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Folks, please don't think that I'm trying to start an argument here, but people who don't own/drive older cars regularly seem to think that they can't cope with today's traffic without upgrades. I own several older cars and while I don't drive them every day, I do take them on tours and longer trips.


Not an argument, just a vigorous discussion. ;)



Drum brakes are only a problem if you either don't maintain/adjust them properly or if you're driving in the mountains or in traffic so dense that you have to make repeated stops on very short notice. The old car I drive the most is a box-stock 1951 Chevrolet. No, you can't drive it like a Honda. When I'm driving it, I'm almost always at or below the speed limit. If I see that I have cars following me, I pull over at the first convenient spot and let them pass. As for actually stopping, I just give the car ahead of me twice the room that I would in my Focus or WRX. If someone passes and cuts in, I just drop back a little more. The point here is that most of us who are driving older cars just aren't in that much of a hurry to get somewhere... the trip itself is the reward.


It is not the drum brakes that are the problem. An upgrade to a dual master cylinder should be an upgrade made to all but the rarest of cars that are to be driven on the street.


Points and related items fall into the same category. Cars and trucks have been on the road with points and condensers for around a century. Points adjustments, once you learn the process, are easy and quick. A dwell meter and a screwdriver are usually all that's needed. If you really want to go retro, a 'feeler gauge' works just as good as a dwell meter. Once you 'adjust' a set of points, you can generally expect to leave them alone for at least 5,000 miles - unless you have some sort of problem with the distributor. Points and condensers are relatively cheap, so most of us curmudgeons carry an extra set in the glovebox. :rolleyes:


I lived with points up through the 90s in one vehicle or another and have no problem making them work. My problem has always been when they go bad, or just start misbehaving. That tends to be in that slightly stronger than normal storm. It is a real pain to diagnose what is wrong and then swap them out while getting soaked to the bone. Points are cheap, and can be made to be fairly reliable. A conversion kit is too, and makes it so that the above situation is far less likely to happen.



If you want to know about the one single problem that causes old-car-owners the most grief, it's ethanol 'enriched' gasoline. Cars built since the early-'80s have fuel system hoses and diaphragms designed to withstand ethanol. Older cars don't. Just when you think you've replaced that last older rubber part, you discover that there's one more hiding somewhere that will fail at the most inopportune time! Both my '51 Chevy and '72 Chevelle are 'living' proof of this - having had to be towed/flat-bedded home after the failure of relatively minor parts!


That is why I would upgrade to an injection unit. I am sure there is a kit out there that can be had that will not use a modern looking system that is designed to be dropped on an average V8. If not, I am willing to try and build something.


What else can I say? Be adventurous! Try driving an old car the way it was meant to be driven!!:p

SL


I find adventure in the places I go. Breaking down on the way someplace ruins the adventure for my broken body.
 
I have to ask a very dumb question ... what is meant by "points" in that context?
 
I think they are called breaker points technically. But points refer to a contact switch in the distributor that charges the coil, and then separate to trigger the spark from the coil.
 
It is not the drum brakes that are the problem. An upgrade to a dual master cylinder should be an upgrade made to all but the rarest of cars that are to be driven on the street.

I will concede that a dual-circuit master cylinder is a big improvement. I guess my prejudice comes from too many years of judging car shows, where a change like that WILL cost you points.


I lived with points up through the 90s in one vehicle or another and have no problem making them work. My problem has always been when they go bad, or just start misbehaving. That tends to be in that slightly stronger than normal storm. It is a real pain to diagnose what is wrong and then swap them out while getting soaked to the bone. Points are cheap, and can be made to be fairly reliable. A conversion kit is too, and makes it so that the above situation is far less likely to happen.

In my 50+ years of driving, I've never once been stranded by malfunctioning points. That said, I will also admit to being anal about vehicle upkeep; which is probably why that never happened.

That is why I would upgrade to an injection unit. I am sure there is a kit out there that can be had that will not use a modern looking system that is designed to be dropped on an average V8. If not, I am willing to try and build something.

