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Whilst on the subject of cars, I've just washed mine. I was about to drive to the carwash in Newark as the closer one in Burton Joyce is now a building site. It's the first time I've washed a car myself in over two years and now I realise why it's worth paying the young, wiry, Eastern Europeans a few quid to do it for you!

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A few weeks ago before I got rid of my sports car a guy came up beside me at the lights at the Burton Joyce end of the Colwick loop road. I could see from his rocking it on the clutch and his revs he

My Dad had only ever driven a manual car but when he was into his 80’s and suffering from arthritis all over we persuaded him to buy an automatic Corsa, he soon got used to it and loved it.  Then he b

I want one of those cars like they have on the TV ads. Driving up the mountain they go through streams, dirt roads and muddy tracks but when they get to the top of the mountain and the camera pulls ba

You can always tell a semi which has manual or automatic transmission at traffic lights, as soon as they turn green the auto transmission semi sets off much faster than the guy shifting gears, two side by side, and the auto is three truck lengths down the road before the manual driver is through sixth gear.

 

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A few weeks ago before I got rid of my sports car a guy came up beside me at the lights at the Burton Joyce end of the Colwick loop road. I could see from his rocking it on the clutch and his revs he wanted a race. I don't normally get involved in childish behaviour but I must have had a devil in me that day. I shoved the transmission into sports mode and as soon as the lights turned green I floored it. He was 200 yards behind me before he took off. Had to laugh but was chided by my wife for my infantile behaviour!:biggrin:

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Phil, I used to have a Holden station wagon when I first moved to Oz, it had a straight six cylinder engine and a three speed column change. It also had get up and go when you let the clutch out and hit the gas!!! 

I was in Canberra heading to my cousin and was stopped at a set of lights, a kid in a little car decided he wanted to race me, kept revving his engine, so I mocked him, VROOM!!...vroom his car went VROOM mine went...lights changed, off he took and I just casually started from the lights and let him have the fun and me making him look foolish...LOL

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3 hours ago, denshaw said:

I've been thinking about getting an automatic, when I have looked at the figures they are slower and less economic than manual.

 

It was certainly true not so long ago but the latest autos have closed the gap. I seriously doubt they are more economical but the best, which usually means expensive, are as good. My car weighs the thick end of 2 tonne with a 3ltr engine, cruising at 70 gives me 53.2 mpg - it's an automatic.

 

Regarding F1 cars I think they are semi auto sequential. There is no clutch as we know it and the driver uses the paddles to change gear. The only auto F1 car I know of (Williams) used a version of the DAF variable transmission, it was banned before it ever raced.

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14 minutes ago, Deepdene Boy said:

A DAF variomatic is probably faster than the current Williams F1

 

 

Ooo cruel.... and quite possibly true...:rolleyes:

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9 hours ago, Ayupmeducks said:

I used to have a Holden station wagon when I first moved to Oz

Ayup, would that have been the "red motor" either a 149 cu in. 2.45 litres or the 179 cu in. 2.95 litres?

That motor was practically indestructible it and its derivatives was used from 1963 until 1980 simple to work on and maintain.

The "three on a tree" linkage had its fair share of problems.

Image result for holden red motor

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I think it was a bigger motor than those two Oz, I had a water pump go out on me on the way back from my cousins, I was miles from anywhere, but found a place with a phone and called a holden dealer at a small coastal town a few miles out my way. They didn't have one but recommended me to take it easy and get to the Vic/NSW border, about another 30 miles. I was worried about warping my cylinder head, they said won't happen unless I overdid what I was doing, just keep topping up with water and she'll be right, keep your speed down. I got there, there was a shop and gas station, I called the NRMA and they said they would be with me in about an hour with a new pump, true to their word a feller turned up and even offered to change it out for me, thanked them and paid him for the pump and was on the road home after about half an hour. The only problem I had with that engine was the carby, when it acted up, it was always in the worst place possible!!

I traded that car in for a four cyl brand new Cortina, she gave me four years of trouble free service, must have had over 180,000 miles on that, one ball joint, one rear brake cylinder, several sets of points and about three batteries over its life with me. Next was a Subaru Station Wagon, nice little car that did a lot of hard work and thousands of miles on the clock.

 

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13 hours ago, Ayupmeducks said:

I think it was a bigger motor than those two Oz

Just possible it could have been a 186 cu in, 3.049 litre or a 202 cu in of 3,298 litres

To be one of the larger motors it would have been from around mid 70's until 1980

For some reason the Stromberg or Bendix/Stromberg carby's were often subject to leaks or blocked jets but as you say easy to fix by the side of the road.

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On 7/18/2019 at 1:03 AM, Ayupmeducks said:

Phil, I used to have a Holden station wagon when I first moved to Oz, it had a straight six cylinder engine and a three speed column change. It also had get up and go when you let the clutch out and hit the gas!!! 

I was in Canberra heading to my cousin and was stopped at a set of lights, a kid in a little car decided he wanted to race me, kept revving his engine, so I mocked him, VROOM!!...vroom his car went VROOM mine went...lights changed, off he took and I just casually started from the lights and let him have the fun and me making him look foolish...LOL

When I first moved to AustraliaI  I also had a straight six Holden with a three speed column change.  Fortunately, I soon  changed that for a much better vehicle.

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I've just discovered, whilst dropping down a gear on the hill into the village, the flappy paddles on my latest car are marked in Braille! The left has an indent and the right has a pimple. Are modern cars now designed to be driven by the partially sighted?

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No idea now, too long back, but it served me well until I could afford to trade it in for a new car.

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3 hours ago, philmayfield said:

I've just discovered, whilst dropping down a gear on the hill into the village, the flappy paddles on my latest car are marked in Braille! The left has an indent and the right has a pimple. Are modern cars now designed to be driven by the partially sighted?

 

Maybe you just haven't noticed before but my last three cars have had those tactile reminders so I don't think they are that new.

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Listening to you lot on the subject of stop/start I've discovered where to turn mine off. Turned it off while I were in a traffic queue. I have a Citroen C3 Air cross SUV. Must admit, I'd never given it a thought about wear and tear on starter or clutch, and I don't suppose you save much fuel in the long run. Did consider it was a pain in the arse whilst sitting in traffic on the M25.

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1 hour ago, Brew said:

 

Maybe you just haven't noticed before but my last three cars have had those tactile reminders so I don't think they are that new.

My last car, F Type, didn’t have them and prior  to that neither did my 911. Now I drive an old man’s car I need all the help I can get! :biggrin:

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On ‎7‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 12:13 AM, philmayfield said:

Whilst on the subject of cars, I've just washed mine.

I want one of those cars like they have on the TV ads. Driving up the mountain they go through streams, dirt roads and muddy tracks but when they get to the top of the mountain and the camera pulls back to see the view with the car in the shot it is absolutely spotless.

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That's becoming the norm, Phil. I don't know how many times Mrs. L and I have talked about something and ads related to it pop up on her Android tablet.  We are not quite sure which is doing the spying, the phone, my Ipad, or her Android, but one of 'em is and I'd like to stop it.  Can't assume our conversations are private anymore.

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Didn't Samsung have their knuckles rapped a while ago because their TVs could 'listen' in...

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the last training course I went on informed us that the latest in the stop start fad is to use tha alternator as a starter and drive through the auxiliary belt to save the cost and weight of a starter motor,come back siba dynastart all is forgiven!

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