Were Old Cars more Fun Than Modern Ones?

kyfdx

Yeah.. my mother's '72 Lincoln Town Coupe with the 460 4-bbl... On a newly poured two mile long road for a mall development.... very nice... in the last 1/2 mile, there is a nice downhill stretch, followed by an uphill to the end of the road...... hit 120 on that downhill.... Made the turn on to the road at about 40 mph.. squealing tires, or probably wouldn't have made it......

Ahh.... the ignorance of youth.... thank goodness for the uphill at the end.... lol

I am no professional driver, but depending on traffic, I really start paying attention at 85 mph...

fintail

So it wasn't safe holding a camera and recording me going 135mph (max speed rating for the tires) in a rented diesel BMW in Germany? :shades:

I've had the fintail up to an indicated ~110 (took a lot of straight empty road), but I am certain it was no more than 100 in reality. And a few hours later, a transmission cooling line broke and the car was stranded for a few days. That'll teach me. I won't say what I have done in the E55, only to say 60-120 seems as fast as 0-60.

kyfdx

It's funny... I could tell you the actual top speed of every car in my family or that I owned up until about age 25....

Since then, I've owned cars that could actually go very fast, but haven't been over 100 mph, in any of them....

fintail

I remember going driving with the needle pegged in the old Tempo, going pretty fast in my mother's 93 Taurus not long after she bought it...but as I get older, I don't do that stuff much either. An occasional jackrabbit start from a light usually soothes me.

lemko

I get nervous in big older American "floaty-boaties" at about 85-90 mph.

My past girlfriend most certainly didn't! She had us going over 100 mph in a her Dad's black 1972 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. The 1969 Cadillac was definitely no slouch either! Some knucklehead in a souped-up 1970s Camaro thought he was "all that" pulled up next to her '69 Fleetwood at a stoplight and was noisily gunning the engine. My girlfriend revved the 472 V-8 of her car, but it was like a quiet but potent rush of power. The light turns green, he keeps up with her for 1/2 a second and the Caddy blows past him quietly like a bullet down a rifle with a silencer.

lemko

I get pretty scared past 110 which is as fast as I've had any car, even my DTS. I remember when I was young and stupid and took my 1968 Buick Special Deluxe wagon with bias-ply tires and drum brakes up to that speed. One mistake, and I would've been dead!

Mr_Shiftright

the problem with those big puffy boats is that if you make any sudden move you are as good as dead at those speeds.

andre1969

I think the last time I took a car up to 100 was in my 2000 Intrepid, back in late 2000. I was driving out to to look at an old Travco motorhome out near Chicago, and I did it on an empty patch of I-65 NNW of Indianapolis.

I think the fastest I've ever gotten my 2000 Park Ave up to is only around 90. I guess I've grown up a bit, and just don't feel as immortal in my 40's as I did back in my 20's (or even early 30's).

This is gonna sound a bit embarrassing, but the fastest I've ever driven a car was 115 mph, in a 1991 Honda Civic! I was in California on spring break, 1992, and had a long downhill run through Cajon pass, where I-15 comes out of the high desert and into the valley.

isellhondas

Well, a lot of cars quite a bit older than those 1968-1970 Cadillacs had many if not all of the features you mentioned.

ALL U.S. made cars had dual master cylinders starting in 1967. Not sure about the imports.

Not sure about 8 way power seats (?) but six way power seats were available in the 60's and maybe even in the 50's on some luxury cars. I recently say a 1954 Chevy with (I think) 4 way power seats.

Twlight Sentintals go back to the mid 60's. These usually were more trouble than they were worth.

Auto Dimming headlights were available in 1952 or 1953 on GM cars. It was called an Autronic Eye and these were quite primitive. They had vacuum tubes inside a large box and they never worked very well.

Auto brake pulloffs? Not sure when these started but I can certainly tell you that 1965 Thunderbirds had them. One of these nearly distroyed a shop I managed when it decided to release itself on it's own while on an alignment rack! No thanks!

Power trunk releases go back to the early 60's and the early ones were vacuum. I can't remember power pull downs on anything except Cadillacs and I always wondered what the benefits were.

