I try to drive my old jalopy's most of the time, the exceptions are where I have to leave them for long periods or bad weather. On our newer cars it seems like every time the "Check Engine" light comes on it's a thousand bucks for some part I have no idea where it's at nor can I see it below all the plastic patio covering. On the hotrods there is no check engine light, plus I can repair or replace parts as needed if ever, and I can find them. There is no tire pressure monitor's with dead batteries, I am perfectly capable of checking the air pressure before a trip. There is no anti-lock brake system that needs the gummed up module or motion monitor repaired or replaced. Cars have come a long way and have a lot of nice creature comforts and safety features....but they are expensive to maintain.
Never owned any other rides than my two chevs since 1995. Drove the truck in Austin TX for 2 years than moved to Los Angeles and the San Fernando valley. 4.11 rear on the freeways until 2001 when I got a 3.55 rear and started saving some gas money. No air conditioning. Moved out into the country 12 years ago. Takes 20 miles to get to the stores, but hardly any traffic. Drove down to Los Angeles last month for the first time in 6 years. Yikes - forgot all about the bumper to bumper traffic on the 4 lane freeways. Soooo many cars - but slow speeds and almost to a stop in afternoon rush hour traffic. I was the only old car in thousands and thousands of other rides - feels normal to me and I would NEVER drive and sit in a modern car for hours every day, surrounded by plastic and it's nauseating smell.
If you want to, just do it. I live in a big city, and I drive the wheels off of my '39 Tudor... Drove it on my 15 mile one-way commute all last summer, fall and winter. Rain, shine, or snow. Yep, I've had my run-ins with reality, including getting rear-ended by an 18-year-old in a Mitsubishi, but it has been far more enjoyable, and frankly cheaper, behind that DeLuxe banjo wheel.
Seems to me the problem isn't so much the "old cars" as it is where you choose to live. Metro areas and ALL people in a hurry makes for feeling like a sitting duck in an old car. Funny thing....back in the day, the hot rodders were the "problem". Now the soccer moms running late, in their SUV's are the "problem"!
Oh c'mon, you live in Tacoma... LOL. While it's the third-largest city in the state, traffic isn't so bad that a savvy local can't avoid most of it. Greater Seattle area is another story....
Driving an old car 25 miles to work, adds some joy to the day. Granted, I face no traffic and only 2 stop signs and one traffic light. My morning terror comes from the deer population in the dark. Kerr county- look it up Squirrel touched on an interesting point. Seven years ago, I had a relatively large sum that I could spend on almost any vehicle available (ALMOST). I bought that ol worn out wagon that is in my avatar. Following that, for awhile, I bought older and older cheap.
I would love to daily an old car. Problem is here in Houston at 5am if you arent going at least 75 mph on the freeway then you will get run over. And my 30 mile one way commute would be a killer.. I cant wait to leave the big city. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
For those of us older than say 60..we did drive all of these "old" cars on a daily basis, back in the day. The problem is "back in the day" is no longer this day, and hasn't been in a long while. What changed/evolved is our perceived need for all of the latest comfort features, fuel mileage, expediency, safety features, ease of operation, etc. but mainly a much larger population (who also have changed/evolved). I equate it to motorcycle riding..A true pleasure on country roads with minimal traffic..larger populated areas, not so much. I still enjoy the occasional drive, but also enjoy the planning/working on these cars, when I'm not driving them. There's many reasons we have these cars, even though they may not be our daily drivers. The appreciation isn't lost. Practicality/sensibility can be, and usually is boring.
I enjoy the heck out of my old cars but I also enjoy the heck out of my new(er) cars. My hot rods are a blast to drive but so is my late model BMW or my wife's Lexus.Granted it is a totally different experience and that is what I enjoy. The difference I see is that when I am brain dead after a day at work or a 4 hour bike ride or whatever, I can hop in my late model ride and cruise home. I do love the creature comforts newer cars provide. Not too mention the ease of operation and the safety. Just as I enjoy the more "direct" driving experience you get with an old car. Not kicking any of them to the curb at this point.
