Long distance driving with a classic car

On 5 Aug 2004 13:45:27 -0700, (PJ) wrote:
>I am contemplating whether or not I should buy a classic car when I
>sometimes make long (about 3-4 hour) trips between school and home.
>The two cars that I've been salivating over: a 64 Impala and a 66
>Mustang. Both of the cars have been somewhat restored and both have
>less than 40 thousand miles on them. Does anyone own a 30+ year old
>classic car and drive them often like this? If so, please help me
>make a decision. Appreciated, thanks..

Maintain them properly and you shouldn't have a problem; classics
don't like deferred maintenance. I drove my '66 Rolls-Royce on 800
mile road trips every two months for years, with only one breakdown.
You'll have a lot less trouble finding parts than I did!
Emanuel
--
1983 Porsche 911
1983 Porsche 944
1983 Porsche 928

I drive my 1934 Hupmobile everywhere. coast to coast. I would expect
you might find several things will fail nearly immediately. You will
have to get the bugs out. A vehicle will be much more reliable if
driven every day as opposed to once in a while.

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 08:36:16 +0100, Paul Spencer >
wrote:

>On 5 Aug 2004 13:45:27 -0700, (PJ) wrote:
>
>>I am contemplating whether or not I should buy a classic car when I
>>sometimes make long (about 3-4 hour) trips between school and home.
>>The two cars that I've been salivating over: a 64 Impala and a 66
>>Mustang. Both of the cars have been somewhat restored and both have
>>less than 40 thousand miles on them. Does anyone own a 30+ year old
>>classic car and drive them often like this? If so, please help me
>>make a decision. Appreciated, thanks..
>
>I wouldn't rate that as a long drive. I am not a competent mechanic,
>but would happily do that in my 1926 Bentley. I know another Bentley
>owner (competent mechanic) who regularly does 15,000 mile trips.
>
>For "long" see http://www.pekingtoparis.com.

"ThaDriver" > wrote in message alkaboutautos.com>...
> You won't have any problems with these cars. As "leonks" said, make sure
> the hoses & belts are new. Make sure they have good brakes & tires, &
> fresh fluids in *everything*. I also like to carry spare belts & hoses
> whenever possible, as well as oil & brake fluid (& tools). I would *not*
> change to electric ignition, as the points are very reliable & can be
> adjusted on the side of the road if need be (whereas when electronic
> ignition fails you are stranded). Of course buy a manual & keep the
> scheduled maitenence up to date. These cars will last you the rest of your
> life if you take care of them.
> ~ Paul
> aka "Tha Driver"
>
> Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!
I don't really disagree about ignition points,but the poster didn't
say whether they would be doing the wrench work themselves, so I was
trying to look at it as if they would not be doing the work. By the
way I have used some of the add on electronic units and they seem very
reliable.

"ThaDriver" > wrote in message alkaboutautos.com>...
> >I don't really disagree about ignition points,but the poster didn't say
> whether they would be doing the wrench work themselves, so I was trying to
> look at it as if they would not be doing the work. By the way I have used
> some of the add on electronic units and they seem very reliable.
> *********
> I agree; the electronic ignitions are usually reliable & require little
> maintenence. I'm just old school, & I hate the fact that when they go out
> there's nothing you can do but get a tow. You can of course buy two &
> carry a spare, as long as you're not having an electrical problem that's
> burning them up...
> ~ Paul
> aka "Tha Driver"
>
> Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!
I wonder if we'll hear back from the poster?

Riteous Right Reverend Mahmoud Bin Changstein > wrote in message >. ..
> I drive my 1934 Hupmobile everywhere. coast to coast. I would expect
> you might find several things will fail nearly immediately. You will
> have to get the bugs out. A vehicle will be much more reliable if
> driven every day as opposed to once in a while.
>
> On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 08:36:16 +0100, Paul Spencer >
> wrote:
>
> >On 5 Aug 2004 13:45:27 -0700, (PJ) wrote:
> >
> >>I am contemplating whether or not I should buy a classic car when I
> >>sometimes make long (about 3-4 hour) trips between school and home.
> >>The two cars that I've been salivating over: a 64 Impala and a 66
> >>Mustang. Both of the cars have been somewhat restored and both have
> >>less than 40 thousand miles on them. Does anyone own a 30+ year old
> >>classic car and drive them often like this? If so, please help me
> >>make a decision. Appreciated, thanks..
> >
> >I wouldn't rate that as a long drive. I am not a competent mechanic,
> >but would happily do that in my 1926 Bentley. I know another Bentley
> >owner (competent mechanic) who regularly does 15,000 mile trips.
> >
> >For "long" see http://www.pekingtoparis.com.

What kind of mileage does a 34 "Hup" get? About what is your cruising
speed? I always wanted to get a Hupmobile Skylark.

>Many (many, many) years ago I built my own electronic ignition
(including etching the circuit board) from an article in a magazine.
This was for a Morris 1000 that would not start when it was wet. Cured
it perfectly. If I remember correctly, this still used the points, but
just to switch low voltages to control when the electronic ignition
produced a spark.

>This could just be removed and the normal ignition replaced with a
couple of wires if necessary (it never was). Are the commercial ones
not the same?
**********
The commercial electronic ignitions eliminate the points. They typicly use
magnets to triger the spark. You can always carry an old points dist. with
you in case of failure, though (if you don't want to buy two elec.
units).
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!

OK I confess my Hup has been updated a bit with a Chevy 250 engine and
a TH200R4 transmission. The drivetrain is still almost 30 years old
but parts are readiy available, unlike the original setup. I get about
25mpg around town and 33mpg highway.


