socalcoach

Thanks - this won't be the car I buy but I love the style and this gives me a target to shoot for in terms of year / make / model / look. That said, is this make/model (1946 Ford Super Deluxe) a potential for daily driving and occasional highway speeds? I'm also up for trying the Model A too but I don't like the version with the spare tire on the side personally.

Dang that's a nice one - probably a little too nice for my needs! But goodness - what a head turner.

This listing is what drew me to this model in the first place! I absolutely love this particular car, paint job and everything. I could pay the $1500 to have it shipped, but how the heck do I know if this is a good deal? I wonder if there's a mechanic in the area who I could trust and pay to go scope it all out for me....

That Pontiac Silver looks right up my alley, but I have no idea if that's a good deal or will satisfy my driving conditions. What would be a good way to dig into that? Thanks for looking for options btw - super helpful.

Following up here on some of the responses... * I live near the coast so ac isn’t required but would be nice to have an option to add it as a project * I want to emphasis the need for a daily driver - not something I’ll be keeping stored in a garage all the time * For this reason, I don’t want something that has such a nice paint job that I’ll be worried about keeping it cleaned all the time - cars with patina or older paint job are a-ok with me * I absolutely must have a vehicle that can handle street driving but will also handle the occasional trip on a highway where I need to keep up with traffic at 65-75mph (sadly, I think this will rule out options like the Model A) * I prefer a larger vehicle that I can use for occasionally transferring music instruments or the occasional trip to Home Depot for supplies Great point regarding limited rear-view in 40s vehicles. Is there a Ford Deluxe option or replica or restomod that will work? I love this style of car and it’s size is very utilitarian for what I want. Ok let’s talk repairs. First and foremost, I need reliability in the sense that I want to enjoy my driving without always worrying if I’ll have to be inconvenienced by a breakdown. If that means I need to make an investment in the beginning to get it there, I’m happy to do so. Ongoing maintenance I do myself is also fine. I also don’t mind working on the car or making repairs as needed myself, but preferably, I’d be able to choose the pace and degree of repairs on my own terms, most of the time. Stuff always happens, even with newer cars so I don’t expect perfection. Recently, my Camry started shifting slowly and the check engine light came on. I got the codes checked and autozone said I needed a new intermediate speed sensor A. Ok so I called the Toyota parts house and they said there could be up to 4 of these sensors. They didn’t know which one was A. Oook. So I YouTubed and found a tutorial but they called the sensors NC and NT. Called Toyota again and they didn’t know what these acronyms meant or where they were located or how they related to sensor A vs B. In the end, there were two sensors located near each other - they were the exact same part. I order two from Amazon, replaced them and all was fine until ... The vehicle was idling very rough. Long story short, when you unplug the battery, you have to do some ignition key combination to get the Camry into a state to “relearn” the idle. Basically, there was a ton of misinformation and unknowns that made the process much less pleasurable even though in the end, the repair was physically easy to do and cost less than $50. I know very little about classic or older cars but I get the sense it might be easier to install a power steering conversion kit than it is to troubleshoot all of the modern electronics in my Camry. I’m open to the fact that maybe a classic car isn’t right. I just think the look of most newer vehicles are down right boring and plastic and cheap. I could care less about impressing others. I’m restoring my 1927 house, I love history and my personality is one that appreciates older things. Having a vehicle that matches who I am is icing on the cake. Hope this sheds more light. I’m grateful for all of your ideas and helping this layman expand his understanding.

The Model A and 1935 Ford Phaeton both look amazing. Are those legit viable options? Where would be a good place for me to look to buy one and/or test drive? Who can help me evaluate the condition and price of the vehicle?

Thanks for the reply! My wife drives a newer mazda and I have a Camry with 150K miles. Given I drive so little, I'd like to get rid of the Camry as it is starting to need many repairs. It doesn't need to be too old but I really like the look of the metal bodied vehicles from the 50's. It doesn't need to be stock or original at all. I've heard of something called a restomod which incorporates modern features into an older vehicle. That actually sounds ideal. LA city driving is low speed, lots of stop and go. That's really good to know. Is there a place where I can maybe test drive some options? What's a good way to get a vehicle I'm considering purchasing to be checked out and properly valued? I'm happy to hire a mechanic to do this if that option even exists.

Hi - first time poster here. I'm looking for a new car and was hoping to solicit some recommendations based on my preferences. I'm quite flexible but here are a few specs to inform the recommendation. * Budget $15K * I live in Los Angeles and need something that can handle city driving * I drive on average ~25-40 miles total a week - usually on the low end. * I prefer something that is relatively reliable and easy to work on when necessary * Would prefer something I don't have to give white glove treatment to I've seen some 1940's Ford Deluxe that look pretty cool and are stated to be in good running condition. But I don't really know enough about cars yet to know if this is good for my needs. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.