Almost all new cars are reliable and perform well, but I want something different and something I can work on myself. Like not having to take off engine shields to get to the oil filter, or not having to remove the bumper to get to the headlight bulbs (I’m looking at you Mazdaspeed 3.) I’m thking an older car like a Ford Galaxie or Chevy Impala carefully upgraded with new parts like electronic ignition and platinum plugs would be fairly reliable. Anybody drive a classic daily, and what are your experiences?
From 1988 until 1996, a 1970 Ford Mustang was my daily driver. In a way, it was a headache, because it fairly frequently (at least once per year) went out of commission and had to be repaired. On the other hand, most everything (with the exception of when the transmission had to be replaced) was stuff that was easy for me (or me and a friend) to do–replace the starter, or the oil pump, etc. I loved that car, and wish I hadn’t had to sell it in grad school. Now that I’m old and lazy, I like the convenience of a brand new car that is under warranty; but if someone gave me a Boss 302 to drive every day, I wouldn’t say no.
How far back are we talking about here? If you’re looking at anything over 20 years old, it will almost certainly be more expensive than a new(er) car. Cars of that age were never designed to last so long.
I drive a 15 year old car that’s pretty rare in North America, but the cost to make everything on it work properly (including a new engine) was quite high, higher than if I had just bought a new(er) car.
In the '80s I drove a hand-me-down '66 MGB. It was my daily driver for a long time. It was fairly reliable. (I say ‘fairly’ because it was a British car.)
It was designed as a daily driver right? As long as I kept it tuned up, lubed and fueled it got me where I wanted to go.
I had a 78 MGB as my first car. The electrics were…interesting. But if the MGB would start, it always got me where I was going. If it would start. :dubious:
I drove nothing but air-cooled Volkswagens from 1979 to about 1998. My last VW is a 1972 Karman Ghia convertible, and was always completely reliable. Plus, it has to be one of the easiest cars ever to work on. Now, sitting out in the rain, it’s not quite so reliable, but will still fire up after a year of sitting.
I have a kit car which is essentially a 1960 VW Beetle with a fiberglass body so it looks like a 1929 Mercedes. Appearances aside, mechanically, it’s a Beetle. It is by far the easiest car I’ve ever had to work on. I mean, come on, you can change the engine on the thing without using an engine hoist. How many other cars can you say that about? Before I got it, the car sat in a garage for 20 years. After a new battery and a change of oil and gas, the thing actually started right up with a minimal amount of fiddling. Of course, Beetles don’t have heat (not heat that works, anyway) or air conditioning, so you can’t have it all.
As for the OP, I say go for it. I used to have an old Monte Carlo which I used as my daily driver. For the most part it was fairly reliable. After a few years it developed a squirelly problem where periodically it would decide it didn’t want to run any more. I was always able to get it limping home, but eventually I got aggravated with it and got rid of it.
The engines in old cars weren’t as well designed as a modern engine. A modern car will go to 200,000 miles easy. The engines in older cars weren’t so reliable once you got over 100,000 miles. If you are willing to get the engine rebuilt or put a modern engine into the car, you can keep it running virtually forever.
The one thing you are going to have to be anal about is rust. Old cars tended to rust out a lot more easily than modern cars.
Another problem you may have is if the car is old enough, it may have been designed to run on leaded gas. If that’s the case, you can either do some serious engine work to make it run on modern gas, or you can use a lead additive every time you fill up.
My kit car is currently in pieces all over my garage, but when I do get it put back together and all working I plan on driving it into work fairly often. It won’t be my daily driver (especially in winter or other bad weather) but it will get a lot more use than the typical garage kept classic. I plan on running the engine into the ground. When it dies, I’ll just slap another engine into it.
IMHO cars are meant to be driven. Keeping a car in a garage all the time is a waste.
I can’t help but think you’re quite mistaken about this. Modern car headlight bulbs are accessed from the rear of the headlamp housing. Disconnect the wiring, unfasten the retainer, and pop out the bulb (which is probably about the size of your thumb). From what I can see on the net, this is the design used on the Mazdaspeed 3. The lens is not removed, and the bumper doesn’t figure into it at all.
Nope, believe it or not I just read it today (I was doing a little research to see what the maintainence would be like on that car):
I’d vote for any 70’s or early 80’s vintage Dodge or Plymouth with the 170 or 225 CID slant sixes. Simple access to everything-even pull the starter from over the fender if you’re tall enough. Cast iron blocks that will let you run it well beyond 100K miles, given proper periodic maintenance.
I just want to chip in that changing the oil on my 5 door Mazda3 was a major PITA.
Canister type filter which was new for me, but behind a piece of protective underbody plastic that had a hole cut out that seemed like it would be possible to change the filter through. Nope - offset 6 inches or so. So you had to unscrew and snap the thing, do the change, and put it back on. Combined with the fact that the car is too low slung to get on the ramps my dad has, it was frustrating.
Love the car though.
If you really want to attract a lot of attention and have fun, and have a car that is as easy as pie to work on, get a Model A, if you can find one in good condition that does not cost a fortune.
Back in the 80s I restored a 1933 Victoria Model A and it was a ball to drive. Also, even with the big engine, it got 20 miles/gallon.
Parts are available as there a lot of companies that make new Model A parts. Just about everything on that car and be fixed with a screwdriver, a wrench and a pair of pliers.
I recommend it. It’s a joy to see everybody smile and wave, and tell you Dad had one just like it. I had a '56 Buick Special for a few years, and I usually drove it to work.
Here’s a few things to keep in mind.
Find the owners’ club in Hemmings, and join it.
Don’t sell your other car. You will need it, now and then.
Find an old mechanic who was working when this car was young, and make friends with him.
