Don't let anyone drive your early cars, especial brass cars. BIG NO NO

[Steve_Mack_CT]

28 minutes ago, alsancle said:

 

 

 

EDIT:  Disclaimer:  although on the other hand, I'm the first one that will tell you that you can do whatever you want with your own car - so above comment is out of character for me.  😁

Except for adding wide whites..

[1937hd45]

30 minutes ago, Frank DuVal said:

 

I disagree, it looks much better driving than sitting in a garage or on a show field, especially if you have the view from the front seat (driver or passenger).

 

I once got to drive a 4 speed 68 Hemi Roadrunner. They do not excite me looking at them at shows, but from the driver's seat? Priceless!👍

 

Oh, that one got so high in value the owner never even drives it anymore. So sad.😪

 

 

Can you explain what it is that is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO important to you and your friends that you have to burn the rear tires off the cars? I've never owned a car that could, nor could I afford the financial loss of perfectly good tires. 

 

 

Bob 

[alsancle]

7 minutes ago, 1937hd45 said:

 

 

Can you explain what it is that is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO important to you and your friends that you have to burn the rear tires off the cars? I've never owned a car that could, nor could I afford the financial loss of perfectly good tires. 

 

 

Bob 

 

Only burn out in my life was the front wheels with a 69 Eldorado that was my dad's,  and I felt a little guilty.   I've had plenty of cars that would break the rear wheels free no issue but didn't want to buy the tires either.

 

I was a kid in the late 60s and 70s and our house was just the 2nd house down from the big HS parking lot.   The doughnut action that happened in those years was insane.

 

[SC38dls]

My Austin Healy with the built up Ford 289 could smoke the tires in 4th gear at 50 miles an hour. I did it once to get an obnoxious kid in a vett to back off trying to get me to race him. All spinning the tires does is cost rubber and time/speed in a quarter mile race. I made a lot of cash when going to college running that Healy for $10 bucks a gear and $10 on the race out on the local country road drag strip. I never spun the tires unless I really messed up in first. 

Edited November 2, 2020 by SC38DLS (see edit history)

[edinmass]

1 hour ago, alsancle said:

 

I know a bunch of guys that beat the livin sh*t out of 2 million dollar Duesenbergs.  If a guy with a 100K Hemi is scared to drive it he should sell it to somebody that will use it.

 

EDIT:  Disclaimer:  although on the other hand, I'm the first one that will tell you that you can do whatever you want with your own car - so above comment is out of character for me.  😁

 

 

Your buddies drive crappy Duesenbergs if they only paid 2.............Now, how is THAT for being a car snob! 😂

 

Sorry, can't help myself sometimes..........people regularly drive cars that cost 5,10, and 15 million dollars........why not. Ever see what a GS550 or a decent custom Airbus A219 costs? Makes a 15 million dollar car look cheap. It's just numbers, and why in the world would you buy a car you are afraid to drive? Relatively recently I saw someone driving what is probably one of the top ten most expensive cars in the world............they were out to lunch, and parked it in front of the restaurant.  The owner wasn't driving it........his guy was. 

[padgett]

Exactly, I used to start my Sunbird in second because first was slower. Have had several cars that needed traction control to be drivable but a built FI Split Window was the only car I've had that needed a conscious effort to push my foot to the floor (particularly in a chicane).

[John_Mereness]

Most all pre-WWII stuff requires lessons on driving it and plenty of the stuff takes quite a while to master how to even get it started much less run it successfully.

 

Even with such as my 1941 Cadillac with an automatic, you still have to know when it needed to shift and what to do when it was ready to change gears (you just lifted your foot ever so slightly upward on the accelerator and then pressed your foot back down - shifted like butter //  or you could just run it until it reached its limits and then it would shift on its own with a big thunk, big jerk, and a "what did I do wrong". 

 

And, there is no such thing as a first timer figuring out such as a RR PI - most even experienced owners have the owner's manual on the front seat showing all the diagrams of the the 30 something easy steps to run it.  And, most pre-WWI cars are no better.

