[0F91H570075]

On a lot of older cars, there's certain things a person will need to know if you allow them to drive it. There were several for my 70 (RIP) that I forgot. Not just things like "don't hit your head on the center grille when the hood is up"

Do any of you have to give out special instructions before you lend the car to anyone? What are they?

My 91 has a few such as:

1: You must slam the drivers door a little harder than normal because the replacement seals are too thick. No adjusting the door striker doesn't help because if you back up on it, it will have too much wind noise

2: Know that the speedometer is inaccurate by a lot. If it says 65, you're going 71. Allow for it. If you get a ticket, don't tell the cop about the speedometer, or he'll probably give me a fix it ticket. I know this can be fixed. Just a matter of doing it.

3 (this one is fixed), but for several years the factory alarm was broken. So the special instructions were "don't use the power locks" because if you do, the alarm will go off a few seconds after closing the door. You won't be able to start the car or shut off the alarm until you put in the code on the door buttons. Of course I'd have to give that code to the person using the car.

4 Don't use the fog lights. There's a problem in the system and there's a possibility that you will lose the (use of) the headlights while the fog lights are on. This can be dangerous. It happened to me.

5 don't reset the trip odometer while the car is moving. It can strip the odometer gears and both odometers will not work anymore. If fact, just don't reset the trip odometer period.

 

[Mercury6768]

Yes, there is one thing, and the main reason that I let very few people drive my '68 standard: it has non-power drum brakes. Most people just don't realize that (a) they take longer to stop the car, a BIG potential problem in modern traffic, and (b) you have to drive more defensively or you'll end up in someone's trunk.

 

[0F91H570075]

Yes, there is one thing, and the main reason that I let very few people drive my '68 standard: it has non-power drum brakes. Most people just don't realize that (a) they take longer to stop the car, a BIG potential problem in modern traffic, and (b) you have to drive more defensively or you'll end up in someone's trunk.

Around 1979 or 1980, my boss told me to deliver some meat to a restaurant (probably 40 miles round trip). He told me to use his car, which on that day was a 57 Fairlane. He had lots of neat cars. This was one of his babies, not just a 22 year old piece of junk. Anyway, it didn't have power brakes. I guess it was drum brakes too, I don't know. Anyway, I almost ended up in someone's trunk. Scared the heck out of me. He hadn't warned me. Just handed me the keys. I also got to drive his 55 Chevy convertible to deliver meat in. What a cool boss (except for the minimum wage thing), letting a kid use his cars.

 

[.:BLitZ:.]

Other than the drum brakes thing (my cougar also has manual drums) the only thing I can think of is my Opel's shift pattern. Reverse is all the way left and up, and you have to push against a stiff spring mechanism to get it all the way left. The shift pattern isn't on the knob so I have to tell people in the rare event that someone else would drive it.

 

[Don Rush]

Here honey, take the 69 just remember...

The rimblow horn only works at 3 and 11 o'clock.
The ebrake requires you put some pressure on the pedal before you pull the handle
The tilt-away sometimes requires you wiggle it before it locks in place completely
The dash lights require a "wiggling" of the knob to come on
The RR pwr window only goes down by using the rocker switch in the rear
The hood requires an extra "push" to get it to latch
The door handle requires a little downward pressure to unlatch the door on the DS
The DS door lock often sticks, just bang the lock knob up and down real fast and it will release in time
The broom handle to keep the deck lid open is on the RH side of the trunk
The fuel gauge reads 3/4 but it is really full and when you hit 1/4 you are empty
The ww wipers take some timing to get them to park in the down position
The brake booster requires that you lift the pedal once in awhile to completely release
The shifter is wiggly but as long as you do not park on a hill you are fine
The DS door glass requires you leave it down a half inch before you close the door
The tires rub the fenders when you back up and turn to the left, go slow
The glove box stop cable is broke, open slowly
The car tends to diesel, leave it in drive when you shut the key off
The...

Stop right there! I will take the Toyota to Safeway...

 

[Bad69cat]

LOL I think tht about covers it Don! I knew there was some way to keep the cat safe in the garage.... ;>)

 

[Mercury6768]

Don, that is too funny!

 

[bosscat40]

Larry it sounds like your & my 91's were built the same day! My gal still thinks she's ripping around in a new focus when she jumps in.The last time I was with her she stomped the gas & about wet herself. Then gave me "the look" and said "This car is too big". I don't know if she'll ever drive the Boss car,Dave

 

[rodbender]

You wreck it, you buy it.

 

[0F91H570075]

Here honey, take the 69 just remember...

The rimblow horn only works at 3 and 11 o'clock.
The ebrake requires you put some pressure on the pedal before you pull the handle
The tilt-away sometimes requires you wiggle it before it locks in place completely
The dash lights require a "wiggling" of the knob to come on
The RR pwr window only goes down by using the rocker switch in the rear
The hood requires an extra "push" to get it to latch
The door handle requires a little downward pressure to unlatch the door on the DS
The DS door lock often sticks, just bang the lock knob up and down real fast and it will release in time
The broom handle to keep the deck lid open is on the RH side of the trunk
The fuel gauge reads 3/4 but it is really full and when you hit 1/4 you are empty
The ww wipers take some timing to get them to park in the down position
The brake booster requires that you lift the pedal once in awhile to completely release
The shifter is wiggly but as long as you do not park on a hill you are fine
The DS door glass requires you leave it down a half inch before you close the door
The tires rub the fenders when you back up and turn to the left, go slow
The glove box stop cable is broke, open slowly
The car tends to diesel, leave it in drive when you shut the key off
The...