Most cars that old are either lovingly restored or a piece of junk. There are a few that look and run pretty good, but they won’t win any car shows. That’s what you want for a daily driver.
Some brands and models are popular, and they are overpriced because of that. If my Buick had been a Chevy, it would have cost me about $9k in that condition. I paid $1500. That’s why I second danceswithcats’s endorsement of the bulletproof Slant Six. The big money guys want the Hemi V8s, and they’ll pay thousands more for them.
Good luck, and have fun. 
Plus it seems that unhooking the cannister dumps oil all over the exhaust pipe. I read today that you can cut out some of the plastic cover to allow better access to the filter.
Nobody designs cars to be easy to work on it seems.
I don’t know how old it has to be for you to consider it a classic. I have a couple cars that I’d call old (but not classics): a 1985 LTD LX and a 1978 Malibu. I’ve had the LTD about 10 years now and the Malibu about 3 years. The Malibu is carb’ed and still uses points/rotor ignition. There were a few other old vehicles in the company garage…one guy commuted in a '65 Chevy panel truck. I think it’s just more fun.
The LTD has needed a radiator, water pump, driver’s door power window motor, brakes, serpentine belt, hoses, and tires. The inflating lumbar support in the seat is the only thing that doesn’t work (it doesn’t hold air). The tailpipe rusted through recently; I had to pull over on the highway and remove about 18" of exhaust to keep it from dragging. (I should get one of those bumper stickers that says “Honk if parts fall off”.) But, the LTD still starts first time I turn the key, every time. The Malibu got fresh rubber (hoses, belts, and tires) when I got it. Since then, it’s lunched a water pump and the power steering pump and high pressure line. Except for the power window motor, it’s all been stuff I can fix. I paid $2500 for the LTD and got the Malibu for free.
In cold weather, the Malibu is a little harder to start than the LTD. My opinion is that the older style fuel and ignition control is the reason. Thus, your idea of installing solid state ignition is a good way to go. I also have a 1955 DeSoto I’m thinking about trying to get running; it appears that an electronic distributor from a 90’s Dodge 318(5.2) or 360(5.9) will work in the DeSoto’s '55 291 engine. But I’m retired now, so it won’t really count as a daily driver. If you get a car with a carburetor, make sure you can tune it or have someone who knows how.
When I get something that’s been sitting for a while, it gets fresh fluids, hoses and all that before I ever try to start it. If I get it running, it gets brakes before I drive it - including brake lines and fresh fluid. I just figure, fix anything you’re dubious about before you take it out on the road.
So, yeah, I like the idea of finding something YOU like and modernizing the stuff that you want to and enjoying it.
How do they compare with the V-8 flathead era Fords for ease of maintenance/repair?
BTW, you sure your A was a '33? 
(There is a remote chance it could be a '32, though.)
While not a classic car, I’ve been driving a 1965 Ford F-100 half ton pickup daily for the past 13 years. It has a straight 6 engine, with an automatic transmission.
Minuses: Extremely hard to find some parts for. I’ve replaced the timing gear (original was fiber board), front windshield, master cylinder and recently had to convert it to a floor shift when the shift lever snapped off of the steering column.
Pluses: Body’s in pretty good shape (although I get periodic requests to sell the right rear fender only), some slight rusting which is covered with primer. I recently found an original rear tail light lens to replace one that was cracked. Gets good gas mileage, usually doesn’t cause too much trouble.
As far as old trucks go, mine is unusual in that it has a DSO number on the info plate. DSO stands for Direct Sales Order. This means that the truck was not sold by a dealer; it was purchased directly from the old Ford Motors plant in San Jose. It has 16 inch wheels instead of the standard 15 inch, and does not have a paint color specified; it was sold with a primer coat only.
I have all 3 of the 1965 Ford Shop Mechanic’s books, along with an original 1965 F-100 Owner’s Manual that I found on eBay.
My truck was also recently featured in an independent film. The film is about the wine industry in Northern California, set in the 60’s.
Oh, cripes, a typo. Of course, it was a ‘32, as ol’ Henry stopped making them that year, and in '33 the V8’s came along.
The V8s were (and still are) pretty good mechanically, and the engine worked fine. However, you could set the timing on an A so very easily, it was funny. And in '33 they lost the wonderful oooagaah horn.
To the dismay of the purists, many Model A bodies got chopped and turned into hotrods, but the current standard ones are still cheap compared to almost all other antique cars out there.
I’m really on the fence here, there are so many ways to go. I’d like something unique, but I also need at least one vehicle I just jump in and go on long trips without worrying about it. Currently I have:
98 Contour SE, 186,000 miles
91 Mustang GT, 80,000 miles
95 F-150, 110,000 miles
06 Honda Shadow, 4,000 miles
Right now the Contour and Shadow are my daily drivers, mostly the Contour. It’s been a great car but it’s getting up there in miles so I need to decide whether to keep it or fix things that need fixing/pre-emptive replacement like plugs & wires, water pump, suspension (still on original), brakes (only changed the pads once), clutch (still on original.)
I need to do some consolidation and get rid of a vehicle, I was thinking maybe sell the Mustang and Contour and get something older and more unique. I can do basic mechanical work like replacing starters, alternators, and things like that. I’m sure I could do plugs & wires if I could actually GET to them.
I see there’s a dark green 65 Mustang GT 4-speed for sale near me, that may be a candidate.
Have you seen this? Some guy in Virginia is restoring a 1952 Hudson Hornet convertible and installing hand controls so he can share the ride with disabled folks.
Check out the story - Hudson Hornet to be rebuilt for disabled drivers
There is a link at the bottom for folks who wish to contribute! Cool!