Should I daily drive a classic car?

[Duff71Riv 26]

15 hours ago, Bloo said:

. The troublesome cars are the ones that just sit around

I can totally attest to that. Second time driving in 13 years and a coolant hose splits and the whole engine bay steams up. I thought I was on fire til I smelled the coolant. I just sat out in the parking lot til it cooled and eventually got it home (I wasn’t very far only about a quarter mile) 

[Ozstatman 178]

1 hour ago, keiser31 said:

My friend's very similar body style 1931 DeSoto with a slight haircut and a little beef in the six...

John,

 

What's the F Head?

[keiser31 2,310]

6 minutes ago, Ozstatman said:

John,

 

What's the F Head?

The F head is a cylinder head designed by EDGY. Here is the link to the website of the Montana Dodge Boys Fast Four Special. These are the guys with the DeSoto. They are manufacturing aluminum cylinder heads for performance.

http://www.fastfourspecial.com/

 

Edited September 29, 2018 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[Kevin M 66]

@Duff71Riv I daily drive 98 Lesabre and have a 91 Reatta. I know these aren’t really “old” cars but If your looking into the 90s I’d recommend anything with the Buick 3800 in it. My first lesabre leaked a quart of tranny fluid in 500 miles, and a similar amount of antifreeze in the same time. But I got over 30mpg on the highway at 70. I love my Reatta so far and they’re pretty cheap to buy as of now. In your area there’s relatively a lot too. 

[padgett 594]

Just a note but I have always run my cars cooler than stock. 160-170 for non-computer cars and 180-190 for computer cars. My experience is that EVERYTHING under the hood (belts, hoses, electrics, etc.) lasts much longer. Also unless on a track, I try to "drive gentle". Lots of towing experience does that for you. Bottom line could take any of my cars to LA tomorrow (Judge would be noisy and use a lot of gas) but all are Interstate capable. And all of my cars from the last century are AACA eligible.

[Ozstatman 178]

5 hours ago, keiser31 said:

The F head is a cylinder head designed by EDGY. Here is the link to the website of the Montana Dodge Boys Fast Four Special. These are the guys with the DeSoto. They are manufacturing aluminum cylinder heads for performance.

John,

 

Thanks for the info and link.

 

4 bangers forever!

 

Pic below is my mate's Model B powered dragster back in the 60's. Powered in the pits at Castlereagh Dragway by yours truely!

 

Edited September 30, 2018 by Ozstatman (see edit history)

[ol' yeller 123]

The Insurance issue is real. It is not an issue IF you can afford the premiums, it is a question of what they will pay if the car is totaled.  Regular auto insurance will "cover" the car but seriously devalue it when paying out a claim.  You will likely discover that a minor fender bender could give them cause to total your car and pay you peanuts.  Yes there is agreed value (or stated value) policies available but most (if not all) require you to have another vehicle to commute in or seriously limit how many miles one can drive.   They also have an age limitation and won't insure drivers under the age of 25.  I think the OP is 16 or 17.  If that all is of no issue to you, then go ahead and enjoy your car.

[lump 420]

10 hours ago, ol' yeller said:

The Insurance issue is real. It is not an issue IF you can afford the premiums, it is a question of what they will pay if the car is totaled.  Regular auto insurance will "cover" the car but seriously devalue it when paying out a claim.  You will likely discover that a minor fender bender could give them cause to total your car and pay you peanuts.  Yes there is agreed value (or stated value) policies available but most (if not all) require you to have another vehicle to commute in or seriously limit how many miles one can drive.   They also have an age limitation and won't insure drivers under the age of 25.  I think the OP is 16 or 17.  If that all is of no issue to you, then go ahead and enjoy your car.

That's what I've been trying to communicate, Ol'Yeller! Well said!! 

[padgett 594]

Insurance costs are part of what killed Muscle Cars in the early 70's. Not all but was significant.

 

Remember being asked when first insured my '78 Sunbird. Was asked if it had a V6 and I said no.

Edited October 1, 2018 by padgett (see edit history)

[JACK M 945]

I didn't ever have anything better than liability on any of my first cars.

I guess if one got totaled I would have had to eat it.

These cars NEVER cost over a hundred dollars. Probably equal to a thousand or 1500 dollar car these days.

I did have a car stolen once, If the local police hadn't had an attitude I may have been able to get it back.

[gungeey 53]

Here's my thinking regarding the original question: whether to use your good old car as a daily driver.

I USED TO have very fine 63-65 rivieras, they always treated me well, drove them sparingly, made sure contact with water was minimal. Kept the engine bay hospital clean etc.

Sold my last one about 6 years ago.

Got the bug and over the course of 6 months found a nice driver quality car/20yo restoration. $11000. Did a rehab of the wear and tear items tires/hoses belts/battery cables, A/C charge etc and tended to its most apparent needs to serve me well. Add another 3000 for that. Include shipping and state tax etc. So I'm into the car for 14k. Lets say 15k for easy math.

I could drive this car (Nevada rust free metal) maybe 5 years here in new england before the weathering catches up with me 

It's looking like there's a readily available supply of these on hand, I'm betting in 5 years the guys older than me (I'm 57)are going to be moving on to bigger and better thing and places. It looks like the new generation of collectors is going after stuff of less interest to me 70's/80's cars/Japanese/small cars.

