How often do you guys drive your cars?
 

Just wondering how often you guys drive your Pontiacs...where you take em and how often. I know a lot of your rides are being worked on to get them to the point of enjoying them but what’s your plan once you do? Cheers! :car:

Not often enough! I've got 1500 miles on my car and I got it out of restoration 10 years ago. Since then, I've had the engine rebuilt several times due to some issues that I won't go into further, moved across the country, and had two kids. But finally all appears to be ok with the car, I got a vasectomy, and I'm ready to burn some freaking rubber!

Mine is a semi-daily. I work from home, so the misses and I share a 2014 Grand Cherokee. If the need for me to go somewhere arises at work, I take the car. If it's nice out and I need to get out on a lunch break for a drive, I take the car.

During the summer months I probably have the car out a minimum of 3 days. During the winter months I try to get it out on the weekends if the weather is decent.

I've drive the car so much that I've really started to discover those week link items that are aging, or may not have had much attention over the years. The last drive I had with the car on the 19th, I realized the steering box is really on it's last leg. Enough so that it's probably a safety issue at this point. So she'll sit for a bit until I get it rebuilt or replace it with a new one.

As far as where I go, typically around town. It's a 3.73/TH400 combo so it's not entirely highway friendly. Once I get my 4l60e installed however, one of my goals with the car is to do Rocky Mountain Race week.

I'd also love to do the long haul to Pontiac Nationals in Ohio, from here in Colorado.

I drive at least one of mine every week,sometimes 2 times a week.Tom

This is our second car. My wife works, I'm disabled, so not working. She takes or primary car (Honda Odyssey) to work and I use the Firebird to do any errands. I don't have too many places to go, so I usually fill up every 2-3 weeks.

Usually weekly, but this Winteri'm semi-concerned about the road salt. Hmmmm i think it is a clean/dirty thing more than a care about rust.

It varies from year to year. I've put as many as 4200 miles on in a year and one year it was zero (I moved out of state and I left my car in storage where we used to live until I had my 1200 sq ft toy box completed at the new house. I'd say on average somewhere between 1500 - 2000 miles per year. Hoping to increase that greatly now that I'm drawing SS and have more personal time...

One thing that limits the miles I put on is location (MN). But having said that, I have driven this car in every single month of the year. December - February it's only 1 time in each month, but November and March get more times than one might think.

Not nearly enough... Twice a month maybe. Fair weather only.

Varies wildly. I’ve had the car around 20 years and added 40,000 miles to it. Some years driving it hardly at all due to health issues or during major work to it. I hadn’t driven it in the last 3-4 weeks but got it out this morning and drove it 70 miles.

During winter months I keep them off the salty roads as all three have been garaged since new. Once it gets nice out I drive the T/A into work usually once a week and take it out on the twisty back roads on a early Sunday morning. The GVs usually just gather dust are driven once in a while.

I try to drive them almost every nice day from April 1st to the first snowfall.

I'll usually put about 3-4000 miles on the 71 in that time span.

2-3 times a week from April to December, not enough.

Thanks for the feedback boys...I don’t drive mine nearly enough either...1~2 times a week....when there’s no rain in the forecast down here in Florida.....I usually take it to the gym or the cigar lounge....sometimes to the track for a blast down the strip....I definitely need the OD trans....I gotta research the hell out of which one I should go for on here

My good car goes to bed usually around Oct. till April. (SALT)
This year I think I had it out 6-7 times.
Don't go to far maybe 25=30 miles per trip, stop somewhere for a beer then back home.

2-5 times a week year round when the weather allows.....mostly short cruises to get my need for speed and ease the pain of a hectic work day or simply enjoy having the windows down listening to a v8 work..

Im taking it to Home Depot, the restaurant or the beach every chance I get.... life’s getting short!

My 61 Tempest was my daily driver for around 20 years. I have been all over the US with it. Currently the car has 567,000 miles on her!

Not nearly as much as I would if I didn't live on this crappy, poorly maintained dirt road. Get tired of cleaning the car every time I get to the end of the road, then cleaning it again when I pull back into my driveway. It' bad enough that I find the perfect day for me to drive is two days after a torrential downpour. No dust and the mud puddles are dry enough to not sling mud over my rockers and quarters. :/

Eastwood sells this spray clear that you peel off after your are done driving for the rear quarters, rockers I assume.