I can connect with this post. I will start off by saying that I live in a rural area, so most of my driving is not traffic contingent, but I do drive my Thunderbird in Colorado Springs or Denver from time to time. My daily now is a beater Dodge Dakota, but before that it was my 1959 Thunderbird (more out of necessity than anything) and before that a 1974 Ford Econoline van. The Econoline broke down in a Barnes and Noble parking lot one day. Thankfully, the next store over was an Autozone. I walked in, bought a wrench or two and a new starter, installed it, and I was back to puttering around handing out candy in less than 20 minutes. The value for me in old cars is the ability to accurately identify and fix a mechanical issue. There's no way I can do that with the slicked out computer age cars the kids are driving these days! Viva la carburation!
Sometime along the way I got old and safety minded, driving my Mercury in big city traffic is not comfortable anymore, do enjoy cruising the Northwoods of Wi., My retirement Paradise. Finally gave up on motorcycles in 2010, had cycle's from 74 thru 2010. I think I realised how lucky (Thankful) I was to make it to retirement at 62, 7 years ago, never thought about old age much, enjoying my retirement and like all the safety features of our newer cars, the comfort factor is a good thing IMO. The younger HAMBer won't get this line of thinking, but one day he will say Dam it ! How did this happen, I'm old. The expression "You are only as Old as you feel/think" applies mentally, but the years of fun and abuse come home, the old bones/joints remind you every AM/PM of your age, Reality Bites !
Great topic. Ryan the way it's going that Porsche will end up being worth your other cars' combined values. They have to be the best auto investment going right now.
I use to drive my 66 Impala from ElCajon to Chula Vista every day to work and back and I always thought those guys driving old cars were nuts! Of course I was driving the latest in late-model comfort and safety. Self adjusting drum brakes, good bias plys...sheeeeeit! The car was only 5 years old. Everything is subjective. Now, I'm not comfortable unless I have disc brakes, ABS, crumple zones and tempered glass! Driving in the Omaha area has become hazardous. Gotta factor in an extra 45 minutes to adjust for crashes on the interstates. Thing is, all those crashed cars have all the latest in safety equipment and high-zoot, electronical driving aids...they still crash. I drive my trusty old '80 G-body chevelle wagon [355/350/ disc brakes and fat radials] on the interstates on cruise nights and sometimes to work [6 blocks] but my fellow motorists in Hyundias and toyotas zing in and out of traffic all around me in bumper to bumper traffic...waste gates hissing and tires chirping...makes an old guy nervous as hell. Next time I'll drive my HHR panel.
Yep, but sometimes that is where the work is.... Until bailing out and retiring.... Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
My daily is a '72 Cheyenne longbed pick up. It's the same basic chassis that GM came up with in 1963, just modern in the sense that it's got front disc brakes stock. No AC, no radio. Well, not working currently, but maybe soon- I do live in South Texas after all. I don't miss driving my late model Silverado at all. But why were you staring at the temp gauge? Regular overheating problem or just paranoid?
I work about 45 miles south of the house, and have been driving the '40 coupe pretty much as often as possible this year. I do have a "late model" that I drive on stormy days and if I have to make any long work related trips that require overnight stays. Out of the 123 days of 2017, I've spent 95 of those with drive time behind the wheel of a '40 Ford.
I moved from Portland to LA to make money, and to escape the rain and cold.Worked out fine on all counts. I LOVE LA!!One of the world's great cities, an exciting, dynamic place.It doesn't suck, it has it's problems but so what? When was anything perfect?
