Art & Inspiration Old Car Commute = Low Stress Driving

These days it seems everyone is in a big hurry to get home, so they can watch their big-assed TV screen, or do nothing at all. I find that you get people driving a 2015 Turdmaster Sportswagon resent the fact that they have spent all their loot (or probably the bank's) to buy a new car, but YOU get more looks at the lights in your 80 year old car (which probably only cost a couple of grand). This I think accounts for the cutting-off, tailgating, and general arsehole driving that we get.
I like it when they all take off at the lights like a shower of shit, and I'm left at the back by myself for a while until I have caught up at the next lights. Turn up the tunes and enjoy the slow lane, I say.

 

Good story. I drove my 56 f100 to and from work for years ,though I can't say it was entirely stress free I enjoyed it nonetheless


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I had a '70 2002 once, sold it when a woman put me in the position where I'd have gone to Africa if I weren't in Africa already. It was in 'ti' spec, only with DCOEs instead of PHHs. It was my only car while I was studying.

I daily-drove the Morris Minor for a few years. Stress-free? In the sense that it forces an adaptation to 37bhp and emergency-stops-should-be-planned-well-in-advance 7" drum brakes, yes. In the sense that my budget meant keeping even this very simple and robust piece of machinery from falling apart by pure telekinesis, no.

These days I walk to work and take the bus home. I'd prefer to get wherever I want to go on foot. It's not so much stress-free as stress-negative, much of the time. And as for the vast majority of modern cars, I'd as soon they disappear off the face of the earth for all they do for my car interest. They just make distance and give me nothing in return.

 

I don't think you guys commute to work in NJ. I live in north western NJ, and my office is in Jersey City, across the Hudson River from Manhattan. It's about 60 miles in each direction. I take Route I-78, which is a major thoroughfare from NYC and Newark to Central PA. Even leaving my house around 5 am, there is a significant amount of volume, and especially truck traffic. The average rate of speed is somewhere around 75-80 mph, which is middle lane speed. You will be passed consistently by drivers in the left lane going 85-90+ mph. Right lane speed is probably around 70, but if you hang there you will be mobbed by dump trucks, and big rigs dodging you, since they maintain that middle lane speed too. Serious accidents are common, and so are deer strikes.

I give you guys credit for driving your old stuff to work, but for my circumstances, I would prefer not to. My old car can easily do the speeds mentioned, but if you can't you're a hazard to yourself and others on the road. It's also important to me to have something that will stop well and handle crisply. Modern safety amenities aren't my first priority but it's nice knowing they're there, since I have been hit in the back and was uninjured. Add into the fact of the wear and tear on both the body and paint, and the drivetrain, I'd rather have a regular late-model I don't care about to throw away when I'm done with it rather than a car I care about.

 

I really envy anyone who can drive an oldie to work and stay stress free. My '48 routinely gets tailgated, no one knows what hand signals are, and I've almost been rear-ended more times than I can count due to actually stopping at a stop sign to put it into first. Forget the highways. I'd be dead.

For mental health reasons last year, I picked up a nice 79 F100 302 auto. It was much nicer and stress free to drive around and still old enough to be cool. I sold it a few weeks ago to do some home renovations, but I'm seriously considering upgrading the '48 drive train.

 

I use to leave for work at 4:30am and return home around 3:00pm. Traffic although heavier in the afternoon not real bad. Did that for over 10 years until I was forced into retirement. Now driving in normal hours is just a mess! People in general don't care what lane your in or what speed your going they need to go faster and be in front of everyone. Just yesterday I had to go to the doctor at 10am I remember thinking boy am I glad I don't have to put up with this mess everyday! If I had to drive twice a day with all that going on I'd be in an institution! Joe

 

Love cruising in my old junk, BUT, am I the only "Old Timer" that thinks big city traffic is nuts, absolutely CRAZY ! I'm retired, live in the great Northwoods, traffic only gets busy 3 months, tourist season. Every time I go to a big show, big city, I can't believe how people drive, apparently the Police don't have the time or manpower to keep drivers under control anymore. Thank You ! End of "Old Timer" rant this am.

 

Dig it.

 

When we moved to Durango, there were 37,000 people in the county. Now there are 57,000 and counting! I try to drive the roadster or '29 CCPU almost every day to run errands, etc. As a tourist town with a heavy number of bicycle riders, it has become impossible to drive "stress free" anymore.

 

have used old ride as a DD. but, most old school tail lights/ brake lights not bright enough to be seen very well. plus, many insurance companies have strong restrictions on DD, just going to hardware store, etc

 

Slammit,

I used to live in LosGatos and went to Santa Cruz 2-3 times a week for the waves. When it was a 2 lane road all the way, it was challenging in an old car. In last 20 years, we used to "race" form the "Cats" to the Boardwalk in whatever we were driving at the time. My friends best time was 17:32 in a 1970 GSX 4-speed at approx. 2:00am. It was scary fun!

 

Having been rear-ended on the freeway in a vintage ride, on more than one occasion, I can say that it cannot be stress-free, doubly so during commute hours.

Each person that has hit one of my vintage rides has said the same thing: "I didn't realize that you were stopping."

I had to think about this for a while before I figured it out.

It is the tail lights, and not necessarily how bright they are. It is how many there are.

