Driving golden era cars in the modern era

[Rathdown]

Yesterday was spent test driving a RHD 1938 Packard convertible coupe being sold locally to settle an estate, while this morning I took my '51 Bentley on my usual 35 mile run to church. After services it was a leisurely drive up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, making a slight detour for sandwiches and a well-chilled bottle of chardonnay. After an impromptu picnic with friends, and a bit of tire kicking with a passing group of motorcyclists, I gently Bentled back down the mountain (elevation 1,900 ft.) into the Shenandoah valley in search of a bit of sherbert to round out the afternoon.

Now I consider Mk VI Bentleys to be the finest cars produced, post war, by Rolls-Royce and find them well up to the job of being pressed into service as every day drivers. The pre-war cars are a bit less useful on a day-to-day basis, although they make superb touring cars provided one can withstand the rigors of motoring in the summer without benefit of air conditioning. The purpose of driving the Packard was to see how it would stack up as both a daily driver and long distance tourer.

In all respects the Packard was eminently more driveable than a pre-war Rolls-Royce (or Bentley) of the period, and almost as good a daily driver as an early post-war R-R or Bentley. So, will I buy the Packard? Well, for starters, it is a convertible and that trumps a closed car any day, at least in my book it does. The steering isn't as precise, and with only a three-speed transmission one has to rely more on torque, which means the car is slower in traffic.

Perhaps, if I sold my Bentley, I could learn to love the Packard in time... but with the Mk VI in the garage, I'm afraid that I would be constantly reminded of the Packard's one or two minor short comings. Hmmm. What to do? What to do?

 

[HeyMoe]

Hmmm. What to do? What to do?

I'll be going through Virgina on Thursday and again on Sunday....I am more than happy to give your Packard a new home in Vermont

 

[Bourne ID]

Finally found a gas tank that fit the old Plymouth with a little modification on the filler tube. I've been driving her as weather permits the last two weeks and she's run fantastic. So there I am, cruising up the highway feeling pretty smug about all the work and money I've put into her to make her as reliable as any car on the road today and........there goes my oil pressure gauge..right to nothing just as I hit the exit ramp off the highway! I drop her out of gear and coast to the end of the ramp and off to the side and shut her down right away. Pop the hood and take a look..nothing out of place, pull the dip stick...looks ok..down on my knees and look under the car...OIL! dripping down at several location.
check the dip stick and she still got some so I start her up and ease down to the corner and into a dinner parking lot under some lights and shut her down ...this time the dipstick comes up empty . Hitched a ride on a passing mini van and left her there for the night, I'll call the tow truck this morning and have her dragged back to the Lab.
This is "Driving Golden Era Cars in the Modern Age" !!!

 

[JavBanda]

I have a 1952 chevy convertible, it sits most of the time due to lack of funds to get her running right. Sometimes when I take her out I usually hear " My dad used to have one of those" another one is "whats under the hood?", the last is "what year is it?"at first it is quite nice to hear but after a while it is like "how did you break your leg"
I know I shouldn't complain and I am thankful that people appreciate old cars but the blessing can be a bit much sometimes.
Still thankful and happy!

 

[David Conwill]

Bourne ID - stupid question, but what are you doing for crankcase ventilation on the 350? I know I've seen pictures of your engine before, but I can't recall if I saw breathers and/or a PCV system. The more I tinker with my Camaro, the more I come to believe an intact, functional PCV system is an important component to a good-running Chevrolet V8.

I have a 1952 chevy convertible, it sits most of the time due to lack of funds to get her running right. Sometimes when I take her out I usually hear " My dad used to have one of those" another one is "whats under the hood?", the last is "what year is it?"at first it is quite nice to hear but after a while it is like "how did you break your leg"
I know I shouldn't complain and I am thankful that people appreciate old cars but the blessing can be a bit much sometimes.
Still thankful and happy!

So what is under the hood? I once saw a c. 1954-55 magazine article about swapping a Buick "Nailhead" V8 into a '49-'52 Chevrolet, and it really spoke to me. Also, my dad had a good friend with a '52 business coupe running a 283 or 327 Corvette motor (I forget, and sadly, Dad's no longer around to ask).

Even a 235 (or 261) with a couple of carburetors and Fenton headers would be neat propulsion for a cool car.

-Dave

 

[Bourne ID]

Hey Dave,
Breathers

 

[Talbot]

Yesterday was spent test driving a RHD 1938 Packard convertible coupe being sold locally to settle an estate, while this morning I took my '51 Bentley on my usual 35 mile run to church. After services it was a leisurely drive up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, making a slight detour for sandwiches and a well-chilled bottle of chardonnay. After an impromptu picnic with friends, and a bit of tire kicking with a passing group of motorcyclists, I gently Bentled back down the mountain (elevation 1,900 ft.) into the Shenandoah valley in search of a bit of sherbert to round out the afternoon.

Now I consider Mk VI Bentleys to be the finest cars produced, post war, by Rolls-Royce and find them well up to the job of being pressed into service as every day drivers. The pre-war cars are a bit less useful on a day-to-day basis, although they make superb touring cars provided one can withstand the rigors of motoring in the summer without benefit of air conditioning. The purpose of driving the Packard was to see how it would stack up as both a daily driver and long distance tourer.

In all respects the Packard was eminently more driveable than a pre-war Rolls-Royce (or Bentley) of the period, and almost as good a daily driver as an early post-war R-R or Bentley. So, will I buy the Packard? Well, for starters, it is a convertible and that trumps a closed car any day, at least in my book it does. The steering isn't as precise, and with only a three-speed transmission one has to rely more on torque, which means the car is slower in traffic.

