I drive mine for daily things when it's nice, but in the winter here, I try to drive my beater pickup everywhere. Try to not even get the wife's new ot car on Salt roads if I can at all avoid it. My nice rides, old or new, stay tucked in, nice and warm and dry in the heated garage. I spoil my cars so that they last and stay nice. I also try to keep mileage reasonably low on certain cars. My old lady's ride hasn't broken 30k yet... I also have a 7yo, so safety is a factor as well. While he does ride in the old Ford, it's very short trips, as controlled as I can make them. I don't take him ripping down the highway in it or anything like that.
Obviously, a factor being weather/road conditions, part of the country, which you live all come in to play. But what about collector car insurance?..Apparently there are collector car insurance companies that offers unlimited mileage/usage? I'd be interested to know which insurance companies you are all using that allows unlimited mileage/usage. Thanks in advance.
Hot rods have three pedals, no fenders and scares the crap out of old people, dogs and children coming down the street. Street rods have air,heat, cruise control, automatic transmissions, and usually cant hear them.
I've done this winter driving in an old truck before. I live in the north west corner of IL, we see snow and salt and -20 temps in the winter months, 90 degrees temps in the summer. A true daily driver means something here. The pictured truck was my daily driver for 12 years, and yes, I used it to plow snow. I drove it daily on the salt covered roads every winter, before some lady turned in front of me and it got totaled. The 2nd picture was what the truck looked like about 2 months before it got wrecked. There are things you can do to help them survive in the salty crap, but it has to be intentionally done. I wouldn't do that a pristine old original car or truck and expect it to survive. I've since retired, the current truck doesn't have to leave the driveway when the weather turns to crap and they dump truck loads of salt on the road.
Back last year, I totaled the Escalade.........sooooo.. The Judge became my daily driver... all weather (hardly ever any snow, no salt - TEXAS..365 days a year.. A/C, PS, PB, Electric Cutouts....Disk all around, etc.... Eight years (frame off) to build.. only thing I didn't do myself is the white interior.....sweet...
In regards to your earlier question about what defines a daily hotrod, I guess you've just provided the definition. A hotrod is the car/truck you want to remain nice.
The Willys in my Avatar is my go to driver if the weather is not horrible. I've driven it in rush hour traffic in Atlanta a lot. Everything I've done to the car was aimed at that task; Overdrive, A/C, comfy seats with 3 point seatbelts and headrests, 3rd brakelight, etc. It's the only old car I've had that wasn't built for speed. It has a near stock 289 Ford. Old cars can be reliable if they're maintained and kept driving frequently. Yes, I have a late model truck too, for when it's sleeting or snowing, but I hate driving it, because it's just not "me".
I drove this injected 29 roadster every day to work and play for a few years. (The motorcycle? That was for when it rained.)
Parilla? Had one in HS. Ran the piss out of it until the crank broke. Spent a lot of money with Cosmopolitan Motors in Philadelphia back then.
Hello, When we were 20 somethings, we were just starting out in our long lasting lives together. We did not know it then, but hot rods did play a part of the together activity for the both of us. Early in the mornings, I would get up and go surfing for several hours. My wife was sound asleep as the early morning hours on the cold sand was not her cup of tea. But, if I was rested after lunch and we happen to step out into the beach sand, she was all for the “warmth of the sun…” Then, I could still go out surfing in the afternoon glassy waves, too. The rest of the day was usually spent on the sand. It was essentially an endless summer. When we got our red 327 powered 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery, then we spent months getting it to handle and be a daily driver. It was slightly hilarious to see her wanting to drive the sedan delivery as much as possible. Was it the cool look of the 40 Ford Sedan Delivery, the nice sound of the SBC motor? The comfy upholstered seats? It could have been, but my suspicion was the powerful A/C that blasted that big cave inside to refrigerator specs. Jnaki Ha! The 327 powered sedan delivery was our first car with A/C. We had been going all over coastal California and into Baja in our red 65 El Camino. When driving inland California, the windows were always down, the vents opened and the air swirled around our backs sitting on those “cool cushions.” That was what my mom would call a situation to “endure.” Despite what anyone says, cars are meant to have A/C in any climate. IOHO Unless of course, you have a racing motor and do not want to lose horsepower due to multiple belts. But, these days, there is almost an unheard of amount of horsepower on the newer cars or even the rebuilt old SBC motor for hot rods. Times have changed.
I will be retiring in the next month. The plan is to finish my 1950 F1 and use it as my daily driver. Will be driving the others a lot more also. Can't Wait!!!
This was my daily driver for over 10yrs, even with snow and cold weather..sand bags in the bed in the winter you're good to go. Never failed me....owned for 30yrs and never parked inside. Always been an outside dog..
The Jalopy Journal
