A strange story of 'refered noise' and human audio sensory presception. Nice one, nevertheless. (Sorry about those alloys).
Yes, I have a similar funny story but the sound came from the right direction (c.1982).
I use to go on regular holidays to the US and always rented a car for my use. On one particular visit, a close friend, who had bought a restored vintage 1953 Chevy Bel-Air a couple of months ago, insisted that I make use of it during my stay. Since its restoration, it had not been put to use much, he said, in fact, I would be helping him break-in the restored engine and all other things. I was impressed with my very first test drive on this massive vehicle (about 16 feet long and 6 feet wide). It ran buttery-smooth, a bit heavy to handle, and it floated, pitched and yawed like a boat (like most old American cars do), but it was very enjoyable if you drove it in a sedate manner at around 60 to 70 mph. The 2nd gear was a bit sticky and popped out at times (out 3 forward manual gears), you just need a bit a brute strength to slot it in. Or, you could go straight to 3rd revving the engine a bit. Yes, I could enjoy long rides in this one, I told myself.
On that morning that I set off into the Appalachian Mountains with this blue/white monster, my friend pointed out to a couple of things. One, "SR, the wipers sometimes get stuck. To get it going, all you need to do is get your hands under the dash and yank on one of those steel cables." This car had two wipers and both were driven by a single reciprocating motor that activated the wipers via cables and pulleys! When I tested it, it worked fine. OK, all the same, got that.
"Two," he continued, "the petrol gauge does not work. On a full tank, you should get around 230 to 240 miles and you need to keep a tab on that."
I mentally calculated, with a carburated 4 liter in-line 6 cylinder engine, and a full tank of 15 gallons of petrol at a specified consumption rate of 17 miles to the gallon, it would give me a range of around 255 miles. Sure thing, no problem I will keep an eye on the odometer and also price of regular petrol was around 90-95 cents to the gallon (works out much cheaper than a compact size rental). My friend had also loaded a few spares, like fan belts, spark plugs, bulbs, jerry can, etc., in the boot.
For the first two days, everything went off smooth, very enjoyable drive at a leisurely rate in autumn weather. On the third day, when I hit the mountain roads (after 210 miles), something weird happened. Every time I took a hair-pin bend or hit a dirt road, there was a 'clank-clunk-clank' noise coming from somewhere behind the rear seats. A quick look inside the boot revealed nothing - old car, you know these things happen. A few miles later when I filled the tank to full, the noise totally disappeared, though I was still on those same mountain roads. I didn't give much thought to it, at least not until after another 220 miles or so. The 'clank-clink-clank' sound returned and it could be distinctly heard. This time when I stopped at the gas station the second time, I called my friend and asked him about this weird clanking noise.
He responded, "Oh SR, I forgot to mention that thing. Since the fuel gauge does not work, the previous owner had put a golf ball into the fuel tank. Since all golf balls sink, it does not make any noise when the tank is full. But when the fuel level gets low in the tank, the golf ball starts rattling around in the tank."
(Image: same colour identical car, but not the one with the golf ball in the tank)
Yes, I have a similar funny story but the sound came from the right direction (c.1982).
I use to go on regular holidays to the US and always rented a car for my use. On one particular visit, a close friend, who had bought a restored vintage 1953 Chevy Bel-Air a couple of months ago, insisted that I make use of it during my stay. Since its restoration, it had not been put to use much, he said, in fact, I would be helping him break-in the restored engine and all other things. I was impressed with my very first test drive on this massive vehicle (about 16 feet long and 6 feet wide). It ran buttery-smooth, a bit heavy to handle, and it floated, pitched and yawed like a boat (like most old American cars do), but it was very enjoyable if you drove it in a sedate manner at around 60 to 70 mph. The 2nd gear was a bit sticky and popped out at times (out 3 forward manual gears), you just need a bit a brute strength to slot it in. Or, you could go straight to 3rd revving the engine a bit. Yes, I could enjoy long rides in this one, I told myself.
On that morning that I set off into the Appalachian Mountains with this blue/white monster, my friend pointed out to a couple of things. One, "SR, the wipers sometimes get stuck. To get it going, all you need to do is get your hands under the dash and yank on one of those steel cables." This car had two wipers and both were driven by a single reciprocating motor that activated the wipers via cables and pulleys! When I tested it, it worked fine. OK, all the same, got that.
"Two," he continued, "the petrol gauge does not work. On a full tank, you should get around 230 to 240 miles and you need to keep a tab on that."
I mentally calculated, with a carburated 4 liter in-line 6 cylinder engine, and a full tank of 15 gallons of petrol at a specified consumption rate of 17 miles to the gallon, it would give me a range of around 255 miles. Sure thing, no problem I will keep an eye on the odometer and also price of regular petrol was around 90-95 cents to the gallon (works out much cheaper than a compact size rental). My friend had also loaded a few spares, like fan belts, spark plugs, bulbs, jerry can, etc., in the boot.
For the first two days, everything went off smooth, very enjoyable drive at a leisurely rate in autumn weather. On the third day, when I hit the mountain roads (after 210 miles), something weird happened. Every time I took a hair-pin bend or hit a dirt road, there was a 'clank-clunk-clank' noise coming from somewhere behind the rear seats. A quick look inside the boot revealed nothing - old car, you know these things happen. A few miles later when I filled the tank to full, the noise totally disappeared, though I was still on those same mountain roads. I didn't give much thought to it, at least not until after another 220 miles or so. The 'clank-clink-clank' sound returned and it could be distinctly heard. This time when I stopped at the gas station the second time, I called my friend and asked him about this weird clanking noise.
He responded, "Oh SR, I forgot to mention that thing. Since the fuel gauge does not work, the previous owner had put a golf ball into the fuel tank. Since all golf balls sink, it does not make any noise when the tank is full. But when the fuel level gets low in the tank, the golf ball starts rattling around in the tank."
(Image: same colour identical car, but not the one with the golf ball in the tank)
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![[;)]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Wink.gif "Wink [;)]")
. This is my first ever post in The Automotive India, and rather than going "ga ga" on myself (which no one is interested in), let me dive straight into what I have!!! …Enjoy the i-vtec![[:)]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Smile.gif "Smile [:)]")
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![[lol]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Laugh.gif "Laugh [lol]")
![[evil]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Evil.gif "Evil [evil]")
when I tell that I have paid 10 lakhs for this car.
