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Classic Cars as daily drivers

552 messages,  Last post on May 11, 2009 at 8:03 AM

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What is this discussion about? Coupe, Convertible, Sedan

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#493 of 552 The main benefit... by andre1969 Mar 24, 2003 (7:29 am)
...with limited slip (Posi, Surgrip, Traction-Lok, etc), is that if one wheel starts to lose traction and spin, then power will go to the other wheel. With a normal "open" rear end, once one wheel starts to spin, you're screwed, because all your power will then go to that wheel, and not the one that has a more sure footing.   I've never had a limited-slip car, so I can't personally attest to the benefits of it. If you have a high-power engine though, it should get the power to the ground better, where an open rear would just put too much power to one wheel, which would lose traction and just keep spinning, without really going anywhere until you let off the gas.   I've also heard that if you do a lot of turning, like say in a downtown city area, that limited-slip rear-ends will wear out quicker. This is one reason why city police cars often had open rears, while highway pursuit units had limited slip. (BTW, I'm a Chrysler guy, so I have trouble saying the word "posi"
#494 of 552 limited slip by camshaft1 Mar 24, 2003 (11:24 am)
thanx andre1969. that clears up a lot of confusion. what you wrote is pretty much what i thought. do you have any ideas on what is better for pro-touring? i think the previous owner had this car set up for street/strip. i ordered a g-machine suspension and have a super-t tranny. i've been a back yard mechanic for a while but i've never taken on a project like this one. i live in baltimore city so i will be doing a lot of turning but i want the best over all car. i had a 95 bmw m3 that has a tuned suspension. other than the occassional rough bumps it was great in the city.
#495 of 552 . by fintail Mar 08, 2006 (2:47 pm)
This was my daily driver for almost 8 years
#496 of 552 And I drove to work this morning... by andre1969 Mar 09, 2006 (6:21 am)
in this. This old beast was my daily driver for roughly 85,000 miles. Replies to this message: Mr_Shiftright (Mar 09, 2006 8:48 am) fintail (Mar 09, 2006 9:16 am)
#497 of 552 Re: And I drove to work this morning... [andre1969] by Mr_Shiftright HOST Mar 09, 2006 (8:48 am)
Replying to: andre1969 (Mar 09, 2006 6:21 am) great photo. You should post that in your carspace webpage as well.   I switch cars a lot. Since I've been on the road more and more in my work, I bought a new car instead of pushing an old one as a daily driver. The day to day grind in a large metro area is tough on an old car, and even a couple of breakdowns costs too much in time and money for me.   So my old cars will just be toys now for occasional use. Replies to this message: fintail (Mar 09, 2006 9:16 am)
#498 of 552 Re: And I drove to work this morning... [Mr_Shiftright] by fintail Mar 09, 2006 (9:16 am)
Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Mar 09, 2006 8:48 am) That's kind of why I retired the fintail too - once I was out of school and had to go out every day, I wanted something more modern. And then when I moved to a more urban setting, I wanted something a little more modern and of lower mileage than the 126, and I didn't want to be too tough on it in the traffic here. It all worked out...the fintail is now a sunny day car, and the 126 went to a retiree who uses it for pleasure drives.
#499 of 552 Shifty: by jrosasmc Mar 09, 2006 (10:02 am)
What kind of new car did your purchase? Do you like it? Replies to this message: Mr_Shiftright (Mar 09, 2006 10:43 am)
#500 of 552 My Dart... by andre1969 Mar 09, 2006 (10:15 am)
kind of retired itself. Looking back now, I can't remember exactly why I quit driving it primarily. I did find this 1979 Newport in the junkyard, just crying out to me, so I bought it for $250. Let's not talk about how much it cost to get it through inspection though! And then the tranny finally called it quits. About a mile from the tranny shop that told the previous owner the tranny wasn't long for this world. I thought that was kinda ironic when I found that out!   Nowadays though, I mainly drive my Intrepid or '85 Silverado for the daily grind, and in bad weather. The LeMans, and my NYer and Catalina convertible are strictly nice weather cars. I'll drive them to work, but I'm only 3 1/2 miles away, and work at a gated center with generous-sized parking spaces, so it's not like these cars have to experience the parts of America we wouldn't want to send our worst enemies!!   Anyway, I delivered pizzas in the evenings after work back then, which over time gave the Dart around 30,000 of its miles. Now that I think back on it, the heater in the Dart didn't work, and the power steering pump was non-functioning. So that may have been why I started driving the Newport more. The Dart's heater itself worked, but the fan had burnt out. So basically, hot air would filter into the cabin, and the faster you went, the faster it would trickle in.   In the fall of '97, I finally broke down and got the Dart's power steering fixed. Had to replace the steering box by then, too. But I still just didn't drive it that much.   It was considerably faster than the Newport, although not really that much more maneuverable. I found out later that the Newport had something called an "Open Road Handling Package" that firmed up its handling, so that may be one reason. The Dart also got a bit better fuel economy, and had a much better sound system. But if nothing else, the Newport was lower mileage, even if it "only" had 230,000 miles on it, versus the 338,000 the Dart now shows on its odometer.   Eventually my Mom gave me her '86 Monte, which accelerated almost as well as the Dart, but was much more maneuverable than the Dart or Newport, and got much better economy. Although it was high mileage too, 179,000, and was getting to the point that it really needed premium. Well, that car lasted 3 months, getting T-boned in the summer of '98, with about 192,000 miles on it. So I went back to driving the Newport, until its water pump went out on me. By that time I was getting fed up with it, and wanted something newer, so I found this 1989 Gran Fury police car with only 73,000 miles on it. And ultimately proved to be more troubleprone and expensive to fix than the Newport before it! Also guzzled like there was no tomorrow, but I LOVED its handling, and it accelerated pretty quickly too.   Anyway, that got replaced by my Intrepid in November 1999, and I held onto it for a few years as a spare car. The Dart just sat around, got run occasionally, and then one day I parked it at my Grandma's house near a mulberry tree. A few weeks later my uncle decided he wanted to take that tree down, so I had to move the Dart. Only thing is, the Dart refused to start! And I've just been too lazy to mess with it. When it would get in the way I'd just push it somewhere else in the yard, or chain it to something else and pull it.   I really should either sell it for parts or just have it hauled away, but I've just gotten too sentimental over the danged thing!
#501 of 552 Re: Shifty: [jrosasmc] by Mr_Shiftright HOST Mar 09, 2006 (10:43 am)
Replying to: jrosasmc (Mar 09, 2006 10:02 am) Oh well I wanted a small "urban car" with good fuel mileage (gas prices in California are punishing) so I bought a Scion xA. I am presently tweaking it, I couldn't resist. Soon to be a classic in 150 years!!
#502 of 552 And: by jrosasmc Mar 09, 2006 (10:53 am)
Do you drive that Scion like you did with your Alfas and Porsches?

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