Edited November 3, 2020 by John_Mereness (see edit history)

[John_Mereness]

As to cats, try even driving this without lessons 

 

 

 

 

[John_Mereness]

11 hours ago, edinmass said:

 

Sorry, can't help myself sometimes..........people regularly drive cars that cost 5,10, and 15 million dollars........why not. 

There was that time when someone stuck a set for Ferrari 365 California Spyder keys in my hands and asked me to see what I could do to get it to run better ....

[John_Mereness]

12 hours ago, alsancle said:

 

Only burn out in my life was the front wheels with a 69 Eldorado that was my dad's,  and I felt a little guilty. 

 

I was with dad when he took a Mustang SVT Cobra out for a test drive and did a little 365 number on a bridge overpass - he use to race with General LeMay and a few other notables. 

 

Sidenote:  Lots of 365's in packing lots after snow storms. 

 

Add'l Sidenote;  One other 365 like that in my life - new Suburban, new trailer, 100 point 1936 Cadillac 75 Series Town Cabriolet - and an Ice Storm. 

 

P.S. - My first car was a 1972 Oldsmobile 442 Indianapolis Pace Car Convertible Replica (Record:  Downtown Cincinnati to Wyoming, OH on N. I-75 in 3.8 minutes, but traffic is 100 times heavier today that in 1980's - and all over town for that matter so would never try that today). 

Edited November 3, 2020 by John_Mereness (see edit history)

[CatBird]

On 11/1/2020 at 4:06 PM, wayne sheldon said:

 

 

It sounds as though he may have Asperger's. It is an autistic spectrum disorder. Asperger's has only been seriously studied and diagnosed for a bit over thirty years now. It is very likely that my dad had Asperger's, but was never diagnosed. Asperger's tend to be very socially awkward, not understanding boundaries, or social norms. Asperger's very often don't know the difference between being cute or funny, and being downright rude. Asperger's generally tend to be highly intelligent, sometimes even genius level IQs. And very often they can be very kind and helpful (if you can deal with their control and other issues?). My dad was like that. I often describe him as being "an extreme personality". He could be the nicest, kindest and most helpful person you ever knew. Or he could be a total jerk. He was in so many ways one of the smartest people you ever met. Or he could be as dumb as a stump.

They may or may not be good people. They are almost always very difficult to deal with.

Possibly aspergers, but I have not researched that syndrome. 

A friend, a therapist said that the guy "has no filters." His mouth is running, unchecked. He does not think. He has great passion about everything, mostly loud, abrasive, foul mouth, arrogant and negative. My therpist candidly said, "I would never want to know him socially, but I would treat him in my Clinic. Interesting case."

I was looking at a 1930s restomod at a car meet. Beautiful and well done. The outside looked original, but the wheels are modern. He came up to me looking at the car, screaming, "Who did this? I hate this! Makes me SICK, looks like $hit! ...." and more. The owner, a kindly older man was there, he was very proud of his car. 

I am not really into restomods, I like more authentic, but I complemented his car. Obviously he had put a lot of money, time and pride into his car. I respect that. I love most all kinds of cars. But not likely to buy a restomod, but be respectful and polite.
 

[Dave39MD]

Bill,

 

If I can save you from interacting with him I am only a few miles away from you.  If you ever need an extra set of hands don't hesitate to call. 770-557-2744. 

 

Of course I could be worse.

 

Dave

 

 

[padgett]

Spent a lot of time in rest areas on the turnpike when a kid making sure the times on the toll ticket were not too far off.

[Frank DuVal]

23 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

Can you explain what it is that is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO important to you and your friends that you have to burn the rear tires off the cars? I've never owned a car that could, nor could I afford the financial loss of perfectly good tires.

 

Why are you asking me?🤔

 

That was a Richmond Chrysler Plymouth commercial on TV back when the cars were new. I guess the ad agency thought it would sell cars.

 

Spinning tires hurts acceleration!😲 Cars need to grip to get the most out of them.

 

My friend got the Hemi after the previous owner did something (or maybe many things) stupid, and the clutch assembly came apart while he was driving on the interstate, came through the floor! He was unhurt, but had it patched together and sold it to my friend, without knowing the story. Because he DID learn the story, he drove it sensible. No need to anger the clutch gods....

