Thinking about years gone by

[LoboGunLeather]

This morning my wife's car failed to start. The battery just wasn't turning it over enough to make it happen.

I drove her to the salon for her hair appointment, then I put the battery charger to work for half an hour. Car fired right up, so I drove down to the local auto parts store and had the battery tested. As suspected, the 5-year old factory battery had a dead cell.

Do you want the 2-year battery with 650 cold-cranking amps, or the 3-year battery with 800 CCA, or the 4 year battery with 1000 CCA, or the new gel battery? Price range from $139 to $279. New battery installed, took the car home to my wife so she could complete her day without undue interruption.

Since then I have been experiencing a little deja vu, all over again. Fifty years ago I could purchase a new battery for under $40, but even that price was a total budget-buster. Equivalent to two weeks groceries to feed my kids! Where the heck would I turn to come up with $40 on any given day?

Today, I'm pretty happy that the factory battery in my wife's 2015 Nissan gave us 5 years of good service. I'm also happy that the local shop had the correct battery in stock for immediate installation, and a willing young employee ready to do the deed so I didn't have to get my hands dirty (think $10 tip with a big 'thank you').

Back in the day I would have been bummed out for days, maybe weeks, probably have to give up every little luxury for a month or two to make a new battery happen. Back in the day I wouldn't be worried about the wife's car needing a battery, I would be seriously concerned about THE FAMILY CAR needing a battery!

Oh, well. Another trip down memory lane, a little more perspective on life.

 

[Dougaz]

Here in Phoenix, the local saying goes: "You can't buy a car battery here, you can only rent them" ..... Because the summer temps just cook em' so fast. My 2019 Chevy is on battery # 2 already.

 

[jscheck]

I was thinking the other day about a time when I was a young E-3 with a wife and two little kids. No money, overseas so no family to help, pantry and fridge empty. Said a silent prayer (sorry mods if you need to bust me then feel free). Wife searched pockets in the clothes hung in the closet and found $40.00. Fed us until next pay day. Today $40.00 is about what it costs (with tip) to eat buffet. Yup times have changed for the better in many respects.

 

[jrm53]

Western Auto silver cobalt battery

Back in 1960 I had a 49 chevvy and the battery went bad and we went to Western Auto and got a new "Silver Cobalt" battery and at the time I felt like we had a State of the art battery, I sold the car later on to my BIL and got a 58 Triumph TR-10 and drove it until 1963. Jeff

 

[old bear]

Ray, thanks for the reminder, as how easy most of us have it now. I guess the hamburger years have started to pay off, with the occasional steak, or new battery.

 

[vonn]

Can remember lots of times when a failure of some necessary item made me sweat . Always managed but sure glad I no longer have to worry so much over everyday malfunctions. Guess 50 plus years of work wasn’t all bad.

 

[rwsmith]

In the future......

"Can you believe we used to be able to buy a car battery for under $200 ?"

 

[Peak53]

Yep! Back in the day a dead battery was a budget buster. Sometimes I just took to carrying jumper cables on the floorboard until I could afford the battery. Come to think of it I still carry cables 24/7. But, what was even worse was tires That could be a disaster! Now, tires and batteries haven't gotten any cheaper, but at least the tires last longer, or get more miles anyhow. I replaced a battery a couple weeks back and went "what the heck??" - a battery costs HOW much

 

[Peak53]

"Can you believe we used to be able to buy a car battery for under $200 ?"

Well, with an electric vehicle, THAT battery is going to cost what I paid for my last internal combustion unit

 

[Rudi]

I paid $600 for a '57 Chevy back when. I guess the battery was free.

 

[carpriver]

I remember when I was a young E4 stationed in the great white north, had a wife and child, I could not afford for my battery to die, so every night in the winter I would bring into the house and when I got to work carry the battery into the shop. Now I can afford to new battery as needed and if it need to sit all winter I can afford to use a battery tender.

