Classic car as a daily runner?

Cortina Mk2 1600E is a great car to own and would cope with present day traffic speeds.

The trouble is that people understand this and they are far from cheap to buy now.

Moggy

Thanks again for the responses.
I agree with Rich about the Car Club thing, I used to be on the commitee of a classic Rover club and the infighting, rediculous attitudes, and pecking order were something else.
I think forums are much better generally, however the subject of cars can engender that one upman ship thing, and I have heard of big fights started because of it!
We have never had it so good when it comes to sharing of tech tips and finding parts though.

Surpised there hasn’t been any suggestion of late 60s Fords, ie Cortina and MK1 Escorts perhaps, they seem generally capable of modern motoring?

My ’72 BGT works fine as an everyday car. It only drinks excessively when I’m wearing the lead-soled right boot! Obviously living by the sea, and with the salty road season, I have to keep a very close eye on the bodywork. The other joy is that thanks to Lucas, the prince of darkness insisting on using bullet connectors, I sometimes have amusement with gremlins in the electrics. But overall I can’t complain. I’m even toying with acquiring a B roadster for nice days in summer too…

I wouldn’t thank you for a modern car! 🙂

Round the corner from me, a mate had his XJ6 converted to LPG. It paid for itself (£2,000) in a year. He has a long wheelbase version, generally totters around in it – but he drives to South France once pa for his jollydays.

Mine misses free road tax by 24 days. Not that it bothers me as its a set amount rather than emissions based, so it works in my favour anyway..

The other problem with post 72 cars is the quality of build dropped off significantly, both in body panels and electrics. The dark days of BL will forever haunt us!

My biggest annoyance at the moment is that fuel consumption is starting to be a pain, so methods of putting an XJ6 on a diet are being investigated. Hence my comments about modern engines; this won’t be the first classic I’ve treated to something a bit newer.

So many people get hung up on pre-72 classics. For at most £200 or so a year for road tax, you get a far more reliable and practical classic by going for a late 1970s, early 1980s car.

For the last ten years my daily drivers have included a 1932 Austin 7, a ‘proper’ Mini Cooper, a ‘proper’ Alfa Spider and a Morgan 4/4. I love them all and am still owned by some, but for £2,500 a 1980s Porsche 924S has them all beat into a cocked hat.

With various old aeroplanes to keep, the solidity of ‘the growler’ has at least allowed me to get to the airfield and afford to fly. Oh, and it gives a solid 33 mpg too! I’ll keep paying the road tax!

Mind you the missus’ new Fiat 500 is mega-fun and gives 60mpg!

Great thing to do i ran them for years, they are simple to maintain usually very straightforward plus no pricey computer scan needed to diagnose
engine problems etc ,its got to be the way to go,they dont depreciate at the rate newer vehicles do , the humble VW Polo is a great modern classic i have mine still stored away 166.000 no corrosion at all and extremely reliable ,(i have company car)you can pick one up for around £200 in good condition ,sooner or later people will drift back to cars that are simpler to maintain without involving garages , I envisage a time not too distant when there will be a glutt of these complex modern vehicles no one will want as they have to be garage maintained at ever increasing prices,when i started driving you maintained the car yourself and thought nothing of it,people who took their cars for servicing were viewed as “well offs”, people were more practical say twenty five years ago and back ,whereas now most people arent as “hands on”this is due to the complexity of modern cars plus the reluctance of getting ones hands dirty, the modern day motorist and the canny motor manufacturers have caused the problem full circle

That certainly stirred a few memories for me. The main one being the Saturday my mate and I did an engine change on my Moggy Minor. 9am we started by taking the bonnet off for easy access, undid all the connections, swapped the engines replaced everything we’d taken off and had her running again by lunch time. All without a hoist. We celebrated by running up to London and back to Blandford Forum in the afternoon.

Great thing to do i ran them for years, they are simple to maintain usually very straightforward plus no pricey computer scan needed to diagnose engine problems etc ,

I know what your saying but expense isn’t that great. You need a naff cheap old laptop (For this purpose only) which you could get for £50. The leads are about £50 on Ebay. The S/w is all over the place on the net.
Without S/w, hunting down problems on my car would be a nightmare. There is no room in the engine bay to take stuff off “Just to check”. Diag. will tell me what is wrong, I go straight for that bit. It even checks the qlty of my ICE speakers! Sends a bong to each one etc.
There is more wiring/ servo’s/ sensors in (Or involved in) the two front seats of my car than a 1971 Mini (Whole Mini). My Back seats, the original purchaser didn’t select all the toys for the back seats, he missed out on Bum Warmers, Bum vibrators, Calf rests, head rest adjustment, head rest speakers, occupancy sensors, lumber support. There were no servos under the back seta as there is a petrol tank in the way.