Perhaps, if I sold my Bentley, I could learn to love the Packard in time... but with the Mk VI in the garage, I'm afraid that I would be constantly reminded of the Packard's one or two minor short comings. Hmmm. What to do? What to do?

Take pics, take pics!

I hate seeing a fellow down on his luck like this....

 

[Talbot]

I have a 1952 chevy convertible, it sits most of the time due to lack of funds to get her running right. Sometimes when I take her out I usually hear " My dad used to have one of those" another one is "whats under the hood?", the last is "what year is it?"at first it is quite nice to hear but after a while it is like "how did you break your leg"
I know I shouldn't complain and I am thankful that people appreciate old cars but the blessing can be a bit much sometimes.
Still thankful and happy!

Beautifull cars, those 52 Chevy converts...

Reminds me of a time when I was out in my 54 Chevy H/T. I had only gone a short distance when I had some muck on the points give the stovebolt a coughing fit, so I pulled over.

I had the bonnet up and soon noticed a person behind me looking over my shoulder.

I try and be courteous, but sometimes, well, your patience is tested.

Long story short he was a local car nut (32 vicky, 56 eldo, etc...) that also owned a panel shop. Not quite the popsicle in the radiator I usually get. This guy was clearly in a different league to me...

Best part of it was he also owned the liquor store I was parked in front of .

 

[Rathdown]

Take pics, take pics!

I hate seeing a fellow down on his luck like this....

My conundrum increases along with my knowledge of the Packard's history. A right hand drive car it was first registered in the UK on January 11, 1939 and, allegedly, the first owner was HRH Prince George, Duke of Kent. Sometime after WWII the car was sold by Frank Dale Ltd. in London, and in the late 1960s it was owned by Andy Stewart, a well-known Scottish singer and television personality. Stewart sold the car in February of 1969 at which time it was shipped to its late owner here in the USA. So, rather like my Bentley (the car in my avatar) it has had few owners, and has been well cared for for its entire life...

Hmm... I think I'm going to try to buy the Packard, even though this means selling the Bentley to raise much of the money I'll need for the Packard.

Hopefully the picture of my car has attached itself like a limpet to this post. If not.... Well, it seems I do not have permission to post a photo... how odd.

 

[StraightEight]

Buick Invicta 1959:

I couldn't believe I was seeing something like this, especailly in this dreary corner of North-East England - where I can only imagine mid-century American motors weren't exactly common. It sold for £10'000 - after coming down from £12'000 - now I don't know whether that was an accurate pricing or not, it was from an vintage car dealship with some pedigre - especially after I went there.

Man if I was only about 5 years older and had that decent engineering job...

The critical question is, of course, whether it was sold with a free tank of gas, which in the UK would be about 10 percent of the car's value.

 

[Forgotten Man]

The steering isn't as precise, and with only a three-speed transmission one has to rely more on torque, which means the car is slower in traffic.

Well, I know a fella with a '36 Packard 120 sedan, lovely car! The car drove rather well and had very accurate steering compared to my '46 Plymouth... Hard to compare a post war Plymouth with a pre-war expensive auto. But, he let me drive it and it seemed to drive very well... not for him, he took it to a Packard repair shop in Beverley Hills, same place Johnny Dep takes his Packard to. Anyway, he had a lot of work done on it and now it drives as smooth, you wouldn't believe it... It has perfect handling now, much better since the time he bough it. I'm sure if you bought a convertible Packard from '38 you could have it dialed in some to get it to the point you'd like to have it. Packard was a quality car, the guy I know could drive daily if he wished but, he drives it on nice days and weekends. Traffic out here don't move very swiftly, it may in Virginia, but here Traffic crawls so, speed isn't attained during most hours of the day on most free-ways in So Cal.

Post war Bentley's are lovely cars and rather practical as far as vintage luxury cars go. My taste is more for the American Classic's such as Packard and just about anything in all price fields. But, as the old Packard slogan goes: Ask a man who owns one! Great cars they are!

 

[LocktownDog]

Seen in town today. Its a beauty.

 

[Dubya]

Just thought you would like to know. I saw a garage today in the UK selling petrol at £1.40 a litre.
That works out about $11.00 a gallon.........................:eeek:


Carry on! :eusa_doh:

 

[Stearmen]

1.40 A Gallon

Just thought you would like to know. I saw a garage today in the UK selling petrol at £1.40 a litre.
That works out about $11.00 a gallon.........................:eeek:


Carry on! :eusa_doh:

At first I thought you wrote 1.40 Gallons and I was jealous! And to think, the price of a barrel of oil is down,

 

[Rathdown]

Just thought you would like to know. I saw a garage today in the UK selling petrol at £1.40 a litre.
That works out about $11.00 a gallon.........................:eeek:

Frankly that's why I moved to the USA four years ago; $200+ to fill up my Bentley in the UK vs. $60+ to fill up my Bentley in the USA. This price differential applies pretty much across the board...

 

[Talbot]

Seen in town today. Its a beauty.

Agreed - beautiful. An American design classic.

 

[David Conwill]

Seen in town today. Its a beauty.

1955. Gorgeous.

-Dave

 

[rue]

My new baby....

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Wow, what is that Rue? A Ford?

 

[rue]

Yep! I think it's a 54' Ford Mainline, but it says Crestline on the side. The guy that sold it to me said he like the way it looked on the side better [huh]