and start driving an old one? My wife drives a 2000 Jetta. While it has been a really good car and has never given us problems... but... well... it's still a Jetta. That, and I hate banging my knees on the dashboard. I traded my 59 Impala convertible body for a pair of Impala coupes... a 59 and a 60. I'm definitely going to keep the 59 for myself. I'd love to keep them both, but I can't see keeping two coupes unless the wife wants the other one. The only thing I can think of is to make it super nice and clean (new interior, etc) and add A/C and hope she falls in love with it. It already has PB and PS. Any other ideas other than sabotaging the Jetta?! Travis
i would build one for myself and one for her. i would also keep the new car. so when i brake down on the side of the road she could come pick me up. everyone knows if you drive an old car something will happen. i have a 54 chevy for myself and my wife has 58 Ford F100. plus we also have an 85 toyota p/u and a 2001 toyota. when i go to unfamiliar neighborhoods. i drive the newer car. i don't want anybody messing with my chevy. i drove my 54 chevy for 3 yrs as a daily but if i was in a hurry i would drive my 01 toyota. nothing wrong with having a very reliable car. especially when your old ride won't start and your late for work.
I would let her have whatever she wants, within reason as long as she lets me have what I want to drive. If she wants a Le Car by Renault, hold your nose and get one for her. I make recommendations and give opinions but I keep her in something nice that she likes so that I can play with my toys without it becoming a sore point. CYA
[ QUOTE ] I would let her have whatever she wants, within reason as long as she lets me have what I want to drive. [/ QUOTE ] Right.
[ QUOTE ] ......I keep her in something nice that she likes so that I can play with my toys without it becoming a sore point. CYA [/ QUOTE ] .........and it's workin' for Tommy. I've seen some of his "toys!"
I do what Tommy does. My wife said [once] she wants me to build a car for her but I know I'd spend more time working on her shiny billetmobile's A/C and power seat than my hot rod's cam and lifters....not a good ratio. Instead, I got her a nice, 26,000 mile 300-M "builder" and she can drive the thing into the ground. It'll be full of hair rollers, books, papers, umbrellas, shoes [lots and lots of shoes] and 34 soft drink "suckys" with the bendable plastic straw, in no time at all... She likes the flip-flop pearl paint and the heated leather seats a lot more than she'd appreciate loud pipes and a grabby clutch.
Build it how she wants and let her have both. If she decides to sell the Jetta then good. If you coax her in to selling the Jetta it will always be "your idea" and you will be hearing all about how great that Jetta was everytime there is a problem with that Impala. hahaha I don't know the answer... my wife drives a passat.... I want her to drive a 50's cad. She said yeah ok if it was plush but I barely have the time to do my own projects. Let us know if you figure it out.
[ QUOTE ] and start driving an old one? My wife drives a 2000 Jetta. While it has been a really good car and has never given us problems... Travis [/ QUOTE ] I dont understand that, and Im not trying to be an ass, just explain it to me please. You have a good running car that can start up and go with little/no worries on a road trip. Is it because its too new? An image thing? I just dont understand. I drive a 2004 Chrysler every day of my life and for 1 love having; defrost, air conditioning, working wipers, no overheating problems. Im just not connecting, thats all.....