 

[K-22]

Under $200?

"Can you believe we used to be able to buy a car battery for under $200 ?"

LOL
In my younger days,
I have bought several decent used cars for less than $200!

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Ray, thanks for the reminder, as how easy most of us have it now. I guess the hamburger years have started to pay off, with the occasional steak, or new battery.

You had hamburger?

 

[anoblefox]

When I was 12 years old my father had a work car to drive 7 miles to his job. He had several, but never paid more than $75 for them. I remember a green Buick with the dynaflow transmission, you could see the ground through the drivers floor! The plymouth's drivers door would fly open if you made a right turn too fast. I too was floored at the cost when I had to purchase a new battery for the old (77) Bronco.

 

[pittpa]

I paid $600 for a '57 Chevy back when. I guess the battery was free.

Back in the 60s when my granddad live with us he had a 52 Chevy. There was immense space under the hood around that six cylinder engine. In the winter time here in Pittsburgh we had a kerosene heater that we placed in the engine compartment so the car would start better in the morning. Good luck fitting that thing out of the hood of my Mustang V-8.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Scott in NCal]

I grew up in North Dakota. The winter killed batteries. The recommendation
was 1 cold cranking amp per each cubic inch of engine displacement. I had a 350 Chevy and remembering the torture of deciding if 350CCA
was worth that much more than 300. I just replaced a 11 year old battery in a Altima. 1100 CCA , 151 cubic inches.
Big batteries, synthetic engine oil, and electronic fuel injection made those winters easier

 

[Onomea]

Shoot, you fellas and your dead batteries. We used to just be sure to park on a hill, then, when you want to start, put the clutch in, put her in gear, release the parking brake, get a little speed rollin’ down hill, and pop the clutch. Fire right up.

Heck, if ya had yer buddies with ya, you could park on the flat, organize a push, and do the same thing!

 

[Rock185]

I grew up in the "Valley"/Phoenix. If I got over two years out of a new battery I was doing really good. I pushed my '58 Chevy to start it a lot. Neighbor commented that I pushed it more than drove it

Batteries are expensive, but thankfully not near as expensive as they used to be for most of us. That 50+ years of work made a difference.

Speaking of military, in 1969 I was a Sgt. E-5 TC in RVN, and didn't seem like I made much. I always wondered how all the E-3s and E-4s with families back home got by...

 

[Leslie Sapp]

I have a scanned copy of the ledger from the General Store in my FIL's hometown of Cairo, Ga. back in the 1930's.
One transaction stood out: His family bought an ax for 3 dollars. They then spent the next couple of years paying it off at .10 cents a month over the next couple of years.

Yes, most of us have it pretty good these days, considering.

 

[mmb617]

What a bunch of geezers, myself included! Ah yes, the good old days.

But, what was even worse was tires That could be a disaster!

I remember a time when my uncle got 4 new tires for his car and I took the old ones because they were better than what I had on my car at the time.

LOL
In my younger days,
I have bought several decent used cars for less than $200!

My dad got me a car as a high school graduation present. It was a '59 Rambler Ambassador wagon and he paid $50 for it. Rough shape would be too kind to describe it but it got me where I wanted to go (sometimes), and that's all I cared about.

Big batteries, synthetic engine oil, and electronic fuel injection made those winters easier

In my youth everyone ran 10 weight oil in the winter and 30 weight in the summer. If you delayed switching to the lighter weight too long and we had a cold morning chances were your car wouldn't start as the heavy oil caused it to not turn over.

Shoot, you fellas and your dead batteries. We used to just be sure to park on a hill, then, when you want to start, put the clutch in, put her in gear, release the parking brake, get a little speed rollin’ down hill, and pop the clutch. Fire right up.

Heck, if ya had yer buddies with ya, you could park on the flat, organize a push, and do the same thing!

Yep, we did that a lot too when we needed a battery but couldn't afford one.