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Conference terri::cars_uk

Title:Cars in the UK
Notice:Please read new conference charter 1.70
Moderator:COMICS::SHELLEYELD
Created:Sun Mar 06 1994
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:2584
Total number of notes:63384

2460.0. "U.S. Motoring Terminology" by 29358::WEBB () Mon Oct 09 1995 20:10

Because lots of people enjoyed the British Terminology quiz so much ;-)
(Note 2455)
I thought you might like another one .......... this is for those people
who haven't experienced motoring/cars over on this side of the Atlantic.

Below is a list of motoring/car terms used in the U.S which. as far as I
know don't exist in the U.K.. Do you know the equivalent U.K.terms?

	Mufler
	Wing win
	Gas guage
	Firewall
	Rotary
	Stop light
	Directionals
	Lug wrench
	Baby moons
	Turnpike
	Throwout bearing
	Stick shift
	Tire iron
	Flat
	Doughnut

nigel
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
2460.1a few guessesWOTVAX::STONEGTemperature Drop in Downtime Winterland....Mon Oct 09 1995 20:2422
     
	Mufler			- exhaust silencer ?
	Wing win                - ??
	Gas guage               - fuel Gauge
	Firewall                - firewall (back of the engine bay)
	Rotary                  - Roundabout ?
	Stop light              - Traffic Lights ?
	Directionals            - Indicators
	Lug wrench              - Monkey wrench
	Baby moons              - Chrome hub caps ?
	Turnpike                - toll road ?
	Throwout bearing        - Clutch release bearing ?
	Stick shift             - Manual (as in gearbox)
	Tire iron               - Tyre lever
	Flat                    - Puncture
	Doughnut                - big circle of black rubber left by the
   				  back wheels when you spin a car or bike
    				  around ??
                                  More likely an inersection like at a
    				  motorway junction with a roundabout 
    
Graham
2460.2RIOT01::SUMMERFIELDEnterprise povertyMon Oct 09 1995 20:2916
    	Mufler			- exhaust silencer
	Wing win                - no idea
	Gas guage               - fuel Gauge
	Firewall                - engine bay bulkhead
	Rotary                  - Roundabout 
	Stop light              - Brake light
	Directionals            - Indicators
	Lug wrench              - Monkey wrench
	Baby moons              - no idea
	Turnpike                - toll road / motorway
	Throwout bearing        - Clutch release bearing
	Stick shift             - Manual gearbox (floor based as opposed to
    				  a column shift on the steering column)
        Tire iron               - Tyre lever
	Flat                    - Puncture
	Doughnut                - rubber bush
2460.3KERNEL::IMBIERSKITMon Oct 09 1995 20:396
    Surely baby moons is when your kid sticks his ar$e out the car window.
    
    That's why people display those big yellow diamond things saying
    "warning - baby on board" so that following drivers are forewarned.
    
    Tony I
2460.4RIOT01::KINGMad mushroomsMon Oct 09 1995 20:4111
    
    re:.3
    
    Yeuch.
    
    And I thought the worst thing that could get stuck to your windscreen
    was a wasp or three...
    
    Doesn't bare (ouch) thinking about!
    
    Chris.
2460.529358::WEBBMon Oct 09 1995 21:426
Obviously that quiz was much too easy.

I did think of another one though:

	Pizza cutters
2460.629545::BURDEN_DA bear in his natural habitatMon Oct 09 1995 22:1610
>Wing win

Are you sure this is a US term?

Of course, here in the southern part of the country they have some unique terms
- such as 'head down that road until it dead ends, then turn right.'  In my
experience, when a road 'dead ends', the only direction you can go is back the
way you came, unless you have a LM002 or Landy or something similar.

Dave
2460.729358::WEBBMon Oct 09 1995 22:389
	
	I thought I'd wait to see if anyone got "wing win" but here goes.

	As far as I know its is a widely used term in the U.S.. It may
	be used less now as fewer cars have them. Wing win is short for
	Wing Window, which, I believe would be called a "Quarter Light"
	in the U.K..

	
2460.829545::BURDEN_DA bear in his natural habitatTue Oct 10 1995 00:015
Yes, in fact I was just thinking that 'win' was short for window and that would
be correct.  Of course, it only applies to the ones that swing out and pull in
gobs of air.

Dave
2460.9WazaboutthisthenWOTVAX::ROWEMFrank Gamballi's TrousersWed Oct 11 1995 17:375
    One that I've always wondered about is "Header" what the HxLL is
    A Header???????
    