Travis, keep the jetta. You wouldn't want your wife and little one stuck on the side of the road in Sac in the heat. Plus the way Sacramento hoodlums get, they'll pull over and strip the 60 while your wife is broken down. If I had a 4 car garage, you know where that 60 would be
OK. For those who know me, I used my 59 Impala convertible as a daily driver for like 6 of the 9 years I owned it. The other 3 years it was either blown up or just torn apart for whatever reason. During those times I had things like a 59 Elky, a 60 Nomad, a 59 Parkwood, and all that stuff as a substitute while the Impala was on the mend. Now with the 59 and 60 Impala coupes that are coming in, I admit I really like both of them and I'd like to keep both. The 60 is copper with a white roof and white stripe on the inserts on the side, with a copper interior. It had a frame off, already has a new 605 PS, new disc brakes, 2" drop spindles, new dual reservoir master cylinder and PB, new crate 350 with a rebuilt T350. The 60 will not be repainted or anything because there is NO rust, and it has the original paint in good condition. All this is making it a very nice driver and the only thing lacking for the Sacramento climate is the A/C. Sure, the Jetta is a nice car but damn I hate it. I refuse to work on it unless I absolutely have to (like when they wanted me to pay $365 to change out the rear disc brake pads and rotors... you have to change the rotors too. I did it for $100). I just can't see keeping both coupes, the Jetta and all those other cars. And WAGON, you say? I got that too. I'm getting a 61 Parkwood with a 62 Impala 4-door hardtop that I am going to chop up and use as a parts car for the 61 Parkwood. And then there's the 59 2-door Biscayne, the 60 El Camino (I still haven't taken pictures, Terry!! ) and the 68 Chevy truck that I have to get rid of too. In the end, I'd like to keep the 59 Impala coupe, the 60 Impala coupe, and the 61 Parkwood. The rest can go. Just want to try to see if the wife would drive the 60 and keep that. Otherwise I will sell the 60 also, or give it to my mom. Travis
Show her pictures of other women who love driving their "classics" daily and can't get enough of them (they are out there) and are tired of the plastic bumpered recycled classless just another brick in the wall that every one else is driving. Take her to some traditional type car shows so she can absorb some of the soal that these cars exute. It is either in her or not. Keep the import for a back up. My two sense Hudrodz
Keep and have the other Chevy available for when she wants to drive it, but dreams aren't communal, it's your dream to just drive the old cars, maybe not hers, and even if she likes them, even a lot, she doesn't necessarily like them in the same way. I thought I needed my "security blanket" 88 Astro Van for a long time, till it ironically became the least reliable car in my fleet. Now I drive my '40 GMC as #1 wheels, with a MGB GT as back up, (as long as I don't need to depend on it having working wipers or lights that is) but wife has a '96 Civic to get her to work without worrying about breaking down in "Those bad neighborhoods" between home and work, but it's approaching 100,000 miles, the back seat is sun fading, the paint is doing what 9 year old clear coat always does and when the next body style Civic comes out she will probably buy another one. That is very real, around here anyway, there are "bandits" that prey on people and their cars if they break down on the freeways in some parts of L A. Besides, a '60 Chevy just won't handle the way she drives her Honda, she'd never make it to work on time, unscathed. (She's a ruthless lane changer) If you really want her to find out the draw backs of "new cars" in Californicate, next time the car needs smogging let her take it in herself and deal with the stress of the "We got ya by the short & curly because you have to do and pay whatever we say or you don't drive" "smog station" pirates. (Assuming you get stuck with those duties like I do.) I doubt there are many married, "established adults" on this board that don't have at least one "new car" in the household... Hell, I undestand ya gotta have one to get that Haggerty insurance! (I have all my cars and house with Allstate with an agent who grew up in East L A and understands people still driving old Chebbys.)
[ QUOTE ] In the end, I'd like to keep the 59 Impala coupe, the 60 Impala coupe, and the 61 Parkwood. The rest can go. Just want to try to see if the wife would drive the 60 and keep that. Otherwise I will sell the 60 also, or give it to my mom. Travis [/ QUOTE ] you want to keep all of that and she can't have a car of her choice... giving it to your mom is your choice. i would give it to my wife for putting my with my shit.
I just pulled the entire complete after market ac/heat system out of my wifes '50 during this last rain storm and will install the factory heater this week. Its yours if you think it will help. H
I'm in a similar boat with myself. I have the chance to buy an old car which would have to be a daily driver to justify. Unfortunately, I have a 45 minute to an hour drive each way to work. Gas, parts availability, reliability are a few reasons I'm gonna stoop to buying a rice burner for the cheap running costs & still have a peppy car. Is it wrong to put a glasspack on an Acura? It IS already painted semigloss black. Could red-painted alloys be next?
Next time you two are going somewhere and she hops into the jetta, tell her you'll meet her there and hop into your 59. When she asks why, tell her your knees don't fit in the jetta. She'll probably want to keep the 60 and use the jetta for running around when you aren't with her.
