Classic car as a daily driver

Author
Discussion

rowanxx

Original Poster:

95 posts

124 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
Anyone done this? Will be buying sometime in the summer, and having a few months to sort out problems. By classic I'm looking at 70's-80's cars.

davepoth

29,395 posts

198 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
rowanxx said:
Anyone done this? Will be buying sometime in the summer, and having a few months to sort out problems. By classic I'm looking at 70's-80's cars.
That covers a broad range. Early 1970s you are looking at terrible steel shells, carburettors, distributors, no power steering, and all of the other stuff that's normally the preserve of classic ownership.

By late 80s you will have galvanised bodies (mostly), fuel injection and electronic ignition, ABS, and a lot of the things you currently think of as "modern". What is it you are after, experience wise?

marshalla

15,902 posts

200 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
It's come up once or twice in conversation on PH : https://www.google.com/search?as_q=classic+daily&a...

MrADC

126 posts

188 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
Done it ( still doing it! )

Really have to go German and 1980s:

Porsche 944
Porsche 924
BMW E28
BMW E30
BMW E24
Mercedes W124

Buy a good one - look after it and don't abuse it and everyday classic transport can be painless.

Buy a dog, or buy British .... Well you know the outcome! Not denigrating our great car building legacy but tried the everyday classic thing in my TR 6 and it just ruined the car and my affection for it. Keep Italians and Brits for sunny days!

dandare

957 posts

253 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
That depends on whether you like to tinker with cars.
I've run a Spitfire IV (1962), Morris Minor (1959), Hillman Imps, and a Volvo 144s (1971). They were all daily drivers, being used to commute from London to Norfolk every week.

The Spitfire needed regular points adjustment, but was very good. The Moggie was also very good, but needed welding and brakes for every MOT. The Imps used to blow up regularly, but I got really fast at rebuilding engines and replacing them. The Volvo is still running 25 years later and has only once broken down (alternator failure). If you look after classic cars, they can be fine. The Imps were mercilessly thrashed, so that may have something to do with their problems.

I still don't think of 80s cars as classics (mainly because I generally found the styling awful), but they are probably much more reliable, if less interesting to look at. That's just my opinion.

dbdb

4,311 posts

172 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
I imagine many 1980s cars will be easier to run as a daily driver than most 1970s cars.

It doesn't have to be German to be reliable though. A decent late '80s/early '90s Jaguar should be completely reliable. My XJ40 is a '92, but looks and feels very similar to an '86 one. It is completely reliable and could comfortably be driven anywhere, every day and in any weather.

Mound Dawg

1,915 posts

173 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
My Alfa 75 was 100% reliable for the three years that I commuted (100 miles a day) in it. Stopped doing this only because the mileage was getting out of hand.

markw996

309 posts

137 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
I only commute 20 miles a day (and for just 6 months of the year) but my 1987 Porsche 944 hasn't missed a beat in 3 years. Late 80s and German works for me.

mr_tony

6,328 posts

268 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
Used my 76 911 daily for last year. It's been great. Buy a very well sorted car though, not a fixer upper..

Need to sell my 911 soon as I need more space as my second child arrived a few weeks back...

Anyone used a BMW. 635csi as a daily? Looks like it has the rear seat space for two child seats when needed....

Alternatively I am lusting after a mid 90s ghibli GT but know its going to hurt on maintenance....

Snowboy

8,028 posts

150 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
When I was younger my cars weren't really classics, they were just old. smile

In the summer it's great.
But in the winter it can become a chore.

Screens demist slowly, heaters are poor, no heated seats.
Engines are sluggish from cold.

Some drivers might miss things like ABS and power steering.

It'll depend on whether you have a garage and what the winters are like.

Wozy68

5,387 posts

169 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
Snowboy said:
When I was younger my cars weren't really classics, they were just old. smile

In the summer it's great.
But in the winter it can become a chore.

Screens demist slowly, heaters are poor, no heated seats.
Engines are sluggish from cold.

Some drivers might miss things like ABS and power steering.

It'll depend on whether you have a garage and what the winters are like.
It always amazes me driving older cars ...... Anything from the mid eighties and before suffer from all of the above.

What I can't fathom is this. We managed to put a man on the moon in 1969, but we still couldn't make a decent car in the seventies or early eighties that had decent seats, heater or creature comforts like power steering, the seats were covered in vinyl and engine management was just about unheard of.

Quite bizarre when you think about it.

HumbleJim

26,957 posts

182 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
In 1969, didn't they navigate to the moon using logarithmic tables, seaweed and an eye glass. rofl

Edited by HumbleJim on Sunday 20th April 15:57

dryden

361 posts

168 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
I thought they used smoke and mirrors!!

anonymous-user

53 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
Currently daily is a 1983 Lancia HPE. Previous classic dailies have included a 1970 Jensen Interceptor, 1977 Alfa Spider, 1983 Matra Murena, and a 1990 Lotus Excel. It can be done, but have realistic expectations!

anonymous-user

53 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
Wozy68 said:
It always amazes me driving older cars ...... Anything from the mid eighties and before suffer from all of the above.

What I can't fathom is this. We managed to put a man on the moon in 1969, but we still couldn't make a decent car in the seventies or early eighties that had decent seats, heater or creature comforts like power steering, the seats were covered in vinyl and engine management was just about unheard of.

Quite bizarre when you think about it.
Early 80s Italian posh: comfy cloth seats, good heater, demister, ventilation OK. Strong brakes, power steering, map light, tinted glass, intermittent wipers, lecky windows, various other creature comforts. No central locking. Dip beams a bit rubbish, full beams good. Hazards, rear fogs. Old car feel aided by carburettor, choke, soft white dash lighting, lightness and see-outiness, but also slightly meh MPG and lumpiness when cold.

drmark

4,794 posts

185 months

Monday 21st April 2014
quotequote all
R107 Merc SL - go for a late one. 70's looks but eighties tech (modern engine, ABS, galvanised etc)

cjb1

2,000 posts

150 months

Monday 21st April 2014
quotequote all
what is your budget?

How handy are you with a set of spanners?

truck71

2,328 posts

171 months

Monday 21st April 2014
quotequote all
Running a 70's/80's car as a daily isn't that big a deal, back then we used them as dailies and no reason why they can't now. As always rust is the biggest issue but if you buy the right car then mechanicals don't have to be.

I've run a couple of W123 Mercs as dailies, the second one did nearly 40,000 miles in a couple of years without blinking.

Edited by truck71 on Monday 21st April 16:56

JeffreyB

82 posts

154 months

Monday 21st April 2014
quotequote all
Buy anything in good condition - they were all designed to be used daily!

HumbleJim

26,957 posts

182 months

Monday 21st April 2014
quotequote all
drmark said:
R107 Merc SL - go for a late one. 70's looks but eighties tech (modern engine, ABS, galvanised etc)
Galvanised...................... are you sure?