Pros and cons of a 34 year old daily driver

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

One thing that is nice about older cars is that they are simpler.  If you are driving your modern beast and it suddenly stops, you have no alternative but to hope you are withing cellphone range of a road service depot because there is nothing that you are going to be able to do to get going again.

In an old car, you can often make it hoe or t least to a garage.  I had an old MG stop on me out in the dessert in northern CA. With only a screwdriver and a piece of matchbook that was approx. as thick as a feeler gauge, I regapped the points and away we went.  Similarly, when an electric fuel pump packed it in, I was able to get my wife into the trunk to tap on it to keep it going enough to get home. 

wspohn said:

One thing that is nice about older cars is that they are simpler.  If you are driving your modern beast and it suddenly stops, you have no alternative but to hope you are withing cellphone range of a road service depot because there is nothing that you are going to be able to do to get going again.

In an old car, you can often make it hoe or t least to a garage.  I had an old MG stop on me out in the dessert in northern CA. With only a screwdriver and a piece of matchbook that was approx. as thick as a feeler gauge, I regapped the points and away we went.  Similarly, when an electric fuel pump packed it in, I was able to get my wife into the trunk to tap on it to keep it going enough to get home. 

 

Willingly?

In reply to wspohn :

You know I am an old car guy but one of the reasons you could fix an old car on the side of the road is because you had to.

Also note I don't consider any OBDII old. 

pros: no turbo, still decent power, good sound, higher quality materials, feels like home, can wrench

cons: may catch fire... 

In reply to Peanu_Keeyes :

Can you really count that as a con? Anything "may" catch fire.

Thing you do when you daily a 34 year old car...rationalize anything. Instead of saying "propensity to catch fire" we say "may catch fire" but anything may catch fire so it doesnt matter.

wspohn said:

One thing that is nice about older cars is that they are simpler.  If you are driving your modern beast and it suddenly stops, you have no alternative but to hope you are withing cellphone range of a road service depot because there is nothing that you are going to be able to do to get going again.

In an old car, you can often make it hoe or t least to a garage.  I had an old MG stop on me out in the dessert in northern CA. With only a screwdriver and a piece of matchbook that was approx. as thick as a feeler gauge, I regapped the points and away we went.  Similarly, when an electric fuel pump packed it in, I was able to get my wife into the trunk to tap on it to keep it going enough to get home. 

 

If you can tap on the fuel pump you can remove the plastic. cap. Clean the points and have it run flawlessly for at least another 6 months. 

Opti said:

In reply to Peanu_Keeyes :

Can you really count that as a con? Anything "may" catch fire.

Thing you do when you daily a 34 year old car...rationalize anything. Instead of saying "propensity to catch fire" we say "may catch fire" but anything may catch fire so it doesnt matter.

Yep, possibility seems to often be confused with probability. Just because something is possible, doesn't mean it's probable. 

Opti said:

In reply to Peanu_Keeyes :

Can you really count that as a con? Anything "may" catch fire.

Thing you do when you daily a 34 year old car...rationalize anything. Instead of saying "propensity to catch fire" we say "may catch fire" but anything may catch fire so it doesnt matter.

I see your point! However, in the case of *my* 30 year old car, the E34 bmw chassis has a tendency to combust. Blower motor failure and or bad relay. Not all 30+ y/o cars have this issue though, I know.  

Streetwise: https://row52.com/Vehicle/Index/YV1FX8843K2377385

This car?

I could go this week if you still need something

Yes.  If the console lid is there, I'll take it.  Trying to ship the windshield mouldings would be a waste of time, I think, but the drivers top corner piece is tiny, and missing on my car.

If you can grab those, it would be great.

frenchyd said:

In reply to z31maniac :

     In the 80's/ 90's Audi cars  suffered from poor rubber selection.  When the added heat of a turbo were subjected to fuel lines and hoses, failure was probable.  

Fixed.

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

I don't think German automakers ever figured out how to make rubber.  Vacuum hoses would turn to either goo or carbony chalk or, somehow, both at the same time.  I think this is why they went to plastic lines for everything.

Streetwiseguy said:

frenchyd said:

In reply to z31maniac :

     In the 80's/ 90's Audi cars  suffered from poor rubber selection.  When the added heat of a turbo were subjected to fuel lines and hoses, failure was probable.  

Fixed.

Actually all cars did.  I had a 2.8 liter Chevy Blazer that  melted the aluminum rims off from the fire. Luckily my wife and children and dog got out safely. 

 Jaguars were known for fuel line failures.   Turns out the companies selling the fuel line ignored the fact of EFI and it's high pressures and was selling regular fuel line to the Jaguar factory designed for 2&1/2 psi. 
  When the Jaguar  reported the problem they were sold a new fuel line still suitable  only for carbs.  
    BMW explained which fuel line was good and Once Jaguar went to that never had another problem.  
 BMW also told Jaguar about their seam sealer and once that was used rust issues went away. 

I was daily driving my 86 Nissan truck until the fuel injection went kerplooty.  Now it won't even start.  Parts are a problem, as well as not being able to diagnose problems.  
 

oh...and I have to roll down the windows by hand.  

The newest piece in my fleet, earning it's keep in 2017, and still at it today.

Volvo 240 is right up there with the Checker Marathon for my choice of zombie apocolypse vehicle.

I kinda miss the auto down feature on the power windows.

I wish I could turn that off. I hate it

It has to be the most annoying feature my car has.

OK, I was wrong. The auto door lock feature is the most annoying

You guys know that if you push the button halfway down, the window will stop when you let your finger off it, right?

You can call me out on it, I have my big boy pants on today.

The button in my car is so sensitive that it takes several tries to actually do that. And it's not really a function I see any value in, or would use anyway.

Or maybe it's just me.

Peabody said:

 

I kinda miss the auto down feature on the power windows.

I wish I could turn that off. I hate it

It has to be the most annoying feature my car has.

OK, I was wrong. The auto door lock feature is the most annoying

Do your switches not have a detent between rolling it down, clicking past the detent for auto down? All my cars have and I've never had an issue with it. 

In reply to Peabody :

Sensitivity on window switches varies between manufactures. My Chevy's all work easily. Let off and they stop going down. 
  My Ford is annoying in that regard   Once it gets it in its head to go down, I may have to raise back up again 3-4 times  before it behaves.  Really bad on below zero days because in the morning an Old Geezer  may have to spit the night flem out the window a few times before the throaty is clear.  
    If you are fighting with the window and it's trying to stay wide open in. 20-30 below weather  the temptation to take a hammer or worse to the switch is great. 

An addition, or update...

My 29 year old B13 Sentra with all the 31 year old NX2000 guts and running gear is getting really hard to buy parts for.  Bought the last set of front pads and rotors in western Canada today.  Bonus, though, the viscous lsd still holds a bit.  Turn a front wheel ahead on the hoist, the other one goes ahead too.

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

RX-7 calipers are all NLA.  I went through six calipers from "stock" before I found two pistons that had good chrome in the seal area.

I think, but am not sure, that pistons for a Miata may work.  Have not got that desperate yet.