New car smell

[Hitcher]

There’s something strangely arousing about the smell of a new vehicle. I am sure that this is something that motor vehicle manufacturers have spent millions of dollars researching and refining. Pheromones are probably added along with a range of other stimulants, truth be told.

My first really vivid memory of New Car Smell(TM) was in 1970 when my parents acquired a spanking new Ford Falcon 500 XW sedan. FM6472. It was Australian assembled too. In those days that was an attribute highly prized, given the slap-dash way New Zealand’s CKD car assemblers did what they did. Particularly on Mondays or Fridays.

The Falcon had a full-rubber interior floor, rather than the more common carpeted fare in other cars, including New Zealand assembled Falcons. In the interior even the white bits were black. Boy, could it get hot in there when it was parked in the sun. Best of all it had a factory-fitted radio. I still remember sitting in the driver’s seat the day Dad brought it home, barely able to reach the pedals as Joni Mitchell paved paradise and put up a parking lot. I was intoxicated by its New Car Smell as I read the instruction manual that even had photographs in it!

It was a manual transmission -- three forward gears with the shifter on the steering column. A neighbour got a new Falcon at the same time. He wanted an automatic transmission. To get one he needed to get a note from his doctor attesting that he had a bung leg. No shit.

The family’s previous ride had been a 1963 Vauxhall Velox PB. CA9838. Its colour was “silver sage” which, in reality, was a dull sort of beige shade which didn’t do a great deal to enhance a car that was singularly unexciting to look at. Bench seats front and rear. A full-circle chrome horn ring, and a speedo where a line appeared on a linear display, changing colour as the speed (in miles per hour way back then) increased. Power brakes were not standard kit. Dad had had a set of those fitted as an aftermarket addition. Nor did disc brakes figure anywhere. Drums back and front were all that were available to halt it, not that a 2.6 litre six-cylinder engine got it that excited. From memory I think Mr Vauxhall’s speedo display didn’t envisage these things going any faster than 120mph.

A bench seat in the front, with lap-diagonal seat belts for a driver and left-hand side passenger. No inertia reels, nothing for a centre front passenger nor occupants of the rear seat.

External rear view mirrors were not standard. Nor was a dipping interior mirror. Nor was a heated rear window. Neither was a radio. There were controls for a device that was supposed to heat the interior, and it sort of did. But the demisting fan was more than a little asthmatic.

But this beast was pretty reliable and ferried us hither and yon around Taranaki and towed all manner of stuff home in the farm’s trailer.

In those days six-cylinder Veloxes and Holdens were the staple rides of dairy farmers. Sheep farmers had the Chevy Impalas, Studebaker Larks, and Ford Fairlaines. They were rich. Landed aristocracy. V8s and poncy British rides like Triumphs, Vanguards, and Humber Super Snipes were also things that sheep farmers used to take their kids to boarding schools. Things have changed a bit on that score.

My sister, brother and I went to the local primary school, a sole-charge-teacher affair about a mile up the road from the farm and about 300 feet higher in altitude, being that much closer to Egmont National Park.

One of the things that a school of about 20 pupils across Primer 1 to Standard 2 struggled to do was to provide sufficient numbers for age-group sports teams. This meant that primary school rugby involved collusion with about six or seven other primary schools in the vicinity. Our team was called “United” and we wore black-and-white hoops, just like the grown-up teams in Eltham and, as I discovered during a trip to Rugby Park in New Plymouth, just the same as Hawke’s Bay. Back in those days the Ranfurly Shield was something other teams played Taranaki for. As a child one’s time horizon and sense of perspective is a bit more compressed than it is for adults.

So Saturday sport involved “transport” duty for parents with kids in different teams that needed to be delivered to grounds anywhere from Eltham in the south, to Tariki in the north and every possible country school in between. There were quite a few of those back then. Early age grades were played barefoot, usually on frosty grounds, as rugby is a winter sport. Some playing fields were sheltered behind hedges or rows of trees on the sunny side, and frost may not have thawed until at least midday, if at all. Ouch.

The town schools were very civilised. Most had fields that were uniformly flat and had markings on them. All fields, irrespective of location, had goal posts but some of the country schools required a bit of extrapolation to figure out where the edges and things were.

