Scary Stuff

[Brtele]

I don't know about you guys, but whenever I have a "new" old car I'm working on - I'm always scared to death to get it out on the highway for the 1st time.  The Buick's maiden voyage was yesterday.  I kissed my wife and kids and then got onto the highway for a short stretch, got it up to 65mph and promptly got off the next exit.  I turned back around and got on the highway and got it up to 70mph and it just sang going down the highway.  I gave the brakes a few light/hard tugs just to get a sense of what would happen when I needed them.  

 

Knock on wood, I think everything is functioning as it should from a safety standpoint.  

 

The older and "wiser" I get, the more I get scared of stuff like that.  16 year old me would've let it rip months ago on the highway (probably in the rain).

[EmTee]

I have a few 'standard loops' that I drive when testing (or just exercising) my cars.  The shortest is about 5 miles; the longest is just over 25 miles.  I've been running the same 20-mile loop over and over while sorting-out my '38.  It includes stretches at 30, 35, 45 and 55 mph for a good overall test.  When I've gotten to the point where I have run the 20 or 25 mile loops 10 to 20 times without any issues I feel pretty good about taking it on a 'real' trip somewhere that's 50 to 75 miles from home.

[Turbinator]

i like Feeling confident my 59 year old car is  a safe and reliable vehicle. Call me an”Old Nellie”, but I’m not up for surprises about my 63 being unsafe.

 

I know all us are in the same situation regarding safety. There are times on I95 I get crowded and need to kick it up higher than I would normally drive the Riviera. My “ over” improvement of my suspension is truly satisfying at the higher speeds.

Turbinator

[vintage1]

I too have a couple of routes I take on first drives or after repairs and stay close to home, being very careful that everything is working especially brakes. But I remember a time when I was about 17 and drove my MGB for 2 days with no brakes to school, to after school job and then home. I down shifted to slow down and then used the emergency brake handle to stop, pulling the handle while holding the button in. I didn’t think twice about doing this and fixed the car on Saturday. When I think about this incident and others I’m surprised I made it to the age I am.

 

[first64riv]

13 hours ago, vintage1 said:

I too have a couple of routes I take on first drives or after repairs and stay close to home, being very careful that everything is working especially brakes. But I remember a time when I was about 17 and drove my MGB for 2 days with no brakes to school, to after school job and then home. I down shifted to slow down and then used the emergency brake handle to stop, pulling the handle while holding the button in. I didn’t think twice about doing this and fixed the car on Saturday. When I think about this incident and others I’m surprised I made it to the age I am.

 

I think we'd all be surprised any of us made it to this age, if they knew half the things we did when we were younger.

[Seafoam65]

I got stranded in one of my old cars for the very first time in my life about three weeks ago. I keep my

old cars in tip top shape, have Pertronix ignitions in all of them and they run like the energizer Bunny

year in and year out. Three weeks ago I took the 70 Chevelle SS 396 to go get  a takeout lunch four miles

from home and the car ran perfect all the way over to the restaurant. On the way back home, the car drove about

100 yards and laid down and died......the fuel pump went completely out all of a sudden  to the point that the car wouldn't

even start.......I've never seen a mechanical pump go out like that....it wasn't even leaking gasoline out of the weep hole....

just a little motor oil. Usually the pumps will leak gasoline out of the weep hole and might cause high speed problems but you

can limp them home.....not this time! I had to get it towed back to the house. Normally I don't change the fuel pumps on my old cars

until they develop a fuel leak,  but now I think I'm going to change them every ten years regardless of mileage. The pump on the  Chevelle

was 17 years old but probably only had a few hundred miles on it.

[60FlatTop]

I have been studying and developing skills in computerized engine service for my OBD cars. One important facet of service is the "drive cycle" which resets the monitors after resetting any codes. It requires a number of different driving conditions and I have established a 50 mile route that I have been using for modern cars, old cars, and on nice days just a ride along the Lake. Traffic is light and speeds can range from coasting to a stop, moderate, to 100 MPH+. It is through the farm and orchard country to limited access Parkway driving.

That is my test route as well as my routine trips under the car. My Avalanche has only been with me one year, but thoroughly sorted out. The others have 10 years to 44 years with me. I am quite confident in all. And for Murphy's Law I have the extended towing AAA.

 

Here is my Drive Cycle Route takes about an hour, good for old and new.