Personal Automotive Nostalgia

[Calan]

Another thread got me to thinking about the days when I first started wrenching on cars, and some of the problems I had to deal with. So I thought I would see how many of you old-timers had similar experiences.

First of all, this was back around 1981 or so. There were no cell phones or internet of course. If you really wanted to learn about cars, you either went to the library (remember those?), hung out with the "old guys", or learned the hard way.

I was a small block Chevy guy, and I still remember the first time I had to replace the nylon-coated timing chain in my '77 Camaro after it disintegrated.

Note: For you youngsters, engines used to be mechanically timed with a chain, not a belt. At some point the auto manufacturers decided that coating the teeth with nylon would quiet the noise and that would be a good idea. They were wrong.

Anyway, that led to a cam upgrade (of course!), better intake (an Edelbrock Torquer I believe), 4-barrel carb, etc etc. Before I knew it, I was off on the hot-rodding path at the ripe old age of 16, and never really looked back.

Other memorable moments include the first time I tried to rebuild a Quadrajet carburetor, and the first little package of mutli-colored vacuum advance springs that I bought for my distributor (I have no idea why I remember that, but I do). And I'll never forget my B & M valve body shift kit for the Turbo 350 tranny, the new stall converter, and the 373 geared rearend that I literally ripped out of a friend's totaled 1973 Camaro (we don't need no stinking emergency brakes!).

BTW - Did any of you guys ever "run the valves" without realizing you could buy splash shields to put over the pushrods where they hit the rockers? Being soaked in hot oil SUCKS!

So come on old(ish) dudes... bring 'em on.

 

[snowborder714]

I've never seen a carburetor in person, nor have I ever ridden in a vehicle which has one. (I feel horrible saying that, by the way. I would love to work on an older car, just don't know anyone that's got one.)

My youth was influenced by Matchbox cars, Power Wheels, and radio controlled cars

 

[TSIAWDTalon]

Other memorable moments include the first time I tried to rebuild a Quadrajet carburetor

My first car was a 77 Cutlass Supreme with a 455 Rocket. It was graced with a "Quadra-junk" carb. Never could rebuild that damn thing, but could put together a Holley 750 Dual Line blindfolded. Weird.

 

[Calan]

My first car was a 77 Cutlass Supreme with a 455 Rocket. It was graced with a "Quadra-junk" carb. Never could rebuild that damn thing, but could put together a Holley 750 Dual Line blindfolded. Weird.

Yep. I actually got quite good at rebuilding Quadrajets after a while, but the accelerator pump linkage on those things was just goofy and frustrating.

It wasn't long before I switched to a Holley 650 double-pumper...but I still rebuilt the QJ's for friends at school occasionally.

 

[94_TSi]

I've never seen a carburetor in person, nor have I ever ridden in a vehicle which has one. (I feel horrible saying that, by the way. I would love to work on an older car, just don't know anyone that's got one.)

My youth was influenced by Matchbox cars, Power Wheels, and radio controlled cars

That is sad.

 

[Carter_95RS]

I'm not an old dude, or even "oldish" at the ripe age of 20, but I know my way around an old v8. I grew up restoring cars and building hot rods. I will say that i'd much rather deal with a quadrajet than attempting to properly adjust the linkage and setup of a tripower carb setup.

 

[BoostedBeater]

Man do i love a nicely tuned quadrajet, they are great carbs when set up properly but it takes time and patience to do so. Great thing about them is that they only came in 750cfm or 850cfm but yet with the small primaries you could easily run them on a small displacement 4cyl, though most likely the secondaries would never even try to open, . Pretty decent gas mileage on those things and they run at some extreme angles, for off road guys they're sometimes known as poor mans fuel injection!

I usually try and always own atleast one vehicle thats back in the pre-fuel injection era just because of the ease of use, diagnoses if anything is wrong and simplistic repair. Older vehicles make great back ups!!

 

[Calan]

I have a dream every now and then that I still have that old car from 30 years ago, and that I have yet another motor sitting on the stand that I'm building for it. Funny how our minds can bring up completely off-the-wall stuff like that from way back in the past when we least expect it.

My Talon can run circles around that old Camaro and any other car I ever had (and just about any other car on the streets at that time), in every way possible. But the hair on my arms still stands up any time I'm next to an old lopy open-pipe V8 that's sucking fuel through a big carb.

 

[crash89]

I've never seen a carburetor in person, nor have I ever ridden in a vehicle which has one. (I feel horrible saying that, by the way. I would love to work on an older car, just don't know anyone that's got one.)

My youth was influenced by Matchbox cars, Power Wheels, and radio controlled cars

I agree that is pretty sad!
Im only 22, but I grew up on old school v8s. My dad and uncle were big into demo derbys and we had one sb 350 that we'd throw in every demo car. Thing was a beast. My dad bought a rolled 89 Chevy short bed and built a motor for it in our house!!

And yes Calan, I too get the shivers everytime I hear a cammed out Chevy BB!!

