Daily Driver Prewar Cars

[TexRiv_63]

I just read another thread talking about 6 volts versus 12 volts and saw a post by TinIndian, who is Reid Pearce from Victoria, BC, here it is:

Quote:

<!-- google_ad_section_start -->I have driven my Pontiac since 1959 as a daily driver. (497,000 miles now on the odometer) In Manitoba in -40 F in Nevada in +108F. The only change that I made was to install a 6 volt alternator as the old three brush generator could not keep up with all my night driving in the winter, especially with 50/32 cp bulbs). I have never had any trouble starting the car in any of the extreme temperatures. I have a 6/12 volt inverter so I can run a radio and cd player. By the way except for a three inch splice from the main harness to the brake light switch all the wiring is the original cotton covered wire.<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

His Pontiac is a 1930 model! He has posted many times and I have always been amazed at the dependable use he has gotten out of his car. I'd like to know who else out there uses their Prewar car as an actual daily driver, tell us your story!

[Guest De Soto Frank]

I can't say "daily driver", but "frequent driver that could be a daily driver" would be accurate.

My two offerings are my 1928 Ford Special Coupe ( mechanically un-restored at 85,000 miles - engine has NOT been rebuilt ! ), and 1941 De Soto De Luxe (also mechanically un-restored at 104,000 miles).

Neither one are trophy winners, but they are not trailer queens either.

Both vehicles are still six-volt, and unmodified / upgraded, with the exception of a six-volt alternator on the Model A ( came with the car).

Simply put, they both "still work fine."

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

I would tend to think using a pre WWII car for a daily driver could be a dangerous proposition if "daily driving" was a freeway commute in virtually any metropolitan area having a population over 100,000. Brake systems and acceleration being the biggest issues. Live out in a rural area like I do and they would be no problem because a traffic jam consists of two cars stopped at the same time at one the three intersections with traffic lights.

Jim

[Guest Silverghost]

Our late friend Allen Swift of Ct. got his Springfield Rolls~Royce Piccadilly Roadster new as a high school graduation gift in 1928~~~

It was his daily driver ever since until only months before he died at an age of a few months short of his 103rd birthday !

Allen always told us that Rolls~Royce advertized that it built cars that would last an owner's lifetime~~~Not just a decade !.

In Allen's case it sure did !

Allen drove his great car everywhere !

He drove it from CT to Gettysburg PA himself just a few months before he passed-away to attend a Rolls~Royce Owner's show & meet !

That is the very last time Dad & I saw our old friend Allen !

Allen Swift is in the Guiness bood of World Records for owning & driving his car the longest~~~Since new !

A record that may never be broken !

Do a Google search for "Allen Swift Rolls Royce"

There are also several threads about Allen Swift and his great Rolls~Royce on this forum site.

Edited January 25, 2011 by Silverghost (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

Jay Leno commutes to work in a Model T roadster. See him talk about it here.

[TexRiv_63]

Hasn't Jay also driven his Duesenbergs to work? I think he drives all of his cars on a rotating basis, I know I would if I was in his boots.

[Guest De Soto Frank]

I would tend to think using a pre WWII car for a daily driver could be a dangerous proposition if "daily driving" was a freeway commute in virtually any metropolitan area having a population over 100,000. Brake systems and acceleration being the biggest issues. Live out in a rural area like I do and they would be no problem because a traffic jam consists of two cars stopped at the same time at one the three intersections with traffic lights.

Jim

Probably a valid concern in congested areas. And for all the reasons you mentioned, we probably shouldn't even be out on the roads at all.

I think Tex Riv's point was that original machinery, in proper operating condition, can still be functional and reliable.

DRIVING an old car is NOT for everyone, and I'm not suggesting it is...

But this persistent notion that every pre-1955 vehicle has to be "upgraded" to 12 volt electrics, disk brakes, modern running gear, etc, to be a fun and reliable driver / tour car is wearisome.

I've logged nearly 500,000 miles behind the wheels of pre-1960 vehicles, all of which are quite stock: bias tires, drum brakes, mechanical fuel pumps, 6-volt electrics where applicable, etc.

They still work.

With any vehicle, driving it within the limitations of the equipment / operator / conditions just makes good sense.

