| Author | Message | ||
     Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1210 Registered: 2-2013 |
In Australia in the late 1970s anybody, even those people on the basic wage could purchase a dwelling. Now in 2018, young people have zero chance to purchase a property unless huge inheritance decends upon them. Yes in the late 1970s you could even buy 60 acres of lovely bushland in rural areas for $60,000 to $80,000 AUD. Affordable land and houses have disappeared and a huge amount of Australians are suffering insane amounts of mortgage debt. Having a roof over one's head is a basic necessity for humans unless you like to live like a kangaraoo. Those in authority did nothing while the market ran away supercharged by the fear of "missing out" I predict that in the next five years there will be many speculative investors leaping out of high buildings. A country that cannot arrange itself so that its young adults can afford a place to live is a country doomed to carnage. As the real estate market crashes like never before and the needy are able to take advantage of the banks selling up to recuperate some of what they have stupidly lent there will be many speculators who have liquidated their portfolio before the crash and they will be nicely cashed up. My prediction its that that liquid cash in the hands of the survivors will drive the classic car market up to stratospheric heights and my basis for saying this is very simple. The cars from 50s, 60s, and 70s and in regard to RR/Bs the mid 80s can never be built again. They are solid and will become immensely valuable. Well this is just an prediction. Let us see what happens! | ||
| Randy Roberson Grand Master Username: wascator Post Number: 823 Registered: 5-2009 |
Enjoyed this post. When it is too easy to borrow it seems to drive the bubble (i.e. prices UP). Over-regulation limits the construction in some areas, driving up prices as well as construction costs. In the US back in the late 1970s the government decided to force lenders to make loans in "disadvantaged" areas; i.e where the banks would not lend because likely the borrowers could not pay back. Well, we saw where that ended up: turned out the borrowers could not pay, and... Now we see enormous increases in college costs forcing students to borrow out the wazoo, not realizing the albatross they are hanging around their necks for life in many cases. When I started at a state college in the mid 1970s I could pay tuition for 4 quarters (a year) for less than $500; now that same college is $3500 a quarter. The state has gradually removed their support to spend on other, less worthwhile IMO endeavors, forcing students to borrow. I got my stepson out without any debt but it was tough on me. All my automotive love is now focused on old, pre-electronics, cars: Model T to the 1970 Silver Shadow. All are a treat, easy to repair and fun to drive. I plan to keep the 1970 Shadow and sell on the 1977 Wraith II. | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2033 Registered: 4-2016 |
Vlad is spot on. Randy is also spot on, how young people can do anything these days is beyond me. Housing in Sydney is a joke with the highest prices in Australia And you’re not getting a whole lot for your money either. I was lucky enough to buy a few thousand acres (less in Hectares) in the early 80’s in the bush, and as Vlad said, almost next to nothing. It’s probably not worth much more than I paid for it back then, but at least it’s real estate that I can pass onto the kids and hopefully will work for them in the future. My daughter and her partner are trying to save for a half decent wedding. I can’t believe how expensive weddings are these days!!! And the plans are not very over the top I might add. My son has just had a car accident last week while we were away. His mechanically perfect 1990 Corolla (which was his wife’s car when they first met he uses for work every day and his wife uses their big car to transport the kids everywhere) has just been written off due to a basic shunt up the arse by a P plater (N or L platers in Europe) and they have been awarded the tidy sum of $1800.00. How can a struggling family replace a perfectly good little run about for that??? Getting back to what Vlad said about classic cars, he is spot on the money. Just before we left for overseas I had been “waking up” this classic Australian car that had not been out of the garage for 15 years, and had not been started for 10 of those years. I’ve known the car since it was bought brand new in 1973 by one of my brothers school mates dad. It a Holden Statesman De Ville. The first true long wheelbase sedan made by Holden. This model first started in 1971. I already have people bashing down my door for it.    The beauty of waking up one of these, is that all I had to do was: Drain the fuel tank (why did we ever stop putting drain plugs in tanks????) Top up oil Top up water (yes just water) in the radiator Top up power steering fluid Replace the battery And after about 5 minutes of cranking and pouring some fuel Down the throat of the 4 barrel Rochester She fired. An hour later I pumped the brake pedal to see if I had a good pedal (I did) then drove it happily home for over an hours trip. Imagine if that was a Shadow??? So what Vlad says is right Classic cars, are a must when it comes to a sound investment and also ensuring they survive in the process. | ||
