Going through some old family paperwork the older generation found a receipt for the cost of servicing a Morris Traveller in 1964. Service carried out at village garage - 10,000 miles - 14 shillings and 6 d. For those who've only lived in decimal times that equates to, I'm told, 72.5 pence. The 9,000 mile service was the same price!
That's the equivalent of about £15 in today's money. Even though 60s cars didn't have many consumables (air filters could often be washed & reused, no cambelts etc), it's still very cheap.
Almost compensates for the fact that cars of that era needed servicing every 3,000 miles or so, not to mention the ongoing repairs inbetween ;-)
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My last A series was a 1275 A+ in a new Ital van.
A superb van which went rather well handled nicely and the engine/exhaust had a lovely gruff note, a workmate and i travelled roughly 65 miles each way cross country every weekday to cover a contract we were on, the van was driven hard often with two complete lorry spare tyres on steel wheels in the back, and never once let us down...but it was serviced (in house) above and beyond because the haulier we worked for believed that good maintenance was essential.
I think the A and B (and O as in 2200 versions) series engines in FWD form were unfairly criticised, the problem being as they held so much oil due to the gearbox sharing the sump, an oil change was expensive so cheapo oil if changed at all was the order of the day.
I had a 2200 Landcrab, it truly was a horrid thing not a patch on a good 1800S (a superb car of its time), an oil change on the 2200 ISTR was some 22 pints.
That service in '64 was cheap, considering a proper service would have included checking and adjusting the drum brakes up (not sure if any Minors got front discs), even checking the brake fluid was a bind with the master cyl being under the drivers feet, however working under the bonnet on those simple cars was a pleasure.
Edited by gordonbennet on 17/07/2017 at 09:49
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Cars of that era needed a lube service every 3000 miles with an oil change (using what by todays standards you would not use in your mower) every 6000 miles. In real terms servicing is far cheaper.
Back then the cars would overheat on a warm summers day as soon as you hit traffic and then pack in then the points closed up. And while you sat waiting for the AA man on his motorbike to arrive you could hear the thing rusting away.
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I'm fairly sure there were several greasing points on my 1965 Morris Oxford that should have been attended to every 1,000 miles.
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Still got 6 grease points on the Landcruiser. both propshafts, but that's it.
Most motorists with any nous had their own grease guns back then, and by virtue of money being short most motorists did most of their own maintenance.
Dare say most motorists, who arn't rolling in the money or prefer by choice older or long term cars, still do lots of maintenance themselves.
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>>Dare say most motorists, who arn't rolling in the money or prefer by choice older or long >>term cars, still do lots of maintenance themselves.
Many, I suggest, do no maintenance at all & never look after the cars.
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>>Dare say most motorists, who arn't rolling in the money or prefer by choice older or long >>term cars, still do lots of maintenance themselves.
Many, I suggest, do no maintenance at all & never look after the cars.
I suppose i get a slightly warped view as i'm a member of another forum where old and often unloved cars are the point of the foru, and simply have to be looked after in order to keep them going.
It's true where i live i never see another bonnet up apart from John along the road who has an older Freelander and looks after it well, most cars where i live are new or newish, never see a bonnet up, luckily our driveway is quite hidden so few know i have the tools and reasonable facilities for looking after cars, my neighbour at my last house was a pita always whittling to try and get me to do things on his car, i'd get home after a 14 hour shift and he'd be there like a loyal dog to greet me with a problem.
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Nice period road test here of a Vanden Plas Princess 1100: www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/sets/721576.../
As it's an A-series lump with the gearbox in the sump, servicing is given as 8.5 pints of straight 20W or 30W and filter every 3,000 miles: however the filter can be changed every 6,000 miles when using 'multigrade' oils :-D
4 grease points every 3,000 miles, too.
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When I joined the RAF in 1963 I was paid 15/- (75p) a week.
Mind you, beer was a hell of a lot cheaper then, a pint and 10 embassy were only a couple of bob.
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When I joined the RAF in 1963 I was paid 15/- (75p) a week. Mind you, beer was a hell of a lot cheaper then, a pint and 10 embassy were only a couple of bob.
I knew a lad who was an RAF Corporal, he said it was well paid, board, lodging and kit provided so pay was all spending money (unless he had some scam running like Milo in Catch 22)
As I recall at that time petrol was about 4/0d (20p) a gallon, beer was 1/6 (7p) a pint, cigarettes under 4/0d (20p) for 20. Road tax about £12 10s (12.50) a year, TPFT insurance for my A40 Devon about £13, tyres around £4 to £5 each.
My student grant was £300 a year, £10 per week over the 30 weeks of terms, B & B in University approved lodgings £4 10s a week, so £5 10s a week for books, clothes, food and drink during the day, during the vacations students usually did temporary jobs as builders' labourers, petrol pump attendants etc, (I worked in a foundry myself)
First fulltime job in 1964 was £17 a week before tax/NI etc, had to travel a fair distance to work so train fares or petrol were significant costs.
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I hope your memories of your A40 Devon were pleasant ones, Galileo. My parents had one new in 1951, and my first ever car (in 1969) was a 14-year-old A50 Cambridge. I should think it depended on how well previous owners had looked after it: I was lucky with mine and was very fond of it. Never let me down.
