Driving golden era cars in the modern era

[John in Covina]

Facebook said the video is not viewable because of privacy settings.

 

[Gregg Axley]

Stupid me...post a video but only have "friends only" set!
I re-set it to everyone, see if that works.
I didn't think about it since I could view it.
A gifted IT person I'm not...
If that doesn't work, I'm bringing the car home from storage (at my dad's) and I'll take an updated photo.

 

[David Conwill]

The video still didn't work for me.

For the record, here's a 1929 Essex:

The words "street rod" make me nervous. I think of monochrome pastel paint, billet wheels, and tweed bucket seats. I hope you just mean "street-driven hot rod".

Did you ever check the Hudson-Essex-Terraplane club for parts leads? They're supposed to be a pretty good outfit.

-Dave

 

[John in Covina]

Did you ever check the Hudson-Essex-Terraplane club for parts leads? They're supposed to be a pretty good outfit. -Dave

Get a copy of Hemmings Motor News too, they have a lot of restoration sources listed. Usually if you ask around someone can point you in the right direction. Also for engine parts talk to my friends at Egge Machine -if they don't have it they can usually suggest other firms to check with.

 

[Gregg Axley]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=843298&l=0ad78f1644&id=100000420910115
If it doesn't work now, I'm not doing something right. I know, I should be at NASA...
I linked it to a public link off Facebook.
I logged out of Facebook, clicked on the link, and it let me see the pic, while not being signed in.
Hopefully that helps.
David, I built my car in 1993 well before the internet. At that time, there was very little parts available. I will say that my car came with 2 engines and 10 wooden spoke wheels (with 4 new tires). But if anything went wrong with it, I was out of luck. Plus, I like the sound of a V8.
Want an almost Rod Serling twist to the story? I bought the car from a friend, while storing a 1932 Chevy behind his garage. He lived in Mississippi, well off the beaten path, 18 acres off the beaten path. 2 guys show up at his door shortly after I bought the car, from Florida! They wanted the above mentioned parts and drove all the way to get them. Uh, my friend never advertised he had the parts and didn't know them. He sold the parts for $1800 I think, and never saw them again...
BTW I did check the HET club, and I was a member until they found out I made a street rod out of it. My membership wasn't renewed as far as I know. That was in 1990 I think. I also subscribed to Hemmings at one time, and bought some parts for the car to replace broken ones. Oddly enough they all came from a salvage yard in Canada from what I remember.

 

[Rathdown]

A bit more on topic... Golden Era Cars are eminently drivable, it's just that they require a different set of skills than modern cars. Before moving to the USA four years ago my "every day" car was a 1930 Rolls-Royce, which replaced my 1951 Bentley. When I moved here four years ago my daily driver became a 1961 Morgan four seater, and that was replaced a year ago with another '51 Bentley. Aside from mileage (modern cars are probably better: the Royce delivered 12/18 mpg town/country; the Bentleys return 12/16 mpg, and the Morgan siped petrol like an old lady sips soup and gave me 16/24 mpg). Braking requires much more pedal effort, steering is heavier (no power steering), and one is constantly shifting gears-- rowing the car thru traffic is an apt description-- often without benefit of syncromesh, which can result in some awful noises if you blow a change between gears. Of course none of these cars have air conditioning, nor will they set any records for acceleration-- 0-60 in the Rolls-Royce took nearly 30 seconds! From a dead start, even the most modest modern car will see a mile-a-minute in around 8 seconds.

Modern cars are like appliances, and have about as much charm and style as a pop-up toaster; actually, some pop-up toasters have more style than a modern car, which only serves to make my point. I have heard it said that Golden Era Cars are expensive-- true, if your tastes run to Packards, Cadillacs, and the like. But really fine, early post war cars, often in restored condition, can usually be had for less than the cost of a new Hyundai (can't believe I spelled that correctly first try!) and a flip through the pages of Hemmings Motor News (read it free at your local book store) will point out that a 1951 Studebaker will set you back less than a new Honda. Even if you are impecunious, a Golden Era Automobile is within your grasp-- the ubiquitous VW Beetle having been designed in the mid-30s, and remaining largely unchanged until replaced by the VW Rabbit (pesky Wabbit?) in the 1970s, can be had for about the same price as a well used (used up?) Toyota Camry.

If there is one over riding reason to own and drive a Golden Ear Car it is this: A gentleman or a lady may slide behind the wheel without having to remove their hat.

 

[Big Man]

A bit more on topic... Golden Era Cars are eminently drivable, it's just that they require a different set of skills than modern cars. ... Modern cars are like appliances, and have about as much charm and style as a pop-up toaster ... If there is one over riding reason to own and drive a Golden Ear Car it is this: A gentleman or a lady may slide behind the wheel without having to remove their hat.