Stop right there! I will take the Toyota to Safeway...

ha ha. Those are the kind of things I was wanting to hear. I had a broom handle in my trunk for the hood on my 91. It had serious E.D. I did replace the two hood rods. Now it's fine. My 70 dieseled too. Yes, turn it off in gear.

 

[simon]

Considering the '67 Cougar, I don't let anybody else drive my heap, usually. Whenever I make an exception from that rule, I strongly remind them that it's a drum-brake car from the 1960's. nothing like their everyday power-assisted commuter econobox.

1) Don't let the magnaflow-muffled straight-pipe exhaust fool ya - it ain't as strong as it sounds. A modern fuel-injected two-liter 4-cylinder engine will easily make as much horsepower and almost half of the torque.

2) Drive to arrive, and keep your distance to other motorists. The greater the distance, the more time for you to plan ahead and evade their stoopid maneuvers.

3) When starting, push the auto shift lever forward. Them bushings are completely shot on that shifter, and if you don't push that lever while cranking, the neutral safety switch will not engage.

4) make sure you have released the darn parking brake before takeoff. That 302 fourbarrel will EASILY overcome friction from the parking brake and ruin another set of pads and wheel brake cylinders. Ask me how I found out.

5) Yes, there are still lap belts in my car. While they offer only little protection, they will make sure you will stay INSIDE the car and not be ejected in case of a collision or rollover. I have refurbished them on purpose, so USE them. Even I do.

The fuel gauge reads 3/4 but it is really full and when you hit 1/4 you are empty

Sounds familiar - although I have adjusted and tested the whole system OK on the bench, it still operates just like that on the car. Weird.

 

[77snb]

I always get a good laugh when someone gets in my car and it won’t start. Then the next thing they are telling me is the steering wheel is crooked. Then I get to bump the wheel into place and explain the tilt-a-way option.

Brad

 

[cougar1]

Yep, seems every car has something. I actually have 3 of the cars right now to the point of no instructions needed. Actually the Barracuda and the mustang both designed to where you have to lock the door with the key. If you push the button down and shut the door, the door will unlock. Pretty clever design, you can't lock your keys in the car. When my wife still had her '91 Honda and it kept breaking down, often she used the '69 XR7 and the camaro as daily drivers. After that, she really likes driving the '69 XR7.

 

[Cougrrcj]

Larry it sounds like your & my 91's were built the same day! My gal still thinks she's ripping around in a new focus when she jumps in.The last time I was with her she stomped the gas & about wet herself. Then gave me "the look" and said "This car is too big". I don't know if she'll ever drive the Boss car,Dave

My sister's (now) ex borrowed one of my Cats when his POS Chebby truck finally (and mercifully) died... His Kentucky hillbilly truck never had an aircleaner on it for the five years he owned it. 6 cyl, 3-on-the-tree... Anyway, he borrowed BetaCat... He was used to 'flooring' his clapped-out truck to get it to get up to highway speeds... He mashed the gas in BetaCat and promptly lit up both back tires, and spun out off the Interstate entrance ramp. He brought the car back the next day, and told me that it was too powerful to drive - "No car should have that much power"... Back when I used to race it, BetaCat would run 14.40s @ 94mph. Should I tell him that my Crown Vic has got that beat by almost a second and a half? (370 rwhp!)

Bosscat, Contrast that with my wife - she drove my Vic to work, and all she had to say was 'it has some guts when I punched it' Gotta love a wife with Leadfoot Disorder!

 

[woodsnake]

Two of my cars require special knowledge, to apply a certain amount of pressure to the outside of the door handle to get in. And here are a lot more. I just don't like other people driving my junk!

 

[67 Catman]

Here's one I like...The car won't start if the tilt-away steering wheel isn't pulled down into the driving position, and people will think that the battery is dead or they've screwed something up. The look on their face is priceless. I've even gotten the mechanics at the Ford garage quite a few times. Of course I only do this when I'm feeling mischevious... ;-)

 

[CougarCJ]

I was given special instructions prior to driving another guys rare Cougar.

He said, "Have fun with it. If you wreck it, wreck it good."

 

[93RGTE]

If you wreck it, you WILL die.

 

[Smith Brother]

In the 40's we had a 36 Buick, there were 5 of us kids, and when we got in the Buick to go some place we had to CHANT, "COME ON BETSY, COME ON BETSY" hoping it would START. The starting switch was the gas pedal, just turn on the key, press the gas pedal and it would start.

Well one morning Mother put us 5 in the car, she got in and then remembered she forgot her purse. She went back in the house, and BABY brother crawling on the floor board, sat on the gas pedal, the Buick started, and backed across the street and into the ditch. The bump of the first curb threw his butt off the pedal, so the car coasted to a stop. We were all fine, maybe.....

Mother came out, and the car was gone from the drive.

Dale in Indy

 

[C Gauch]

Back in the day I borrowed a friend's old Chevy. It had a 3 speed on the column, but that was long gone, and he shifted it by the linkage via a hole in the floor & a brromstick handle. That was a tricky one.