One Saturday at Pukengahu School, our usual pre-game activity of stepping out distances to put up corner posts also required us to remove of a mob of dairy heifers that a local farmer had put into the paddock a few days earlier to chew the grass down. Thanks for that. Dairy cattle chew grass at one end, and shit it out at the other. When the pasture is fresh and lush, as Pukengahu International Stadium’s had been earlier in the week, the resulting shit is also lush and green. So too are the young chaps who then play for 40 minutes each way upon it. The numbers and colours of hoops on playing jerseys became somewhat irrelevant soon into the first half.

There were no such things as changing rooms and showers at the ground. It happened to be Dad’s turn on transport duties. So after the match six cow-shit-encrusted young lads were stripped down to their jocks and made to sit on a tarpaulin that had been stretched across the Velox’s back seat to minimise further damage until the tarnished occupants could be delivered safely home to their mums. That sort of behaviour would not be acceptable in this modern age of airbags and Mummy Wagons (whoops, SUVs).

The car smelt a bit after that. Not a New Car Smell either.

[scumdog]

Love your psts of this ilk- especaillay THIS one.

I remember the Mk3 Zephyr I bought of the old batchelor gentleman a few years ago, he traded a '39 Ford V8 truck on it.
He had to pay 26 quid for seat-belts and heater to be fitted.

Back then when you bought a car you got jack-shit of what we now take for granted, these accoutrements were always 'extra'.

Ads use to tout 'Fitted with heater, seatbelts, tow-bar, monsoon sheild and AM/FM radio'. (Hmm, I don't theink there WAS any FM back then anyway.) Later on it would be 'Two-speed wipers, heated rear window and radial tyres' thrown in.

A Skoda had most of these as standard..

Surprisingly we survived sans these items we think are essential nowadays.

[unstuck]

I loved my old PB velox, was a great car after my 100e prefect. I like the smell of new machinery for some reason:weird:

[ellipsis]

...my first vehicle was a '62 Mk11 Zephyr, I haven't owned a newer vehicle since those times...it was 12 years old when I bought it, seatbelt laws had not yet been introduced and I had to sit on a cushion so I had enough push with the legs to operate the pedals...memories on memories and not all of them good, haha...I never actually got the Mk 111 as was the wild dream I had...and Mk1V's were only a thing talked about...never seen...my mates had FE Holdens and PA or PB Vauxhalls...races were generally slow and cumbersome things that we seldom got into...we laughed at other poor blokes who had Morris 1100s or Morris 1000s...long before then we were also transported on the odd occasions to rugby matches if we were not playing at parks where the "rugby bus', was going to, by our coaches or parents...( we never had a car), 5 cents each was the petrol money we paid the drivers...I think "regular" was 11 cents a gallon or close at that time...my Dad was real proud of the fact that I was the first person in the history of his family that could drive a car or a truck...seems odd to think of it now...the only 'new smell', vehicles I can remember were taxi cabs and the odd grey HQ Holden that I didn't really want to ride in, but often did...

[onearmedbandit]

My first experience behind the wheel of a car was a PB Velox my brother had and eventually gave me. 3spd manual on the tree too. My father always had new Toyotas as company cars but our boat-towing family vacation car was an XW Falcon 500 stationwagon, complete with bench seat, 3 stage auto, chrome ring horn 'button' and unfold rear tailgate window winder. Spent many hours sitting in that car listening to War of the Worlds on cassette.

[Usarka]

Mmmmmmm, volatile organic compounds. The sweet smell of poison.

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/8020stuff.html

[awa355]

Dad was able to buy a 1956 Dodge new. It was the 1st in NZ with a 318" OHV V8. 225bhp, had the 2spd Torqueflite transmission. Selector was a small lever mounted on the dash. It was cream and green. The window winders took barely 1 1/2 turns from up to down. The seats were a two toned check pattern.

My uncle had originally ordered it, with the 6 cyl engine, but after waiting so many months, he re ordered and got a new '56 V8Chev Bellair. A week after the Chev arrived, Aikmans phoned up to say the Dodge was in the country. Dad had just bought a near new '55 Velox. He sold the Vauxhall and took the Dodge. ,

273393273394

[scumdog]

Mmmmmmm, volatile organic compounds. The sweet smell of poison.

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/8020stuff.html

yep, that's why the inside of the windscreen get a foggy film on it..

[JimO]

we went from a 1952 hillman to a 2 year old xw falcon, dad paid $3200 in 72, i learned to drive in the coon when i was 15 and i still own it.....http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x67/jim157/DSCF0983-1.jpg

[98tls]

we went from a 1952 hillman to a 2 year old xw falcon, dad paid $3200 in 72, i learned to drive in the coon when i was 15 and i still own it.....

