Driving your ride while working on it???

How many folks out there drive your car while your working on it. I have a 40 buick that I am working on and just mainly collecting parts for before I tear into it to deep. It has a good running straight 8 and runs and drives pretty well. If I repaired some wiring it would be a good daily driver. I am thinking of patching up the floor pan and starting to drive it 2 or 3 days a week. I will keep collecting parts for the drive train swap and patching rust on the weekend. But it would be fun to get some enjoyment out of it while I wait. I was just wondering if anyone else does this?

Thanks for listening to my rambling.

 

It's a shame that more people don't do that. There would sure be a lot less "started" projects for sale and many more decent cars for the next guy. Tear downs and rebuilds are not as easy as some the guys on here make it look.

Good plan - drive it!

 

My first major project (an OT '71 F100) was more of a refurbishment. I don't think I would have made it through the project if I couldn't drive it while I was working on it. I've tackled full frame offs since, because I know I can finish it.

I say drive it as long as you can.

 

Yeah thats exactly what I was thinking. Seems its very easy to get burnt out when all your doing is working on it. Don't get me wrong I enjoy turning wrenches. But it would also be nice to just hop in and run to town also.

 

My daily is an on going old car project, and Ive kept my 54 running and driving the whole time ive had it give or take a few weeks.

Its much more fun then the full resto type build. My other other car is still in progress, and will be mint but it sucks having nothing to drive thats cool, so I ended up with my other two projects. On my daily I just research the crap out of what ever big job I need to do, like engine swap, or rear end swap, and make sure I have everything and its no problem getting it done. I swapped it over from 6cyl auto to V8 standard in a weekend.

 

My 54 is my daily and a project, i just have to plan projects if i can have it done by monday.

 

I try and keep a project a running, driving car but sometimes it has to go down depending on what faze it's in. Blows my mind some of the guys on here that have it down to a bare shell and are able to bring it back.

 

In my opinion it's the best way to stay interested. I have a 49 Hudson that needs interior, body and paint work. I just got all the mechanical problems fixed(for now ) and am driving the damn wheels off it. I'll do the interior and other things while I enjoy and drive it. If something comes up and I have to tear into a little more the memories of cruising will tide me over until I can get back behind the wheel.

Here it is last Friday I drove it over to KFC for some dinner



and here's shot of it's first trip to the gas station.




I've been taking random shots of it when I drive it and send them to my brother, he lives out of state and loves to see it on the road.

 

Well you guys have said exactly what I hoped you would. I only work 17 miles from home and I think in the next few weeks I'm gonna get the wiring a little safer and start driving it some.

 

My driven daily T is still in gelcoat (fiberglass) and it looks decent, but it could use a paint job. Thing is, I'm having so much fun with it, I can't see shutting it down for paint.

 

What if we had said, "No."

 

Last week I bought a Rodding and Restyling July 1958 mag from To Tall Okie at the Tulsa swapmeet.
It has an article in it the covers this pretty well.
It says to work on the car a little at a time and not blow it apart to do it all at once. Drive it as you work on it.
Wish I had read it 10 years ago.........

 

doing it with my olds right now it's down for a big project but i expect another week or two it will be back on the road again. damn air bags and disc brake conversions take longer then i thought

The point is it's one way to stay interested there is no back burner if you drive it as you go.

 

Hudson looks great Raidmagic: I'd be driving the wheels off that too.!
I'm driving the truck in my avatar despite the current state the body is in - the rust and old paint was ok for a while, but it does get old quickly. Round here people seem to enjoy it, but once I have a few more things worked through and some finer details and interior worked out, it will go to paint...

 

Building a custom is not easy! I wonder what percentage of started frame off custom builds get left behind because a person gets overwhelmed or burnt out. It took me all of four years to finish mine and there were times when I thought I may never be able to finish it. This was the first auto project of this magnitude I have tackled. One thing I did not anticipate though from such a daunting task was that now that it's done, anytime I need to figure out a way to get something done or make something work whether it's auto related or not, it just seems sooo easy in hindsight of building my truck. It gave me a lot of confidence in my abilities.

 

There is a lot to be said about working on your ride while driving it.The biggest advantage I found in my last build was that I did more in it when it wasn't finished as I do know that it has fancy paint and upholstery.

