Hood.

[Wild Root]

Tonight I got a call. It was my brother and he needed a ride home from the movies. Well, I jumped in my old 46 and a way we went. So, as I get onto the freeway, I hear a pop sound and then I can’t see in front of me! Yep, you guessed it, the hood popped up on me!!! Aaaaaaaaa!!! Well, it wasn't too bad seeing as I was just in the right lane and I slowed down and moved to the shoulder. I then jumped out and closed the hood. As I did so, I saw that my rough hood got a little rougher! Yeah, the rear driver side part of the hood got all bent up! Damn it! :rage: So, I picked up my brother and headed home with out any problems. Looks like I just might take the hood to a body shop to have that done alone.

My poor car, I knew I should have put on that new safety latch!

All in all, it could have been worse!

Root.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

Whoa, how did it detach in the first place? Was the latch broken to start with?

 

[Wild Root]

That latch holds the hood closed very well. I had to open it earlier and I think that it didn't latch correctley. The latch on there right now is missing the saftety hook that would catch it and keep it from flipping up on me. I have one that has the hook but I have been lazy and haven't put the good latch on.

Guess what I'm doing tomorrow!

Root.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

By the way, as a daily driver, does your car have seatbelts installed?

 

[Dismuke]

So, as I get onto the freeway, I hear a pop sound and then I can’t see in front of me! Yep, you guessed it, the hood popped up on me!!! Aaaaaaaaa!!!

I had the same exact thing happen to me once - and it was plenty scary.

The first couple of cars that I owned fell into the "old clunker" category. The second car I ever had was a third or fourth hand 1974 Dodge Colt. It had at least a couple hundred thousand miles on it when I got it and I ended up putting at least another 100,000 miles on it. Unlike most 1970s cars which were ugly pieces of crap that fell apart very quickly, this one was a semi-cute looking car, well built and very reliable. The thing ran like a charm and, if I remember correctly, got about 30 miles to the gallon. The reason it was such a good car was because it was not really a Dodge but rather a Mitsubishi which Chrysler imported and branded under the Dodge and Plymouth trademarks. Mechanically, the car was still running strong when I finally got rid of it. The problem was that just about everything else began to fall apart.

The hood flew open quite suddenly on me when I was driving in a center lane on a busy freeway at about 65 miles an hour while driving over a bridge. When the hood came up the force of the air immediately bent it back a bit causing it to slam against my windshield hard enough for me to feel a very definite jolt. It happened so suddenly and the loud noise combine with the jolt plus the fact that I couldn't see anything out my windshield startled me so much that I was completely disoriented for several seconds. When I finally was able to comprehend what had happened, I slowed the car down and noticed that if I slouched down enough I had a few inches of visibility underneath the bottom edge of the hood. That is what enabled me to slowly continue across the bridge until I got to the shoulder where I could pull over. In my trunk I had some bungee cords that I was able to use to secure the hood and go home.

The bungee cords worked well - and for the rest of the time that I owned the vehicle, that was what I actually used to hold the hood down as the latch had been completely destroyed. Considering that the resale value of the car was next to nil, it was pointless spending money on the cosmetic damage to the hood or a replacement latch when the bungee cords worked fine. In fact, a few months before the hood flew open, an insurance company had already officially "totaled" the car. I was stopped at a red light during a rain storm when some kid in the car behind me entered into a skid and slammed into my rear. Because of the way his car hit, it went under my rear bumper and right into my gas tank. I am very fortunate that I didn't just blow sky high then and there. The only damage was a slight dent to the gas tank which was not punctured. Nevertheless, the adjuster from the kid's insurance company considered the cost of replacing the dented gas tank enough to write me a check for the book value of the car. I simply deposited the check in the bank and continued driving the car.

A while after the hood became damaged, a hit and run driver slammed into the passenger door in the middle of the night causing a slight dent and making it impossible to open the door - which meant that I had to enter the car from the passenger side. That was pretty much the final straw. Like I said, the car continued to run like a charm - it was just that the body was falling apart around it and it simply did not make economic sense to fix it.

If it hadn't been for those crazy mishaps, I probably would have continued to drive that old car for several more years as it was fun to drive and I actually became very fond of it and had some fun times in it.

