Idiosyncratic features to be savoured
Discussion
mac96 said:
Going even further back to earlier Saabs...
Who needs engine braking when you can have a freewheel in the transmission...
Dipstick on the oil filler cap on my 99. I also thought the dashboard blank button was funky.Who needs engine braking when you can have a freewheel in the transmission...
My E21 and E30 BMW bonnets opened that way, but I also like the Volvo bonnets and Merc 190 bonnets which allow you to open them the regular way, but you can raise them to be completely vertical. Not only does it give more access, it also stops you taking the top of your head off on the front grill when working on the engine.
My old Merc 280SE has holes above and below the suspension which allows a specific type of spring compressor tool to drop into the spring and allows you to use a ratchet on it.
(edit - only just seen the post above - those bonnets! )
Merc 190 also had one small, one large mirror.
Tango13 said:
HTP99 said:
bearman68 said:
cuprabob said:
Renault Clio MK2 bonnet opened that way too...
Mk1 did, Mk2 is conventionalOriginal Kangoo did too, and the tool kit for the spare was under the bonnet too, which was odd.
HTP99 said:
PixelpeepS3 said:
One of the VW Transporter variants has odd door mirrors; one being portrait and the other landscape.Drummond Baize said:
Handy if you ever drive on Tatooine.
Is that the only planet where the roads have bends in them?My parents' Mk1 Sprite.
No opening boot. Stuff your shopping between your seat backs.
Then if you're both in the car, sit your five year old son (that'll be me then) there to stop it flying forward.
Ah, the seventies. How did we ever survive?
Another Alfasud oddity: two bonnet release systems. Because Alfasuds had two bulkheads in the engine bay: the regular one that separated engine bay from passenger cabin and a supplementary bulkhead about a foot further forward that separated the engine from the battery, heater and brake servo and the catch was mounted on the
Is extra bulkhead. If the cable breaks you would be unable to reach the catch with tools from outside to open it. The Alfa solution was a second link: a piece of nylon line terminated in the glovebox with a ring to put your finger in. This was your get out of jail card to regain access to the engine bay to fix the cable.
Is extra bulkhead. If the cable breaks you would be unable to reach the catch with tools from outside to open it. The Alfa solution was a second link: a piece of nylon line terminated in the glovebox with a ring to put your finger in. This was your get out of jail card to regain access to the engine bay to fix the cable.
series one 80 inch had only a wiper on the drivers side, passemngers was an option, always caused an argument at mot time! same car had the fuel filler under the drivers seat, so pull up, get out, remove the seat squab, then open the seat box lid, if the forecourt had any sort of nose down gradient it would come crashing back down to trap your hands. same car also had no external door handles, you put your hand in through a canvas flap on the door tops and reach down to release the door latch. Current car, mgf, has the release for the front bonnet in the boot, as well as removable panel behind the seats to access the engine compartment for service etc. have come across many others in my years in the classic car trade, but these are the ones that spring to mind.
TooMany2cvs said:
The US had a thing for automatic belts for a while in the 80s.
Rather than make it a legal requirement to WEAR belts - hell, no, that'd be an assault on freedom, dammit! - they insisted that new cars waved the belt at you.
http://jalopnik.com/5835426/this-is-why-we-dont-mi...
A chain smoking colleague of mine hired a car with that feature when in the US. He would always light a cigarette when he got in a car and in that one the belt would knock it out of his hand - every time!Rather than make it a legal requirement to WEAR belts - hell, no, that'd be an assault on freedom, dammit! - they insisted that new cars waved the belt at you.
http://jalopnik.com/5835426/this-is-why-we-dont-mi...
The MGF does not have a wash/wipe mode. You pull the stalk to apply water then operate the wipers yourself. Apparently it's to stop you getting wet with the roof down.
Also on the F - and I assume TF which was in production until something like 2011 - the inside of the glovebox lid has slots to store cassettes. Even in 2001 when my car was new it was an obsolete feature as it came with a CD only stereo.
Also on the F - and I assume TF which was in production until something like 2011 - the inside of the glovebox lid has slots to store cassettes. Even in 2001 when my car was new it was an obsolete feature as it came with a CD only stereo.
liammedler said:
My Rover P4 100 had many oddities that made a hell of a lot of sense:
- ridiculously over-engineered gearshift which could be adjusted for a more comfortable neutral position
- adjustable armrests all round
- suicide rear doors
- mercury switch in the boot. A small capsule of mercury had the electrical contacts at one end so when the boot was shut, the mercury was at the other end of the capsule and when you lift the boot lid the mercury runs down and completes the circuit
- foot operated windscreen washer (and dipswitch, so you end up with 5 pedals in all!)
- "shepherd's crook" handbrake mounted by the sill, allowing 3 to sit in the front in comfort
- windscreen wipers that rest on the bodywork and when you turn the wipers off they have one last "run-up" sweep to get over the windscreen seal
- dashboard mounted toolkit
- some models had freewheel capability
I'm sure there's more but I've recently sold it and can no longer have a quick look!
