Idiosyncratic features to be savoured

Idiosyncratic features to be savoured

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Discussion

chris333

1,034 posts

238 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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From the days when Mercedes truly thought of everything. The R129 SL bonnet can be raised completely vertical to minimise the risk of banging one's head.



Digby

8,230 posts

245 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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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.

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! biggrin )

Merc 190 also had one small, one large mirror.

Drummond Baize

200 posts

94 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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JMF894 said:
...and two sun visors per side so I can shade myself from the side and front simultaneously.
Handy if you ever drive on Tatooine.

Keycuk

24 posts

85 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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Tango13 said:
HTP99 said:
bearman68 said:
cuprabob said:
Renault Clio MK2 bonnet opened that way too...
Mk1 did, Mk2 is conventional
E30 3 Series bonnet opens like that aswell, Not sure on other similar era BMW's.

Original Kangoo did too, and the tool kit for the spare was under the bonnet too, which was odd.
The e34 5 series and e24 6 series were hinged at the front too.
And the E32 7 series

Keycuk

24 posts

85 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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HTP99 said:
PixelpeepS3 said:
Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah said:


None matching mirrors on the W124. The passenger one also being convex. Very simple, yet very effective.
non. NON NON

thank you.
One of the VW Transporter variants has odd door mirrors; one being portrait and the other landscape.
First of the t5 after the facelift they made them both the same

talksthetorque

10,815 posts

134 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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Drummond Baize said:
Handy if you ever drive on Tatooine.
Is that the only planet where the roads have bends in them?
smile

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?

66mpg

648 posts

106 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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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.

steve51800

125 posts

98 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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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.

Simes205

4,528 posts

227 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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Speed sensitive wipers on a 1958 Citroen 2CV.

The mechanical drive is taken from the gearbox....no wipers at idle!

Drummond Baize

200 posts

94 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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talksthetorque said:
Ah, the seventies. How did we ever survive?
Talking of the '70s, my Mum briefly had a Fiat 500. If I remember rightly, the windscreen washer jets were powered by air from the spare wheel under the bonnet.

JMF894

5,478 posts

154 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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Drummond Baize said:
JMF894 said:
...and two sun visors per side so I can shade myself from the side and front simultaneously.
Handy if you ever drive on Tatooine.
Or if you drive in a place that doesn't consist of purely Roman roads.........................

Otispunkmeyer

12,558 posts

154 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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Lance Catamaran said:
Pop up headlights
I came across an old Mazda 323F the other day, the one with the pop up lights. Hadn't seen one of those in years!

Icehanger

394 posts

221 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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Talking of Citroens, BX and that lovely suspension, zero body roll, and stick it in park for that slammed look.
Anyone who's owned one would of tried driving with it like that once.....

Digby

8,230 posts

245 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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Drummond Baize said:
Talking of the '70s, my Mum briefly had a Fiat 500. If I remember rightly, the windscreen washer jets were powered by air from the spare wheel under the bonnet.
Original Beetle did too iirc. I seem to remember a friend saying his Dub camper did, also.

Jex

837 posts

127 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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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!

Mound Dawg

1,915 posts

173 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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Trabi601 said:
Jex said:
Was this the Alfa in which you couldn't eject the cassette if it was in 5th?
Yes.
Indeed it is, right in front of the the gearstick. It's even worse trying to get CDs out although as in car CD players didn't exist then you can hardly blame Alfa for that.



wildcat45

8,056 posts

188 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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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.

morgrp

4,128 posts

197 months

Monday 27th March 2017
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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

Edited by liammedler on Monday 27th March 20:53
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

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

Simes205

4,528 posts

227 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
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

Edited by liammedler on Monday 27th March 20:53
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

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
Peugeot 205 bonnet goes right up vertical, once you remove the brace. There are even holes in the hinges to fit a locking piece so it does t come down on you!

Icehanger

394 posts

221 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
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.

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