classic cars as semi-regular driver

[JayJay]

Either one sounds great, but I'd get the Porsche.

 

[Southern-Nupe]

I second...great choices.

I love old 911's...but the classic American car market is soft right now...so you could actually pick up something like a Shelby GT-H at an amazing price (around the 30k mark).

 

[Southern-Nupe]

Originally Posted by asparagoose

For a DD, think about the following:
1. Gas mileage, cold starts, performance when it's hot... fuel injection has its benefits!
2. Noise (wind, road, engine)
3. Tire selection (very important for ride comfort and road noise)
4. Seat comfort
5. Brakes - the mustang's are drums all around
6. Handling / driving feel - don't expect the stang to drive like a sports car, even if you replace all the steering and suspension components (including ALL the rubber)
7. HVAC
8. Safety - do the mustangs even have 3 point safety belts?

I don't know off hand how this applies to the two cars, but my hunch is that the Porsche does better in all or most of these areas. Perhaps the Mustang would fare better with some help from its expansive and sophisticated aftermarket, but keep costs and engineering tradeoffs in mind as you research such improvements.

Also, you should drive well-maintained specimens of each that have tuned up motors, good body rubber, good mounts, with suspension and steering joints tight and bushings supple.
Research some of the early Shelby models prior to Ford bloating them up (I prefer the 66' and 67")....they were quite nice handlers with the appropriate tires.

 

[haganah]

On a lot of the old stangs, people upgraded the brakes to disks using kits. It happened a lot actually. The pony bucket seat is comfortable enough but I wouldn't do a cross country trek in it. If you have a bench, well there is no better car to get with a girl in.

Also the HVAC shouldn't be a concern. I mean, it could be if you're living in a very hot place or a very cold place. Tires were fine. Even the gas mileage wasn't too bad, depending on the size of the engine and how many valves.

The safety should be a concern. They come with lap belts and you can order a 3 point and change it out, but it's still not the same level of support given how you have to install it into the frame. If you were to hit your face against the wood/steel steering wheel, that would definitely hurt. On the plus side, they were designed to collapse and take a collision very well (of course the bad part about that is that the car may not be salvageable after an accident).

I drove a stang as a DD for a while. I tested it in every condition you could imagine, including snow (by the way, you may want to put some heavy weights in the trunk if you do use it on snowy roads). It honestly made me happy getting out of work at 3 or 4 AM and driving around home in that - and I had it fully restored at my cost and then moved into storage when I moved to NY. I don't recommend taking a stang and trying to modernize it. It doesn't make any sense. But you can definitely get an old concourse restored version and drive it daily.

Our family also had old porsches and old maserattis. Those are beyond headaches. Absolutely fricking horrid. And forget about fixing anything on them yourself.

Originally Posted by asparagoose

For a DD, think about the following:
1. Gas mileage, cold starts, performance when it's hot... fuel injection has its benefits!
2. Noise (wind, road, engine)
3. Tire selection (very important for ride comfort and road noise)
4. Seat comfort
5. Brakes - the mustang's are drums all around
6. Handling / driving feel - don't expect the stang to drive like a sports car, even if you replace all the steering and suspension components (including ALL the rubber)
7. HVAC
8. Safety - do the mustangs even have 3 point safety belts?

I don't know off hand how this applies to the two cars, but my hunch is that the Porsche does better in all or most of these areas. Perhaps the Mustang would fare better with some help from its expansive and sophisticated aftermarket, but keep costs and engineering tradeoffs in mind as you research such improvements.

Also, you should drive well-maintained specimens of each that have tuned up motors, good body rubber, good mounts, with suspension and steering joints tight and bushings supple.

 

[haganah]

Originally Posted by Southern-Nupe

I second...great choices.

I love old 911's...but the classic American car market is soft right now...so you could actually pick up something like a Shelby GT-H at an amazing price (around the 30k mark).

I can't imagine a shelby would be at the 30k mark. I think you can get a very nice non-shelby A or K code around that price though

 

[jase12]

all great info thanks guys. i guess the only choice is to get out from behind the desk and go drive a couple. i'm not in any hurry as i have another car, so i'll just wait until i find one that feels 'right'.

i have to admit i do like the sound of the mustang in terms of maintenance, as i'm not completely mechanically inept. and as for safety, well i also ride a motorbike so any car is better than that!

