I got a late model this weekend. It's the first post-1960 car that I've had in over 3 years. The first 15 months of that span were in a 1960 Chevrolet wagon with modern appointments such as a ZZ383 crate motor, a/c, disc brakes, etc... The last 18 mo... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Long story... And it's mostly off topic. I'll say it has four doors, a/c, is about 10 years old, and is that old lady "desert mist" color... Ohh, and it makes 419 hp and runs the quarter in around 12.5 secs. Even so, it's not nearly as much fun to drive as any of my flathead cars.
It happens Ryan. Real life gets in the way of tradition, but does not stop it. It's not like you have given up on the old hardware, just made an "adjustment". If all else fails, you can do the FNG traditional thing and put your 39 on an S-10 chassis!
you are dissapointed in buying a back up car to your daily driven 39 ford. read that outloud a couple times its quite funny. i still think thats pretty badass, but trust me my opinion is completely worthless.
I feel you. I really enjoyed driving my 55 Lincoln ALMOST DAILY till the registration ran out the end of April. (another story why I haven't renewed yet) This enjoyment was somewhat curtailed when driving down the 20 miles of I-30 between work and home when I would constantly worry about the possibility of my all but irreplaceable (but near perfect) windshield falling victim to flying road debris, or just how good my brakes will be if the traffic suddenly changes speed from 75 mph to zero.... (yea I put the old girl on the shoulder twice in this situation just in case, although she did stop in time) There is nothing like driving an old car. even with no a/c, whether I was in the desert of NM or in the hot humid Little Rock summer. I was never so brave to not have a backup late model, and to be honest the old Lincoln has full power....
Not sure if you have kids or not, but that's a HUGE factor in us having to have something late model. Along with the fact that Detroit winters literally kill cars and your obvious point of dealing with city traffic makes i literally impossible for me to drive mine year-round. Even though you live in the awesome southwest, I think I can forgive your purchase. We do what we have to do brother...
Time marches on......body marches on......brain marches on......shit happens....doesn't mean your a dork....just means your human
Notice he didn't say it was a "factory 415 HP". I'm betting it's a Ford Panther chassis of some kind?
yeah man, I drove a 57 buick with the original 364 and drum brakes for two years. Living in Chicago and parking on the street. What a nightmare. I feel ya homie.
im guessing the daily is a 2000 chevy truck, thats been souped up. only reason im thinking that is because they all have that silver/gold/champagne color. old lady desert mist makes me think of that anyways.
no matter what you drive to Austin and back for those appointments, you are still a real hot rodder. no one will/can doubt that.
I don't feel so bad now.I decided a couple of weeks ago to buy the last of the HHR panels.I still have the old stuff(always will)but now I'll have the reliability I need,post stem cell transplant and I can put all of the tough miles on the new kid.And it'll get steelies,moons,and some obnoxious exhaust.
I try to drive mine to work once a week, but like you said, different conditions, different needs... Mine has bias plys and a SBC and no A/C, but I only drive 1.25 miles to work... and I come home for lunch, so 5 miles total... but I live in Pinellas County, FL... As you can see, our population density is a LOT higher than even Travis or Hays County in TX. It get kinda hairy around here with 3,200 people per sq. mile and only one Interstate and that only runs through the lower half of the county.
Some might think you are a sellout. I think you are a realist. Several times I had wondered to myself, how does he drive the 39 daily without getting stressed out over the "what ifs" that go along with driving an old car. If nothing else I fell about myself now that the leader of HAMB also now has a late model.
I had to sell my daily 66 Suburban and replaced it with a Prius. 2 kids in car seats and a long commute will do that to you. Still have my 51 though!
I totally understand getting a late model. I've had my '98 Silverado as a back up and am glad to have it. Sometimes I just need a more realistic hauler. My wife likes new cars so we always use hers on road trips. The key is to still drive your hot rod as much as possible, but damn if it isn't nice to have a late model too. I bet that A/C feels damn good down in Texas right now.
Cool cars, but I am willing to bet it is something from across the pond. I've got the feeling it is a hopped up mercedes or something of the sort.
It's an '02 Mercedes C32 that was a test bed of sorts for AMG. A few hard miles on it for sure, but the price was right. Pretty much free actually. Like I said, long story... I'm sure I'll get into at dogfightmag.com.
Will this newer car beat a certain 1938 Ford coupe in the 1/4 mile on a dragstrip? Oops, I see you posted the car. I forgot all about that race til' guys started mentioning stuff & I think that I have a shot of that race around here somewhere. Chris
Ryan,in the greater scheme of things it doesn't matter what anyone else things about what you choose to drive on any given day. I drive one of my old cars a few times a week but opt to drive my 13 year old truck when I need to and I learned a long time ago that I don't necessarily have to drive the old stuff every day like I did 30 years ago.HRP
I am what is called a "daily collector". I collect cars with the intentions of making them my daily and never finish.