To daily drive, or not....

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I'm not daily driving my old cars. i like my modern comfort and features. 80 mile round trip for work too.

if i were to do it the first thing id have to do is the suspension and rims/tires. would have to get it to handle much better then stock. I'd need working a/c, bluetooth radio, more comfortable seats and im sure I'll think of more as time goes on.

dont forget sound deadener like dynamat.

noise will fatigue you too
 
I'm planning on an A-body as a daily driver (except winter-salt) to replace my Challenger. My tentative plan is to keep things simple with either a 360 or a stroker. Keep the compression low to run 87 octane gas, keep the cam reasonable, ThermoQuad carb, run tall (2.76) gears until I can get an OD trans, and go for handling with big discs, fast-ratio manual steering, HD torsion bars and leaf springs, big swaybars, and probably 17" wheels. Biggest issue will be adding A/C.
 
Now that the Dart is fixed (thanks to the help from this forum) it is back to being my daily driver. My coworkers expect it to be parked under the tree (3PM shade is important in Dallas in the summer). I get 20+ MPG, better than a many other vehicles being driven to work (hard to calculate the mileage these days, the odo broke in 2007). It does what I need it to do; expectations change over time (cf "The Giving Tree").

...Bill
 
Now that the Dart is fixed (thanks to the help from this forum) it is back to being my daily driver. My coworkers expect it to be parked under the tree (3PM shade is important in Dallas in the summer). I get 20+ MPG, better than a many other vehicles being driven to work (hard to calculate the mileage these days, the odo broke in 2007). It does what I need it to do; expectations change over time (cf "The Giving Tree").

...Bill
20+MPG? That a slant six?
 
Great attitude, Ivan. And, very nice car.

just changed the TPS sensor yesterday, since the original edelbrock one had variation at idle when the pedal was not pressed, and the ECU does not control idle via the IAC valve if TPS is reading more than 2% :(
 
Life is too short to drive boring cars. I drive my oldies, and I build them for modern drive-ability. Do it!

I don't disagree, but boring can be defined multiple ways. At my age, comfort is NOT boring, neither are certain creature comforts. While my Elantra may LOOK boring, heated seats that make my back feel better when I get where I'm going is not boring. I am seriously considering putting seat heaters in the Barracuda...
 
What changes, if any, were the big difference for you?
What changes are you planning? thx for input !


The best advice I can give is if the squeaks and rattles are too much for you upgrade the stereo system.
 
...that is the question.

I didn't want to hijack the other threads... and I know it's been hashed over, but that's what we do with 50 year old cars..... hash it over again and again.

Anyway those that are daily driving their old cars/trucks...rattles, leaks, cooling issues (both the car and the driver, etc) What has been your experience? Is there a stretch of freeway involved?

I've driven my hot rods to work on occasion. and on the freeway, about a 25 mile stretch, it sucks. (Idling a 440 in traffic, or 3500 RPM / 70mph) But that's a single day going from modern luxury to a 50 year old car....so maybe the change was too dramatic. Being in my 50's, of course I've daily driven total beaters, we all did. I like my comforts now, but I also like the idea of making my 70 Duster (mild 318 / auto) a livable daily driver. A/C is a must...

What changes, if any, were the big difference for you?
What changes are you planning? thx for input !
We drove the crap out of them when they were new and I still do.
 
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