14,000 miles over the last 6 years - and it was down for a full year during that time for restoration.

That might work for the mud but the dust is the main problem. It covers the rear bumper and rear of the trunk lid especially. Even gets inside the trunk. Every nook and cranny really. As soon as I pull my spotless car out on the road, the mail lady or some kid in a 4wd will blow past me at 55 mph and I'm driving through a half mile of suspended, super fine dust particles.
Also, if I did something like that, I would be spraying it on at home, peeling it off at the end of the road and spraying it on again when I'm on my way in.
I love my rural 'neighborhood' but it is not car friendly at ALL. Plus, more people are moving into the area and it's just not as isolated as it once was which means an almost 100% chance that the above will happen every time I pull out. Used to be once in a while.

I have a couple classics, I drove them more this year than any other and in the coming year even more. I used to be worried about breaking down, but hey worse comes to worse whats a tow bill? I think my classic insurance even covers it anyway.

I really need to get the blower motor into the Firebird so its easier to drive it in the morning when windshield fog is a concern. I just don't want to pull the damned fender off.

One things for sure that being if your motor runs valve springs that have over 160 psi on the seat then for the valve springs to have there intended life expectancy you need to back off on the valve adjustments if the motor will sit unfired for more then 2 months.

This harm is more pronounced when springs are set up to work within .100" lift of there coil bind height.
Even just cranking the motor over 1/2 a revolution will help a lot every 2 weeks!

2 to 3K,a year. I'm semi retired and it's my errand car. Pulse local Sat night car show, part time during summer. Drive most every day , March through Sept. It's kinda a rat car, so using with grease shop cloths, or on farm with mud on feet, is the norm.

Every day.

I do the same. I've made countless runs to HD, the beach, going out to eat, or whatever else.

Curtis and I try to get our cars out once a week, year round, weather permitting. Mileage probably totals about 500 a year plus those 1/4 mile at a time events! We have driven to car shows not too far away; 3.73 gears not being very conducive to highway speeds.

I was in the same boat as you. 3/4 mile of dusty gravel road dampened my enthusiasm to take my cars out, much more so than I anticipated before we built our house. After two years the city paved the first 1/2 mile, and to appease neighbors who were totally against paving, they used a polymer emulsion on the rest--tilled it into the soil, graded and compacted it, and then applied a couple top coats. Dust control is a big priority here, so we lucked out. I take the cars out much more now.

Varies year to year, 4-6K which is primarily in the summer. I do get it out in the winter but it's dependent on weather. Usually avoid if there's a bunch of sand on the roads after we get snow.

Not often enough to justify the investment, insurance costs and floor space that it takes up. I'm likely getting out of the hobby this coming spring.

I have a few Pontiacs and I drive all over the place them as long as there no salt on the road and it is over 40 degrees.
I drove my 64 Bonneville Safari 7000 miles from May to October

100,000 miles over the last ten years. It's down for an engine change now.

Didn't drive them near enough this year due to working a lot. Still sounds like I drove them more than quite a few here, though. I use them to run errands or go out to dinner or just up to the lake. If I didn't need a truck for work, I'd drive them to work too. The roads are pretty crappy with salt now, but if we get enough rain to clean them off, I'll still drive through the winter... until they salt again.

Daily. Around 50 miles a day.

Sam

I don't know anything about your situation, but I've found that the costs steadily decrease over time. The initial cost of a restoration - body & paint, drivetrain, interior, it's unreal. But once you've got a complete, running car with a decent paint job, you only need to spend a few bucks every now and again to fix little things as they come up or as you want to upgrade.

If you've already bitten the bullet on the big $, maybe stick it out and see if you can spend some more time in the car? I finally started driving mine last summer after all kinds of issues with the initial restoration and several engine repairs. But as far as I can tell, everything is good and starting to come together. Doing things like fixing leaks and gauges right now, so nice to see a clean garage floor for once!

Daily driver, I commute an hour each way across LA. 80mph, stop and go. 4spd and manual brakes, wouldn't have it any other way.
Should be finishing my 461 in the next month or so!

