I love that old car smell. The musty old Mohair smell of pre war cars is something I will never tire of.
That smell,,, HRP <iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZDB-yswOrzc?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Automotive machine shops, a freshly fired new motor, a new full exhaust, gear lube and the way the junk yards of my youth smelled are a few of my favorites. I get tired of the gear lube real quick, though, and I haven't been to a good stinky junk yard in a long time. Kevin
Don't forget avaiation fuel rumbling through a parking lot. Or Nitro. Most the time even when a car has gone through a complete ground up build that old car smell is still there.
Yup, the new car smell was different back in the day, with all the natural materials. With age the smell brings a smile and can sure take you back in time. The new car smell today is like....well in a word PLASTIC.
I actually love the smell of varnished/old gas. Think about it. Its the smell of fun. Everytime that smell is present, you're having a great time.
I was walking between the cars at a show last year when I stopped in my tracks. It was a ragged out beater but it smelled inside exactly like the cars that I we scrambled around in the junk yard 45 years ago. GM Ford it didn't matter. They all smelled the same inside.
are you the type of guy that likes to sniff the seat after you've been sitting in it? Those little trees are the smell I like
Nothing in the world smells quite like the inside of a 60-66 GM Pickup. The faint wiff of gas from behind the seat mixed with various 60s era interior linings, and years of hard work. 'Murica.
I've been using the torch and candle trick to get rusty nuts and bolts apart disassembling a Model A. (Thank you HAMB!) I like the smell when the torch heats up the rusty metal. Not sure what it is...smoldering rust?
Ah yes... I love how when I drive my truck to work, the smell of old interior mixed with gasoline sticks to my clothes. That smell carries me through the work day...
I've got a neighbor in his 70s about a mile or so from my house. One day, I was driving by in my '53 BelAir when he waved me down. "I've always wanted to look under the hood of that car", he said. I popped it for him, he stuck his head under it, and said with a smile, "It smells just like my old man's '41 Chevy did!".
Yea the smell of an engine that runs just a little bit rich is actually kind of sweet. Comparevthat to a catalytic converter, they always have that sour 3-day-old-sweat smell. Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
Diesel engines smell nice too. Nothing like being in the engine room of a big ship etc.. but that's another story Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
Old original mohair has an amazing, unique smell. Another favorite is paint burning off a virgin engine rebuild.... oh yeaaaah.
To me, different car makes (from certain vintages) had distinctive smells from the materials used. What about that decomposing plastic stink on tool handles and steering wheels? Kinda cheesy/vinegar/vomit smell when you open the old toolbox. Love MMO and hate gear oil.
Certain smells instantly remind me of good times many years ago. The horse hair and grease smell of old trucks brings back when I used to go with my dad on his construction sites. When a motor is running rich it reminds me of my old minibike. I ran some premix in my lawn mower last week and now I want to go ride 2 stroke dirt bikes again. I'll bet you could blindfold car buffs and they could tell you what decade a car was by the smell or the unique small of those OT VWs. Besides smells old cars have their own unique sounds such as the door latch of my dads old Chevy pickup and the creak the seat springs made. I remember the clunk the clutch and brake pedal stops made when they hit the other side of the floor boards. I remember the groan of the old transmission and the starter motor cranking over.
My 37 Ford still has that smell, oil and race fuel from years ago never left it. Even with new interior smell was still there.
My Grandad had a 60 Ford Fairlane that to this day when I see one I can smell that unique scent I know it's a Ford scent years later my brother bought a 60 and it too smelled the same. Our next door neighbor had a 48 or 49 Dodge and I used to love to just sit in it and BREATH DEEP! Oh and yes the gasoline of the 60s and 70s until unleaded arrived was like tuna to a cat!
Burned rubber, and race fuel (pick your poison....it's all good in my book) Also a pair of T700-GE-401C poppin to life followed by 1200 cyclic rounds a minute of cordite exhaust....it may not be a car....but damn it's hot!
Old car smell, one of the best. Gasoline, lacquer paint, model engine exhaust, aircraft dope, and the smell of an F-16's exhaust as it taxis by. All great, but old car interior, mixed with the smell of a slightly rich running engine just can't be beat IMHO..
I still hold my breath when I first get in my late model commuter. The pent up VOC's are enough to choke a horse. I instantly lower the power windows after getting seated. Try to hold my breath until the car is underway and well ventilated. There are close to 300 toxic chemicals used to make today's interiors, benzene and styrene being the worst. I just went in the garage to savor the vintage aroma of the interior of my '64 C10. Oooh Oooh...That Smell.