Ford offered front disc brakes on most of their cars in 1965.

Power windows go back to the late 40's.

Pontiac had an engergy absorbing steering wheel in 1967.

Cornering lights, early 60's. A lot of GM cars seemed to have these.

Power vents? My 1965 Buick Riviera had them.

Comfortable leather seats? Cadillac excelled at these but they go WAY back in time.

Limited slip? We called this Positraction - late 50's.

Auto level control was a disaster for GM in the late 50's. Not a good thing to have in my opinion.

Cadillacs had cruise control as an option in 1959. Pretty rare option.

Easy to work on? Well, we didn't think so at the time but compared to today's cars, they were a breeze.

I do agree with you that these were great cars!

isellhondas

I used to be an idiot and I totally admit it.

I once drove non stop from Seattle to L.A. only stopping for gas and a quick meal in my 1962 Buick Special. I remember driving for miles at 110 MPH which was all that little aluminum V-8 could muster. Bias ply tires and all.

At one point, a cop stopped me and let me know that if I were to have the slightest thing happen that my life would be over instantly. He told me he didn't want to be the one to have to call my parents. I think I was 18 at the time.

That did scare me and I kept it under 90 after that.

Today, I rarely speed. Getting NINE tickets in one year is now a thing of the past. I was damm lucky. I never had any kind of an accident.

fintail

It's funny, I can get a 50 year old MB sedan with dual circuit discs, air suspension, fuel injection, 4 speed auto, crumple zones, safety steering column and interior trim, dual zone climate control, etc etc - but no power windows, no power seat, and no factory installed AC.

omarman

I was in California on spring break...

Boys and girls once you let that genie out of the bottle no power on earth can put it back.

cherokeegal3

When I was younger, in my late 20's, I had my 1951 Buick Roadmaster sedan up to 102 mph! On a winding road, YEAH real smart! And I was racing my freind in his 1988' Toyota Celica, Now that was interesting! Never do that again, but that was 20 years ago. I broke a shock link after that! YIKES!! Amazing that I could do that with the original straight 8!

cherokeegal3

YES! OLD CARS ARE MORE FUN!! I miss my 56' Merc wagpn, had a 312 Y-block and a 68' Ford C-4 tranny. I hope to get one again when I get $$$$$!!:)

uplanderguy

I like '60's Cadillacs, but my '63 Studebaker Lark had a dual-chamber master cylinder from the factory, and their Avanti that year had standard front disc brakes which were optional on all other Studebakers that year, even the cheapest six-cylinder Larks.

Mr_Shiftright

disk brakes were the best thing that ever happened to 60s American cars---the only exception being the 65-69 Corvair, which had outstanding drum brakes.

American cars of the 60s still couldn't handle worth a damn unless you were skilled enough to steer with the gas pedal, especially with bias ply tires---but having decent brakes was a big help in hustling these cars along smartly without messing yourself :P

If you ever get the chance to see the video of Mini Coopers running circles around Corvettes at Lime Rock in the 60s, do so--it's a great lesson in how brakes and suspension are worth the equivalent of a lot of HP when on a twisty type of road race course.

isellhondas

My parents bought a 1951 Buick Roadmaster brand new and kept it until 1966. I learned how to drive on that beast.

Great cars!

andre1969

Back in high school, once I hit driving age, and was really lusting after old cars, my neighbor mentioned that he knew where there was a 1954 Buick Roadmaster that I could probably get for around $600. Unfortunately, my family squashed that little fantasy real quick.

There was a '55 or so Roadmaster in my neighborhood until just a couple years ago. It still shows up on Google maps. If you go to www.googlemaps.com and type in:

6331 maryland 953, 20769

and go to street view, you'll see it. Last time I drove past there though, it was gone.

Mr_Shiftright

Oh man, I LOVE LOVE LOVE '55 Buicks. A Century 2D HT would be my ticket to land yacht heaven.

andre1969

I always thought the '55-56 Buicks were great looking cars. How annoying, though, is the Dyna-slow tranmission, to deal with?

I always liked that dark green they used back in those days, like what was on the one in my neighborhood. Dunno if it has a "real" name, but DeSoto had something close in '57 called "Tamarack" green.

