Re: [AMC-List] Re; '61 Original original "retail price label"

[Michael Pell <mjpell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I thought the anti-freeze item was curious also.

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John Elle wrote:

> 
>Looking at the following
> 
>Snip
>Who wants to see an original "retail price label"  for a '61 Wagon?
> 
>See it here:     <http://www.indianachevelles.com/pellwagon.html>
>http://www.indianachevelles.com/pellwagon.html   (scroll
>to the bottom).
>Snip
> 
>Reminds me of some of the automotive infrastructure of the time as the
>industry as it existed then as it experimented with aluminum engines and
>parts such as cylinder heads etc. and for the most part proved to be a
>short term failure. Not so much as the technology or design was bad but
>the engines were prone to over heating problems after a bit of time and
>related types of failures including blown head gaskets etc. 
> 
>The retail price label makes a point of adding "anti-freeze" to the
>option list. Think about that one for a minute. This is something that
>you would expect to see in your cooling system today. However in 1961 is
>was quite common to just run straight water if you did not live in an
>environment that did not include winter freezing weather. In fact in an
>area of the south that I lived in at that time during the summer months
>anti-freeze was not available in the auto parts stores at all.  At that
>time I owned a French car with an aluminum cylinder head that I blew the
>water pump gasket out of racing a Jaguar. Upon getting the car back home
>and making the repair I was unable to purchase anti-freeze to refill the
>radiator so reverting to common practice of the area I just used water.
>Why not? Everyone else did. "sides I had never heard of electrolysis
>before and I knew when I got back north I could get a gallon of
>Prestone. 
> 
>However about 6 months later I started having overheating problems as
>the interaction between the aluminum head and the cast iron block caused
>the radiator to plug up causing the overheating problems. 
> 
>Of course now it was winter weather time and after boiling out the
>radiator I was able to purchase a gallon of Anti-Freeze at a Christmas
>Sale or something of that nature.
> 
>No wonder aluminum engines or heads got bad press. 
> 
>Of course the other thing to do is to compare the retail price list to
>what is on car windows now as we read the saga of how much smog
>equipment is installed as "Standard" equipment, as if I really cared or
>how it is equipped with things such as steering wheels, seats and tires
>and other basically essential items we have taken for granted that
>"must" be present on a car in order to consider buying it. 
> 
>My! How the automotive world has changed, both for what is offered and
>our expectations of what we get. 
> 
>Some good, some bad and an awful lot just ridiculous. 
>John. 
> 
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>


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