Why would you want your spouse, and most of them are mechanically deficient, drive an old car as a daily driver when you have a choice of putting her in a safer more reliable vehicle. Here we go again.... I give Up
excuses excuses excuses. if you can't build a reliable safe car for your significant other, than you really SUCK at building cars and have no business messin with them! it just doesn't get any cheaper than a freshened up 60's ride. rebuild the susp, throw in a crate 350 and overdrive, make sure everything is good, and for a few grand you will be rolling. i went the ford route for my girlfriend, picked up a 61 falcon 2dr wagon, cause they're cheap, small, etc. good girl car! i would never own it for myself, but for her... in less than a month i had the newer drivetrain transplanted, a later six, 5speed, and just a few grand later everything is new! driving an old car doesn't have to mean a leaking smoking flathead and 3 speed non syncro tranny that jumps out of gear. and look at the bright side, when your P.O.S. breaks down and can't make it to the show or whatever, you can still take the ol lady's car and not be a TOTAL loser!
Ray has it right. All of you that say an old car is unreliable are full of shit. What do you think people drove "for a reliable new car" when a 60 was a new car? There is no reason that an old car is unreliable except for not building it correctly. Now a new car may have better heater and A/C, anti-lock brakes, cushier ride, better gas mileage, quieter, smaller size, looks like everything else on the road, has the wrong wheels driven, depreciates in vlaue and makes the environmental nazi's happy, BUT it is not necessarily more reliable. I could argue that all the extra stuff on a new car is just more to break and go wrong, and you can't diagnose and fix it on the side of the road with pliers, screwdriver and a wrench. Any older car with many miles has parts that wear out and need to be rebuilt or replaced. Same thing will happen to that new car you all are talking about. Just build it correctly and the old car is reliable as a new car. Now back to Travis's original question. If you can afford to keep both, then make one "her car", even if it is not her daily. Let her fix it up how she wants, within reason and your guidance. If she can get excited about the car, then you both enjoy it and eventually lean her towards the old car as a daily driver. But if you can;t afford to keep both coupes, then just let her decide what she wants to keep. It is much better to have a wife that LIKES YOUR old car and has her new car, than one that DISLIKES HER old car.
Let her drive what she wants & be glad she isn't sweating you over the 59 & pressuring you to buy something more "responsible" like an SUV.
First wife: I always influenced her to buy/drive vehicles that were interesting to me. Result = Second wife. Second wife: She drives what she likes. Result = I drive what I like.
[ QUOTE ] excuses excuses excuses. if you can't build a reliable safe car for your significant other, than you really SUCK at building cars and have no business messin with them! it just doesn't get any cheaper than a freshened up 60's ride. rebuild the susp, throw in a crate 350 and overdrive, make sure everything is good, and for a few grand you will be rolling. i went the ford route for my girlfriend, picked up a 61 falcon 2dr wagon, cause they're cheap, small, etc. good girl car! i would never own it for myself, but for her... in less than a month i had the newer drivetrain transplanted, a later six, 5speed, and just a few grand later everything is new! driving an old car doesn't have to mean a leaking smoking flathead and 3 speed non syncro tranny that jumps out of gear. and look at the bright side, when your P.O.S. breaks down and can't make it to the show or whatever, you can still take the ol lady's car and not be a TOTAL loser! [/ QUOTE ] Well... like I mentioned in my second post here, the 60 already has a crate 350/T350 with brand new disc brakes, 605 PS, and so on and so forth. Even the frame was taken off and detailed. The only thing missing would be the A/C which can be added. I guess I just wish that she'd consider it but she keeps saying she likes computer powered gizmos. Sure, the 60 isn't a Jetta, but it does have all the creature comforts that a lady (or anyone else!) would like... I'll just wait it out and see what happens. I will have to wait 6 months to a year for the 59 coupe so I will be driving the 60 during that time. Maybe it'll grow on her... Travis
My wife gets to drive whatever (one car) she wants. I get to drive, and purchase, and play with as many toys as I want. Besides, if we ever wanna go do something fun we take one of my cars... if we have to go grocery shopping or to the mall we take her modern car... works for me.
The Jalopy Journal