On 9 Aug 2004 09:47:36 -0700, (OLDCARS) wrote:

>Riteous Right Reverend Mahmoud Bin Changstein > wrote in message >. ..
>> I drive my 1934 Hupmobile everywhere. coast to coast. I would expect
>> you might find several things will fail nearly immediately. You will
>> have to get the bugs out. A vehicle will be much more reliable if
>> driven every day as opposed to once in a while.
>>
>> On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 08:36:16 +0100, Paul Spencer >
>> wrote:
>>
>> >On 5 Aug 2004 13:45:27 -0700, (PJ) wrote:
>> >
>> >>I am contemplating whether or not I should buy a classic car when I
>> >>sometimes make long (about 3-4 hour) trips between school and home.
>> >>The two cars that I've been salivating over: a 64 Impala and a 66
>> >>Mustang. Both of the cars have been somewhat restored and both have
>> >>less than 40 thousand miles on them. Does anyone own a 30+ year old
>> >>classic car and drive them often like this? If so, please help me
>> >>make a decision. Appreciated, thanks..
>> >
>> >I wouldn't rate that as a long drive. I am not a competent mechanic,
>> >but would happily do that in my 1926 Bentley. I know another Bentley
>> >owner (competent mechanic) who regularly does 15,000 mile trips.
>> >
>> >For "long" see http://www.pekingtoparis.com.
>
>What kind of mileage does a 34 "Hup" get? About what is your cruising
>speed? I always wanted to get a Hupmobile Skylark.

"PJ" > wrote in message
om...
> I am contemplating whether or not I should buy a classic car when I
> sometimes make long (about 3-4 hour) trips between school and home.
> The two cars that I've been salivating over: a 64 Impala and a 66
> Mustang. Both of the cars have been somewhat restored and both have
> less than 40 thousand miles on them. Does anyone own a 30+ year old
> classic car and drive them often like this? If so, please help me
> make a decision. Appreciated, thanks..

I have driven a few old cars across country. The first trip like this was
in a 31 year old Cadillac. I went from Vancouver, BC to Bloomington,
Indiana by way of Denver and back. The car had been sitting in my
driveway for over a year, and I took it out for a short drive of some
50 miles once every two weeks or so in that time. During the trip, a
few things were repaired. One rear wheel bearing was replaced in
Denver on the way down, as it was getting noisy. On the way back
in Calgary I had all the universal joints on the driveshaft replaced
because they were getting shaky, and the water pump bearings gave
out when I was almost back home. I nursed it as far as I could by
adding water every few miles, and the last ten miles were on a hook
because all that water spraying from the water pump got to the
distributor and that's all she wrote...

I did a couple of other long ones in that car. I went down to Arizona
to see the Grand Canyon in the same car four years, an engine and
transmission rebuild later. One of the oil seals on the rebuilt engine
leaked about a quart every thousand miles. I drove to Montreal
with that same '64 Caddy in 2000. Broke the flywheel crossing
the Champlain Bridge. That wrecked a good vacation. I had to get
that one-year-only flywheel shipped in from Texas to be on my way
again. At that point I lost interest in that car because it still needed
some work after I'd sunk many thousands into it already. I traded
it in on a mint '87 Plymouth which has given me no trouble except
for the power steering pump going dry due to a leak while on a
drive to Chicago. The rest has been routine maintenance...

I went to Death Valley in a '65 Ford F-100 with a camper on it
three or four years ago. It needed one rear wheel bearing, a new
fuel pump, and suffered one set of burned points during the trip...

My current '68 Montego has been as far as Phoenix needing
nothing but a front wheel bearing repack and two radiators due
to flying road debris and gravel falling off of uncovered loads on
dump trucks. The timing chain jumped a tooth while I was in the
Laurentians last year, and by the time I got back to the West
Coast I needed all the universal joints and wheel bearings done,
but I never was stranded with that one. It's ready for another
long drive now, and maybe I'll tour the Rocky Mountains in it
next year instead of just crossing them...

If my experiences have taught me anything, it's to pay attention
to the water pump, U-joints, and wheel bearings before taking
a long trip in a car over thirty years old. Carrying an extra set
of points and condenser [and the tools to set the points] can't
hurt, and give yourself a few extra days to make the trip just
in case something breaks that you were not expecting. Why do
I keep taking these trips in old cars? There's more adventure
to it, and I just have trouble considering doing it in a generic
late-model car that I'd lose in the first parking lot I get to...

-'dreas

My current everyday classic car was purchased with long distance driving in
mind. Its a '73 Mercedes 450SLC, and I feel comfortable driving anywhere
at highway speeds (or more!).

Besides the Mrecedes, I have a moderate size collection of cars, mostly
British sports cars from the '50's - '60's. These are what I consider
"2-hour
cars". Driving them for more than 2 hours gets uncomfortable. Mostly becuase
of the hard ride and wind noise (convertables). It may not sound terribly
important, but consider comfort when looking for a long distance driver.

Of course mechanical condition is very important!

Steve

PJ > wrote in message
om...
> I am contemplating whether or not I should buy a classic car when I
> sometimes make long (about 3-4 hour) trips between school and home.
> The two cars that I've been salivating over: a 64 Impala and a 66
> Mustang. Both of the cars have been somewhat restored and both have
> less than 40 thousand miles on them. Does anyone own a 30+ year old
> classic car and drive them often like this? If so, please help me
> make a decision. Appreciated, thanks..