Just about to make the maiden voyage in my 51 Wayfarer, and to be honest, just a little nervous. Its only about a 40 mile ride but I have only been around the neighborhood with it. How long does it take you guys to get confident with you car? I dont have any reason to think it will brek down...just not confident yet. How long was it for you?
This is a great topic. The biggest thing to remember is you only get out of the car what you put into it. When I first got my '51 Plymouth I replaced or rebuilt whatever I could. All the electricals were replaced. All the maintainance items taken care of. With that said late 40's - the 50's mopars produced some very reliable cars. I have my Plymouth and my wife has a '54 DeSoto both with the same 6V electrical systems and both with the flat-6. My maiden voyage was about 150 miles one way and believe me I was nervous. Since then both cars have been on many long mileage trips. I drove the Plymouth to Las Vegas and back to Charlotte, NC without a problem. Always be self sufficient and carry tools, fluids, belts, hoses, points & condensors, plugs, spare generator and starter (if you can), jack and spare tire, gas and the list goes on. When you come prepared you'll have a better time and and it will be stress free. Just some food for thought. Good luck on your maiden voyage. Feel confident in your ol' Dodge! BloodyKnuckles
My first trip in my Merc was to the Primer Nats, 150 miles or so. It was great! Loud, shakey, oily, but most of all....FUN AS HELL...Waterpump went out on the way home, and had to tow it home, but still wouldn't change a think. Year later, Primer Nats, great weekend, busted u-joint in Malibu, towed home again. I still don't care! That's why I love old cars. It takes a special kind of person to drive an old car....with a smile!!!!!!
irst ride for me was 100+ miles round trip. I was nervous but what the hell. If I broke down I would just have an excuse to work on her some more.
Invest In "AAA plus", that way you always have that under your belt. I think you can upgrade to "AAA premier" after a year, and you get tows up to 250 miles, and like 2 or 3 more for 150 miles. Its best to have tools and belts, wire, spare tire etc. etc. if you break down, try to figure it out yourself first, and if you cant, its worth the peace of mind to know that you can get towed home.
My maiden voyage was 45 miles 1 way, but it was in L.A. rush hour traffic. My only concern was over heating. No problems. Never worried after that. Hagerty Insurance has towing but AAA is better. Turns out, tows respond quicker to AAA then any other service. I waited 3 hrs for Hagerty, which used the same company as AAA.
my first 'maiden voyages' were just quick, local trips.....the ONE time i took it on the freeway going to work the rings fell apart in a few cylinders and it got such horrid blow-by it was undriveable hooray!
I am probably at around 200 miles on my '53 Plymouth, and I still find myself "white knuckled" once in a while. Anytime it doesn't fire on the first try I get a little nervous too, maybe not so much because I might be stuck, but because I don't want other people to think less of our "old cars." CHAZ
Day I brought it home...ran out of gas, LOL!!! Primer Nats 06(waterpump) Primer Nats 07(u-joint) I love AAA, LOL!!!!!
I got the big AAA package and loaded a cooler FULL of tools, fluids, and some spare parts. I got it running, drove it about 18 miles, checked the fluids, and drove to Austin in my wagon for Roundup. Put 680 miles on it round trip - including turning the odometer over ON Congress while cruising with a carload of friends. Had a great trip. Don't be nervous. Build it as well as you can and be prepared to deal with problems. You'll have a great time.
My maiden voyage was from St.louis to the FROG FOLLIES in Evansville Indiana. I never even thought about breakingdown. I was so glad it was on the street. That was in 1995 and I've been driving it since without it breaking down and leaving me on the side of the road. The worst thing to happen was here local when I went to my car club meeting. Right when I got there I blew a power steering hose.No problem. I went to the meeting and drove it home afterwards. About 12mi. I have about 35,000 mi. on it and I'm sure things will start going bad.Normal wear and tear items. When I put it together I took my time and used new or rebuilt parts and did'nt cut any corners. Especially when it came to safety. Brakes , steering etc.
That is a big part of it. If you put it together once, you can do again. I've been driving my '34 for 26 years without any major problems and after awhile it's like putting on an old pair of shoes, but you got to spend the time in the shop to get the car that way. You want know till you go. Good luck.
Dodge??? Drive it. Use the parking brake when you stop, keep spme spare parts in the trunk, points rotor condenser. No big deal. 6K on my rebuilt 230 flathead, only porblem is some leaky valve gaskets and some crap in the carbs that screwed up the accelerator pumps. Travel in confidence. Made a 400 mile round trip with mine the weekend after the engine install. It is after all a car, they were designed for transport and private mobility.
I still haven't driven mine more than 10 miles from the house. Nervous as hell something is going to go wrong...haven't had it on the highway yet either. First hot rod, first open wheel car, first car I built from the ground up. Hell, I don't even know what I'm doing... Next weekend I'm gonna try and take it a bit over 50 miles out.
Had I known that, I never would have gone for a ride with you. Jeez. Just turn the radio on and hit the road. If you don't think about what can go wrong, nothing will. Haha. I've got over 40K on my car and have only broken down a few times. I've broken down 4 miles and 400 miles from my house. Its no the length of the trip, its the luck of the draw.
