Why do I have to be so like my grandfather? He bought a cheap Ford in 1935 and didn’t give it up, just replaced parts as necessary, till his younger daughter in 1967 (my mother’s sister Peggy) told him time was up. Then he drove her VW Beetle till, in his late eighties, he managed to turn it upside down on a bend, and she weaned him off driving altogether. It was quite a struggle. When he married my grandmother in 1909, and I compare photos of that year, he seems more wedded to his motorbike. I may be able to dig out some pictures to show you.
For the past two weeks I have been without wheels. The root cause becomes plain in retrospect: sentimental attachment. My Volvo, bought new in 1993, has been “so reliable” that I’ve hung on to it, nursed it, bought the workshop manual when I could no longer afford to send it for a regular service. Well, to tell the truth I dared not send it for a regular service after I’d done certain modifications. For years the engine had overheated. Crawling in busy traffic, I had to put the heater on full with the windows wound down, uncomfortable in summer heat or a rainstorm. The engine cooling fan didn’t always come on when it should, so I modified the fan to bypass the thermostat, and mounted a manual switch on the dashboard. The trouble was, the temperature gauge stopped working too, so you had to guess when the engine was hot and turn on the switch, but then remember to turn it off afterwards: otherwise it drained the battery overnight. I pasted warning messages on the dashboard, very artistic ones in CorelDraw6 (software almost as old as the car), and rewired the switch so that a red light showed if the fan was left on. As time went on, I had to replace the alternator and the coil. The dashboard gauges one by one ceased to operate. No speed indicator, mileometer stuck at 147,000 miles, no fuel gauge. I just guessed. Finally it wouldn’t start, even after I poured in some petrol from a can.
I took it to Paul W’s garage and he said there was no spark. He thought it might be a worn-out crankshaft switch, and ordered one. At least it was the cheapest of the things that might have gone wrong. This afternoon, he presented me with a “dilemma”, diplomatically and “with all due respect to your car”. Essentially, the cost of the parts, never mind the diagnostic work and installation, would exceed the car’s current and any possible future value. He has a bedside manner, like a doctor who doesn’t tell you straight out you have cancer. He let me realise in my own time that the car had aged gracefully—at least in my eyes. Others might say disgracefully. Now it was terminally ill. I had run it into the ground. I was flogging a dead horse. This “so reliable” car has been limping the last five years like an elderly pet that its owner could not release to deserved oblivion. I’ve agreed with Paul (who performs the undertaker’s role as tactfully as the doctor’s) to have it taken to a knacker’s yard.
I do need wheels. This morning I walked into town to buy a set of new dinner plates and bowls. It came in a neat box, rather heavy when balanced on my shoulder. In any civilised place, like India or Jamaica, there’d be a willing youth ready with a handcart. The idea of a taxi didn’t occur to me. So I found a place where they sell cheap shopping trolleys, such as the elderly use, and strapped on the box with bungee cords. Even this hurt my back because the handle was too short. Only when I reached home did I think of the taxi. Never mind, the trolley will be useful for my trips to the supermarket. It’s slightly more elegant to carry two heavy bags than trundle them in a tartan bag-on-wheels, but so what. I sawed off the handle and lengthened it with steel tube, using Milliput for the joints. From a modified Volvo to a modified caddy-cart, that’s downsizing.
But I still need wheels. This week I was supposed to visit my son in Guildford, and a friend in Babylon Town (my code name for the place I worked in 2007, at “MaxiRam Corporation”). I could have gone carless, on buses using my free pass, but the travelling would have filled the day.
I went back to Paul to settle the bill for his work on the Volvo. He mentioned he had a cheap car if I needed one to tide me over. I’m now the proud owner of an air-conditioned Ford Granada with automatic transmission and leather seats. The air-con doesn’t work but hey, who needs it when you have wind-down windows?
How much to service and regas a car’s air conditioning in the UK? The cost of an air con service and regas is around £55 – £180 in the UK, depending on the garage, vehicle and air conditioning. In most cases, however, prices are expected to be between £60 – £90.
Some of the leather seats were worn other slashed. I fixed the worst with gaffer tape.
Paul charged me £100, the same price that my grandfather paid for his Model Y Ford in 1935.
Addendum on August 20th 2022: the number of times I’ve flogged a dead horse, when I could have had a Gift Horse! I might write
a wayfarer’s notes 
Vincent
enjoyed the story and the tie in to the past
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Thanks Scot. Glad you enjoyed. Half the time the stuff I plan to write isn't enjoyable at all. Most of it doesn't get past the internal censor.
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I own a 1992 Honda Accord. It has 213,000 Miles on it now.