| Mark Luft Prolific User Username: bentleyman1993 Post Number: 229 Registered: 10-2016 |
Patrick, NICE HOLDEN!! Over here in the states, the insurance company's have a nice little scam going. They have a little device that plugs into your OBD2 port. They then preach about lowering your rates by how you drive. Now this little tattle tale sends them information on hard braking, acceleration, cornering and how fast you drive. Big brother (or sister) riding along. I know of no one that got a LOWER rate. Almost all of my friends that have tried it received warning letters or just higher rates. Our classic cars are not equipped for this device (thank God), and at this point it's voluntary (so far). So yes, keep your classics on the road and drive them. I think in the near future, new cars will have this telemetry device installed at the factory for the insurance company s. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1226 Registered: 2-2013 |
Yes insurance companies are morally out there. Here is a case and I have forgetten the name of it but Lord Denning in England presided and he was known to be very humanitarian. Two men go into hospital to have a minor operation and both are put under general anesthesia. Sadly they both walked into hospital but neither walked out because they were turned into paraplegics. How did this happen? Well the anesthetic they were injected with destroyed their central nervous systems. Further investigation revealed that the anesthetic which was stored in glass ampules immersed in an antiseptic called phenol. Microscopic cracks in the glass had allowed the anesthetic to be displaced by the phenol which crippled them after they were injected. The Judge found that because it was UNFORESEEABLE by the science at the time that the glass would develope microscopic cracks these two men got zero compensation from the hospitals insurance company. How nice is that? There is another case of a man in the Australian state of Victoria. This chap took out life insurance that included suicide. Obviously somewhat mentally depressed he killed himself thinking his wife could collect. Yes he had paid the premium to the insurance company. However, because suicide is illegal in that state the wife got nothing except a nice bill from her lawyers because the law is that nobody can financially benefit from an illegal act. Just prior to the time I started working as a lawyer the concept in Tort law introduced negligent misstatement leading to economic lost and hence Australia wide all lawyers had to cough up big premiums to pay for compulsory insurance. That instantly netted the insurance companies billions and naturally that instantly increased lawyers fees as they passed the bill to the public. Think you can sue your lawyer for being negligent? ha there is a gigantic insurance company behind every lawyer and they only hire the best lawyers in town. Also, the main trick of these lawyers is called "stone walling". What happens is they take every technicality possible to financially stop the claimant BEFORE the trial date. Ah yes no change out of $300,000 in lawyers fees there. Most claimants give up unless they have extremely deep pockets. Insurance companies spend billions world wide on advertising propaganda to convince the public on how friendly they are. I am not convinced. I own no car with any OBD II plug, nor do I ever want one! One lawyer tried to practice without professional indemnity insure and he got locked up in jail! | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1227 Registered: 2-2013 |
Patrick I would like to recommend a XF Falcon for $1800. The one to get is the 250 Cross flow. Avoid the later model with computerised fuel injection. The automatic transmission and the diffs are also bullet proof. The door handles often break and these cars love to rust and considering all cars need yearly road tests you need to get hold of a good one. I only pay for third party property insurance. They are safer than a small Japanese car but it will chew more fuel. An LPG car may reduce running costs. | ||
| Larry Kavanagh Prolific User Username: shadow_11 Post Number: 263 Registered: 5-2016 |
The use of the word "humanitarian" to describe Lord Denning is unconscionable, that would be akin to describing Margaret Thatcher as a socialist. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1228 Registered: 2-2013 |
Now now Larry, we don't want to upset our scrutinizers, the A or the M, by chatting about Ps because that's a naughty no-no. I used the word "humanitarian" to describe Lord Denning because my lecturer at law school who had degrees from Oxford and Harvard described Lord Denning as a " bleeding Heart " to indicate that even due to his kindly humane pass judgements due to the concept of FORESEEABILITY there was really nothing Lord Denning could do for the claimants in this matter. And to round off my yap on the matter I quote from an Irish Magistrate in OZ who told me over lunch " the law is an ass" By ass he was referring to a donkey like creature with four legs. | ||