 

[Southern-Nupe]

Originally Posted by haganah

I can't imagine a shelby would be at the 30k mark. I think you can get a very nice non-shelby A or K code around that price though
Alot is depending up restoration. The GT-H's (Shelby Hertz rentals) weren't too horribly expensive when the GT350's and 500's were crossing the 100k mark. I remember even seeing a couple in the area of 40k a few years ago. If a good near complete restoration is important, a code K would make a viable choice.

 

[haganah]

Originally Posted by Southern-Nupe

Alot is depending up restoration. The GT-H's (Shelby Hertz rentals) weren't too horribly expensive when the GT350's and 500's were crossing the 100k mark. I remember even seeing a couple in the area of 40k a few years ago. If a good near complete restoration is important, a code K would make a viable choice.

Were they actual Hertzes or just the paint job with the mods?

 

[crazyquik]

This board has no clue the relative cost of maintaining an old Porsche vs. an old Ford.

Mustang parts and mechanics are ubiqutious.

 

[Huntsman]

Originally Posted by asparagoose

For a DD, think about the following: 1. Gas mileage, cold starts, performance when it's hot... fuel injection has its benefits! 2. Noise (wind, road, engine) 3. Tire selection (very important for ride comfort and road noise) 4. Seat comfort 5. Brakes - the mustang's are drums all around 6. Handling / driving feel - don't expect the stang to drive like a sports car, even if you replace all the steering and suspension components (including ALL the rubber) 7. HVAC 8. Safety - do the mustangs even have 3 point safety belts?
Actually lots of good advice in this thread -- good points above too. I drove a '79 Dodge as my daily driver from 2000 to....well last month. From 2004 until forever if the day was nice I'd take out my '86 Jag. So I have some experience, and I will add to the very good list above. 1. You must know how to work on cars. You will need to do stuff, fast, on occasions just so you can go. You may find yourself in a carpark in a tux working on your car so you can get home. 2. Best to have a contingency plan available for your routine trips, not merely 'just in case' but for 'when the time comes.' It will. 3. You will not be as safe as in a modern car. You won't. When the care ahead of you can outbreak and outturn you you will need to be thinking further ahead than everyone else. 4. In the winter or the rain the freaking drum breaks will scare you. When the guy ahead of you panic breaks hard enough that you know he's gettin a foot massage, your mind will have to fight the urge to slam that pedal but threshold brake instead. This takes training or forgetting to do so one time. For me it was the latter -- guy crossed into my lane avoiding a garbage can. I hit the breaks in the '79, and the right rear locked faster than the left. Car spun, I corrected and lost it the other way. Corrected again and lost it. Corrected again, had enough time to think "damn, I got it" just before the car spun 180 and I ran into a tree, in a ditch, backwards. On one hand, no damage. On the other, that sucked. 5. Your steering rack will leak. 6. On the other hand, if you and all the other drivers survive, you might be a better driver.

Originally Posted by crazyquik

This board has no clue the relative cost of maintaining an old Porsche vs. an old Ford. Mustang parts and mechanics are ubiqutious.
Re Ford vs. Porsche. If you get the Porsche -- work on it yourself or be rich. Old time mechanics, I'd argue, are getting far less common than 'ubiquitous' would indicated. It's a dying breed. Again, on the other hand, the Porsche will probably be as safer, more nimble, and less trying car to drive generally. The Jag is incredible to drive (4-wheel disks FTW) and saved my life one day that I would have died in the Dodge. As far as style goes they are so far apart that I would expect most to have a clear preference. ~ H

 

[JayJay]

^^^Great post. Lots of good points.

 

[crazyquik]

Does your Jag have inboard brakes?

 

[Huntsman]

Absolutely. Bit of a PITA, though.

 

[ms244]

I'd like to add a couple of more points to the fine post above:

Find all the local pick and pull yards, plan to spend weekends there.

Don't buy one if you have to have your hands clean (ie. you are doing a presentation and people are going to start ask you why your hands are black and cut up).

Not only will your steering rack leak, but also vacuum hoses, oil pan, valve covers, probably the diff as well.

Old cars rust, no matter how dry of a place you live in. There are ways to cover that up, some not so good and not so easily noticeable at first sight.

If you try to prime your carb from the top, flames might start to come out of it. Do not panic in this situation.

If your starter quits working, beat on it. This will be used at least once.




What does a decent stang run down under btw?

 

[jase12]

http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/...d=11FAD422FD76

wow, really long url. i think i could get a good fastback for around the $40k mark. regular coupes seem to run a few grand cheaper. depends on the finances as to which i end up looking for. thinking i actually prefer the look of the non fast backs