Technical Large learning curve

It's funny, I always drove 'old' cars as dailies up until my back went bad, but during the long process to fix that ('before we do surgery, we'll try this and that', finally surgery, then recovery) I had to park my current driver ('64 Comet 4-speed) because I simply couldn't drive it. I initially picked up a cheap 'commuter' (80-something 6/auto Cougar) which lasted through the first two phases of my back repair, during the recovery phase I picked up a '96 T-bird. Unfortunately, the Comet didn't do well after being left outside through a wet Washington winter, so by the time I could drive it again, it needed repairs I couldn't physically do and I hated to see it sit. So I sold it....

I then had a Jaguar XJS infatuation for a time; you want 'quirky'? Buy a Jag... LOL! Then through another chain of events, I needed a dead-nuts reliable vehicle so I bought '13 Mustang GT. Now, this thing has wizardry/trickery on it some of which I still haven't figured out... but most of my 'old car' driving habits still control. And while this is a fine piece of machinery, it has no 'flavor' and you know what I mean...

Put somebody who has never owned/driven anything older than mid-'80s into a 'vintage' car and they're sure it's a deathtrap (and given some driving skills, it may be... for them), but that's where the 'flavor' is...

 

Funny, I was just talking to a friend last night about the lost art of setting an "automatic" choke and then "kicking it down". I sold my '73 TR6 to a young man a few months back and while explaining how to start it he said with surprise and excitment "it has a choke? I've never driven a car with a choke before".

 

Not just a starting ritual. Warming is important.

I cannot even count the times I have pulled an old beater out into traffic and had it die or not pull like it does when it is properly warmed. Just keeping one tuned is as good a safety suggestion as I can think of, and if you are driving an old banger because you thought it would be cool or traditional you have to remember that it is not going to keep up with traffic as well as your Accord daily. Don't only give yourself time to slow down but also give yourself time to speed up.

 

You learn to be cold in the winter, and hot in the summer, But damn, it's worth it.

 

Every soccer mom has 4 wheel discs, ABS, and current technology tires.
They can stop faster than you, making it more likely you will rear end them.

They also have cell phones, and other forms of electronic masturbation,
which makes it MUCH more likely they will rear end you.

Drive as if your life depends on it, because it does.

 

Good subject PB.

When driving on a four lane. I always either go faster than traffic or slower than the traffic. Normally slower.
This gives me more areas to aim at if I need to make an emergency stop or maneuver away from an impeding accident.

Running Bias plys is a skill all its own. I definitely stay away from roads that have been ground by the machine that preps for a new surface.

I can remember every car in the 60's had a combination to get it started during cold weather.
Some you pumped before hitting the ignition. Others you had to count the number of pumps. Still others you don't dare touch the pedal until after you hit the starter.

 

Im sure its already been said.....but people who drive old cars actually DRIVE the vehicle. Driving now in a sea of new vehicles, no one is DRIVING...they are just riding along shaking the wheel back and forth and pushing on pedals at times. Most people have no idea what to do in an emergency.

I rode/raced motorcycles from 6 on till my mid twenties and that taught me how to DRIVE a vehicle. You had to be on the ball at all times, manuvering amongst other riders without hitting them, hitting your brakes as lightly as possible while still stopping as needed and sliding/steering with it if needed. My wife hates riding with me cause I am always in race mode. I drive to close at times but I feel I have to ability to get out of most situations if need be, and that really translates well into driving my old trucks...

 

This so reminds me of a 51 F1 I bought back in high school...

 

I totally omitted the 6 volt lights,high beam is marginal at best. HRP

 

My first job outer school, was working at local Ford dealerships used car lot.
I was in an out of so many different cars in my daily work, and several years later drove trucks for a time, that I'm trained/conditioned to do a quick mental retrain every time I get in a different ride.
This has served me well over the years, and I've never had a problem operating any vehicular thing.
Paying attention is my only concern, there's just to much going on these days, its a busy world out there.

 

I learned to drive in a 76 Nova. I know it was a lot newer than what a lot of you are talking about, but it was simple and to the point. The steering box was bad and leaked the fluid out depending on the position it was in when I stopped. That is where I learned to work on cars though. When something broke, I had to fix it because I didn't have the money to have someone else do it. In doing that, I learned why the car did what it did and if it was important or not. It's almost impossible to do that on newer cars. If you don't already have a pretty good grasp on what you're doing, you'll have a hell of a time trying to figure it out.