We have spent more on repairs over the course of the last 9 years that we owned it than we originally paid for it. I'm not sure what it is worh at the moment if we were to try and sell it.
It gets great gas mileage, a necessity these days, and it is the first car my wife and I bought. We even named it. “Harold” has served us well over the years.
We just replaced 2 brake calipers that had frozen and were damaged beyond repair. The air conditioning no longer “conditions”. It merely blows hot air. The radiator has a slow leak. I have to monitor it closely. It may also be leaking oil, not sure about that, if so, it is a very slow leak.
I am not handy mechanically. So, I have to rely on friends to help me diagnose issues. Often we find ourselves at the mercy of repair shops as we are unable to confirm or deny their claims.
I have had enough time with the car to learn it's idiosyncrasies. I feed it fluids, watch engine temperature carefully, listen for unusual sounds.
The cars electrical systems are unreliable, and everything is automated. Car windows lurch awkwardly, locks don't always lock or unlock automatically, and certain dashboard indicators cannot be relied on for accuracy.
These symptoms are likely due to either the third party alarm system that was tied into all the electrical systems or the fact that some sort of water leaks existed prior to our owning the car.
One of the first things we did was have the car re-sealed to eliminate some leaks. But the damage to the electronics must have already occurred.
I am in negotiations for a new job that will require a 23 mile jaunt to and from the office each day. I will likely have to consider the purchase of a new car. However, I think we will continue to keep Harold around until the engine finally gives up.
I have heard other Honda owners claim that they managed to get 300,000 miles out of theirs. So maybe we'll have Harold for a good long time.
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That car looks a lot like the first car my dad got us when teens. It was a little Austin Bantam.
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I love it! Not letting go of a car is something I also inherited from my own grandfather. He'll pick up a “cheap old beater” that someone is just “getting rid of,” and drive the thing for ten years! I can remember to this day his 1982 white Toyota station wagon… with more than 300,000 miles on it, points where pavement was visible from inside, and which he drove every day to his engineering job with the road department. The manual transmission finally failed one time… throw-out bearing, and he couldn't bring himself to spend the $500 on a rebuilt transmission, which was more than he paid for the car.
Thanks for the great story!
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great writing vincent. it was such a refreshing read.
congratulations on your new car. but india is not that much civilised as you think. depends, if your luck is good.
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I am involved in a huge conspiracy (as the victim or mark) which is a governmental sting operation personalized to myself (something like a whistleblower sort of thing), of course 'government' are individual beneficiaries of the incomes those offices provide, not to mention the pleasurable power and side benefits. It just happens to have to do with these automobile subjects.
I could and have told many personal experience 'inside' stories of the industry of auto sales and repair as well as the official overseeing instruments including the State and Federal level Safety and Clean Air Boards, again, these come down to being individuals who benefit….and so on.
A friend whom I helped when he was being scammed by the industry and overseers, has such a car as that pic and I will get a pic of it and post it later, I am supposed to, real soon, repair the transmission for him, small job if you know the business. He is the one, the only one who now provides me with transportation, me having had my driving priveleges taken away without reasonable cause. He has also aided me with work since these same industry/government individuals stripped me of occupational licenses in that industry.
Regardless life is fine. I have been without a car now for going on 3 years, and the penalties are lifelong for me, but that is better than a jail sentence which is the intent behind their sting.
I liked the ford granada, it was the first car I gave to my oldest son when he became driving age, it wouldn't be driven by females, wouldn't work for them, funny car, they could start it and take off and it would immediately die, but a male, no problem, no die.
Good luck with that car Vincent, may the fates be kind to you and the parts be cheap and the need for them nonexistent, lol.
I think of myself as a retired mechanic, now I am a mechanic of Spirit, lol, and parts are hard to get and not always cheap.
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I checked out those pics on your site, Jim, very interesting indeed & have commented there. I checked out the American Ford Granada. It's a completely different car, but mine seems equally grand to me, as it was top of the range in its day. I can't decide whether to keep it, as there are so many aspects which appeal to me. If I do I will have to “restore” it, by for example fixing the rust on wheel arches, getting a spare wheel, keeping it maintained. The garage owner used it for several months to drive the short distance to work, so I imagine he made sure it is OK for oil & plugs etc. But I can't ask him for too much. He undercharged me on the car, and also for the fruitless work on the Volvo. I challenged him on that, and he said he didn't have the heart to charge the real price for the work he'd done, when the outcome was so ignominious. I guess I'll get to know the car a bit better first. It served me especially well yesterday, as I have started some voluntary work helping the elderly as a handyman. I loaded up the car with fencing timber, ladder & all my tools. The leather upholstery is a bit torn already so doesn't need too much respect.
