Technical Practicality of a HAMB daily

Tough Malibu it cut right a cast iron engine block and accordioned a steel frame horn. I unlike most on here I guess have seen the aftermath of a 35 mile an hour crash of a late model Malibu, they had to cut the occupants out. I also unlike others on here have crashed a '59 Chebby @ 35 mph, we drove it home.

 

For all the helmets that missed the video discussion years ago, wonder why the IIHS chose a car without perimeter frame rails? They could have chosen anything and yet they picked one of the worst GM frames made.

If safety is the overriding consideration for your choice of hobbies... I hear stamp collecting is very safe

 

That's a slight offset crash test. Head on would be a completely different story. Mass is king in physics.

 

Maybe

 

mild 302, 600 Holley, small cam with an aod...all bolt in with no mods to floor or crossmembers. Even off the shelf motor mounts. 22mpg at 75mph on the interstate for 50 miles a day as a daily driver.

 

I dunno... decades of riding motorcycles on the street, all over the place... I don't feel immediately unsafe in an old car.

SIPDE
Scan, Identify, Predict, Decide and Execute.
it works when driving a car, too.

past there, I keep a calm pace... believe in three point safety belts, collapsible steering columns and tempered glass.


as far as reliability:
I've had late models, under factory warranty, leave me stranded. I've had old cars that had no right to be in the road with the amount of jerry rigging done to them get me home every single time. sometimes it's just luck either way

I've also had dead reliable, mostly stock, excellent mechanical condition old (HAMB friendly) cars that did me fine, daily driving, road trips, etc. hell, i went ages without "new" cars.

mileage: sure, an old car isn't gonna pull down the 42mpg my Prius gets (yeah, I own one... wife's car, but I've been driving the************** the past year)... but when they late model breaks (out of warranty) it's not gonna be cheap to fix. my old cars are... and I can do it myself.
average fuel costs with repair costs, and the old cars start making more sense. add in depreciation and it gets real interesting...

 

In reply to the original poster, it's not that hard to figure out the newer cars. You can have error codes pulled at any cheesy parts store, go online with that code and get not only a diagnosis, but you tube video and step by step instruction by literally 100 other people who have done the same repair. I helped my gf's son pull the front of his car off and upgrade his turbo in a day with a laptop in the garage going step by step by someone's else's instruction.

Also, most new stuff just doesn't break. Other than little things, they are dead reliable if you take care of them. When they hit the 200K mark, be ready to just dump it and get another one with about 100k miles on it and drive it to death too.

As for everyone saying how much better 60+ year technology is for safety, I'm just over here smiling and chuckling. Like when those Harley guys want to race me and my BMW K1300S. It does 0-60 in 2.3 seconds with traction control in first gear. Keep thumping your chest, you're pretty entertaining from where I'm sitting.

Stop kidding yourselves.

 

Yea you're absolutely correct come on a site dedicated to traditional hot rods and customs and preach your late model*****. I'm with ya buddy I am after buying a new jelly bean today as we speak.

You did make a good point though when a late model car hits 200K throw it away. in 40 years who is going to still be driving one?

 

Nothing wrong with an older car as a DD. Just accept the risk involved. You can do some upgrades to help the safety, such as better brakes, and 3-point seatbelts (or at least lap belts). swap a later model engine and OD trans for good mileage. Then just have fun and enjoy driving the older car.

I agree with P'n'B about how people are so conditioned to be afraid of everything. Whatever happens is never the person's fault - it is always someone else. I think this has contributed to the fear factor and people believe that if the car does not have 14 airbags they will never live going to the grocery store.

I drove old cars as DD for approx 15 years, wish i could say that i kept that up for past 5. 64 Riviera, 37 Chevy pickup, 60 F-100, 49 Ford COE, 59 El camiono, 60 El Camino, 37 Ford Ute as examples. Most all were what is considered as unsafe in an accident. That is the risk i took, and I had a lot more enjoyment for every mile driven.

 

We will see in about 2 months. The Produce truck should be done about then. We leave Sept 25 on a 4,ooo mile trip.

