Sometimes you just gotta drive

[AcampoDave]

It's been pretty stressful lately..., wars, inflation, pandemics...all the personal BS that can build up. I've been really feeling it too. Today I got off work early and drove my truck for 3 hours along the winding highways of the Sierra foothills. I drove it at a good clip, making it run with modern traffic. I downshifted that 4 speed and hammered that 283 up the hills. I drove it thru S curves listening to my tires just lightly complain as I followed some nondescript new sedan . I ran it up to 70 on the straights rolling with the boys in the big diesel king cab. I made some full throttle blasts thru the gears from a dead stop up long hills while a lady in a newer Mustang kept pace in my rear view. I did all that stuff today, just me in a 1966 truck that I built and it was fun.

Why do we let them spend so much time collecting dust. Some day we're gonna be too old to drive 'em like that and we're gonna say "I should have driven that thing more". Fall is coming. Get out there and enjoy it. It really does help ease the stress of the daily grind.

[MusicMan70]

This is absolute POETRY!!

Truth Spoke here

[cwcarpenter98]

I drove mine to work today just because I could. Instead of letting them collect dust while sitting, we should let them collect dust from driving all over the place

[slepysal]

Man so true well said .
I take mine out for a weekend drive and it helps clear the cobwebs in my head. EVERY time I drive it reminds me why I built it!
Not show, not to low and not to much go, but is mine!

[bsarts]

That's why I call mine "my time capsule".

[sirJim]

That is why I never do long "Repairs" for more than a couple days unless it is during the winter which it is not out in the rain and snow and Salt on the roads.
Probably never do a Frame off restoration in my life time as it only takes a weekend to tear it apart and 10 years or so to put it back together. Drive it any chance I get if the weather is good.

[Braunschweiger]

True words

[LT1 Burb]

That is why I sold mine, because it wasn't fun to drive. I took my 1 of 75 left in the world 66 ragtops for a drive yesterday and cranked the Eagles and blew through a tank of gas on long winding roads hammering all 5 gears and it was very therapeutic, but i did get sunburned lol. I sold my trailer and my duramax and vowed to build drivers only from now on.

[jayoldschool]

Totally agree. I drive my truck every time I need to do something that I can't do with a car. Yesterday, it went to Costco and Lowes. Day before, picked up a vintage dresser from goodwill. No problem in traffic, or cruising along the highway. It costs me less to insure it for a year than a one day rental for a pickup. So good.

[forestb]

I went from driving 45 min in stop and go LA traffic to driving less than 2 miles to work. It now takes me longer to get the cover off and to worm it up than it takes to get there. It almost seems not worth driving it to work, but it totally is worth it.

[scottofksu]

One thing I really like about rolling in "classic iron" is that it is a much more visceral experience driving them. I feel this causes us to "stay in the moment" much more than in new vehicles. Not to go all "hippy dippy" on you, but I feel joy is found when we spend more moments in the present versus in the past - where we often find depression via regrets - or in the uncertain future where our minds identify anxieties about events that may not ever actually happen. Thus, I would say to consider driving and working on these vehicles as therapy and feel our medical insurance plans should cover these efforts! lol

[Alloyvert]

Originally Posted by scottofksu

Thus, I would say to consider driving and working on these vehicles as therapy and feel our medical insurance plans should cover these efforts! lol

I concur as this is the exact reason I bought my '64 in the spring. Not only did I miss wrenching, but this truck has been a great way to forgot about all the crap I deal with at work. And once I finally took that first drive a couple months into the purchase, I was giddy like a kid. Although I still do not totally trust it yet, that will come with time... and of course, more work.

[Rubbertiredtramp]

Yeah I agree it’s fun to wheel them down the road, and I need to do more of that.

[pdxhall]

I am very envious of you guys that have a driver. I made the commitment to do a complete tear down and rebuild of my truck. That means during that time I retired and traveled the country for a couple of years, ended up moving from Portland to Tucson, built a new shop, and moved the truck. Like others, I found the truck very therapeutic and when I started my build page, I named my truck Sanity 66. I now have Sanity running and driving and as soon as I get the front end aligned and licensed I'll finally be a driver and finish a few details as I go.