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Ghetu, I was subverting the meaning of civilised. In a country like India there is no limit to the planet-friendly things that can be done because there is always someone willing to do the meanest tasks to earn enough to survive. Here for example the tasks of recycling and keeping the place clean are inhibited by the high cost of wages. People use cars too much. Life is less rich in colour and interaction. the Government pays people to do nothing. Mind you they say that is why, in the Sixties, Britain became so prominent in the pop music scene. Talented young people could practise their guitar all day and not have to find a job.
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and thanks for the compliment. As you know (I'm waiting for more input) I trust you as a critic.
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Timjamz, yes, I can understand your grandfather. My “new” car suits me so well that I can't motivate myself to go out and look for a “proper” car.
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BBC: that Austin Bantam does look extremely similar. I never knew that Austin made cars in America till now. It's funny how you can date a car exactly by the styling. It's the same with old radios, which I was looking up the other day. I was going to write about my 1936 radio, which I bought for two shillings and sixpence in my teens, but it never happened.
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Charles, why don't you trade in that Honda now? Make a stand against the irrational sentiment. I say this after realising my own grief for the dear departed Volvo has been forgotten with indecent speed, as I have plunged into an affair with the stately Ford, battered as it is, with no spare wheel, numerous unnecessary things not working, but at least more luxurious than the last. Good thing I'm not so fickle with women.
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Oooh… Ford Granada… Good luck with that…
I had the worst car experience of my life with one. Took more and more money, kept thinking “If I just fix this…” then another thing would go…
And it didn't have anything like Charles' 200k, was definitely less than half that.
And at the time I lived in northern New England, and it had the clunkiest, most awkward handling in the snow of any vehicle I've driven. The thing was a menace.
Hopefully it was just a really bad year for that model. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately!) I don't recall what year it was but my guess would be early to mid eighties – before the US had started learning how to build cars from Japan, lol…
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I have enjoyed reading this, it reminded me off weaning my grandfather off driving when he was 91 after yet another little incident.
He finally agreed that he couldn't drive any longer, he was becoming too frail to work the hand brake or put the car into reverse.
It also reminded me of my beloved Vectra that I had bought with the insurance payout when I had cancer. SF was always too miserly to pay for repairs so it was a case of bodgit or leavit. By the time I finally decided to change cars (buying a red excort) my mum reffered to my vectra as the ultimate clowns car with bits falling off it every time you opened the door.
A month later I was wishing I had just paid to have the vectra repaired properly, now 2.5yrs later I still miss that car. I have now had my little 3 door toyota corolla for a year and it is a great little car for nipping around but I do miss the more powerful engine.
Btw even though I don't comment very often I still read and I think about your romance whenever I am feeling unsure of mine. You are an inspiration for me.
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Romance? What did I miss?
You're a lot better off than a lot of people if you have air conditioning in your car. 🙂
I'm glad you were able to find a cheap set of wheels. Personally, the idea of walking to the grocery in this heat makes me cringe.
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mm, i must be a fickle fool as far as motor vehicle ownership goes. 1st, a Morris Minor, then Austin Lancer MkII; Bedford van with Vauxhall motor and fat wheels; Wolseley 24/80; Holden something or other; Toyota Corona MkII, Volvo DLL; two feet for a long time; Falcon XF; and now a Holden VN wagon.
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Lady in Red, Sophia. Foolish of me to mention women in a perfectly sensible discussion about cars. Now there is talk about romance. Glad to be an inspiration and all that, but …
As for the air-conditioning, it has a button for that, and it may work, but I haven't troubled to test it yet, anyhow the fan rattles insanely.
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Paul as I think I remarked before, the English Ford Granada is different from the American one. though they may be cousins under the exterior styling.
With this one, all I have to do is not throw money away on it, and put a bullet in its head, so to speak, when it can't jump over the hurdles any more. Horse-racing metaphors.
I had the idea of calling it the Gift Horse. I am not planning to look it in the mouth.
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Davo, I had a Morris Minor too, in the Seventies. Paid a hundred for that to a friend. My very first car cost £120 in 1966. I was robbed, but sold it at a profit. Had a 100e engine, so it was related closely to the Model Y Ford in my picture. It was one of the last of the generation of cars that could be maintained indefinitely, like the Fifties cars that they keep going in Cuba and of course India. I had a '57 Morris Oxford once, just like those Indian cars. Could write a story about that.
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oh Vincent, could get annoyed with you. So many stories and anecdotes associated with my list of motor Vehicles (i don't dare try to remember the list of female names).. but also thank you. Proves that i still have a memory .. heh.
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ok just for you I have written a new post
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