You misread my meaning.
I wasn’t advocationg snobbery, but rather honest advice and help.
If you have a modified car, there will simply be less help available because fewer people will have experience with a car with a different drivetrain or whatever.
Yes, club members will be able (and should) help with the unmodified bits of the car, but it’s the frequently changed/modified bits bits: engines, brakes, electrics…that cause a lot of the trouble.The basic shells and chassis don’t usually cause problems.

I belong to two clubs (one model specific, one marque specific) for my GT car…and the members on the forum are always helpful, regardless of any mods the car may have. (The model club in particular is open to mods, the marque club somewhat less so).
But you’re correct, many clubs are VERY catholic in their tastes and hate any variation from factory standard.
That sems to be more common in clubs for high end cars…I’m sure the clubs for Minis, Capris, Hot hatches, Mustangs and the like are much less picky.

I realised what you meant.

I don’t find forums a problem, in fact forums are by and large very friendly and receptive of things that are a bit different. Unfortunately face to face meetings with clubs have resulted in my exclusion!

Once was just for fitting alloy wheels… from the same manufacturer but never seen on that particular model. (by model… read engine size. Correct shape, correct year of car.) Another guy I know has just been given the cold shoulder because he went out and bought an XK140 as his first Jaguar.

I can’t agree with your statement about it often being the modifications going wrong… if they’re done corectly to start with then they should be as reliable as they were in the donor – which is the point of using them as an upgrade. Its when you get someone go at it half arsed using scrapyard parts, crimp connectors for wiring, and all kinds of other nasties.

Regards,

Ric

Get a Chrysler/Talbot Alpine – Sleek, roomy, converts into a van size transportation platform ideal for Aerobooting! Car of the year in 76!

THAT is one of my major gripes with the classic car community in this country. It’s still the same car, just a different engine. Expertise still aplies to the rest of it.

It annoys me greatly how one modification to your car to personalise it or make it more usable and you become an outcast… it shouldn’t happen but it does.

😡

Jag Enthusiasts Club I’m looking your way in particular.

You misread my meaning.
I wasn’t advocationg snobbery, but rather honest advice and help.
If you have a modified car, there will simply be less help available because fewer people will have experience with a car with a different drivetrain or whatever.
Yes, club members will be able (and should) help with the unmodified bits of the car, but it’s the frequently changed/modified bits bits: engines, brakes, electrics…that cause a lot of the trouble.The basic shells and chassis don’t usually cause problems.

I belong to two clubs (one model specific, one marque specific) for my GT car…and the members on the forum are always helpful, regardless of any mods the car may have. (The model club in particular is open to mods, the marque club somewhat less so).
But you’re correct, many clubs are VERY catholic in their tastes and hate any variation from factory standard.
That sems to be more common in clubs for high end cars…I’m sure the clubs for Minis, Capris, Hot hatches, Mustangs and the like are much less picky.

Mustang Owners Club Of Great Britain…………

You’ll encounter no such non-sense, only friendly banter 😀

Cast aside the jag, embrace the ‘stang, you know it makes sense 😉

As far as reengining a classic with a modern motor, there are advantages and disadvantages. Greater performance and (perhaps) reliability but then again you may miss out on club support and expertise.

THAT is one of my major gripes with the classic car community in this country. It’s still the same car, just a different engine. Expertise still aplies to the rest of it.

It annoys me greatly how one modification to your car to personalise it or make it more usable and you become an outcast… it shouldn’t happen but it does.

😡

Jag Enthusiasts Club I’m looking your way in particular.

You might ask the writers at Classic and Sports Car.

Yes but how balanced would the reply be, that’s why I’ve asked in a non specific interest forum.

Actually, you’d find them very objective.
I’m sure they get asked the question a lot and my answer is similar to what you’d probably hear from them.

You might pick up a copy of the magazine (or the other similarly themed UK magazine whose name I can’t recall), every month there are stories about some of the pitfalls of driving classics…usually experienced by the staff with their own cars. You’d be shocked at what can go wrong. After all, the cars are 20-50 years old.
I have a 48 year old GT car coming out of restoration this spring, I expect more than a few shakedown or teething troubles with it.