    Matt_curious
    
2460.10WOTVAX::STONEGTemperature Drop in Downtime Winterland....Wed Oct 11 1995 17:454
    
    Headers = manifolds, I think
    
    Graham
2460.1129545::BURDEN_DA bear in his natural habitatWed Oct 11 1995 18:147
re -1

Yes, basically.  "Headers" usually refer to an aftermarket exhaust manifold, not
the stock type.  "Open headers" would be an exhaust manifold that has no exhaust
pipe connected to it.

Dave
2460.1229358::WEBBThu Oct 12 1995 00:1131
Well, replies .1 and .2 got pretty much every one right but here are the answers:

	Mufler - silencer
	Wing win - quarter light
	Gas guage - petrol (or fuel) guage
	Firewall - bulkhead
	Rotary - roundabout
	Directionals - indicators or signals
	Lug wrench - these days it has the same meaning as Tire Iron 
		     A spanner for screwing/unscrewing wheeel nuts
	Baby moons - hub caps, these are the small ones which cover the centre
	    	     of the wheel, about 8 inhes diam., chrome plated with a 
		     cross section the same as a slice off of a sphere (an arc)
		     or a moon in the first quarter. 
	Turnpike - toll road or a very large multi lane motorway
	Throwout bearing - clutch thrust bearing 	                        
                           One driving test question was "What would do you do  
                           to stop in an emergency? one of the multiple choice  
                           answers was "Throw out the clutch" 
	Stick shift - manual transmission
	Tire iron - wheel nut spanner, see lug wrench
	Flat - puncture
	Doughnut - today the most common reference is to the small spare wheel
		   that most modern cars have. One that looks a lot smaller
		   than the normal wheels and you should not drive over 50 MPH
		   when is on the car.


	Re: .5  Pizza Cutters - these are solid disc (no spokes or holes) wheels
	usually polished aluminium, they obviously resemble a pizza cutter.
2460.13WOTVAX::STONEGTemperature Drop in Downtime Winterland....Thu Oct 12 1995 12:5220
    
 >>	Lug wrench - these days it has the same meaning as Tire Iron 
 >>		     A spanner for screwing/unscrewing wheeel nuts
 >>	Tire iron - wheel nut spanner, see lug wrench
    
    
    I did get these two wrong after all, although my answer was a bit
    ambiguous so nobody noticed.
    
    A 'Monkey wrench' - which I thought was the same as a 'Lug wrench' - is
    a large, adjustable spanner which is also useful for hitting things
    with. 
    
    The 'Tyre Lever' I referred to is a long, flat piece of iron with
    rounded ends, used for removing a tyre from a wheel rim - not something you
    usually do yourself with car tyres !
    
    I found it very interesting, anyway.
    
    Graham
2460.1429358::WEBBThu Oct 12 1995 19:4310
	Tire iron - Tyre lever  Yes, back in the god old days the 'Tire iron'
was a tyre lever, it came in a kit with the car along with the jack and the 
wheel nut spanner. These days nobody takes a car tyre off the rim themselves 
and the tyre lever no longer comes with the car (as far as I know, - I've never
bought a 'new' car in my life!). The name 'tire iron' seems to have stayed.

P.S  Lug nuts are wheel nuts

nigel
2460.15CHEFS::BRIGGS_Rthey use computers don't theyThu Nov 30 1995 13:0019
    
    Well thinking about the lyrics of just one Beachboy's song drags up the
    following lines....
    
    Just a Little Deuce Coupe with a Flat Head Mill
    
    She's ported and relieved and she's stroked and bored
    
    She got a competition clutch with the Four on the Floor
    
    She purrs like a kitten till the Lake Pipes roar
    
    There's one more thing I got the Pink Slip daddy!
    
    
    Just what are Lake Pipes and what is the origin of the term Deuce
    Coupe?
    
    	Richard
2460.16WOTVAX::STONEGTemperature Drop in Downtime Winterland....Thu Nov 30 1995 13:108
    
    Lake Pipes are sidepipes - that is exhausts that are along the sides of
    the car. I think Lake is a well known manufacturer of sidepipes.
    
    i think a Deuce Coupe is a 2 door coupe, although it may refer to the
    model number of a particular car.
    
