Driving in the days of the good old jalopy

As I parked my car in the garage at the end of the day, my son noticed that the cabin light was on even after we had locked the car. We tried all possible measures but the light continued to beam. To prevent the battery from getting discharged, I told my son to open the fuse box and take out the main fuse. To my dismay, there was no main fuse like the one in the house. At the end, I had to resort to the time-tested removal of the terminal from the battery.

As I sat mulling on the problem, I travelled back to the 1970s when my father owned a Standard Herald, the 1962 model. Those days, cars were considered a luxury and used only once or twice a month to save on petrol. Like rockets, which went into the orbit in stages, the car engine would also crank to life after a long-drawn procedure, unlike the present when you have to merely insert the key or push a button and the engine jumps to life.

In those easygoing days, there was no concept of weekends and every day could be a Sunday. Suddenly my father would decide to start the car and sure enough the engine would not crank. Then Stage I would kick in and the battery would be connected to a portable charger and its gauge checked every two hours until the next evening till the battery was charged. In Stage II, petrol would be poured inside the carburetor from a bottle and the engine would be cranked again.

Failure to crank would lead to Stage III wherein I would sit in the driver’s seat to press the ignition and my father would place his hand on the carburetor to generate the necessary suction.

This time the engine would pulsate to life, and everyone would heave a sigh of relief. Stage IV, if required, would entail giving a push to the car for quite a distance, a task performed by willing passers-by. The best part would be that the car would be kept on idle for half an hour to ensure that the engine did not stop.

The actual distance to be traversed would only be 3 km to 5 km for a roundabout trip, but the engine would run on idle for half an hour.

Taking a highway trip of even 50 km would entail a visit to the mechanic followed by a long list of spare parts to be carried along. These would include a fan belt, brake oil, coil, spark plugs, and water in a jerrycan for filling up the radiator from time to time or for sprinkling on the radiator if the engine got too hot.

I used to be awestruck by the driver of an Ambassador car, wondering how he was changing the gears.

It’s not easy to come to grips with the new age vehicles. These days, the simple task of replenishing the windscreen fluid is akin to solving the Rubik’s cube as the containers for coolants, steering fluid, brake fluid, wind screen washer et al are so similar. Tinkering with the high-tech engine is surely at the owner’s risk and cost.

I TRAVELLED BACK TO THE 1970S WHEN MY FATHER OWNED A STANDARD HERALD, THE 1962 MODEL. THOSE DAYS, CARS WERE CONSIDERED A LUXURY AND USED ONCE OR TWICE A MONTH TO SAVE ON PETROL