I agree w/most and offer that I regularly alternate between my 34 Chevy 5 wdo and my 72 Chevy C10, both purchased in 1995. I am now retired and really have no "daily driver" but used the 34 as "daily driver" the first 3 years until I changed employment to over the road car hauler and had to leave whatever I drove out overnight where the "big" truck was parked. Iused the C10 until gas got over $3. gal., then drove 92 Grand Prix back and forth to truck parking. Still have GP and got a big kick out of getting "antique plates" for it as it turned 25, most reliable car ever owned. It doesn't get much use these days as I prefer the other 2, but keep it around just in case.
A few weeks ago out shop delivery van finally gave up the ghost and died, In our business we need something dependable, I have looked for several years for a early Econoline or Dodge van and everything I found needed a ton of work just to make it marginally dependable. So I went looking for a used mini van that had air because the flowers need it more that the driver and I accidentally ran across a 2005 Dodge Magnum wagon, and figured why not, It has the room and it has some style, the plus is if we need to load up the family and go some where it would do everything we need it to do and Brenda can use it as her daily driver. It does have factory Dodge Charger 5 spoke mags. I won't post a photo but we have had it long enough to realize it's a better alternative than a mini van for us. HRP
1.always keep multiple cars around so at any given time when one is broken another will run. 2.find a good type of car you like and get more than one ex. Grand Marquis or crown vics, this way you'll get good at the repairs and maintenance you can stock the same parts oil filters etc for multiple cars, as well as learning the trouble spots and when to fix 3.I take the cost of a car plus major repairs divided by miles driven . That gets me a cents per mile number. 10 cents/ mile is ok 5 cents is the gold standard. Gas tires and insurance i leave out they don't change much for old cars, one to the other.
I want to touch back on this thread and give my real world experience daily driving old cars since I was 16, Currently been driving my 1931 Model A Ford pickup for the last few years....5 or so to be exact. I'm 36 years old, learned to drive on a 1968 Ford highboy with manual steering, brakes, and a 4 speed at 12 years old on family property. I have always liked old stuff. My first car was a 1967 Pontiac Tempest Convertible. second a 72 Blazer(still have), and third a 67 Gto(sold about 5 years ago, had since 17), then a 68 catalina. a 1967 Lemans hardtop....yada yada yada. I've had lots of old shit. To much to list really, But the keepers have always been the Blazer and my grandfathers 1979 Ford Supercab he bought new, that he gave me at 24 years old, when he no longer felt safe driving with a 5th wheel at 85 years old. Then I almost always had flippers. Some were early Econolines, 60's and 70's chevy and ford trucks. Muscle cars, jeeps. whatever was cool and cheap. Always flipping something, sometimes something old, sometimes a "newer"car to cheap to pass up( like a 1998 nissan altima with a broken axle for $20 bucks, sold for $3500. or a acura integra with a broken timing belt, bought for $100 and sold for $2800) , just stuff to sell. I usually only had them as long as it took to get the title., but they were around to use in a pinch. Point is, be it old or new, usually I always had another runner in case my "daily" broke. So just before I was 30 I bought myself a 1931 Pickup as a stock runner. I had monkeyed with 2 or 3 rough hot rod projects over the years. Learned the basics and figured the quickest way into a driver was to just buy one and modify it with a dropped axle and other stuff....thus the Hitchhiker pickup, which I have been driving for almost exclusively for about 5 years. Up until very recently I hadn't driven any of my "modern"(72 blazer and 1979 Ford pickup) cars in a few years. I really wanted to put my money where my mouth was and use the pickup as if it was my only car, 6 volts and a banger to boot..... but with a big move recently, it was necessary to press the 79 into daily service again.... obviously having multiple cars is key, being able to hop in your reliable "new" 1979 ford and run to the store is handy..... but then I blew up the trans in it and let it sit for a while... I drove the A, it was great.... and then all of a sudden it's been 4 years later and you need to move, so you finally fix the trans in your reliable new car.... Anyways here is how I make it all work. 1. I am self employed and live very close to my shop and everything else I need to be near such as gas and a parts store and groceries. I don't leave a ten mile radius of my house very often. I could walk to work if nothing was running. 2. I live in Seattle. we have horrible slow traffic. I can drive on the freeway during day light hours easily, as we're lucky to get going over 30 mph. I've even done some hour trips on the free way as my truck will maintain 60mph. but it's not my favorite to do. We did recently start salting the roads if it snows and stays for more than a day, but that is a rare occasion it snows in city, but the truck does do excellent in the snow! It doesn't have a wiper or heat. so I carry a blanket and keep the windshield rain-x'd during the rain season. It seems to get around 17-18 miles per gallon. Certainly better than my other 2 vehicles. I've hauled multiply engines. Take our Bi-weekly package mailing to the post office in it. Get groceries. what ever I need it does 90% of it. 3. my truck is "Patina" "rat rod"... whatever, it looks like shit and I'm not afraid to park it somewhere and get the paint scratched. "It's just an old truck" and i use it as such. 4. I have the space, time, desire and ability to perform regular maintenance. 5. Owning multiple old cars is key. Obviously in this hobby we need a real truck to do some of the heavy lifting and towing. My current stable is my 1979 Ford F250 supercab(towing), 1972 Blazer,(more than 2 passengers) 1931 Ford pickup,(daily) and a 31 roadster project( non runner). I have probably 20k-25k in all of them besides regular maintenance items such as oil and tires....that's not much over a 20 year driving span. anyways...that's kinda my thoughts. I like driving old stuff. I always have, always will. To date, It's the closest thing to a time machine I've been able to build. I know not everyone can do it like I have, but it works for me.
The Jalopy Journal
