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Comments
The Park Ave only has a gauge for fuel and temperature, but it has a trip computer that lets you cycle through various functions, and where the odometer normally is, it can display battery amps and oil pressure. It will also show the coolant temp in Fahrenheit. I think it'll show it in Celsius too if you hit the metric button, but can't remember.
My 2012 Ram has a coolant gauge and fuel gauge, but idiot lights for oil and amps. There's space for the extra two gauges though. I think you have to either pay extra for them, or they come standard with the nicer trim levels.
One reason, I imagine, they went to idiot lights back in the late 50's and 60's over real gauges was cost cutting, but I wonder if it was simply that the gauges they used at the time were pretty cheap, and not always very accurate? The amp gauge, especially, in those older cars tended to jump around alot. And if you were sitting at a traffic light with the turn signal on, the needle would dance in rhythm with the turn signal.
Funniest gauge in that car (aside from the vertical speedometer) is the fuel gauge, which isn't in lowest terms. I have 4/4 and 2/4.
Today? What's a rebore? What's a Sioux Valve Machine? What's a ridge reamer?
Spark Plugs were usually changed at 12,000 miles. At 15,000 miles they were toast.
I know today's engines are also better at making the plugs last longer, but there had to be something else going on, if I could get 40-45K miles out of them from a car that comes from that 12-15K era.
Your Dart must have had platinum plugs. No way yesterday's spark plugs could have lasted that long.
Anyone remember Champion Spark Plugs? I haven't seen or heard of them in years.
A lot of shops thought they were junk and wouldn't use them while others thought they were the best on the market. An "old timer" told me to always use what came with the car from the factory and I've always done that.
That said, they still perform better (from a conduction standpoint), so therein comes all the other "advances" in design such as multiple conduction pathways, "V-Power," etc. Basically, you balance longevity with conductivity to get the best result for the application. In the old days, "frequent" plug changes were not a big deal in most cases as it was a twenty minute job, TOPS. Now, you have to take twenty parts off the car just to change plugs, and that's for the EASY ones! LOL
In addition, the old carbureted engines generally do not run at peak efficiency, which means that the plugs are also more likely to suffer fouling or damage. All this adds up to a shorter life.
Ever change plugs in a 390 1968 Mustang with air conditioning?
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Which way do YOU prefer?
Super brief recap:
Was mother's car, she let it sit for five years sans distributor. Gave it to me, I drug it home, sorted the distributor issue out, got it running, used it a couple of weeks. Brother insisted on taking it to college some 200 miles away. I recommended he not given low miles since we got it running. He took it, threw a rod about ten miles from school. I drug it home (again), parked it in the quonset hut, and there it still sits.
Sad stuff!
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/ctd/4732339251.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/4710940200.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/4734279747.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/4741344052.html
restoration project - $1 (north ironwood)
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I went to visit the old dear with my new jumper box today - no dice. It would crank and crank and crank, but not start. I was able to get it started last time, but it ran poorly, and let out a terrible cloud of black smoke. I think I'll just have it towed to the shop.
The new jumper box seems to work fine - the now depleted battery only cranks about one and a half times before going dead, but with the box attached, it's like normal. I suspect the now 7 1/2 year old battery on this generator car will need replacement, too.
That clean LTD wagon looks like a fine bargain for a utility car. Not efficient by modern standards, but lots of usefulness for no money.
I think that's a 53-54 Plymouth.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/281480520412?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&fromMakeTrack=true
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/4733260057.html
http://modesto.craigslist.org/cto/4718945207.html
That T-Bird isn't exactly tasteful, but I've seen that kind of thing done to early Birds and Vettes in the 70s and 80s. Same money could probably buy a nice stock driver quality version of the same car. I'd go that way. They need period colors and wide whites.
Studebaker has to be really rare. I wonder if the paint could be buffed out.
http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4727614339.html
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Also, in a twisted sort of way, I'll confess that I like a few things about that rodded out '94 Corolla. Interior is totally tacky, but I kinda like the body flaring and what they tried to do with the front-end. I think it needs a bit more massaging to be more tasteful, but it was an interesting idea, at least.
Oh, as for that '53-54 Mopar in the woods, yeah, most likely a Plymouth. I'm guessing a '53, judging by what little I can make out of the trim. The ad says "V-8", but Plymouth didn't get a V-8 until 1955. But, the ad also says "1951 Dodge",..
At that point I got sick!
I've seen Studes and Packardbakers from that era at car shows from time to time, and had always noticed that the interiors seemed pretty nice for their price class. In those days, sometimes, it seemed like when the automakers would run out of money for "real" improvements such as modern engines or updated bodies, instead they'd put a bit of extra effort into the interior. So that was why the lack of armrests surprised me.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
A Lark V-8 convertible with 4-speed transmission would be fun---with some mods.
Ford tends to get credit with coming out with the first personal luxury coupes...first the 1956 Mark II, but then especially with the 4-seat Thunderbird for 1958. But I think the '53 Studes pretty much nailed the idea of what would ultimately surface as the likes of the Monte Carlo, Cutlass Supreme, Regal, the smaller cheaper T-bird, etc.
As for later years, I think it was more a lack of money and resources, rather than being clueless. The Lark, as you mentioned, was a good idea and popular for a few years. However the market was soon flooded with compacts, and, well, the Lark got kinda old.
Weren't those Larks actually fairly large inside, for a compact? They were based on the older 1953-58 cars, as Studebaker didn't have the money to come up with something truly new. But that might have worked in their favor, if you wanted a smaller car with more interior room. Even though Ford came out with the first "mid-size" cars for '62 with the Fairlane and Meteor, I wonder if the Lark was sort of an "accidental" midsize.
They were also pretty strong cars for a compact, with good towing capacity. At least, I saw one once, pulling a horse trailer on "Mr Ed" :-p
Studebaker was good at "making do with little". Unfortunately they wasted a lot of resources on the Avanti, one of those "love it or hate it" cars we see now and then from the D3.