerant Mechanic in Weatherfield! (the fictional community) There was a BBC or Thames series called " Danger UXB" where the sergeant suspects some of his men doing the wrong thing and calls his corporal. You're the corporal in charge here, now get down in there and get it sorted. I've heard it where the pilot says to the flight engineer before a mission; I hope you've got this crate well sorted from the last time we went out. I've also heard it said in this context. I'm going to knock this guy's block off, that will sort him out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimKB1MCV Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 First heard the term 'sorted' used working on merchant ships that had been mothballed since WWII or the Korean Conflict. That could be because lots of the senior engineering types were OFs of 50 or more and had distinctly North UK or even Scots burrs in their speech. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1912Staver Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 (edited) Sounds exactly like the group I learned the Marine Engineering game under here in Canada. " Up your kilt with a wire brush " was a favorite phrase of one of my Chief's. Thankfully rarely directed at me, but it had a real withering quality. He knew his stuff inside out and did not tolerate fools in the slightest. During a major overhall he was assigned to a ship in our company temporarily along with myself. At the end of his first week he started to pack up all his stuff as if to leave and not come back. The actual Senior Chief of the ship asked him what he was doing. The old Scots fellow said that having seen how things were being run for the previous week he wanted no further part of the overhaul. Senior Chief realised he was about to loose one of his best guys , Scots gent replied that he would stay under one condition, that the Senior Chief come back in the morning with his First Class engineers papers, " because I don't believe you have any ". Never saw him on that ship again. Edited June 29, 2022 by 1912Staver (see edit history) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 With a few exceptions, when I get a car "sorted out" that usually means time to start looking for the next one. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelfish Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 (edited) 19 hours ago, TexRiv_63 said: With a few exceptions, when I get a car "sorted out" that usually means time to start looking for the next one. I find myself in a similar situation! I really enjoy getting them running right even if it means dumping lots of $$$ into them when previous owners baulked at spending a dime. I'm a sucker for the hard luck cases! Once they are done though part of the fun is gone and I find myself eyeing up other cars... Edited June 30, 2022 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 I really enjoy the "sorting" process. Restoration work, not as much, but taking an already nice car that doesn't work properly and making it as the engineers intended is very rewarding to me. I also like the end result although I never feel like I've crossed the finish line. One of my most satisfying moments was on a recent tour and it was a chilly morning. Everyone was firing up their cars getting ready to go and several cars were being balky. I reached into my Buick, turned the key, and hit the starter. It fired instantly and idled perfectly, even in 40-degree temperatures. The guy in the Packard parked next to me said, "Hey! That's not fair!" Little did he know how much time, effort, and money it took to make my car start and run like that. But that was a great moment that made it all worthwhile. 6 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 2 hours ago, Lahti35 said: I find myself in a similar situation! I really enjoy getting them running right even if it means dumping lots of $$$ into them when previous owners baulked at spending a dime. I'm a sucker for the hard luck cases! Once they are done though part of the fun is gone and I find myself eyeing up other cars... Exactly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 On 6/28/2022 at 9:37 PM, Brass is Best said: Sorted out is when you can get in it without spares or tools and drive anywhere without wondering how you will get home. That is the ONLY way to own any car. A favorite joke of mine while on CCCA Caravans is to show people my tool kit I carry around in the car.......and I just extend out my two hands.........I don't even carry a screw driver. I also no longer carry tools to change flat tires due to the unsafe nature of roadside repairs....I just flat bed the car back to the hotel or next destination and change the tire in a parking lot. Having been almost killed twice and having friends with permanent disabilities from changing tires on the road....I absolutely refuse to do it on old or modern cars. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 (edited) We have a running joke at our shop.........every time we jump in a car and it fires off in half a turn of the crank.......which about 90 percent of all our cars will do..........we say in unison.....'Starts hard!" Just get on a show field like Pebble or Amelia and watch the cars crank for 30 or more seconds...........almost no show cars have been dialed in for quick starting. For me, it all comes down to pride of craftsmanship.........they started easily new, and they should now. Edited June 30, 2022 by edinmass (see edit history) 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 Sorting out is the process it takes to be able to toss the keys to the wife and let her run up to town and pick up a gallon of milk without squirming in the chair and biting your fingernails down to your elbow waiting for her to return. I have been using the term since about 1986. On that starting thing, a rapid pull on the spark lever to snap the points into an instant start is a good sign. I don't have that kind of car. My personal statement is buying a Group 24 Blem battery for a Cadilllac. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrim65 Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 Being British , I agree quite a common term this side of the pond meaning the car may had a few niggly problems , which have now been fixed ie sorted out Example starting problems or issues like bad detailing Currently I have brake problems with my Mga , which I would love to have sorted out 😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 Sorting it out is getting all of the bugs out, and making the car reliable. Basically troubleshooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Luddy Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 On 6/30/2022 at 12:48 PM, edinmass said: That is the ONLY way to own any car. A favorite joke of mine while on CCCA Caravans is to show people my tool kit I carry around in the car.......and I just extend out my two hands.........I don't even carry a screw driver. I also no longer carry tools to change flat tires due to the unsafe nature of roadside repairs....I just flat bed the car back to the hotel or next destination and change the tire in a parking lot. Having been almost killed twice and having friends with permanent disabilities from changing tires on the road....I absolutely refuse to do it on old or modern cars. Had this happen twice yesterday on one of Canada's busiest highways. My fault for not checking the tire condition. Stupid on my part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 11 hours ago, Pilgrim65 said: Being British , I agree quite a common term this side of the pond meaning the car may had a few niggly problems , which have now been fixed ie sorted out Example starting problems or issues like bad detailing Currently I have brake problems with my Mga , which I would love to have sorted out 😁 The only problem with your answer is that now we have to speculate what "niggly" means. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcarz Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 Not sure when I first heard it in regard to old cars, but seems to be an accurate assessment of what we do, once we take possession (at least the ones I buy-projects). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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