Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[ukdave2002]

Wey back in the mid 80's when I was 18 years old , I bought a Bedford CA van for less than £100, I went to college in it every day for 2 years, picked my girlfriend up in it regularly, took a mate across the other side of the country for him to compete in a 100 National Cart race..I didn't think twice about driving it any where in any kind of weather..

Roll on 30 years and I have another Bedford CA, that's in far better condition than my first one! Yet I don't just jump in and drive it without a thought; I hold back in case anything brakes quickly, I'm constantly monitoring the temperature and oil pressure gauge and almost expecting some part of the ignition to fail?

Is this just a normal part of getting older and having a better understanding of stuff?

Am I getting too soft by driving moderns?

Or should I just chill out!!

Dave

[Dipster]

Surely it is simply that you realise that the vehicle is actually quite a bit older than the one you drove originally. And consequently everything may be getting brittle or weakened by time. Thus things may fail.

Time, and inactivity, do damage vehicles. Some years ago I was working in Cairo. I know 2 brand new V8 LR Discoverys that had been sitting in the docks for 9 years. A friend managed to buy them at a ridiculously low price. But even though brand new when parked virtually every rubber or flexible plastic part had to be replaced (tyres, hoses, belts, brake parts, door seals etc.). It cost a good deal of cash and a lot of work.

So a 40 plus (50 even?) years old CA may well be a touch delicate and I too would certainly drive it respectfully.

[Rick]

I think we get wiser as we get older.

When I started out driving, in the A40, I'd go everywhere in it and used it every day. At the time it was 27/28 years old. If it were back on the road now, it'd be 55 years old, and yes I'd probably treat it with a lot more respect - no hooning along (for an A40 that is), no loading it to the roof with old magazines bought during a day out to Llandudno, its back end dragging its way along the A55 at 40mph. And certainly no taking it out once salt is on the road.

Perhaps I'm just more sensible now, I'm definitely very much more aware of how quickly road situations can turn from fine and dandy, to very, very bad.

RJ
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[kevin2306]

As long as I have a mobile phone and my RAC card I don't really think much about getting out n about. I do love just tootling about not in a hurry tho.

Kev

[Ray White]

As a driver of much older cars i.e., Vintage - and that, by definition, means pre 1930 I have become used to the idea that I may find myself stranded at the roadside. Not that I ever have "broken down" but that I like to think is down to maintenance. Prevention is better than cure so as a matter of course, I ensure that the points are in good order and that fuel lines are clear.

Less predictable, however, is a broken half shaft for example although ensuring that hub tapers are tight on an Austin Seven can give you a fighting chance. A clutch failure on the other hand might be down to the way you drive. It should be either in or out but many drivers will routinely hold a car on the clutch for a hill start when they should be using their parking brake.

I cannot say that I ever feel particularly confident in taking an old car out for a spin and sometimes I will get a run of things that will make me opt for the 'modern' but the weather has as much to do with it as anything. I don't want to be trying to restart the car at the roadside in the pouring rain or (like recently) when it is blowing a gale.

There is also the potential for embarrassment. I fear being stopped in a vulnerable place but having to push the car out of the way at a busy traffic lights for example would make me cringe with embarrassment.

You can take all manner of spares and tools with you but even assuming you know what is wrong - and diagnosis under pressure is not easy - you can guarantee that the thing you need is back at home.

As I say, I have been lucky but the worry definitely gets worse with age but that applies to everything. I am a born worrier and tend to forget everything I ever knew when put in a stressful situation, so perhaps I'm not ideally suited to old car ownership!

[goneps]

Well said, Ray. Old cars have a habit of running perfectly well for ages with only routine maintenance, then throwing a tantrum that goes on for months. The latter has occurred this year with the Morris being plagued by brake issues, and no sooner had they been sorted out than the starter motor packed up.

On the other side of the coin, sixteen years ago, using a week-long Morris Eight rally in Dunedin as the excuse, I covered 3,500 miles in four weeks touring South Island, and the only trouble I had was that it rained most of the time!

Richard

[Ellis]

[Ellis]

[Ray White]

[roverdriver]

I have always owned rather old cars. I ran Model A Fords for some time, then fully restored one in 1972. That car I kept until 1990, covering something like 200,000 miles in it. In 1975 I decided to do a 5,500 mile round trip to the other side of Australia and back, towing a trailer. We had two small children as well at the time. In 1976 we did a similar trip Northwards. Very little bother on either trip, and nothing but minor problems at any time.

Now I use much more modern conveyances ranging from a 1950 Rover 75, a 1959 Rover 90 and a 1982 Rover SE2 (SD1). A couple of years ago drove on a 4,000 mile trip to Alice Springs in the 90, last year re-visited Perth in the SE (5,500 miles). All of those cars are in regular use, and any one of them I would take on any journey.

I maintain the cars myself and believe that I have a reasonable understanding of their individual foibles. They are driven, where sensible, at the maximum legal speed.

Yes I take note of any unusual noises or odd feel of the car, and would stop to investigate if necessary, but that rarely happens.

I get annoyed with drivers of older cars that drive them well under their available cruising speed. Recently met a Model A owner who won't go above 30 mph!!! I would drive mine at 60 mph as a matter of course.
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[mikeC]

[peter scott]

I guess my attitude is slightly the reverse of ukdave in as much as throughout the first 16 years of ownership of my SS I was always careful not to exceed 3500 rpm and never to labour the engine for fear of poking a hole in the crankcase from a broken dural rod. All that changed 5 years ago when I managed to find a set of steel rods and now I just drive it as I would my modern. (Although I am still conscious of the difficulty of locating engine bearings.)

See: http://www.scottpeter.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/new%20page%2015.htm

Peter
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1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[Rich5ltr]

[peppiB]

My newsest car is a 25 year old Merc, but for most journeys, especially long ones, I use my Landcrab. Never had trouble with it when it goes more than 20 miles from home (yet!)
I haave never driven a vehicle newer than 53 plate so have no idea what 'modern' driving is like

[Ray White]

Rich5Ltr... Don't listen to me! You will be fine. As it happens, I remember being told that the Mk 111 Aston is prone to big end failure? No such worries with the Lagonda - it's pretty well screwed together.