Classic car daily driver?
Discussion
VW Beetle? I tried to run my 1966 as a daily a few years back 27 miles into Manchester and back, was good fun, would just sit at 55/60moh very happily on the motorway.
Really makes you realise how fast "normal" traffic is these days, rather unnerving - after that it stays in the garage now, didn't have any issues really (it's mechanically very good), just a rogue carburetor issue which fixed itself, and yes join the RAC or equivalent
But the bugs are strong little cars and will drive all day, just rust is always chasing you.
Really makes you realise how fast "normal" traffic is these days, rather unnerving - after that it stays in the garage now, didn't have any issues really (it's mechanically very good), just a rogue carburetor issue which fixed itself, and yes join the RAC or equivalent
But the bugs are strong little cars and will drive all day, just rust is always chasing you.
Yertis said:
[ I spent a couple of hours examining the rev counter on Monday, only to discover that the strange rev-related buzzing noise was actually coming from the choke knob. 
Had a similar problem a while back… buzz, buzz, buuuuuzzzzzzz – it was driving me mad!Grab a bit of dum-dum/butyl putty and place it around the choke leaver behind the dash (on the mechanism or the lever where it doesn’t go through the dash. Avoid any moving parts) – the weight of the putty stops the various parts resonating, so no more annoying buzz!
Nice and easy fix.
Also worth checking that any trim parts around the choke lever are nice and secure - if the clips (or whatever) are worn, they can also make the dreaded buzzz - might be most applicable to cars with painted metal dashboards rather than wood/leather/plastic.
Faust66 said:
Had a similar problem a while back… buzz, buzz, buuuuuzzzzzzz – it was driving me mad!
Grab a bit of dum-dum/butyl putty and place it around the choke leaver behind the dash (on the mechanism or the lever where it doesn’t go through the dash. Avoid any moving parts) – the weight of the putty stops the various parts resonating, so no more annoying buzz!
Nice and easy fix.
Also worth checking that any trim parts around the choke lever are nice and secure - if the clips (or whatever) are worn, they can also make the dreaded buzzz - might be most applicable to cars with painted metal dashboards rather than wood/leather/plastic.
Thanks for that. I'm having another poke about tonight. Securing a reproduction choke knob on a TR is a total ball-ache of a job, because the knobs can't be pulled off the rod, which means... blah blah. Grab a bit of dum-dum/butyl putty and place it around the choke leaver behind the dash (on the mechanism or the lever where it doesn’t go through the dash. Avoid any moving parts) – the weight of the putty stops the various parts resonating, so no more annoying buzz!
Nice and easy fix.
Also worth checking that any trim parts around the choke lever are nice and secure - if the clips (or whatever) are worn, they can also make the dreaded buzzz - might be most applicable to cars with painted metal dashboards rather than wood/leather/plastic.
I'm actually tempted to cut this one off, drill/tap the rod and put on a new knob secured with an allen screw... sorry thinking aloud.I'm currently using my 1987 MR2 as a daily driver (on nice days).
The main problem is height : you sit so much lower than in a modern car. That means I can't see over the bonnet of a lot of cars
e.g. when turning left and there's someone next to me turning right, I'm completely blind, and have to wait until they've gone before I can safely turn. It also means lots of headlight dazzle from the jacked-up tradie utes that infest the suburb where I work.
But it's worth it when the sun shines and I feel like driving rather than just commuting.
The main problem is height : you sit so much lower than in a modern car. That means I can't see over the bonnet of a lot of cars
e.g. when turning left and there's someone next to me turning right, I'm completely blind, and have to wait until they've gone before I can safely turn. It also means lots of headlight dazzle from the jacked-up tradie utes that infest the suburb where I work.
But it's worth it when the sun shines and I feel like driving rather than just commuting.
I don’t see this kind of daily mileage being problematic - 13 miles each way to work equates to approximately 6000 miles a year which is hardly ragging it. Yes it will probably have the odd ‘moment’ but keeping on top of maintenance and running repairs should minimise that. I don’t agree that it will need tinkering with every weekend, or at least if it does it suggests it’s not in good fettle to begin with. My ‘72 Alfa does around 5000 miles a year and i’m not continually fixing it as a result.
There’s another angle to this however and it’s an entirely subjective one. If you use a cherished car every day, it might start to feel a little less special after a while. I only say this on the back of owning a Chimaera a few years back which was occasionally pressed into frontline service. Now admittedly my commute was 500 miles a week which is a fair distance for a noisy soft top, but the novelty had definitely worn off by Friday evening!!
But yes, go for it OP and enjoy
There’s another angle to this however and it’s an entirely subjective one. If you use a cherished car every day, it might start to feel a little less special after a while. I only say this on the back of owning a Chimaera a few years back which was occasionally pressed into frontline service. Now admittedly my commute was 500 miles a week which is a fair distance for a noisy soft top, but the novelty had definitely worn off by Friday evening!!
But yes, go for it OP and enjoy
I used my Triumph Vitesse as a daily 5 years ago. 15 miles to work every day and 15 miles back. It performed really well (even got my wife to hospital on Boxing Day for the birth of our first) but the salt caught up with it. It’s retired for weekend duties now, but I’m still forever tidying up wishbones and outriggers as well as freeing off sticking pistons in the front brakes.
The one thing nobody has mentioned (unless I missed it) is the smell. Now, I never minded it but I got some funny looks in meetings at work when I turned up smelling of slightly rich unleaded!
