The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk a mind of it's own.

i have owned a lot of old vehicles and i beleive they have a mind of their own. what do you think? when i tell some one that that never has owned an old truck or car they do not beleive me. i park my 54 chevy dually up close to my house in the same spot. i have a certain procedure for starting it and it works every time unless i park her in a different location in the yard and then she will not start the same or not start at all . i keep my truck as original as i can and i talk to her before i start he up and pat the dash. when we return i tell her she did a good job. it seems to work for me . i was at the thrift store with the truck and a guy in the store came out and saw my truck. he said, i like your truck. if you redo the truck with a new engine and transmission it will run a long time. i said, she has run for 52 years with out all that. .

I think the starting problem (when you park the truck in a different spot) has to do with the amount of sunlight/shade, which makes the gas either heat up or cool down, which will affect the combustion propeties of the gasoline.

i might agree with that but when i park it in the same place it is sunny at times and shady at times but it always starts good there. i really beleive old cars and trucks know their owner and also have a mind of their own. i know that sounds crazy. i once owned a 1966 rambler classic. i stopped using it because of some minor problem, not a starting problem. i put it in my back yard and it stayed there for 6 months. i finally put it in a trader for sale. a man called me and wanted to look at the car. he look at it and decided to buy it. i said , you will probably have to have it towed. he said let me try it. he couldn't get it started after trying to jump it so he said i may change a few simple parts, which he did. he still could not start it. he said i am going to have to tow it to my house. i said, let me try to start it. he looked at me like i was crazy but he said, o.k. i got in the car and patted the dash and said, come on baby. start for me and i turned the key and it cranked right off. the buyer said, i can't beleive that. i said, my car just doesn't know you. he drove the car off and i never heard from him again.

hmm... that could work as an anti-theft mechanism too.

I agree totaly about cars having thier own personality. Hell I had a VW station wagon (type 3)that would stall everytime my wife drove it. But for me it would never stall.
There are some things you must never tell your car. 1. It's paid for. 2. It is out of warranty. 3. I am going to trade my car in.
I am an old VW mechanic, (they like me), they will perform for me with out question. I speak fluent volkswagen. The VW is probably the most independent automobile ever built. They have a true mind of their own and if they don't like you they will leave you stranded.

I,m shure these old cars & trucks have little quierks we get used to but talking to them. :rolleyes:

I've got an '85 s-10 blazer that has a jealous streak. It'll stall on me and not start when I stop by the local Chevy dealer and look at the new trucks. Sometimes it acts up if I drive the '55 regularly. Now I think that it's trying to have an oil leak competition with the '55, and it may be winning. Nothing wrong with talking to your trucks, just worry if they talk back.

Back about 1970 I put a bid in on 3 post office vans. You know the box ones with right hand drive. Two jeeps and a 1962 Studebaker. Won all three bids. Sold the other two for enough that the Stud only cost me $100. My wife named it Vance.

We had more fun in that van. Went to Canada, Montrial and were stopped on a street at a traffic light. Next to the curb. Looked out and this older gentleman was looking at the van and tears were coming out of his eyes. He said he used to work at the studebaker assembly plant that made the vans. It was a nice reunion. Light changed and off we went. He watched us depart; had the nicest look on his face.

Anyway that van never left us stranded. Even when it sucked a valve. I managed to drive it home. Got the head off and the valve head was embedded in the piston. Nothing else was hurt. My wife Donna always patted it on its dash and spoke to it. Always cranked.

Man and his car/truck are a symbiotic relationship. We each need each other.

I swore at mine once and regretted it for a month.

I just bought a 1000 Cub Cadet from my deceased Mother in Law auction. Well this thing had not ran for 10 yrs. worked on it before the auction and got it purring like a kitten. Cool!

Auction time: drive the Cub out of the garage then the auction starts. Cub will not start! Anyway I buy this thing take it home nothing but Carb. problems! Finally I look at it and say something real nice about my M-I-L> and the D##N thing starts running like a new one.

popcorn The Truth is Out There (and that is the truth) ! Someday I'll tell you guys about my ghost Indian. Pops