Underpowered?

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Fordwright
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Underpowered?

Post by Fordwright » Fri Aug 28, 2020 2:41 pm

Back in the day, 20 horses was plenty for a Ford pickup. You just took your time in low gear going up hills. Nowadays we see people buying diesel tractors to pull their RVs just so they don't have to downshift. What is this mad obsession with power?

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Pep C Strebeck
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Re: Underpowered?

Post by Pep C Strebeck » Fri Aug 28, 2020 4:30 pm

"I sell here, sir, what all the world desires to have, POWER." Matthew Boulton, 1776.

The mad obsession is nothing new, I think that you hit more on it in your second sentence, time. More power equals the ability to haul with you more things (that you really probably didn't need to begin with), and get there faster, saving you that all important time. A hefty amount of advertising telling you that you need to have the biggest most powerful "whatever" there is has also added to the obsession that you speak of. To each their own, if they feel they need it and want it, that is up to them.
"Remember son, there are two ways to do this: The right way, and your way” Thanks Dad, I love you too.

LOOKING FOR A LUFKIN No. 9A Height Gage Attachment.

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BE_ZERO_BE
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Re: Underpowered?

Post by BE_ZERO_BE » Sat Aug 29, 2020 2:58 am

The "MORE POWER" obsession was brought on by the introduction of the BINFORD line of power tools.
Respectfully Submitted,
Be_Zero_Be

I drive a Model T ... Microseconds don't matter :D

For every Absolute Model T Fact there are at least three exceptions.

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aDave
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Re: Underpowered?

Post by aDave » Sat Aug 29, 2020 9:30 am

So I said to myself: "What store sells BINFORD"...
And, of course - Google had the answer:
https://homeimprovement.fandom.com/wiki/Binford_Tools

My lesson for the day !

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Mark Gregush
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Re: Underpowered?

Post by Mark Gregush » Sat Aug 29, 2020 11:58 am

If one horse will get you there, then two is better. If I really want to rub it in everyone's face, then I will get 4. See how much better I am then you :D
I know the voices aren't real but damn they have some good ideas! :shock:

1925 Cut down pickup
1920 Dodge touring
1948 Ford F2 pickup


yukonjack
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Re: Underpowered?

Post by yukonjack » Sat Aug 29, 2020 8:29 pm

Mark Gregush wrote:
Sat Aug 29, 2020 11:58 am
If one horse will get you there, then two is better. If I really want to rub it in everyone's face, then I will get 4. See how much better I am then you :D
It took every horse in the settlement to pull this machine, but it was way faster than the "technology" it replaced!
horse drawn combine.jpg
(photo is uncredited)


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Re: Underpowered?

Post by Burger in Spokane » Sun Aug 30, 2020 3:14 pm

"What is this mad obsession with power?"

I ask myself this question many times daily. I also ponder the hypocrisy that is
showered upon us in the media about minimizing carbon footprints, i.e., global
warming. All one has to do is stand on any street corner to witness the level of
public concern there is for low fuel consumption, from the giant trucks to the
driving behaviors. What is portrayed by the media has absolutely no bearing on
how people behave in their choice of vehicles, or how they drive them.

I work in construction. My employees all drive trucks. With few exceptions, they
all are obsessed with power and go-fast, yet all complain about the cost of putting
fuel in them. Where is the disconnect ? They are just a window into a much larger
social paradigm. I've got no answers. Just an observation, and reflection that this
subject puzzles me too.
More people are doing it today than ever before !

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Fordwright
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Re: Underpowered?

Post by Fordwright » Mon Aug 31, 2020 8:25 pm

We used to run a small fleet of delivery trucks, all bought second-hand, but one of them was the oldest and most reliable. It also cost us the least to run, but every one of our drivers (to a man) hated that truck because it was a bit underpowered compared to the other ones. It didn't matter that the nature of our work did not involve any advantage in arriving at the destination sooner, they all hated the truck and some of them said out loud that they should try to break it so that we would buy them a better one.
Everything's a race to some people.


Burger in Spokane
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Re: Underpowered?

Post by Burger in Spokane » Mon Aug 31, 2020 9:00 pm

Fordwright wrote:
Mon Aug 31, 2020 8:25 pm
Everything's a race to some people.
=======================================

Ain't that the truth. I was driving to meet a client today and a late model
Subaru was being driven like a spaz in the lane beside me, riding the forward
car's bumper, lots of gas and brakes, just being an idiot. When a light changed,
the forward car made the light, but the idiot was following too close to see the
colors, blew through the red, and got T-boned. I was happy to provide the cops
with details about the moments leading up to the wreck. Saw a nearly same thing
happen on Saturday. That wreck was likely fatal.
More people are doing it today than ever before !


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Re: Underpowered?

Post by Aarongriffey » Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:03 pm

Good for you Burger! Great!
I got rear ended while stopping for a stop sign in June. My car was totaled.
About twice a week I pull over to the right to let somebody pass that is following too close. You see, I only drive about 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.
My wife has been rear ended 5 times since 2002. Twice were totals.

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Re: Underpowered?

Post by Rich Eagle » Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:15 pm

We drove our '09 to a tour that had a very steep and long climb to the headquarters. We were in low much of the way. I didn't hear about any Ts loosing it on the hills but two vehicles pulling Ts on trailers broke down on the hill.
I have 3 distinct power levels between my worn out Coupe, my Speedster and my other Ts. I enjoy them all. 20hp-, 20hp and 20hp+. :D
When did I do that?

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Fordwright
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Re: Underpowered?

Post by Fordwright » Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:52 pm

In any other industrial application, 20 HP would be considered quite adequate for transporting a few people horizontally,
but where human ego is concerned, even 700 HP is inadequate to some.

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Fordwright
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Re: Underpowered?

Post by Fordwright » Fri Sep 25, 2020 12:04 pm

For the first batch of automobiles around the turn of the century, 2-5 HP was much more common. When the Model T came out with 20 horses, it was probably overkill. Little did anyone suspect that 20 HP would be considered pathetically underpowered in years following.

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david_dewey
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Re: Underpowered?

Post by david_dewey » Fri Sep 25, 2020 11:25 pm

It's not just vehicles. The State Theatre still has its 35mm projectors. With the projectors is the "Sound of the Screen" amplifier--all of 40 watts. Drives a large woofer and tweeter that, when used, is placed behind the screen. The theatre was built in 1928 for vaudeville and silent films. It is a lively room and that system can fill it with sound. When the city decided they wanted to show first run movies during the summer to attract shoppers downtown they had a Dolby sound reader added to one projector (we also have a platter system, so you can run a three hour film with one projector). The sound engineer brought in a 300 watt amp and many, many speakers. It was overkill!!!! they couldn't stand the idea of a measly 40 watts.
BTW, I had to run the projectors--when the local regular film theatre crew arrived, they wanted to know where the "brain box" to run the projector was. My response? I pointed to my head and said, "Old School!" "Huh? we can't do this!"
I think there is one other guy left in town who know how to set up a film in those projectors. Even now, when we run silent films, they are usually Blue-Ray discs. If the city had decided to keep doing films, they would have been out of luck because that was the summer when the studios switched to digital.
T'ake care,
David Dewey

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