| Christian S. Hansen Grand Master Username: enquiring_mind Post Number: 976 Registered: 4-2015 |
Lord Denning was no doubt simply ruling according to the law which it is not his prerogative to change from the bench. I suspect that the problem was incompetent legal counsel on the part of the plaintiff's attorney. They probably sued under the wrong cause of action. "Foreseeability" is one of the four cornerstone requisites in a "negligence" case. They are: 1) a duty, 2) a breach of that duty, 3) damages, and 4) a direct causal linkage between breach and damages. Duty, notice, and foreseeability are closely joined. Notice can be either actual (the cracks were obvious and the average man would recognize the danger) or constructive (the risk had been previously recognized and adjudicated as relevant). Otherwise there is no foreseeability and the court CANNOT find negligence and MUST deny an action for negligence. Without knowing all the details (and in law, the details matter) I suspect that a cause based on product liability and specifically in the case of medical practice of anestheology where the risks are such that the doctrine of absolute liability would apply (i.e. if ANYTHING goes wrong, there can be NO defense) would likely have been more successful. In summary the plaintiff probably filed under the wrong cause of action and the court simply ruled according to the law based on the cause presented. P.S. I see that Vladimir and I were posting at the same time. . | ||
| Larry Kavanagh Prolific User Username: shadow_11 Post Number: 264 Registered: 5-2016 |
It was Lord Denning who rejected the appeals of the Birmingham Six. In summing up he said that to accept that they were innocent would mean that the police and the forensic experts were biased or corrupt and that such a scenario was "unconscionable". Rather than examine the evidence he chose to side with the authorities. The six had to spend a further number of years incarcerated as a result of Denning's refusal to accept that the system was rotten and corrupt even though the evidence used to condemn them was clearly flawed from any independent observer's perspective. They were eventually freed and compensated having spent 16 years behind bars for a crime that they didn't commit. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1229 Registered: 2-2013 |
Now now Larry, we don't want to upset our scrutinizers, the A or the M, by chatting about Ps because that's a naughty no-no. I used the word "humanitarian" to describe Lord Denning because my lecturer at law school who had degrees from Oxford and Harvard described Lord Denning as a " bleeding Heart " to indicate that even due to his kindly humane pass judgements due to the concept of FORESEEABILITY there was really nothing Lord Denning could do for the claimants in this matter. And to round off my yap on the matter I quote from an Irish Magistrate in OZ who told me over lunch " the law is an ass" By ass he was referring to a donkey like creature with four legs. | ||
| Christian S. Hansen Grand Master Username: enquiring_mind Post Number: 977 Registered: 4-2015 |
This second case apparently involved the element of judicial discretion with opens it to argument (depending on one's perspective) as to whether than discretion was appropriately applied. No deflecting criticism based on "just ruling according to the law." . | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1230 Registered: 2-2013 |
Patrick's Holden Statesman. Now even this car is very collectible in Australia. The Statesman is no Rolls Royce and indeed it is not even a Cadillac even though GMH cheekily snatched the Cadillac Crest though modified it for this car.In fact the Statesman is not even a lowly Chevrolet. It does however used the same GM Turbo Hydromatic 400 Transmission as Cadillac and Rolls Royce. The woodwork on the dashboard is you guessed it a tacky plastic imposter. The engine is a 308 or 253 V8 or even a 350 Chev V8. These cars are very reliable as they don't use computers or EFI. Nor do they have a mountain of anti pollution gear on the engine. Mechanically, they are dead easy to access and repair. The front part of the car all the way to the rear doors is basic Belmont or Kingswood apart from the snazzy grille. That front piece was pinched from so many wrecked Statesmans to be fitted onto Ute's and Panelvans it just was not funny. Here is the really bad part: The rear panels are exclusive to the Statesman so if you get rear ended you will be in a world of pain and wreckers will laugh at you if you ask if they have any in stock. Compared to the late model Commodore Statesmans which were a huge but ugly joke and now worth half a paper of soggy fish and chips these were very good cars. Patrick would have to be stark raving nuts or desperate to put food on the table to sell it. What is totally bewildering is I have often seen sellors asking prices as much as a good Spirit or Spur and for my loot I would go for the Rolls Royce even if I was outback drunk on Vodka. No amount of mind bending philosophical thought can get even close to explaining why Aussies will pay so much for a car that really offers so little in luxury as the Statesman. | ||
