Folks Of Interest Classics as daily drivers?

I ask this because the topic came up at work why I drive my cl***ic more then most and if it's a good idea or how realistic it is to do so!
I've looked at other posts, blogs, or forums and read the debates and almost get annoyed at some of the responses! So I ask the question to you is a cl***ic of your choice OK for a daily driver ?

 

yes. I drive this daily. Most of the old cars I see people drive daily are 50's or 60's cars. Late models by comparison. Just do it.

 

i drive my first car everyday for the past 15 years(64 elcamino) unless im driving the roadster of course

 

My daily is a '72 Chevy Cheyenne pick up. Yeah, it's too new for the HAMB, but I sold my '93 Silverado because it was too new for my tastes.

My '62 T-Bird was supposed to be a daily, but that didn't work out because I need a truck.

 

put over 100k on this over the last 25 years. 3 of those years it was my only driver, used year round. it splits work duties with a plow truck that is used when it is sloppy.

 

If that's your choice, go for it, make sure its insured properly as a daily driver. I do not use any of my old cars as a daily driver, I am retired so my situation is different and fortunate to have a few OT late model "Hot Rods" that become my daily drivers in good weather. As an Old Timer now I think about, 3 point belts, air bags, etc, Hope you have at least lap belts in your ride, Be Safe ! Have Fun ! Good Luck !

 

My '56 Nomad, which I've owned for 25 years, was my daily the first 11 years I owned it. I still drive it a couple of days a week. I've driven it more than 300,000 miles in the last 25 years.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

yep - but, a lot depends on your insurance coverage - like most stuff, can fly under the radar and have lots of fun - but, one mistake and can have big problems

 

My '39 Ford is my daily driver...




Remember, every normal old car was meant to be driven daily and by normal people. If the car is in good condition, and kept that way, there is absolutely no reason that it can't be used in that way today. Drive within your, and your car's, limitations, abide by all the local laws and insurance requirements, know where to get parts, and you will do fine. They are not modern, and as such don't have the 'amenities' afforded by the most basic of cars today, but that's part of the charm isn't it?

If two young idiots like @Hitchhiker and I can do it in the big city, you ain't got no excuse...

 

I'm over 100k on a '49 Chevy 1/2 ton dd/only vehicle, living the dream every day. I've had it as a dd for twenty years so I'm only doing about 5/year, great fun, great therapy.

 

Why not? If maintained well thats their original intended purpose, to drive. If you don't use them your just saving it for someone else.

 

Using a car as a car? What a concept!!

 

When these old cars rolled off the ***embly line they were everyones daily drivers. The only problem with having one as a daily now would be highway speeds, depending on the car. If you keep the brakes adjusted and the car well maintained, run it. I drove my F1 pickup for 3 years as my sole mode of transportation.

 

If you have read all the debates, why ask again?

 

My only daily is a '62 C10, when I'm not in my roadster or A. And by daily I mean if it doesn't start I don't go to work. and I drive 35 miles to work round trip 6 days a week. As said above just regular maintenance and thorough regular general inspection and drive it with respect, that's what they are engineered to do no mater what the year. Have a lot of respect for those driving pre war cars as dailys, really cool.

 

My daily. When it rains I get wet. I'm not made of Aspirin. Tonneau is in the process of being done.

Don't overthink it just get in and drive!

 

Newest car now is the '64 Panel and was my daily for about 9-10 years, sadly the cheap draw in me went for a carpool van to work.......we'll see how long it lasts.

My first car was my newest ever, a 1973 then went to my '60 Elco which was my daily (and only) driver for about 10 years.

My friend someguy on here drives his '50 Merc daily ran or shine to work.

 

Yes.

 

.............You need to get over calling any old car a "cl***ic". There are some pretty clearly defined parameters for what is indeed a cl***ic. Antique perhaps, not necessarily a cl***ic.

 

I drove my model A pickup for years,that's all I had. HRP

 

Yes I drive my station wagons not daily as I am on disability and had to retired,But when I take them in to town for auto parts or to go food shopping. I love pulling up to a police man at a red light and rolling down the window and yelling over to the HEY MAN I WILL RACE YOU TO FOOD CITY!!!They always laugh. The local police are pretty cool here in East T.N. The sheriff Dept has a different point of view when I say that to them.They pulled me over and read me the riot act. lol.Bruce.

 

Here the other one. This one is quicker and faster. I found that out from the sheirffs dept.{speedometer wasnt working at that time} lol.Bruce.

 

As Lothiandon1940 says above...very few of "your" daily drivers are "CL***IC" cars..check the definition of a CL***IC car, then understand...95% of all cars on the Hamb do not qualify..maybe Antique or Special Interest,but surely NOT a Cl***ic.

 

Sure you can daily drive them. Go over all systems well, be prepared to let them warm up in the morning, maintenance is required set aside time to do it, have spare parts on the shelf.

Helps to know what your local parts store stocks and what they dont, water pump, ignition parts, brake parts, stuff you think would be a common item can hang you up for a week if you don't have them on the shelf. Know what interchanges on your ride with other years can save a lot of h***le.

If you have a back up vehicle of some kind, there's really no concern. If it's your only vehicle, more planning is required.

 

When I lived in Pretoria the Morris Minor was my daily driver. Admittedly, I didn't commute for most of that time. The move down to Cape Town in 2000 was complicated, so the Minor went into storage, and I got the '95 CitiGolf (VW Golf Mk1 which was still made here until only a few years ago) to commute with. Of course I couldn't leave that alone, so a 1781 went in when the 1290 needed an overhaul, performance springs and dampers went in when the original dampers needed replacing, a gas-flowed head with a 272H went on when the original hydraulic cam followers started losing oil, etc. etc. etc. It remains a workhorse, albeit an occasional one, because I've managed to get myself back into a neighbourhood where I can get most everywhere I need to be by walking, which is the way I like it. I'd prefer to have no modern car at all, but the Minor has become a dormant project car. It's gone from storage at the removals company's facility, where it suffered some surface rust, to storage at the garage I managed to build before I ran out of money, at a house I bought here but let to cover the mortgage.

In the meantime my wife and I are living pretty much hand to mouth, but really enjoying being able to hear the ocean over the traffic from our balcony some nights; being able to have a burger and a gl*** of wine, just downstairs, to a Congolese guitarist's weird rumba-reggae-blues fusion; being able to pop down to the Bangladeshi for a bottle of milk without even crossing a street - because he's actually our downstairs neighbour; being able to have that extra beer or two at the local without worrying about road-blocks on the way home. I don't want to have a literal daily driver ever again.

I do want to get the Minor going again, though. All I need is to find a Subaru EJ25 lying under a bush. If ever that happens, expect a thread on "traditionalizing" it.

 

It depends on your climate and type of car. you're not gonna drive a roadster year round where i live, but you could drive an enclosed car, ***uming it's capable of driving through (at times) a foot of snow and up to ? drifts. will it hold up to huge potholes? will it start when it is below zero? does the heater work? good? do you care that it will be slathered in salt? or do you live in San Diego where none of this matters? can you park your "cl***ic" in a secure lot?

 

I'm not entirely sure. Maybe I'll go read one of the billion threads that have pages of replies that answer this question over and over again and then start a new thread asking it myself...

 

Ours , unless the weather is bad. Then we take the wife's ****py late model. ha . ha.

 

It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it.

 

Ron,,,^^^^^^^^....your Nomad IS a Cl***ic...