The Rodding Roundtable
Motorhead Message Central => Rodder's Roundtable => Topic started by: Crosley.In.AZ on August 04, 2010, 10:11:49 PM
I hope to keep this mostly simple on discussion of a daily driver vehicle.
A vehicle you would use daily to - from work. Get the family in it and travel 250 or 2,000 miles for a road trip.
How high or low tech are you for this vehicle? I am thinking about backing up on the tech in my daily driver truck.
No safety air bags, ABS , stability control?
Would you use a carburetor engine or EFI?
Would you use a carburetor , with points dizzy or electronic dizzy?
I hope folks understand what i am asking.
Would you use a 1948 Chevy with an EFI engine and transmission? Or use a straight 6 with 3 speed and over drive?
or buy a 2011 vehicle to just drive and not worry about nuttin cept the payment ( if you had one)
I am curious
At this very moment I have a 1992 model little compact ford (jap model) that a freind of mine gave to me because he was sick of looking at it.
It still has a few months of registration, so it's perfect.
It's a 5sp manual, with air but no power anything.
Can't complain about the price :wink:
Heh, heh, my answer to that question is my 02 PT Cruiser meant to be my daily driver while I was working.
Now since I knew I would be running 'Big N Littles' on the Cruiser I specifically ordered it with without ABS, but otherwise it's loaded.
Now that I'm retired my Charger and my Chrysler are my daily drivers and I only drive my 02 PT Cruiser once a month or so.
If had to go somewhere like work everyday I'd go with a latemodel ride.
Now that I'm retired, I really enjoy driving my old tech rides. But both my Charger and Chrysler do have factory electronic ignition retrofitted but no A/C.
When I build a car, throughout the whole build I've got one thing in the back of my mind - will I be able to fix this on the side of the freeway? That's why I keep everything as simple as possible, because I drive my cars a lot and long distances, and sure as hell eventually somethings going to go south on it. The 40 pickup I'm just finishing and the 32 roadster are the first cars that haven't had point distributors! I've heard horror stories about modules going and you can't fix them without another module - with points you can always get going. Same with ignition boxes - I had one die on me in the middle of nowhere and wired around it....tore it out when I got home! Just my preference I guess!
my daily driver. 65 ford 1/2 ton,240-6, carb,points,3 on the tree. 5years of faithful service so far. $124/year ins. Longest trip 600 miles each way.I am about to replace it because the cab floor is not worth fixing for a beater. I just hauled the replacement home tonight.65 mercury 1/2 ton ,240 from the ford will go in with a fresh timing set,4 speed (wife and son find 3on tree difficult). Just to make it simple I will keep the points and carb but I have been thinking about swapping to fuel injection ,electronic ignition and maybe a header in the future.The thing that holds me back from the upgrades is that this thing is so easy to fix.
For a daily, cheap, reliable, economical, in that order. With the salt here, it doesn't take many winters to ruin a car. So I am not picky about a daily. When I am done with one they have little value to anyone, and are generally scrapped. I'be had very little trouble with electronics failing
I am a firm believer in K.I.S.S.. If I were to build a daily driver from an early car, it would be a carburated small block with HEI. A/C and radio would be the only options. If you had a Mustang II front end, I'd go with PS. Use only over the counter stuff on the car. You'd end up with a car that is reliable and you could fix it on the side of the road. Just for cheap insurance, I'd carry a spare HEI module. I have done that for years and never had to use it.
My daily driver is a 2001 GMC 1/2 ton short box, regular cab. Gets pretty good mileage, drive nice, and fits me. It was a total, so not in it a bunch. We don't have a many issues with the salt here, although they are starting to put the liquid stuff on the roads here in the winter, so rust is not such an issue. I expect to drive the truck for another 10 years or so.
Doug
Some of you guys/gals..gotta get with the program hehe.
Daily driver=155L gas tank..for starters.
1994 GM 1 ton HD extended window van. Serious "tankage". Ya..err..a bit dog eared.
I do a LOT! of driving. I LOVE this TANK! LOl..so does my big dog. Sits on the psgr seat head out the window barking. Great vehicle.
My other daily driver..03 Focus wagon. My last 3 daily drivers. Ford Escort wagons. Great vehicles.
My next daily driver. (the Focus is in really great! shape. But I never drive it. Sits in the driveway. Dog doesn't like this as much. He is too big. ) will probablly be..
when the van starts to break down..another full size van..another GM..but an AWD. I have sort of followed these for a few years..they are starting to show up in boneyards..so parts and the knowledge to fix these things is there. I would buy a used one.
Personally..I prefer used vehicles for daily drivers. Models that have been around for a while. And have already proven themselves.Stuff that there are the parts and the knowledge to fix relatively easily already. Everythng can and does break. Not much worse than a new daily driver that is next to impossible to get fixed..or keep fixed..or stupid expensive for "service". I have simply heard,read too many horror stores with new models.
