1950 vs 2013

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Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
A manager in a Honda dealership found the exact first car he ever owned a 76 Honda Civic Wagon. He put it in the shop for a tune up. The certified Honda mechanic had a problem. He set the timing right on the mark. Then he adjusted the points and the timing changed. He was completely stumped. He read the manual to find out what ignition points were and how to adjust the dwell but could not understand what was happening. The older parts manager had to go out into the shop and explain what was going on and how to fix the problem. Different times, different skills.


Honda still used points in 1976?!?! Wow. Just...wow.


That was about the time that AMC switched to that horrible Prestolite design. (they later switched to the good ol' Blue Grommet Motorcraft Duraspark)
GM had just switched over to HEI the year before.
Ford's Duraspark was only about 2 years old.
Chrysler's Electronic Spark control was only about 3 years old.

To be fair, Harley Davidson was the only American manufacturer still using points in 1976. But the other domestic manufacturers had just switched in 1976. I think by 1980, all Honda motorcycles had switched to CDI ignitions and I think all Honda cars had switched to electronic ignitions by 1978.

Honda used some of the same contact breaker points that Isuzu and Mitsubishi used. I remember selling them. Isuzu and Mitsubishi held onto points until the early '80s. You need points for your 1980 Chevrolet LUV? I got 'em but I do not have them in genuine AC Delco.


GM went to HEI in 1974. (My father in law's 1974 Trans Am has it.) Chrysler offered electronic ignition in, at the LATEST, 1972.
 
One of the conservation clubs I belong to sponsor firearm training, we have kids that we turn away 12 to 14 year olds that can't even sign their name. Yup, they're highly educated alright.

Ever notice how good their math skills when they try to make change at the local fast food? Yup, highly educated alright.
 
I think Delco first tested an electronic ignition in the late 40's. But GM's first breaker less ignition was available in the early to mid 60's on some models like the 'vette and other models. HEI which was a good reliable system went across the board in '75.
 
Are you under the impression that there were no illiterates in 1962? Or did you just not come into contact with any? I'm sure the average menial laborer back in dickety six had an IQ of 147.
 
Originally Posted By: jcwit
One of the conservation clubs I belong to sponsor firearm training, we have kids that we turn away 12 to 14 year olds that can't even sign their name. Yup, they're highly educated alright.

Ever notice how good their math skills when they try to make change at the local fast food? Yup, highly educated alright.


I tend to agree that the average high school or college graduated is less intelligent today than a few decades back. Not to mention not as mechanically inclined. Worse, most of what they are taught is PC garbage lol.

Some of them today might be good at memorizing button pushing sequences on an electronic gadget though. But even with electronics, you had to be a brainiac to use a PC back in even the 80's compared to today.
 
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Honda still used points in 1976?!?! Wow. Just...wow.

Ford passenger cars had points to 1974, trucks to 1978.
 
Originally Posted By: Coprolite
One learns to do what needs to be done...or pays someone to do it for them.


This. Even though a lot of folks have white-collar jobs, they get their hands dirty on the weekends wrenching/fixing something. Be it their car, their broken washing machine, their laptop, re-soldering capacitors into a HDTV, or even building a garage. Some folks do it to save a buck, while others do it because they know they can do it right the first time.

And, in 1950 we were ramping up the Cold War with the USSR. Knowing how to fabricate and design was needed. Today we're sitting back in our comfy chairs, with our best and brightest getting ready to game the financial system better than the next guy.
 
My father is 77 and a retired attorney. He could afford a mechanic but worked on his cars anyhow. I remember him replacing the timing chain on my moms early 70's Olds Delta 88.
 
Originally Posted By: jcwit
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Modern cars are built better and don't break like they used to.

Turning over 100k used to be a big deal, the odometers didn't even count that high.


Really? All of mine did, starting with a 1950 Studebaker Champ.


No they didn't. I was the owner of a 1950 Studebaker for over 20 years and I guarantee you the odometer only went up to 99999.9. I can't remember a 1950's automobile whose odometer would register 100,000. miles, but that's not to say there wasn't one.
 
I don't know about the kids today vs. yesterday....with a 9 year old daughter and I'm 50.....have you ever gone to a PTA meeting and scanned perimeter? Some people have no business being parents. One thing I've noticed, kids aren't as busy as we were. I'm not going on the "guess what we did back in the day" saga, but there is a HUGE difference.
 
Originally Posted By: Maximus1966
Originally Posted By: jcwit
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Modern cars are built better and don't break like they used to.

Turning over 100k used to be a big deal, the odometers didn't even count that high.


Really? All of mine did, starting with a 1950 Studebaker Champ.


No they didn't. I was the owner of a 1950 Studebaker for over 20 years and I guarantee you the odometer only went up to 99999.9. I can't remember a 1950's automobile whose odometer would register 100,000. miles, but that's not to say there wasn't one.



OK, OK, I'm not going to get into a (p)contest over a tenth of a mile.
 
Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Honda still used points in 1976?!?! Wow. Just...wow.

Ford passenger cars had points to 1974, trucks to 1978.


No, I don't think so. I went to school with two guys who had Ford trucks, a 1978 F-250 (300ci six) and a 1976 F-100 (360 FE). Both were Duraspark.
 
Originally Posted By: jcwit
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Modern cars are built better and don't break like they used to.

Turning over 100k used to be a big deal, the odometers didn't even count that high.


Really? All of mine did, starting with a 1950 Studebaker Champ.


You never had a car with a 5 digit odometer? You must be pretty young because that's the way it was until oh probably the 90's for a lot of cars.

I know Studebaker did their own thing maybe they used 6 digit odometers?
 
Last edited:
tom slick said:
Back then almost every gas station had a mechanic on duty. If the men of the 50's were such great mechanics why were there so many shops?

Cars reqired much more service. In the mid seventies cars went to fuel injection and electronic ignition and maintanence was greatly reduced. Oil changes were every 3k back then also.A car with 100k was ready for the junkyard in the 60's in most cases. Today it is good for another 100k easily.
 
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
You never had a car with a 5 digit odometer?


Not the guy you're asking but I've never seen a mechanical odometer that had more than 5 digits. I'd be curious to see a six-digit mechanical odometer. I'm 34.
 
The ones that read up to 99999.9 are six digit and were commonly in use in the 50's. The five digit ones were up to 99999 and didn't measure 10ths. Luxury car brands in the 50's sometimes had odometers with 5 digits (no tenths, plus a trip meter that were generally 4 digit (000.0). I never saw an automobile odometer in the 50's that measured more than 99,999.9 miles.
 
Originally Posted By: MinamiKotaro
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
You never had a car with a 5 digit odometer?


Not the guy you're asking but I've never seen a mechanical odometer that had more than 5 digits. I'd be curious to see a six-digit mechanical odometer. I'm 34.


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Originally Posted By: CourierDriver
Would the men of 1950 be more mechanically savvy in fixing the family cars of 1950's then the men of 2013 .

The men of 2013 fixing cars of the 1950s or fixing cars of 2013?
 
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