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VK6BE > CARS 17.06.08 05:33l 46 Lines 2412 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 662306VK6BE
Read: GUEST
Subj: Were we talking about cars?
Path: DB0FHN<DB0MRW<OK0PKL<OK0PCC<OM0PBC<OK0PPL<DB0RES<DK0WUE<I0TVL<HG8LXL<
XE1FH<VK2DOT<VK2TV
Sent: 080617/0328Z @:VK2TV.#MNC.NSW.AUS.OC #:39604 [Kempsey, QF68JX] $:662306VK
From: VK6BE@VK2TV.#MNC.NSW.AUS.OC
To : CARS@WW
No? Oh well I am gonna talk about them anyway. Settle down folks and
listen.
My father had a motor car in 1926. It was a fairly old T model Ford.
Starting this contraption was something of an interesting process. First
you turned the ignition key one way. The vibrator HI Voltage (22 000V)
supply in a box under the dash then buzzed as high tension was produced to
allow for the starting of the engine.
Then you made sure you didn't get a broken wrist by retarding the spark by
pushing the spark control on the left hand side of the steering wheel up
to zero position. There was no starter motor so you then went round to
the front of the vehicle and grabbed the crank handle which was a
permanent protrusion from the front under the radiator. The choke wire
stuck out through the radiator and you pulled this to enrich the mixture.
You then gave the crank handle a few smart pulls until the engine fired.
Next You leant against the car to stop it creeping forward while you
gathered your resources to make a quick return to the driving seat. When
you arrived there you switched over the ignition key to "magneto" and the
buzzer stopped. A magneto took over. You then advanced the spark lever a
little, opened the hand throttle on the right hand side of the steering
wheel (no, no foot accelerator, just a hand control), jiggled the
handbrake and pressed the first gear pedal and away you went! Hey! Careful
going round corners! The steering is VERY direct and you could easily turn
the whole shebang over! Quite embarrassing!
If you want to reverse rather than go forward you press pedal number 2
which engaged reverse. This was the first automatic gear box with a
planetary drive system.Pedal No. 3 was the foot brake.The horn was a treat
to hear ("WAAH..ROONGA!!). How did it know OZ geography?
In 1929 my Dad got up to date with a Ford Model A. This was much more up
to date with an accelerator pedal and a self starter. The fuel system was
gravity fed so there was no problem with fuel pumps or any such gadgets.
The latest cars of course have all sort of fancy selling points including
electric windows and rear view TVs. Some of my worst memories of the old A
model was driving on a winter night with temperatures down at frost level
and arriving at the destination frozen to the marrow. No heaters, no AC,
just the open air.
Cheers,
Bob VK6BE.
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