Least you could do is find a room for that thing,any decent human being would move themselves outside and that in just to ensure it survives.

[Hitcher]

The XW's piece of world-beating hi-techery was a boot release handle on the floor by the driver's seat where other cars had handbrakes.

[98tls]

The XW's piece of world-beating hi-techery was a boot release handle on the floor by the driver's seat where other cars had handbrakes.

Do you remember the differences between XW and XY Hitch?Every time i see a pic of either i still :bash:myself for selling a very well optioned XYGS.

[onearmedbandit]

Do you remember the differences between XW and XY Hitch?Every time i see a pic of either i still :bash:myself for selling a very well optioned XYGS.

The only thing I remember was the grill on the XY was the 'split' grill. No doubt there were other 'facelift' differences though. I remember the high beam switch on the floor as well. We had a second Velox speedo lying around, I remember as a nipper putting my finger in the back of it and spinning the roller up to 120mph.

[Virago]

The only thing I remember was the grill on the XY was the 'split' grill. No doubt there were other 'facelift' differences though...

Yeah, split grill - and different tail lights.

[scumdog]

we went from a 1952 hillman to a 2 year old xw falcon, dad paid $3200 in 72, i learned to drive in the coon when i was 15 and i still own it....


3.3, 3.6 or the big-block 4.1??

[JimO]

3.3, 3.6 or the big-block 4.1??
it started out as a 3.6 but now has a high consumption low performance 302 with a c4 tacked on the end

[Hitcher]

Do you remember the differences between XW and XY Hitch?Every time i see a pic of either i still :bash:myself for selling a very well optioned XYGS.

I do. Tail lights on the XY were flush, with a solid bar through the middle where the XW had the turn indicator. Different grille and bonnet pattern. Slightly smaller front turn indicators. Restyled dash inside. The biggest change was to the engine. The XW was a 221 cube or 3.3 litre six. The XY was the first Falcon to wear the 250 cube 4.1 litre donk, one that lasted largely unchanged for the next 40 years.

[Virago]

I've never actually owned a new car, but I've had a few as company cars over the years. The last was a Hyundai, and the new car smell experience was ruined by a knob of a dealer who "groomed" it with CRC and Armor-all.

That particular smell of new plastic, glues, and sealants is hardly the most pleasant. But their combination is evocative of the feeling of opulence which goes with a new car. Much like the smell which comes from wafting a large wad of cash under your nose. These days I seem to to smell neither - sigh...

[Edbear]

My first "car" was a 1950 Bradford and it definitely did not smell like a new car! Heater? Yeah the engine got hot enough to threaten to set the wooden floorboards on fire... I did have a '67 Falcon back in the day, 200ci, (3.3lt), Super Pursuit with three on the tree, no heater either which made for crossing the Desert Road in mid-Winter an interesting experience... :cold: But I could get 37mpg out of it on a trip and 26mpg around town!

Had two new cars, the '99 Nissan Pulsar SLX and of course the Kizashi now. Had one new bike, the C50T which was intended as a keeper forever, :no:, alas time and unforseen occurrences intervened. :doctor:

[ellipsis]

...my older bro had an old Bradford van...it had two big stacks of very old playboys in the back to hold its body down on the suspension...

[Edbear]

...my older bro had an old Bradford van...it had two big stacks of very old playboys in the back to hold its body down on the suspension...

LOL! Mine was in reasonable nick, but the motor being so light, if you put too much weight in the rear the front wheels would leave the road at speeds over 30mph.

Didn't stop me picking up those four Aussie girls hitchiking with their packs, though. Just went slow and enjoyed the trip... :innocent:

[Daffyd]

My first new vehicle was a '70 HB Viva wagon. As it was a demonstrator, it had every conceivable extra available at the time... Alloy wheel trims, heater and carpet. Was pretty sluggish until I started thrashing it on a weekly commute, Invercargill - Queenstown. Loosened it up very nicely and increased its top speed by about 10 mph so it could achieve an indicated speed of just short of 80. I took part in a timed car trial organised by the Q'town car club, and discovered halfway through we'd missed a turn-off, so we went back and started again. We were the closest to the allotted time and WON! The day after the 1yr warranty expired I broke the main shaft in the gearbox and the miserable bastards made no allowance for its replacement, despite a highly respected engineer's report that in his opinion it had been damaged before assembly. I never bought another car from those bastards again!

