More enjoyable

[Buick35]

Which do you get more pleasure in. Working on an old car or driving one?I kind of lean to working on it. It won t leave you stranded or over heat while sitting in the garage.

[Grimy]

1 minute ago, Buick35 said:

Which do you get more pleasure in. Working on an old car or driving one?I kind of lean to working on it. It won t leave you stranded or over heat while sitting in the garage.

If you're still running the risk of being stranded or the car overheating, you have some more garage work to do!  🙂

[Buick35]

That's true.

[Walt G]

Difficult to choose. Both are enjoyable, but as I age I work less on the cars, so the driving them has become the preferred choice. Just like ones health issues , which some years ago you felt recovery time was quick, working on a cars health issues seems to take a lot longer to solve and recover from. I don't enjoy leaning over an engine for hours on end to work on it.

Edited December 4, 2021 by Walt G (see edit history)

[joe_padavano]

I still build model cars, but they are all at 1:1 scale.

[Marty Roth]

I still enjoy doing tune-up and light repairs, 

but serious weight, bending, stooping, and the like,

are not recommended per my age and medical concerns.

Things such as being almost ready for my 5th pacemaker since 1998,

surgery for cataracts and hernia - you know, typical "Old-Guy" stuff.

 

Driving essentially any and all era of vintage motorized apparatus is, and will hopefully continue to be eminently delightful. 

Having at least one from each notable era is a big plus toward making that possible.

Having them all, and keeping them running and driving is even better.

 

The pure satisfaction of dropping a canvas top,

becoming at one with the surrounding nature,

and actually driving, shifting, (with some actually controlling spark advance) with all that it entails,

still puts a smile on my face and my soul.

It also brings out smiles from other folks we pass along the way.

[plymouthcranbrook]

As others have said the heavy work is becoming harder due to skeletal deterioration from arthritis.  So as that continues I find driving more relaxing and fun. So far the cars are pretty reliable and to this point have never left me stranded. That said being a belt and suspenders kind of guy I added towing to my insurance policy this year.  That and a good collection of spares wherever I go and a few tools.

[pmhowe]

I love looking at them - mine and others. Part of it is admiring the engineering. Part is looking at the artistry of the design. Part is thinking about its history, and stories that are part of it, and thinking about how that design fitted into the times it faced.

I love working on mine, although at times the love slowly migrates into  frustration.

I love driving them - and there are two parts to that: I enjoy listening to the engine and other sounds and trying to sort out what needs to be fixed or addressed. But I get more satisfaction when it is running just fine, and I love it when I escape that level to the next, where the car and the driving experience are joined together.

I love it when other adults admire the care and share their stories, and ask questions, or sometimes assure me they know more about my car than I do. .I love it when youngsters are attracted and want to know about it. Guess what? I don't like it when the darn thing breaks down, usually because there was something I should have done and didn't. Luckily, that is happening less and less often now. (If I repeat the mistake often enough, I learn from them.)

Phil

Edited December 5, 2021 by pmhowe
crummy grammar (see edit history)

[Fossil]

5 hours ago, Buick35 said:

I kind of lean to working on it.

I lean when I'm working on it too but still enjoy driving it a lot. 

 

 

[TTR]

Working on them, while it can be enjoyable(?)*, is only a means to an end, which is to enjoy the "fruits of your efforts (and expenditure)" by driving as much as possible.

And older I get, more I want to drive them (Heading out tomorrow again around 4-5am for few hours and 100+ miles of pleasure).

 

*Full disclosure, as mentioned before, I've been an old/vintage car enthusiast and owner of many for over 40 years, but for last 30+ years I've spent most of my daily life working on them full-time and mostly on other peoples (old/vintage) cars, so "enjoyment" of working on them has lost some of its allure, especially when having to fix "mistakes"** made by others before my involvement. Just encountered one of those again today. ☹️

 

** Far more common than most in this hobby realize. 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Working on them, more small, incremental projects.

I also enjoy results on work farmed out whether it is mechanical or cosmetic.

Driving alone or in a group

Shows and events, club activities

Studying them

Buy, sell cars, parts & window shop

Follow market for fun not an "investor's perspective"

Mix with other car folk

Collect gas & oil stuff, a closely related hobby IMO

Tales of others car adventures especially on early days of the hobby.

Good forums in addition to print and in person discussion.

 

[Brass is Best]

People always tell me I have a fun job. Which I do. Except when something breaks that doesn't exist. But I would still say the fun is driving hands down.

[erichill]

Both for me. Maybe building and learning more so than driving.   Proof might be that I often sell something shortly after getting it running so i can finance and have room for the next project.

[Str8-8-Dave]

18 hours ago, Buick35 said:

Which do you get more pleasure in. Working on an old car or driving one?

I'll let you know as soon as I drive my car.   So far I have the "work on it" half of the equation,   

[1937hd45]

Working on them and dreaming of seeing them finished, driving one I finished would be a worry that I'd re redoing something that broke. Glad other people provide cars to look at as they drive by. Time is running out and driving one of mine is a very remote adventure. Bob