QUESTION: Recommendation For An Old Vehicle.

Me | June 23, 2012 | Yosemitest

[Yosemitest]

Question: If you were going to pick a vehicle from the 1940s, 1950s, or 1960s that you wanted to actually use for a daily driver,
what vehicle would you choose that might be economical, not computer over mechanical, easy to maintain, and easy to get parts for?

I'm so sick of having a vehicle that is nothing but a computer controlled headache.
My thought are along the lines of a 1952 Henry J with AIRCONDITIONING, a 1948 Ford 2 Door Sedan, a 1951 Willys Woody Wagon,
a 1964 Ford Falcon Convertible, or maybe a 1963 Mercury Meteor.

I'd like to be able to tow a small trailer with maybe 1,500 pounds on it, and not burn up the transmission.

[riverrunner]

Don’t Nice to think about and maybe have.

But I drove those every day todays vehicles last longer nicer to drive and are a lot safer.

[jennings2004]

1968 Camaro w/327 engine...a beautiful car and would it ever run...just wow!

[knarf]

Falcons and Mavericks were both supposed to be throw-away cars, but the damned things kept runnin' and runnin'.

I've had 4 Maverick's in my time, all 2 or 300 dollar miracles that died only because of body cancer.

Don't remember the years, maybe early 70's, and it was during a time when gas was about a buck a gallon ... who cared about mileage?

[equaviator]

1970-1972 Chevy Nova 6 cylinder coupe.

[wetgundog]

I vote for Checker Marathon too. Direct to you from Kalamazoo!

[Utah Binger]

Five more models.

My personal choice would be a 54 Ford with a Thunderbird engine. I drove one for about 200,000 miles.

[Reo]

Having had daily drivers from the 30's (36 Ford sedan, 38 Ford panel truck)to the 60's (62 Buick, 64 Triumph & 65 Jaguar), here are a few thoughts regarding fun old car selection in today's market and for today's driving conditions.

1. 60's cars are much better able to keep up with today's traffic flow than those from the 30's, 40's, & even the 50's.

2. Ford and Chevy have the best and most economical parts availability.

3. Buy what you like. One car that currently interests me and seems to be a real value is the second generation Corvair from 1965-1969. Great styling, even looking contemmporary today, good parts availability, inexpensive to buy, and the added satisfaction of telling busybodies like Ralph nader to buzz off every time you turn the key and head out on a drive. Here's a nice example available right now on eBay to copy and paste:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/?cmd=ViewItem&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649&item=290732884806&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

Have fun in your search and enjoy your ride!

[Poser]

I second the Dart with a slant six.

[Yosemitest]

A lot of good information in your post.

"points, condenser, and coil instead of the electronic ignitions"

That's exactly what I'm looking for, something that you can easily work on, that isn't designed to keep you out from under the hood.
Something that's designed with room to work around the engine and the rest of the vehicle.
I have a few pickups, but they're from the mid to late 70s and they tend to get vapor lock, and 14 mpg is about as good as they get.
But with a goose neck trailer that empty is 6,500 lbs, they can pull and stop a 10,000 lb load.
I want a 4 fat person hauler that can take a load of groceries and pull a 5 by 12 ft trailer with little gas mileage change.

[Arlis]

Yup, Checker Marathon....built like a tank, all common Chevy parts - albeit old. Wife had relatives who drove nothing but Marathons! Back in the 50's/60's it was the only car that would go 1/2 million miles or more and not self-destruct before 100,000. And all easy to find/replace parts. My first car was a '51 Ford Crestliner (rare - vinyl top from factory) that was built similarly - 12 ga. steel bodies, etc. My dad gave the car to Mom as her first car in '51, she drove it until '56, gave it to her mom/my grandmother who drove it until '64 when I bought it from her for $100.00. My younger bro totalled it. My '09 CVO Screamin' Eagle Harley Road Glide has two cylinders and is the same cu." as that '51 Ford!

[Dick Vomer]

1967 Chevy Impala

[Yosemitest]

I've owned a 66 mustang and it was okay, but the floor panels rust out easily, and 4 fat people in one pony car just isn't a pleasant thing to do.
I like the old mustangs, and 1969 was my favorite body style, and they could still be modified back to points, plugs, and condenser.
But it's just not what I'm looking for.
They're a good investment, if you can keep them from being stolen. And they're fun to drive.
But a similar vehicle that I really liked was the 1967 Galaxie LTD 2 Door fastback, at about 18 mpg.

[Yosemitest]

I've got a slant six engine that was a crate engine, that never been fired up.
It was given to me, from military surplus, and it's still got new oil in it.
We've had it now for about 15 or 20 years, and it's in a shed.

[Leo58]

Still have the first car I ever owned: 1957 Chevrolet, 2 door sedan. I have a little over 300k miles on mine. Re-manunfactured parts are easy to find. Working on this car is a piece of cake. Many shop manuals are in print. Also nothing turns heads like a 57 Chevy. It is the symbol of life in the 50s.

[PzLdr]

[1] 55-57 Chevy

[2] 49 Merc.

[GenXteacher]

1950 Chevy 1 ton truck. Its dirt simple, straight six, 3-speed column shift. No commie pollution controls, no commie seat belts, and a larger straight-six motor can be retro-fitted for more power.

[the invisib1e hand]

Question: If you were going to pick a vehicle from the 1940s, 1950s, or 1960s that you wanted to actually use for a daily driver,

you'll last three months, tops, before you're back into the air-conditioned, smooth ride of your "computer controlled box" or whatever. And the last two of those months, nobody will want to be around you. You'll be sleeping in the doghouse.

[wtc911]

Any 60s Dodge Dart with the Slant Six...

[fini]

I would go with a Mustang because you can get parts. They still make almost every part you would ever need and old cars need parts.

In 1987, I inherited my grandmother's 1964 Lincoln. It had 37,000 miles on it and it was in beautiful condition. Three years later I gave it to my cousin, because I was tired of fixing it. This was in the days before the Internet and I spent more on long distance phones calls finding parts than I did on the parts. Time destroys mechanical things, because gaskets become brittle; which cause fluids to leak; which causes mechanical failure. For example, the steering wheel came off the steering column while my wife was driving it. She was able to slip it back on before there was an accident. The problem was that there was a leather gasket that held the attachment screws under tension. The leather gasket dry rotted and the screws fell out. Ignoring the danger and upset wife, you cannot imagine how hard it was to get someone to make a new gasket (I was not going to trust a 20 year old replacement gasket).

[Reo]

Re: the Corvair link in Post #27, I forgot about your towing reqirement. Instead, check out this Falcon wagon on BaT for $8500... Copy & paste here:

http://bringatrailer.com/2012/06/20/bat-exclusive-1965-ford-falcon-squire-wagon/