 

In the 90s I replaced the floor pan section and he sourced all the original clutch/bellhousing/transmission parts to make it as original as possible. That's when he decided it was too valuable to drive.  I agree with Ed, though, and I would be driving it to enjoy it. Parking in the garage forever makes no sense, just like melting the tread makes no sense to me.

 

Just like Dave Cammack would not drive his Tuckers because of value.😪

[Peter Gariepy]

I know many will consider this blasphemy... but...

 

Cars were built to be driven. Friends share with friends. Occasionally friends encourage friends to drive their cars. A little trust and insurance is there to address any issues.

 

I drove a 1942 Cadillac Limo from Tucson AZ to Palm Springs CA for my friend Dave Wunsch so he could put it in a AACA national meet as a HPOF. He trailered his restored 1960 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz.  On the way home I ended up driving the 1960.   Who can say they drove a perfectly restored 1960 Eldo 250 miles cross country?  You couldn't slap the smile off my face. 

 

Another AACA friend had a 1972 Maserati Bora. Due to age (his, not the car) he couldn't drive it.  He let me take it for a weekend on occasion. It was a treat!  He has since passed, and I was lucky enough to help his family sell his car collection including the Maserati, a Lotus Elan, and a 1959 New Yorker Convertible (among others).

 

Thank god for friends.

 

 

 

 

[deaddds]

On 10/30/2020 at 9:35 AM, CatBird said:

Don't let anyone drive your early cars, especial brass cars. BIG NO NO

I often asked by people to drive one of our early cars. A guy, who is quite knowledgeable on 1940s-1950s cars. He fell in love with our 1913 Marmon Speedster 48B. I took it out and pointed it out down a straight stretch of road. 

Showed him the foot feed and leave the throttle control on the steering wheel alone.

He got in the car, I started it and told him to go very slow. As he settled in and caught his sleeve on the throttle control, and went wide open! My heart about stopped! 9.5 liter engine is very powerful and on a lightweight speedster chassis.

Took off like a bolt of lightning! About a block away he got it stopped by brakes and disengaging the clutch with the throttle still wide open. I heard the engine screaming as it overrevved.  Fortunately this Marmon has a pressurized oil system. The engine was ok.

He didn't apologized and just made a few remarks, and asked if he could drive another car of ours. Actually wanted to take one home and give his mother for a ride. He is about 50.

I told him that an engine like this would cost about $150,000 to $250,00 or more to restore if a major catastrophe AND could take perhaps two years to put it back together. He said he would be more careful with another of our cars. HAH!

Some of this is that he was not knowledgeable with brass cars. I could understand. But his nonchalant attitude (he thought I must be joking about costs of a brass car. restoration cost of the Marmon was over $400,000), but could not forgive that he then wanted to take this car or one like it home to give his mother a "joy-ride."

There were two morons in this equation. Me and him. I sure learned a very good lesson! The woman in the picture was a model at a Concourse.

You picked a great color to compliment her dress!😉

[Larry Schramm]

For driving my vehicles, I have a common sense approach to who I let drive my vehicles.  First, immediate family, no problem with some driver training.  My son has been driving the '15 Buick truck since he was 16.  I allow him to drive the truck any time he wants to along with the other old vehicles.  My relatively freshly minted son-in-law is a true care guy and he has driven the truck and '13 car.  My hope is to get my daughter and son-in-law out touring with us.

 

As for non family members, the list is quite short.  The current list can be counted on two hands.  If a person has a similar car and has helped me with my cars, I do not have a problem with letting them drive my vehicles.  I DO NOT just let anyone drive for obvious reasons.  For those with brass cars, we understand that "you become part of the driving experience" unlike modern cars where you point & drive.   

 

Someone earlier said that they would let some members of the forum drive their cars even though they have never met them.  I would probably do the same based on their thousands of posts about their cars and experiences that they have used to help new persons to the hobby.  I and many of us can tell of their care, passion, experience, and being caretakers of these vehicles of history to pass on to the next generation.  These persons are easy to read, at least in my mind and from my experience.  I could name several of them.  Edinmass and David Coco, Mark Shaw, Dave Brennen, 95cardinal / aka Joe Tonietto (Monday am breakfast friend) to name a few. The latter three are friends that I have become friends from this forum.