    G.
2460.17Just a guess45480::SIMONSemper in ExcernereThu Nov 30 1995 14:2625
A guess...

Simon



    Just a Little Deuce Coupe with a Flat Head Mill
    
Two door coupe

    She's ported and relieved and she's stroked and bored

Enlarged valve ports, longer piston stroke, enlarged cylinder
    
    She got a competition clutch with the Four on the Floor
    
A lighter cluthc for faster gear changes, dunno

    She purrs like a kitten till the Lake Pipes roar

As the man says, side exhaust pipes
    
    There's one more thing I got the Pink Slip daddy!
    
In fathers insurance.
2460.18WOTVAX::STONEGTemperature Drop in Downtime Winterland....Thu Nov 30 1995 15:0110
    
    Pink slips aren't Insurance doc's, they're registration/ownership
    doc's. This is what folks used to race for in films like American
    Graffiti - the loser handed over his pink slip, and therefore ownership
    of the vehicle.
    
    The 'four on the floor' would be a manual 4-speed box, instead of the
    usual 'slush' box.
    
    G.
2460.1945480::SIMONSemper in ExcernereThu Nov 30 1995 17:061
For a guess I wasn't far out :-)
2460.2058635::PITULEYDIGITAL=DEC: ReClaim TheNameFri Dec 01 1995 00:334
    ..A competition clutch is one that will stand up to misuse such as
    being "dropped" at high engine RPM's.
    
    
2460.21CHEFS::BRIGGS_Rthey use computers don't theyFri Dec 01 1995 13:0814
    
    I can see I'll have to get my Beachboy's song books out here. The song
    in question in the previous note was 'Little Deuce Coupe'. Here's
    another:
    
    ....The wildest short around is my Cherry Cherry Coupe...
    
    (From 'Cherry, Cherry Coupe')
    
    What is a 'short'? I presume a Cherry Cherry Coupe is just a cherry
    coloured deuce coupe (see previous).
    
    Richard
    
2460.22WOTVAX::STONEGTemperature Drop in Downtime Winterland....Fri Dec 01 1995 13:186
    Short probably refers to the engine. Possibly a Short stroke Chevy or
    Ford ? In the same way that they have 'Small' and 'Big' Block Chevy's
    which refers to engine capacity 427ci is 'Big' and (I think) 328ci is
    'Small'.
    
    G. 
2460.2329545::BURDEN_DA bear in his natural habitatFri Dec 01 1995 20:547
> What is a 'short'? I presume a Cherry Cherry Coupe is just a cherry
>    coloured deuce coupe (see previous).
 
Could be, but 'cherry' also means something in perfect condition, so it could
mean a very nice cherry colored car.

Dave    
2460.24CBHVAX::CBHLager LoutFri Dec 01 1995 23:0511
>    Short probably refers to the engine. Possibly a Short stroke Chevy or
>    Ford ? In the same way that they have 'Small' and 'Big' Block Chevy's
>    which refers to engine capacity 427ci is 'Big' and (I think) 328ci is
>    'Small'.

I'm probably wrong, but I got the impression that `big' and `small' block 
Chevys referred to the engine design... I thought that as I'm sure I've heard 
of a 5.something litre `small' block, and a 4.something litre `big' block.  
Perhaps someone just has some inventive re-boring techniques!

Chris.
2460.25 Slush Fund? CHEFS::POWELLMThe x3030 contractor.Fri Jan 26 1996 12:4011
    <<< Note 2460.18 by WOTVAX::STONEG "Temperature Drop in Downtime
    Winterland....
    
    >>>    The 'four on the floor' would be a manual 4-speed box, instead of
    >>>the usual 'slush' box.
                         ^^^
    
    	Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this a 'slush pump' on your side
    of the pond?                                         ^^^^
    
    				Malcolm.
2460.26CBHVAX::CBHLager LoutFri Jan 26 1996 13:466
>    	Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this a 'slush pump' on your side
>    of the pond?                                         ^^^^
    
I thought that CHEFS:: and WOTVAX:: were both on the same side of the `pond'!

Chris.
2460.27WOTVAX::STONEGTemperature Drop in Downtime Winterland....Fri Jan 26 1996 14:137
    
>    	Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this a 'slush pump' on your side
>    of the pond?                                         ^^^^
    
    well, I'm in Warrington.... is this the North/South divide ??
    
    Graham
2460.28 No, No, No. Don't get me wrong, I'm English like you! CHEFS::POWELLMThe x3030 contractor.Fri Jan 26 1996 17:144
    	I was refering to the "wrong" or "left" side of the pond, compared
    to the "right" side of the pond since the topic concerned American
    cars.
    				Malcolm.