Vintage Car Thread - Discussion and Parts Requests

[LizzieMaine]

My grandmother's Ford had one of those tops -- and she was very very un-hippielike. Although one time she did eat tofu.

The Plodge is again back on the road -- they backed off the piston in the master cylinder and the brakes seem to be working normally now. I had it out for about twenty miles yesterday and nothing froze up. We have a parade this coming Saturday in which I'll be driving, festooned with signs for the theatre and carrying a load of squealing concession kids, and am hoping for a problem-free event.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

So far, I've had two vinyl-topped models.

My current daily car:

I really liked the one on my old '79 Electra, too:

 

[jamespowers]

Man, James, you really do have a Hippie infestation, if they are even in your vinyl top now! Better get the exterminator out pronto.

Yep, the 70s were full of hippies right down to the ugly vinyl half tops. I keep catching them and sending them to Wisconsin. :laser: :hippie:

 

[jamespowers]

I always associated vinyl half-tops (Opera windows too - they're often found together) with the Disco era, since it/they were a mid-70s/early-80s styling affectation.

And thus the name hippie top. I have gotten used to the full tonneau top but the half hippie top definitely has to go! Too dated.

 

[jamespowers]

So far, I've had two vinyl-topped models.

My current daily car:

I really liked the one on my old '79 Electra, too:

I always wonder why they kept doing the full hippie top on the broughams after 92. They just look weirdly positioned on the 1993-1996 models. The top starts over 2 inches too high on the back and doesn't end down the door posts like the previous models. The Electra is a good example of how it should look. The full one on my 86 Brougham is starting to wear. If it cracks---it is gone.

 

[jamespowers]

Eh, well assuming you're not being jokey, that's highly debatable. No question Woodstock was the hippie high point, but then the Rolling Stones' Altamont speedway disaster and old Charlie Manson and his crew drove the movement into disrepute.

The final nail was that murderous one-sided shootout at Kent State. After that, no more counter-culture. They stopped protesting, cut their hair, got jobs and went corporate.

Obviously you have never been around here. The hippies never left here. They are still here. You can go over the bay to The Largest Outdoor Insane Asylum and see them on the street begging right this minute. Time may have past for the rest of the country but not here. Remember Jim Jones? Well he was around until 1978---well past those incidents you mentioned. Even Liz Taylor's crazy hippie brother tried to open a commune in Hawaii. You know not the epicenter of loonyness that you speak of. lol lol lol

 

[Big Man]

... The Plodge is again back on the road ...

Good to hear.

 

[jamespowers]

We have a parade this coming Saturday in which I'll be driving, festooned with signs for the theatre and carrying a load of squealing concession kids, and am hoping for a problem-free event.

It should be good for that now that everything is fixed. :eusa_clap I hope the theatre is providing some kind of renumeration for having squealing kids in your car. Lots of renumeration....:eeek:

 

[Big Man]

... Lots of renumeration....:eeek:

Or a nice stiff drink afterwards to calm your nerves.

 

[jamespowers]

Or a nice stiff drink afterwards to calm your nerves.

Ah yes, spoken like two people who have had children in their cars.

 

[Big Man]

Ah yes, spoken like two people who have had children in their cars.

Tell me about it. When I load up my grandchildren (12, 9, and 3) in the back of my '48 Plymouth, it's a constant "move away from the doors" kind of ride. We always hade a great time, but it can wear on you a bit.

 

[jamespowers]

Tell me about it. When I load up my grandchildren (12, 9, and 3) in the back of my '48 Plymouth, it's a constant "move away from the doors" kind of ride. We always hade a great time, but it can wear on you a bit.

The doors without locks are interesting that is for sure. Fortunately most of my older cars are coupes. Get in back and stay in back. Mine are 7 and 5.

 

[Big Man]

The doors without locks are interesting that is for sure ...

When I was a kid I never had to be told "stay away from the doors." Well, I might have been told once, but that was all it took.

 

[jamespowers]

When I was a kid I never had to be told "stay away from the doors." Well, I might have been told once, but that was all it took.

Then there was the first time one flew open. I worry about that in my 57 GMC when the boys are with me. Don't lean on the door!

 

[Big Man]

Then there was the first time one flew open ...

My father-in-law (now 89 years old) tells a story on himself about falling out of his dad's car. It must have been around 1932 or so. They lived at Plumtree, NC (in the NC mountains) and were riding on one of the typical mountain roads of the day. The car went around a sharp curve and my father-in-law fell out. He said he remembers it well, because he was eating a banana at the time and had on a leather aviators hat. He said he hit the ground and rolled a couple times, but never dropped the banana. The way he tells the story, especially the details of the banana and the aviators hat, you have no trouble visualizing the scene.

 

[jamespowers]

My father-in-law (now 89 years old) tells a story on himself about falling out of his dad's car. It must have been around 1932 or so. They lived at Plumtree, NC (in the NC mountains) and were riding on one of the typical mountain roads of the day. The car went around a sharp curve and my father-in-law fell out. He said he remembers it well, because he was eating a banana at the time and had on a leather aviators hat. He said he hit the ground and rolled a couple times, but never dropped the banana. The way he tells the story, especially the details of the banana and the aviators hat, you have no trouble visualizing the scene.

Like something out of the Marx Brothers. "Hey Harpo! Do that again!" lol lol

 

[Gregg Axley]

The doors without locks are interesting that is for sure. Fortunately most of my older cars are coupes. Get in back and stay in back. Mine are 7 and 5.

Mine are suicide doors on a coupe.
The locks are manual, and they lock into the cowl.
So far I've tested it up to 73mph and the doors didn't come open, I give that a good rating.
Of course the car tends to wander a bit at that speed, and I can't even imagine doing it when the car was new (1929) on those skinny tires and wooden spoke rims! :eeek:
Which is why I "street-rodded" it.

 

[jamespowers]

Mine are suicide doors on a coupe.
The locks are manual, and they lock into the cowl.
So far I've tested it up to 73mph and the doors didn't come open, I give that a good rating.
Of course the car tends to wander a bit at that speed, and I can't even imagine doing it when the car was new (1929) on those skinny tires and wooden spoke rims! :eeek:
Which is why I "street-rodded" it.

I am surprised the fenders didn't fall off. lol lol

 

[AtomicEraTom]

We put a new choke cable in the Dart today, painted the wheels, and took the silly decals off.

Also adjusted out the carb and adjusted the electric choke on the Roadrunner.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

They were great for the winter!

Is that car wearing truck tires?

I think the tops should have been done differently, but they were the last to come with a factory vinyl top. The '96 Fleetwood Brougham was sort of the end of an era in a lot of ways. It was the end of GM's body-on-frame, RWD, V8 sedan. It was the end of all metal (chrome) bumpers, vinyl tops, and of the big car. These were the biggest Cadillacs GM had offered since the seventies.

I always wonder why they kept doing the full hippie top on the broughams after 92. They just look weirdly positioned on the 1993-1996 models. The top starts over 2 inches too high on the back and doesn't end down the door posts like the previous models. The Electra is a good example of how it should look. The full one on my 86 Brougham is starting to wear. If it cracks---it is gone.