 

I definitely agree with the consensus here. I know that I have a hard time keeping on track
if there isn't some fun in there- And I know that I'm a better driver than mechanic so that's the part I enjoy more. I'm part way through a frame off (65 impala ss) that has been 2 years in pieces and always seems to be going the wrong way.

 

Excellent answer. My T was my first build, but after the wreck, I rebuilt it in a month. I also discovered skills and knowledge I didn't even know I had.

 

I have a '48 Olds Woody that I tore apart 4+ yrs ago. I haven't touched it in 3yrs. I bought a complete non running '47 Olds Woody so I could put the '48 back together. That one has also sat for 3+ yrs. However I do drive a '50 Buick, and a '60 Ply that are in pretty good shape and I bought a '61 Ply. 2dr HT that i'm putting a lot of effort into making it a driver.

 

My '56 waggy is a DD and shall remain so. We just did the front suspension ,added power steering and disc brakes, then proceeded to make a run with friends . Drove great and this week end I'll start the A/C and wiper upgrades. A bit at a time and it will get done while enjoying it.

 

I don't know...I tried driving my car while working on it, and I ran myself over.

Good luck with your '40 Special DW. Buicks are cool.

 

I'm with you guys!
I like to have some fun while slowly improving my ride. It does make it hard to do some of the bigger projects, although the next cruise makes it a goal to meet.

 

I drove my Stude for five years as a semi- rough hot rod. I'm really glad as I bonded with it. I had to reach the point of knowing I'd keep it as long as I'm still driving. Making it into a custom, has been a long time coming, and will take a long time. I'm ok with that. But, I gota admit though, it's not my only car. That makes it much easier!

 

Exactly the way I'm doing it w/ my '54. Had tore apart for various reasons last summer. Not put together and didn't get to drive it. Was pissed all summer and this last winter. Excited for snow to melt so I can get out of garage and drive. Doesn't look way I want it exactly; but it's more fun to drive a car I am hoping will be the way I want it one day than driving my F150 that looks exactly like all the others out there. Each year, it's a little closer to the way I want it. This year, it's as low as it's going to go; and I have WWW on black steelies with spider caps. Mechanical issues should all be dealt with this year. I'm thinking next winter, customization of body gets done.

 

I don't know about you guys but I have had a lot of cars that i did most of the work during the weekends while being a daily driver.

Several times I missed my 2 day projection and had to ask someone to take me to school or work.

Fortunately at this stage of my life I have a back up hot rod or a regular later model driver.

For the last month I have been playing the work on the sedan on the weekend and driving it through the week,,I had forgot just how much fun it was,,and if I don't quiet finish my weekend project it's OK. HRP

 

Completely agree %100... I finally learned on my last project while tranfering my drivtrain from my daily driver into my project that with out a running means of transportation you seam to get the ball rolling a little quicker. My past projects always got dragged out.

....Also, works when your Wife lets you buy a part because "The vehicle will not run much longer without it. Do you want me driving your car?!"...

 

ive got 2 that i drive everyday.well not at the same time but they both get drivin.and i work on them both when i can. my main car 62 galaxie is going to get body work and paint when i get tired of drivin it. not now because i would have to park it and i had rather drive it.it old and kinda ugly but she is beautiful to me. (for now).

 

I sorta fell into this having a driver and "the" project. And I think it keeps me pumped about the project. My wife found a station wagon she really liked so we got it. At the time my project was apart and I was on the hunt for parts, we all know how fast that process goes. After we brought the car home for her she drove to do some shopping and when she came back said, it's yours, I'm afraid to leave it in the parking lot. Well she still does use it but now it's my daily driver, wether permitting (Michigan winters). Having the wagon has actually pumped me up on getting the project completed quicker.

 

Years ago that is the way almost everyone did it because they didn't have the luxury of having a daily driver besides their rod or custom.

In the period of time I worked on the 48 to get it ready to go to Tulsa for the street rod nationals in 1973 there were maybe three days that I had it torn down so far I couldn't get it back together to drive to work the next day and that included swapping front brakes and swapping trans, driveline and rear axle. It did stay in my buddy's shop for a couple of extra days when he painted it. The rest of the time it was drive it to work, drive home, work on it for a few hours and get up and work on it some more before driving it to work again.

 

My first project was a '32 3 window that took 3 years to complete. After that, I always had a car to work on while I drove the completed car.