Boy, do I remember this brake test at the Prospect Street Inspection Station! Let's see: first we pulled into the entrance and were greeted with a usually very grumpy employee who took our papers, Then we were motioned forward and a man held his hand up as he wheeled the apparatus for our headlight alignment test. It was a long bar with two vertically operated indicators which checked to make sure those low and high beams were aligned. When the high beams were turned on, he jockeyed those vertical gizmos into the center area of the headlight beam. The same test for the low beams. They had to match, or you failed. Next, "turn on your wipers....Honk your horn." (No directional signals were on the cars I took to the Prospect Street station.)
Next, out of the car. the inspector gets behind the wheel, speeds forward to the above illustrated brake test. He slams on the brakes when he reaches the appropriate test area, glances at a clear glass gauge with 4 clear glass test tube shaped containers. Red fluid reacts to the pressure points on your brakes and rises vertically in the test tube shaped tester. Then it was on to the wheel alignment test. The car went forward, clicked into an appropriate spot and the front end was lifted up. The inspector shook, rattled and rolled the front wheels for alignment problems, and if you were lucky you passed. Then out to the final stop where a guy either stuck a red "failed" sticker on your windshield, or shaved off the old one and planted a brand new "passed" inspection sticker.
Ahh, those memories!
Those guys hated us teenagers and gigged us for every little thing.
Ahh, those memories!
Ralph Lucarella said...- ....THAT INSPECTION WAS ONE BIG HEADACHE. ALL THE CARS I HAD DURING THAT TIME WERE A PROBLEM AND HAVING THEM PASS INSPECTION WAS EXPENSIVE. IT WAS A BIG HELP WHEN THEY STOPPED IT. WE HAD TO WAIT IN LINE FOR HOURS TO GET IT INSPECTED AND THEN FIND OUT IT DIDN'T PASS.
Tom Glover's reply:
Not only that Ralph, they seemed most of the inspectors had a very bad attitude and never smiled or acted like gentlemen, even though we were paying their salaries. Those guys hated us teenagers and gigged us for every little thing.
....THAT INSPECTION WAS ONE BIG HEADACHE. ALL THE CARS I HAD DURING THAT TIME WERE A PROBLEM AND HAVING THEM PASS INSPECTION WAS EXPENSIVE. IT WAS A BIG HELP WHEN THEY STOPPED IT. WE HAD TO WAIT IN LINE FOR HOURS TO GET IT INSPECTED AND THEN FIND OUT IT DID'NT PASS.
ReplyDelete