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

Probably a valid concern in congested areas. And for all the reasons you mentioned, we probably shouldn't even be out on the roads at all.

I think Tex Riv's point was that original machinery, in proper operating condition, can still be functional and reliable.

DRIVING an old car is NOT for everyone, and I'm not suggesting it is...

But this persistent notion that every pre-1955 vehicle has to be "upgraded" to 12 volt electrics, disk brakes, modern running gear, etc, to be a fun and reliable driver / tour car is wearisome.

I've logged nearly 500,000 miles behind the wheels of pre-1960 vehicles, all of which are quite stock: bias tires, drum brakes, mechanical fuel pumps, 6-volt electrics where applicable, etc.

They still work.

With any vehicle, driving it within the limitations of the equipment / operator / conditions just makes good sense.

I wouldn't go so far as to say pre-1955 or even all pre WWII cars should not be driven regularly if not daily. It all depends upon using judgment on the overall safety of doing so, as well as risking wearing out parts that might not be too easy to replace. Back in their day, people did drive those same cars across the country, often on roads we would consider something to avoid today. I can attest to the fact my parents traveled all over the Western half of this country in the early and mid 1930s in Dodges and Chryslers. To my knowledge they were never stranded. Post WWII we did a pretty good job of repeating some of those trips in a '47 Buick Roadmaster without a hitch, except for the damn mule that chose to sit on the hood in Arkansas (semi-long story).

My first car was a '47 Ford Super Deluxe Coupe and if I still had that car I would have no trepidations about driving it anywhere, anytime. Although I might be very prone to maintaining a distance between myself and any vehicle ahead of me. Of course in heavier traffic, we learned to use the engine & transmission to help with braking duties.

If I still had that '47 Ford, I wouldn't even think about converting it to 12V or disc brakes. Everything worked just fine as it came from the factory, including the window crank A/C.......

Jim

[trimacar]

Frank, I couldn't agree more with your statements. It seems like every time one opens an "old car" magazine, there's an article about modernizing the old cars.

Tell you what. Take two almost identical cars. I'll take the one that's original, with points in the distributor. The other guy takes the one with the electronic ignition added. Now, dead on the side of the road with distributor problems. Who would you bet on to get going down the road, without calling in the troops?

The 6 volt issue drives me nuts. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a 6 volt system, if it's in proper working order, with functional components and proper size wiring. 6 volts worked for 50 or more years (with the occasional exception of use, such as Dodge and their 12 volt system, but I believe that was driven more by what they were trying to do with their starter/generator system).

I like to keep the cars original, as mentioned, that's how they were driven then, and that's how they should be driven now. As far as safety, I'll stick to the back roads and drive defensively before getting on the freeway and trying to do something the car isn't designed for. Short of an all out hot rod, an old car will never be safe on the freeway, at speeds it's not in it's design capability.

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

Frank, I couldn't agree more with your statements. It seems like every time one opens an "old car" magazine, there's an article about modernizing the old cars.

Tell you what. Take two almost identical cars. I'll take the one that's original, with points in the distributor. The other guy takes the one with the electronic ignition added. Now, dead on the side of the road with distributor problems. Who would you bet on to get going down the road, without calling in the troops?

The 6 volt issue drives me nuts. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a 6 volt system, if it's in proper working order, with functional components and proper size wiring. 6 volts worked for 50 or more years (with the occasional exception of use, such as Dodge and their 12 volt system, but I believe that was driven more by what they were trying to do with their starter/generator system).

I like to keep the cars original, as mentioned, that's how they were driven then, and that's how they should be driven now. As far as safety, I'll stick to the back roads and drive defensively before getting on the freeway and trying to do something the car isn't designed for. Short of an all out hot rod, an old car will never be safe on the freeway, at speeds it's not in it's design capability.

I'm with you on the 6V issue. The system works fine! The only bad thing I remember about them was if you played the radio for too long a period of time while at the submarine races you were probably going to need someone to give you a jump start or a little push so you could pop the clutch and get the thing started. Those darn submarine races ran down more batteries than accidentally leaving parking lights on for longer than one should have ever did.

Jim

[Scotts_DG8]

The only bad thing I remember about them was if you played the radio for too long a period of time while at the submarine races you were probably going to need someone to give you a jump start or a little push so you could pop the clutch and get the thing started. Those darn submarine races ran down more batteries than accidentally leaving parking lights on for longer than one should have ever did.

