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Food for Thought, Car Timelines

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Electric overdrive. Push button auto trans. Carburetors. Distributers and contact points. Crankshaft mounted mechanical fans. Window sill mechanical door locks. Steering wheel mounted horn push rings.
 
And anyone under 40 probably never saw one of these:

1HZtlLM9ko4.jpg


And certainly not one of these!

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Ah, heat and air. Another thing you don't see anymore are the under the dash tissue boxes.
 
Has anybody mentioned windshield wipers that worked of manifold vacuum, never could figure out how that one made sense? They did have reliable electric motors by then. Maybe not enough amps to run lights, defrost and wiper motor at the same time with old generators?
 
waltesefalcon said:
Ah, heat and air. Another thing you don't see anymore are the under the dash tissue boxes.
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Walter, I have two of those, one from an Olds and one from a Buick. Mount under the dash and swing out to use. No pics, there in a box somewhere. :highly_amused:
 
1949 Nash Ambassador. Note the real "pull out storage drawer" under dash:

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The old fashioned glove box was so ... 1948.
PS - note the "uni-panel" instrument cluster on the column. Now *that* was modern!
 
glemon said:
Has anybody mentioned windshield wipers that worked of manifold vacuum, never could figure out how that one made sense? They did have reliable electric motors by then. Maybe not enough amps to run lights, defrost and wiper motor at the same time with old generators?
Click to expand...

I'd forgotten about them. They'd slow to a crawl when you drove uphill, then go crazy on the downhill. Maybe it was cost that kept them in use? Some Model A Fords had electric wipers as early as 1928 and they worked pretty well, even on the marginal 6 volt system they used.
 
My 52 International has vacuum wipers, and they are the pits. When I drove it as my daily driver I invested heavily in Rain-x.
 
Restored a '50 Packard a few years ago. Always thought they were great cars. Anyway, it had a mechanical fuel pump that was about the size of a football and was a bear to rebuild. Reason was it had two diaphrams, one a fuel pump and the other a vacuum pump to help run the wipers when engine vacuum was low. Cam follower pushed on while pulling the other. Here they are. The pump is sitting on a full size newspaper.
 

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1950 would be a 23rd series Packard wouldn't it? I love those old Packard straight eights.
 
23rd sounds right but as much as I have always admired Packards, I have to confess I am no expert. You're right about that cast iron lump too. It may be the smoothest and quietest I have ever been around. Only real problem I had with it was vapor locking. I did have the advice of a local expert who said all along that it would need an electric pusher pump. After attempts at shielding and such, I finally had to agree to add an optional one used only to overcome any vapor lock.
 
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