 

If you do not have a brass car, chances are probably non existant to drive one of my cars. 

 

I will take you for a ride though.  If you ever see me out with one of my vehicles and want a ride, just ask.  Look at my post dated September 6th.  The ride for the bride & groom was an unplanned ride with the mother of the bride coming into a restaurant were we were having lunch and asked if we would give her daughter and son-in- law the final ride from our house to their house for the reception in our neighborhood.  It was just a gratis drive of a couple of miles that created memories for a lifetime.  

 

But the real frosting on a great day out, we stopped on the way home to have some late lunch and one of the neighbors in the neighborhood saw us out in the car and told us that her daughter who went to school with two of off spring had just gotten married and wanted to know if we would be willing to drive her and her new husband to their house from ours and we said yes.  It was great, because the bride did not know what her mother had set up and was thrilled to drive up to their house where the reception was being held.  When we drove up, both sides of the street was lined with well wishers.  What fun to know that we helped to make a newly wed couples' day special.

 

 

 

 

Just another day in the Detroit area.   PS: We put on about 125 miles for the day.

 

Giving rides is the first step to getting someone hooked in the hobby.

 

Just IMO.

Edited November 4, 2020 by Larry Schramm (see edit history)

[CatBird]

On 11/2/2020 at 11:54 AM, Fossil said:

Eagerness to take charge of someone's pride and joy should be taken as a warning sign that over confidence is in control. In the end we as owners are responsible for the outcome any decision. It would be hard not to blame someone who was driving our car when in fact we let them do it. 

It's so hard to say no sometimes. 

 

 

I really like people. I want people to enjoy our cars. 99% are respectful. Of course we are ALWAYS responsible and from the past we make better decisions. I made a mistake. I will make different decisions. It is better that I remember, and weigh future possible outcome.

On one hand the guy helped prep with three days getting our five cars that were entered in the Concourse. I felt I should have rewarded him. He has been careful  with other cars, including his own from the (1950s -1970s), and the problem is getting his sleeve in the throttle knob. So I am removing the throttle knob(s).

But my decision was that he had zero remorse and asked that he take the Marmon or one similar cars on a joy-ride. This told me that he had no clue about how to be respectful of our brass cars, nor even any car. He got angry and I made the decision to terminate our friendship. He could not equate our Marmon that is worth three times the value of his residence. 

I am disconnecting our batteries, adding hidden kill switches. I still allow people to sit in and enjoy our cars as long as they are respectful and I am in attendance.

Most people have no concept about brass cars as these are often older than their great grandfathers. Would you know how to handle our 1848 Brewster buggy? How would you hook up two horses? What speed would be safe? How do you stop? Go? Turn? What would you do at night? Most of us would be at a loss. 

So, us custodians must make good decisions as much as we like people.

 

Want to hook this up and have a joyride? 

[padgett]

Do get a bit perturbed when a rider chides me about speed shifting the Judge but then I've built A Lot of Muncies and Saginaws. It is a toy and not a relic.

 

Have expressed my opinion of "going up in smoke" before.

[Fossil]

11 hours ago, CatBird said:

Most people have no concept about brass cars as these are often older than their great grandfathers. Would you know how to handle our 1848 Brewster buggy? How would you hook up two horses? What speed would be safe? How do you stop? Go? Turn? What would you do at night? Most of us would be at a loss. 

   I know you didn't insist he drive it but I'd be a nervous wreck if some one wanted to turn me loose with their teens or twenties car without some lessons on how to operate it.  Preferably with them driving and me in the passengers seat. Even a Model T I consider beyond my abilities as I've never driven one before. The older I get the more fumble fingered I am and that doesn't help the confidence at all. 

[oldcarfudd]

Fumble fingered is fine in a Model T.  Fumble footed can get you in trouble.