Jim

Submarine races, you race your your car in submarine races? :eek: :eek: Weren't you worried about water damage?

[trimacar]

Yeah, those submarine races drained a lot of batteries. Probably caused some corrosion inside the car, too, as the windows always seemed to fog up......and you never did get to see which submarine won.....

[Restorer32]

We spent a lot of time at the local drive -in movie. One night it got so foggy the owner stopped the movie and offered everyone their money back. Almost no one left.

[Guest Silverghost]

We spent a lot of time at the local drive -in movie. .

Jeff ~~~

Are there ANY Drive-In-Movies still left anywhere in PA ?

I have not been to one since the early 1970s !

De Soto Frank~~~

You are our old car hero here for using your cars as "Daily Drivers ~~~ A half million miles~~~WOW ! "

Our 103y/o friend Allen Swift would be pleased !

There is NOTHING wrong with 6-Volt electrical systems !

A properly re-built 6V generator and good voltage regulator and you are good-to-go !

Edited January 26, 2011 by Silverghost (see edit history)

[Guest bofusmosby]

I think that the biggest problem with the 6 volt systems are those that complain are the ones with the wrong size cables (or bad cables) for the battery and starter. After I replaced the cable running fronm the battery to the starter, I haven't had a bit of problem.

OK Jim, whats this about that damn mule?

[franklinman]

We have a great drive-in theater right here in Dillsburg, PA. It's call Haars Drive-In (google it).

It like a step back in time, with a great snack bar, play ground area for the kids, etc. Bring your lawn chairs, let the kids run, and have a great evening. A double feature every night too! They have a nice car show there every year. Run by the same family since back in the '50's.

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

I think that the biggest problem with the 6 volt systems are those that complain are the ones with the wrong size cables (or bad cables) for the battery and starter. After I replaced the cable running fronm the battery to the starter, I haven't had a bit of problem.

OK Jim, whats this about that damn mule?

You really want to hear that story? Okay, here goes.

It was a dark and rainy night.......Uh, wrong story.

Well it was actually dark. Not really a big story. At the time Arkansas had an open range law (may still have), meaning cattle, horses, hogs and mules actually had the right of way even on U.S. designated highways. Hit one and you were at fault and the owner of whatever you hit was entitled to compensation for the loss and you got nothing for damage to your vehicle.

The particular incident took place North of Little Rock on U.S. 67, which was an obsolete, ill maintained two lane highway that had been literally beaten to death by truck traffic and probably helped by a poorly done roadbed. Anyway U.S. 67 was a struggle even in broad daylight due to hills, traffic, and often pot holes deep enough to do serious damage to a car's suspension. On the particular night in question a long string of cars had built up behind a truck struggling to deal with a hill when all of a sudden five or six mules came out of the brush onto the road right in front of that '47 Buick. Naturally my Dad slammed on the brakes and all but one managed to pass in front of the car and it decided to just stop and look around. The car was just about fully stopped but not quite and nudged the mule in the hind quarters, where upon it did a full weight squat right on the hood of the car. Mashed the heck out of the hood sheet metal but fortunately didn't damage the radiator, allowing us to continue the trip. Thanks to post WW II car demand it took six or seven weeks to get a new hood as I recall.

For those too young to remember the end of WWII car demand was unbelievable. That '47 Buick was actually ordered in late 1945, but not as a '47 model, it just took that long for production to catch up with demand and if price increased before it was delivered you either paid or the next person willing to buy would get the car. People placed orders for cars were darn glad that anything showed up within a reasonable period of time. A year wait was quite common and everyone just hoped the by then used up car they bought before the war would last until the new one arrived. Many didn't which is one of the reasons in the early days of hot rods $75.00 would get you a '32 deuce coupe and another $35 or so would get you a flat head Ford engine that would still run. Thankfully by the time I was building hot rods the coupes were still plentiful and enough folks had wrecked '49-'52 Oldsmobiles we could build one heck of a hot rod for little to nothing. Good thing, as teenagers in that time had to work like hell to scrape up a hundred or so dollars.

And before I forget.......they were all 6V.