Having grown up and grown old with carburetors, I'm very comfortable with them. The most irritating case of being stuck I can recall occurred with an injected car. Granted, it was high-mileage and I was laying out a rally 40-miles-from-nowhere in a state forest. It was COLD and I wasn't happy! Since the car had plenty of gas, I guessed that it was probably an electrical issue and since my experience has been that bad grounds are probably the most common electrical problem, I started checking circuits. After almost an hour of checking stuff, I found that the problem was the ground for the CIS system, which had frayed at the engine block due to (I suppose) vibration. I crimped on a new terminal, decided to color myself lucky and drove home!

Another injection-related problem happened when I was about 50 miles from my home, driving an injected VW. I was, of course, in an area with no cell service. As always, I had (I thought) kept up with my maintenance. What I didn't know was that this particular model of VW had dual fuel pumps - a 'lift' pump in the tank (which I had replaced) and a 'pressure' pump in a little box under the car. I checked, double checked and generally went nuts trying to diagnose the problem on the side of the road before calling a flat-bed. When I finally got hold of my local VW guru, he pin-pointed the problem over the phone. Live and learn!
 
I will concede that a dual-circuit master cylinder is a big improvement. I guess my prejudice comes from too many years of judging car shows, where a change like that WILL cost you points.

That wasn't that painful now was it? :tease:

Like you said, that car is a driver and it should be enjoyed as such.


In my 50+ years of driving, I've never once been stranded by malfunctioning points. That said, I will also admit to being anal about vehicle upkeep; which is probably why that never happened.

I am fortunate that it has not happened to my vehicles. I have been the passenger in more than one such breakdown though. One time was not exactly the points fault. Let's just say MacGyvering a cracked cap in the rain is less than an entertaining time. Thankfully somebody invented duct tape.



Having grown up and grown old with carburetors, I'm very comfortable with them.


My concern here is the aluminum (and brass?) being corroded by the modern fuels. A slight improvement in drive ability and fuel economy is just a bonus.


The most irritating case of being stuck I can recall occurred with an injected car. Granted, it was high-mileage and I was laying out a rally 40-miles-from-nowhere in a state forest. It was COLD and I wasn't happy! Since the car had plenty of gas, I guessed that it was probably an electrical issue and since my experience has been that bad grounds are probably the most common electrical problem, I started checking circuits. After almost an hour of checking stuff, I found that the problem was the ground for the CIS system, which had frayed at the engine block due to (I suppose) vibration. I crimped on a new terminal, decided to color myself lucky and drove home!


Being cold tends to make one less than happy. Wet makes it worse.



Another injection-related problem happened when I was about 50 miles from my home, driving an injected VW. I was, of course, in an area with no cell service. As always, I had (I thought) kept up with my maintenance. What I didn't know was that this particular model of VW had dual fuel pumps - a 'lift' pump in the tank (which I had replaced) and a 'pressure' pump in a little box under the car. I checked, double checked and generally went nuts trying to diagnose the problem on the side of the road before calling a flat-bed. When I finally got hold of my local VW guru, he pin-pointed the problem over the phone. Live and learn!


Them damn Germans cars and over engineering things.
 
I didn't realise you could get a Toyota Century for so cheap. Now I want one :lol:

This one doesnt cost even 10k. And it looks soo comfy.

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The oddity factor adds a bit of want to it.
 
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Absolutely. I?d love to bring it into a local Toyota dealer for service just for the ?WTF? factor.
 
and there is (at least) one in holland!
https://www.autojunk.nl/2016/12/toyota-century

don't find any in belgium :(

i'm surprised that car was released in 1997 with the mirrors still on the hood :shock:
and a 5l V12 with 280bhp? it's the 70s all over again!?
 
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There's a new one too.


Yeah it's what made me look after the old ones... they're so cheap! And crazy cool. That WOOL INTERIOR

- - - Updated - - -

January 2005 and they're already talking about the new NSX. Seems like that car seriously was an ongoing development program for 11 years. When did the first concept come out again?

Tough to say really when developement started and I fail to google when the first concepts came out BUT I know that the HSV-010, which Honda used in the japanese Super GT series was pretty much a big developement chassis for the whole thing - this has long been an "open secret" in racing circles since it's inaguration in 2010 (even with the HSV being front-engined!).
 
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