Yup! I work in Burbank. Just out of curiosity, a few months ago a co-worker and I viewed a house for sale in the area. It was $500k for a tiny, shoe-box home on a bad street. When my wife and I were home shopping several years ago I quickly learned one rule; if I could afford the house, I'd hate the location. I finally figured a way around it, a method called "wait for the housing market to crash then buy at the bottom of the cycle!" That worked out great for us. Now our mortgage is less than what we were paying in rent for a smaller place. Back to cars. I took this photo when my neighbor took me for a spin in his '32 roadster not long ago. There are plenty of scenic, traffic-free places to drive in the L.A. basin if you know where and when to go. But I admit I'll never have an old daily driver here.
My wife and I can afford to buy a house in almost every place in the country, except for the only place that my work exists.
I also live in a sparsely populated area of the country- spoiled by 2 lane roads and little traffic- just made a trip to AL and got a dose of reality- was going crazy on I-65- trucks and road construction and at Bowling Green got off the freeway and onto 431- came home to MI on 127- took a bit longer- but no head aches and saw more than the car or truck in front of me, alongside me or behind me-
I understand what you encounted Ryan, my 55 Olds is my daily has been for nearly a decade. Big block olds, no AC wind up windows and drum brakes all round. And I live and drive in the city. I will say I'm planning on swaping to an OD trans for long hauls and I've decided I have to have discs on the front if I'm going to continue driving it daily. A few close calls that stopping a 2 ton barge on tram tracks just really tests the sphincter. But even traffic seems better in an old car. its the best. I can leave work after a crappy day, and by the time I get home its all good. cruise home with some good tunes and its all better. I understand having a newer car but it's just not me. Safety is a 4 part puzzle, the car, the conditions , your driving, everyone elses driving. Just because you own a volvo , doesn't mean you won't die in it. If I need to do some serious work it just takes some planning. So enjoy it for what it is, it won't be perfect every day, but percentages say it will be for most. My Daily
I think one thing that maybe gets overlooked with all you heroes who drive oldies in the congested city, is the smiles you put on the rest of our faces as we lose our souls sitting in traffic in our comfy, modern cars. During a filming shoot in Las Vegas, I was riding / filming back seat in a 1928 sedan hot rod. Just like everybody else on the strip, were were stuck in horrible traffic that night. But with all the smiles, thumbs up, etc, we got, it sure did not feel like we were stuck!
This thread hits almost all of my "hot buttons" so forgive if I skewer a sacred cow or two. My driving experience is of four varieties. 1. Rural America. 2. German autobahn. 3. Third world/Central Asia. 4. Major metropolitan. In my opinion, most major US metro commuters are heavy into hyperbole when they describe the risks of their commute. You haven't seen closure rate until you've had a BMW 740i doing 200 mph come up on your flat fender jeep doing 55 mph on the autobahn. I drive the speed limit or close in major metro areas and have YET to get "run over" because I wasn't going 75/80. And Third world Central Asia has it all over CA cities for chaotic driving. I personally don't understand the need to live in CA or other major metro areas. There are several urban areas where cost of living outstrips the increased income of jobs in the area, and the GAO has proved it mathematically. (Hint, SF, LA, NY, Seattle) I think we are seeing lots of people who've figured out the math and are fleeing those areas for a lower cost of living/crime rate, and higher rate of free time. I'm reminded of the argument in "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" when I hear people say "that's where the jobs are." I drive old cars with the understanding that driving them uses them up. But that's why I work on them myself. And I had the mechanical aptitude of an amphibian when I started, and in some ways I still suck. But I have confidence that skill can be built. When I wear them out or they get dinged, I fix them. I like Jay Leno's views on classic cars. Fix them to 100% (or even 70%) and then drive them to zero. Wash, rinse, repeat.
I don't have a "regular job". My work is not portable. It is not found in almost any city, and it is not found in any rural area. I have done the math. Sure, I can cut my living expenses in half, but my pay would be 35% (an I would be living with people with whom I do not share values).
I hear you on having "unicorn" job. I have one of those, which is why I work overseas. Your need to live in an echo chamber of like minded individuals? Not so much.
The Jalopy Journal
