You Know You Are Old When

[Eagle1]

Damn that's down cold.......

Had to check
His weekly show went into syndication in 1974[1] and was syndicated by the Westwood One Radio Network from 1978 to 1992. Broadcast syndication of the show ended on June 6, 2010, but the show continues to be produced weekly in an online version.
Dr. Demento

I feel better now you can still listen to it....

 

[ultrarunner]

I grew up with those vehicles.
I've completely rebuilt their engines.
My favorite is the 351 Cleveland Boss. I have one on an engine stand that I start up once in a while for sh-ts and giggles.
I used to tune my friends 440 6pack because he claimed I was the only one who got it right.
The new ones are complex if you don't know what you're doing.
Plug in the computer and check the codes. It will tell you what's going on.
Which cylinder is missing, injector being off etc.
Biggest problem I've found is usually wiring especially in Chrysler/Dodge products. You have to chase down the Gremlins.
I won't win this discussion because people like yourself would argue that a damp musty cave is the best home. Not a modern home withe electricity, plumbing and HVAC.
The reason that the old cars get the most money at the collector auctions is most of the buyers remember these cars from their youth.
Now these dinosaurs want a trip back in the time machine and they tend to have the money to do it.
They aren't buying them as everyday drivers (trailer Queens) or for ease of repair.
Just a reminder of youth before the big dirt nap.

It was like this with Model T’s, early V8, cars of the 50’s

Every generation has its favorites…

 

[WinterDeere]

As a kid, nothing little beats a cherry coke from the olden days. Todays stuff is nothing like the real McCoy.

Another popular thing around here was vanilla Coke, from any ice cream shop or soda fountain. Essentially, a shot of sweetened vanilla in a regular fountain Coke.

I suspect it was primarily a northeast thing, but we had a chain when I was a kid called Friendly's. I think they still exist, but vastly diminished in scale and number of restaurants. We had a half dozen of them locally, with the one right in town being the go-to after every summer baseball game (back when parents would only take the winning team out for ice cream ), and another on the outskirts of town by the movie theater.

That second one would be awash in middle-schoolers late night Fridays and Saturdays, as all kids headed over there after their movie, to hang out and wait for the mom to pick them up at the end of the night. On those nights, I suspect every third drink they served was a vanilla Coke.

 

[Oaktree]

I suspect it was primarily a northeast thing, but we had a chain when I was a kid called Friendly's. I think they still exist, but vastly diminished in scale and number of restaurants.

Don't know if their restaurants are still around, but you can still get their ice cream in supermarkets.

 

[seville009]

 

[MoKelly]

View attachment 873201

Partridge Family.

Remember it well - especially Susan Dey.

 

[ultrarunner]

Off topic apologies, but vehicles are not much different than HVAC systems when it comes to government regulations and the technology developed to meet those government regulations, which in turn add costs to the product.

Biggest difference between the two is cars "may" be getting more reliable (not certain if that is fact, but you use to be able to do a lot of work yourself with some basic tools 30 years ago), but I can assure you, take a new minimum 14.3 SEER2 single stage split heat pump system made today, and there is no way I could say it it more reliable vs a 30 year old R22 single stage with PSC blower.

Prime example, next year when 454B (or 32) replaces 410A, EVERY single piece of 454/32 indoor equipment will be REQUIRED by law to have a dissipation system including sensor along with a mitigation board. This is not including EVERY single outdoor unit has to be assessed for "ignition source isolation" which of course will also add to costs associated with that refrigerant specific equipment.

Back on topic, I remember my first car. Early 70's Oldsmobile Cutlass.I remember the car fondly, however it also handled like a u boat. The other thing was back then I was a LOT stronger than now, and God forbid you parked going up a steep hill because those 2 doors weighed a ton LOL

I don't envy teens today. No room whatsoever to neck in the newer cars

New 50 ton Carrier with 410 going in as I type today…

One of my favorite cars in the day was the 442 Cutlas convertible and the 71 Skylark convertible.

The Buick was dolled up with extra factory accessories and the 442 pretty basic with no A/C

Always liked convertibles and I would buy one as my daily and turn a profit and move on to the next…

 

[ultrarunner]

I remember paying 5 cents for a small carton of milk for our afternoon snack at school.

During summer, before baseball practice, we would ride our bikes to the local drug store, sit at the counter, and eat lunch - cheeseburger, fries and cherry coke —- for $1.00.

Yep the nickel school lunch milk… for a time they also offered chocolate for the same price.

The wax paper carton was sealed like to todays…

 

[ultrarunner]

I think people forget about the rate of inflation.

$1 in 1970 is over $7.5 today per the rate of inflation.

I remember Strunko's, a small grocery store near the the elementary school I would walk to. We'd "reserve" a couple of cents each day for our school lunch money and buy candy at the end of the week. Box of rock candy was pretty cheap which is what I would buy.

Kids aren't as stupid as you think they could be LOL

$1 inflated to now over 7.5 I get but the same menu is $12 and a Whopper or Big Mac meal $16 to $18.

 

[orezok]

Yeah 69/70 was the pinnacle of American car looks.
Even with front disks the brakes were near useless after 1-2 hard stops.
They ran like crap in traffic because the timing wasn't variable. It had to be designed for peak output, not mundane driving.
They polluted like crazy. Many of the big blocks were lucky to get 10mpg.
The handling sucked big time.
If you got in an accident you could impale yourself on all the dash knobs.
They tended to rot out in 4-5 years.
Some only got 90 day warranty from the factory because they were such crap.
60K could often mean a valve job was coming soon.
My Ford GT (not a Mustang) came with a full warranty, 3 years 60,000km even though it can do 212mph.
Don't you remember tuning your carburetor all the time and dammed if the auto choke worked...ever.
My oldest vehicle, a Ford Flex Eco boost has over 200k miles, fuel system has never been touched.
Original plugs to.
Do that with your beloved dinosaur.
You know why the old cars had so much space under hood? Because you needed it to work on them all the time.
They did have cig lighters and ash trays though.

I had a 1970 Dodge Charger. I never had a single dealer required repair in many years. I don’t know if Mary Jane is legal in Canada but it seem like a “trip” dissertation.