 

Yep. Hell even in my 37 with 12 volt bulbs in the original lights are marginal.
Its funny. even with the bulbs on high mode they are marginal. But I sure as heck get the high beam flash from oncoming cars every time.
Cant beat sealed beams.

 

one difference i noticed right away from one to the other is line of sight in relation to the road. Late model cars often seem there is little to no hood where older cars the hood seems to go forever. Obviously this is not universal but something i noticed. Also manual chokes take a bit of finesse. As said by many, older cars require more attention to actually driving. Older cars feel more visceral and raw, and better.

 

its like new cars filter out most of the experience, its numb almost....

 

Yeah Guys, how could I have forgotten the 6V system. NO night driving. HA!

 

Just have to remember that some of these old cars are not as fast as most newer car so you need to allow more time to get where you are going so get up a little earlier and have the fuck you finger handy for all the bastards that just can't get there soon enough. Oh and just enjoy the ride. We are not in a race just part of the human race and they have tracks for the racing.

 

LOL I had an old Ford truck one time that once it got into the 20s no amount of pumping the gas or choking it was going to start it and more often then not you flooded it. So a shot of either and crank it, blabam it would stat every time. So I had taken this guy in that I was working with because he had lost his place or something. Anyway he was "doing me a favor" and going out and starting the truck. My starting fluid was running out too quick and as it turned out it took a little either to get him going in the morning too. He didn't stay much after that.

rain grooves who ever thought those up. They don't do a thing but make it harder to drive. Radial tires or not rain or not.

 

I use mine during the "good" driving days up here. It takes me most regular places I want to go. Most of my driving is on country roads and any town driving is limited but town here is pretty small.
I always leave plenty of room ahead of me. I constantly monitor the changing conditions front and back of me. I have been rear ended.
Slow down way before I should at intersections which drives the OT drivers behind me bananas but most understand I'm driving an old car. Those that don't usually tailgate me until they can get around. I usually get rid of them by slowing even further or pull to the side.
I'm never the first one off the line at lights. Seen some T bones.....not pretty.
I have an electric wiper in my pickup but the old hand wiper in the roadster......we know how that goes.
I have plenty of power to get myself down the road and out of the way when necessary.
I have been a cautious driver most of my life and never a speed demon.
To listen to the creeks, groans, thumps and rattles of the old iron is satisfying to me and an enjoyable experience.
Oh, and I use seat belts (lap type).

 

The differences in steering is what keeps me alert. My s-10 & camry both (like any late model) have small diameter steering wheels, less leverage when turning, and the power steering is stiff compared to the cars of the sixties. Even my cabrio steers so easy with the vega box that it feels mushie compared to the other stuff in the driveway. Couple that with the bias tires, grooves in the concrete etc makes for an exciting ride any time your out. Not to mention, there HARD to see out of for the most part. Tim

 

Besides the choke setting by stepping on the gas for those newfangled 50's-70's cars, and then how to kick it down once it was warming up, what about choke thermostats on the intake and the exhaust crossover? Or the stove pipe that carried some exhaust up to the choke can? Older cars were pure mechanical choke, pull the knob out.

Then you have points to set the adjustment on for dwell, and then timing. Not really a driving skill, but a critical skill to keep your car running good. Same for idle mixture adjustment. What about rebuilding a carburetor?

Non-self-adjusting brakes, another maintenance skill. Drum brakes that fade on a hard stop.

Redneck overdrive putting in neutral on the downhill.

 

Every vehicle I own has a gas can and jumper cables in the trunk.I just think its required equipment.

 

how about regularly topping off the radiator. no fancy four core aluminum radiators with electric fans and overflow tanks.

 

I taught both my wife AND daughter to drive a stone-stock '61 Falcon, which was our only car for awhile. Manual choke, manual brakes, hell, manual everything. And I never had to go get either of them. This included a few Chicago winters, so starting on the choke was a necessary evil which they both mastered. And neither said the brakes (fully rebuilt, new parts all over the system) were anything other than good. The steering, OTOH, caused my wife's arm muscles to tighten, giving her the tone she'd been wanting for years. Think forced attending of Chicago Health Club, but with no fee!!

