SV reX said:I have a Model A. Hard to find a simpler machine.
Maintaining and driving it however would not be so simple. Do you know how to gap points at the roadside?
Yes, I do. 
If a person didn't want to daily a Model A, most any prewar Ford would work. That's not to say other brands couldn't be used, it's just that Fords are the most popular and easiest to find parts for.
I've been daily driving a '77 squarebody Chevy for the past 8+ years.
1) Cheap parts
2) Plentiful parts
3) Junkyards often have a "Chevy Truck section"
4) ANY parts store on Earth has what you need on a shelf, right now.
Having said that, in 8 years, I've gone through one differential, a transmission, two rads, a set of intake manifold gaskets, four fuel pumps, an ignition module, a distributor....
So I guess it's not that reliable.....
In which case - a 3rd Gen Sunfire/Cavalier (1995-2005). Freaking cockroach of the automotive world; awful in every way, but you cannot kill them.
David S. Wallens said:93EXCivic said:90s Civic
But try to find one these days....
Meh they seem to be plentiful on Facebook marketplace still and non modified 4 doors aren't that uncommon.
Thinking more about it, "simple" doesn't really apply to an automobile. Every single one was at least close to cutting edge when new and they're all chock full of parts we can't readily reproduce. Without an inordinate amount of work, I'm as unable to reproduce a set of points from scratch as I am a silicon based igniter. So you're buying parts either way, hence the simplest is the one where the parts are available, inexpensive, good quality, and easy to install. If you have to buy and install 10 parts for every one on the prewar car versus the 90s car then I submit that the 90s car is "simpler."
The simplest car I've ever been involved with was base model Ford festiva. No ac, no radio, no passenger side mirror. It actually inspired the purchase of swmbos versa note, which was the single most basic car I could find in 2015, bought as a used 2014. Crank windows, power nothing, manual trans. Makes my 2003 jeep feel like a Mercedes in comparison.
dculberson said:Without an inordinate amount of work, I'm as unable to reproduce a set of points from scratch as I am a silicon based igniter.
As it so happens, I've been considering trying to make reproduction 1970s era ignition modules for the Mopar crowd. 
But that would take a lot more time than filing a worn set of points... Assuming somebody out there still makes decent points. Mainstream auto parts makers haven't been doing so well at making Mopar ignition boxes.
This really comes back to the same problems that have held up my wife's truck. Low supplies of both parts and good mechanics.
At least I finally have a diagnosis on the truck, and we should have it back soon - if there are parts to fix it.
Too old means too difficult to get parts. My version of this is my new daily, an 08 Civic coupe, 1.8 five speed. On my commute gets 30 MPG, and I've gotten 33 MPG on two consecutive tanks running 80+ on the highway.
It's slow enough to make my NB1 miata feel fast, but I'm still going to use it as a backup autocross car.
I just got a set of koni sport shocks and a big rear sway bar. I'm down 40-60 HP on the other H Street cars, but I'm still going to have fun.
86-93 Chevy S10 with a 5sp.
Most any 80's mini truck.
In reply to Mndsm :
Having recently owned a Festiva, I agree they are crazy simple. But there were issues with mine. Captive rotors make brakes a pain. The cat it needed cost more than the car. Same for the clutch. Had a burnt valve. But it ran and drove nice enough and was fun. I'd recommend one.
Newer Toyota Corolla. Nissan Versa or Versa Note are pretty basic.
Any pre-1975 (pre-smog) small block Chevy powered car or truck.
Anything you can lease for $200 a month and turn in for another one after a few years.
The easiest vehicle to work on is one you don't have to work on.
I make this observation because the discussion seems to have devolved from "simple" to "cheap". "Simple" is usually not cheap or low maintenance. Rotaries are far simpler than any piston engine but they suck for things like commuter service, and the reality is, how often are you regrinding your valves or pulling shim out of the connecting rods to close up the bearing clearance?
ACVWs require valve adjustment constantly, they leak, they wear quickly, they run horribly, make no power, and require a lot of fuel to do it, and they are not particularly reliable as engines or as vehicles. Very much a case of simplifying too far. (For example, the cam lobes have a lifter on each side, they simplified the camshaft by eliminating half the lobes. This causes a lot of wear on the lifters and the case because they had to compromise the valvetrain geometry to be able to do this)
Cactus said:93EXCivic said:Bicycle?
As someone in PT for simply moving my leg wrong at the dinner table, I would counter that maintenance and reliability becomes a real issue when using these.
My daily driver philosophy is: "$1000 per year."
Buy a vehicle for $1000, it has to last one year. If it lasts two, you better have saved up $1000 in doing so. If it lasts three years, you should now have $2000 in the bank for the next car.
If something catastrophic happens, if the repair of X-thousand will make it last X more years, then go for it. Otherwise, flush it and buy what's next.
This bit me once, when a recently purchased vehicle ($3700) popped the transmission ($3500), so now I have to keep it for seven years. We're on year four now.
