Anybody switch over from new car and regret it?

[noco-k5]

My least favorite car is also my newest a 2012 Mustang GT. I was planning on daily driving my 1970 Blazer in the winter but recently picked up an 04 Chevy Suburban which I love. The Blazer gets driven plenty and is a ton of fun. The one I'm making a payment on sits in the garage for the most part. Don't get me wrong the Mustang is alot of fun just not very practical. I'll probably hang onto it and put a supercharger on it once the warranty expires and just use it for a weekend cruiser and occasional drag racer. Plan on driving my Blazer alot rain, snow, or shine. I've had restored classic cars and they were much like my Mustang they didn't get driven much.

[Daves70]

I'm building my 70 as a daily driver.I just sold an 04 F350 with a diesel that left me stranded because of a broken wire in the main harness.$690.00 later and a tow I have decided simpler is better.My 67 gets driven quite a bit as long as there is no salt on the roads and in the 14 years I've had this truck it has been on many long trips without any issues.I'm sure I'll miss the fancy bells and whisels but the cool facter and ease of repair will make up for that.As for miliege my 67 "can" get 17 mpg on the highway at a steady 70-75 mph,my F350 diesel got the same. As far as ruining a classic truck by daily driving it,I dragged my 70 out of a field so technically it's already ruined.

[magwakeenercew2jh]

Originally Posted by Daves70

I.....As for miliege my 67 "can" get 17 mpg on the highway at a steady 70-75 mph,my F350 diesel got the same.

How can I get 17mpg at 70-75mph? I'd do anything you tell me to do here in
The Land Of The Almost $5.00/Gallon 91 Bogus Octane.

Oh! One proviso....You didn't put a four-banger in your truck, did you?

Please! Help a brother out.

[domeier]

Originally Posted by sharpmark

blimey -- your petrol is expensive!!

Yes, Cali has crazy expensive gas, but the naked hippies have forced us to burn a special blend that shoots double rainbows and kittens out the exhaust pipe...

[Eddie H.]

Originally Posted by 69GWC

And which one is faster do you think.? I know my 69 would walk off from my 06 if I could shift that sm465 fast enough.. lol

To me you would think these new truck would do alot better then they do with all this new technology they have now.
Posted via Mobile Device

There would be no contest between my 69 and the 2012. The old 69 would run off and hide from it.

[davepl]

Originally Posted by 1972BackInBlackC10

i think alot of this "safety" garbage has been implanted in our heads over the years by the manufactuers, air bags, abs brakes, vehicles that fold like accordians to absorb impact etc dont get me wrong im sure they make things "safer" but i vividly remember laying in the back window of my parents car on more than one occasion when i was a kid

There are two aspects to this: accident avoidance and accident survival. Not having had an accident of any kind (my fault or otherwise) in 25+ years, you'd think I wouldn't care about the former. But there have been 2-3 times over those 25 years when a modern car's performance have saved me. Deer jump in front, people change lanes randomly, and my '70 GMC couldn't have saved me.

The other is survivability. Watch this video where they crash a little new Malibu into a great big '58 Bel Air (and don't whine about them wrecking a '58 unless you're really going to go out and restore a brown four-door):

Crash test: 1959 Chevy Bel Air - YouTube

You tell me which one you want your kids in. The Malibu you walk away from, the Bel Air they'll be hosing you off the dash board.

Beyond contrarianism and nostalgia (which I have plenty of) there is NO reason I can think of to want to drive an old car. I used to drive them because I had to, and now I want to drive them because I used to have to, but there's no rational reason.

[Hubscrub]

^again it still depends on the situation i was involved in the fire dept few years back. Point is I've pulled passed away people out of many new ones also and seen them go in front of me it can happen anywhere. I remember a wreck where a small modern car vs. a mid 70's suburban wow guess who won, suburban maybe needed just a bumper if that, the other totaled easy and depending on what happen the opposite could happen. If you don't want you kids or yourself in an "unsafe" car then why are you restoring an old truck? I'm talking to the wife about getting a old station wagon (the cool ones) and fixing for a family hauler. We are taking down our own hobby talking like this about it. I'm sure the beating a dead horse comment is coming. Please don't take what i say personal i'm just trying to explain a point.

[sneaky]

my newer daily driven..lol car 98 740il spends more time down that I feel like I'm just losing out all the time. I've probably driven this car maybe 30-40 days this year, while my old beater 72 C10 keeps going strong 50 miles+ everyday. I've been thinking about selling my seven series soon and looking for a 62 impala 2 door hardtop car to replace it.
I never have owned a brand new car, I usually always run atleast 10-15 years behind anyways...my goal is always to drive a car for a while and when I'm ready to move on to either sale for the same price or more.. =)

[Billett]

That video was just posted on the last page.
Posted via Mobile Device

[sixtysevengmc]

the newest vehicle I own is my 1996 Roadmaster sedan, and is daily driven.