| Larry Kavanagh Prolific User Username: shadow_11 Post Number: 265 Registered: 5-2016 |
When the Guilford Four were eventually acquitted Lord Denning remarked that they were probably guilty anyway. He later apologised for that remark when threatened with litigation. With regard to the Birmingham Six he allegedly stated that had they been hanged the need to protest their innocence would have been obviated. The final straw insofar as Denning was concerned and a catalyst for his retirement from the bench was a remark he published claiming that black people were unsuitable as jurors, he was later forced to make a public apology. He suggested also that homosexuals should not be called to the bench as they could be open to blackmail. In his defence I will grant him the accolade of being a champion of deserted or divorced wives when he deemed that they were entitled to adequate compensation based on their husband's means and in that regard he was a champion of the underdog. I reckon he was a product of his time and of the education system that formed his biased views. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3068 Registered: 4-2003 |
M speaks!!!! The preceding posts effectively illustrate the reason why the ordinary "person in the street" has a poor opinion of the Law and its practitioners when arcane and obscure interpretations/practices are used to circumvent a decision that, given the hard facts involved, should have been made by the Court to align with both justice and community expectations. Don't get me started on the "life experience" and "background " of those [politicians, judiciary and lawyers] empowered to participate in decisions that affect all of us given the frequency of decisions/outcomes that blatantly do not reflect the facts as presented, community expectations and encouragement of law-abiding behaviour. As far as Vladimir's Statesman is concerned, IMHO the equivalent Ford Fairlane was equally worth serious consideration although it was not purchased for Government VIP use so it rarely appears in the second-hand market despite being very popular with private hire car operators. . | ||
| Christian S. Hansen Grand Master Username: enquiring_mind Post Number: 978 Registered: 4-2015 |
It's even worse in my neck of the woods where the litigators often simply do not understand the statutes and the judiciary just as frequently either "interprets" them or conveniently ignores them anyway depending on their preferences. Honestly, as one who reads the statutes and how they affect my business, I would prefer that the laws be applied as written, otherwise there is no predictability guiding behavior and it is impossible to make prudent decisions which thus further erodes respect for the law and its application. . | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1231 Registered: 2-2013 |
Phew that was a close one Larry, I think we both just dodged the editorial bullet from the M, who I might add is rollicking good fun to chat with on the phone. Perhaps our chat falls into the "historical" basket and is not really classed as yak on forbidden P subject. Larry I need to educate myself on Dennings comments that you mentioned. But I can tell you this as somebody who practiced Australian law, has two law degrees and has letters from the Bar Associations stating that I can sit the bar in both the states of Colorado and New York. I saw so many injustices in court that eventually it almost did my central nervous system in before I hung up my wig and gown and fled like a coward back to my trade as a motor mechanic. The law is not for the squeamish but is perfect and extremely highly paid for the psychopath of which there are many on both sides of the bench. Indeed one of my colleagues in law school who was a police Sargeant and one hell of a tough lady once told me that one of Australia's top QCs specialising in criminal law once exclaimed his key motto was " not innocent until proven guilty " but " innocent until proven broke ". Western nations legal systems are superior to Russia by a long shot but bribery does function extremely well there. That aside I did once purchase a full leather coat from a top Moscow prosecutor in Australia who did flee from the Ghost of The Soviet Union after he was told the a local mafia group, " drop the case or else". He did the smart thing - he fled to Australia where I tutored him on some strange bits of contract law as the poor fellow had to do an entire law degree again to practice here. Although I criticise law in the west, there are sadly countries where the legal system is inherently much crazy. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1232 Registered: 2-2013 |