One night I was ridding around with MrPeepers, back when his talon was close to stock. We came up to a light and there was an alright lookin Crown Vic, Matt was like "hey you hear that? That things got a big ass cam!" When the light turned green, out of nowhere this friggin Crown Vic's ass squatted and I swear the front end came off the ground a couple inches!! We both pretty much came in our pants! haha

 

[Teyrnon]

I hang out with a lot of the muscle car guys around here... There's really nothing like the rough idle of a big cam in an old car. I love my talon, but there is something about a Mopar big block that will always leave me drooling!

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

I rebuilt the 2 barrel Rochester Carburetor on my 1971 Buick Skylark Custom 350 years ago. What stands out to me though is when I first bought my DSM back in 2003. My first car! The timing belt had snapped at 114,xxx miles and wrecked the head (I got it for $250 towed to my house). My Dad and I spent countless hours over that 4 month period in the garage pulling the head, replacing a ton of parts and putting it all back together (my first DSM timing job!).

Before this I had only helped my Dad change oil on the family vehicles and other basic maintenance tasks. Rebuilding that car in the garage is what got me started on my love for cars (specifically DSMs) and taught me the basics. I still remember sitting in the car, up on jack stands, shifting through the gears and imagining that I was driving it on the road (I didn't yet even know how to drive a stick at the time, that lesson would come after we got it running). Even today when I get in the car after not being in it for a while the aroma reminds me of those days just sitting in the driver's seat in the dark garage (it was three cars deep and the DSM was all the way in the back), imagining it was running. Good times!

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[Dhan]

My dad has always been a car/bike guy. He put himself through college flipping British Spitfires, Triumphs, MGs, etc. Growing up, I helped my dad maintain the families' DDs.

When I left home at 18, my first real job was at this luxury resort as a valet. On my first day, this black 911 turbo growls into the enclosed driveway. My supervisor writes the driver a valet ticket and the guy goes inside. My boss looks at me and asks "Wanna go for a ride?"

My boss tore through the garage in that poor guy's Porsche. But in that moment, I finally understood why people were obsessed with cars. From then on, I was hooked. I learned everything I could about cars, how they were built, what went into the design, the different brands and their histories, etc.

With my new found interest, I got a hold of my dad and he started teaching me more (usually over the phone). I rebuilt my mom's '90 Mazda and several Toyota MR2s (1st and 2nd gen) with my dad's help. Finally, when I had the money, I moved to Denver and began a degree in automotive technology.

I had always wanted an Evo or STI, but they've always been too expensive. Then I learned about DSMs, they're similar potential in terms of AWD turbo power, and their cheaper price tag. It was a no-brainer for me.

 

[Gs Dewd]

Well my contribution would be that my first car was a 79' dodge Aspen (looked like a Nova). It has the unbreakable slant six. I seriously tried to blow it up but failed miserably. So I yanked it along with it's 6 cyl only 904 trans to make room for a breathed on 360 and 904 v-8 trans. Also a note here with early chrysler cars, the engine frame mounts are welded to the frame so you have to replace the k-frame when going from a s-6 to a sm blk v-8. The engine I used was a e-58 360 with w-2 heads and a 292 purple cam. I used a mopar single plane intake and a holley 750 carb. The trans was treated to a rebuild and a shift kit. I used a 2800 stall converter and 4.10 gears in the 8 1/4 rear with a mopar posi unit. The car would pull easy 12's in the quarter. When I got the car it was Silver. I painted maroon then a guy with a trans am hit me in the rear. I repaired the damage and painted some custom stripes to cover the repair area. That is one car I wish I had never sold. Now move on to current times. I have a 84' Monte Carlo SS as my v-8 play toy. It still has it's 305 and computer controlled q-jet carb. I think over next winter I will be building a stroker small block for it.

Heres a pic of the car

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Snowboarder, you haven't missed out on anything by not toying with carbs. And driving them is not like some life altering experince. Just be glad you don't have to pump the gas pedal to start your car and keep it running when cold. You also don't have the smell of raw gas out the pipes because of the incomplete burn cycle. And the kicking down of the choke when it refuses to do it on it's own. And the changing of plugs every 30 to 40k miles. With the advent of computers in the cars it did help some of the issues with carbs but fuel injection is better for dd cars.

 

[Ravewolf]

the hair on my arms still stands up any time I'm next to an old lopy open-pipe V8 that's sucking fuel through a big carb.

Amen brother, amen.

Had an '83 C10 shorty that had a bb396 in it, and the compound 4spd. Had to rebuild the carb on it a few times (crap in the gas tank plus too lazy to clean it out). Had an old Edelbrock 850 on it.

4:10'a+super low 1st+ monster torque= lots of smoke . I used to scare people because it had headers, and some "refurbished" glasspacks on it. No one could hear their car when I got on it. I miss it.....

 

[DirtyDave21]

I'm currently in the process of fixin up a '92 camaro with my dad. we've got dreams of a 454 with a blower sticking out the hoodXD

 

[Lofty]

I've worked on a lot of stuff, and carb'd rotaries are the WORST.
V8's are simply fun (excluding my 540i's v8....)
There's not much you can screw up when working on a v8.