Austins in those days, with OHV engines, 4-speed gearboxes and independent front suspension, were well ahead of the competition, some of which had side-valve engines, or 3-speed gearboxes, or were unreliable. Fords were all three.....but look at Ford now and what happened to Austin of England. Sad.
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My Dad's friend always bought new BMC motors every couple of years. He turned up one day to show off his new Japanese car. After a few months he came again and said that with BMC he always kept a notebook and noted down all the defects that he wanted put right by the dealer. With the Japanese car there was nothing to put right as nothing had broken/dropped off.
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My Dad's friend always bought new BMC motors every couple of years. He turned up one day to show off his new Japanese car. After a few months he came again and said that with BMC he always kept a notebook and noted down all the defects that he wanted put right by the dealer. With the Japanese car there was nothing to put right as nothing had broken/dropped off.
We had friends who bought one of the first Datsun's, what struck me was that heater and radio were included, at a time when BMC charged extra for these. Anyone else remember freezing journeys in heaterless cars in the cold winters we used to have so regularly?
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Fortunately not! Going back to the A40 Devon, that actually had a heater: it was a basic recirculatory one but better than nothing. I think my 1955 A50 had directional controls for screen or floor.
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1966 - my first brand new car. Cortina - Total, on road was some £612, inc Road Tax £12.50
Petrol was 4/8d per gallon = 24p /gallon = 5.3p/litre
Standard were crossplies, radials was an upgrade & cost me £10 IIRC.
(New radials were about £7.00 each)
Seat Belts were extra £5.00 each for 2 - no rear belts these days.
Washers & a washer bag were extra as was a demist plastic panel for the rear window. Bonnet lock was £2.50 to supply & fit.
Servicing, every 5 or 6K was around £7 @ the main for dealer.
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Slightly off topic and a decade and a half later than the period mentioned in the OP, but after I first joined the fire service in 1979, colleagues would regularly bring their cars onto station on night shifts to carry out major work; engine and gearbox replacements etc. Many stations had an inspection pit and heavy duty trolley jacks suitable for lifting HGVs.Most of these guys had Escorts, Cortinas, Heralds etc etc...cars they had owned for years and kept in good nick by maintaining them using station facilities.
Nowadays I very much doubt whether any firefighter has the time, the expertise, or indeed the access to publicly funded facilities provided on station to do anything but the most routine work on a personal vehicle.
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Futher receipts:-
December 1975 - 3 gallons of petrol £2.19 = 73 pence a gallon
November 1976 - MOT = £2.10
July 1976 - 12,000 miless service for Austin Maxi at supplying dealer £25.27. The 9.5 pints of castrol GTX cost £3.29 in total. Oil filter £1.30. Air filter £1.80. 4 Champion spark plugs £1.92.
January 1976 - 3,000 miles service for same car at same dealer - £5.27.
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Of course back then you needed to do valve grinds, decoking etc. Now you never hear of such things. Same with replacement engines which were quite a normal thing to wear out. Now you only replace the engine if you have a major malfunction. Clutches were another item that had a much shorter life in those days. Not to mention rust repairs. Remember plating rusted out sills, chassis rust etc?
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Hmmm that was all very nostalgic !
My Dad was in the Fire Service (Leicester) in the Sixties and he used to get our Austin 7, Standard 10 'serviced' using the excellent station facilities.
We lived in a Fire Service house on an estate attached to the Fire Station which made a real sense of community.
As a student (about 1969) I worked in the Summer holidays as a petrol pump attendant. What a great job that was - lots of tips helped me buy my Lambretta scooter.
I recall it was an 'Esso' station which mean't 'Happy Motoring' according to the TV jingles ?
AND it was happy times.
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Hmmm that was all very nostalgic !
My Dad was in the Fire Service (Leicester) in the Sixties and he used to get our Austin 7, Standard 10 'serviced' using the excellent station facilities.
We lived in a Fire Service house on an estate attached to the Fire Station which made a real sense of community.
As a student (about 1969) I worked in the Summer holidays as a petrol pump attendant. What a great job that was - lots of tips helped me buy my Lambretta scooter.
I recall it was an 'Esso' station which mean't 'Happy Motoring' according to the TV jingles ?
AND it was happy times.
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When I joined the RAF in 1963 I was paid 15/- (75p) a week. Mind you, beer was a hell of a lot cheaper then, a pint and 10 embassy were only a couple of bob.
In 1964 I was working as a library assistant and getting 8 pounds a week. That was a fairly normal wage then. I assume you only got 15/- because it was all found. Meals, accommodation etc were provided. It still seems pretty miserly though.
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There were people who would come round and rebore your engine in your garage for you. The adverts I remember from the Manchester Evening News were 10/6 (52.5p) per bore
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Only rich people paid for 'servicing' and repairs in the 60s. I remember my old Ford Pop losing 1st gear (lost a few teeth from the cogwheel). Jacked it up, undid prop shaft, dropped the box, dismantled and replaced offending cog. Well within capability of a child brought up with a Meccano set (like German children probably still are).
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