Great "first post", Rathdown, I think you really summed it all up.

Hard to believe, but I started out driving what are now could be considered "classics." My first car was a 1962 Plymouth Belvedere. Boy, would that car run like a scalded dog! My aunt Sara's 1965 Ford Custom 500 was given to me when she passed away in 1983. I've been driving that Ford on a regular basis, and I've put right at 200,000 miles on it since 1983. Since I've driven an "old" car for so long, I really don't notice and difference and/or "special skills" needed - it just comes second-nature. I could, however, see where someone who was a first time driver (or just an occasional driver) of an older car needing to take special precautions. They really aren't the same as a "new" car.

The best thing I like about my '65 Ford and my '48 Plymouth are the room. Being a big guy (6'-6" and 360 lbs), I just can't comfortably fit into a "modern" car. And the lines on old cars vs new cars - no comparison.

 

[Rathdown]

Big Man, thank you for the kind words.

 

[Gregg Axley]

I agree Bigman, cars these days lack a lot.
Lines, they have no lines. Too many models look alike to me. I think about and deal with cars all day everyday at work, and I prefer the older ones because they have character. In gov't we don't have a golden era car around, that would be too cool though!
I have power assist brakes on my car, that's it, other than the v8. I had no choice in the matter. I used the original frame because the body fits so well on it, and has since 1929. I used a 4 bar front suspension with no power steering simply because it steers easy once you get going. Even the locks and window regulators are original, why throw away something that still works like it did when it was new? Rathman you're right, it takes skill to drive, and even more to stop if you have to do so in an instant (you skid, put it in park, and restart).
I love older cars because they are simple in nature, and that's what makes them fun to drive.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I never found vintage cars to be all that hard to drive. I think that people just drive modern cars improperly. It takes a little more 'effort', yes to steer, to stop, etc. But really, if you drive your modern car in a way that you're not constantly pounding on the gas and slamming on the brakes, it's not too different. The only big difference is the maintenance. That's a small price to pay for the beauty of a classic. My daily driver isn't all that old, a 1990 Mercury Colony Park woodie, but it's certainly not something you see on the road these days.

I've owned and driven a few cars from the 50's and 60's and there's nothing like it. The style, the miles of chrome, the big wrap-around windshields. I always felt safe with a mile of solid metal around me in every direction. They're fun, too because they bring back memories for people who's grandfather, father, or they themselves owned and drove back when. I always enjoy sparking nostalgia.

 

[Crazy8s]

It's funny how I view cars as I've aged. When I was a kid in the 70's my parents had an old 56 Chevy. It was only 20 years old at the time but It seemed really "old" to me. My first car was a 68 Chevy Camaro that I bought in 1987 while in highschool. Once again it seemed "old" but not the way my parents 56 seemed.
Now 3 kids and many cars later, I just picked up a 92 Volvo that is my daily driver. To me it's a "new" car. Just as modern in my mind as anything on the new car lot. But then I stopped to think about it, and my "new" car is now 19 years old just like my "classic" 68 Camaro was back in highschool. Weird to think about it that way.
So I guess it's all relative sometimes how we feel about our cars sometimes.
I think it's great that there's still people out there willing to put up with the maintenance and skill it takes to drive vintage autos. I can still remember a few scary drum brake stops in the both the 68 Camaro and a 55 Chevy I used to own, not to mention things like setting points/dwell and all kinds of other fun "mechanical" things.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I know what you mean, I consider my wagon to be new, a 1990, same vintage as myself, as the Lady at the DMV was kind enough to point out when I registered for Collector's Plates.

People always refer to the car as being old and I'm thinking to myself, this car isn't old, it's got fuel-injection, air-bags. It's just like any other new car! Now, my 60 Chevy was an old car. Single master cylinder, manual steering, manual brakes, AM radio and even that car looked new compared to my dad's 31 Model A!

 

[Rathdown]

Automotive Style and Chairman Mao

Technology, especially shared technology, has leveled the automotive playing field to the point where there are no truly bad cars, just bad choices one may make when buying a car, be it new or used. Since all cars are reasonably safe, and reasonably competent, and handle reasonably well if driven in the manner intended in their intended environment (a Ferrari is a great car to drive cross-country, but a lousy car for commuting in rush hour traffic on the Beltway), it really comes down to style.

And here is where the problem lurks.

Automotive engineers all have the same basic problems to overcome: passenger space and aerodynamics. The easiest way to overcome the first problem is with three boxes. One box for the engine, one box for the trunk, and a bigger box in the middle for the people. Think Volvo in the 1970s and you will see exactly how this works. Unfortunately boxes lack any sort of aerodynamic integrity. In fact, they are about as streamlined as Westminster Cathedral, and this will not do, as reducing wind resistance (drag as the automotive engineers refer to it) is paramount in achieving any sort of fuel efficiency.