For a daily driver I tend to buy a new vehicle about every ten years. I have never had one leave me stranded, not once. I don't want an everyday vehicle that I have to be working on a lot, and I want to know that I can jump in it and drive across country with just the usual checks before leaving because what little maintenance there is on a modern vehicle is up to date. It's not that I don't trust my older vehicles, but they are old technology and just plain old parts that do breakdown. If i'm going to a car related event of course I'm driving the old stuff, but if I'm driving 800 miles to see the grandson I'm in the new one. The safety and reliability of the new ones is just so much better than it was even 30 years ago, the challenge is to find one that is more to you than just an appliance. :D
My last 5 drivers have been Buick Lesabres; big, comfy, lots of luggage space, and 30 mpg on the highway. Of course they don't make them anymore. Corporate suit types can sure get dumb when they discontinue something that works. I don't know what I'll do for my next "good" car.
my 2ยข
.bjb
I have a '92 Safari van I use for hauling stuff, and I drive a '97 Monte Carlo as a daily driver. My wife gets a new vehicle about every three years because she travels a lot. If I travel any distance, it's usually in the Monte Carlo or the street rod. If I built a car to be a daily driver, I would keep it simple but I would probably try to go with a stock FI engine--LT-1/LT-4--something that could be repaired with readily available parts. A decent stereo and A/C would be all the extra's I'd want.
My daily right now is a 2001 Ford Escape, it was free. The one before that was a 1991 Aerostar van, it was cheap. Before that a 1987 Dodge Caravan, bought out of a junkyard with a bad engine. And going back further, 1987 S10, 1982 Toronado diesel, 1982 VW Rabbit diesel, 1975 GMC 1/2 ton, 1970 Hornet, 1976 Chevette, 1966 Olds Delmont, And several Vegas.
I hate to work on daily drivers. Early last year I was driving a 05 Cavalier. I had purchased it new for my daughter. When she bought her own car I got it back. It was getting to the 60k mile range. I didn't want to do anything to it. I pulled into the Chevy dealer and made a deal on a new 09 Cobalt. I tend to keep my daily stuff pretty new and low mileage. I have never had a problem on the road. If I decide to head cross country tonight, I know it's ready.
On the other side of the coin a coworker bought a new Cavalier many years ago. He is still driving it every day. It has 250k miles on it. He has had to do some minor service, bit it still goes. I'm sure he has invested a lot less than I have in those years of service.
Well all of my daily drivers are trucks, cuz it's so handy. You can throw stuff in the back, and usually there is only 1 or 2 people anyway. I never buy anything new, usually one/two years old. Always looking for stuff at the salvage sales, a theft recovery or a light hit.
My street rods are simple ...Small Holley carbs & HEI ignition on a small block Chev...If needed you can buy repair parts at Wally-World... For the "A" I'm going with a stock 350 turned port as it prolly will be my last "serious" build & I want something a little different ....
My wife's daily..'94 AWD Astro Van..She sits high to see the traffic ...AWD keeps her going through the winter ...Simple & a "no magic" kind of vehicle ......
My daily.... a 2000 Grand Marquis ...Lots of room ..Cloth seats, ( Its a cheap model), basic power windows & A/C ...21+mpg on the highway..My buddy runs a limo fleet & they run the same basic model to 350K or 400K miles ..350K miles on an engine is common..At 400K to 450K miles he wholesales them to the Middle East ....Those cars are like the Energizer Bunny ..They keep going & going & going ....Mine is maintained like one of his fleet cars...3K mile oil changes , etc ....
It's a shame Ford stopped making them ....They were a truly basic reliable economical car to own & run ...
We ,like Frank, fight the "Rust Monster" here ...How would you feel if your frame rusted through before your payment book ended :shock: :?:
I have seen it happen multiple times ......
Bob........ :wink:
Very interesting stuff guys.
we drive the 2006 Jetta daily, diesel power. My wife tells me she will not go back to older cars.
My truck is a Silverado 2006 with 5.3 engine , 3.73 gear , 1500 = 1/2 ton with crew cab. A belly button truck if you will
the truck is a complete pig for power, no "go" till you have it wound up over 3k RPM. when I have the car trailer and Falcon 1962 on the hitch , LOL = just go around me till I get the pig wound up. BTWay , my car trailer is aluminum Featherlite. Falcon weighs 2700 pounds.