The one thing nobody has mentioned (unless I missed it) is the smell. Now, I never minded it but I got some funny looks in meetings at work when I turned up smelling of slightly rich unleaded!
I used to have a Cortina 1600E as a daily - rain or shine.
As long as you stay on top of the oily stuff, I would imagine you’ll be fairly reliable. Modern oil and batteries are better, cleaner and longer lasting than the originals. You’ll seed to change your rubber, though - I binned my old hoses, as new pattern examples were cheap and readily available.
Your chief concern will probably be paint and underseal - keeping rust at bay is tricky on anything old that commutes.
As long as you stay on top of the oily stuff, I would imagine you’ll be fairly reliable. Modern oil and batteries are better, cleaner and longer lasting than the originals. You’ll seed to change your rubber, though - I binned my old hoses, as new pattern examples were cheap and readily available.
Your chief concern will probably be paint and underseal - keeping rust at bay is tricky on anything old that commutes.
I use a 1991 Alfa Spider as my daily driver when I'm at my place in Italy. It also goes back and forth to London fairly frequently. I do put snow tyres on it for the winter in case I need to get into the hills but I do try to avoid salt as much as possible.
I tend to change the oil every 4-5000 miles whether it needs it or not and I do a lot of preventative maintenance as well as travel with a bootful of tools and spares - bulbs, fuses, belts, spark plugs, dizzy cap, cable ties, duct tape etc. I've only been stranded once and that was with a loose wire on the starter motor that required a longer pair or long-nosed pliers than I had to hand.
What's good news is that ClassicAlfa will post stuff out to me faster, cheaper and more reliably than I get it from an Italian specialist, ironically.
I tend to change the oil every 4-5000 miles whether it needs it or not and I do a lot of preventative maintenance as well as travel with a bootful of tools and spares - bulbs, fuses, belts, spark plugs, dizzy cap, cable ties, duct tape etc. I've only been stranded once and that was with a loose wire on the starter motor that required a longer pair or long-nosed pliers than I had to hand
.What's good news is that ClassicAlfa will post stuff out to me faster, cheaper and more reliably than I get it from an Italian specialist, ironically.
Yertis said:
Faust66 said:
Had a similar problem a while back… buzz, buzz, buuuuuzzzzzzz – it was driving me mad!
Grab a bit of dum-dum/butyl putty and place it around the choke leaver behind the dash (on the mechanism or the lever where it doesn’t go through the dash. Avoid any moving parts) – the weight of the putty stops the various parts resonating, so no more annoying buzz!
Nice and easy fix.
Also worth checking that any trim parts around the choke lever are nice and secure - if the clips (or whatever) are worn, they can also make the dreaded buzzz - might be most applicable to cars with painted metal dashboards rather than wood/leather/plastic.
Thanks for that. I'm having another poke about tonight. Securing a reproduction choke knob on a TR is a total ball-ache of a job, because the knobs can't be pulled off the rod, which means... blah blah. Grab a bit of dum-dum/butyl putty and place it around the choke leaver behind the dash (on the mechanism or the lever where it doesn’t go through the dash. Avoid any moving parts) – the weight of the putty stops the various parts resonating, so no more annoying buzz!
Nice and easy fix.
Also worth checking that any trim parts around the choke lever are nice and secure - if the clips (or whatever) are worn, they can also make the dreaded buzzz - might be most applicable to cars with painted metal dashboards rather than wood/leather/plastic.
I'm actually tempted to cut this one off, drill/tap the rod and put on a new knob secured with an allen screw... sorry thinking aloud.I used a P4 Rover for years - comfortable and reliable around 100 miles a week and 25 mpg or thereabouts. It was a 110 with the Weslake head and 125 hp. For a big heavy car it was surprisingly agile once I'd overhauled all the front suspension, and the brakes were excellent. Before that I commuted by 2CV Citroen, which was a hoot, especially when the original 435cc engine was replaced by the mighty and more common 602 - retaining the lighter flywheel and lower ratio gearbox giving it a genuine 80mph ability!
grumpy52 said:
Be very careful with choke cables , there were a load of replacement ones around that had metal wound outer shrouds , due to vibration these would chafe through any wiring that they came into contact with sometimes with dire consequences.
Thanks for that. The outer is plastic/pvc whatever, but overall it’s not great. I kick myself for buggering up the original in a (not uncommon) moment of idioticness.
I used by 67 Duetto as my main driver for a bout 2 years in the 2000's. Often did London to Poole twice a week and up to Yorkshire.
Learned pretty quickly in winter that an alternator was much better than the dynamo it replaced.
I use the 928 regularly, on a 35 mile commute into Brum.
A lot to be said for running classics regularly.
I run a Mk1 2 litre Triumph Vitesse, and an original engined Triumph Stag as my dailies - the Stag has 150k on it, the Vitesse 115k. Had the Stag over 12 years, and the Vitesse 9.
My 18yr old son has had a Spitfire 1500 fo over a year as his daily also.
They were originally built for daily use, and it would seem the more you use them, the less trouble they are - and no, the Stag has never overheated the whole time I’ve had it!
My 18yr old son has had a Spitfire 1500 fo over a year as his daily also.
They were originally built for daily use, and it would seem the more you use them, the less trouble they are - and no, the Stag has never overheated the whole time I’ve had it!
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