fastmiata wrote:
My first car was 1968 Ford Fairlane. 200 ci 6 cyl with automatic. It seemed to be a common problem that you had to reach across the steering wheel to pull up on the gear selector (to make proper contact) to start the car. It could have been an early anti-theft provision.
I have a 1968 Fairlane as a project car and when it was still column shift I remember pushing up on the lever to get it to start. I also read they had a problem with shifting themselves into reverse because of the way the shift mechanism was designed.
My first boss had a 1st-gen Seville (the RWD Nova-sized one). He also had an incomprehensible habit of taking all his cars to a "mechanic" who couldn't repair a cheese sandwich. Nobody knew why he did this; could have been blackmail, could have been "better the devil you know." Anyway, my boss takes the Seville to Supergenius to have the rear defogger repaired. After he picks the car up, allegedly fixed, he's driving to the airport when the back window explodes. It defogs just fine... but it doesn't cycle off, it just keeps heating the glass, and this is Toronto in February. Result: glass failure, and glass chunks all over the seats. My boss leaves the keys in the ashtray in airport parking, gives Supergenius hell over the phone, and tells him to get it fixed (again) while he's away.
After the second fix, the rear defog worked great, but every time you turned on the interior lights the doors would lock.
My 83 BMW 320i was a theft attempt victim. The ignition lock on the dashboard was broken, and the previous owner had substituted a factory switch, with no lock, just dangling on the floor. This was my first standard shift car. It had an E30 M3 shift knob, which, showed the WRONG shift pattern for a 320i. Not knowing this, I was not only learning to drive stick with a gutless 1.8 motor, I was also starting in 2nd gear.
Picture this - I'm leaving WalMart, at the light waiting to turn left. The light turns green. I try to go, but stall out the engine. Reach down with my left hand to pick up the dangling ignition switch. Reach across with my right hand to pick up the flathead screwdriver I'd left on the passenger seat. Put the two together, twist, restart engine. And then the light turns red again. Lather, rinse, repeat, with the number of angry people behind me increasing each time.
Eventually I figured out where 1st gear actually was. I also replaced the dangling switch with an $8 generic keyed ignition switch. I installed it in the panel under the steering column, replacing a lock for an alarm system (disconnected and probably never worked). No problem after that - but anytime I had a shop work on my car, I had to tell them to use the OTHER ignition switch, NOT the factory one!