Only other brand new car was the first model of Honda Civic 2speed Hondamatic... great wee car, but prone to rust. They both had that "delicious" but toxic new car smell. The Viva cost me $2700 and the Civic $3062 on the road.

[Paul in NZ]

Hmm - apparently I'm not allowed to give MrH any more rep at the moment.. Anyway, another worthy Hitcher thread – the cars of our parents….

My Dad was an old fashioned A Grade mechanic with his own business. He did very well for himself for a while but he could never really bring himself to buy a ‘new’ car as to his mind this was a shocking extravagance… Still he always had a ‘nice’ car for family duty and an old Austin A40 ute or van for the garage.

Like a lot of independent businessmen / tradesmen who were doing OK in the late 50’s my father was a very industrious person that hardly ever sat still. He purchased a plot of land in Wainui (Akaroa Harbour) and with the help of ‘Uncle Jeff’ who was a fine builder set about building a bach. This meant a lot of trips over the ‘hill’ towing a trailer and there was a lot of unsealed roads back then. One of the oft remembered family rituals of these building trips to Wainui was go past the turn off at the bottom of the hill and proceed to Barry’s Bay cheese factory to purchase an enormous block of cheddar cheese to be nibbled at and brought home for school lunches for the next fortnight or so. We seemed to eat a lot of cheese but it was the 1950's and cheese was healthy..

At the time we had moved up in the world from a very 'beige' 1954 (ish) Vauxhall Velox to an aqua 1956 Plymouth Belvedere. A less than 10 years old American car was pretty epic back then and it was the only American car I can ever remember him owning. He must have really liked it because he hung onto it for quite a while. It was however not without its faults.

A few years back Dad and I were discussing family cars and we got talking about the Plymouth. He reckoned it a pretty decent car but one he could never get the brakes working adequately. I was a little surprised about that remembering the trips over the hill towing a trailer of concrete piles, cement, the boat etc and Dad told me that often by the bottom of the hill we had virtually zero brakes left so we could never make the turn off. We just kept going until we lost enough speed to turn back which was usually about Barrys Bay factory so we would turn in and Mum would pop in and get some cheese while the brakes cooled down and Dad changed his trousers…

Finally Dad decided he wanted a new car – one slightly more modern and less likely to soil the trousers. The EJ/EH Holdens of the time were really very very good cars so when the HD was announced with a host of improvements including disk brakes dad decided it must be a hell of a good thing and purchased one brand new. It was the WORST car he ever owned. You could literally see the road going past through the gaps in the doors and watch the trim falling off as it went down the road. It spent more time back with the dealer than it did at our place and eventually Dad gave up and repaired it himself. After sorting it out as best he could he traded that on a VC Valiant Regal which really was a decent car and we did endless miles in that. (Silver, black roof, red interior). It had a factory radio and a heater that worked and I remember listening to the Goon show, The Navy Lark etc on the way back from Wainui on Sunday evenings as it was the only station you could get. (Dad wasn’t a big goons fan) and getting fed up when the punch line to a gag would fade out as you went around a corner and fade back into the laughter… grr… I learnt to drive in that car…

We had the Valant for a long time really until one day one of Dads customers, a very wealthy Merivale spinster wanted to sell her Mk2 Jag. Dad just couldn’t help himself. 3.4l auto with power steer, plum metallic, chrome wheel bands and cream leather plus various other options ordered directly from the factory and only 11,000 miles on it. I don’t think it had ever been out of town as the enamel on the headers was still intact. It took a few weeks to soften up the leather seats as the passenger/rear seats had probably never been sat in and it always smelled of leather, wood and cloth headling. The factory tools were untouched, there was a can of factory touch up paint in the boot (I painted a Norton with it) and it was still on the factory tyres. The Dunlop rep sold Dad a set of the first SP Radials at a good price and we were off… It was a fabulous car – virtually a brand new Mk2.

I still remember when my sister had a baby and Mum got me to drive her ChCh to Dunedin and back in a day. She fell asleep on the way back and my brother and I let the jag have its head a little. It was a magnificent car and light years ahead of anything else of the era. It could sit effortlessly at great speed and was actually pretty reliable with fabulous build quality. XJ’s aside it was probably the last great jag saloon.

We kept it for a long while and suddenly Mk2's started to become ‘valuable’. One day some bloke offered him twice what he had paid at the same time the rental car business he was contracted to service was wound up and he was offered a near new Aussie assembled Statesman at book value…

Sigh…..

