End of Manual-Transmission Era - Honda Accord

[LizzieMaine]

A one-time regular poster here was of the view that cars made 50 and more years ago were superior to their more recent counterparts in almost every regard. He was adamant in that opinion, and cited old vehicles of his own that had travelled multiples of hundreds of thousands of miles.

I believed him, just as I believe those accounts of old Volvo P1800s with millions of miles on ’em. But for every such example are at least a hundred others in support of your position on the matter. Rings and valves at 50 or 60 thousand miles. Full rebuild at 100 thousand, if you got there. Cars of yore driven in locales where corrosive deicers were applied to the roads rusted out after just a few winters.

The problem with keeping a vintage car is using it AS A CAR. Cars show signs of use. And nothing lasts forever. Very rare is the owner of a restored vintage car who uses it as his everyday ride.

If you're going to own a vintage car, you'd better understand the maintenance involved -- greasing, tune-ups, brake adjustments, all the stuff that's "maintenance free" in a modern car. Either you do all that stuff yourself or you find a local mechanic who knows how to do it and won't bleed you dry. And you'd better stock up on spare parts, because you never know when some random whatsit is going to fail.

And with all of that, you've got to deal with the reality that driving an 85hp car at 40mph is going to annoy the jumped-up doofus in the jacked-up pickup behind you and that he's going to roll coal in your face as soon as he can pass you. That is to say, if he doesn't actually run you off the road and into a ditch first.

I enjoy my '41 a lot. But I enjoy it on its terms, not necessarily mine or anyone else's.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
With most of my older cars I kept a small collection of tools and parts (ignition points, fan and/or generator belts, fuses, a length of wire with an alligator clip on each end, etc.) in the trunk. And often a few square feet of cardboard, to lie on while performing those roadside repairs.
Such was the way with us lower working class kids back then. I wouldn’t have objected to a newer, lower-mileage car, but we got around okay.

 

[EngProf]

If you're going to own a vintage car, you'd better understand the maintenance involved -- greasing, tune-ups, brake adjustments, all the stuff that's "maintenance free" in a modern car. Either you do all that stuff yourself or you find a local mechanic who knows how to do it and won't bleed you dry. And you'd better stock up on spare parts, because you never know when some random whatsit is going to fail.

And with all of that, you've got to deal with the reality that driving an 85hp car at 40mph is going to annoy the jumped-up doofus in the jacked-up pickup behind you and that he's going to roll coal in your face as soon as he can pass you. That is to say, if he doesn't actually run you off the road and into a ditch first.

I enjoy my '41 a lot. But I enjoy it on its terms, not necessarily mine or anyone else's.

That old cliche about Good-News/Bad-News applies directly to vintage cars.
The Good News: You can easily work on them.
The Bad News: You have to work on them.
Since my vintage cars of choice were 50's and 60's muscle cars and hot rods (400+ HP), "keeping up with the Joneses" on the road was never a problem.
However, a secondary problem was that the gas gauge and speedometer were apparently connected by some sort of gear mechanism. As the speedometer needle went to the right the gas gauge needle moved to the left. (You could see it happening!)

 

[belfastboy]

^^^^^
With most of my older cars I kept a small collection of tools and parts (ignition points, fan and/or generator belts, fuses, a length of wire with an alligator clip on each end, etc.) in the trunk. And often a few square feet of cardboard, to lie on while performing those roadside repairs.
Such was the way with us lower working class kids back then. I wouldn’t have objected to a newer, lower-mileage car, but we got around okay.

Yep, never went anywhere without my tool box and a few spare parts in the trunk of all my old cars. Stopped when I bought my first new car in 1974....far too complex to work on pulled over on the side of the road.

 

[belfastboy]

That old cliche about Good-News/Bad-News applies directly to vintage cars.
The Good News: You can easily work on them.
The Bad News: You have to work on them.
Since my vintage cars of choice were 50's and 60's muscle cars and hot rods (400+ HP), "keeping up with the Joneses" on the road was never a problem.
However, a secondary problem was that the gas gauge and speedometer were apparently connected by some sort of gear mechanism. As the speedometer needle went to the right the gas gauge needle moved to the left. (You could see it happening!)

My vintage rides were most often VW's without gas gauges and I got about 45 miles to the gallon so it didn't matter much.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^
My ’56 Beetle had a little lever down by the footwell that you had to flip to access the “reserve” fuel when things got to sputtering.

 

[EngProf]

My vintage rides were most often VW's without gas gauges and I got about 45 miles to the gallon so it didn't matter much.

The only thing that saved the day was that really good high-octane gas was only 29.9 cents/gal.
I feel like a real outlier with my big vintage V-8's - it seems that a lot of people here in FL Land had VW's.

 

[tonyb]

...
However, a secondary problem was that the gas gauge and speedometer were apparently connected by some sort of gear mechanism. As the speedometer needle went to the right the gas gauge needle moved to the left. (You could see it happening!)