Aside from selecting a good example of the car (FSH, a reshell or whatever) the biggest trick is buying the correct model of car to begin with.
To give some overly obvious examples: a Lotus Seven is fun but not practical or a Jenson Interceptor is a very capable machine if you can afford the petrol.
Some old cars just don’t have the engine or gearing to do motorway traffic. If you ever haul children, and if the car is old, you might have to have proper seat belts added…and that isn’t cheap if done by a proper expert.
There are lots of factors that most people just don’t take into consideration…we’ve become so spoiled by modern cars.

As far as reengining a classic with a modern motor, there are advantages and disadvantages. Greater performance and (perhaps) reliability but then again you may miss out on club support and expertise.
Many old motors are very easy to work on and have plentiful cheap parts.
I’d guess you could rebuild a Mini engine from parts found in every auto parts shop, whereas a diesel Nissan (or whatever) might be harder to source parts for and the parts may very well be more expensive.

You might ask the writers at Classic and Sports Car.

As the owner of a couple of classic cars I’d say that with careful selection (i.e. the amount of motorway driving, the amount of miles you’ll do each month, and similar practical but often overlooked factors) a “classic” can be a practical daily car.

But only if you can work on it yourself…and that means having MORE than a Haynes and a spanner.

For years, I drove a 20 year old Jeep as my work car.
I accepted its limitations…but I was lucky, it was freshly restored and my best friend was a Jeep specialist. And I had a second car to use when the Jeep was impractical (it was no sports car, had a radio you couldn’t hear over the tyres, engine and wind and a heater that wasn’t up to a fabric topped vehicle) or out of order.

And remember, moderns have it all over classics in areas like comfort, brakes, and safety features.

My ` Daily Hack` is a 1987 Nissan Micra which cost me £100 (with spare engine) 4 years ago….wonder if it will qualify for `classic` insurance?…it`s quite possibly the most economic and reliable car I`ve ever had.

Mk1 Capri with a diesel fitted.
Simitar se5 with its essex removed and a late rover v8 fitted running on gas.

Great thing to do i ran them for years, they are simple to maintain usually very straightforward plus no pricey computer scan needed to diagnose
engine problems etc ,its got to be the way to go,they dont depreciate at the rate newer vehicles do , the humble VW Polo is a great modern classic i have mine still stored away 166.000 no corrosion at all and extremely reliable ,(i have company car)you can pick one up for around £200 in good condition ,sooner or later people will drift back to cars that are simpler to maintain without involving garages , I envisage a time not too distant when there will be a glutt of these complex modern vehicles no one will want as they have to be garage maintained at ever increasing prices,when i started driving you maintained the car yourself and thought nothing of it,people who took their cars for servicing were viewed as “well offs”, people were more practical say twenty five years ago and back ,whereas now most people arent as “hands on”this is due to the complexity of modern cars plus the reluctance of getting ones hands dirty, the modern day motorist and the canny motor manufacturers have caused the problem full circle

You might ask the writers at Classic and Sports Car.

Yes but how balanced would the reply be, that’s why I’ve asked in a non specific interest forum.

Thanks for all the input so far, interesting responses.

My situation is that I do have the use of my partners modern diesel, so that will be used for the long journys, motorways, and emergencies etc.
However I do need a seperate vehicle to do my 50 miles to and from work four days a week, I average 27 miles per hour (so about hourish each way).
Tax is now £200+ per annum, my VW Passat is not home mechanic friendly (and has had many failures recently) so a pre ’73 vehicle looks attractive.
This vehicle certainly wouldn’t be pristine with full history etc, and engine changes etc don’t worry me.
I must say that a Landy with the more mdern 200tdi engine in does look quite attractive, especially when I factor in trips to the dump and towing the odd cockpit about!

An friend of my mothers still runs a gorgeous Citroen DS23 on a daily basis, IMO they are most beautiful car ever made. Apparently a mechanics nightmare but she has never had any major problems with it. I used to run an LHD Wartburg Knight until 1994 when the spares started getting a little scarce. Up to that point I used to use it everyday to and from work, she never let me down once, even in the depths of winter. The bolt on body panels were a real boon, but being a 2 stroke engine, the exhaust smoke had to be seen to be believed. Sold it to a Trabant enthusiast in the Leeds area. I personally think that running a classic on a daily basis seems a good idea, as others have said, providing its reliable and cheap to fix.

Best of all worlds for me.

I run a car designed in the 60s, but my example is actually less than six years old.

Don’t run it daily though – I have a Skoda Ute for that

Moggy