Mr_Shiftright

Dyna flow got upgraded in '55 and again in '58, but it was no Hydra-matic that's for sure.

hpmctorque

"How annoying, though, is the Dyna-slow tranmission, to deal with?"

The '55 was improved over preceding Dynaflows, while retaining its buttery smooth characteristic. It was still inefficient, though, on fuel economy, and sucked up more power than virtually all other automatics. However, maybe it wasn't much worse in these respects than the average automatic of the day. On the plus side, it was rugged and durable.

berri

Those 55 and 56 Buick and Olds were so well styled that even the 4 dr hardtops were gorgeous. It's kind of funny that 55/56 may have been Harley Earl's postwar peak and then two short years later in 58 may have been his bottom. That's OK though because Bill Mitchell went on to bring out some more classic GM designs in the 60's. The 57/58 Mopars may have been Virgil Exner's high point at Chrysler, but the 57 Ford was also a very nicely styled car. 1957 and 1965 may be my favorite years for overall good looking cars, although there was a lot of good looking stuff in the early 60's as well. As for the blog title here, while I liked the 55/56 Caddy - very stately, I think I really preferred the Buick looks.

fintail

Hmm now to find Andre's house...just look in satellite view for one without about 8 cars parked around it :shades:

Mr_Shiftright

Or just drive around the neighborhood with a magnet.

isellhondas

At a recent old car meet, there was a 55 Century 2 door HT that was like new.

It was two tone yellow and white.

It was possible to get one of these with a three speed stick but they are ultra rare. The CHP used some 55 Century 2 door sedans that had sticks.

NOTHING could outrun one of these at the time!

The Dynaflows weren't as bad as some people think they were. It was possible to start out in low and shift them manually into drive and by doing this, they were much faster.

The Centurys were really Specials with the Roadmaster engines. Quite the hot rod at the time and many a hotshot ended up getting embarassed when they tried to race one at a stoplight.

isellhondas

" Or just drive around the neighborhood with a magnet"

Uh, that might not work. They use a lot of bondo in Andre's neck of the woods!

isellhondas

Wow, this looks just like the one I saw last summer!

Far from perfect, it's still nice and, Shifty, it's in Santa Monica!

Make a winning bid, take a nice drive down the coast and drive it home!

Go for it!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1955-ORIG-ROADMASTER-322-236HP-ENGINE-BEAUTIFULLY- -STRAIGHT-RUST-FREE-BODY-RARE-/180795251831?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2a183c9c7- 7

lemko

Heck, when I was in college in the fall of 1986, I came across a black 1950 Buick Roadmaster that was for sale for only $600. The paint was oxidized and the chrome and interior could've used a lot of work, but the body was solid and it ran well. Unfortunately, even $600 was too big a sum for a poor student. If I came across a deal like that today, I'd jump on it. Of course my neighbors wouldn't be too happy about another ancient car cluttering up the street! There's a guy with a light blue 1950 Plymouth down the block.

Mr_Shiftright

Nice lookin' car, but I ain't payin' retail! I'd rather have a "driver" and fix it up slowly---you know, something solid, no rust, but needing paint and interior work. I could do a lot of that myself.

Don't much care for the yellow and white color scheme--it sort of washes out.

fintail

Those old Briggs body mopars seem to last forever. I remember when I was a kid in the late 80s, there was a ~51 Chrysler parked outside not far from my house, very decent condition, unrestored car.

isellhondas

If you look close at that Buick, it's in need of some work especially interior stuff.

He tried to sell it before on Ebay but it missed it's reserve.

I kinda like the yellow and white although it wouldn't be my first choice. Very correct for the period of what I call the Easter Egg era.

Still, a pretty nice Buick!

Mr_Shiftright

he's asking too much for the condition I think. Now that I look closely at the photos I see issues all over the place. This looks like a #3/3+ car, so I'm thinking maybe 18K--$19K for it.

isellhondas

I'm afraid that if we were to see it in person, the faults would REALLY stick out. It 's a repaint for sure and I have my doubts that given the interior colors that it left the factory yellow/white. The one I saw last summer had a green interior which seemed to be more correct.