In the old days designers, men like Harley Earl, Gordon Buehrig, and Raymond Lowey, would draw lovely shapes, build small models, and put them in a wind tunnel to see how they performed. As long as the car wasn't going to be blown off it's wheels by a side wind, or have the front end lift the wheels off the ground at 60 miles per hour, they were satisfied-- and achingly beautiful automobiles were the result. Now, however, a different technique is applied to the science of aerodynamics. All the automotive engineers in the world are faced with the same problem, feed that problem into the same computers, and using the same computer programs, come up with the same answer.

Whereas once even bread-and-butter transportation was designed by men with a modicum of aesthetics, today they are-- by and large-- designed by teams of cold and uncaring computer programs and micro chips that have never been in an art museum, never seen a painting by Botticelli, never mind having never seen the centerfold of a Playboy Magazine. That's why the cars of today suffer from the same, inevitable, boring, sameness.

There is an interesting thing about the human psyche, and that is we all strive for some sort of individuality; despite Chairman Mao's efforts, the Chinese never really took to the Mao jacket, except at the point of a bayonet. Even then there was a choice of colour: black, grey, brown, or tan. A spark of individuality in a society of repressive sameness. Sadly, this is what the car industry has become-- purveyors of automotive Mao jackets in a limited range of colours. If you doubt this, walk into your local Chevy dealership and try to order a black Malibu with a red interior. Go ahead. I dare you.

No, if you want something as individualistic as red seats and carpet, I'm afraid you'll have to go somewhere else. A used car lot. There you might just find a thirty or forty year old car that was built for an individual, not a Mao jacket wearing marketing cypher. And in the event of an accident, while you will be no safer behind the wheel than a crash test dummy in a wicker chair being hit by a freight train, at least you'll go out in style.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

It's all geared toward those bland colors, too. I went looking for blue floor mats, simple right? Wrong. Blue's a boring, typical color, too. My Colony Park and my Silverado both have blue interiors. They only had mats in black, gray, or beige. I looked at every place that sells them, locally, too!

Made me a bit happy I wasn't trying to find a match for the Avocado Green interior that my 79 Buick had!

 

[Gregg Axley]

I was thinking about that Colony Park yesterday, very nice car.
They are loaded with comfort features, and have a great ride to them.
My uncle (since long gone) had the Ford version and it just floated down the road.
The only problem with it? It was the EXACT color and body style of the Family Truckster from Vacation.
Hey, nobody tried to steal it.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Well, thank you, that's much appreciated.
The darn thing does have as many features as a Cadillac.
Ford's version was the Country Squire. And is what they built the Family Truckster from, in Stylish Avocado.
I always say, too. If someone steals my Merc, someone will notice in 5 minutes or less!

I was thinking about that Colony Park yesterday, very nice car.
They are loaded with comfort features, and have a great ride to them.
My uncle (since long gone) had the Ford version and it just floated down the road.
The only problem with it? It was the EXACT color and body style of the Family Truckster from Vacation.
Hey, nobody tried to steal it.

 

[birkie]

I just picked up a 92 Volvo that is my daily driver. To me it's a "new" car. Just as modern in my mind as anything on the new car lot.

I tend to think cars finished evolving into a reliable, mature technology some time in the 1980s. Virtually all innovation since then has been focused toward safety, emissions, and efficiency under increasingly stringent government regulation.

Secret life of the car

 

[Rathdown]

I tend to think cars finished evolving into a reliable, mature technology some time in the 1980s. Virtually all innovation since then has been focused toward safety, emissions, and efficiency under increasingly stringent government regulation.

Secret life of the car

I would tend to agree with you, and might even be willing to to concede that the "modern car" really dates from 1955 (the year when power steering, power brakes, and automatic transmissions, became universally available, with few exceptions, on passenger cars made in the United States).

 

[Justin B]

Honestly, I've always loved my older "pre-loved" cars. From the '31 A to the '72 Nova SS (and even my '92 Talon TSi)...they all had their quirks and that's why I love them. Modern cars have no soul. I want a car with a personality (almost) as big as mine. Yeah, sometimes it won't start, and when it's really hot or cold they may not be as comfortable...but so what?

 

[birkie]

I would tend to agree with you, and might even be willing to to concede that the "modern car" really dates from 1955 (the year when power steering, power brakes, and automatic transmissions, became universally available, with few exceptions, on passenger cars made in the United States).

A Very good point! By then babbitt bearings were gone, and fully pressurized and filtered oil systems were standard too. It brings to mind some debate on whether it makes sense to restore the old chevy 216 stovebolt 6 engines, or just drop in a 'modern' 50s 235 version and get more driveability.