Daily driving?

[68rrdream]

I drove slant six Valiants from 1969 until 1987 as daily drivers, and they were hard to beat. Agree that they are in a different universe today as far as pricing. With the money I saved by driving the Valiants, I kept a nice GTX in my garage for weekend use, a practice I've kept in place over five decades. When the Valiant era passed, I switched to used Toyota sedans, bought cheap, with low upkeep and fuel consumption.

I seem to have been born a bit late...

 

[Don Frelier]

I had an 1983 gran fury slant six 225 I drove until 2009. Bought it for $600 never changed the oil.
I put 56,000 miles on it.

 

[YY1]

By contrast my 1993 3.9 V6 ext cab Dakota was too under powered for me, as is my mom's 2003 QC 3.9.

However before that mom had a 93 ext cab 3.9 that was a rocket by comparison.

 

[#41]

I drove vintage Mopars until about 2010 +/-. I stuck mostly to 318 vehicles and a few /6's. The big challenge is that the weather sealing is not up to par with todays standards. If you drive the car in the rain/snow or park it outside in the same it will start to rust bubble fairly quickly, so be prepared for that sacrifice.

I see you are in FL? So it might be hard to find an old Mopar with working AC, which most people are now seeing as standard, necessary equipment for a daily driver.

 

[68rrdream]

I drove vintage Mopars until about 2010 +/-. I stuck mostly to 318 vehicles and a few /6's. The big challenge is that the weather sealing is not up to par with todays standards. If you drive the car in the rain/snow or park it outside in the same it will start to rust bubble fairly quickly, so be prepared for that sacrifice.

I see you are in FL? So it might be hard to find an old Mopar with working AC, which most people are now seeing as standard, necessary equipment for a daily driver.

Of course. An original AC car would be nice for the aesthetics but if not there is vintage air and classic air. I grew up here in miami.
As a kid none of my parent's cars had AC. My first few didn't have it either. On the other hand we didn't have this much traffic so you got some nice breeze.

 

[XS22J8R]

I live in the rust belt and would not subject a vintage car to the abuse the salt they dump on area roads does to a vehicle. In fact for many years I've had daily drivers I don't want to drive on many wintertime days, and have had another car I consider a bit of a sacrificial lamb that suffers the job on salty streets! Currently my 2021 Ram takes it easy most of the time while I mainly drive my poor 2014 Dart. I've owned the Ram coming up on 2 years now and have yet to use its 4WD.
If I lived in a more friendly environment, I would have considered using an older car year round, in fact, if I lived in a more friendly environment I'd likely still own my '79 Bronco XLT I bought when it was 2 years old, or the '95 Ram 1500 Laramie I bought when it was 2 years old, and today they'd be vintage cars I drove often if not daily.
Watching both of them go from immaculate rides I was proud to drive, to rotted out hoopties within a less than 10 year period, is why I am babying my new 2500.
And I've become spoiled by the amenities that newer vehicles have, so while I would have been happy driving a non AC car with AM FM radio and manual roll up windows decades ago when I was a young guy, today I really demand great HVAC, power windows, 4 wheel ABS disc brakes and hands free telephone access in my daily driver. Also, me at 25 or 30 didn't mind much crawling under a car often to fix stuff, now that I'm getting old and cranky, it takes me a couple hours on a Saturday morning just to motivate myself to head outside to spend 45 minutes changing the oil in one of my cars. Newer cars typically don't require much maintenance like cars of 40 or 50 years ago.

 

[440 PHIXX]

I drive this everyday. Not a muscle car but a factory 383 2bbl. A pic from a few years back as the salt and brine they spread on the roads here in Pa. are disintegrating it.

 

[Budnicks]

I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned yet

look into a gear vendors O/D Home - Gearvendors
maybe find a used set up, 904tf (will me a more freeway gear friendly) or 727tf

Dodge 3-Speed Auto - Gearvendors

DODGE 3-Speed Automatic Muscle Car/Street Rod/Restoration If you own a car with a TorqueFlite 727 or 904 3 speed auto – you own one of the best transmissions ever built. By adding the Gear Vendors you get to keep this great trans and add overdrive and performance gear-splitting ratios to it. You...

www.gearvendors.com

(not cheap, but cheaper than some other costly options)
don't need to do a gear change & full O/D trans swap
then shorten the driveshaft add a switch & go ( a tad bit more than that)

I don't remember what members car this was from, nice install thou

 

[Budnicks]

or even a 1978 (? IIRC) & later Torqueflite with a lock up converter,
will cut the rpms some too

(if you go that route or just want a good book for info, expand your knowledge)
I'd would also suggest buying the book
Torqueflite A-727 Transmission Handbook - Munroe HP-Books1399

There's far more 'than one way' to skin a cat
& still not completely kill, what lil' power you have now
make it more freeway friendly too

 

[68rrdream]

I live in the rust belt and would not subject a vintage car to the abuse the salt they dump on area roads does to a vehicle. In fact for many years I've had daily drivers I don't want to drive on many wintertime days, and have had another car I consider a bit of a sacrificial lamb that suffers the job on salty streets! Currently my 2021 Ram takes it easy most of the time while I mainly drive my poor 2014 Dart. I've owned the Ram coming up on 2 years now and have yet to use its 4WD.
If I lived in a more friendly environment, I would have considered using an older car year round, in fact, if I lived in a more friendly environment I'd likely still own my '79 Bronco XLT I bought when it was 2 years old, or the '95 Ram 1500 Laramie I bought when it was 2 years old, and today they'd be vintage cars I drove often if not daily.
Watching both of them go from immaculate rides I was proud to drive, to rotted out hoopties within a less than 10 year period, is why I am babying my new 2500.
And I've become spoiled by the amenities that newer vehicles have, so while I would have been happy driving a non AC car with AM FM radio and manual roll up windows decades ago when I was a young guy, today I really demand great HVAC, power windows, 4 wheel ABS disc brakes and hands free telephone access in my daily driver. Also, me at 25 or 30 didn't mind much crawling under a car often to fix stuff, now that I'm getting old and cranky, it takes me a couple hours on a Saturday morning just to motivate myself to head outside to spend 45 minutes changing the oil in one of my cars. Newer cars typically don't require much maintenance like cars of 40 or 50 years ago.