Jim

[Guest bofusmosby]

Interesting story Jim. Thank you! I also liked the way you tied it all together with the mentioning of the 6 Volt system.

[Guest De Soto Frank]

Jeff ~~~

Are there ANY Drive-In-Movies still left anywhere in PA ?

I have not been to one since the early 1970s...

There are at least two in NE PA:

The Garden Drive-In, on US 11 in Hunlock's Creek (between Wilkes-Barre & Berwick)

The Circle Drive-in, on US 6, in Dickson City (Just North of Scranton, on the way to Carbondale).

Both facilities are alive and well, Mom & Pop operations... the Garden actually added a second screen a few years back.

Both have Flea Markets on Sunday mornings.

[Guest bofusmosby]

In Tampa we still have one. During the daylight hours, it also serves as a flea market. There used to be many here, but now, its the only one.

[Dynaflash8]

The hydraulic brakes in my 1939 Buick are equal to all requirements and stop better than the brakes on my 1999 GMC 3/4 ton Suburban did. Talk about bad brakes!!!! Those Hydro-boost brakes were the worst I've ever driven, including mechanical brakes on a '35 Buick. Acceleration is slow because of shifting, but let the aggressive driver behind me worry about that. I drove the '39 to work daily during Maryland winters with a 6-volt battery until 1971 when I restored it for show. However, here in Florida it vapor locks during hot summer days on this lousy Ethanol gas

[Marty Roth]

Our St Bernard (Parish) Chapter of Louisiana Region AACA spent a weekend tour in Hattiesburg, Mississippi a few years ago, and the Saturday night activity was the Drive-In Movie, American Grafitti - the one where Richard Dreyfus and Ron Howard are going off to college soon. Dreyfus drives a Citroen 2-CV and tries to find the girl in the T-Bird. Howard loans his '58 Impala to a friend.

Back up north, we cuddled in our cars -- down here they sit out in lawn chairs!

We got the trophy for FOGGING THE WINDOWS - and the top was down - turned out to be evening dew.

The same movie was shown on Drive-In Movie night when Sam and Vicky Austin hosted the Founders Tour in Midland, Texas in May, 2009.

Hope to see y'all on the Founders Tour this coming April 17 - 22 in Lake Mary, FL

You can drive your pre- and post-war cars

Edited January 27, 2011 by Marty Roth (see edit history)

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

By all means "drive" your vintage car to the Drive-in theater. For all those Drive-in theater fans, you'll love the below linked site, which keeps track of all Drive-in Theaters both closed and open.

Drive-In Theater

You'll also like the video history at this site. Lots of neat film clips of cars from the 1950s.

http://www.goingattractions.com/

Enjoy and don't forget the mosquito repellent...........

Edited January 27, 2011 by Jim_Edwards (see edit history)

[TexRiv_63]

So, getting back to my original request, I only count four responses mentioning prewar cars that are daily driven or close to it. I thought there would be more than that in this group - if there are any others let's hear from you!

[Guest De Soto Frank]

I think Reid definitely is at the top of this list, with his '30 Pontiac.

Other hopefuls might be limited by their insurance policies ( or the weather ) more so than by their desire or abilities of their machines...

[Guest bofusmosby]

Well, I for one would like my car to be a daily driver, but its going to take some time to get it into that condition. In time, I believe it will.

[paulrhd29nz]

Hi all

I drive my 29 Hudson all the time all year long. The car was ment to be driven. The only mod I have done to it is a install a 47 hudson generator running off the fan belt for better nite driving. I got the car from my father. He bought it in New Zealand in 1965 and was his daily driver then. We moved to canada in the 70's and dad had the good scence to bring the car with us. Dad threw me the keys for it on my 25th birthday, thats 20yrs ago now. the car now has over 600,000 miles on it on one rebuild in the 70,s. My only wish is that tires were cheaper.

The great thing about all this is that I was brought home from the hosital in the 29, so one could say that its been my regular driver form my hole life!!!

How cool is that!!!

Paul

[TexRiv_63]

Paul, that's what I'm talking about, Very Cool!

[Guest Oldengineer]

I've driven my 48 Chevrolet Fleetmaster to work a couple of times. Problem is - my commute involves a couple of miles of interstate, and, the old Chevy can only make about 60 Mph. I've had a couple of idiots blabbing on cellphones almost hit me because I'm running 10 under the speed limit.

