The smells

[ward 57]

Just got back from another drive and after parking in the garage, 15 minutes later I walk back out and the garage smells like an old car. Nothing like it. Smells like music trigger the memories. A cooling car in the garage is something you will never forget.
Smelling the exhaust, the engine compartment, the nose is a great diagnostic tool if you know what the smells mean.

[Alan H. Tast]

Just got back from another drive and after parking in the garage, 15 minutes later I walk back out and the garage smells like an old car. Nothing like it. Smells like music trigger the memories. A cooling car in the garage is something you will never forget.
Smelling the exhaust, the engine compartment, the nose is a great diagnostic tool if you know what the smells mean.

All I hear about from my wife after I park the car in the garage for 20 minutes is complaining - "it smells like old car - it stinks, I can't stand the gas smell, it smells like mice..." Then again she also complains about keeping the lawn mower/garden tractor and gas cans in the attached garage during the winter when I put a snow blade on the front to clear the driveway for her, along with any time she ventures into my research library in the basement and gets a whiff of the smell of old books, magazines, etc. Sometimes I can't win for losing...and sometimes I just want to paraphrase the quote from "Apocalypse Now" - "I love the smell of napalm in the morning - it's the smell of...(long sniff)...victory."

[ICON 1956]

Not to change the subject, After I would come home from a long ride on my Harley. The smells of a cool down motor remind me of the police motorcycle garage when I was a kid. Oh and after a ride in the country my 56 would have that classic old car smell.

[MarkR]

Just got back from another drive and after parking in the garage, 15 minutes later I walk back out and the garage smells like an old car. Nothing like it. Smells like music trigger the memories. A cooling car in the garage is something you will never forget.
Smelling the exhaust, the engine compartment, the nose is a great diagnostic tool if you know what the smells mean.

All I hear about from my wife after I park the car in the garage for 20 minutes is complaining - "it smells like old car - it stinks, I can't stand the gas smell, it smells like mice..." Sometimes I can't win for losing...

Ok. I thought I was alone in this. I’ll add a third fragrance, hot brake pads after a 1/2 mile off ramp down to our community. Gas, exhaust and hot brakes. How could anyone not love it. We finally compromised and I installed an exhaust fan. As I write this I realize she didn’t give up anything.

[ward 57]

Only once have I smelled hot brakes. Throttle cable stuck on my'96 Cadillac on a busy freeway.
My wife doesn't mind the smells at all. One of her sons used to race dirt bikes as a kid and she still remembers the smell of the castor oil they used to run in them. She ran the concession stand for the races so got all the smells from the event. Fond memories for her.

[RossL]

Is there anyway to minimize the fuel smell?

[ward 57]

If you smell fuel you need to investigate unless you are running very rich but that is a totally different smell and sticking your nose in the exhaust will tell you that. Look and smell when the engine is just warming up as a small amount will quickly evaporate when the engine is hot and not be seen but you can still smell it. Just the engine cooling is a whole different story. These things leak and the burn off of the very minor leaks is part of the whole experience But if you smell fuel at that time, something is not right.
I discovered my accelerator diaphragm on the carb was going bad that way. Just pumped the throttle while watching ( and smelling )as it was cooling and caught the leak. Damn ethanol. Ethanol free fuel since but supposably the new rebuild kits can handle it.

[DynoDan’55]

Is there anyway to minimize the fuel smell?

The float needle cap on teapot carbs typically leak. They sell an o-ring that cures it.

[DynoDan’55]

Only once have I smelled hot brakes. Throttle cable stuck on my'96 Cadillac on a busy freeway.
My wife doesn't mind the smells at all. One of her sons used to race dirt bikes as a kid and she still remembers the smell of the castor oil they used to run in them. She ran the concession stand for the races so got all the smells from the event. Fond memories for her.

I noticed an unusual exhaust smell the first time I attended a dirt track bike race (Harleys). Figured out it was because they were all running on pure alcohol.
Installing a PCV instead of the orig. draft tube helped rid the garage fumes after parking.