Thread: Political correctness gone mad

Originally Posted by p38arover

Mine was a 1938 14hp Model J 6-cylinder. Drove it from Calamvale (Brissie) to St Marys (Sydney) unregistered and without a licence in 1964 (I was 16). Used 5 gallons of oil. When Dad and I rebuilt the engine, we had the pistons expanded and fitted Cords oil control rings. That fixed the oil burning problem.

A friend of mine had a similar one, a bit earlier model I think. It has GM's "knee action" front suspension that had to be seen to be believed, and brakes operated by bowden cables that were some of the most exciting I have ever driven - never worked on more than two wheels and you never knew which two would work when you pushed the pedal.

It was replaced by a '34 Ford V8 that was quite good to drive as long as you did not need to stop in a hurry.

If you want to see some real Political Incorrectness watch a bloke called Jimmy Carr. (Spelling?)
Man, he pushes the boundaries. I won't repeat any of his "Jokes" here.
Jonesfam

Originally Posted by jonesfam

If you want to see some real Political Incorrectness watch a bloke called Jimmy Carr. (Spelling?)
Man, he pushes the boundaries. I won't repeat any of his "Jokes" here.
Jonesfam

I guess he has access to a Legal Team that can get him off the hook if it all goes tits up.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

A friend of mine had a similar one, a bit earlier model I think. It has GM's "knee action" front suspension that had to be seen to be believed, and brakes operated by bowden cables that were some of the most exciting I have ever driven - never worked on more than two wheels and you never knew which two would work when you pushed the pedal.



It was replaced by a '34 Ford V8 that was quite good to drive as long as you did not need to stop in a hurry.

Speaking of Bowden cables, my old '24 FIAT 501 had those on the rear only & were on the vehicle when I got it. On the way to Work one morning at Peak Hour Period, it decided to part company when I hurriedly went for them at one of Adelaide's busiest (for then) intersections with just stop signs.



Of course I couldn't stop, so it was some very hurried gear changes down a few cogs through the Gate Gears to get out of the way. Gear change was on the RH side just inside the Driver's Door with the Handbrake so a tad awkward.

As it happened, my Dad's work had recently purchased from COM Govt. Disposals a new full wing assy from an Aircraft (don't know why they needed it as they were a Transport Company but it did have lots of toggle fastenings) etc & fortunately it still had the Stainless Steel wire control cables still in place so I was able to grab a couple of those, with clamps, & replaced the " galv. clothesline"type cables on the car. They never failed again. My only regret, me being me, was I could never find out what AC the wing was meant for as it would have been interesting. It still had it's ally green finish primer Zinc Chromate on it so was a new replacement part or one from an assembly line that got switched off at War's end.

Maybe there is an aircraft still flying around without a wing?

Originally Posted by JDNSW

A friend of mine had a similar one, a bit earlier model I think. It has GM's "knee action" front suspension that had to be seen to be believed, and brakes operated by bowden cables that were some of the most exciting I have ever driven - never worked on more than two wheels and you never knew which two would work when you pushed the pedal.

Even though mine was Holden-bodied, it had features not on other cars of the ere, e.g. 12v electrics, hydraulic brakes all round, and front independent suspension.

Dunno if the suspension would be called "knee action" but the damper was built into the suspension. It was a torsion bar system.

vauxhall suspension.jpg

I'd like another, re-engined with a V8 - a British-based hot rod.

Originally Posted by p38arover

Even though mine was Holden-bodied, it had features not on other cars of the ere, e.g. 12v electrics, hydraulic brakes all round, and front independent suspension.

Dunno if the suspension would be called "knee action" but the damper was built into the suspension. It was a torsion bar system.

vauxhall suspension.jpg

I'd like another, re-engined with a V8 - a British-based hot rod.

Thanks for that Ron.


The Bedford Utes & Panel Vans kept the same ideas. We used to deliver & retrieve Domestic Refrigerators on the Ute of which we had two, & it was also great when towing a flat top trailer with Commercial Brine Tank equipment on it, plus a 44 of pumped out Calcium Brine plus 4 bods inc Driver. 12 HP I believe they were "rated" at.

No Trailer Brakes back then or if there were, we never saw them.

Originally Posted by p38arover

I'd like another, re-engined with a V8 - a British-based hot rod.

Engine from a TVR perhaps?

Originally Posted by p38arover

Even though mine was Holden-bodied, it had features not on other cars of the ere, e.g. 12v electrics, hydraulic brakes all round, and front independent suspension.

Dunno if the suspension would be called "knee action" but the damper was built into the suspension. It was a torsion bar system.

vauxhall suspension.jpg

I'd like another, re-engined with a V8 - a British-based hot rod.

Yes, that is the GM knee action suspension. This one, as far as I can remember had coils rather than a torsion bar, with the coils inside the body containing the shocker. The whole body of the unit swivels with the steering, on a kingpin at the end of a front axle bolted to the chassis. There are three problems - the pivot of the knee is very heavily loaded and even very slight wear leads to loss of alignment, the trailing arm tends to twist, and the king pin axis is a long way inside the centreline of the wheel. But probably what saw the end of the system was manufacturing cost.