First long trip in my 52 Chev the brake light switch went out. Been good since...10 years or so. Short trips to start with, check everything regularly till it's apparent that you have a reliable car. Pete
i used to get nervous when i drove my old hot rods on long trips but i really never have any issues with them. i do all of the scheduled maintenance religiously, and stay on top of anything that might become an issue. if you build them right they are more reliable than a new vehicle. my pet peeve is that every car i build will always get a new front end (every piece will be replaced that can wear), a complete brake system (lines and all), new radiator, and the rear end will be completely rebuilt (third member included), the motors and trannys i will rebuild no mater what. that is before i will even consider driving it, so basically i have a new car when i pull it out of the garage. it might be missing paint, interior, and some of the glass but the essentials will be there.
my 51 ply maiden voyage was to a buddies house the night before billet proof. made it maybe a mile on the freeway started overheating took it home. so i got wasted that night. the next morning i over slept woke up with 10 min. to spare. made a catch can and added some tranny fluid. drove probably 250 miles. it did pretty good. it still needed alot of work. but i made it. we drive em tell they brake.
My 1st trip in my 37 was here in Ventura--a Goodguys event. About 5 miles into the trip--I almost get rear-ended by an asshole in a 1 ton Dodge van--this is 7:00a.m--he's still drunk from the night before.Ihappen to see him coming in my mirror--and pull off a side street--just as he skids by--4 wheels locked-up. I figure after that, anything is easy--that was in 1982--almost 100,00 mile since then--but I gotta say--every time I start it up, I STILL get that little "pit-of-my-stomack" feeling that something ain't right. LOL!!!
With every new build you gain confidence and skills. After collecting parts for two years I started the build on my '32 Roadster this past January. Six hours a day for 3 and a half months. No work because of a labor dispute. Finished the build two weeks before the Pasadena Roadster Club Run and had 400 miles on it when they allowed me a late entry. Made the 130 mile trip for the run without a problem. Only issue was the bias ply tires skating at 70 mph. Just drive um, we all put our cars together for our own personal reasons mine is therapy. My hats off to all you guys who build your own cars. They really are an expression of each person. Happy Rodding and they can always be fixed. The FOGGER
Once around the block. Then about a mile up the road, turn around and come home. If there's no problems there, I'm confident I got it all right. If there is a problem, I fix it, try it again. -Brad
Well, in the 58, I had drove it around town alot for several months, but the first "real road trip" was to the Stray Kat show about 1 1/2 hours away from home. I am brilliant enough to have the first long trip with my new baby of 2 weeks old with me in October! But the car did great! On the 69, I had just built a new engine, transmission, rear end, wiring, fuel system, AND twin turbo system (and I had NEVER messed with turbo's before) and got it started and the cam broke in at 8:00 am in the morning. I drove it from my work to the house (about 10 miles) and changed the oil, washed it and loaded it down with tools and clothes and the wife and left town at 10:00 am for Detroit (from S.W. Missouri) to go on the Hot Rod Power Tour. We made it that night with no major troubles. We then went a couple thousand miles before we came back home! No major troubles! So, needless to say, I don't let them get too much "break in" time! LOL! But the 69 had (and has) left me stranded many other times on the Power Tour and many other times, with various problems. So, if it is going to go, it will go whenever IMO.
My suggestion would be have confidence in your guages, especially temp. If you're not sure about the stock ones, I'd put aftermarket ones in and hide them if you're concerned about the look. With new brake work I like to give them a good stomping and workout in a safe parking lot before hitting the freeway. That first trip is always cool, have fun on it.
everyone is nervous on maiden voyage--drove a 55 for many years, carried an extra fuel pump, fan belt and generator at all times--lost a gen once in the desert out of Needles, changed out in short order , polarized it and was on my way, same with a fuel pump once at Fremont Drags in 81, 1/2 hr and going again--try that with new cars--if they quit, I'm at a loss !!!!!!!!!!! Maiden voyage in my 40 was to Reno from Sac..I was a nervous wreck--car functioned as it should --no issues--trust your workmanship and go for it !!!
hahahaah this is a great topic. i NEVER saw an old car on a tow truck unless it was just pulled from the woods or a trailor queen, nice to FINALLY see a bitchin merc gettin hualled home like my 52 did about 800 times, i always thought i was the only one, no pics though, but i locked up two motors, one transmission and a few times were electrical and carb and fuel pump and water pump hahahahah i was young and still a dumb highschool kid though, now i know to take parts and tools, and how to build better.
For some reason, I've had terrible luck. In the 10+ years I've had my truck on the road, I've NEVER left town with it when it didn't break in some way. Some were small, like a broken bolt on the AC compressor backing out and cutting the heater hose (yes it's got ac, its black, I live in Oklahoma, and I'm a puss, now lets move on) ; some were big, like trashing the powerglide (I wasn't even being stupid) or the electrical fire while setting in grid lock (it died, tried to restart, ign. switch bezel backed off, ign switch rolled, bent the primary hot wire at the terminal, exposing wire and grounding against the dash, then the real fun began). Always made it home one way or another and only once did it come back on a trailer (Trasmission) Carry tools, spare parts, a fire extinguisher, cell phone, list of ph numbers, and some cash (speaks a hell of a lot louder than credit cards when you need a tire or part in some backwater town on a sunday night) Since I've alway been going to one event or another, a brother rodder has always been there to help. That's your safety net. Just remember karma, help your brothers and sisters when you see them in distress, cause I guaran-damn-te ya your going to need their help somewhere down the road. It's supposed to be fun, so you might as well get over the white knuckles and just accept that if it breaks, you can fix it, and just don't worry about it till it does.
Going through that right now! Even though everything is pretty much new...I still have the "Did I remember to do this"...or "did I tighten that"...had some starter issues a few weeks ago along with over heating problems right after that. Have solved both issues and have put probably only 80 miles on my new build so far...but every day that goes by problem free, I build my confidence a little more...
The Jalopy Journal
