So, about what would year you say they started putting front disk brakes in cars regularly? Well, with the Ford LTD it was 1970. I brought the '69 in to get some work done on it, part of which had to do with mushy brakes. Figured that they should work as well as the convertible's brakes. Yeah. Well, I went by the mechanic's to see how things were going and found out that the front brakes of the '69 are drum. I knew it already, but I double checked it today and the front brakes of the '70 are disc. It says very proudly on the brake pedal that they are.So, anyway. The up shot is that there is in fact a big difference between disc and drum brakes. And I found another difference between the '69 and the '70 LTD.
Yeah, I know. You don't care.
P.S. - you gotta read the comments to this post to understand the picture....
7 comments:
Ah, ha! Here's a car thing I can understand!!! At last!
My '66 Beetle had drum brakes. They hadn't to be tightened every year or they got really wimpy. The first winter after I got married, I had zero money for car repairs and was too proud to ask my parents (who would've paid for the repair immediately). I drove the cary all bloody winter downshifting and using the emergency brake (on and off, on and off) to control the car. I didn't have one single scratch on it, either.
Before that, during my first year at the U when I was 18, I'd been taken a final exam just before Christmas in sub-zero temps, and the brake drum burst in the cold. I didn't know that until I was partly down the S-curve on 400-500 South, when I touched the brakes to slow down -- and the pedal went right to the floor and did nothing. That's when I figured out that trick with downshifting and pumping the emergency brake on and off. It was either that or smack into someone. Fortunately, I didn't panic and got creative instead.
I'm sure I've told you these stories before (sorry), but at least I actually understand something you say about cars. (I'm so proud of myself.)
Ahhh, even better : pre self adjusting drum brakes. Old school is cool, but let's admid it, there are some really nice things about newer cars. And I am totally impressed that you conversed on the subject so informedly (is that a word?) Most of the time I feel the same way reading your literary posts. Yeah, I read, but don't ask me genres or authors or to compare one to another. I knows what I likes and that's what I read. Anyway, ironically I'm off to the Auto Show this morning, so one little story, similar to your S-curve story, and I'm outta here. I had an '84 Mustang that I had just recently replaced the front brakes on (disc, not drum. I was headed south on I-15 and hit a bump crossing the bridge over 33rd south when I heard a metal clanging, like something fell off the car. Figuring I had just hit something on the road, I continued at my present speed, a not-so-legal 70 or so. I'm changing lanes to get off the freeway at 45th south when I h\it the brakes, and like yours, they went to the floor without any resistance. It was pretty much brown trouser time. Fortunatly I didn't panic either, I just took my foot off the gas and allowed the car to decelerate as much as possible on it's own, kept pumping the brakes and fortunatly they self-adjusted by the time I got to the red light at 45th south. Of course stopping involved metal-to-metal, but since I'd figured out what had happened, one of the brake pads had fallen out, I was expecting it. A little metal-to-metal in the brakes is a lot better than metal-to-metal in the middle of the intersection. It turns out the parts store had given me the wrong pads, a missing couple of little metal loops being the big difference, which allowed the one to come out. I brought the remaining 3 of the 4 pads back to the parts store to get the right ones and the guy at the counter told me I needed all 4 to get a refund. I calmly explained that it had fallen out while I was doing 70 on the freeway and that if he really needed it he would find it somewhere on the southbound lanes of I-15 between 33rd and 39th South. I got the new brake pads.....
Good story. I knew you'd have one.
Thanks for the picture, but that Beetle's newer than the one I owned. Is this one of your many former vehicles? I can't recall whether or not you've owned a Beetle....
As for books, well, at least you read. I know you do. And you can talk about the characters and the plots as well, so that's all right. I don't expect you to do literary analysis any more than you expect me to understand much about engines. (Although, since the Beetle engine was basically like a big wind-up key and a hamster on a wheel -- you know, a hybrid -- I sort of understood how it worked. My New Beetle is so computerized that it's like driving Herbie, with a mind of its own. I'm glad I learned on that old one, though, because not much surprises me anymore....)
Sorry, I'm a city-slicker. All of my travel is done on mass transit. I told myself I would only get a car of I had a place to park it at home(and at work). When you live in a big city, having a car is like having a kid...a very big responsibility and commitment.
Hey, what do I know from Beetles? I've never owned one. I just googled "66 Beetle" and that was one of the pictures that came up. Volkswagen is about the only car I havne't owned.....
All 4 of my grandparents lived most, if not all, of their adult life in NYC, and 2 of them never even had a driver's license. And the only reason the one grandmother bothered one was so she could drive the family car when she came up to Lexington to take care of us kids. From what I understand, you pretty much have to rent a place to park it near home, and then rent another place near work to park it. Doesn't sound all that worth it. But even downtown Salt Lake City is more like suburbia, so we have cars all over. Which kind of sucks, since we live in a big bowl between the Oquirrhs & the Wasatch Mountains, which captures all that pollution for us to enjoy. This winter hasn't been so bad, we've had storms come through and scour out the valley on a pretty reguilar schedule.
Here in NYC, yes, renting a space for your car is an (expensive)option. However, most prefer to park their cars on the street. The problem with parking on the street is the time wasted searching for a space. It is not unusual to spend 30 or 40 minutes searching for a space on the street. Then, there are the times you have to move the car for alternate side of the street cleaning. And, a few other annoying conditions to deal with for those that venture to park on the street.
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