I am thinking about an older Ford turbo diesel 7.3 truck , no air bags, no drive by wire crap
Although my 1971 Chev truck ran well with the trailer in tow... 3.07 gear, ZZ4 engine , t-350 trans. Not much simpler
8)
My daily driver is my '89 Ford Ranger (although lately it's been a Craftsman lawn tractor twice a week) my "Mobile Compost Pile". I bought a Ranger for myself in '86 and it was just what I wanted, regular cab, short bed, carburated 4 cyl., stick. I was pleased with the purchase and I have looked for similar trucks whenever I've needed another daily driver. My age and physical condition has made a change in options. If I have to think hard about steering, braking or shifting I don't have the concentration to drive so the latest Ranger is 4 cyl. with automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes. I wouldn't trust it to pull or stop a loaded trailer but I wouldn't trust me to pull one either. I just wish it didn't have all the electronics.You put in the key and it starts, you put it in R or D with your foot on the brakes and it stays still but there are Red Lights telling you to check the engine or the brake system isn't right. I'd rather have something break and then I could explore what's wrong and maybe fix it rather than being constantly reminded that "something is going to happen sometime, we know and we're not going to tell you". I only drive about 4,000 miles a year in it so gas mileage isn't that great a concern. It's not worth much and that's what I owe on it and I only insure someone else if it misbehaves. My concentration is only good for about 250 miles a day and it can do that if I give it a days rest before I ask for a repeat performance. When I want to replace it "who knows" but if I had to replace it I'd probably look for it's twin. GPster
my daily is a 308 (5 litre) auto ute (1/2 ton?) 1979 with hei.. like 32 coupe i got it at a great price.. free. that said, it's a great unit , the only let down is rust.. will get to that when i can. my family hack is a 96 model ford wagon with air, abs & cruise, 410,000 k's serviced every 7,000 or so. took it for a 2,000 k drive at christmas ( our summer ) running aircon flat out it didnt miss a beat. i've never paid more than $2,000 for a car, never had one with less than 200,000 k's on the clock.. but the wife wants to change that :roll: :lol: :lol: :lol:
86 Caprice, wanted something different with a carb.(//%5Bimg%5Dhttp://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii151/skipper62/car.jpg)[/img]
Heh, heh, well my daily ride used to be this 89 Chevy Suburban, for me it was the perfect ride. Unfortunately I just had to have a PT Cruiser when they came out so the Sub just kinda got put in my collector car stable/junkyard.
(http://carnut.com/iown/m89sub01.jpg) (http://carnut.com/iown/89sub.html)
I once really enjoyed having a 56 Chevy 4dr Wagon but due to lack of forethought on my part I let it go. The Sub brought back my memories of a 56 Chevy Wagon. I'm just a wagon kinda guy for regular transportation.
The old Sub now just sits in my garage with the hood off after an attempt to get it going when it was leaking water in the combustion chambers. Tried replacing the manifold gasket but alass the leak was still there, so I gave up and let it sit until I get up the gumption to go tear the engine completely apart or get enough money to have someone else do it.
Anyhow, I was surprised how easily it was to modify some of the features of the engine. I managed to put a good sized dual exhaust with glasspacks on the the thing with tailpipes running out to the rear corners and dumping down in my '57 Chevy Exhaust style'. I thought it would mess up the oxy sensor system for the computer but it didn't.
Also was surprised how easily the old beast started up after changing the manifold gaskets on it after it had sat for a couple years unused. Guess that TBI isn't all bad.
Maybe some day I'll get it back on the road.
If it wasn't for the PT Cruiser this would still be my daily driver.
Quote from: "Crosley"
I am thinking about an older Ford turbo diesel 7.3 truck , no air bags, no drive by wire crap 8)
If you're gonna drive a Ford diesel, that's the one to get. The newer Power jokes are a POS.
Late models need so little maintenance, such a great combination of performance and fuel mileage, and I'm not afraid of the technology so that's the way I like to go with dailys. That said, once I by them I run them until they die.
But the right cool older ride would be a lot of fun.
2 years ago I was working on Long Island and headed out to lunch with one of the guys on the project. He apologized for the car and said his wife would kill him if she knew he was taking people in it. He said he was going to sell it as soon as his new Nissan Murano came in. Long story short, I bought the car a few months later for $900 and drove it the 250 miles home. It is a '95 Saturn SL1, SOHC 5-speed. Has power windows and locks. He was the original owner and had just put 4 new tires and shocks and struts all around. I love the car. 40 mpg on the highway and 34 around town. I hope I get another couple years out of it. They don't get much snow down there and it is very clean underneath. I've had to change the starter and replaced the water pump just the other day. Including 2 new snow tires I bought I have about $1300 total in the car. Not bad for 2 years of driving.
My daily driver is a '99 Ford Ranger that I bought new in '99. It's got 94000 miles on it now, and has had the brakes replaced a couple times, and is due again. The other day when my wife and I were doing garage sales, I looked at a nice '97 Chevy K1500 just for the heck of it. She asked "do you want a new truck? We can afford to get one." I'd like to get a 4x4, but I said that this one will run for a few more years. It's had glitches like the dome light switches and not idling right, but that's all been taken care of. I just may run this one into the ground.