splitload Loc: Central Flordia

How do you get from point A to Point B?

Kuzano

My hobby was working on British Cars to restore them...(isn't that better than saying "repair"them)

Re: your electrical issues... please remember that John Lucas manufactured most of the parts for electrical systems for UK cars of all sorts.

Your lights going off at time were because John invented the intermittent wiper switch, which because of unclear instructions from the factory (Lucas) were often installed as headlight switches rather wiper control switches. Hence Intermittent Head (and tail) lights.

John also invented the second generation three way electrical switch. The three positions were Dim, Flicker and Off.

The employees at the Lucas factory were greeted by a sign over th employee entrance that announced:

J Lucas Electronics
Employee Entrance
Early to work, A good days work, and HOME before DARK!!

I don't know how many canisters of canned electrical smoke I installed in Lucas equipped cars to replace the smoke that had leaked from the electrical system when failure occurred.

Open the hood, clear the smoke from the area, attach the tube from the Canned Smoke, and refill the electrical system with electronic smoke. Secure the Bonnett, Get In, Start Up and drive off.

Microsoft used somewhat the same idea with Windows. When Windows stops working, close the Windows, open the Windows, then depart to any location on the internet.

Same, Same!

jsmangis Loc: Peoria, IL

I believe that this is one of the funniest, but plausably true statements about British auto electrical systems. That said, British cars, for all their excentricities were much more reliable than French or Italian Automobiles(Renault and Fiat come to mind).

Robert R Loc: Indianapolis and Naples

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Drigby1 Loc: American Fork, UT

A plymouth reliant (unreliant). It would vapor lock in the heat of southern Utah. Found out when it was in an accident that two halves a two different reliants had been spliced together.

1046William Loc: Delaware

Both my Vega station wagon and a cousin's Vega coupe both had rust outs on the left front fender just in front of the windshield. I was told it was a design flaw.

architect Loc: Chattanooga

Early 80's BMW 528e's were hot tickets. I owned 3 of them. They were wonderful cars, with acceleration superior to the higher RPM 528's up to 100 mph or so, and more economical of fuel. But, with high mileage they were money pits. Parts and service were expensive, and they had rubber cam belts instead of chains. All of mine burned oil at a quart every 900 miles or so. And all of the auto transmissions had serious problems at around 120,000 miles.

My Peugeot 504's of which I owned around 6 from 1969 through 1978 never caused me a problem that I could not fix easily myself, and were superior in practicality, ride and economy. And they were fast enough,if you were not climbing a 10% grade for miles.

TucsonCoyote Loc: Tucson AZ

I had a buddy who had a 504 station wagon Diesel which was his wife's car.....was called "the Streak" .....this car was the slowest accelerating thing I had ever seen.....but it always started and ran ! lol

country Loc: back woods

had a 2000 volvo xc v70... what a pos... trans went out, dealership said they would put one in for $8000... lol... ac quit working, another ridiculous quote... couldn't get a shop manual on it cause volvo won't release any of their information so manuals can't be made... found out, like the patriot, the trans was a common thing to go out on these cars...

Kuzano

What an astute observation...

I worked on British cars for about 15+ years, and abruptly changed to Fiats and Alfa Romeo's.

Lately, I've been hankering for a Renault Dauphine or the two seat roadster.

Also spent about fifteen years with BMW 5 series cars made from 1973 to 1981. Had a friend who owned a BMW Dixi... BMW's very first "sports car"... 36 Horsepower.

BMW Dixi

(Download)

Dixi


Dixi

architect Loc: Chattanooga

My last Peugeot 504 was a diesel. It was slow for sure, but faster than the 32 horsepower VW beetles I drove in the 60's. It is actually fun to drive flat out much the time, but an agony if you want to drive from the Bay Area to Lake Tahoe over the Sierra Nevada. We would be passed by trucks.

jointerjohn

1956 Dodge 1/2 ton pick-up truck. A real bucket of bolts, something was always falling off of it. That thing lost more of it's parts than a leper on a pogo stick.

Ransch Loc: O'Fallon MO

A Volkswagen Dasher sometime in the middle 1970s. It struck me strange that it had an Audi engine block. I was consistently in the dealership for repairs. In for a malfunction of the lights; on the home the radio quit working. At the end of the one-year warranty, I had a stack of repair statements nearly 1" thick, and it wasn't difficult to see what the future held, so I traded it and took the beating. I told friends it was a real "lime" (influenced by its color). Oh yeah, then there was my 1980s Opel station wagon. When I was forced to drive through a rain puddle, I steered immediately for the side of the road. Had to pry off the distributor cap, dry off the inside with a towel, and then continue on my trip. Didn't keep that one very long either. On the plus side, there's my 2005 Subaru Outback Wagon LL Bean Edition. Every car should be made like this car. Perfection!

skier Loc: Minnesota

How about a '71 Saab 99E. The hydraulic clutch seals would go out every few thousand miles. I had to replace the seals so often that I installed a bicycle tire valve on the master cylinder cap so I could pressurize the system to bleed it. I would use the free wheeling feature to drive it by turning off the car at a stop sign, put it in 1st gear and use the starter to get moving and then just take my foot of the gas to shift. I would repeat the process until I could get home ane repair it again.

jiminee1 Loc: S.E.MA

HA HA ....that brings back memories ! I used to work on Chevys for a dealership and when the Vega's came out we were all in amazement. Looked like a nice little get-a round car until the repairs started coming in. The only thing I could say good about them was they looked nice in the yard. My first undertaking was I had two of them in the garage where I worked and both needed a valve job. Biggest joke I ever saw. When I pulled the heads off I couldnt beleive what I saw. The tops of the cylinders were funny to me in the fact that they were no bigger than a small can of Campbell soup cans. I repaired them both in two days. They were truly a big mistake by Chevrolet. I also worked for Chrysler for a number of years. They had some pretty bad vehicles too.