The car's air conditioning system was also kind of odd. It wasn't a factory installed air conditioning system but rather some sort of add-on option that was installed later, probably by the dealership which originally sold it. The blower mechanism area under the passenger side dash was configured in a rather odd way. The only problem was that in really hot weather the condensation would accumulate in the blower box area and leak onto the passenger side floor - which was not a good thing. There was a plastic valve off to the side of it that was obviously for a drain hose. But I never was able to find a place where a hose could be run for the water to drain outside. So what I finally did was place a large plastic Prince Albert pipe tobacco canister on the passenger side floor and run a drainage hose through a home-made seal in its lid and into the canister. On a very hot day driving down the highway, it would take a couple of hours or so before the canister would fill up with water and have to be emptied - which was not a big deal to me because I never drove for more than a couple hours without at least taking a rest stop.

The fellow who was my best friend back in those days was a college student from out of the area who lived near campus and did not own a car - so if he needed to go somewhere further than walking distance, I usually helped him out. On weekends I would pick him up and, for fun, we would take long road trips down the backroads of rural Texas exploring the countryside and looking at the neat old 19th and early 20th century buildings in the small towns. I will never forget the odd expression on his face when I explained to him what the Prince Albert can was for. A hundred or so miles down the road my friend suddenly said: "Uhhmmm.... I think it is time for us to pull over someplace and empty Prince Albert's bladder." From that point forward, that red plastic Prince Albert canister became known as "Prince Albert's bladder." When I ended up getting rid of the car, I kept Prince Albert's bladder as my memento of it - and somewhere out in my garage I still have it. It is one of those crazy things that I will never throw away. I am sure that when I am dead and gone whoever it is that ends up sorting through my stuff will ask: "What on earth was wrong with this guy? Why would anyone in his right mind hang on to crap like a plastic pipe tobacco container with a hole cut in its lid?

 

[BellyTank]

My brother and I were cruising in his '52 Citroen L15 one sunny day in NZ and the hood lifted completely off- it's the kind of hood like on a 20s/30s car where both sides flip up and the centre is hinged. The hood just took off and went skyward and landed a good distance behind us. I guess at 50mph, a hood gets a good amount of lift. Nobody hurt or damaged, just the hood.
I also had the same thing as 'Root in my Mom's Mini one day- completely blocked the screen- tricky when you're in the centre lane of the motorway...

B
T

 

[Wild Root]

Boy, some good scary stories here. I never thought that would have happened to me! You know, it seems like something that would have happened in a movie.

I'm sure glad that my hood didn't fly off or make contact with my windshield! Don't want any cracks in that original 1946 glass!

Root.

 

[BellyTank]

You can consider yourself lucky and put that safety catch on...

B
T

 

[Wild Root]

Bt, you got that right! I do feel very lucky in the matter. Well, if I was really lucky, it would have not happened at all.

But, as we all know, we can't change the past and I'll be calling up some body shops soon to see about getting the hood all fixed up.

Root.

 

[BellyTank]

...and if it hadn't happened, you wouldn't be any the wiser...

B
T

 

[Wild Root]

Yeah, I wouldn't but, who wants to be that wise?

All in humor,

Root.

 

[Dismuke]

Yeah, I wouldn't but, who wants to be that wise?

All in humor,

Root.

I have some questions regarding your driving a vintage car.

If one acquires one that has been fully restored and is in excellent mechanical condition, what are the long-term maintainace costs in terms of keeping it running for a very long time as compared with, let's say one of those reconditioned newer cars that auto leasing places offer for sale? I know that a lot of people with vintage cars do a lot of their repair work and such themselves. But I absolutely HATE working on cars - so if I had a vintage car I would be paying someone else to do any work on it.

I know that vintage cars did not last nearly as many miles as today's cars usualy do. I drive a 35 mile each-way commute to work 5 days a week. It is virtually all Interstate highway miles and I arrange my schedule so as to avoid rush hour both ways as much as possible. Highway miles are not as rough on cars as the stop of start of in town and rush hour driving. Still, that is a lot of miles - 18,200 miles plus whatever miles I put on if I go out for lunch and when I go places after work and on weekend and out of town trips. If I got a vintage car, would I basically be quickly driving the thing into a state where it would soon need another mechanical restoration?