If you've got a spare few minutes, these British Pathe videos are worth a watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N79kzwNfUIk
I've just bought a Volvo 850 T5 and the rear armrest folds out into a child's booster seat. Genius from the Swedes as always. It also has a latch on the bonnet so it goes near vertical to allow for access and better visibility of all under bonnet components
The P4, P5 and P6 were all fantastically engineered cars and the very best of British motor engineering - I don't think we ever bettered them in mass produced terms - ridiculously over-engineered gearshift which could be adjusted for a more comfortable neutral position
- adjustable armrests all round
- suicide rear doors
- mercury switch in the boot. A small capsule of mercury had the electrical contacts at one end so when the boot was shut, the mercury was at the other end of the capsule and when you lift the boot lid the mercury runs down and completes the circuit
- foot operated windscreen washer (and dipswitch, so you end up with 5 pedals in all!)
- "shepherd's crook" handbrake mounted by the sill, allowing 3 to sit in the front in comfort
- windscreen wipers that rest on the bodywork and when you turn the wipers off they have one last "run-up" sweep to get over the windscreen seal
- dashboard mounted toolkit
- some models had freewheel capability
I'm sure there's more but I've recently sold it and can no longer have a quick look!
If you've got a spare few minutes, these British Pathe videos are worth a watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N79kzwNfUIk
I've just bought a Volvo 850 T5 and the rear armrest folds out into a child's booster seat. Genius from the Swedes as always. It also has a latch on the bonnet so it goes near vertical to allow for access and better visibility of all under bonnet components
Edited by liammedler on Monday 27th March 20:53
The 850 bonnet is not only a lovely piece of engineering in terms of its access setting - it's the way they open so beautifully without the need of gas struts - the balance of it is simply perfect
morgrp said:
liammedler said:
My Rover P4 100 had many oddities that made a hell of a lot of sense:
- ridiculously over-engineered gearshift which could be adjusted for a more comfortable neutral position
- adjustable armrests all round
- suicide rear doors
- mercury switch in the boot. A small capsule of mercury had the electrical contacts at one end so when the boot was shut, the mercury was at the other end of the capsule and when you lift the boot lid the mercury runs down and completes the circuit
- foot operated windscreen washer (and dipswitch, so you end up with 5 pedals in all!)
- "shepherd's crook" handbrake mounted by the sill, allowing 3 to sit in the front in comfort
- windscreen wipers that rest on the bodywork and when you turn the wipers off they have one last "run-up" sweep to get over the windscreen seal
- dashboard mounted toolkit
- some models had freewheel capability
I'm sure there's more but I've recently sold it and can no longer have a quick look!
If you've got a spare few minutes, these British Pathe videos are worth a watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N79kzwNfUIk
I've just bought a Volvo 850 T5 and the rear armrest folds out into a child's booster seat. Genius from the Swedes as always. It also has a latch on the bonnet so it goes near vertical to allow for access and better visibility of all under bonnet components
The P4, P5 and P6 were all fantastically engineered cars and the very best of British motor engineering - I don't think we ever bettered them in mass produced terms - ridiculously over-engineered gearshift which could be adjusted for a more comfortable neutral position
- adjustable armrests all round
- suicide rear doors
- mercury switch in the boot. A small capsule of mercury had the electrical contacts at one end so when the boot was shut, the mercury was at the other end of the capsule and when you lift the boot lid the mercury runs down and completes the circuit
- foot operated windscreen washer (and dipswitch, so you end up with 5 pedals in all!)
- "shepherd's crook" handbrake mounted by the sill, allowing 3 to sit in the front in comfort
- windscreen wipers that rest on the bodywork and when you turn the wipers off they have one last "run-up" sweep to get over the windscreen seal
- dashboard mounted toolkit
- some models had freewheel capability
I'm sure there's more but I've recently sold it and can no longer have a quick look!
If you've got a spare few minutes, these British Pathe videos are worth a watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N79kzwNfUIk
I've just bought a Volvo 850 T5 and the rear armrest folds out into a child's booster seat. Genius from the Swedes as always. It also has a latch on the bonnet so it goes near vertical to allow for access and better visibility of all under bonnet components
Edited by liammedler on Monday 27th March 20:53
The 850 bonnet is not only a lovely piece of engineering in terms of its access setting - it's the way they open so beautifully without the need of gas struts - the balance of it is simply perfect
wildcat45 said:
The MGF does not have a wash/wipe mode. You pull the stalk to apply water then operate the wipers yourself. Apparently it's to stop you getting wet with the roof down.
Also on the F - and I assume TF which was in production until something like 2011 - the inside of the glovebox lid has slots to store cassettes. Even in 2001 when my car was new it was an obsolete feature as it came with a CD only stereo.
I seem to recal that might of been for a flair, left on from the LHD models, but could be wrong.Also on the F - and I assume TF which was in production until something like 2011 - the inside of the glovebox lid has slots to store cassettes. Even in 2001 when my car was new it was an obsolete feature as it came with a CD only stereo.
How about the fact you had too fill it up with an inverted fuel nozzle and partially squeeze the handle otherwise it would just keep tripping out, felt embarrassed so many times as the pump would time out hahah
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