The lady gets the newer stuff, 2012 SRX

[1972BackInBlackC10]

im not trying to argue wiith anyone, but quoting my statements with comments and videos like that when i never claimed new vehicles arent safe or safer than old vehicles

im saying that the features new cars have make some people feel old cars arent safe, when in fact older cars are safe with the proper maintnence and seatbelts as i mentioned

i can argue all day about the video but im not going there lol someone will always have an opinion or have something to point out

[Daves70]

Originally Posted by magwakeenercew2jh

How can I get 17mpg at 70-75mph? I'd do anything you tell me to do here in
The Land Of The Almost $5.00/Gallon 91 Bogus Octane.

Oh! One proviso....You didn't put a four-banger in your truck, did you?

Please! Help a brother out.

406 smallblock with 10.5 compression and 195 AFR heads with a fairly conservative cam backed by a 700/R4 trans with 3.42 rearend gears.If I drive steady down the highway it will get 17 mpg. If I'm on it all the time it won't.It is no different than the F350 diesel I had. You had to drive it right to get 17 mpg too.I think the secret is building an efficient engine with good heads and caming it for torque.I'm hoping to do a bit better with a 350-700/R4-3.73 in the 70.Time will tell as I'm just starting that one.

[LilD]

When it comes to safety there are variables. A 67-72 truck isnt gonna react the same as that old 4 door car in the crash video. IMO you cant lump all new and all old cars into that same result. Not saying the out come would be any different. We wont know that until they test every new and old car the same way. You know what they say, opinions are like........ everybodies got one.

[ghostvbhc]

I switched over from a toyota yaris to a 69 chevy c10 with a straight six. The gas mileage isn't bad on it and ten bucks gets me a quarter of a tank, more or less. I do drive the yaris if I'm going far out because of the better gas mileage, but the 69 chevy is basically my daily driver.

[JointTech]

when did they start putting collapsible steering columns in? That's the scarey thing in that video. I also think 50 year old rust isnt going to be as strong as a new car. 50year old steel might be but I doubt they did a frame off before ramming it.

I like jumping in my Scion when its 40 degrees outside and throw it in reverse and be pulling out of my stall about 3 engine revs after starting it. No stutter stall, pump pump pump, let it warm up, yada yada.

I like the way my 4banger warms up before I get to the street.

I like sealed windows and no road noise.

I DD a 70 blazer and a 79 blazer when I was a kid.
I wouldnt do it again. These trucks are fun because I dont have to drive a pile of crap all the time it would suck if I had to.

You guys with the $40k frame offs dont count.
My car has 190,000 on it and it starts every time. (it did cost over a grand for struts though...)

[C10_ustacould]

Originally Posted by Cole Trickle

There is no way I would daily drive my 69 and its dead on reliable.....

There harder to insure correctly if driven daily

Gas mileage sucks

Safety (brakes,airbags,seatbelts)

Reliability

I love my truck and it makes me smile everytime I start it. With that said its 40+ years old and has the technology of a tricycle. I commute 70 miles a day and have a wife and 3 y/o that I want to keep safe.

If I was 20 years old and had to drive 4 miles to work/school my thoughts would be different.

Not trying to single you out, but looking at your signature makes me wonder if the 1998 Tahoe is your DD. If so, I wouldn't mind driving a bad @ss 2dr Tahoe 5 days a week and a C10 on the weekend!

[71meangreenc10]

Drive my GMC everyday and if you do the right upgrades, it is very dependable. Wouldnt think twice about driving it anywhere, my ac works great, power windows work well, seats are comfortable, overdrive works, tilt is sweet....Got to drop it another inch in the rear due to the bed change.

Smitty

[Billett]

Originally Posted by 71meangreenc10

Drive my GMC everyday and if you do the right upgrades, it is very dependable. Wouldnt think twice about driving it anywhere, my ac works great, power windows work well, seats are comfortable, overdrive works, tilt is sweet....Got to drop it another inch in the rear due to the bed change.

Smitty

The only one of those I actually have is seats, and I still love driving mine everywhere

[haminator]

Originally Posted by Billett

The only one of those I actually have is seats, and I still love driving mine everywhere

Hahaha good one. yeah all I have is the seat too. I drive my 70 Longhorn everyday 7 days a week. Work play or what ever. Just got rid of a 96 GMC. Thought I'd like the better mileage, A/C etc. (I did) until it decided to crap out a PCM. Irefused to spend another 200 on it so I sold it. I'll never go back. Had 97 Chev 1 ton diesel once too. Nothing but a money pit. I've been driving a 1970 Chev. 4x4, 70 Blazer, and this Longhorn since I was old enough to drive. (46 now) Oh and don't forget the 72 442. If any of these let me down 9 times out of 10 it was my neglect that caused it. The gas mileage sucks, yes, 400-600 month payment buys a lot of gas. Note: my wife drives a 05 Trailblazer against my better judgement. Its on its 2nd dash now it doesnt work. Longhorn still on original dash 42 years later, no contest. I'll quit now lol.