I am looking to get a new car at some point as the current vehicle I have which I bought new in 1997 is getting up towards the 200,000 mile mark. It still runs great and, having paid the note off in 3 years, I have had about 5 years without having to make any monthly payments - which has been very nice. But I also know that there will come a point where maintanance costs will become higher than a car payment. I would love to drive a vintage car - but I am not sure how much of an economic premium I would be willing to pay to do so.

Another HUGE factor is the issue of air conditioning. Here in Texas it is regularly in the high 90s and low 100s for all of the summer months and sometimes in the spring and fall months too. A car without air conditioning in these parts is a special kind of hell - which even if I were willing to endure it, I am not sure that going around everywhere smelling of sweat would be a good idea. Perhaps this question is sacrelige to purists - but are there people who drive vintage cars that have had them retro-fitted for air conditioning? Or would I have to view a vintage car as being cool weather only transportation? I do plan on hanging on to my existing vehicle as it is a pickup truck which will still be handy to have once I get a new car and any ACTUAL trade-in value (i.e. trade in value that is not simply added back into the selling price by the con arti.....I mean, car salesmen) on a vehicle with such high mileage is a joke. I suppose I could continue driving it for the summer months and, since it would not be in much use the rest of the year, it would probably last several more years without maintainance costs being too bad.

The big issue is the ongoing costs and how much more a vintage car would cost me over my current plan of buying a brand new car such as a Toyota or Honda that has a strong track record of dependability and durability with the intention of keeping it for 8 - 10 years or longer. When it comes to transportation, there is a limit to how much I am willing to pay for aesthetics as I have plenty of other hobbies and interests competing for the same money,.

 

[Wild Root]

vintage VS modern.

Well, very good questions you have Mr. Dismuke! It would be my pleasure to answer as many as I can.

Most of my driving life, (18 to 26) I have been burdened by driving an ugly late 80’s car. I did own a 1990 Toyota for a few years that served me well. But, what I find happens with new cars is, that soon as it gets over 200,000. on it, it’s just not worth fixing and replacing parts. The value seems to take a major plunge to practically nothing to what was originally paid for the car when new.

Before I bought my Plymouth, I had a 1988 Mazda 929. That thing did run well when it wasn’t braking down on me. Every time it took a dive on me, it cost up into the $500. to $800. dollar range to fix. The parts wasn’t the reason it was so high, it was the labor! In modern cars, the engine is under a lot of junk! They had to take off lots of stuff to get to the problem. That’s what you will pay for every time!

With a vintage car I find it’s very easy to see the engine and all the other parts that power the car. I don’t really work on cars my self ether, I have a great mechanic that does all the work for me. He loves working on the old cars seeing they are so much easier to understand. Parts can be hard to find once in a wile depending on what you end up buying but, if you find a guy who knows how to work on an old car then you can find all the parts that he might need and then all you’ll be paying him for is labor. I take my car in maybe about once or twice a month. Just to have things checked and adjusted.

Driving a vintage car is so fun! If you buy one that is all done and ready to drive, you’ll get a lot of mileage out of it! These cars don’t wear out very easily! I have a buddy who has a 48 Plymouth business coupe. He has been driving that car for 15 years! It’s his daily driver. He does know how to work on these cars and he saves a lot of money doing so. I don’t save as much money as he does, but I do save money compared to keeping that 88 Mazda running!

Keeping a vintage car running is a labor of love! You have to have a basic understanding of cars before you buy. They aren’t as fast and agile as new cars and you’ll find your self adding an extra 30 to 40 minuets to travel time so you will get to where you want on time.

Now, if you want the looks and feel of a vintage car but like you say you would like to have air conditioning, I would recommend you buy a vintage car that has been upgraded some what. You can find some guys that buy a car and then convert it from the original 6 volt system to the modern 12 volt system to have the extras like AC and such.

I knew a guy from AZ once. He drove a 1941 Ford every where! It was the only car he owned. He had it converted to a 12 volt car and had AC hidden under the dash. There are some great things you can do to vintage cars and keep the vintage look with out changing the look of the car.