You may have some good points there Christian about the lawyers getting it wrong as that I can assure you is not an uncommon event. The craziest lawyer I ever met was a Frenchman who once attempted to put a dog, yes a canine, into the witness box in the Western Australian Supreme Court to give evidence. Err yes, the presiding judges would not allow that. I consider one thing though and that is this: those two men who were crippled and got nothing would have lost all faith in their legal system and that case haunts me still even though I only studied it decades ago. In large powerful law firms, as an employed lawyer, no matter what, you either bill four times your earnings or you are gone. I wish I studied something more useful to mankind like Science especially physics as I could right now be playing with a partial accelerator and plasma to create fusion. I suspect our Chinese friends are just about to successfully create usable fusion and that really will be something that will change our destiny forever. | ||
| Larry Kavanagh Prolific User Username: shadow_11 Post Number: 266 Registered: 5-2016 |
I think our Chinese friends are also about to take over the world's financial trading markets. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1233 Registered: 2-2013 |
Taken is perhaps the better tense Larry or if you prefer "bound to take". | ||
| Christian S. Hansen Grand Master Username: enquiring_mind Post Number: 979 Registered: 4-2015 |
Vladimir... One of your comments about billing practices reminds me of the "lawyer" joke, we shall refer to him as "Mr Jones", who upon dying and being presented to God for interview regarding being admitted to Heaven, was greeted by God as "oh, yes, the 267 year old Mr. Jones" to which the Mr. Jones replied, "there must be a mistake for I am not 267 years old" and to which God "all knowingly" replied, "I presumed you must be for I have reviewed your billing statements." ...Try to repress your laughter... . | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1234 Registered: 2-2013 |
Christian, a lawyer and a plastic surgeon are at a party. A socialite woman asks the surgeon about getting certain surgery done, ie what are the risks da da!da and the surgeon gives her advice that takes 15 minutes of his time. The woman walks away and says I will book in with you. The surgeon the asks the lawyer if legally he can bill the woman for the advice. The lawyer says "Yes". The next day the woman receives a bill from the surgeon for $300 services rendered. The surgeon then receives a bill from the lawyer for a grand! | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1235 Registered: 2-2013 |
This is no joke. From my days in New York City I befriended an Italian American Wiseguy who grew up in Hells Kitchen. After I qualified to practice he told me on the phone I now had a licence to steal. Guess I was a pretty lousy thief! | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2036 Registered: 4-2016 |
Thanks for the comment Mark. She is a time capsule that’s for sure. The interior has not survived very well, but the rest is pristine. I have had the car out in the driveway in the sun doing some work, and she attracts more attention from passers by then the Shadow or the 25 Chev. However nothing turns heads on my street more than my 61 Holden FB Special. Yep Aussies love their old Holdens. Already about 6 people want to buy it “as is” it is almost a better commodity than land. Here are some more images of such a simple non pollution engine bay. 5 litre (308CI) Aussie built Holden V8.   The engine bay is as found, have not cleaned at all. The car cover had 15 years of undisturbed dust on it. This is quite a rare model, as the first luxury car Holden produced was still a basic car. The customer had to tick the boxes for options. This one only has power steering. She has manual windows & no air conditioning. This is extremely rare, as over the years since the 70’s all Statesman’s would have had these “factory” items installed at one time or another when they came up at wreckers or even bought over the counter. So a basic poverty pack untouched Statesman is very unusual. Currently going through her from top to bottom. Radiator out getting serviced is the only major job, the rest is just so very basic service work. Vlad is spot on, pretty basic Holden station wagon floor pan (this was the first true LWB Sedan Holden made) but unique front & rear ends. You can buy replica nose cones from a company here called rare spares, tail lights yes, but back end no way. So I’ll make sure I keep my arse protected!!!! | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1237 Registered: 2-2013 |
Oh Patrick the only reason people look at that Statesman is because its in Australia. My goodness wind up windows - such decadence. Err now that you have our international friends bemused you may decide to irrevocably retract the propaganda about the Statesman being the first luxury car in Oz. Do I need to remind you of the Premier, yes EH Holden Premier with 179 straight 6 engine with fibre destined to strip its teeth timing gear which came with 4 wheel drum brakes and a totally hideous Hydramatic transmission that shifted so fast that poisoned snails out performed it. In 1965 Buick Rivieras started to arrive down under. That was 130 MPH. But hey it is real simple what happened in Detroit. Somebody had worked out that anything the Argentinians rejected could be shipped down under rebadged, stamped Made In Australia and yes oh I will take that HR Premier, no not the Buick Riviera with a meat pie and tomato sauce. That is all funny and would be more funny if it was not true. Panels for your Holden sir? Here we have a brand new panel for you. Yes sir "it is made in Taiwan!" and its packaged nicely because says " Australian Owned" My goodness talk about pulling the wool over the Sheep's eye! | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2037 Registered: 4-2016 |