Things have gone south here for awhile, but when time gets better, I'll have another.

Cosmo

 

Interesting thread. My kids are getting close to driving age so I've been thinking about this. I drove the first 20 years in a 1955 Plymouth with manual everything. I think it made me more aware of my driving and the driving of people around me. I was rarely in a rush, I never tailgated and I knew the limitations of my cars.

I thought it may be a good idea to let my kids learn this, but 2 major things concern me:

1.) Drivers have changed over the last 20 years (at least around my area). It used to be that MOST people would see old cars and give them a little room. Now people look past them. People don't even think twice about cutting off old cars anymore... not even thinking that your brakes may not be the same as theirs.

2.) Safety. I've got a problem with trusting my kid's life in a car that would rip apart under impact.

Here is my theory. My Grandfather's limit was breaking down and rebuilding anything mechanical. My Father's limit was fixing and repairing car engines. My limit is basic repairs and maintenance. My kid's limit will be maintenance and my Grand kids will be complete useless idiots. It's all falling away over time. Just wait until we have self driving cars...

 

People simply cannot believe the old "1 car length per 10 mph" rule. Of course, it is unnecessary today with 4-wheel disc ABS brakes, which more than anything has contributed to the rise of the new rule: "If the car fits, at any speed, it is fair game to come over."

How about always keeping an eye out to park on a slight incline in case you need a roll start? A distinct advantage to manual trannies.

 

Since they were all quirky back in the day, you learned to pay more attention to what the vehicle was telling you, whether it was starting, braking, steering. It's easier to understand what the vehicle is telling you if you have some understanding of how the various systems and components work..

So much of it is second nature now that I don't even think about it anymore. I just automatically respond to the vehicle, pumping the brakes, feathering the gas, etc. and it responds to me, kind of like riding a horse, I would imagine.

 

Great Thread! I was thinking about this a few weeks back after reading someone's post about the ride being a bit rough and not being that comfortable when driving his hot rod. My reaction was "What Does Comfort Have To Do With It" ? It's a Hot Rod! We used to power shift the learning to drive fake cars in drivers Ed class.
Only other things I can think of was you carried Flares (no 4 way flashers) and you changed over to snow tires around November 1st. You also carried chains for the really rough stuff. Also you could drive at night with 6 volts, just don't use the radio at the same time.

 

Brakes seem to be an issue. I run drums a lot and if not run a disc drum setup if money is good or I have the pieces to do that. I usually drive '50/'60s cars and upgrade my drums to self adjusters. A hint on self adjusters, they don't self adjust if you don't apply the brakes in reverse. Another hint if you don't already know how to do so teach yourself to adjust your brakes. Sometimes you will need to do that just to get home.

Keeping your head on a swivel is also a good idea. I don't normally have this problem because my old cars are not normally what anyone is actually interested in, but last summer I was cruising up the interstate on my old bike and just minding my own business. All at once I noticed some jackleg hanging out the window filming me, of course this particular jackleg was the driver.

I was at a cruise a couple of years back and this you all will love. there was this chopped model A, really nice car but it just looked od. I kept looking until I figured it out, it had a pair of those small west coaster mirrors on it. I found the guy that owned it he was probably in his mid 70s. Said he built the car when he was a kid, always ran peep mirrors and finally got to where he just couldn't see out well enough any more so he put the west coasters on it.

I cannot suggest west coast mirrors but if you are not running a side mirror or even of you do look over your shoulder before you change lanes.

While I am thinking about it starting procedures are more then choke or pump it. When I was a kid there was a ritual that everyone did or was taught to do. If you had a stick you got in, put it in neutral, then mashed the clutch before you ever hit the key. Cars did not have mandatory neutral switches or clutch switches until the '70s. If you were driving an auto you sat down, made sure it was in park then put your foot on the brake and hit the switch. I got nothing against neutral switches but if you are trusting them you are whistling in the wind.

 

I cant recall the last time I had to panic stop. It's been a long time because I automatically simply stay away from people as much as I can. Ride a motorcycle with drum brakes very much and you get a second sense when some moron is going to pull out when they aren't suppose to and you stay well behind people out of necessity.

 

Very True! I had a 59 Sportster back in the day and a 69 about 12 years back. It will teach you to pay attention for sure. Although today even that is not enough!