Technical Daily drivers...the good, bad and the ugly.

Wow sounds like my kinda of gal, hang in there girl it will all come together, at least you are willing to go down the road of building a ride you can and will enjoy when you get to where you want it.

 

Just do it! you wont be sorry, all you have to do is make it safe and somewhat comy and you will love having it to drive every day. I have always been a huge supporter of old cars driven daily, it builds character in a person and well, it will hone you on the fly repair skills to sometimes. I drive my 51 chevy (above)130 miles round trip to work everyday since I got it back together in June. Its no power house, it drives like a whale on roller skates, but its freaking great! Go though all the brakes, I would think about rewiring it, and make sure it has good function wipers. I just took out the old vacuum crap in mine and upgraded it to electric, holy crap they work now! Love the Buick always one of my favorite years. You can do it and you will be glad you did, whats the worst that happens? you decide its not for you and you need something newer, either way the Buick is further along in the build.

 

Well, I didn't plan on falling in love today, but here we are.

 

You sound like my kinda girl! But seriously, you might want to consider investing the insurance settlement in a turn-key daily driver Buick that's ready to go right now instead of having to wait for yours to be finished. See H.A.M.B. classifieds. Just a thought...

 

The 1911 is beautiful.
Let us know what you decide. If you're down, the DD buick could be fine. Spare parts will be key. Checking what's available locally and what you need to have on your shelf.

Nail head parts like water pump, gasket etc need to be considered, carb kits or swap to a generic edelbrock or something. Its the small wear parts that need to be ordered that will put you in a bind.

 

When all is said and done, the only real question that matters is if you feel safe in it and you feel it is reliable. Old cars break, we all know that. Sometimes parts can take a few days to get, we know that too. Rental cars for a few days while waiting for parts are cheap compared to monthly car payments. If you don't mind working on it, I say go for it.

 

After a crappy day at work, I always get a smile on my face when I get to the parking lot.

 

No.... I saw her first and I'm closer to Tennessee... and I make a lot of money...

 

Things to consider...this is what i do anyway... If you drive an old car daily you're gonna have the water and oil in the trunk that we all do, i go a little bit further. I allways have spares in the trunk just in case. its saved my ass more than once. I always travel with an extra couple of radiator hoses and fan belts, Thermostat gaskets, points and condenser, cap & rotor and a few good plug wires, plus a water pump a fuel pump and hose clamps. it sounds like a lot but its really not much, and it all fits in an old wooden fireworks crate. Add a $50 tool kit from wall mart and a hammer and you can fix dam near everything on the car beside the road. I hope you decide to go for it and make it your daily, help make our roads beautiful again by keeping another soulless little car off the road, By Rockin a NAILHEAD every Day!

 

I'll have to agree on getting ambushed in parking lot by gawkers and chatty Cathy's. It's not always an annoyance but can be at times. One day I had a guy stop me to tell me a few stories about my truck. "I remember seeing this truck around town, ol' jeb drove it forever" whatever the guys name was. Couldn't bring myselfe to tell him I had it shipped from out of state and was a barn find that had been locked Way for nearly 20 years.

 

Boys be nice.....besides im closer than both of you and i lived in Nashville!

 

I have been using old cars as daily transportation for nearly 50 years so here are a few thoughts.

1) You need a backup. I usually have 2 vehicles, possibly a car and a pickup truck or a car and a minivan or even a motorcycle. I live in the country 10 miles from the nearest town and I don't want to turn into a pedestrian.

2) How much do you drive? If you HAVE to drive 50 miles a day to work get the best, newest car you can, preferably Japanese. If you can walk to work or take the bus if you have to, or someone else in the house has a car you can borrow then maybe a 50 year old car will do.

Much as I like old cars I would not chose a 56 Buick for a daily driver. Too old, too hard to get parts and repairs, just too much hassle UNLESS I can leave it in the garage for a week or 2 at a time if necessary (because of weather or breakdown).

There are some terrific buys in used cars 7 years old or older. Such cars are so old , the dealer will offer a "joke" price as a trade in and a lot of them get sold privately by the owner. You can find a good deal with a little looking.

This is a little older and larger than you might like but a friend of mine bought a 1974 Ford full size sedan last week. Has a couple of rust spots but only 34000 miles and runs like new. Paid $1300 for it. Cars like that are out there, if you have time to shop you can get some nice cars for under $2000 and in some cases, under $1000 if you can do a little work.

 

I've been driving my 1959, Studebaker Lark, 2dr. wagon as a daily driver for over 13 years now. It will soon (?) be replaced by a 1954, Studebaker 2dr. wagon (Conestoga).
The 54 is almost complete. It's mechanically pretty much done (all new), currently waiting for me do put new wiring in (bumper to bumper). The Lark will hopefully then be sold, and the Conestoga will be my daily driver.

I'm almost 65, and the newest car I've ever owned was an 84 Suburban (only for towing my race car).

So yea...I say go for it.

Mike

 

RP, you live in Nashville so brakes, drivetrain have to be tip top shape. I live in a town of 45k in central VA so it's easy for me to be a dd/only vehicle owner of a '49 Chevy 1/2 ton. Never a bad day in the old girl..I once walked in a coffee shop and the next guy that followed me in said , "That your truck?" I said "Yes it is, some days you feel like Elvis with so many people waving at you , thumbs up and such." He goes, "Dude, you are Elvis!" I've got over 100k miles and 18 years, love it every day.