The plus about a vintage car is that if you keep it running well, and take good care of it, the re sale value will just go up and up as it gets older. Here is a link to a page on the collector car trader page that has a 1939 Plymouth for sale. It has been converted to drive like a new car but, has the stock original look.

http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/5/2/69126452.htm

I know I talk about Plymouth a lot, that's because they're great cars! parts aren't hard to find and they just are one of the most reliable vintage cars to own.

Check it out.

Root.

 

[Dismuke]

Keeping a vintage car running is a labor of love! You have to have a basic understanding of cars before you buy. They aren’t as fast and agile as new cars and you’ll find your self adding an extra 30 to 40 minuets to travel time so you will get to where you want on time.

Wow. I already spend about an hour and a half per day commuting - which is a real tax on one's free time. How fast could I expect to drive one on a consistent basis on the freeway - which is where I do most of my driving.

The one the ad looks like a neat car. If I were to buy something like that, roughly what amount do you think I would need to plan on setting aside each month for the necessary maintainence and repairs?

I have never been much of a car enthusiast. I am happy if I can always count on a car to get me where I am going and the air conditioning is nice and cold. I have never fallen into the trap of attaching too much status value to the car that I, or anyone else for that matter, drives. Perhaps part of it is because most of the cars that have been made during my lifetime have been, at best, bland looking and sometimes quite ugly. So, in my mind, they have always been little more than ultilitarian objects. But the cars of the 1920s and 1930s - wow. They were very beautiful. I can very much understand how someone back then could have become a big car enthusiast.

 

[Wild Root]

Dismuke I’ll tell you one thing about a vintage car… You’ll fall in love with it! Cars to me were very much like you said a utilitarian object. Nothing I really wanted to pour a lot of time or money into. But, since I’m obsessed with the 1930’s and such, when I bought my vintage car, I finally had a car that I wanted to take care of! It’s part of my collection! I would just look at it and I would get all exited. It’s not always a bed of roses but, it’s worth all the time and money.

Getting back to your question bout maintenance on a vintage car, the 1939 Plymouth I posted has the original engine, but it has a few add-on’s to give it some more power. It has disk brakes and some good things going for it. You could ad AC to this car very easily! This car wouldn’t take much monthly maintenance as my car does. Since this has been completely gone through and up grated, it has the better chance to serve your needs better. And, it would go up in value!

See, it’s about the same price as a new car and well, this thing will not only look better then what’s offered today, but it’s made a lot better then cars today. A car like this can be a great highway car! Since this Plymouth has a few added items to the engine, I’m sure it can go and perform at a higher speed then my stock original single carburetor flat head six can.

Call that ad and ask all the questions you need to know about it.

All the best,

Root.

 

[scotrace]

Having had both...

Having had old cars, repaired, rebuilt and repainted them...
My two cents:

If you don't want to do your own repair work,
If you need dependable transportation to work, not to mention for emergencies,
If money for repairs is an issue,
if air conditioning is a must,
If your commute is long,
If you recognize that you will eventually dent any car you're driving,
and 12 other "ifs"...
You may be happiest driving a very reliable Honda when you MUST get where you're going, like to work, the emergency room, etc.
When you have some spare cash, and space, buy an old car (buy it already done - sedans are still affordable, convertibles are often out of reach), and drive it to take your date/family to dinner or ice cream.

