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MG MG Y Type - Am I just getting old?

Two things;-

1) The letter on page 13 of the September issue of SF from me has been cut by over 50%. It looks as if I only mean Y types, but there are over 500,000 vehicles on UK roads not fitted with flashing indicators. The majority are old motorcycles, and my 1953 500cc AJS Combination is one of them. That is why I wanted an extra paragraph in the Highway Code. What the printed letter also does not say is that I wrote to the Transport Minister about this, and they replied saying they were not interested!!

2) Page 67 of SF has a letter about a leak from a radiator hose. Should we now have a 'test' of peoples ability to run an older car? Surely someone able to drive a TD MUST be capable of changing a top hose? It is so simple. I actually disagree with the reply as well. I would simply cut the old hose in half as it will be rock-hard, loosen off the hose clip, remove both halves, and fit the new hose with a bit of waxoyl on the inner lips to assist getting the hose over the edges.

Or am I just getting old and grump?

NC.
Neil Cairns

Neil, I wondered over from the TD area. I've been thinking about the same thing lately as I watch my parents age.

A good friend of mine (an electrical engineer) who has had his TD forever, and is probably in his 80s, still looks at the world with wonder and delight. His days are filled with discovery and kindness, and people are drawn to his good cheer and his ability to talk about others and not himself. Somehow, I've got to figure out a way to model myself on him as I get older. I think optimism is a more appealing trait than pessimism.

I read somewhere that a man once told his son "Do everything with a smile, and everything will be done better." I'm working on that too.

When a guy has as much experience as you do, he naturally can become frustrated at others' ineptness. My plan for that, if I'm ever considered 'a knowledgeable gray beard' is to enjoy watching others figure out for themselves what I know, and to prod with kindness when they are off path, but still allow them to fail. I've seen examples of both, and it works better than telling.

warm regards,
dave
Dave Braun

Neil

Yes

Join the club with me.

Michael
Michael Nicholson

Dave, I do have a full grey beard.....


Neil.
Neil Cairns

I can understand how Neil feels - but this is not just a getting older thing its just a reflection of life today..it stems from cars which need litle maintenance and if they do you need a computer and a sophistiscated set of tools to begin to fix it. The idea of looking after your car yourself went out about 20 years ago. I do have some sympathy with a certain basic mechanical knowledge being needed to drive an old car if only for safety. I must take a leaf out of Dave Braun's book and be more philosophical about these things! What really upsets me though is the appalling lack of courtesy on the roads.
David Mullen

I guess you must all be talking about the September issue of SF (or Safety Slow as it is out here). I have just today received my copy of August 2008 so goodness knows when September will arrive!

Paul
Paul Barrow

Neil. As another greybeard (though I don't know about the "Knowledgeable") I agreed totally with your bit in SF and am appalled by the ministry's lack of interest. I am increasingly of the opinion that "they" don't really like anything which is that bit different and achieve this by making knowledge only available to the approved (ie qualified) few. By making life uncomfortable for us they can drive us from the roads without any controversial legislation. This also applies to your second point about the top hose. I also in my more grumpy moments (becoming more and more frequent nowadays unfortunately)find myself amazed at the lack of mechanical knowledge of some people, or worse, of the lack of any manifest ability to work things out. Dave Mullen is right about this having happened around 20 years ago at a time when, I believe, technology finally retreated into "black Boxes" so that it could not be seen working. This has led to people giving up on trying even when we could understand if we were but to delve a little deeper. Most of the technology hidden under the all concealing cover of the modern car is the same old fashioned engineering we love and hate so much but it's impenetrability is complicated by so many bells, whistles, pipes and gizmos that we don't even attempt to decipher it. I expect that the person enquiring about the top hose is younger than I am and has been brought up in a time when curiosity was frowned upon but he is trying in spite of this so even us grumps should encourage and help him as much as possible.

Ian
ian thomson

Just a variation on fitting a new hose is to use a little washing up liquid to lubricate the rubber, this will disperse in use and so not cause the rubber to slowly creep
Bryan

Also it is pretty tight in there with the radiator not loosened to give you wiggle room. If this is a 'first foray into the delights of fixing an old car I am all for encouragement of the guy. They are future custodians of our cars so nurture the seed corn.

Paul
Paul Barrow

Gentlemen you may repeat the following which I have found particualy apt and sooooooothing.

LORD Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will someday be Old.
Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.
Release me from the craving to straighten out everybody's affairs.
Make me Thoughtful but not Moody; Helpful but not Bossy.
With my vast store of Wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but thou knowest Lord that I want a few friends left at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point.
Seal my lips on my aches and pains, they are increasing and love of discussing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.
I dare not ask for Grace enough to enjoy the tales of others pains, but help me to endure them with Patience.
I dare not ask for improved Memory, but for a growing Humility and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.
Teach me the Glorious lesson that occassionaly I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a Saint - some of them are so hard to live with; but a Sour Old Person is one of the crowing works of the devil.
Give me the ability to see Good Things in umexpected places and Talents in unexpected people. And give me O Lord the Grace to rell them so. AMEN
Michael Y7141

Indeed, age does offer a greater perspective on human affairs. Along the years, I too have blessedly come across a few Golden Rules to live by. And one should not reject disdainfully such pearls of wisdom:


I've lowered my expectations to the point where they've already been met.

Make it idiot proof and someone will make a better idiot.

Support bacteria - they're the only culture some people have.

Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.

The longer I live the more I see that I am never wrong about anything, and that all the pains that I have so humbly taken to verify my notions have only wasted my time.

The good people sleep much better at night than the bad people. Of course, the bad people enjoy the waking hours much more.

Of the seven dwarves, only Dopey had a shaven face. This should tell us something about the custom of shaving.

I've never wished a man to meet his maker before his time. But, there are a few obituaries that I've read with approval.

When we remember that we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.

Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.

If they try to rush me I always say, I’ve got one other speed - and it’s slower.

Enjoy every minute. There’s plenty of time to be dead.
Gilles Bachand

Well it arrived today - my September SF that is.

To say Neil's letter was edited would be an understatement - censored would be closer, massacred would be better. Since when was freedom of speech and expression such a problem? If the editor disagreed with you Neil, or objected to any of the content of your letter, the correct thing would have been to add an Editor's Comment at the bottm to say that "The views expressed in the letter above do not reflect those of the Management of the MG Car Club" - and not to simply rip the heart out of what you wanted to say and draw attention too.

What is the future? I was going to write in and comment on the preceeding letter about SA, WA and VA that says the Y was an anomoly after the war and point out that is should have been before the war but what is anomolous about a car that earned more in Foriegn Exchange than all the SA, VA and WAs put together? However, I doubt it would have been published!

Paul
Paul Barrow

This thread was discussed between 04/09/2008 and 26/09/2008

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