reliable old components

[martin418]

i am rebuilding a 1952 morris mra 1 army truck which has not run for over 50 years the ignition system has been subject to the elements for years but apart from new ht leads all the original lucas parts work perfectly and the coil which had moss growing on it puts out a big strong spark , i wonder how the modern'' lucas '' parts would cope , even the ac fuel pump still works fine

[morris van]

A place where a friend worked had an old tractor which had been standing outside and overgrown with nettles and brambles for at least twenty years he asked me to see if I could get running. So he charged the battery that was on it and we put it on and checked the oil and water and filled it with fresh diesel and it started first time and the clutch brakes and everything worked.

[irmscher]

Any pictures of the truck ?

[myoldjalopy]

Things were made to last back in the day. Made of durable materials and with care. Built in obsolescence and weak plastic goods are a ploy of hyper-capitalism to screw the customer.

[les]

Capitalism hasn't much to do with lack of quality, if you pay you can still get it.

[myoldjalopy]

Well yes, but the point is, when whatever it is breaks or goes wrong, you have to buy another one.

[Dean]

Nothing is allowed to live long anymore, in the interests of the environment stuff must go back to ground... literally. How many times has the wife got rid of and replaced a dining room table and chairs in the interests of "It no longer looks like the latest fashion."

[SteveClem]

We've got friends who have changed their carpets 3 times in 8 years...for taste reasons, although they make out it's because the dog peed on them or some such excuse. Crazy. And they reckon they're always hard up

[jaekl]

There's a bit of apple and oranges here. A military vehicle and a tractor durability really can't be compared to off the shelf vehicles. They are built to different standards and expectations.