[Big Dave]

Grandfather was a senior engineer at the Port Kembla Steel works.
Dad was a Dentist with a healthy practice in the South of Sydney.
Uncle Keith was a Senior Engineer at the GMH Pagewood plant.
All self made men who liked nice cars.

X2 Holden. The First Premier. The first Torana 4 cyl commuter car. Several XU1 Toranas. Even an L34.
All were in my old's garage before the dealers thanks to the Unc.

Unfortunately cancer claimed my old man when he was 12 years younger than I am now.
If he stayed true to form it would have lead to a HSV Senator I reckon.
Cousin Jeffrey picked up the baton - even had a Pink XU1 with matching speedboat.

I always just liked motorbikes.

[DangerMice]

I read this in Homer Simpson's voice, I think it added to the experience....

[Big Dave]

Everything works better as Homer.

[Paul in NZ]

The only new cars I’ve ever had were cars for work and for a while there, there were a LOT of them. One surprisingly notable one was the Mazda 323 Astina. I had a gun metal grey one the day before the launch and boy did it turn heads as it was just so different looking. Also the new Ford Sierra wagons that replaced our old Falcons – shit they were fast but gawd what a pile of crap. I lost count the number of door trims that fell of and once the whole dashboard fell into my lap. We drove a lot of gravel roads and we all loved the handling but they rattled to bits.

There was a long string of Mazda 626 wagons as well. These all went very well but none of them seemed as fast as the very early one with the old engine. It didn’t have power steering though which was a bugger parking.

Unfortunately the last one I had was the Ford Telstar version. I was out when the dealer called and asked what color I wanted – Vicki told them blue was my fave color which is true but not the vile light blue metallic the Ford came in… Anyway – it’s a free new car so whatever… It really was shit compared to the Mazda and somehow they screwed up the gear rations as well which made it feel gutless to boot.

1st job was a 4 hour trip from home and the 1st time it had ever been on the open road so given its newness I took it pretty easy. After about 200km I hit a passing lane and it crept over 100kph for the 1st time. There was a very odd whistle/moan/shriek/alarm noise at 105kph that got louder as you went faster… I thought it had an overspeed alarm and nothing more of it.

I dropped it into the dealer in the job city for its 1st service and asked the tech if he could disable it… Apparently it didn’t have an overspeed alarm but he promised to road test it… I pick it up and, nope – cars perfect… hmmm That night I took it out and the noise was there and MUCH MUCH louder except it happened at 85kph now. I was fucked if I was putting up with that on the trip home so I went back to the dealership. They told me I was imagining it until I took the sales guy for a spin up the motorway… By now it was an ear splitting howl at 80…

Turned out the windscreen was just held in by gravity, the assemblers never sealed it in. How it sat there is beyond me. They sealed it but it was never a good car really and we were all glad to see it gone.

[Big Dave]

In a previous career I used to get the MD's hand-me-down vehicles. When he got a new interest, one of the managers (Sales or Construction) would get new wheels.
One such was a Van den Plas Jaguar that 'larned me' that dear old Mr Lucas had nuffink in the electrical failure stakes.
The Jag had as many motors as the Old Girl's current Merc, but they were 80's and English. It made getting to meetings interesting. Actually, it occasionally made getting out of the vehicle interesting.

I had a Classic Mustang for a few weeks too, till it became obvious that a 1967 vehicle needs a Motu for day to day use.

Karma broke even of course when he replaced the 'stang with his wife's 4cyl SAAB 900.
It had an Alpine Stereo that could make your ears bleed and no other endearing features at all.

[imdying]

Old man had a Mk1 Cortina... it had that 'old car' smell... the head lining was rotting and turning to dust :laugh:

[Kickaha]

The EJ/EH Holdens of the time were really very very good cars so when the HD was announced with a host of improvements including disk brakes dad decided it must be a hell of a good thing and purchased one brand new. It was the WORST car he ever owned.
HD = Hastily designed

After sorting it out as best he could he traded that on a VC Valiant Regal which really was a decent car and we did endless miles in that.
A VC was my first car for $600 a year after I left school, they vibrate like a bastard when a fan blades flys off at 80mph

[JimO]

Least you could do is find a room for that thing,any decent human being would move themselves outside and that in just to ensure it survives.
it lives inside now but is looking a bit sad, nothing a battery, some gas and air in the tyres wouldnt fix.......

...http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x67/jim157/165800_464996706846159_894362271_n.jpeg

[Big Dave]

HD = Hastily designed



Holden's Disaster.

