What should I do if my car's engine is flooded and won't start?
You probably have a carburetor, but flooding can also possibly happen with a fuel-injected vehicle. In either case, provided that it's actually flooded (you can smell the fuel), arrange for some means of recharging your battery just in case. If carbureted, prop the choke open with some object that doesn't obstruct very much of the carburetor's intake and is too large to accidentally drop down through the carburetor into the intake manifold. Hold the accelerator pedal all the way to the floor. Crank the engine, but no longer than twenty seconds at a time without stopping to allow the starter motor to cool off. You may need to keep a battery charger or a set of jumper cables (connected to a running vehicle) connected to the battery to keep it charged while you do this.Your engine should eventually start if you do this. When it does, immediately release the accelerator pedal and "feather" it to keep the engine barely running. If you have a helper, have them remove whatever you used to prop the choke open. If not, wait until the engine is sufficiently warmed up to idle on its own before you remove that object. Replace the air cleaner or air plenum, be sure all loosened or removed fasteners are tightened correctly, disconnect the charger/cables, close the hood. You're good to go.
How soon should the car cooling fans come on if you let the car idle?
Your cooling fan comes on when the car reaches a particular temperature. The trigger is the thermostat in the radiator of your vehicle. It is what sends the signal for the fan. Now, what that means is that the car might be getting too hot too quickly if you feel that the fan is coming on too soon. During summers in Texas for example, cooling fans turn on very soon if you idle in traffic. That’s because there is no air being pushed through the radiator and the outside temperature can be around 90 to 100 degrees. So, it all depends on where you live, the car you drive and how old it is.Most cars will switch the cooling fan when the coolant temperature reaches 85 degrees Celsius (185 degrees Fahrenheit). That is considering having the air conditioner on. If your car reaches those temperatures too soon you may have some issues with your water pump.
Why don't they bring back car styling from the 60's?
The motoring industry is a forwards looking one, on the whole, and it doesn't do retro very well, with exceptions.Tastes change, and so does nostalgia. But if you think about three small cars of relatively recent years, you'll note that there have been attempts to tap into automotive history, but with a modern take.The VW New Beetle, the [BMW] MINI and the Fiat 500. If I recall there's also been a modern take on the Ford Thunderbird (not sure about that one since it never made it this side of the pond), and to a lesser extent the muscle cars, Camaro, Mustang and Charger have a bit of the 60s vibe about them, mostly the Mustang. The last Ford GT (not the current one) was nearly a carbon copy. Then you have the small players in the world. The Land Rover Defender only recently went out of production but the basic shape hadn't changed for 60 years or something. Morgan will happily sell you a 4/4, +4, Roadster or +8 which look exactly the same as they did when they were first introduced many many years ago (before 1960, certainly!) and the Caterham 7 hasn't changed much in the last 45 years.And with the exception of the MINI, none of them are their company's biggest sellers.To be honest, I'm not bothered about a new car in 1960s style... I'd rather have a genuine 1960s car.Actually to be totally honest, I'd rather have a 1950s car!
Were cars built tougher 30-50 years ago? I don’t mean the engine. I mean the exterior. I get the feeling cars today are built to absorb impact.
Yes and No.First off, 30 years ago was the late 1980’s, and automotive engineering was already improving, so lets go back to the 60’s and the time Ralph Nader’s Unsafe at Any Speed started to influence things. So, 55–70+ years ago…In those olden days, cars were built on sturdy steel frames and had nice, thick sheet metal bodies. Cars and trucks were rugged and heavy and often survived accidents that would leave modern cars unsalvageable.The occupants of those cars, however, didn’t always fare so well. Drivers were getting shish-kabobed by steering columns, passengers were getting crushed or thrown from vehicles and skewered on tailfins, and Detroit refused to add safety features because it implied the cars were unsafe (and because they cost money). It was pretty gruesome.Modern ‘unit-body’ cars are much lighter and more fragile. And intentionally so.These cars are engineered to squash like an aluminum can, absorbing shock and directing violent forces away from its occupants. Bumpers and steering columns collapse, fenders crumple and shatter, windshields pop out, as the flimsy little vehicle sacrifices itself to save your life.Modern cars also have superior suspension and front disc brakes, so they’re more controllable and accidents are easier to avoid. And airbags cushion impacts. So your unmodified Camry won’t take a crash like a 1956 Chevy Bel Air, but you have a MUCH better chance of walking away from the accident without the aid of an ambulance crew.example: a friend of mine used to drive a Honda CRV. One day she got sandwiched between two heavy trucks on a freeway offramp, when she was rear-ended and rammed into the truck in front of her. She vividly described the horror of watching and feeling her CRV crushing and crumpling around her. And if it was anything like my experience with major earthquakes, perception of time slowed-down - and probably enhanced the terror.The CRV was several feet shorter after the incident, but she wasn’t. She got out of it with a back injury and mental trauma. In most cars built before the 1980’s, she would have been killed or at the very least, crippled.
What are the best movie cars in the history of cinema and television?
I think the coolest cars in film and TV are the ones that do stuff, other than just look cool. In fact I love some of them so much I made this:Iconic Movie Cars - What's Under the Bonnet?It features some of the baddest cats in the TV and movie motor business. Check it out, it’s interactive and pretty fun to use :)In no particular order, here’s a peek at my faves:The Time MachineBack to the Future is one hell of a film and the starring vehicle evolved throughout the series to become more and more lovable (well maybe not in Part III, where it kinda turned into a dead weight).Time flies - and so does this car. That pretty much trumps anything anyone else’s car can do. Oh and the small matter of it being able to travel through time. Yeah, that seals the deal.The Tumbler (and Batpod)First time I saw Batman Begins, two things burned into my memory:When the Scarecrow gets a taste of his own gas and hallucinates the melting face of BatmanThat. Damn. Bat. Mobile.The Tumbler, a fictional military bridging vehicle, roars onto the screen in a drab desert camouflage, raging around in a warehouse. And from that point, you’re in love with a machine,By The Dark Knight, The Tumbler is no more. But in a final act of coolness, it poops out the second coolest vehicle in the series to date - The Batpod. It’s a fat-wheeled motorbike with guns that can breakdance up walls. It’s pretty serious.The HomerThe Simpsons is one of my favourite TV shows ever. I honestly believe that history will see it as one of the greatest works of all time (at least seasons 2 to 10, or thereabouts).The show has been going for… Well, forever (if you count the dawn of time as December 1989) and in that time, they’ve covered a lot of ground. Including Homer designing a car: The Homer.And of course, it was a monstrous failure. But it led to one of the (seldom) sweet moments between Homer and Bart:“Dad?”“What is it, boy?”“I thought your car was really cool.”“Thanks, boy. I was waiting for someone to say that.”Well, I thought it was pretty cool too, Mr S. So much so that I included it in this piece.If you’d like to see more, check it out!Iconic Movie Cars - What's Under the Bonnet?