4 Bizarre Car Accessories that Used to Be Cool

http://blog.allstate.com/awesome-or-atrocious-4-bizarre-car-accessories-that-used-to-be-cool/ ^

[djone]

"Most of us don’t spend much time listening to vinyl anymore, but just like that DJ spinning records in a trendy nightclub, there was a time when you could cue up some 45s in your Chrysler. In 1956, you could get an optional record player in Chrysler, DeSoto, Dodge and Plymouth vehicles......Years ago, automakers used to hide gas caps in stealthy locations. Cars like the ’56 Chevy Bel Air had the gas cap hidden behind a taillight, which would swivel out of the way, while numerous cars from the 60’s and 70’s had their fuel fillers located behind the license plate.

'56 Chevy

[cva66snipe]

I miss vent windows.” So do I. One of the most useful things on a car. It was great for women. You could have fresh air coming in without ruining your beehive. Wonder why they got rid of them.

They were very easy to break into I guess was one reason. A small screwdriver or a pocket knife blade could pop one open in seconds. Another reason is the likely conflicted with door mirror placement.

[Dr. Sivana]

Also loved the old seats that went all the way across. Lots more room and way more comfortable.

Straight bench seats! I swear I am going to take one out of an old Dart and bolt it into some car I own in the future. Family cars should seat at least six legally.

[ichabod1]

My uncle said it always heated up about the time you got where you were going - the regular bug that is. Karmann Ghia, I think his was. IIRC and it was a loooong time ago.

[Dr. Sivana]

American Graffiti was somewhat vague timewise,

The tag line for the movie was "Where were you in '62?"

My Dad had first a 1963 Pontiac Catalina 2 door coupe, then a 1965 Buick Riviera with 2 x four barrel carbs.

Your dad had cooler cars than you did!

[dalereed]

“when we were parked in the hills”

Or the drive in movie and never saw a movie!!!!!

[rockrr]

Beauty! My favorite from the fifties are the 56's. Here's my lil project...

[cva66snipe]

Straight bench seats! I swear I am going to take one out of an old Dart and bolt it into some car I own in the future. Family cars should seat at least six legally.

I've driven vans for years and the last pick up I owned was a 1985. My dad passed last year and left me his 95 F-150. I took an all day driving trip in it with my cousin and my small dog that weighs about 20 pounds. The bench seat got crowded. My dads first truck a 71 F-100 4 adults could sit in if necessary and three rode real comfortable. Cars built today I can't hardly get in and out of and I'm not that darn big.

My mom had also driven vans for a long time { we had full sized ones} and she wanted something easier to drive like a car. I told her you really don't want a car. I told her to get an SUV instead. Dad and I located her a 98 Tahoe last year and she really loves it. It rides and handles like a dream also easy to get in and out of.

The cars of the 70's and earlier were built higher off the ground and that plus more leg room inside made them easier to get in and out of.

[Dr. Sivana]

frequencies at 640 and 1240 kilocycles in the event of a nuclear attack?

So THAT'S what those were for! I thought it was just too crowded to put another number.

[cva66snipe]

Yikes her Tahoe is about a 2003 not a 1998.

[Dr. Sivana]

My mom had also driven vans for a long time { we had full sized ones} and she wanted something easier to drive like a car.

My wife wanted a car because it is so windy here. I picked up a southern '94 Chevy Caprice station wagon (seats 8) with the 350 engine. Last full sized station wagon series made. She loves it.

[truth_seeker]

“Your dad had cooler cars than you did!”

For sure.

But he sometimes “borrowed” my 1953 MD TD (I got a Catalina 2 door) and if the English puzzle broke down, it was his problem to get it fixed and back home, for a change.

[tacticalogic]

VW Bugs used to have the gas tank and cap under the front hood.

The really early ones didn't have a gas gauge. There was a lever on the floorboard right above the tunnel connected to a rod that went into the gas tank. It had an pair of open ended "cans" on the end of it (inside the tank). When you filled it up, that would fill up the top "can", and when it ran out of gas you flipped the lever and that dumped the gas in that can out into the tank, and turned the other can up. Then it was time to go find a gas station and fill it back up. You could easily get stranded driving on rough roads, because the bumps would slosh the gas out of the can, and when you flipped the lever, there was no gas.

[cva66snipe]

My wife wanted a car because it is so windy here. I picked up a southern '94 Chevy Caprice station wagon (seats 8) with the 350 engine. Last full sized station wagon series made. She loves it.

I got buyer shock a couple years ago. My wife needs a full size if possible High Top conversion so she can ride in comfort. The van also handles the wheelchair lift and the high top gives her lots of room. I could not find a used one in better shape than the one I had that was worn out. It took over a month to locate one.

We ended up getting a 98 Dodge High Top with half the miles on it and in good shape. Everythings gone to mini vans now or to get a full size van with clearence you have to go to a Dodge Sprint which is still well above my budget even used.

[citizen]

My G’father’s (who raised me) 50-something pickup had the same throttle control pull-push knob. It worked good for cruising long distances on relatively flat terrain. Color me nostalgic....

[RedMonqey]

I miss vent windows. I also miss floor vents, and station-wagon rear windows that could be rolled down. I miss big V-8 engines that would let you cruise effortlessly at 75 miles an hour or more all day long, hardly noticing hills or mountains...

For that matter, I miss good old Detroit steel that could survive an accident over 20 miles an hour without being totalled. I miss ....

What the hell have they done to my country?

Amen to all that...

[ottbmare]

They’ve destroyed our culture. It feels like 1862. We must go through some additional convulsions, perhaps even a war, and then must rebuild Western civilization on principles of morality, dignity, faith, and beauty.

[Dr. Sivana]

Everythings gone to mini vans now or to get a full size van with clearence you have to go to a Dodge Sprint which is still well above my budget even used.

The Sprint is really a Daimler-Benz product anyway, and it is so tall and skinny (for Euro roads?) a feel tippy just looking at it.

In "mini"vans, the old Chevy Astros and Ford Aerostars aren't bad. They are more "midi", and have rear or 4wd. Built on truck platforms, they hold up better.

You are in Tennessee. I would look for lightly used conversion vans in Florida. Heck even TN SHOULD be okay, as no income tax attracts retirees from my state (Illinois).

The cars in TN don't rust like the ones here. The Caprice I got the Missus came from Soddy Daisy, TN (near Chattanooga). No rust, though the tranny had to be rebuilt, and the brakes needed work (the car lived near the top of a small mountain).

[M Kehoe]

After reading some of the thread (which is unusual before posting), I think the gas cap should be on the roof centered so it can be refilled by a KC-135 from the air.

Ok, I'll stop posting now...

5.56mm

[Grams A]

Family cars should seat at least six legally.”

Actually I wasn’t thinking so much about family cars - what I was thinking about was the fact that we could cuddle with our date. Bench seats and drive-in movies. Those were the days!

[Museum Twenty]

re your: “I think it was when society accepted that we were getting laid and we didn’t give a s*** if we were caught or not.”

Replace “society” with “parents,” and I think you’ve got it right. If there is one single change I find staggering, this would be it. My how times have changed 8(....