Do you drive your old car daily?

Hey all,

I started a blog a while back with the theme of classic car/hot rod daily drivers. Unfortunately, I discovered it couldn't be done without actually talking to people who DO drive these cars to work, to school, wherever. There's a whole lot of bullshit on the net (as I learned, there was no such thing as a 4WD El Camino. They were based on regular car frames.) As such, I'd like to get a few testimonials. So how much of a pain in the ass is it to drive you pre-64 car around daily?

Thanks a lot. Please share what you drive, how often you drive it, how stock it is, and what your experiences with it are. I'm looking to run a weekly feature on a certain year and model of car. As much info as you can give (what rattles, what shakes, what stops working every 50 miles, or what's just plain cool about your car) would be very much appreciated.

-Stizzealth

 

No problem at all. They were all meant to be driven year round at one point !

 

I don't even know what new cars are like, everything I've ever driven was at least 30 years old.

I got a question for you, do they suck half your brains out when you drive a new car? Or does it just seem that way?

 

mine rattles all the time and has no windows but a front windsheild for now... it gets hot becasue of no insulation becasue of the 350 under the hood. i know they are easy things to fix, but hardly any $ or time to do it......

 

I drive mine every day as long as the temp outside is above 32.
I have 6000 miles since I finished it. (Its never Done)

 

I used to when I had my 54 Chevy. Only bother was the vacuum wipers. You just learn to look out in between the rain drops.

I sold it and bought a 56 Pontiac that I'll drive as much as my other car. Going to have to do something about those vacuum wipers. I don't think they work at all right now.

 

Mine is used to take kids to hockey and soccer. Also to pick up dog food and go to the grocery store. It's our 2nd vehicle from May to November.

 

I drive my 53 Chevy every day of the year! I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

i would if i could, but i can't so i don't!

 

There's a whole lot of bullshit on the net (as I learned, there was no such thing as a 4WD El Camino. They were based on regular car frames) Whatt!!!!

 

Hell, I wouldn't know- I'm 14, the most I've driven is a golf cart! They don't go so fast.

Could I get a little more information about your cars? I was planning on doing a weekly spotlight on a certain car of a certain year with maybe a supplemental podcast so I'd like to know whether you folks drive them year round, how it is in the winter, etc.

I also think that a good selling point for persuading people to keep those 'old junkers' rather than scrapping them and having them come back as lead painted toys or Toyotas. Although our cars may not have catalytic converters and they may not get 45 miles per gallon, but when you take into account all of the carbon burned in producing a new car there may be an argument to be made about how a 60 year old car that puts out x tons of carbon per year is more environmentally conscious than a new car that puts out x-5 tons of carbon per year because in terms of carbon put out over their lifetimes, the old car might just do better. Just an idea to keep the American iron on the road.

EDIT: Axeman, I'm impressed. That looks really cool. Did you swap frames or modify the running gear?

 

My daily driver. Rain or shine. Hot or cold.

 

The only street machine I have up for awhile now.

 

If i am not in my Roadster, then i am in the Coupe................everyday......yup

 

my daily........ it has a few of the creature comforts like A/C, Power windows, and automatic. gets 20 MPG on the Hwy with a built 302 and the A/C going.

 

My daily driver (about 25 mile round trip to work) - but it takes me everywhere in rain , snow or shine ...



It's a bit unfinished at the moment & has a stiff suspension , so it definately has it's fair share of rattles !

 

I drive my shop truck almost every day. My wife drives her '62 Impala SS. We have newer cars and trucks. They are for family things...but if I'm going solo, or just my wife and I...We drive our Hot Rods. Thats how we live on a daily basis.

 

Does a '41 Ford pickup count? Hope to get my coupe back on the road soon to split the duty.

 

Does an '88 count? Otherwise no

 

Pretty much anything pre 70, maybe pre-75 would be the focus.

 

I drive my '57 Fairlane pretty much every day. When I had a 100 miles round trip to work, I spent a lot more time in the ol' Focus, but I'm a lot closer now. My wipers haven't worked in a long time, so I have to check the weather to see if I need to put a new coat of RainX on, but other than that it's usually smooth sailing. I really wish I could ditch the newer car (and its payment) because there's really no feeling like sitting behind the wheel of the Fairlane. For some reason, it can really take the sting out of a bad day. Now, it can get pretty stinkin' hot in Dallas during the summer, but that's not even too big of a deal. It was also a great way to work out the kinks of my engine/tranny swap that I did a while back.

Here's a picture of her in the parking lot at work a couple of months ago...

 

i currently dont have any hamb friendly cars

but once i get a model A it will be my daily driver 365 days of the year rain snow or shine. they are ment to be driven so why not drive them as much as possible

 

It's not pre '64, but I drive my '65 f100 everyday. Rain, snow, hot as hell, South Dakota has it all.

 

I plan to drive my '57 Nomad daily, as long as it's not raining. But then it never rains in Southern California. Which is why I live here. Isn't that a song?

 

My philosophy on it is "if it is a nice day, I'll drive it". I don't have the creature comforts nor the ability to get her up to freeway speeds. Since I am in Texas, my lack of AC is rather painful during exceptionally hot days. However, if it is a cool sunny day... or a clear night you better believe she is on the street.

John

 

Looks like a Blazer frame and running gear to me.

 

All I drive is old cars everyday, and have done so since I've been driving (1987). The only "new" thing I own is a 96 F-150 crew cab that I built so I can pull a trailer, and haul stuff back from the swap meets.

And one day when its "old" I stop driving anything "new".

 

20 miles in the crazy arizona traffic, everyday.

 

when my cars were in one piece, yes, a 52 chevy and 65 catalina all through highschool and long time after. not within the last 4 years though, my 65 is a bare shell and so is my 52...


i have another question to add to this topic, my 52 has a 350 with 305 heads and a stock holly 600cfm. and i was probobly under the hood 80 times a day with both cars, how often to you fix these daily drivers and how reliable, i used to ALWAYS get stuck in the worst intersection, must be my luck.

 

Drive mine as much as i can , to work etc when the pocket ant to light, few rattles but thats to be expected, thats what makes her so great.
Stock 1956 corvette, old school flat white and tan and droped, all orig ever nut and bolt with a few of my own added bits, looks like a old racer.