Fill her up and 1 shot please

[Marlinleg]

Hello to one and all. Younger members won't understand please let me explain 

Being a certain age . Well 74 and 1/2 😉  I still run my cars in. The   article from RedX engine cleaner the link is below  . When you filled your car up years ago the forecourt attendant yes a person filled your car up, usually asked " a shot sir" . The point of my topic is a trip down memory lane . Thank you all for reading. Photo of the shot applicator new and old 

https://www.holtsauto.com/redex/news/6-ways-to-break-in-a-new-car-engine/

 

 

 

 

 

[steve2006]

Those were the days 😀

My late Father worked at a Shell “garage” as they were known in the early 1960s and sometimes used to take me with him.

I still remember the pneumatic rubber hoses lying across the exit/entry points which rang a bell in the office when cars drove over them alerting the staff.

Various grades were on offer from 2 to 5 stars, all leaded of course priced around 3/6 a gallon (17.5p). 

[Malc]

a 1 penny ( old money ) shot a gallon in 'me days as a petrol pump attendant in Chislehurst Kent about 55+ years back 

Malc

[Marlinleg]

Steve2006 yes I remember the rubber hose bell🤣 I also remember 2 Bob a gallon (2 Bob= 10p) and to top that . Fact my first car insurance

7 shillings & 6 pence  a year =today 35p. You were covered for 3rd party your passengers weren't covered you had to put a sign on your dashboard 

" passengers are not covered by this cars insurance travel at your own risk"

[markeyszoo]

I saw this for sale in Aldi a few weeks back, not in a fancy can. Does it really work.? I put some straight in the carb of a Corsair once, 1970's and it blew out clouds of smoke but the car was never the same afterwards. I suspected that i had removed too much built up carbon on the pistons?

[royoftherovers]

1 hour ago, Marlinleg said:

Hello to one and all. Younger members won't understand please let me explain 

Being a certain age . Well 74 and 1/2 😉  I still run my cars in. The   article from RedX engine cleaner the link is below  . When you filled your car up years ago the forecourt attendant yes a person filled your car up, usually asked " a shot sir" . The point of my topic is a trip down memory lane . Thank you all for reading. Photo of the shot applicator new and old 

https://www.holtsauto.com/redex/news/6-ways-to-break-in-a-new-car-engine/

🤣👍

 

 

 

 

And I`m 74 and 5/6ths Phillip. We could have been Milk Monitors in the same class amigo !🤣👍

7/6 d equates to 37 1/2 p, so like you probably did as a kid, you`ve lost a tanner matey.🤣🤣🤣

[Spacewagon52]

Sadly I passed my test when petrol went up to 50p a gallon! Yes there has been more than one petrol crisis!

[Marlinleg]

Royoftherovers we had better not start on milk monitors 😅

 

[KentColin]

My first job after I left school was in a garage/ filling station. I always had a Redex can nearby to ask customers whether they wanted a short shot or a long shot with their 4 gallons of 4 star, I also had to add 2 stroke oil in the right quantity for bikes and scooters whether the ratio was 20 to 1 or 25 to 1 for example.  

[PRT68]

When I was 18, my first car was an Austin A30,a present from my parents. 

With some present money I purchased a bottle of Redex, along with other stuff. 

First spannering job was to remove the plugs and giving each cylinder a good squirt.

We lived in a close, and the result didn't go down well with the neighbours. The whole close vanished in thick smoke, taking ages to clear. 

[Marlinleg]

we've All been there 🤫

[LenT]

On 9/10/2022 at 10:18 AM, Marlinleg said:

Hello to one and all. Younger members won't understand please let me explain 

Being a certain age . Well 74 and 1/2 😉  I still run my cars in. The   article from RedX engine cleaner the link is below  . When you filled your car up years ago the forecourt attendant yes a person filled your car up, usually asked " a shot sir" . The point of my topic is a trip down memory lane . Thank you all for reading. Photo of the shot applicator new and old 

https://www.holtsauto.com/redex/news/6-ways-to-break-in-a-new-car-engine/

 

I do recall that - if feeling flush - I would treat my first car - a Ford Popular 100E - to a 1d shot of Redex in the belief that it was making a difference, what with it being an ‘Upper Cylinder Lubricant’!

As I recall, the idea was that the first flush of petrol hitting the cylinders would wash away the oil from the linings so enabling metal-to-metal contact until the oil was pumped out of the sump.

Well it made sense to me!

Years later I was involved in marketing Esso, BP, Amoco and Castrol products and the question of adding fuel additives would occasionally crop up.  I don’t ever recall it being regarded as a Good Idea.