[wayne sheldon]

Model T Fords are easy to drive. They along with many other planetary transmission cars were meant to be driven by people that had never ever before driven an automobile. What I have told people when teaching them to drive a model T is to remember back to when they were seven years old. You knew daddy turned the steering wheel, but you really had no idea how the car reacted to that motion. And daddy pushed pedals with his feet, and pushed or pulled a lever to change the speeds, but you didn't know what any of that really did! A model T is easy, but it is really different than what anyone that hasn't driven one is used to! Forget all that you know, or think you know. Then it can make sense that the throttle is adjusted by hand on a little lever. Forget your expectations of the clutch. Then your mind can accept the "halfway" is neutral idea, and that gears are changed by moving your feet. If you try to equate it with your modern car, whether manual or automatic transmission? It ain't gonna work for you. If you start from the beginning? Easy peasy.

It is a historic fact that many families and farmers when deciding to buy their first car in those days, would have the ten to twelve year old son take the lesson from the dealer and then drive the new car home. Sometimes the young son would become the family's designated driver until dad or maw eventually got the hang of the new fangled thing. It wasn't all that unusual for children as young as seven drive the family around in their car. Read the history of author/historian Floyd Clymer. He and his older brother were among the youngest automobile dealers ever. He was teaching customers how to drive their newly purchased cars before he was ten!

 

The BIG brass cars? A WHOLE different story!

[Guest]

Having driven many vehicles from a Bantam Austin to a MC7, straight truck to a B train without any difficulty I could probably drive anything.

A Ford Model T is easy to drive.  I had never driven one, my friend said to drive the Touring and follow him, he was taking the speedster.  I had to drive the touring because I couldn't get my knees under the wheel on the speedster.  His only instruction was to make sure I retarded the spark before turning the crank.  I had read about the three pedals and had no trouble.  It took me several in town miles to master the cone clutch in his Buick.

I have driven a few other antique vehicles when the chance was offered but I don't think I would any more.  I have let two close friends drive my Pontiac in the past and would not do it now except for a person that also owned a similar car.  There is too much chance of something breaking that was going to break anyway and then both owner and driver feel bad.

[wayne sheldon]

52 minutes ago, Tinindian said:

There is too much chance of something breaking that was going to break anyway and then both owner and driver feel bad.

 

That is one of the reasons that I don't like driving other people's cars very much. One very close friend, many years ago, he and I went so many places together, sometimes in my car, often in his (he had a better car than I had!), I would end up driving his when/if he got tired. I have driven quite a few other people's antiques over the years, usually when a second driver was needed, or a second opinion of a mechanical issue. And sometimes just to get the feel of some wonderful car! However, over the ears, I have turned down many opportunities to drive even some incredible cars! I know, if it breaks while I am driving it? It probably would have broken anyway. But I would still feel badly about it. I can get a pretty good feel of a car by riding in it. I am happy to do that. 

[Fossil]

I don't know why but I would like to drive a Chrysler fluid drive some time. Just sounds interesting to me for some reason. 

[1937hd45]

Wonder how many others without a 2000 or newer car could show up at a dealership and drive a vehicle off the lot, never mind adjusting the volume on the radio or changing the channel. Bob 

[padgett]

Heck I had to get the Avis lady to show me how to start a new Cutlass when returning from SEA in 1970.

In the past have had more trouble remembering which side of the road to drive on than operating the car.

Do remember needing a crib to figure out how to start a Land Rover. Was it the FIAT 850 that needed levers by the handbrake diddled ?

My tow car is not bad but the Caddies average about 70 buttons, knobs, and slides for the driver, even the 89s.

[Frank DuVal]

Or even when Ford introduced the lever or button you add to push to remove the key in the 70s (lasted on trucks into the 80s). First time I borrowed a Pinto I left the keys in it!😳 Still there when I got back, luckily or my uncle would have been mad.😉

[Grimy]

53 minutes ago, Frank DuVal said:

Or even when Ford introduced the lever or button you add to push to remove the key in the 70s (lasted on trucks into the 80s).

It's still there on my 1995 Mazda pickup daily driver.  I don't even think about it anymore....

[edinmass]

I can start and easily drive any pre war car.....yet I get in a 2020 BMW (i8) new hybrid electric and could barley get it into gear. I found the car going from electric to gasoline unsettling. And way too much electronics. The HUD was very nice.....and light years ahead of the Buick’s in the early 90’s.