In reply to SkinnyG (Forum Supporter) :
$1000 a year has been my rule for at least 30 years, and hasn't risen with inflation. I recently broke the rule with my Echo, and sold it at a loss. But I was so happy to see it go it was worth every penny.
And the third gen Cavs are not awful in every single way. They have very comfortable seats
dculberson said:Thinking more about it, "simple" doesn't really apply to an automobile. Every single one was at least close to cutting edge when new and they're all chock full of parts we can't readily reproduce. Without an inordinate amount of work, I'm as unable to reproduce a set of points from scratch as I am a silicon based igniter. So you're buying parts either way, hence the simplest is the one where the parts are available, inexpensive, good quality, and easy to install. If you have to buy and install 10 parts for every one on the prewar car versus the 90s car then I submit that the 90s car is "simpler."
These are my thoughts too.
Simple? To me few cars are as simple as an MG TD or a Morris Minor Traveler. Plus they are really distinctive. They get great fuel mileage and while not fast they feel fast without being scary.
Girls like them. They are cute and non threatening. You also get to show off hand cranking them to start. Again something girls seem to love watching.
Not many cars are both cute and macho at the same time.
Points-ignition rarely fails and when it does you can see what's wrong. Spares are tiny piers and take a few minutes to install.
Maybe generators don't put out enough power to run giant speakers but they will run if the battery is dead or missing. Drum brakes take longer to replace than disks and don't work as well underwater or on a race track. But they actually will stop the car faster and don't need power assist.
dculberson said:A 90s Toyota Corolla would be very hard to beat. Yes the acvw is simpler but it's also slower and not as reliable. And if you want to spice it up and have it be more fun an mr2 spyder is just a 90s Corolla with the drivetrain moved back.
I came to post this. When I was doing a lot of driving in my 20's, I owned three of these. Would buy them at 100k, drive them to 200k and sell them for a small loss. Brakes and oil changes, that's it. The only time it got spicey was when I bought a Wal-Mart oil filter and neglected to notice that it didn't have a gasket on it.
dculberson said:A 90s Toyota Corolla would be very hard to beat. Yes the acvw is simpler but it's also slower and not as reliable. And if you want to spice it up and have it be more fun an mr2 spyder is just a 90s Corolla with the drivetrain moved back.
Cousin Eddie walks outside and snaps a picture of his daily driver ....
In reply to frenchyd :
Rarely fails? More like, fails so often you don't even notice it.
I had to tweak the points in my Ford every morning so I could get it started and go to work.
Contemporary road tests of the 1978/79 RX-7 noted that performance and drivability fell off noticeably between 5000mi points replacements. In 1980 the cars got electronic ignition like the rest of the modern world.
I'm a fan of reliability and simplicity. Back in my Hyundai days the first thing I used to do was throw the points away and convert to electronic
I am daily driving a 1997 Jetta GT. 2.Slow and 110 HP isn't much in todays traffic but is does return 30 mpg almost every tank full.
Manual windows, manual transmission, AC, PS, aftermarket radio. It goes and goes. Yes, it has some problems. The instrument cluster is correct a few days a week, otherwise the speedometer reads either 140 or zero. And the tach reads anywhere between 8000 rpm and zero. Minor problem as long as the fuel and temp gauge work, right?
My daughter is driving a 1998 Sentra, everything works and has airbags for safety.
I guess what I am saying is late 1990s or early 2000nds for simple, late model machinery before vehicle bloat hit.
ACVW is too slow for modern traffic.
The realistic answer to this question is Jeep Wrangler TJ.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:In reply to frenchyd :
Rarely fails? More like, fails so often you don't even notice it.
I had to tweak the points in my Ford every morning so I could get it started and go to work.
Contemporary road tests of the 1978/79 RX-7 noted that performance and drivability fell off noticeably between 5000mi points replacements. In 1980 the cars got electronic ignition like the rest of the modern world.
I'm trying very hard to remember when I last had a set of points fail on me. Probably sometime back in the 1970's.
I did have a rotor fail back in the 1980's but that was a part of a batch that was defectively made. So I put my old rotor on and that lasted until a new batch came through about 5 years later. I simply had to keep the contacts clean.
I've also had a condenser give me a problem. My fault, I trapped the wire under the bracket and it eventually grounded out.
Loosened the bracket, I un- trapped the wire and just for a belt and suspenders approach I put a piece of electrical tape over the insulator where it had shorted out.
If performance falls off on a set of points at 5000 mile point that's when you clean and readjust them. I mean you're changing oil by then and you may as well spend a few minutes on maintenance.
Now Women want very much to ignore work on cars because so very few really care. It's just an appliance to them. I can understand a lot of guys who don't care about stuff like that. The easier it is, the happier they are.
However to me, that just doesn't make them car guys. It's like claiming to be a Yankees fan without knowing who Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, etc are.
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