Daily Drivers?

I have come to the point where I might buy an old car. I am looking at Chryslers and Imperials from 1969-1973, Full-Size Oldsmobiles and Buicks from 1969-1973, and Full-Size Mercurys from 1969-1972. The car will be driven daily. Are there any things I should look at when buying one of these cars?<BR><P>------------------<BR> <A HREF="http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/poland/356/" TARGET=_blank>www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/poland/356/</A>

yes, one that runs on propane <P>With today's gas prices and the size engines in those cars you will be draining a bank account at a much larger pace.<P>I enjoy driving an old car for a daily driver but there are drawbacks especially if you are driving one that was manufactured before the unleaded gasoline introduction. Of course if you rebuild the engine and take that into consideration, you will not have any problems. Also, when reworking the A/C, I would convert over to the new coolant for effeciency and cost. Also, when you drive an old car on a regular basis, give yourself extra time going anywhere because if you stop anywhere someone always wants to talk to you about the car - which is half the fun of driving it.<P>Good luck in your quest - as far as the cars you mentioned I do not know much about them personally so can't give you any specific advice.<P>BOB<p>[This message has been edited by oldmotorcycles (edited 07-07-2000).]

[Dave@Moon]

I hate Chevys. There are so many Chevys. I'm tired of seeing Chevys every time an old car catches my eye in traffic. I hate Chevys.<P>My advice if you're buying a car for everyday use, buy a Chevy. They're good cars, not as plush or as elegant as the cars you mentioned, but they work. The big point is, no matter what happens to it you'll be able to fix the car overnight if it's a Chevy. God help you trying to find a right front fender for a 1973 Imperial. People practically carry Chevy fenders around with them to sell on the street. Let's not even talk about trying to find intakes, distributers or a new carb float. You can get them for anything of course, but it could be tough trying to get them on short notice off exit 12 on I10 in New Mexico. <P>And if you find a good Caprice you can pretend it's a luxury ride at least. <P>Did I mention, I hate Chevys.<P>--Dave@Moon, 1960 Buick enthusiast!<P>p.s., Of the cars you mention the most durable I think are the Olds and Buick. The Mercurys of this era were amazing rust traps, and Chrysler was about at the nadir of its quality control problems.

Having owned a 73 Chrysler New Yorker (440 CID) I can share the following with you:<P>Carburetor float is brass and will sink annually; Getting the passenger rear 2 spark plugs requires removal of the front wheel and fender shield; A/C new did work and leaks constantly; 9 MPG town/12 hwy; Power window switches have a short life span; Accelerate too fast and snap a motor mount; always buy fan belts in matching pairs (2 go on the compressor); rear quarters very rust prone. Notice that mechanically the car was great, it was the stuff around it that caused headaches.

Dave ~~ What are your thoughts on Chevy's?<BR> ~~ Howard

As a teenager, I drove my father's well used 1972 Chevrolet Impala convertible for several years without one mechanical problem. The body disintegrated before the engine was even tired. I like Chevy's.<P><p>[This message has been edited by Lisle (edited 07-09-2000).]

[jac]

Dave~~ Don't sit on the fence. <BR>later-jac<P>What do you think about Fords?

I met a guy once who swore by his Mercedes Benz. It had about 250,000 miles and he was so happy he got a "real" car after owning "junk" American cars all his life. He then went on to tell me how much he had that Benz serviced and how much it cost, every five thousand miles or so it was in the shop getting "serviced" (notice it's not "repaired" but "serviced") I looked at him right in the eye and said "If you would have treated your '74 Vega like that, you would have 250,000 miles on it also, but you crapped on it because it was a cheap car" The moral of the story is.....service the damn car and I don't car what kind it is, it will give YOU good service. Oh yeah, before you make a wise crack about a '74 Vega, my brother has a customer with one that has over 280,000 miles on the original (Never had the head off) motor!<P>------------------<BR>buickfam@aol.com<BR>Life long Buick Fan.<BR>1965 Skylark H/T<BR>1965 Gran Sport Convertible<BR>1948 Chevy Pickup with 401 Buick.

[Dave@Moon]

I love old Fords. Here in the salt capital of America I see so few of them on the road any more (non-Mustangs that is) you just have to cheer them on for the underdogs that they are. And those deep trunks designed to hold some Ford Motor Co.'s Board Member's boat cooler (true story) are just too cool !<P>Besides, my first restoration was a Ford and so's my current truck.<P>On the Chevy front, I memtioned this car on another BCA thread but it bears repeating here. My uncle had a 1972 Impala company car with an actual 485,000 miles on it in 1981-82. Of course it had been "serviced" practically beyond recognition by then. <P>When is someone going to get real gutsy and reccommend this guy get a Matador?

Oh, yeah. Something else with the Chrysler. Carry a spare ballast resistor (white block mounted on firewall) when one went bad, car would not start. 5 minute swap and on your way again. One last thing someone once said about them: "It would pass anything on the highway but a gas station"

Select a car from the 70s that will run on unleaded gas without problems. Hmmmm like a Pacer, great driver visibility and a wide track! How's that for gutsy?

[rcirilli]

I had a Matador once, that about says it all!!

[Terry Bond]

I'd recommend a mid-late 60's muscle car. You'd be ok w/any of them including the 383 cu.in. mopars, Pontiac GTO, Olds 442, etc. Parts are readily avail, they will certainly hold their value and will turn some heads on the road. You don't have to invest a fortune if youre content with a hardtop instead of a ragtop. Love my 67 GTO!<BR>Terry

[Dave@Moon]

Chris, you don't need to carry a spare ballast resistor in the Chrysler! In these finely hewn crafts one need only chew Juicy Fruit constantly to keep it running. The foil wrapper from chewing gum got me home several times in my dad's Aspen (of course, it wasn't <I> my </I> car!).

Terry ~~ How do YOU find those big engines perform on today's lower octane unleaded gas. I had a '65 Olds 98 [10.25 to 1 cr] and it knocked its heart out when I brought it down to low altitude. Even super premium and octane booster didn't help. Anything runs great @ 6000' but not at sea level. Big engined, high compression cars are great, but are they good everyday drivers. Super premium is a tad pricey these days. I wonder if a somewhat newer car built for regular unleaded gas, underpowered and dull though it might be, might not be better "daily transportation." <BR>

<FONT SIZE=+2>THANKS!!!!<FONT SIZE=+2/><P>------------------<BR> <A HREF="http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/poland/356/" TARGET=_blank>www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/poland/356/</A>