On a modern car, stopping is indicated by at-least three lights. Two brake lights, one in each tail lamp housing, and a third above, mounted high. A modern car, going down the road with just two lights on, one in each tail tamp housing, just has its headlights on.

On an old car, stopping is indicated by just two lights, which is the same operational state as a modern car, just going down the road with its headlights on. This is further exacerbated if your tail and brake lights are not bright to begin with.

Gambling that folks of extremely limited vehicular knowledge will be able to discern your actions and act accordingly can be an expensive gamble.

The last person who hit me was a kid who was born after third brake lights were the law-of-the-land.

 

^^ Wow, good point Gimpy. Let's see, I had a third brake light around here somewhere..

 

A couple of non-traditional items help me cope with modern traffic. A T5 and disc brakes. I justify these by lack of heater or radio.

 

As I read these posts I think of the article that [Bxxxxxxxxx] wrote in a magazine suggesting we use our old cars for Ubers, cause we could have fun driving them and paying passengers all around all day.......I hope he was kidding..

 

I put a third brake light [not noticable unless lit] in my shoe box and run Halogen bulbs in the 49' tail lights..In my Crosley I put ford tail lights and also a third brake light at inside top of rear window....Ass hats still follow too close but they know when I'm stopping a little better...

 

And this is why my Falcon will get an unobtrusive third brake light, and backup lights.

I think what a lot of folks on this board do not understand is that you and I live in a area where the population density is 100x that of where many of the other people on this board live.

My city of 46.2-square-miles has about 840,000 people in it, and my commute to work (if I actually drove), would take me to a city of 1,000,000. Neither of two is the largest city, either.

@seb fontana, I am from Connecticut, as are you. Here is a perspective you can appreciate. There are more people in just the City of Los Angeles (503 mi², and that's not the county of, the basin, or the greater metro area, just the city) than there are in the entire state of Connecticut (5,543 mi²).

That's a ton of people to "trust" to get what an old car looks like, and how they differ from newer ones, on top of paying attention in the first place.

 

I think you may have said it here, you can drive an old car, but you can't drive an old car in yesterday's traffic.

 

That, I did.

 

unless it has a siren and blue lite s Tfever lol

 

Somebody could make a nice cottage industry sideline by selling some kind of third brakelite deal, or even a strobe. Something easily installed and moveabl/temporary and bright.

Try to avoid stop and go and heavy traffic, if I'm driving the old beast I'm not in any hurry to begin with. Map out alternate routes. For longer trips, same deal. Two lane roads are mostly uninhabited these days, even main line highways that once carried the bulk of traffic before the interstates. I found US 20 for example to be extra wide and crowned just right, easy to drive, not white knuckle like lesser roads can be, lots of nooks and crannies to explore/camp and interesting shops, diners and restaurants antique stores and better scenery. It takes a little longer but it's way more relaxing. For real fun, try gravel roads!

 

I used a Ford logo light that goes into a hitch receiver for a third brake light. It's neon blue with the lights on and real red when you hit the brakes. $19.95 at O'Rielly's

 

Back in the late 80's I too had a 74 2002 (modded it to tii spec) was in the middle of making it look like a 70...installed steel wheels and hubcaps...lowered it and planned on a full interior and removing the accordian bumpers. This is when my back issues started....one day throwing a dual weber into it and the next month on my way to work..... wham!


My commute now is 28 miles each way from LONG BEACH to downtown LA on 4 different freeways...there is no way I would drive my 41 in that traffic. Ive had a few near misses in my OT daily and not worth it.
I envy you guys in the small towns across the US....I keep telling my kid one day when I retire or hit the damn lotto I will live where there are only stop signs and back roads...so sick of LA traffic! Unfortunately no laid back commute to work...Saturday and Sunday are a different story though



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Just have breakfast first at the "Potholder" and you will be set for the commute to the downtown insanity.....LOL And have a beer at the Honeybucket on 4th after work, oh wait a minute the bucket is closed up apparently..

 

I used to live a few blocks from the Potholder....best Baja omelet period!

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That sucks. I'm glad it wasn't a Pinto. Got a pic of the back of the car? Since it's parked in the street it wasn't still drivable, was it? Did you have any whiplash issues?

 

I dont have a photo of the back...these pics are actual photos I got from my mom a while back and she might have some more. Not drivable the left rear wheel was pinch too tight.
I was hit by a Toyota 4x4 going about 55... he saw me at the last second...he was changing his radio station.
I did have whiplash and my back was never the same...it was my first day working the swing shift 3:30pm-11:30pm. Went surfing that morning and on my way to work i was just waiting in traffic at a dead stop and holy shit! I guess I'm gonna be late for work ...lol

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You guys are nuts. I worked in the film biz in LA for ten years. If we had a 5:00am call in December, there were at least two people on my crew that had gotten up at 2:30am to go surfing before work. Nuts!

 

I feel compelled to mention that I drove my 40 to work today and not 10 minutes ago a car tried to come into my lane. Luckily it was a three lane street so I got out of the way to the right pretty quick.. Ha..

 

My commute is about 15 minutes and I take the Ford on nice days. I have a few routes to choose from and no real traffic. If I get stuck late, I may have traffic on the way home. If I had a longer commute and had to take the parkways or expressway, I'd use my OT car for that.