[Bull]

A while back, I think that the other major Pontiac board (which I don't frequent as much since finding this one) had a thread about using older cars as daily drivers. The responses there were varied, but many people indicated that the idea was bad for reasons such as safety, fuel economy, reliability etc. I have a '93 Volvo 945T wagon that I use as my daily driver. I like it, but maintenance costs are high...if you need to have anything other than really minor work done at the shop, your wallet is going to hurt. I just got the car back after having the water pump and radiator replaced, and the bill was a painful $750. Even if I had done the work myself, the parts themselves would have added up to about $400. That made me think...back in graduate school, I was using my '77 GP with a 455 to commute from Northampton, MA to Providence, RI twice a week (about 1.5 hours each way). The only thing that ever failed on that car was the cheap rebuilt alternator. Sure, I paid for a lot of gas, but that was it. She started in the coldest temps thanks to the Edelbrock carb with electric choke, she was fun, she had a stereo, and although she didn't have airbags, she felt solid and safe. Plus, I enjoyed tooling around in a car that you rarely see on the streets. Is it unreasonable for me to be thinking of picking up some mid-70s Pontiac, 2 or 4 door, to use as a daily driver, reserving the Volvo for long trips and therefore reducing wear and tear on that car? Anyone among you all use a vehicle from the 70s as a daily driver? All opinions welcome.

[Half-Inch Stud]

All the old cars need is an HEI, Internal Reg alternator, and elec fuel pump. Good to go.
HIS

[63surfinsafari]

I am glad someone started this topic. I got 200k on my current car and I really don't like any newer vehicles besides, firebird, 95 impala and corvette. I figure dumping 5k into my safari would be way better in insurance alone considering its going to cost me minimum 200 bucks a month to insure any newer model v8. Not to mention they are way too high priced.

Its so expensive to have any fun!

[68droptop]

I drive a 88 Beretta to work every day. I paid $900 for it about 3 years ago. I also have a 2000 Dakota with a 5.9 liter. In one year of having the Beretta, I save enough gas that it paid for itself. Even though I've done alot of work to the Beretta, I've still saved money by having this car. I put over 20k miles on it which saved the milage on my truck.
I would also ditch the Volvo and look for something cheaper for maintenance. That's one reason I went with a Beretta. Good luck.

[66catalina]

I drive my 66 catalina every day unless its snowing out. In an emergency I drive it then. Luckily it came with studded snow tires when I bought it.

-Nick

[sixt8bird]

This is my wifes daily driver and when shes not driving it , I do.

[uneasyrider]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Sixt8bird:
Whats wrong with high milage 70s or even 60s like my 1968 shown in previous post. It has 528,000 miles and counting. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Nothing.

[68GTOConv]

I should have mentioned that there is one advantage FOR using an older car as a daily driver. But it only applies if the car is relatively cheap/easy to fix ... especially if you can do the work yourself.

A newer car (reference my '01 Monte SS) costs a damn fortune to have worked on. And things you can't fix yourself are the first to break. If you've ever paid to have an EFI unit serviced, you'd appreciate the low cost of rebuilding a carb! If you've ever paid $1,000 to get your power windows operating, you become thankful for crank windows!

If your stereo goes out and you lose all ability to cancel the pesky alarms that show up on your dash, you will be thankful for "simpler" features of older cars. I could go on ....

Mike M

[GotGTO?]

I drive my 67 GTO everyday!!!!!!!!!!!Of course,I fix cars for a living and if it needs it it gets it! However,this car is in need of restoration,body-wise.It has never stranded me anywhere ,and the fuel costs are reasonable if I keep my foot out of it.It probably runs in the 14s although it hasn't been to the track yet.I can't afford to own a car that sits,nor would my wife let me own a car that isn't useful in our daily lives.It is the FAMILY car and my 6yr old and my 2 yr old always want to go for a ride. To each his own, mine is a DRIVER!!!!!!

[Pontiacshack]

Right now I'm driving a 64 Lemans 389, 4 spd, 323 posi and getting 14 mpg. I don't mind giving up some mpg for the joy of driving something I like. Sure it needs stuff from time to time, but I can do all the maintainance on the car and my labor is free.

Stefan.

[Bull]

A while back, I think that the other major Pontiac board (which I don't frequent as much since finding this one) had a thread about using older cars as daily drivers. The responses there were varied, but many people indicated that the idea was bad for reasons such as safety, fuel economy, reliability etc. I have a '93 Volvo 945T wagon that I use as my daily driver. I like it, but maintenance costs are high...if you need to have anything other than really minor work done at the shop, your wallet is going to hurt. I just got the car back after having the water pump and radiator replaced, and the bill was a painful $750. Even if I had done the work myself, the parts themselves would have added up to about $400. That made me think...back in graduate school, I was using my '77 GP with a 455 to commute from Northampton, MA to Providence, RI twice a week (about 1.5 hours each way). The only thing that ever failed on that car was the cheap rebuilt alternator. Sure, I paid for a lot of gas, but that was it. She started in the coldest temps thanks to the Edelbrock carb with electric choke, she was fun, she had a stereo, and although she didn't have airbags, she felt solid and safe. Plus, I enjoyed tooling around in a car that you rarely see on the streets. Is it unreasonable for me to be thinking of picking up some mid-70s Pontiac, 2 or 4 door, to use as a daily driver, reserving the Volvo for long trips and therefore reducing wear and tear on that car? Anyone among you all use a vehicle from the 70s as a daily driver? All opinions welcome.

