Driving golden era cars in the modern era

[AtomicEraTom]

Surprises me. I had a zillion receipts for things done from tune-ups, carb rebuilds, and well, I listed it all before, plus what I did myself, after I bought it. They still need the idle adjusted here and there to keep them starting and warming up easily. There is no way around the occasional tinkering with a vintage car.

It doesn't have to cost a lot if you do your own work. Last car I tuned up this way was a slant six 1970 Dodge. I had to make a heat stove for the exhaust manifold, get a new flexible pipe to the air filter, a new vacuum valve for the air filter, and an automatic choke spring. All this cost less than $100 including a carburetor kit. It totally transformed the car, from being slightly hard to start, and taking a few minutes to warm up, to starting first turn of the key, hot or cold, and ready to drive right away. It also warmed up quicker and got better mileage.

All this was after doing a regular tuneup, something older cars require as a matter of course.

I wouldn't have believed it myself until I tried it but the car was transformed. I always thought smog era cars were prone to drivability problems, not necessarily so if they are in top shape and tuned to manufacturer's specs. Afterwards I kicked myself for putting up with a slightly bad running car for so long, when the fix was so easy and cheap.

My Grandpa told me he had to do plenty of maintenance on his cars back when, too. It's wonderful you have all those records.

Heck, even my newer cars are frequently going to the shop. Case in point, the Caddy's acting up....AGAIN!

Good point. Part of the fun is "messing with" an older car. I just wish I was a good enough mechanic to do more than just "mess with" my old cars. Should anything beyond simple arise, I have to take it to a mechanic, and that can cost a few bucks for sure.

I think what a lot (if not most) people either don't know or have forgotten is "back in the day" cars took a lot of routine maintenance to keep them in good running condition. I'm lucky enough to have all my Dad's old tax records from 1949 to the last one he filed in 2007. In those early records, he saved every receipt he had for the year. They are a wealth of information on a lot of things, but for the point of this discussion I'll keep it to car repair.

During the time of his early tax records, my Dad had a 1949 Chevy, a 1951 Chevy, a 1953 Olds 88, and a 1955 Olds 98. All were very sound automobiles, bought new, and on the upper end of the line for the day. In his old tax records are a ton of receipts from Tux Bowers Motors (where he bought the cars and had them serviced). I don't believe a month went by that there wasn't a receipt for something being done to those cars. Nothing major, but small things like "checking a rattle" or replacing a light. Of course there was the ever present routine maintenance of changing the oil, greasing, tune-ups, etc. My point is, there seemed to always be something to do to keep the car in top running condition. My Dad was a stickler for a good running car, so he may have been a little out of the norm for service, but it did take some work to keep the cars in good shape.

 

[Big Man]

I saw the absolutely best looking 1955 Buick Roadmaster I've ever seen today. It was on the side of the road for sale, and I just had to stop and take a look. They were asking $22,500. That's a lot of money, but it sure was a fine looking car. Looked just like it came off the show room floor in 1955. I wish I'd have taken some pictures.

 

[StraightEight]

Looks like we're 1A in the Army again, this time in the 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Division. We'll be picking up the wounded on Omaha in June '14 in our Dodge WC54 ambulance. It's quite the workout to drive, especially on English roads. Non-syncro crashbox 4 speed and suggestive brakes. I had to floss a few Daihatsus out of the grille last month after a 40 mile drive from Cambridge to Norwich.

 

[Stearmen]

QUOTE] Really sweet ride! I wanted one of those so bad in High School. They were not very expensive back then, but they mine as well been a Million dollars, since I could not come up with enough money!

 

[Big Man]

Today was "drive the old cars day" for me. I started out with the '48 Plymouth. Took it for a drive around the countryside. I hadn't had it out to amount to much in a couple weeks, so it was good to let it get some driving time. I think it helps the old cars to actually "work" now and then. I did notice a little trouble shifting from second to third. The last time this happened the linkage needed adjusting. I suspect (hope) that's all there is to it this time. Other than that, the drive was a nice one.

When I got back from that drive, I took the '65 Ford to a meeting at the church. I took "the long way" back home around the lake and had a very nice drive with that car. I've been driving the Ford since 1983, so really don't feel like it's an "old" car, but more like "just another" car if you can understand what I mean. I feel comfortable driving the '65 Ford just about anywhere. It's always been a reliable car and has never really let me down in all the years of driving.

After I got home with the Ford, I took the '61 Chevy out for a short drive to the Lake Club and back. I'm still building up my "confidence level" with the '61, as I had to bring it "back to life" after it had been sitting in a field for a number of years. After I finally got all the bugs worked out once it was running again, it hasn't given any trouble excepting for a pesky exhaust leak near the heat riser. It only makes the sound when under pressure, and then it's not enough to matter to anyone except me. Oh well, there's always another "project" waiting with any old car ...