I had a couple of BIG Fords — a ’73 LTD with a 460 and an E350 van (can’t recall the model year, early ’80s, I think) that positively gulped gasoline — like 11 or 12 mpg.

 

[belfastboy]

The only thing that saved the day was that really good high-octane gas was only 29.9 cents/gal.
I feel like a real outlier with my big vintage V-8's - it seems that a lot of people here in FL Land had VW's.

After university I was so tired of books/essays and lectures I decided to become an auto mechanic. Found a gas station owner that was willing to train me as long as I pumped the gas. When it was quiet I worked in the shop with him. I remember paying .25 for an Imperial gallon but I guess at $1.25 an hour it still cost a lot of my time to earn it.

 

[Zombie_61]

...However, a secondary problem was that the gas gauge and speedometer were apparently connected by some sort of gear mechanism. As the speedometer needle went to the right the gas gauge needle moved to the left. (You could see it happening!)

I had one of those cars back in 1981, a '74 Ford Gran Torino coupe with a 351 Cleveland under the hood. The engine had one burned out cylinder, but the car still moved faster than was probably safe. Los Angeles to Las Vegas (about 260 miles) in just under four hours (middle of the night, less traffic) and that gas needle just kept creeping towards the "E" the whole time.

My ’56 Beetle had a little lever down by the footwell that you had to flip to access the “reserve” fuel when things got to sputtering.

My first Beetle, a '61, had one. I even trusted the guy at the VW dealership when he told me it worked. It actually did, but someone had disconnected it from the valve in the bottom of the gas tank. A little time and one cotter pin later, it was back in business.

 

[Trenchfriend]

There's not much nostalgia about the Beetle in Germany, because it's famous as "rust bucket" around the old people.

 

[BladeOfAnduril]

This saddens me. I like driving manual transmission cars. I have a Chevy Cruze Eco right now that's a 6-speed manual. I was keeping the Accord in the back of my mind as an option in case I need to get a larger car down the road. Guess that's out now.

My preference would be to find a Chevy SS sedan (the rebadged Holden Commodore) with a manual transmission but even in used condition they are commanding very close to new retail prices. I have a 1988 Monte Carlo SS that I'm in the process of converting to manual trans. I guess that'll have to do for now.

 

[LizzieMaine]

There's not much nostalgia about the Beetle in Germany, because it's famous as "rust bucket" around the old people.

Mine was certainly that. When I finally traded it in, they tried to haul it away for scrapping, but it broke in half.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
Several years ago I witnessed a court-ordered cleanup of a property you might fairly call a junkyard, located where such uses are clearly not allowed. This was outside of Olympia, Wash., the land of fir trees and ferns and perpetual dampness. Among the vehicles left essentially abandoned on that property for many years before being relegated to the scrapyard was a Porsche 356, or, perhaps more accurately, a wafer-thin rust sculpture in the shape of a Porsche 356. Even at prices Porsche 356’s fetch, there just wasn’t enough of that one left to make it worth the trouble. Swiss cheese.

 

[belfastboy]

Mine was certainly that. When I finally traded it in, they tried to haul it away for scrapping, but it broke in half.

When I lived in Europe I drove an ex Dutch postal service van. I blew a tire in France and took it into a tire shop in Bayonne and when they put it on the lift and start to raise the hoist the body pan started to lift, I could hear it tearing and crunching but the van itself did not move. It was so rusty I am sure it should not have been on the road.....but I got 30,000km out of the old rust bucket.

 

[belfastboy]

^^^^^
Several years ago I witnessed a court-ordered cleanup of a property you might fairly call a junkyard, located where such uses are clearly not allowed. This was outside of Olympia, Wash., the land of fir trees and ferns and perpetual dampness. Among the vehicles left essentially abandoned on that property for many years before being relegated to the scrapyard was a Porsche 356, or, perhaps more accurately, a wafer-thin rust sculpture in the shape of a Porsche 356. Even at prices Porsche 356’s fetch, there just wasn’t enough of that one left to make it worth the trouble. Swiss cheese.

The horror, the absolute horror.

 

[tonyb]

The horror, the absolute horror.

Sent a chill down my spine.

 

[belfastboy]

Sent a chill down my spine.

In the late 60's I wasn't willing to spend the money for the early 60's Porsche so settled on a Karmen Ghia. Regardless I would have sold it long ago and regretted the hell out of selling it......so I saved myself the grief.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^
When I get to regretting that I sold for peanuts decades ago cars that would fetch big money today I pull myself back to the real world, where cars wear out, get in collisions, cost real money to maintain and repair and insure, require a certain amount of real estate to park (which ain’t free, either), etc., etc.

Still, rarely a week goes by that I don’t look into “interesting” cars that might look good on me. It costs nothing to look.

 

[belfastboy]

I need a new vehicle as my current approaches 200K. Thought I had discovered the answer; a Toyota Tacoma pick up truck with a manual trans. But alas reading the reviews .....the manual is terrible. The ratios are all wrong and it is terrible to drive. Back to square one.