[vannatta20]

my only vehicle is my 68 C10. Got rid of the inline 6 and swapped a 5.3 from a salvage yard for under 1000$. I had a 4l60e laying and installed that too. Have 2100 trouble free miles and got 19.5 mpg going 75mph(200 mile round trip).Starts just like a new vehicle and runs perfect. Replaced all the weatherstrip and turned it to a great driver. Safety is a major concern and if I get in a bad accident i dont think things will fair well...

[Lippyp]

I daily drove my 67 for a couple of years back when I first got it about ten years ago, rising gas prices stopped me really that and some reliability issues but thats common to any older car thats had a large number of owners. We're now up to the equivalent of about $8/US gallon so daily driving is no longer really an option. My 01 Blazer does much better on gas and on propane which is nearly half the price then its a no brainer. The drivers aids/safety didn't really bother me as I grew up driving cars from the 19860'sd and 70's with no power steering, ABS etc etc.

[davepl]

Originally Posted by 1972BackInBlackC10

im not trying to argue wiith anyone, but quoting my statements with comments and videos like that when i never claimed new vehicles arent safe or safer than old vehicles

im saying that the features new cars have make some people feel old cars arent safe, when in fact older cars are safe with the proper maintnence and seatbelts as i mentioned

i can argue all day about the video but im not going there lol someone will always have an opinion or have something to point out

"I'm not trying to argue, I just want you to publicly accept my viewpoint without question". Sorry, it doesn't work that way, at least not on the Internet :-)

I don't want to complicate the argument with facts, but check the data: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...n_U.S._by_year

Fatalities per 100M miles, 1969: 5.04
Fatalities per 100M miles, 2008: 1.25

Looks to me like you're FOUR times more likely to bite the big one in a 1960s vehicle than a 2000s vehicle, and that's per mile driven, so its adjusted for the different amount people drive.

Someone asked, in light of my opinions about how bad and unsafe I appear to think old vehicles are, why I'm restoring one. That's simple: I used to have one as a kid, my Dad had one, they look cool, I like to work on things, and so on and so on. But beyond appearances and feelings I don't think there's any subjective measure by which they're "better". I'll definitely drive it around, and there was a time when a '69 C10 was my only vehicle, but given the choice if I was taking the family on vacation, I'd take a modern truck.

[Hubscrub]

Originally Posted by davepl

"I'm not trying to argue, I just want you to publicly accept my viewpoint without question". Sorry, it doesn't work that way, at least not on the Internet :-)

I don't want to complicate the argument with facts, but check the data: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...n_U.S._by_year

Fatalities per 100M miles, 1969: 5.04
Fatalities per 100M miles, 2008: 1.25

Looks to me like you're FOUR times more likely to bite the big one in a 1960s vehicle than a 2000s vehicle, and that's per mile driven, so its adjusted for the different amount people drive.

Someone asked, in light of my opinions about how bad and unsafe I appear to think old vehicles are, why I'm restoring one. That's simple: I used to have one as a kid, my Dad had one, they look cool, I like to work on things, and so on and so on. But beyond appearances and feelings I don't think there's any subjective measure by which they're "better". I'll definitely drive it around, and there was a time when a '69 C10 was my only vehicle, but given the choice if I was taking the family on vacation, I'd take a modern truck.

I respectfully disagree, it's not all the cars fault. ONE of the reasons they pushed for the interstate system (which i've come dislike for other reasons) is that the US highway system was unsafe in it self. Smaller roads, poorly signed, no where comparable to todays roads. I live near a major us hwy and i live on one of the old routes that they had to use before it super small in places ones lane bridges one with a curve on each side i hate it. I was on US 11? in Georgia couple months ago and there is a one lane overpass right in the middle of a stretch of road i told the wife i would hate to drive this everyday. Even the mother road Route 66 had the nickname of bloody 66, i'm a highway nerd sorry, but i love to drive them so i can see America like it's meant to be seen. I see every month a sign over the interstate when we go to the flea market that has the traffic deaths for the state on it we are near 800 for the year so far so please drive careful even in a new car. But it's not gonna stop me from driving and riding my family in an old enjoyable vehicle.

[502ms]

I still have my Bimmers, but drive my 72 as often as possible. My preference is the 40 year old truck
Posted via Mobile Device

[leddzepp]

No.