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Post by cusqueno on Feb 3, 2022 13:27:00 GMT
As far as the auto controls, I too miss the floor light dimmer switch. The difference in car generations can be a downright pain. Mrs. W’s 2018 Jeep has automatic headlight dimmers and the window controls are on the door panel while my archaic 2005 Jeep has stalk mounted dimmers and the window switches are in the center console. It seems I’m constantly fumbling. With cars and bikes there is no such thing as standardization. Best, John “wheelson” Floor dimmer switches? That part of the 'design evolutionary tree' has passed by the UK , or I am just driving old cars that don't yet have them? Never in my life seen, heard or used them. You learn plenty of stuff on this forum, and not all of them about bikes. I'm pretty sure that my father's Standard 8 Deluxe (produced between 1954 and 1959) had a floor-mounted headlight dip switch. We still had the car when I had a Provisional Licence. I can only remember driving it once, an experience I found frightening due to the lack of feel for changing gears caused by the long gear lever, which was made from thick wire, as it seemed. Another peculiarity was that the screen washer worked using pressure derived from the engine, rather than a pump. When a rubber diaphragm perished, water got into the engine block. My father installed a hand-operated pump mounted on the dashboard, which apparently satisfied the annual test requirement for a means of cleaning the windscreen.
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Feb 3, 2022 15:16:37 GMT
Yes floor dimmer switches (left of clutch pedal). I thought them only on American cars and then you must go way back. I have owned a few cars with said devices, a 1953 Ford Customline, 1964 Ford Econoline van, 1965 Ford Mustang, 1965 Ford F150 pickup. It was difficult to dim the lights while operating the clutch. My first experience with a stalk mounted dimmer was on my 1966 Datsun; and I liked it! In 1927 the floor mount switch was considered an improvement over a column mount switch. Reminds me (a bit) of bicycle changes. The History of the Dimmer SwitchCheers Jim
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Post by cusqueno on Feb 3, 2022 16:58:32 GMT
Yes floor dimmer switches (left of clutch pedal). I thought them only on American cars and then you must go way back. I have owned a few cars with said devices, a 1953 Ford Customline, 1964 Ford Econoline van, 1965 Ford Mustang, 1965 Ford F150 pickup. It was difficult to dim the lights while operating the clutch. My first experience with a stalk mounted dimmer was on my 1966 Datsun; and I liked it! In 1927 the floor mount switch was considered an improvement over a column mount switch. Reminds me (a bit) of bicycle changes. The History of the Dimmer SwitchCheers Jim Googling suggests that floor-mounted switches ('dip switches' in British English) were often found in British cars into the 1950s and 1960s. including Morris Oxfords (I'm guessing the old, curvy ones and not the Pininfarina model) and Land Rovers. link
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Feb 3, 2022 20:06:00 GMT
Interesting!
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Post by brianbutler on Feb 3, 2022 22:37:30 GMT
Went out for a foggy, slushy hike with my wife today and we ended up looking at a car, so to speak. Not enough left for me to tell what is was, but the floor (dip) dimmer switch was attached to the collapsed floorboard. I didn't reach in to test it because I'm not sure of my tetanus vaccine status.
Brian
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Post by andy on Feb 4, 2022 12:24:09 GMT
Interesting topic on a bicycling MB!
My only car with the floor dimmer switch was a 1976 Chevy Impala (back when they were huge tanks). It was kinda handy to have it there.
I think a reason the American manufacturers stopped placing it there was as the car rusted away the switch started having problems. Easier to place it up behind the steering wheel where everything else is.
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Post by triitout on Feb 5, 2022 2:39:15 GMT
Any Race Across America fans?. The winner of the 1st RAAM in 1982 , Lon Haldeman, made a statement when interviewed about old bikes which should warm the cockles of your heart. Helpful hint....scroll to about the :30 second mark.
Cheers, Michael
Yes I do remember the floor mounted dimmer switch on my 1958 Ford Custom Fairline and 1973 Chevy (The Boat) Impala!
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Post by Jem on Feb 11, 2022 20:23:14 GMT
The winner of the 1st RAAM in 1982 , Lon Haldeman, made a statement when interviewed about old bikes which should warm the cockles of your heart. Well put Lon Haldeman! I think much of a person's preference on aesthetics/design, is what we grew up with, and became accustomed to. My head always turns when I see a horizontal top tubed bike. I never look twice at the new bikes of today. Even things that might seem un-sightly when introduced can become design classics for certain generations - I am thinking of UK power station cooling towers. They must have looked objectionable when they were built, but have become part of the 'shape' of the country. There must be lots of cultural design icons that were objected to when new ,only to win people over and have preservation orders on them now (red phone boxes come to mind).
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Post by Jem on Jul 26, 2022 20:04:24 GMT
Thanks Brian,
Update on this. I am currently reading a book about design by an American author/designer called Henry Petroski, who documents the dimmer switch in one chapter. (in a chapter on lighting)
Interestingly he says that 'luxury cars like Cadillacs began to come equipped with automatic headlight detectors, which switched the headlights to low beam as soon as approaching lights were sensed ". He doesn't say what year that was , but I'm sure that sounded like pretty futuristic stuff when released? - I wonder how well that worked though?
He attributes the common use of the left foot dimmer switch in the US to the fact that automatic cars were very popular in America (and hence, Americans had a 'spare' foot). And while he doesn't say it, I don't think automatic transmission was widely used in the UK in the same time period, based purely on my recollections, not on actual stats, and therefore left foot dimmer here was incorporated less. Sounds like a plausible explanation ?
He then documents the day-night rear view mirror and so on. Good read if you like that kind of thing.
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Post by brianbutler on Jul 27, 2022 12:33:39 GMT
Thanks Brian, Update on this. I am currently reading a book about design by an American author/designer called Henry Petroski, who documents the dimmer switch in one chapter. (in a chapter on lighting) Interestingly he say that 'luxury cars like Cadillacs began to come equipped with automatic headlight detectors, which switched the headlights to low beam as soon as approaching lights were sensed ". He doesn't say what year that was , but I'm sure that sounded like pretty futuristic stuff when released? - I wonder how well that worked though? He attributes the common use of the left foot dimmer switch in the US to the fact that automatic cars were very popular in America (and hence, Americans had a 'spare' foot). And while he doesn't say it, I don't think automatic transmission was widely used in the UK in the same time period, based purely on my recollections, not on actual stats, and therefore left foot dimmer here was incorporated less. Sounds like a plausible explanation ? He then documents the day-night rear view mirror and so on. Good read if you like that kind of thing. That does sound like a book I'd like to read.
I actually had two Cadillacs with "Electric Eye" automatic dimmers. It was a dash mounted photo receptor, probably full of radioactive components in keeping with the 1950's vibe. They worked OK but were they needed? Evidently not.
Here is the 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville in a 1969 photo, being driven by my 13 year old brother. I was 15 and neither of us had driver's licenses but we did have a rural Ohio car dealer grandfather who had access to many weird used cars and a belief that no age was too young to drive the surrounding country roads.
Here is the 1955 Cadillac Model 62 Coupe in a 1980 photo featuring the period correct owner.
Alas, both cars are long gone.
Brian
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Post by Jem on Jul 29, 2022 11:41:57 GMT
Great pics Brian. What year is that second photo?
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Post by brianbutler on Jul 29, 2022 18:49:24 GMT
Great pics Brian. What year is that second photo? The second picture was taken in 1980. The car is a 1955 Cadillac.
The first picture was taken in 1969. The car is a 1956 Cadillac.
Brian
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