 

[HudsonHawk]

...Oh well, there's always another "project" waiting with any old car ...

The oldest car I've ever personally owned is a 1977 International Scout, but it was always a work in progress. What I used to say about it is probably true for any car more than 25 years old; it's a labor of love, and if you don't love to labor on your love, you probably ought not own one.

 

[JonnyO]

I found this '41 Plymouth Special Deluxe, going to see if I can purchase this and turn it into a project car with my dad.
http://albany.craigslist.org/cto/3806105986.html

 

[cpdv]

From my more sloppy days. Shes a 39 Plymouth. Unfortunately I'm forced to sell her so if anyone wants pm me if you are interested but otherwise admire this fine Chrysler corp product!

 

[Big Man]

From my more sloppy days. Shes a 39 Plymouth. Unfortunately I'm forced to sell her so if anyone wants pm me if you are interested but otherwise admire this fine Chrysler corp product!

Very nice looking '39 Plymouth.

 

[Story]

150 European tourists in 71 vintage cars driving the Lincoln Highway.

http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2013/07/18/news/19local_07-18-13.txt

http://www.suntelegraph.com/story/2...coast-to-coast-tour-stops-in-sidney/2218.html

 

[Big Man]

Thought #1: How fast can this old Plymouth go on this straightaway?

Thought #2: Can I slow it down in time to make the curve at the end?

Thought #3: I think I'll just keep on doing 45 mph and enjoy the ride.

 

[Warbaby]

I love it when vintage and classic cars are used as everyday drivers with no respect for 'correct' restoration. I recently spotted this vintage Jag with an outrageous paint job in the parking lot at the builders supply. I talked to the owner and yes, it's his daily driver. When I came out of the store, he was loading his car with some 16' 2x6s. He laid them down on the ground, slid them under the car, tied up the ends to the front and rear bumpers, and away he went. Now that was some serious coolness...

 

[Story]

Fatso's ride to be restored.
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20130809-51313.html

 

[Biopro]

OK, not exactly vintage as vintage style: Hopefully it has stopped breaking down on me: Its a 1985 Ford Granada 2.8i V6 under the bonnet.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/961964/Sabre repaint 06.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...ub Cumbria Rood of England Challenge (11).jpg


https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...lub Cumbria Rood of England Challenge (9).jpg

 

[Peter_E]

Does your dog have a driver's license, then?

He did a pretty good job reversing, looking in the side mirror like that.:eusa_clap

 

[Biopro]

She is very talented:

 

[StraightEight]

One of these is not like the other. At the Yankee Air Museum air show last weekend.

 

[Story]

Might as well leave this here -

No More Road Trips? showed for the first time as a work in progress at South by Southwest on March 10, 2013, at San Francisco International Film Festival on May 5, 2013, and as part of the Convergence event at the New York Film Festival on September 28, 2013. It's going to screen at International Film Festival Rotterdam on January 26 and 27, 2014, and at Concordia University in Montréal on February 14, 2014. Write me (see bottom) if you'd like to book a screening.

No More Road Trips? isn't a conventional documentary. It's made completely from home movies that were shot by hundreds of people, starting in the mid-1920s. Its narrative traces a composite automobile journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific, beginning with the shoreline and historical monuments of New England and ending on a beach in southern California.

Other than a faint ambient soundtrack, the film is silent. I've written no narration, nor have I commissioned music. The primary soundtrack for this fully participatory film will be made fresh daily by audiences at each screening. Perhaps they'll identify some of the places that come and go in the 600-plus shots that currently populate the cut. Perhaps they'll ask me questions, or answer those posed by others. Or perhaps they'll react tendentiously, in the manner of Question Time in the British House of Commons, or riff rowdily in the style of the Elizabethan theater. Once the movie starts, it belongs to the audience. I don't want to limit how people will respond to the film. But I hope they will act on their permission to speak and create a commentary, not just on the scenes that pass by as our trip speeds west, but on what automobility, speed and travel mean to them. And I hope they'll be moved to think about whether we've reached the end of the open road.

http://nomoreroadtrips.blogspot.com/

 

[sola fide]

My old and new cars


Sold my 48 Dodge Club Coupe because she was too much of a project and I didn't want such a modern car and replaced her with a 38 Master Deluxe Town Sedan


Just delivered from Texas




Inside is clean, but not correct color.
Mike A

 

[1930artdeco]

Mike that is one nice car! And since all you had to do is just wash it to make it look super nice, I think you really scored.

Mike