Not sure if this has been brought up before or not. I searched ,but couldnt' find anything. How many of you have an old car as a daily driver? I'm just now getting out of car payments and looking to buy an older car as an everyday driver? how dependable are your rides?
my 57 chevy is my daily, i had a 265 with a 5speed and it was very dependable....its getting a 350 and 4 speed right now. matt
1953 chevy 210. It has a '59 235 with a 3 speed. It will soon have a t5 and a better rear end. Needs a rebuild though.
I drive a '69 Ford shortbox daily and year round. 300 6 cylinder is virtually industructable. Power nothing and no diagnostics machines needed to figure whats wrong with it. Big bonus- no payment and not bad gas mileage for a full size truck. Makes a great shop truck.
ive been drivin my 65 chevelle daily for 3 years..... 283 with the power slide. VERY dependable. Sucks, cause its tough to do major stuff to it, cause its my ONLY car, and she cant be down for more then a day or two!
This has been discussed in detail before...... For what it's worth, my current daily driver is my '41 Ford pickup. Kind of austere, with a long list of stuff to fix, but generally solid about getting me to and from. Hopefully, someday soon I will be getting my '40 Ford coupe back on the street. Then I will be able to split the daily driver responsibilities between two vehicles.
Here's my daily. '58 Chevy with a tired '73 350, Saginaw 4 speed, and 12 bolt. She's been pretty reliable and stands out in a sea of late models for much less money than they have into their's. Just sourced a 327 to start building and started cleaning off the years of paint and bondo.
I'm currently driving a '68 Chevy II daily, have been since about February. I've put about 6,000 miles on it with very minor issues. Not bad, considering that's 1/2 the miles the car had put on it during the previous 16 years.
The ONLY disadvantages to driving an old car daily are: fuel economy...for today's gas prices, here at $2.99 and going up brake stopping distance...something you must always be diligent in remembering The advantages to driving an old car daily are: You never have to look around for your car in a parking lot, it is where the crowd is gathered The gathered crowd is your best form of theft prevention, car or parts You can appreciate what boring lives other folks really do have This last advantage outweighs all disadvantages.
I just got rid of my 61 belair it was my daily driver for 2 years, Had a 235 with a three on the tree untill last sprint i put a 283 with a t-5 man i miss the hell out of the car....
I have never driven anything but a vintage car as my daily driver. Currently I am driving a 1955 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer 2dr hdtp with a 270 Hemi. I love it. I have been driving it now for 2 years with little trouble. It is still on 6 volts...but I think a change to 12 volts is a good idea. Really I don't see any reason that someone can't drive one everyday. They were used on an everyday basis 50 years ago. I used to drive a 48 Nash..and 40's cars tend to be a bit slow for driving with today's traffic. Any way you slice it, you're gonna have to look out for idiot drivers that don't realize that your car can't stop on a dime. Tim MBL
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=204652&showall=1 Here is a link to another daily driver thread that was started in august. Enjoy! Drive my slowmaro every day for 8 years. Gotta get my truck more reliable and then I'll just swap each day.
I have been driving nothing but old cars since 1971. Today my daily driver is a 61 T-bird convert. My 19-year-old daughters is a 66 Riviera. My sons is a 2003 Police Interceptor. I think the reliability has been fine. But you have got to be smart & car savvy and do some of your own work. If you are a rube, the garages will clean your clock.
Here's mine...I drive it every day...can't wait for some snow! I just scienced-out and installed new defrosters. Got the aftermarket 6 volt heater motor wired up to a voltage-drop on one side of a 3 way toggle switch and straight to 12 volts on the other. Put new stick-on weatherstip in the doors last weekend...scored a pair of 12 volt wipers for it too...I'm ready for winter. It's a 46 chevy pickup mounted on a shortened 78 blazer chassis. 350-350 turbo with 4 wheel drive and 12.50x33s on it.
built it to drive, 10,300 miles so far in a year an 1/2, the puppies solid an I'm always happy to get in it. plus it's hard to be grumpy in your ride when everyones smilin at you. this an my motorbike, it's all i got. cheers von z
You can get a good driver for 5 grand, but I would not recommend it unless you have some skills and knowledge. The 55' Olds in my avatar is currently my only car and has been dependable even as a rolling project, drove it every day for 7 years before I pulled the engine to rod it out. Now of course many times I've been down for a few days as a result of waiting for parts but it has never stranded me anywhere (knock on wood)
My daily driver is a 62 T-Bird. I love the lines and the "Space Age" appointments. I wouldn't trade it for the world, but the FBB 390 drains the tank rather fast. Still, I get a warm fuzzy feeling every time I pull up to a Prius and get that envious look from the Al Gore supporting wimp driver.
my daily is a 50 fleetline, and a 71 chevelle as a back-up, and a 52 chevy pickup as a back-up for that. when driving old cars daily it is good to have back-ups. plus it is a great excuse to buy more projects. i will NEVER have a new car payment ever again.
Here's my daily driver. Stock, never been rebuilt motor, split headers and lowered. although today I drove my wife's 62
Older cars are as reliable as new ones if you keep them in good shape. I take mine to Colorado, Daytona Fla, Chicago, Ohio, Charleston SC, Indy Goodguys, Nashville, and all over, all the time. Even my travelling bike is an oldie. I used to carry spare parts and lots of tools until one of my kids mentioned on a trip that there are U-Haul places even in the smallest towns. A light lit up. Why have I been carrying spare parts for years that I never never use? I hardly carry any tools anymore. I tell myself that there is a U-Haul in every little town all over the USA so I won't have to worry about leaving my car behind. I have never had to rent one yet to get a broken car back home. Gas mileage? OK. I think it makes NO SENSE AT ALL to spend over $20,000 for a newer car to save a thousand or two in gas. What sense does THAT make? My old cars are much cleaner than the smog-junk cars because I am re-using what is already here instead of causing tons of coal to be burnt to melt, machine, and make a new car. Live without being afraid of something happening. It is the adventures you remember, not the easy nothing days where nothing happened.
Here is my daily /occasional track car .61 Falcon Ranchero Gasser skyjacked straight axle ,alum.head 302 ,4spd, spool.My wife has here own new car (which i pay for but dont drive cuz its new) to back me up in an emergency,but she hasnt had to yet .This is my only set of wheels rain or shine ,and it carries me to work and back 6 days a week.Drove a chopped 54 Chevy daily for 5 years ,then a 60 belair ,then a 49 pickup ,then a stock 56 Poncho ,now this .What will be next ?I know lots of guys that have cool old cars but few drive one daily.I get to enjoy one everytime i go some where ...
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