Freepmail "Lazlo in PA" to be added or removed.
Posted on 04/04/2012 9:51:06 PM PDT by Impala64ssa
These days, most people consider themselves lucky if a new car lasts 5 to 10 years. Make it to 100,000 miles in your vehicle, and the car company might make a commercial about you. That makes 93-year-old Rachel Veitch a notable exception. Veitch is retiring her 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente after more than 576,000 miles on the road. "I am legally blind, so I can no longer drive my lovely Chariot," Veitch told FoxNews.com. "They don't have to take it away, I would not dream of driving that car again." The car itself is fine, but Veitch has macular degeneration in both her eyes, making her legally blind. After running a red light in March, she decided to voluntarily give up the vehicle she's been driving since Lyndon Johnson occupied the White House. "I have taken it in stride," she said. "I don't have cancer, I don't have Lou Gehrig's disease. I am lucky." Yet for all the miles she has put on her vehicle, it doesn't come close to the world record. The Truth About Cars blog wrote that Irv Gordon's 1966 Volvo P1800 is scheduled to reach 3 million miles this year. Gordon has held the record in the Guinness Book of World Records for most miles on a noncommercial vehicle since 1998. Even without the world record, Vietch is fond of noting that the car has outlasted three marriages. Mechanically, it's worn through three sets of shocks, 18 batteries and eight mufflers. Veitch bought the car in February 1964 for just $3,289. She credits the longevity to a "near-obsessive" approach to the car's maintenance. "I've never been a destructive person and I've just taken care of everything, except my husbands," she told FoxNews. Veitch, who appeared with the vehicle on an episode of the "Tonight Show,"
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Freepmail "Lazlo in PA" to be added or removed.
Hmmm. I've got a 240Z that has outlasted 3 ex-wives. It only has 230K on it, and it's retired into the lean-to today. If the economy improves, I'll restore it.
But I won't get married again.
/johnny
My parents drive my old ‘94 3/4 ton Cheyenne that has 350,000+ on it; all highway miles. Original water pump and starter. I changed the alternator at 170,000. A 350 btw.
My ‘02 GMC has just over 200,000 on it atm (highway miles). Still purrs.
Oil changes are key.
Hey now. Let's not get out of hand here. Look at the dashboard of any late 60's thru to the 80's Ford product and look how they solved automatic transmissions that would slip out of Park into Reverse. A sticker.
I had a '69 Fairlane 500 that I could start while I was chugging backwards.
Oil changes - bah. I had a 64 IH truck, it changed it’s own oil, every couple of fill-ups. Sucker went for 700k miles, that I know of.
Sniff. I miss it.
/johnny
I knew a guy who had a 1965 Comet Cyclone when I was a kid in the 60s. He used to let me drive it alot. Had a 289 with 210 HP and was one fast car! A few years ago he finally told me the secret. The entire front end was fiberglass.
Another hot care was the Comet Caliente. Knew a guy who bought a ‘64 new. The name Caliente was perfect.
My first car was a 67 Merc Caliente. It got a burned valve at about 180,000 miles and I sold it for $300.
Then I got a 68 Impala with a 327 small block. Oh...yeah.
They don’t make them like they use to!
But does it have it's original engine?
I remember, a freind of mine had a 65 Mustang that could start in reverse. It seemed the auto shift linkage on some Fords were a bit flimsy.
Maintenance is important, but for a car to reach this sort of mileage, it’s also luck of the draw. She just happened to get one of the good ones where every part was perfectly manufactured and properly assembled.
Of course, back then cars were mostly made out of an expensive and durable material called “metal”. That doesn’t happen any more.
That works out to something like 180 miles per day for 45 years. I'm not sure I believe this claim.
Irv Gordon’s 1966 Volvo - most of its first 35 years were spent in bumper-to-bumper traffic on his daily 125-mile commute on the Long Island Expressway.
Routine maintinence is the key. I have over 555K miles on my 1999 Toyota. Get the small things taken care of before they become big problems. It’s cheaper that way, too.
I have over 246k miles on my 1998 Harley electra glide classic,
My long mostly off and now sort of on jalopy 1968 Willys has most of the original mechanical stuff. The hubs are mismatched and the radiator is from who knows where.
It will spin over but no ignition. I have forgotten a lot of basic automotive. That is what books, wiring diagrams, and meters are for.
The wiring is in poor condition. The next plan of parts is to swap out the coil and old distributor. There is an aftermarket one with electronics instead of darned points that is externally indentical. Chucking that old one barrel is on the agenda too.
Me and my dad had it running a few years ago when he rescued it. It had to be pulled off to start but it ran ok as far as I can remember.
Yesterday a friend of mine helped me clear the bay I have it stored in at another person’s building that is crammed full of junk. Now big and bulky me has a little room to actually do stuff.
http://tysonneil.smugmug.com/Other/1968-Project-Willys-CJ5/15578238_GGkBkh#!i=1167186781&k=6xWUk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es2_DaYkmnc
I am also rolling HD video of my efforts on it. Some of that is going to stock footage that might sell one day. Here is a mix of HD and some old SD when it arrived way back when.
http://footage.shutterstock.com/clip-144607-stock-footage-using-a-ratchet-on-an-engine.html
http://footage.shutterstock.com/clip-144301-stock-footage-spark-plug-wire-and-plug-maintenance.html
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