Invariably the Company would patiently explain that they carefully developed additive packages for their fuels and oils in conjunction with specialist blenders and didn’t need car owners affecting the formulation by chucking in other stuff…thank you very much!

In particular, oils were developed that would cling tenaciously to cylinder walls.  In fact the only danger was the reprehensible habit of some drivers to give the throttle a final, farewell blip which injected a final flush of fuel into the cylinder.  Ever since, I’ve always let the engine idle for a few seconds before turning it off!

[Spacewagon52]

In particular, oils were developed that would cling tenaciously to cylinder walls.  In fact the only danger was the reprehensible habit of some drivers to give the throttle a final, farewell blip which injected a final flush of fuel into the cylinder.  Ever since, I’ve always let the engine idle for a few seconds before turning it off!

I remember that tip! It is surprising what you have been told to do over the years. One thing I cringe at is when people are parking or manoeuvring and the turn the steering wheel full lock while stationary. I was told it places great strain on the track rod ends and you should only turn the wheel when moving.

 

Anyone else got any pearls of motoring wisdom from the past?

 

[Malc]

20 minutes ago, Spacewagon52 said:

any pearls of motoring wisdom from the past

that wondrous Starting Handle for when the Battery was flat  

 

Malc

[LenT]

9 minutes ago, Malc said:

that wondrous Starting Handle for when the battery was flat  

 

Malc

Yes indeed.  And learning that putting your thumb round it could be a painful mistake!  😖

[tedd]

Not forgetting the floor mounted sign that swung in the wind and said ‘2 A T’ meaning they did 2 stroke, were an agency and had toilets. 
And the two stroke dispenser was really hard to use on a cold winters day 👍🏻👍🏻

[royoftherovers]

And we Beetle Owners who waved at each other

and the friendly wave from the AA man

and the man who came and filled your car up for you and washed the windscreen 

and the button on the floor left of the clutch pedal, which operated the Headlamps

and the radio which took 30 minutes to warm up

and Cross Ply tyres

[Malc]

16 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

and the man who came and filled your car up for you and washed the windscreen 

that was me in those halcyon days  .........  and the Sunday afternoon Rolls Royce owner who usually had a whole  £5 ....  of 5 star petrol .........  15 gallons those days and would now be @70 ltrs ..........  150 miles maybe  

He was happy tho' and proud of his car and always wanted to have a chat ..............  even if it was raining  

Malc

[dutchie01]

And the choke you needed to pull to start up in winter ( if it would!)

And the enging that needed to warm up before moving it just would not idle!

And the shocks and exhausts that needed replacing regularly

And engines that were done at 100k

And men working on broken cars in every other street

And milkbottles came in a Bedford

 

[Barry14UK]

Some of those filling your car with Petrol, years ago would ask "check your oil sir?"  The days when you got service!  More recently, I asked at a service station if they had a particular auto transmission fluid.  Neither of the men in the store knew what I was talking about and just offered something that was inappropriate telling me it would do, (which it wouldn't). You would think as a motor service station they would know a little about what they were selling but the range of non specify motor goods they now sell means they are just a mini shop that also sells a few motor products as a small addition.

[Summerbj]

Remembering my Dad's Hillman Minx and the job of mine as passenger was to strike the panel between the front and rear window to get the stuck trafficator (if that's how you spell it) to pop out as he signalled to turn left. He also had to do the same on the drivers side. And what about the button on the floor to dip the headlights. Good old days.

[royoftherovers]

6 minutes ago, Summerbj said:

Remembering my Dad's Hillman Minx and the job of mine as passenger was to strike the panel between the front and rear window to get the stuck trafficator (if that's how you spell it) to pop out as he signalled to turn left. He also had to do the same on the drivers side. And what about the button on the floor to dip the headlights. Good old days.

nice one Brian.👍👍

[LenT]

1 hour ago, Barry14UK said:

Some of those filling your car with Petrol, years ago would ask "check your oil sir?" 

And then hope you hadn’t noticed the wiping of the thumb across the top of the dipstick before they presented it to you, showing how low the oil level was!

[Spock66]

4 hours ago, Spacewagon52 said:

One thing I cringe at is when people are parking or manoeuvring and the turn the steering wheel full lock while stationary. I was told it places great strain on the track rod ends and you should only turn the wheel when moving.

If you have ever had a car without power steering this would be pretty apparent in terms of the force needed to turn the steering wheel.

[Las Palmas]

Several years ago, maybe 30 maybe more, who remember that long ago?

Driving throug Spain we often saw police cars being filled and in the bar just beside it the 2 police guys in uniform and all were sitting and having - like you mentioned - a shot and a coffee, or was it the other way around?

Not Redex. Nobody thought that was anything to notice. That is just how it was.

Times change. If they still have a shot, it is a lot more discreet now.