Parts are not always easy to come by, are often reconditioned, sometimes badly by dolts who don't know what they're about. Even a carefully restored older car will have a higher parts failure rate than a modern car.
Carburetors were replaced by fuel injection universally because they are iffy unless in perfect condition. Old cars tend to overheat when stuck in traffic, and there's nothing to be done but stop and wait for a cool down, and pray the radiator didn't blow out or the belt snap.
Air conditioning can be added to any old car. It will also overtax the already taxed electrical system unless you upgrade that as well, no cheap thing to do correctly. And aftermarket AC will never cool a car as well as modern factory air.
Every part you need costs more, and will take work to track down. And when, not if, you dent a fender, you'll have to make a choice between having it repaired (not a lot of body men can do this without screwing up old metal, which behaves differently than modern sheet metal when heated) and buying a new one at whatever price the seller demands. You'll also find that even a small repair becomes a Big Mess because that's when the previously unknown body filler rears its head and must be dealt with.
Please don't miunderstand. I am an old car NUT. I taught myself to rebuild engines and transmissions. Learned body work and upholstery. I learned to drive stick in a 1940 Plymouth and drove it from texas to Ohio with the road rushing by underfoot beneath the rotted floor. There is nothing, absolutely nothing like the experience of driving an old car that looks great. There's enormous fun and pride in that. I've been a car club member, have judged meets.
But for everyday? Not for all the tea in China. Modern cars are very reliable, safer when you look at the kinds of accidents people walk away from today (have a head-on in, say, a 1949 Chevrolet and you're going through a very small window like it or not, with your skull hitting the steel dashboard on the way out), have amenities most of us have come to expect, and parts are produced in abundance. You can also walk into a NAPA and get quickie parts like wiper blades. Modern cars also don't belch high levels of environmental poisons with every mile.
I greatly admire Root's ability to drive a 30's car every day - that is just cool beyond words.
But anyone choosing to go that route should do so with eyes wide open. Be prepared to spend money (on insurance too - higher rates with most companies unless you lie about how you're using the car, in which case you're out of luck in a claim situation), deal with unpredictable reliability, and inevitable repairs.
Root made several great points. One in particular is that a car that was common in its time, a 39 Plymouth or, heaven knows, a 41 Chevrolet or Ford, will have a much better supply of parts than a 48 Nash or Studebaker. Or, heavens sake, a Jaguar or something. Eeek. You'd live at swap meets!

An old car is perfect for sunny Sunday drives, and the occasional grocery run. A modern car is great for every day driving. Lots of guys drive old cars and only old cars. They also know how to do most anything the car needs, and buy any part they come across, need it or not, for the time when they do need it.
Enough babble...

All the best!
Scott

 

[Wild Root]

Very good points! I might add that some of the new Chrylsers are looking very good these days. You might think about a PT! Those things have a vintage look and might work for you.

I only drive about two miles in my car to work. I live close to my job and it's not much pain. If I had a job that required me to drive on the free way in traffic I would buy a newer car.

Root.

PS. I wish I had a 30's car, I drive a 46 Plymouth. A 30's car I woudn't want to drive every day.

 

[scotrace]

ack!

PS. I wish I had a 30's car, I drive a 46 Plymouth. A 30's car I woudn't want to drive every day.

I stand corrected. I saw the pictures of your GREAT car, and should have known better.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

I have never owned a vintage civilian car, but I have experience with vintage military vehicles and the main problem you always have is when they are NOT used as daily drivers. When they sit around forever and then taken out there are all sorts of problems you had never seen before. One of the men who stores some of our unit's vehicles periodically takes them out on the road just to keep them from getting screwed up this way.

Old cars have a totally different feel from today, which means you have to learn how to drive all over again. With vintage trucks it is even worse.

I wouldn't really be worried abotu people in other modern cars in accidents though. It doesn't matter how heavy or robust your car is, in an accident if you don't have seatbelts, air-bags or crumple zones you are in trouble.

Still, there is nothing more neat than driving a vintage vehicle on the road, civilian or military. You always get people waving and smiling at you, as well.

 

[Wild Root]

People like to see the old cars on the road! And when you see another old car on the road wile driving yours, they wave and honk! It's like your automaticaly friends! When I bought my car all sorts of people would come up and ask: Is that your Daddy's car? Or, I had one of those when new! Or, I knew a guy who had one of those! Fun car!

People dig them!

Driving a vintage car is an adventure to really put it into perspective. I find that it's cool driving around town in the car but some times I do plan trips out of my town to Redlands and other farther trips. She does good! I don't push her to fast but, I go about 50-55 on the freeway. I always travel in the right lane and for the most part people leave me alone.

All in all, I wouldn't trade this car for any car in the world! Well, maybe a 41 Plymouth four door.

Once you sit behind that big wheel and all that chrome on the wood grained dash, it's like heaven! You'll fall in love!

Root.