 

Excellent post. But those guys driving caddys are pretty unpredictable...never know when they are going to roll over in their sleep and veer in your direction...

 

I really like draggin'gto's '64 Tempest for a daily driver on page 2 of this thread. Add disc brakes for the San Francisco hills that blowby has to deal with and that'd be a great daily driver. Be a cool driver anywhere.

 

Just last week I was pondering what daily driver vehicle I'd search for to be my only vehicle, given sufficient funds. What I decided on was an early '60s Falcon Sedan Delivery or 2 door wagon. Either body style would be perfect for hauling my wheelchair. Their size is small enough to be reasonably maneuverable, yet big enough to not be cramped. More than likely it would be a 6 cylinder, which is fine by me...I'd get into seeing if I could pump it up to be interstate friendly. Underneath, simple brake and shock upgrades, and adding power steering if needed would be about it for the mods.

For the '60-'63 variation, I'd go with the lake pipes, fender skirts and spinner wheelcovers look. If it was a '64 or '65, I'd probably go just set of more modern wheels <waits for the boos and hisses to die down>. To me, the more angular lines of the '64/'65 versions don't fit with an old school look.

 

I may have come off in a way I didn't intend so I re-read the OP post. I think I'm on the right track since Ryan made the cutoff for this place at 63 or so. I'm pretty sure the reason for that was that pre 64, you had to make horsepower and after that you could just buy it from the dealer. No creativity, no challenges.

I'm just saying old cars are what they are. 50+ years of engineering and technology will, naturally, make a car more efficient, safer and more reliable.

Older cars are neat as heck, but the original question was in comparing to modern ones and there really isn't one.

For what it's worth, I had a short conversation with a car guy and as soon as I said I had 2 flatheads, he just belittled them and bragged about his 57 Chevy with 327 and factory 3/4 race cam that would blow them away. I know what a flathead is, and it's not about competing with a 20 year newer engine. The conversation ended there.

 

Zandoz, for a '64-'65 Falcon, I would have 3 wheel suggestions, Cragars, Torque Thrusts, or full wheel plain Moon disc covers. Any of those would be good for a '60's look w/o going to a more modern wheel. K6


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Want to break something down very simple the way I see it.

#1 Whatever you drive is as good as you make it.
#2 Daily drive a cool classic or rod is simple, KEEP IT SIMPLE. Upgrade brakes, decent pep to the motor, good trans that will last you. look into upgrading suspension with new leaf springs/coil springs..
#3 Ask yourself if this will make you happy?
#4 Tired of the scare tactics of the "modern world"?
#5 MPG and money..??? So lets say you buy a 400$ a month car to get 25 mpg. Don't want to drive your hotrod cause it gets 15... Tell me where the money savings is again?

Personal advice.... Look into early 60s cars.. 4 doors are cool and cheap. I had a 61 Impala that rode better than any new 100k car out there.

Now you have to worry about your software on your vehicle being hacked. May have to up my build time for my new daily it seems.

 

Stubbs, ain't that some crazy stuff, say you've got a rear view camera in your new $32K ride, some hacker starts your car and drives it in reverse to wherever it ends up, while they're sitting there with a laptop and a joy stick.

Maybe they're not quite there, but they are getting close - remote control auto theft!

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I have just been in a pissy mood. I get that way some times. Best excuse I can come up with.

On a side note the ultra new cars can be hacked and any system brakes included can be shut down. Some hackers just proved it. So I guess if I one wants late model for safety they need to get a plane jane with no external communication if that is possible.

Actually a properly built flatty in the right body can hang with a 327 we proved it with a flatty powered T verses a 327 powered vette when I was in high school. granted Vettes are not light and perhaps the owner wasn't much of a driver and the flatty was built by an old timer, all he knew was flatheads. Don't let em talk down to ya until they prove they have that right, and even then knuckles v nose always wins.

Most of my cars are pretty reliable, I can't say that for all older cars and I never trust a combo that someone else screwed together, safety is another deal all together. I feel safe enough but safety is an illusion, ask any Honda owner.

