Gone But Not Forgotten in San Antonio! - Part II (Austin: basement, mechanic)

[outafocus]

I never owned a Corvair, but had lots of friends that did! It's the only GM car I ever liked! I learned a lot about mechanics helping my friends with their Corvairs. The worst things about them was synchronizing the twin carburetors, and they required a special fan belt. The belt bent in a 90 degree angle between the crankshaft pulley and the fan. If a regular belt was put on, they wouldn't last a week. I've also never known a Corvair that DIDN'T leak oil!

I was once a big VW fan. My favorite was a 1972 Type 3 Squareback. It had fuel injection, and disc brakes. That was unheard of in 1972! I had three different 1968 Beetles, a 1969 model, and a 1974 Super Beetle.

Another car I was very fond of was a 1969 Renault 10. I bought it on a whim. It wasn't the most durable thing on four wheels, but it was surprisingly comfortable, got excellent (35 mpg), and was so quirky it was fun to drive.

[BudB]

Originally Posted by outafocus

... helping my friends with their Corvairs ... and they required a special fan belt. I was once a big VW fan.

That serpentine belt on Covairs was hard to believe at first sight!!
Fuel injected Type 3 VW was ahead of its time but came with other issues. The more popular and better known fuel injected VW was the Type 14 Karmann Gia's(the poor man's Porsche). Never could afford one but they were hot little cars for their time. The flat 4 common to all early VWs were known as a "pancake engine" in the Karmann Ghia, and Type 3 that with injection cranked some solid torque considering its size.
Better quit the car talk now and think of a topic to reengage the ladies.

[TexasRedneck]

Originally Posted by BudB

Better quit the car talk now and think of a topic to reengage the ladies.

Let's talk about the old gun shops!!!!

Or Auto Parts houses....

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by TexasRedneck

Let's talk about the old gun shops!!!!

Or Auto Parts houses....

Auto parts houses! What a great discussion topic for GBNF!

Wayne Bull Car Parts.
100,000 Auto Parts.

[Dwangle]

How about Pool Halls?

[Deep Forest]

Originally Posted by ged_782

Auto parts houses! What a great discussion topic for GBNF!

Wayne Bull Car Parts.
100,000 Auto Parts.

Yep !!! That'll draw them back.....

[TexasRedneck]

Radicke Auto Supply on Fredericksburg Road. Grew up with "Mutt" and his son Bubbie - Bubbie's a couple of years older than I am. I was by there a few months back, and Bubbie was shutting it down, ready to retire. Can't blame him, but it's another icon gone.

And then there was Leesch Lumber - dealt with Lee and his son Larry both for a number of years.

[Dwangle]

I went to 100,000 auto parts on Mossrock for a lot of years. I knew the owner pretty well but I can't remember his name. There were alot of car parts places. Big V just south of Town had a ton of VW parts. We called the owner LD -never knew why--Buggy Warehouse--maybe still there...Nogalitos Transmissions..The Brake and Clutch place on Probant ...Oh Almost forgot the best place of all..Moreno Bros. at SW Military and Marbach.

[RGJ]

Southwest Racing on Steves Ave.

There was another auto parts off of Goliad Rd and Hot Wells but damned if I can remember the name....I think there's a dairy or ice cream plant there now.

[outafocus]

Does anyone remember FrostTop on San Pedro near Oblate? It was a good buger joint, and had some delicious root beer. My aunt worked there in the early 1960s. Their sign was a big mug of root beer with foam spilling down the sides. The foam was made of rubber. I consumed many hamburgers and root beers there!

I don't know when it closed, but I looked in my 1968 phone book, and it wasn't listed.