Regards:

Oldengineer

[TexRiv_63]

Freeway speeds are always a problem, is there an alternate route on surface roads you could take? My normal commute is almost all tollway at 70+ but I could take a number of different "back road" routes - I discovered them during the 10+ years it took them to finish building the tollway!

[Guest De Soto Frank]

I've been intrigued by the term "surface routes"...

As opposed to ?

( I generally use the term "WPA Roads"... nobody under the age of 70 has any idea what I'm talking about... )

[Guest Silverghost]

Frank :

We need some new "WPA" road projects today to fix our nation's roads & bridges, and crumbling infrastructure etc.

This would also give much needed jobs & work to some good folks !

With 10% + unemployment a Works Progress Administration might not be such a bad idea for our country today in these poor economic times !

We have quite a bit of saved-up federal highway money set-aside for such a project !

By the way~~~ I'm only 55 but know about the "WPA" from my parents & history class !

Edited January 31, 2011 by Silverghost (see edit history)

[Guest bofusmosby]

( I generally use the term "WPA Roads"... nobody under the age of 70 has any idea what I'm talking about... )

Come on now Frank. My passion IS the past! BTW, I'm a year yonger than Silverghost, and I learned about all the WPA projects the same way.

[Dave Mellor NJ]

The old-timers told me WPA stood for,"Won't produce anything",

[Guest bofusmosby]

The old-timers told me WPA stood for,"Won't produce anything",

:D:D

[Guest Oldengineer]

Tex:

Yeah - there's a couple of back roads I can take, but, I'm afraid of losing a wheel in a pothole. In addition, the old Fleetmaster's brakes are a challenge on curvy WV back roads as well.

Regards:

Oldengineer

[Guest frazer51]

Here in Western Pa. there are still some beautiful cut stone walls still standing along the highways that had been installed by the WPA of the 1930's. You can usually see one of the stones with the initals "WPA" cut into it. We were told it stood for "We Poke Along". We were told the story about the WPA that it took 8 workers with 2 "scythes"{a scythe is a long curved wooden handle with a steel blade for cutting weeds} to trim along the roadways. It went this way, "you had 2 a coming, 2 a going, 2 a sh____g and 2 a mowing.

Here is a picture of my daily driver a 1930 ford pickup taken in 1964 with my 4 children. I used it from 1958 to 1972 to travel to work, haul coal and whatever. I still have it over 50 years later.

[Guest De Soto Frank]

The old-timers told me WPA stood for,"Won't produce anything",

I had several uncles and my maternal grandfather who benefitted from jobs provided by the WPA and the CCC, at a time when there was nothing else...

Most of the "secondary roads" in this neck of the woods (NE Pennsylvania) were paved / widened / straightened by the WPA... there are still many beautiful cut-stone retaining walls along these roads bearing a keystone marker with the completion date and "WPA".

Not suggesting there weren't exploitations / abuses of the programs, but a lot of good came from them...

[TexRiv_63]

I've been intrigued by the term "surface routes"...

As opposed to ?

Frank,

I guess that got started because most of the freeways and toll roads have been built with lots of bridges and flyovers above the regular streets. Central Expressway in Dallas has the "High Five", five levels of flyovers where it meets the 635 freeway. This is scary under normal conditions and absolutely terrifying when it ices up like this morning! Central also has large sections that are actually BELOW the surface streets, supposedly designed for a future second level of construction as traffic increases.

Obviously I would not want to take a prewar car on any of these beauties!

[Guest De Soto Frank]

Don,

I grew-up just outside the Baltimore Beltway, on the SW side along the "I-95 Corridor", and have no love lost for the super-urban super-highway...

I think I first heard the expression "surface route /road" about 20 years ago, on one of the morning traffic reports, and it just struck me funny... although Baltimore did have the "Harbor Tunnel Thruway" ( since the 1950's), so we did have "sub-terrainian routes" too...

And for further irony, once you get outside urban areas, so-called "secondary roads" are frequently the only roads, and thus could be considered "primary" or "major roads" ?

But GPS will eliminate all confusion, I'm sure !

Frankly, there are many times I don't like travelling "major routes" even in modern vehicles - let alone an antique.