 

Hmmmm....I'm kind of liking the Moon disc idea

 

I daily drove a '64 El Camino with 230 six and a muncie trans and it was enjoyable to drive. The four speed helped with city driving.

 

My wife's main car and our only family car was a 55 Chevy with a powerglide and a stout little 327. It had a power booster added, larger drums and a dual master cyl. It had no power steering or other conveniences but had seat belts all around. It was our main car for many years and she commuted in Bay area traffic in it every day for 8 years. We drove it everywhere-only car we had-Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, all over. Was very reliable and had minimal issues other than normal maint in 85000 miles. Never gave it a second thought about jumping in it and heading to a far away destination. I carried an extra fuel pump, belts and a generator with tools-only had a generator go out once coming back from Laughlin-easy fix. It got decent mileage and would cruise all day at 70-75. Wonderful ride and still have it. If it were just me, I would get rid of all our late model stuff and be driving the 55. Was about as practical as you can get in my opinion.

 

funny thing is: most all of the old HAMB friendly cars were daily drivers when they were new...

just about any old, vintage, hell even antique car can be as reliable as they were when new. given that they are operated within their design capabilities.

for me, reliability and safety were never the concern when commuting... rather it was security of the vehicle while parked. right now I park in a high traffic, kinda high crime area about 1/3 mile from my office. every day I park my stupid late model there, hoping to return later and find i have been relieved of it, but no... damn thing is there. cursed with it, seems to me. if I drove anything interesting, it'll get broken into or stolen there.

 

Yes, maybe. Over here at least, around me, very few commuted! The drove much lesser, only truck drove a lot. 10 miles was a long way to work in the fiftys!

At the shipyard near where I live now had a Car park that was very small, a truck area that was slightly bigger and the bike parking lot was biggest.
People who drove a car had the road to them self, and drove shorter, zero cell phones, no hand held woke driving and a drive had to know his car to keep it and drive it.

That ain't the case any more!!

If I daily drove my Volvo still, I had to have a big stock, of everything because a 30 year old car, I could only pick up brakes and service parts.
Every thing also took 3 days to get. That is my biggest issue.
My Volvo was plenty safe, and before I had wife, kids, house and 4 projects, I could afford to drive 10 km/L.
Today I need the extra cash for my life in general.

 

Yeah, and that a big rub for many... I have yet to find a woman who wants to change a fuel pump on the side of the road... (And her thought is 'if it's not needed, why is it there?'). LOLOL...

 

Don't we all. [emoji6]
Why is it there if it ain't doing nothing? [emoji3]

Lighter is faster, and torch, file and hacksaw does a lot for speed.

 

Sums up most things right there in that statement PNB...

Funny how all tests they do with old cars is a 60 mph head on or offset.

 

I'm sort of planning exactly what this thread is all about..........I am going to rebuild my 46 Ford Tudor and use it as my daily. I've wondered for years why, when I love old cars so much, that I drive a newer car on a daily basis. When I used to drive my 27 almost every day I loved it..........everyone else trapped in traffic with me was driving some boring econobox, and I was in my hot rod. It just felt so much cooler and the drive to work wasn't so painful.

So, I am going to update the 46 with better suspension,a newer engine and driveline, and creature comforts like stereo, ac, and things like radial tires, but it will be stock appearing pretty much. Not going to be a show car, but something I can use and abuse every day.

Most mornings I see an orange 55 Chevy sedan delivery heading the other way, going to work, and it makes me want to get mine on the road even faster.

Don

 

Tell me about it, today as usual cruising to work 6am fast asleep..damn car is so simple to drive it drives itself, even at 70mph in rush hour traffic. At least the two F1s I am building are 6 speeds, having to shift will keep me awake.

 

One thing about using an old car as a daily driver...you'll be pretty much the only guy on the road in an old car. I just got back from 3700 miles driving my 57 Suburban, towing my Chevy II to the Meltdown drags. I saw maybe half a dozen old cars on the road near the drags, other than that I was all alone in my little old fashioned world.

 

You really think I am serious dont you? Are you a total dumb****?
I would never see you on the highway anyway, with your 4:56 gears and all