Daily driver = how high or low tech would you go?

[UGLY OLDS]

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    :?:
I have seen it happen multiple times ......



Bob........

[Crosley.In.AZ]

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


 

[GPster]

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

[rog]

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        

[chopped]

86 Caprice, wanted something different with a carb.[/img]

[Carnut]

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.



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.

[parklane]

I am thinking about an older Ford turbo diesel 7.3 truck , no air bags, no drive by wire crap  

If you're gonna drive a Ford diesel, that's the one to get. The newer Power jokes are a POS.

[jaybee]

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.

[48builder]

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.

[58 Yeoman]

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.