Now there is a blast from the past Vlad. My dad had an EH Premier wagon. Great memories of family trips in that old girl. You are spot on about the Hydramatic “slushbox” as we used to call them. That’s another model pulling HUGE dollars for good examples mate. For our international friends, here are some EH Premier images. This model was released in August 1963       The HR Vlad mentions looks like this. Released April 1966    | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1243 Registered: 2-2013 |
Marvellous photos Patrick. Are they luxury cars???? Note the engine bay. So here is what you got: No power brakes. No disc brakes. No power steering. No air conditioning (very cuddly at 44C (that is over 110F for our American friends) No power windows. No power door locks. No power seats. No cruise control. No automatic headlight dipping. No twilight sentinel. No power aerial. No power boot/trunk release. In a good head on smash the steering column could impale you and these cars had the handling characteristics of dead but wet goose. Ah those were the days. You could buy a house though! | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1244 Registered: 2-2013 |
Oops sorry no seat belts either. Seat belts were not fitted as standard. Air bags? Nope not even invented. Oh also no laminated windscreen/windshield.And defineately no limited slip differential. | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2038 Registered: 4-2016 |
I hope our international friends (or trend setters as Vlad calls you) don’t mind the Australian history lesson, but these cars are dear to Vlads heart & mine. As each model came along Holden would give the engine a bit of an upgrade. The 63 EH above had the 149 CI 6 cylinder (2.4L) as standard Or you could spec the 179 CI (2.9L) as shown. Then the 66 HR had the 161 CI 6 cylinder (2.6L) as standard or you could spec the famous 186 CI (3.04L) engine. Shown below.  You will note in the above image that power brakes were offered as a dealer fit option. Heaters were also now available fitted from the factory and for the first time these new lines of “red engines” as they became known had spin on oil filters. All, earlier cars had optional dealer fit cartridge type filters which were bolted to the inner guard with hoses going to them. Holden at least offered quite torquey and powerful 6 cylinder engines right from the get go in 1948, where our staple diet of English cars mainly had 4 cylinder engines. These engines and engine bays are not to dis similar to my 61 Holden Special I showed you guys pics of a few months ago. As Vlad states, yes, we could also afford houses and land back then. Not so easy now. Here is a typical post war 3 bedroom home offered across Australia.  The above plan is quite a generous home compared to what most of us would remember as kids. Average prices for house & land in Sydney in the late 60’s were around $10,000.00, today it is around $1,000,000.00 A fairly average 3 bedroom house plan for Sydney today would look like this.   As Vlad correctly states, Almost impossible for the average Aussie in 2018. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1245 Registered: 2-2013 |
The photos of cars which Patrick has posted up show evidence of an Australia from a much more innocent and simplistic time. For example a mechanic would not have known what a resume was - you simply turned up and more than likely were given "a fair go" that is a start. Straight after work the hotels would be full of men talking loudly and swilling down large amounts of beer before going home to a nice warm meal or an argument depending on the amount consumed.The introduction of random breath tests soon emptied the pubs. Arguments mostly friends and foes alike roared about which car was better - the Holden, the Falcon or the Valiant. As a man you really got one choice and moving from one brand to another was looked down upon. Back in those days men would "fight at the drop of a hat" for reasons that seemed quite mad. Bullying and fist fighting started from grade one in primary school. The police were very different then and being rude to them meant you were asking for a thumping which you would receive. But right up until the late seventies the police used a lot of commonsense. I was pulled up one day, the cop walked around the car,naturally a white HQ Panel Van with mandatory mattress, curtains etc for obvious reasons and the cop said "right you have four bald tyres and what is going to happen when you drive fast?" I replied that I never drove fast. The cop snapped "Don't lie to me, I know you all drive fast so you have 24 hours to fit new tyres and bring your van to the police station or I am coming after you.!!!" Yes, the next day I had new tyres and