Thread: Your First Car!

Ooh! Ooh! Just had an idea!!! A straight razor for a hood ornament!

Originally Posted by mapleleafalumnus

Ooh! Ooh! Just had an idea!!! A straight razor for a hood ornament!

Except you realize that the straight is the symbol many use who have kicked hard drugs right? It's true man.

Originally Posted by earcutter

Except you realize that the straight is the symbol many use who have kicked hard drugs right? It's true man.

REALLY?!?! Man, I had no idea! Sorry!

Originally Posted by mapleleafalumnus

REALLY?!?! Man, I had no idea! Sorry!

Why would you be sorry - I thought it was a good idea - it's just that - hey, maybe no one would mess with your ride lol!

I stole this from the net as it's one of the best descriptions I have read:

"I have a straight razor tattooed on my right calf. Be aware that some items have certain meanings in the tattoo world and that people may make assumptions based on your art.

A straight razor, for instance, often signifies that the wearer is a rehabilatated drug user or alcoholic. The razor, being straight, symbolises straight edge.

As an ex user my straight razor is surrounded by roses (new life) and has a diamond in the middle (hard, forged by pressure). I'm happy for people who can read the signs to know my past.

Obviously a tattoo is a highly personal thing and what means something to me may mean something totally different to you, but you should be aware that if you get a straight razor tattooed on you, people may assume you were an addict.


Pete"

There are other meanings as well - you would be shocked MLA:

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Have had all the above,the cars today are way and above superior than those of the past,far better suspensions,far better brakes,far better engines,far more H.P.out of smaller engines.You feel a great deal of pity?? when is the time you dealt with Carburators,Distributors,points,crappy plug wires,all has gone away thank god

Can't argue that, BUT, I can still work on that old iron without a having to have a fancy COMPUTER to tell me why that fancy little engine has the hiccups. I could set the points on my old shovel head with a matchbook cover for a feeler gauge. Try that with all this NEW stuff.

My boy and his first car.


We've rebuilt the front end, brakes, carb, windshield wipers, and bunch of other little stuff. The old 289 is long in the tooth, but the compression numbers are OK and it doesn't burn much oil. Tranny is tired, but it gets it down the road. AND is doesn't require a bunch of METRIC tools!

If he doesn't sell it, well rebuild that 289 and give it some arse and re-do the tranny and rear end while we're at it.

Originally Posted by earcutter

There are other meanings as well - you would be shocked MLA:

That classic tattoo design by Sailor Jerry Collins meant enough to me to have it inscribed on the back of my calf. Sorry about the poor photo, took it myself and it was awkward. Dave Gibson did the work in Ken Cameron's shop maybe 18 years ago.

Originally Posted by mapleleafalumnus

I feel a great deal of pity for anyone born after 1970, for they had little opportunity to have a real first car...you know, one with horsepower and character. Chargers. Goats. Plymouth Fury. AMX. T'Birds. Real rolling steel.

I'm with you on that. I used to just grouse and joke about how people can't drive, due in large part to the fact that they never had a chance to learn in a real car! As time went on, however, it just got worse. ABS, FWD, and littler cars were all engineered to compensate more and more for lack of skill (along with other market incentives, such as fuel economy). It has arguably created even more dangerous, no-skill drivers in parallel with "safer cars". Unfortunately, it has turned even more deadly in Iraq. Any idea how many soldiers were killed in flipped humvees because they've never driven anything bigger than a freekin' Accord, and just don't have those instincts ingrained under stress? Due to this, they have instituted upgraded "combat driving" skills courses, and most of it is just about how to handle a respectably large vehicle in 2WD and 4WD modes.

Meanwhile, there is a huge push for "continuum of training" for motorcyclists, which now requires training every three years for military and manufacturers and dealers now recommend it and/or offer discounts on rider training, and with all the research, thought and focus-groups on the subject, guess what? They're finding that most riders really only have one year's experience and just repeat the same mistakes and bad habits over and over for years afterward. Hmmm, well, even so, at least motorcycles have a way of demanding the operator's attention 100% of the time, so how much worse are drivers of cars with so many installed or introduced distractions and compensations?

Now we've got people doing this "drifting" stuff, which is cool and all, but try that in a '79 Cordoba and then I'll be impressed!

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Have had all the above,the cars today are way and above superior than those of the past,far better suspensions,far better brakes,far better engines,far more H.P.out of smaller engines.You feel a great deal of pity?? when is the time you dealt with Carburators,Distributors,points,crappy plug wires,all has gone away thank god

Not to mention cars that wont start in winter, dry gas, block heaters, big cars with rear wheel drive always stuck in snow, in todays world easy travels!

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

That classic tattoo design by Sailor Jerry Collins meant enough to me to have it inscribed on the back of my calf. Sorry about the poor photo, took it myself and it was awkward. Dave Gibson did the work in Ken Cameron's shop maybe 18 years ago.

What does yours mean Jimmy?

Now we have "Check Engine" lights that go on if you don't click the fuel cap 3 times after fill-ups, ABS and TCS lights that go on for no apparent reason, really sucky electrics with mini-fuses smaller than the white crescent of a fingernail which requires a trained hummingbird to change, AND absolutely NO ROOM in the engine compartment for anybody bigger than 6'1 in which to actually do any work. Too many components have to be removed in order to reach the one that's acting up.
Yeah, today's cars really are all that and a bag of chips. I'm with Wullie and Furcifer. Heck, I've used a pair of pantyhose as an emergency water pump belt -- try that in lieu of a serpentine belt sometime and tell me how that works for you. And when the timing belt -- belt, not chain -- snaps after a measly 50k miles and sends a valve shooting straight up through the hood, just how much HP is that fancy new engine generating?