[scumdog]

Holden's Disaster.

The old man bought one of these for $2,239.

Holdens Rescuer - the HR.

[Big Dave]

My old man had an X2. I don't think he had too much trouble with it, but it was traded on a HK (I think) Premier with the Chev 307. That got along.

[scumdog]

My old man had an X2. I don't think he had too much trouble with it, but it was traded on a HK (I think) Premier with the Chev 307. That got along.

Dog of a motor is a 307
A 283 with a 327 crank.

Only worse SBC is a 305
A 327 with a 265 bore

(From memory - but anyway, both are non-performance)

[SPman]

My first car being a 1936 Austin "Big"7 - it didn't have new car smell, but an intoxicating odour of leathery upholstery, old wood, oil fumes, petrol fumes, and a distinct smell of shit from any passenger if you went over 55 mph!

Drove my bro in law's HD Premier around Sydney for a while in '69 - the drum brakes would fade to nothing between traffic lights....:eek5: 2 good slowdowns from 40 mph and there was nothing there at all!

The current Hyundai i30 diesel has the usual modern new car petrochemical aroma, but a blast of frigid air from the A/C usually clears that....

[JATZ]

The old man bought one of these for $2,239.

Holdens Rescuer - the HR.

I spent many happy hours in one of those as a kid. Dad was away at sea a lot and mum would bundle us kids into the old HR wagon and set off to Tauranga or Whangarei usually, depends where the ship was berthed. Lots of trips to the batch at Hatfields beach too, back in the days when you could stop at Albany to pick some apples from Airborne orch (?).
They traded that on a mk4 gotina *spit* which took us round the south island.
I guess they saw sense and got another Holden. A brand new Comodore s/w with a lifeless little 1900cc :weep: Still.... it was safe for a learner driver, couldn't get into to much trouble with that little power

[madandy]

My Dad was a Chrysler man and bought a Valiant Regal new in Quensland.
I dont remember the new car smell but the smell of cool air from the air conditioning and the velour upholstery I do remember!
We towed a caravan across the state line several times between jobs and I remember sharing the back seat with a large, woodgrain Sanyo Television.
Dad rode a new SR 250 to work and sometimes he'd pick me up from school when he returned home from jobs that often had him away or 2-3 weeks, he drove a Road Train. I do remember the smell of the vinyl tool pouch Yamaha supplied.
Mum used to drive me to school then onto her job at nearby, newly constructed Tarong power station. She claims to this day an indicated 125mph.

Dad never raced that car as he'd 'thrown a leg out of bed' in his last 265 Hemi! :pinch:

[Big Dave]

Dog of a motor is a 307
A 283 with a 327 crank.

Only worse SBC is a 305
A 327 with a 265 bore

(From memory - but anyway, both are non-performance)


All there was prior was a warm 186.
It was the fastest stock Holden at the time. The Monaro anyway.
The 308 and 350 were still a-comin'.

[Edbear]

All there was prior was a warm 186.
It was the fastest stock Holden at the time. The Monaro anyway.
The 308 and 350 were still a-comin'.

Had a '70 HT Premier with the 308 and Powerglide. The 5lt was good for 240hp but strangled by the heavy 2-stage auto. Had to wait until you were doing 30mph in first before you got acceleration and then 80mph in top she'd take off again to an indicated 115mph.

Economy was good with 19mpg around town and 24mpg on the open road as long as you kept those 57mm secondaries closed. I dearly wanted to put a 5sp in it but was too broke at the time. Reliability was a given, just had to change the cam for a standard grind Crane, as the stock cam wore out at about that mileage.

It was mint in that nice blue and had only done about 65,000m when I sold it. Got an '76 HJ Kingswood 202 manual after that, reconned the motor as it had done twice the mileage stated, but put it on LPG and it would valve bounce in top gear with grunt that scared many a V8. Needed a 5sp as well, the stock three-on-the-tree was hoplessly geared! We also had a '71 HG Kingswood 186 which was a great car, again would have done with a 5sp, though.

[awa355]

I had a HD sw with the 179. Thought it was heaven after the old 3 phase Vanguard. First car bought was a '51 L15 Citreon. Bought it on $80 deposit. paid the outstanding balance of $280 over 18 months. 30mph up the Kaimais in 2nd gear. Girls loved the gear lever mounted on the dash.

It had a wind out front windshield. We used to drive around the country roads at night with a shotgun poking out under the windshield. Great for shooting possumns.