My point being I could likely get another nice driver when this one wears out it's tires, sell this one as parts or restore to a dreamer for 3-4000 then buy another solid car in my early 60's...if I even wanted to. If prices drop a bit (speculation) more now I'm all in for 12000 minus the 3-4k I sell the current car for.

8000 bucks is the difference, and if my logic seems fairly reasonable I'm driving around in a 1st generation Riviera any time I please.

Looking back at continuing my old method of having a 4000lb trophy in my garage so I can be dead leaving a car behind that I barely used doesn't make much sense anymore. To me.

Haven't decided yet but maybe put the car in winter storage,that will maybe get me a couple extra years on the plan...Steve

 

 

 

[lump 420]

Well said, Gungeey. The only fly-in-the-ointment, from my perspective, is insurance. I seem to recall that Massachusetts has "no-fault" car insurance laws, so maybe things are different there. But here in Ohio, if someone else smashes into your car, their insurance company is likely to argue that SINCE your older car was being driven regularly as transportation, then it was in fact a "used car." Then they refer to the Blue Book value guide, which no longer lists cars of a certain age. Thus, these companies claim that your car was nothing more than an old used car, and offer you several hundred dollars as a settlement. Ask me how I know. 

[39BuickEight 484]

Insurance laws vary by state, and are usually misunderstood until an accident happens.

[kgreen 1,121]

Possibly not a risk everyone would be comfortable with.  This is a very unfortunate Buick, which owner from this forum was very fortunate to have not been hurt.

 

[gungeey 53]

Here I get an appraisal and have the car insured thru Amica for the appraised value minus the amount of my deductible.

 

Full coverage 871yr.

 

About the same price as my 14 MKS and they are both of about the same worth, too. Steve

[kgreen 1,121]

It may be that common knowledge of insurance is not all that common.  To that end, I certainly recommend calling your existing insurance agent to be sure the terms of insurance are understood including all clauses and limitations.  As a reminder because of the unfortunate Buick accident (above), I called to get some clarity on my policy.

 

I've been insured with Hagerty for several years now and have three cars in their program.   I have what Hagerty calls Guaranteed Value insurance.  To establish the value, I provide comps that I can find and documented cost of restoration.  We agree on a value and that is what the settlement is if I suffer a loss.  The example I was given is that a $35,000 car as determined by comps but with a restoration cost of $50,000 can be insured for a guaranteed value of just under $50,000.  If the car is totaled, they give me $50,000 and take the car.  I get first right of refusal to buy the totaled car at a value determined by parts value.  In this case, the insurance representative said if the car was worth $5,000 in parts, then they would give me $45,000 and the car.  For a "small" additional premium, they will give me the $50,000 plus the car.

 

The representative stated that other another phrase for guaranteed value is Agreed Value.  the representative noted, however, that some agreed value policies will have clauses that deduct value from the car based on depreciation and such.  

 

I asked about driving limitations.  The representative stated that they like to see a maximum of 7,500 miles per year.  They had no time or purpose limitations.  I can drive the car as often as I like, where ever I like and when I like.  

 

The representative noted that vintage and special interest vehicle owners as a group are easy to insure because they tend to drive more carefully and with a safer mindset when using their special vehicle.  All that said, I would still be scared to drive a fully insured AACA designated classic within City of Atlanta (any city) limits.  

[Real Steel 113]

There are so many things to consider about older daily drivers, that it's hard to cover everything in a format such as this.

 

Let no one ever tell you that cars (or any machines) are unreliable due to age.  NO!  They become unreliable due to poor maintenance.  Anyone who says otherwise, clearly understands nothing about machines.  If 'age' was to blame, you would never see vintage airplanes in the air.

 

Lastly, here is a photo of my lowly daily driver.  Just a 1930 Model A.  I've used many other types of vintage cars as daily drivers (Hudson, Cadillac, Dodge Brothers, and more).  Now I need to simplify and economize, and the 'A' accomplishes that very well.

[Bloo 551]

39 minutes ago, Real Steel said:

Let no one ever tell you that cars (or any machines) are unreliable due to age.  NO!  They become unreliable due to poor maintenance.  Anyone who says otherwise, clearly understands nothing about machines.  If 'age' was to blame, you would never see vintage airplanes in the air.

 

That pretty much nails it.

 

Here's my driver:

 

 

 

[ted sweet 92]

that's not agreed upon value, that's stated value. agreed upon value is what was referred as guaranteed value

[kgreen 1,121]

2 hours ago, ted sweet said:

that's not agreed upon value, that's stated value. agreed upon value is what was referred as guaranteed value

Pls clarify

[SC38DLS 494]

When I got my Hagerty insurance I put in a value of $15,000 and Hagerty agreed. If it is totaled they pay me $15000 less my deductible. It must be garage kept and not driven over 5000 miles a year. The cost with unlimited towing on a flat bed not a hook is $147 a year.  I’m an older guy just 8 years younger than the car) and I do not think they will insure a 16 year old driver. I drive it as my daily driver but we ( my wife that is ) has another car we use for most social and household errand trips. The two blondes below get to ride on most trips and my wife doesn’t mind at all. 

Dave S