Oh man. I was a technician for 15 yrs prior to becoming a nurse. You always knew when I car came from salted roads. It's unbelievable how bad they get.
My first car was at 83 bronco xlt...loved that truck! Wish I had kept it.

 

[68rrdream]

I drive this everyday. Not a muscle car but a factory 383 2bbl. A pic from a few years back as the salt and brine they spread on the roads here in Pa. are disintegrating it. View attachment 1414780

That's a muscle car in my book. 4 doors have their own special appeal for me. Especially with 3 kids lol.
Beautiful ride. I would gladly drive it till the wheels fall off.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Mostly a weekly driver, I have used it for daily driving a few times when my daily driver is down. If gas was cheap it would get out more.

How’s daily driving a 440 4 speed car? I mean, foot on the gas, change gears and apply breaks when needed, not any differ then anything else. They use to be daily transportation, why not do it now?

 

[68rrdream]

Mostly a weekly driver, I have used it for daily driving a few times when my daily driver is down. If gas was cheap it would get out more.

How’s daily driving a 440 4 speed car? I mean, foot on the gas, change gears and apply breaks when needed, not any differ then anything else. They use to be daily transportation, why not do it now?

My thoughts exactly. I would love to see more classics on the street like when I was a kid.

 

[440 PHIXX]

Mostly a weekly driver, I have used it for daily driving a few times when my daily driver is down. If gas was cheap it would get out more.

How’s daily driving a 440 4 speed car? I mean, foot on the gas, change gears and apply breaks when needed, not any differ then anything else. They use to be daily transportation, why not do it now?

View attachment 1414933

Perfect stance.

 

[barbee6043]

I'm old woreout andretird. But back in the 90s, 2000s, I have driven daiy 30-60 mile ONE way and these old Mopars" Various A bodies slants and 318s, 68 318 Charger, 69 383 Rodrunner etc etc. But I am an odd duck.

 

[68rrdream]

I'm old woreout andretird. But back in the 90s, 2000s, I have driven daiy 30-60 mile ONE way and these old Mopars" Various A bodies slants and 318s, 68 318 Charger, 69 383 Rodrunner etc etc. But I am an odd duck.

I'm curious... any breakdowns over that time? I always hear about reliability as an argument but I've seen these cars run for decades with no major issues.

 

[440 PHIXX]

Here’s a more recent pic of my daily. A little more rust than just a few years ago.

 

[68rrdream]

Here’s a more recent pic of my daily. A little more rust than just a few years ago.View attachment 1414985View attachment 1414987

Damn bro, that salt is no joke...not a problem though. I'll come take her off your hands, keep her safe down here

 

[Detective D]

I daily a few things.
In summer.
Because I live in WI and the salt in winter will eat your car.
Last couple years I drive my Ramcharger. Mine is the last year of the 80's style coupled with first year of OD transmission. I don;t have that far to go to work, I fill the tank once every week and a half or so, it takes about half a tank give or take to top off then. I get maybe 11mpg, estimated.
Before that I drove a 94 Mustang GT, 5 spd. I modded that car's drivetrain a lot. I got roughly 15mpg, but I BEAT that car all the time. My boy has it now.
When my 78 Monaco police is done I will daily that. it will have a 383 and factory 3.23 rear. (original 400 is gone)

My winter daily is a '13 AWD Hemi Charger. Because who cares if the rolling computer gets rusty in ten years? The AWD does better then any suv or truck on slick roads I have ever tried. it has ground clearance limitations for snow, but handles up to 5" like nothing and maybe 7" before I feel like I am being rough on it. I took it through some deep drifted snow and it is fine but I feel like I would plug up or break the plastic nose of it doing that. So I get the tow rig out if I need to, but that isn't all that often.
Then I wash it in the spring and it mostly sits unless I need to go across state or something during warm months.

 

[68rrdream]

I daily a few things.
In summer.
Because I live in WI and the salt in winter will eat your car.
Last couple years I drive my Ramcharger. Mine is the last year of the 80's style coupled with first year of OD transmission. I don;t have that far to go to work, I fill the tank once every week and a half or so, it takes about half a tank give or take to top off then. I get maybe 11mpg, estimated.
Before that I drove a 94 Mustang GT, 5 spd. I modded that car's drivetrain a lot. I got roughly 15mpg, but I BEAT that car all the time. My boy has it now.
When my 78 Monaco police is done I will daily that. it will have a 383 and factory 3.23 rear. (original 400 is gone)

My winter daily is a '13 AWD Hemi Charger. Because who cares if the rolling computer gets rusty in ten years? The AWD does better then any suv or truck on slick roads I have ever tried. it has ground clearance limitations for snow, but handles up to 5" like nothing and maybe 7" before I feel like I am being rough on it. I took it through some deep drifted snow and it is fine but I feel like I would plug up or break the plastic nose of it doing that. So I get the tow rig out if I need to, but that isn't all that often.
Then I wash it in the spring and it mostly sits unless I need to go across state or something during warm months.

I feel so lucky to have been born in miami. I've never driven in snow but it doesn't sound fun at all. Can't wait to see that Monaco finished.