West-isms. In Memory of Edward C. West

West-isms. Things I learned in the 'Special'
In the 1970's I used to hang around with my friends  Glenn and Scott West. Yes, they are brothers, and yes, one of their ancestors is the reason where we lived was named West Island. I don't think I ever believed that then but I do now.

We used to ride around in Glenn's blue '65 Buick Special. Gasoline was about 55 cents a gallon then and a handful of change was enough to actually get somewhere and back. Since the 'Special was a V6 it was better on gas consumption than the V-8's of the time. Those Buick V-6's would sound like a sewing machine when they ran, 'tack'tack'tack'tack. Glenn used to quote a Timex watch commercial from the time starring John Cameron Swayze, Takes a lickin', keeps on ticking" to describe the car's engine.

We used to 'cruise' almost every weekend night until we ran out of gas money or Glenn got tired of driving. Sometimes Scott drove too.
When we couldn't figure out where we wanted to go, The Ave, Route 88, back roads of Dartmouth, Route 105, it came down to how much gas was available for the night. On nights when it wasn't a concern, it was back roads. Not much gas, it was the Avenue. You see the logic was this, even though a car gets better mileage on highways or backroads, the gas lasts longer in the city because you're driving turtle-assed slow or idling in traffic. You get more hours per gallon in the city!

On the rides one of the brothers would bring up tips they learned from their Dad. Like, when you hit a pot hole or a break in the pavement, like where a newly paved portion of road ends and there's a bump, don't hit the brakes, it will cause the drums to go out of round. Back then nearly all cars had rear drum brakes. The out of round condition will create a 'pulse' in the brake pedal. Since few cars have drum brakes, even in the rear, it won't cause the out of round problem. But it can cause a wheel to lock up and cause a skid, unless you have ALBs (Anti Lock Brakes). I still react to this day on bumps and potholes by easing up on the brake pedal.

Glenn had this fantastic habit of making square left turn. Drive right up to the center of the intersection and crank the wheel hard and let it return to neutral steering. It was way we were taught in driving school. Most people today make more a transient turn, cutting over the center line which is in reality, driving sloppy.

Another one from their Dad was don't turn the wheel while stopped. If you're parallel parking turn the wheel before you fully stop. It puts less pressure on the power steering pump and belt.

Looking good. When you roll the windows down only part way, make sure the front and rear windows are even. It allows the cars lines to appear more balanced. The image below shows what I mean.

I seem to remember a sort of game Scott and Glenn played while driving too. The object was to not hit any of the manhole covers on a certain route. Mostly Sconticut Neck road. Avoiding sudden movements while missing imperfections in the road surface gave a smoother ride and the better the ride the better the driver. I recall some discussions between the two over hits and misses.

Everything was done in fun. And an effort to avoid Boredom. But that's another story in itself.