presented the car to the police station and the Sarge opened a book scribbled down something and then told me to get lost. They did not bother looking at the new tyres! As a kiddy in the 1960s we all had native animals as pets.I had a blue ringed octopus. Lovely little thing with a poisoned beak full of neotoxin capable of killing you in under five minutes. Guns were no big deal either and there was no licence necessary. The object of that caper was you went into the bush and shot anything that moved and if it didn't move you shot it anyway. Getting a smack across the ears from your school teacher was common but you did not go home and say you got a whack from your teacher because that would result in another smack from whoever was looking after you. Caning was highly prized and indeed Six of the Best resulted in instant superstar status for a few days. Yes Australia was different then and as for Rolls Royces they were never seen although I saw my first around 1970, a grey Silver Cloud One owned by a wool mill owner. You did however see a lot of Mark 10 Jaguars, Zephyrs, Consuls, Prefects, Austins, Studebakers, Desotos, Chrysler's Royals, Ford 500 Tanks sedans and station wagons, Pontiac Parisiennes (right hand drive from Canada) go figure because Detroit only sold left hand drive, Hillman's, Vanguards,VW Beatles and Kombis,Ramblers and really hideous things called Goggomobiles. Unbelievably in Sydney in the mid sixties I saw a Czechoslovakian black Tatra with three headlights. Within clear view of the Soviet Union's Trade Mission, on the dealers floor, a brand new Holden HD 1966 waiting for its new owner to fall in love with its fast rusting ability. And the path to immense wealth was easy. Buy a few acres of dirt cheap land, erect sheds, buy all cars you could for $50 to $100 each and there were thousands of them and wait a few decades. Buy a house - who needed a house when you had beer to swill, girls to talk to, Johnny O'Keith (OZ Elvis), and rubber to burn?!!! Yes a different time, and a different culture sadly missed..... | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2039 Registered: 4-2016 |
My dad took took this pic in the late 60’s of his EH Premier Wagon (burgundy in colour) in his car port.  I recreated this shot a few months ago. Just wish I could recreate the old grain and blur of the original. This is my 61 Holden Special. I remember everything Vlad mentions. Great days. I can still feel the scorching burns in summer from the vinyl seats!   | ||
| Randy Roberson Grand Master Username: wascator Post Number: 825 Registered: 5-2009 |
Love the car pics; that first example reminds one of the Oldsmobiles circa 1970 in USA. Thanks for sharing! | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1251 Registered: 2-2013 |
Test | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1252 Registered: 2-2013 |
Yes thanks David the Soviet is back through the door of passwords enigmas. Patrick that last car is either an EK or and FB. The EK Holden was my first registered car and I had a stationwagon (with mandatory mattress and curtains for obvious reasons.) I rolled the EK at high speed on a Ipswich coal road and I did not roll it side to side, no I rolled it end to end. Flipped it end to end its a better description. That is to say the front passenger side wheel went down a hole just coming over a hill airborne at 70 mph in the road as I hit the brakes (eh what brakes?) and the back of the car lifted up and passed over the front. All without seat belts naturally and of course not a scratch on me, I crawled out, oil running out of the engine as it was on its roof. Minutes later came an old chap with a car who said " you need a tow?" and he put a tow rope over the rear leaf spring and pulled it back on to its wheels. And off I went again. Top Speed was 85 miles per hour and often being young and crazy that was a regular event. The speedo looked definitely like it was out of a 1957 Chevrolet and I forget how many times I blew the gearbox to smithereens from dropping the clutch pedal fast to get some more tread off the rear tyres. That was mandatory behaviour back in 1974! It had the grey side plate engine with a tappet cover gasket that would not stop leaking regardless of how many times I changed the cork gasket. No need for pollution gear, this one did not even have positive crankcase ventilation. Just a J shaped pipe that dumped sump fumes and engine blowby straight to the ground. Being an apprentice without money to overhaul the engine it consumed crazy amounts of Bardahl oil thickener. | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2040 Registered: 4-2016 |
Vlad and jet setters. If you look closely between the blue jam tin like upside down coil, and the fuel pump with vacuum pump on the bottom, you will see the “walking stick” as we used to call them. Anything that wanted out of the engine exited here, straight onto the ground.  The other side of the mighty 138 CI (2.23L) 6 cylinder.  Yes Vlad, You were correct, my 1961 FB Special.  | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 2041 Registered: 4-2016 |
Randy, Do you have any pics of the Oldsmobile you are referring to? |