Usually around 2k a year, +/- some years. The winters seem to getting longer here�� so that shortens up the season, may till early November, I don't drive once they've salted

Last summer we bought a pop-up trailer, the kids love to go camping, we all do, so those longs wknds we're gone, the car sits..but I've had it 20 years...its there when I need/want it, like an old friend, over that time I have used as a daily in summer, I've road tripped it, beat the crap out of it, cruised, to just sitting for month, I don't think it really matters as long as you enjoy it. I don't care what it costs, I'll be dead before it's someone else's.

I put 46,000 miles on my 65 Grand Prix in 22 months. Does that count??

That's what I like to see! Drive and enjoy!

Well...up here in the Northeast....it naps for 6 months.....I try to drive it to work ...20 miles one way ...at least 2-3 times a week on the nice days. Then all weekend...coffee runs...grocery stores...cruise nights...

I used to drive a lot more miles but our freeway traffic has become so bad no matter what day or what time I just dont do as much.I will drive the 62 GP 421 virtually every Sat AM to Donut Derlics as it has a heater.The first and last Sunday of the month I drive either the 455 (soon to be 428 RA V)69 bird or the 421 SD 63 Lemans depending which on is on the top of the lift to another show and shine.I used to drive as far as San Diego on a weekend about 160 miles round trip but not any more.Tom

Hey Goatless....my son just moved to Newtown....was just down to see the new house ,couple weeks ago.

Really?? That's pretty cool. There are quite a few of us Pontiac guys here. You'll have to let me know next time you're down- I'll take you out to lunch if I've got time.

I try to take the 67 out every weekend...usually on 300 plus mile trips to...somewhere. I think the longest ride this year was over 400 miles in a day. Overdrive is awesome(5 speed Legend).

We've been here for over 20 years and they've applied dust abatement TWICE. I also have a few neighbors who love dust and resist any changes to the road. It stays in pretty bad shape too now that there are many more people driving on it.

You guys worried about dust need to visit the desert South West :D Dust here in Arizona is pretty much a way of life. You can't even drive on a paved road without getting dust on the cars. Always wind or light breezes blowing dust around, so sitting still outside for any length of time gets pretty dusty too.

You just learn to deal with it. It washes off and is pretty easy to maintain if you stay on top of it. I'll take dust any day over rain and snow.
We drive our classic stuff daily, don't even own a new car. Newest thing I own is an 05 duramax and I don't daily it. Sits most of the time, sometimes for months, and only used if I need to tow or haul something.

Been to Arizona and New Mexico a few times but never lived there.. l can imagine though.
The dust I'm dealing with is super fine like talcum powder and penetrates everything. In the dry summer, a car can go down the road and 2 or 3 minutes later it looks like a fog is rolling through the woods towards my house. Road is nearly 100 yards away.
Really, as far as the car goes, it bugs me to have to wet my car twice every time I drive it. That's where you have an advantage in a super dry climate.
Lately l've kept it covered and just dust it off instead of washing it.

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I drive mine almost every day but its not an everyday driver. Plus I bring it to the North Carolina mountains four times a year. Its a blast through the mountains!!!

When my car is finished it will be my daily transportation. Rain sleet or snow. We don’t salt the roads down here just sand. Every collector car I have ever had(a lot) has been a daily driver. To me a car is a tool, a Classic is just a much cooler tool. My wife’s new charger is nice but it looks like every other car on the road

I just stay on top of it daily with a dust mop to get the majority off, then touch up with a damp micro fiber towel. Usually only washing the wheels. Rarely do I need to wash the whole car, as long as I stay on top of it daily. Let it go more than a couple days and that's a different story.

Something I need to respond to
 

I don't post much on here but this thread strikes a nerve. I drive my 72 Pontiac Grandville Convertible and 87 Grand National everyday they are running and it's not raining. I drive them more than my daily driver, a 2018 Ram.

I don't understand why people don't drive their classic cars more. I don't get it. I drive my cars so much every where I go people tell me about seeing me on the road. Kids teacher, doctor, auto parts store, etc etc. you'd think I'm a celebrity but the fact is you rarely see classic cars on the road so people notice. I see more exotics in Houston than classic cars. I don't understand how you can be into classic cars, spend all that money on fixing them up and then rarely drive them. I don't get it.