Ane, who know's how that nailhead runs? A long distance buyer would be wise to assume it needs an overhaul and probably a rebore.

Yeah, I'm thinking that at 18-19K, that would be ALL of the money.

hpmctorque

That Century is a beautiful car, and although their numbers will only dwindle, I wouldn't want one. I love to look at them, but just not in my driveway.

berri

Its kind of funny how everyone seemed to write off mid priced car lines – you have to go to the two car Asian model like Toyota – Lexus. Now all of a sudden Buick seems to be doing alright as a mid priced line (except they call it near lux now I guess). I remember growing up in the Chicago burbs I recall seeing lots of these 55/56 Buicks and Olds as well as mid pricers from other companies like the Mercury or Chryslers. One of the primary (and forgotten) reasons Ford brought Edsel out was to move Mercury up into Olds/Buick/Chrysler territory and the big square Lincoln Continentals closer to Cadillac. Then they all seemed to kind of peter out around ’58 – probably recession and looks. In 61 Ford moved Mercury back to a gussied up Ford. They had high lines, but the base Monterey was the volume model. Soon after that, they started promoting them as almost the same price as an Impala in the local newspaper ads. The Chrysler Newport then followed this same strategy. In 63, I recall Buick starting to promote the LeSabre with the same aggressive pricing approach. You began seeing more Mercury’s on the road around then too. Some attributed that to the new breezeway styling with the opening rear view window, but I think GM’s decision to price promote LeSabre is what got these mid priced lines moving again. Then in 65 Ford shot back with the LTD, soon followed by the Caprice and Fury VIP. But really, cars like Buick and Olds did well into the 80’s. So I’m rooting for these new Buicks to do well. Personally, I like something a little upscale, but not blatantly so like a Cadillac or Lexus. In the old days I would have taken a LeSabre over a Caprice (of course kids don’t have money or a driver’s license!).

[Deleted User]

In answer to the thread title, absolutely not. Yes, there are some definite fun things about old cars. For one thing, they draw attention like almost nothing else on earth. Some of the styling was awesome. And they certainly required more driver involvement, which isn't a bad thing.

That said, let's just admit what pieces of sh*t most of them were. They rusted out. They needed frequent adjustments in order to run right. The upholstery wore out well within 100,000 miles. We won't even mention how badly most of them handled. That's why even today, you have people driving a very capable car as if it will tip if they take a corner faster than 5 mph. Cars are geometrically better today than they were, even back in the 80s. But the downside is that so many of them look like every other car, and more importantly, they are so easy to drive and so reliable, that we have goofballs driving and texting, driving and reading, driving and putting on makeup... Every situation has its drawbacks.

oldbearcat

Gregg: Perhaps true, but, driving the old stuff was certainly more memorable. Some of the stuff I've driven include a stock 30's fat fender, a stock 40's fat fender, a late 60's muscle car, and some 70's with serious muscle. I remember driving Dad's hot 59 Olds 98, and, my Grandfather's sleeper car - a 66 Cutlass 4 door with the hot 330 Rocket engine w/2 speed automatic (great drag racer). Even in the 80's, I had a little Ford Fiesta - fortified with some speed equipment, that was a blast to drive.

Regards:
Oldbearcat

Mr_Shiftright

Okay, it's true that most older cars were slammed together by drunk blind men, but nonetheless, therein lies the charm---the styling was often "vital" even when it missed the mark, and laser-like perfection was not the goal. If the car was utilitarian, you got that. If the car was about 'in your face' flash and glitz, you got that. If it claimed to be "European" you could just laugh at how wide they missed the mark. The naivety was charming.

They were honest, even in how they lied, and certainly not cookie-cutter replicas of one another, as we have now, -- and they required our attention and care.

They remind me more of pets than transportation sometimes---LOL!

oldbearcat

I like the pet analogy. It does takes a lot of attention and care to keep my 48 Chevy operational.

Regards;
Oldbearcat

isellhondas

I never owned a '48 Chevy but I've probably had a dozen 49-54's and I just LOVE these cars!

As far as "extra attention" required, I can't think of too many things.

Let's see...those had "Huck" brakes which were tricky to adjust and they needed to be adjusted every 5000 miles or so.