[TAKerry]

I would love to drive an old car. I think the oldest I have driven is a 53 chevy, but that is about the same as driving a new car. First vehicle I started on was a 67 ford pu with 3 on the tree so it was easy peasy.  I had a 1913 motorcycle that when compared to a new bike was rather complicated to operate. But I am sure the cars of that period are very similar. As long as one knows what levers do what and when to move them youre ok. I would never approach someone and ask to drive their vehicle.  

[CatBird]

I agree that at is easy to drive once you learn the controls which are very different from any car I have ever driven. Everything is fine, simple and just dandy. BUT when a sudden situation where you need to stop. My inclination is to stand on the brake peddle and disengage by depressing the "clutch."

This can have disastrous consequences. Stepping hard on the left hand peddle, engages the transmission in low and you are gonna go forward. Your reflex is to press harder on the "clutch", getting worse.

Happened to an acquaintance who was doing fine, until he had to stop quickly when a traffic light turned red. Instead of stopping, the Model T shot forward and he was injured. 

With 15 million Model Ts on the road when the 1928 Model A entered the fray. I wondered when reflexes honed to Model T were suddenly employed?

[hidden_hunter]

That’s actually one of the reasons I got the Cad, it’s controls are the same as a modern car so any reaction is natural

[edinmass]

23 hours ago, TAKerry said:

I would love to drive an old car. I think the oldest I have driven is a 53 chevy, but that is about the same as driving a new car. First vehicle I started on was a 67 ford pu with 3 on the tree so it was easy peasy.  I had a 1913 motorcycle that when compared to a new bike was rather complicated to operate. But I am sure the cars of that period are very similar. As long as one knows what levers do what and when to move them youre ok. I would never approach someone and ask to drive their vehicle.  

 

Come on down to Florida and drive my 1917 White........no problem, as long as you can handle a stick.

[CatBird]

The bottom line is that it IS a personal choice to allow anyone to drive any of our cars. I want to know if they have ever driven a car like this? 

In a 1903 Columbus, or 1908 or 1910 Thomas Flyer, 1911 Napier Garden Car, 1913 Marmon Speedster, 1916 Pierce Arrow, how do they start it? How do they engage forward or reverse? Where to set the advance/retard lever? Where does the hand throttle operate? When? what is the shift pattern? What instrumentation needs to be watched, and attended? What stopping distance will it handle? How fast can you take a corner turn? What are the quirks of a vintage car?

Our Thomas cars pull comfortably cruise at 1200rpm. at 1500rpm may cause serious engine damage. 

Don't know they answers these questions for a specific car? Each of these are six figure cars.  It took time for me to operate and driving them.

There are 17 steps in starting our 1916 Pierce Arrow for instance.

Otherwise I will let them sit in the car, not running  and take pictures.

[CatBird]

16 hours ago, hidden_hunter said:

That’s actually one of the reasons I got the Cad, it’s controls are the same as a modern car so any reaction is natural

We love our 1920 Cadilac Touring Car! Drives wonderfully, the shift pattern  is similar to stick shift in more modern cars. It is one of our most reliable cars.

[TAKerry]

1 hour ago, edinmass said:

 

Come on down to Florida and drive my 1917 White........no problem, as long as you can handle a stick.

Ed, I would love to!  There was a period that I was travelling to FLA about 4 times a year. Its been about 5 or 6 yrs since I have though. Next time Im in the area I will look you up. BUT, I am waiting patiently to Hershey and making a donation for a ride!!!

[nsbrassnut]

Hi All

This has been an interesting thread to follow. I have had a little experience on both sides of the equation and would like to pass along a couple stories for consideration.

 

A bit over 40 years ago when I was starting out in the hobby an older member of the car club that I belonged to took me for a country drive with him in his ’52 Chrysler with the fluid drive transmission. A few weeks later he suggested to this then 18 year old teenager, take my Chrysler to the antique car show this weekend in the town that was 60 miles away; he couldn’t attend. That was a big lump of trust on his part to let me take his car for the weekend. Something that I have never forgotten since.

