Off topic, but a trivia question

do you mean as standard equipment on the car or when available as in on the market that you could have installed on your car as in aftermarket?

i did install a bulb type pump-it-with-yourp-foot on the floor that i had purchased as a parts store.

here's some trivia for late 50's early 60's.

my 1957 ford custom did not come with a heater, that was optional, it did come with turn signals, that was standard in 1955 or 1956.

tires had a warranty of 12,000 miles, exhaust systems wore out as early as 10,000 miles, and engines were considered at the end of their life by

70,000. we had just went to a 12 volt system around 1955 and everyone was amazed about how fast the starter speed was. air condition cars were few and far in between. and you could buy a 4v 312 v-8 with a super charger for your standard car.

we have come so far.

anyone else want to add to memory lane?

~ curtis

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional

I had a 58 Buick Special. It was the cheapest model- no radio even. But as for options- air ride rear suspension with a compressor driven off the engine, autronic eye (automatic headlight dimming), HI FI radio with front and rear speakers and a transisitor radio that had it's own little compartment in the glove box, full set of gauges with a nifty speedometer that was a straight line across the dash (a cylinder had a red marking that spiraled on the cylinder so that as the speed increased the cylinder turned exposing more red to show your speed) trip odometer was an option, standard heaters under the front seats as well as the best heater I've ever had in a car (core was copper plates soldered together, not tubes like a radiator) and it came with vent windows that had winders like regular windows.

Ford had directionals in 55 for sure- we had two, and in Mass. they both had heaters.

Remember the 'reverb' for radios?

Ever put a screw into the center of a 12 volt battery to provide a 6 volt tap for a radio?

Remember when you could wax a car as hard as you wanted to without denting it?

max-income

That's really only been a problem recently... seems like they've been shaving a few thousandths off every piece of sheet metal every year, and now the cars are tinfoil. But as late as 95, the bodywork still had a solid feel (at least Taurus does).

Now that's just cool. Inventive!

When 12 volt vehicles started coming out it was pretty common. Lots of old 6 volt radios around then, as well as other 6 volt accessories.

max-income

Slightly off topic to your off-topic but my 1963 Anglia was not fitted with a washer bottle from new but government legislation meant that one had to be retro-fitted. As far as I'm aware this is the only feature on cars here in the UK that has been made compulsory retrospectively. So now I drive about in a car with no seat belts but I can get a ticket if there is no water in the washer bottle !

Wow... they actually check for washer fluid? What else do they check for?