They had tons of grease fittings that needed a grease gun applied once in awhile.

They had the old babbit bearings that if neglected would cause a rod to be thrown. Every 20,000 miles or so, it was a good idea to drop the oil pan and adjust those bearings. Try finding anyone today who knows how to do this!

The lever shocks needed to be checked for fluid and topped off.

The front end would need new kingpins and bushings every few years.

The touchy vacuum shifter needed to be looked at and adjusted once in awhile.

These had mechanical lifters to be adjusted and plugs and points that lasted maybe 12,000 miles.

Come to think of it, they DID require a bit of attention.

Few sounds as sweet as an old Chevy with a split manifold. A straight pipe on one side and an 18 inch glasspack on the other!

fintail

Ha...sometimes people ask me if I have a dog etc, I tell them I have an old car . It requires feeding, medical attention, even leaves a little puddle now and then :shades:

Mr_Shiftright

Personally I find it a lot harder to have a "personal" relationship with a newer car. There just aren't those kinds of interactions that create a bond---you rarely hear someone say "Yeah, we were heading across the Nevada desert when the engine control module lost its CAN connection to the multiplex harness...so we pulled over, and I rummaged through my toolbox, and I found an old ECM from a 2006 Porsche turbo I had layin' around, so I got out the soldering iron, redirected a few solder joints, and then a trucker lent us his laptop so we could reprogram. We made it all the way back to LA..." :P

oldbearcat

Isellhondas: You hit the nail on the head. The 48 was the last of the Chevy "fat fenders". Since I bought this car, I've dealth with most of the stuff on your list, and, a couple of more. The wiper system on this car must have been designed by Rube Goldberg. Somebody wiggled one of my wiper arms, and, the linkage fell apart under the dash. It piddles oil through its rear main seal - so I watch where I park it, and, I keep a kitty litter pan under it in my garage. The rear leaf springs are totally encased in a metal sheath that one is supposed to force grease into with a special tool. The distributor has a grease cup on its side that has to be filled and turned in to lube the shaft. The car has a heater under the seat, and, a defroster under the dash - water hoses running under the car. The hot water shutoff is manual, under the hood, and next to the water pump. I fought the vacuum shifter for a while, then, I scored a conversion kit on Ebay and got rid of it. My car had a split manifold and dual exhaust when I got it. Problem was - some of the extra exhaust system was made out of water pipe, and, it started to crack at the welded joints. I replaced the manifold and went back to single exhaust. Its 4:11 gears limit its comfortable cruising speed to about 55 with the babbitt pounder engine. Yeah - these things require WAY more attention than a modern car.

Regards:
Oldbearcat

oldbearcat

Mr. Shiftright:

I did manage to nurse a Dodge Ramcharger home one time by putting an ice bag on its computerized ignition box. Everytime the box got hot, the engine quit. A plastic bag full of ice and some duct tape saved me from being stranded.

Regards:
Oldbearcat

andre1969

I did manage to nurse a Dodge Ramcharger home one time by putting an ice bag on its computerized ignition box. Everytime the box got hot, the engine quit. A plastic bag full of ice and some duct tape saved me from being stranded.

Back in late 2003/early 2004, my '85 Silverado had an issue where it would just die at random, but would occasionally restart. Turns out the ignition coil would get too hot, and it would cut out. But, once it cooled down enough, it would start right back up. I wonder if a bag of ice would've helped nurse that along a bit?

Mr_Shiftright

I think for most modern cars, the bag of ice would serve better on the forehead of the owner who just got the repair bill. :P

Can you believe $4300 EACH for ceramic brake calipers on a Porsche GT? :surprise: :surprise:

fintail

But didn't that Porsche (I assume the Carrera GT) cost like 450K new? so it translates to a $200 part on a $20K car, not so bad :shades:

Mr_Shiftright

Actually I think you could get them on a regular dirt-bag, chump-change, poor man's Carrera, as part of the X51 "power kit" package--a mere $16,900 checkoff on the options list. :P

fintail

Sounds like a modern Porsche...all kinds of expensive knicknacks you can add to most tuned MB and BMW too.