Not much later I had my own un-restored ’36 Packard 120 to work on and take for drives. My dad had to drive it home as I didn’t know how to drive a standard. I learned to on the Packard in the driveway and neighbourhood.

A few years later when restoring my Cadillac I met a fellow 1 cylinder Cadillac owner who took me for a nice drive and then offered to let me try driving the car. At the time I had no experience on such a car and it nearly got away from me and I did get too close to a tree in his yard for comfort. I rode with him on a few tours in the Cadillac later one, but never did get offered the wheel again, which is not a problem. Perhaps he was not comfortable with my first early car driving experience, and really, neither was I.

Later I was offered the chance to try driving a 1912 Reo around the parking lot, with the owner present in the car. It was an embarrassing experience. I couldn’t shift into second, just made noise grinding the gears. So I stayed in first and went around the parking lot and said a big thank you to the owner for the experience. But the owner never cringed, he was very outgoing and would offer the wheel to many other old car people while he was driving it across Canada that year.

Not long afterward when on a brass car tour in New England I was offered the chance e to drive a 1912 Buick with the owner and his wife for the day when the elderly gent felt he needed someone else to drive for a day. It was a generous offer by a great gentleman, but at the time I turned down the opportunity as I was not comfortable that I could handle the car safely. I had almost no experience driving such a car and didn’t want to mess up.

In the years since I was given the opportunity to drive a few early cars. A couple Ford Ts that belonged to friends, along with a 1922 REO, a CDO and some others.  I learned how to drive one reasonably well.

I now have a few brass era cars, covering the usual Ford T, but also lucky enough to include a 1 cylinder Cadillac and a Hudson 6-40 touring car. My early car driving experience has improved, but is still not very broad.

I have invited a few to try out some of my cars, but I do admit to being somewhat protective of who I would offer the wheel to, as the earlier cars do come with their idiosyncrasies.

Now if offered to drive someone’s antique car, I will likely say yes, but it will be conditional on the owner taking me to a parking lot for lessons first. If both of us are comfortable with my driving of their car, then I’ll drive it further if offered. If either of us is uncomfortable, then I will say thank you and that will be that.

The moral of the story though is meant to say thanks to those who offered and let me drive their antique cars, especially as a relative “youngster” at the time. They have put their trust in me with their prize possessions and I thank them for it. The experience been fun and interesting to see how various vehicles drive. It has helped continue to spur my interesting in early cars and how to restore and get them to run. And in the future, I will try to occasionally pay back their trust by offering to let someone else try my antiques out. Perhaps it will inspire another person to become an antique car care taker.

Drive Safe

Jeff

Nova Scotia

 

[trimacar]

Guess this sorta fits, I’ve told this story on forums before.  If someone drives your car, they need some basic understanding of the car itself.  
 

I once owned a beautiful 1957 Buick.  Under 20k miles, two tone copper and tan with a perfect interior, it was a beautiful car.  Took it on a tour, guy fell in love with it, later called me and made an offer well over three times what I had in car.

 

Car had the transmission with vanes that moved to “shift” gears.

 

Guy took a test drive, came back mad as hell, “ you didn’t tell me transmission was bad!”....um, no, that’s how it works...and he left....

 

If you’ve driven one you understand...

 

 

[SC38dls]

As a young guy I had an Austin Healy with a Ford 289 that we did a lot of mods too. I use to run it on a couple local drag strips. It became a well known car among the repeat other car owners and I began to be asked to drive other cars down the strip. I was even offered a drive in a dragster. I though the owner was nuts. I never took any of them up as I always felt you had to get to know the idiosyncrasies of any car that has been modified for the strip. I am sure I have enough experience in cars from the 30’s and newer with my years of drag racing and SCCA road racing. But to get into a 20’s , earlier and/or brass era car would be very scary or better said just plain crazy. My respect for the personal value and the actual financial value plus the monumental effort it takes to restore some of these cars, there is just no way. I’ve said before many of the members have been very gracious in their offers but honestly a ride would be a trill of a lifetime. Especially if it happened more than once. 
dave s