 

Making car payments - You're constantly delegating funds into a vehicle that's getting worth less and less. Adding the monthly payments plus the depreciation is the cost to drive it.

Maintaing a 10 year old car to remain reliable will also take funds, but you're delegating funds into maintainence. Even if you're paying a garage to do this, It's still much cheaper to keep an older car on the road than to pay for a new one.

Maintaing a 60 year old car to remain daily driver reliable,,, well way back when these cars were new there were mechanics on every corner. That's because there was plenty of work for these guys just keeping these cars puttering around. They needed frequent tending to back then and they will need it now. Sooo when was the last time you saw a gas station that has a mechanic on duty? That's because they aren't needed with today's cars. The old car will need that mechanic.

 

I am in the middle of building two race cars ( gassers to be exact). Not particularly smart but I sold my 51 international to help finance it. Now driving my 90 Chevy truck around until I finish something. I am even looking at a 59 f 100 just to ride in. To the point DO it. I miss my old trucks. And nothing I do will ever make that 90 Chevy cool.
Mitch.

 

Well after weighing the pros and cons, I've decided to use the Buick as my DD...I do not want another car payment and yes I do have the option to buy a lil shit box for the time being but I would rather invest my money in something that will bring me more money in the long run...I understand that yes, there's a lot of work ahead of me and yes there are going to be days I'm gonna wanna kick that thing right in the ass. There is a train that runs into Nashville that I can catch if need be, and my roommate/best friend has a shop that is literally 3 miles away, and if it wasn't for him and his help, this wouldn't even be an option for me. I do wrench but I'm not a pro, and I'm a true believer that in order to truly learn something, it's through experience and I will be forced to know this car inside and out...which is a good thing. Secondly, I need this. I've had an absolutely shit year, heartbreak, work stress, sick family members, a destroyed Jetta, the list goes on and on, I'm starting to resemble a Hank Williams song... needless to say this Buick may be a right pain in the ass but I think the therapy I'll receive from getting it on the road, driving it, working on it, makes up for everything else. I need this car as much as it needs me...so I'll definitely keep you kats in the loop. I have an old build thread somewhere around here that I'll have to resurrect. You can also follow me on Instagram if you got it, just look for Nailheadbrooklyn
...thank you all for your advice and support, it's very much appreciated. I'm about to go Unfuck myself!

 

That's the spirit!

 

Good on ya! Dont look back and that Buick will be your daily therapy. I know my 51 is. If I didnt have hot rods and to be able work on / build id be in the joint or dead probably. Its not the path for everyone to drive a 50 year old car everyday, but isn't that why we do this? To be different, save some history and be one with our junk!!!

 

Good for you! Though not technically my daily, I do drive this sweet old girl more than I do my official daily(01 Suburban). Other than being lowered and having electric wipers, she's bone stock. I just keep her well maintained(brakes adjusted, regular tune ups, etc...) and she hasn't left me stranded in the five years I've had her(knock on wood ). Hosted on Fotki and I look forward to retiring my Suburban, so I can replace it with a 50's-60's wagon.

 

My newest car is 50 years old and I have been driving old cars only since 1967. The best advice I know is to get a second old car to drive on those occasions that the first old car is down for repair. After that you need a third and fourth old car, of course. I spend as much per car each YEAR as most people spend every MONTH on their daily drivers car payment

 

Yeah I'm pretty stoked!

 

I second this, it's literally been a whole year since I've truly worked on her and this was the year I needed it most!

 

Here's hoping thing get better for you, I'll tell you what I do when I need a pick me up hit a car show or stop by a swap meet or just bop over to a fellow hot rodder and see how thing are going on his build, if they need a hand help them out never know maybe they will stop by and give you a hand one day.

 

Old cars sooth the soul. You will be glad you did.

 

That Buick will make a nice driver!

 

Good for you, I threw the Devils advocate line earlier. Having the train available gives a safety net in case it's needed.

Post up some pics of the car, let's see what we're working with.
Brakes, fluids, hoses, belts, battery, generator/alternator, wipers, maybe a radiator backflush(no chemicals yet), maybe add an easily visible fuel filter (tank rust and crud can leave you stranded) that's a starter list. I've brought a couple back from sitting, 1 became a daily driver, yours sounds driveable or close. Blankets are acceptable as interior.

Let us know what you've dealt with already, sounds like brakes, radiator hoses.

 

I'll be going out to the property she's stashed at this weekend to start my to-do list. I'll snap a ton of pics for you guys. I need to let her run for a little bit too.

 

I have daily driven my shoebox for just about two months and to kick that off i drove it 2200 miles to spokane washington. I say go for it!

 

I'm so happy that you made up your mind and did it.
But there was some damn good advice on here, even the ones that wasn't all in at first.

Remember the insurance!
run good new and fresh parts from a good and known surplier.
If you can find a new carb that fits, all new is always better then slightly used!
Run all new brakes from pedal to wheel!
Remember better rear ligth/break ligth, so when you brake the texting-idiot behind you sees you.
On a full full size car you can run radials, with out loosing the look.
If you do a quick respray, you can touch it up and not feal all down about small scratches.
And remember to feel comfy when driving, you migth need to move seat/steering wheel/shifter/pedal location for a better driving feeling.

And remember to post pics to your well documented build thread, so we can give you the advice for the task at hand! And put a link on here.

And I can only hope you enjoy yours as much as I did mine!