[habu2]

My daily driver is a 1985 H*nda CR-X with 282,000+ miles. Engine has never been apart (aside from timing belt replacements) and my last tank of gas netted me 38 MPG.

What I save on gas and car and insurance payments lets me afford my Pontiac addiction...

[PMDRACER]

I drive my wife's '69 LeMans every day. I only have a 6 mile commute so gas mileage be damned!

I would drive my '71 every day to work like I used to if the f%*#ing morons in my building would pay attention when they open their doors.

[Lemans1]

I drive a 71 Datsun 240z everyday...back and forth to work is about 90 miles total. I get about 25mpg...not bad. I have driven many old Pontiacs for dd's as well...a 69 Firebird, 67 Lemans, and many years of Trans Ams. never had any major problems, and when something did go it was easy and cheap (ie, alternators, etc) Fuel economy wasn't the greatest, but what the hell, these cars are meant to be driven right?

[tininjun67]

I drive a 65 chevy stepside with a pontiac 400 in it. I drive 40 to 70 miles per day average. It gets about 14 mpg now. Almost everything I do to it now is in an effort at better gas mileage. I like the idea of driving something that's 40 years old. It's ultra cheap to maintain, and parts are still available for it. The idea of paying 30-40k for a car is just ridiculous in my mind.

[Bull]

So, it seems as though there are mixed opinions on this topic, which is normal. I am encouraged to see that some people do use older cars as daily drivers, though. As for emissions issues, cars from the 70s aren't required to go through those tests in Massachusetts (I can't recall the earliest model year that does off the top of my head). I have basic mechanical ability, having rebuilt a few engines and worked on old Pontiacs for about 10 years now, so fixing small problems as they arise is no big deal. I won't lie, though...in the biting cold of January, without a heated garage to work in, I can get pretty lazy and annoyed at having to troubleshoot a problematic car.

As for gas prices, I try to rationalize that, or at least I did back when I was cruising in the GP daily. Many people in America are paying big money to lease new cars, or to buy them outright. I can buy a whole lot of gas before I come close to spending what someone with a new car spends on payments. The $750 that I just dropped on the Volvo could also have bought a lot of gas!

Half-Inch Stud, how does an electric fuel pump make an older car more reliable or driveable? I'm curious.

SlinkyBMX, you're the first person from the state whom I've seen on the board! Good to know I'm not alone here. BTW, your Formula is tempting and would be in my garage if I had extra cash on hand.

[DOC]

My wife drives a restored gold 69 firebird coupe 350 2 barrel and gets about 14mpg. drives about 12 miles each way in all except icy weather. Averages 7k miles a year. I am in the middle of a convertible resto right now for her for her next daily driver.

[uneasyrider]

If you can find a nice lower miles '70s car to use as a DD I see no reason not to. Generally all of the parts (alt., brakes, engine parts, etc.) are still readily available through the local NAPA store. The biggest thing I would look for is electronic ignition and if it didn't have it put it in. I started working on cars back in '80 so a lot of the '60's (even some '50's) and of course '70's cars were still on the road. The greatest thing IMO to happen to cars (other than modern computer controlled engine with port injection) to increase reliability is electronic ignition. Those cars were driven every day then and they will still do the same thing today but maybe with a little less creature comfort and quality control than today’s cars. IMO the fit and finish on today’s cars is FAR better than the cars from the '70's and '80's. I think I would have to go back to the cars from the mid '60's and before to find something close to the overall fit and finish as the new cars. I don't think that I like the traction control but I think ABS isn't a bad thing. I still think one of the best overall driving cars I ever had (and it got 18mpg) was my 1979 Z28. It started in all weather conditions and handled and drove very nicely. The fit and finish was not what today’s cars have though.

[Zig'sbird]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Catalina Dave:
Anyone among you all use a vehicle from the 70s as a daily driver? All opinions welcome. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I drive a 1976 Cutlass Supreme every day. The only real problem with it is it's gas milage

Other than that, I love it.

[SlinkyBMX]

Dave, nice to hear from someone local. I was just in Amherst today. I use my 79 Trans Am as my daily driver. It has a 301, getting about 18mph. I'm about to take it off the road for the winter. While its off the road im putting the 455 that I am building in. Once the 455 is in, I dont think I will drive it everyday as I do now. Gas hurts already with just the 301. I travel from Hardwick to Ludlow/Palmer 6 days a week. It costs me about $10 a day in gas. I think that having an older car as a daily driver is alot of fun. Its not something that your average Joe drives to work, turns heads everyday, and its just fun. If I were to have another daily driver 70's car I would want it to be a little more fuel effecient then this one is now. Thats about my only complaint. Its built like a tank, so I feel pretty safe. Maybe I'll see you around sometime. Enjoy!

Lars