Carb'd rotaries still hang on the top of my worst list. 3000gt vr4s are easy, contrary to common belief.
Oh, and v6 probes, god there's nothing worse than working on a car named "probe", a ford, and a cramped engine with shitty body styling.

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This was a fun setup me and a friend made for his Transmarobird.

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Talon was still quicker, even with his 305 pouring purple smoke out, he drove it with this setup we put together in a weekend for about 4 months until he sold it.

Made 300 something horsepower with 300 something tq. Dyno'd to prove it.

"IS THAT DIESEL OIL? GOOD, POUR IT IN!"

 

[rlacasse1]

I've never seen a carburetor in person, nor have I ever ridden in a vehicle which has one. (I feel horrible saying that, by the way. I would love to work on an older car, just don't know anyone that's got one.)

My youth was influenced by Matchbox cars, Power Wheels, and radio controlled cars

I remember when I use to have to get out of my car when it flooded, pop the hood, take off the breather cover, and hold the choke plates open with a pencil, then go crank the car to start it.

 

[LKWTSI]

Oh the joys of carb's

I grew up in the UK and hadn't worked on anything with an ECU or injectors until I came to the US, 20 years ago. One of my favorites was on my old rally car working on side draft carb's...4 of them, inline!

Certainly do miss the smoothness of them and the gorgeous noise they made at WOT.

 

[Talipse96]

I've got a 66' Chevy Impala convertable that I'm restoring. It has the original 283 engine, transmission and the original rochester carb. all re-built.

Also in the works is a 68 Camaro. I don't have many plans for it yet. It's an auto and I plan to keep it that way. Maybe drop a L76 from the G8 into it. Haven't decided yet.

 

[brownfinger]

There were no cell phones or internet of course. If you really wanted to learn about cars, you either went to the library (remember those?), hung out with the "old guys", or learned the hard way.

What about magazines? Remember those? I had a crazy old guy who fixed VWs to support his wife's dirt-track racing, and a subscription to Hot VWs magazine. That old man would let you borrow any tool you wanted, or let you use his shop, provided you sat and let him rant about politics, etc.. for a minimum of 2 hours.

I still have my 66 Beetle that I got for $200 in 1993. Really it's just a rusty shell and a bunch of boxes full of parts. And it's full of a few DSM parts, too. It needs a lot of rust repair. It'll get done some day, but for now I can go get a rust free, running, 1G DSM (at least one) for less than the cost of a decent paint job on the Beetle.

I remember when my old guru taught me how to adjust the valves without feeler gauges. You use your ears. I could hear the difference between .005" and .006"! That guy passed away a few years back. RIP. There's hardly a day that goes by without me thinking of or using some bit of knowledge that he taught me.

I still have a cabinet full of solex carbs, tons of jets, distributors, carb synchrometers, and so on.

There's a great link between the VW and my GST DD: The smell of burning oil, a rich mix, and un-catalyzed exhaust! I think that same smell gives stiffies to Harley dudes, as well.

 

[gorf]

Back in the college days, I had a friend that worked his way through college as a night guard. He guarded a warehouse that was no longer used and housed the bosses old cars. There were two brushed aluminum Cadillac with only about 10 miles on either one. Bunch of other cars cars can't remember them all about 20 total.

There was also a running 1959 corvette. We took this out for a ride couple of times, sure glad we never got pulled over or in an accident. Now that is a car!!! The response you get from other car guys is outrageous.

 

[Bud92gsx]

I've never seen a carburetor in person, nor have I ever ridden in a vehicle which has one. (I feel horrible saying that, by the way. I would love to work on an older car, just don't know anyone that's got one.)

My youth was influenced by Matchbox cars, Power Wheels, and radio controlled cars

Me too man..Ok so I have kinda rode in a carbed vehicle..I got to move my dads el camino around the block, when I had to move it, to keep from getting a ticket..It wasn't anything special..

 

[Calan]

I got to move my dads el camino around the block, when I had to move it, to keep from getting a ticket..It wasn't anything special..

When it comes to carbs and carbed motors... there is very fine line between a complete piece of crap, and a beautiful wood-generating, ground-pounding work of art.

 

[Bud92gsx]

When it comes to carbs and carbed motors... there is very fine line between a complete piece of crap, and a beautiful wood-generating, ground-pounding work of art.

I forgot to mention, it's an all origanal 55k mile SS el camino..Ohh and he's the 2nd owner, with the window sticker and build page..So it's not a peice of crap, its just stock..The only thing that modded is the rebuilt carb..I've tried to talk him into letting me put a big ass carb on there or swap over to fuel injection..But like most old guys they want to keep it origanal..It needs a little body work and to be repainted with the SS black n gold scheme, but over time it will eventually come..SO I guees it's not all origanal,besides the dumbass who changed the paint..

 

[Below Ambient]

does anyone remember these?

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Yeah I tried to throw thermoquads on everything... holleys were awesome but the secondaries on a thermoquad were another....