[Checks clock on the wall]
The 1st Ikea customer to read about how “great ‘language independent’ instructions are” should be chiming in shortly…
[/Checks clock on the wall]
See, you guys are just making me feel old. I’ve still got this set, all the pieces, the original instructions and the box. I also have the 8020 Universal Technic set and the 8030 Universal Technic set. Got them with a gift certificate I won for placing 3rd in a “Lego building contest” way back when. Previously all the Lego bricks I had were a handful I had salvaged from happy meals in the early 80s. Now I’ve got an eight-shelf cabinet system with custom dividers to keep my Lego bricks(and Mindstorm components) organized.
Enjoy,
Steven
Bah, we’ve got 8030, 8040, and 8050 too (but not 8020, oddly enough). We’ve even got older Technic sets from 1977-1979 (of course, those are MrValley’s; I’m not that old). Don’t have 8868, though.
How do I know what Lego sets we have? I pulled up our Microsoft Access file with all the details! Do I win the Lego geek contest? Or am I disqualified since the Legos are stored in the basement ever since we had to empty a room for a nursery? [Actually, I haven’t been serious into Lego for several years now, but I still have all the boxes and boxes of bricks, waiting for my interest to come around again.]
HAHA! I used to have the first and third set you showed! I remember taking the steamshovel one to school and showing it off.
Aw, you whippersnappers with your fancy 4-digit Technic sets. In my day it was three digits , and you didn’t hear anyone complaining.
My 9-year-old son just got to play with that old set when we visited my parents. It was missing a few pieces (notably the longer axles). Luckily we were in San Diego and picked up the missing stuff in the bulk bins at Legoland.
He noticed one thing with the older instructions is that the black pieces are black. In the newer instructions they are dark grey so you can see the lines.
I have a bunch of technic sets from the 3- and 4-digit era. The pieces are now all mixed together, but are sorted extremely well by type and size, so they’re very easy to find.
This website is a great resource for looking up technic sets.
Assuming I can recall correctly, I have:
948 Go Kart (the very first one, back when they were called “Expert Builder”)
952 (or maybe 950) Fork Lift
8845 Buggy
8847 Dragster
8848 Power Truck
8851 Pneumatic Crane (with pneumatic pieces AND tank tread pieces!)
8859 Harvester
8860 Auto Chassis (purchased at Legoland in Denmark)
1924 Small motorcycle
I also have:
8888 Idea Book
and
8889 Idea Book
Two Star Wars technic sets:
8001 Battle Droid
8002 Destroyer Droid
And the king of all technic sets:
8448 Super Street Sensation
Maud’Dib: You once built the Mega Core Magnetizer and you’re complaining about a little space shuttle? Shame on you :p. Cowgirl Jules was right: channel your inner 10-year-old!
That’s you?! Way cool. 
You watch women’s soccer and you have 8448? Are you my husband’s twin? (He’s got that model on his bureau right now. 
)
No no no, I am not Eric Harshbarger. Sorry for the confusion. I’m just a regular LEGO fan, with no claim to fame…
But I can dream, anyway 
(Seriously, I want that desk he made)
Oh! Yes, the desk is cool. Wouldn’t it be nice to be so sought-after as an employee that you could require a Lego desk in your contract?
I certainly don’t claim to be the world’s leading Lego geek. I just wondered if I won the prize for SDMB.