by "Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
Published 08/30/2017 at 16:20
by "Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
Published 08/30/2017 at 16:20
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STARS: 1
The Landrover Defender post below got me thinking. What if I wanted to spend like a couple hours with one? What would be the best way to do it? I’m talking about classic muscle (mustang, camaro, gto), classic offroaders (like defenders or bronco I), classic roadsters, etc. I have no qualms going to a dealership for newer cars, even if I’m not remotely serious. But a classic car? That seems like a different ball game.
This is really a good question for many enthusiast cars. I just realized that there are a ton of cars that I want BADLY. But have never driven them or ridden in them, I JUST NEED THEM. But I may totally change my mind if I get to spend an hour with any of them.
Pretending to be interested in one would be one way, but I’d feel like an ass going around meeting people knowing full well I am inconveniencing them for a car I probably won’t buy, I just want to know if I’d want to buy it someday.
Another way might be Turo?
Finally maybe simply reaching out to local enthusiasts might do the trick? I guess a lot of them would jump at the chance to show off their cars to a fellow enthusiasts.
Any other ideas??
"KevlarRx7" (kevlarsupra)
08/30/2017 at 16:24, STARS: 0
Enthusiast clubs, track days, rent one from companies or even individuals (sometimes adverts come up on eBay)
Or just do what I do, pay a low ball price and sell it on if you hate it.
"For Sweden" (rallybeetle)
08/30/2017 at 16:26, STARS: 2
Turo or a classic rental car company.
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
08/30/2017 at 16:32, STARS: 1
Well when we were going to buy an XJ-S V12 vert the guy let us test drive it for the day and get it ppi’d.
"crowmolly" (crowmolly)
08/30/2017 at 16:33, STARS: 4
Totally depends on condition. These cars will be decades old and will have been maintained in different ways.
Drive, say, a ‘69 Chevelle with worn ball joints and bushings and you may try to conclude that all Chevelles steer and turn like shit. Even though your sample size is 1.
Drive, say, a ‘69 Chevelle with aftermarket suspension parts and you may think it’s awesome. Then you buy one that’s stock and it’s shit. Again, sample size of 1.
If you compare apples-to-apples, condition and running gear wise, then maybe you’ll have some semblance of accuracy.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
08/30/2017 at 16:36, STARS: 0
But I really don’t need accuracy. I just need that knowledge. If I run into scenario A, it’s likely the seller will either be honest and say it needs work or he won’t have a clue and I’ll just assume it won’t be perfectly sorted.
Then you run into scenario B, you know to expect a decent car and you can decide to buy A and turn it into B or you can buy B and have B.
But again, if you have the information, you can base your expectations on that and keep it in mind when test driving. It would be a representative experience either way. I may still like car A enough, especially if I know that my qualms can be addressed.
I’m not pitting on car against another here, I’m not even cross shopping apples-to-apples kind of cars here. So their state of repair just needs to be known, it doesn’t need to be one thing or another.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
08/30/2017 at 16:37, STARS: 0
What For Sweden said. Renting a classic car isn’t going to be cheap, though.
For an old car, it’s highly unlikely that an owner will let you drive his/her car unless they know you VERY well - and there’s a good chance they won’t, even then. It’s hard to replace parts, and it’s hard to explain how differently they feel from today’s cars - if you drive it like you do a new car, you’ll probably wreck it.
I wouldn’t feel terrible about going to check out cars for sale, though, within reason. At some point, you need to get a feel for what the car should drive like before you buy. If you decide you want a ‘65 Mustang, you’re going to need to drive a few of them to get a feel for the car.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
08/30/2017 at 16:37, STARS: 1
That’s awesome. I’ve never even come close to buying a project car, or fun car or something other than a daily driver. And I am still a few years off most likely. So mostly I was hoping to experience a variety in the near future, so that when I am ready to buy in say 3 years, I have some knowledge.
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
08/30/2017 at 16:40, STARS: 0
Yeah that was going to be my first car. Black on black on black, but my mom’s mechanic talked her out of it unfortunately.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
08/30/2017 at 16:41, STARS: 1
Yeah, if I can find a rental company around here, that might be a great route (which shouldn’t be a problem I imagine). I’d be willing to spend a bit of money to have a classic car for a day.
I understand that someone that doesn’t know me probably won’t let me drive it, at least not right away. I may actually have to be friends with people with classic cars to get to that point, haha. I’d even be happy to start getting a few rides here and there. Which I imagine local events would be perfect for.
I totally hear you that I’ll need to drive a few. But I definitely want to be at or close to the point that I can confidently say I’m a serious potential buyer. hence why I’m asking for methods to get into this outside of going this route.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
08/30/2017 at 16:42, STARS: 1
Ah darn, that would’ve been a fantastic first car. (A) it’s a V12 and (B) you’d get to do lots of maintenance and repairs, haha
"farscythe - makin da cawfee!" (farscythe)
08/30/2017 at 16:43, STARS: 4
pretty sure the only way to test drive an oddball car is turn up like this
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
08/30/2017 at 16:44, STARS: 0
Yeah only shame was automatic.
But my 87 Wrangler was a great 1st car and lots of wrenching, a lot cheaper to do so, off road, and slow. I miss it
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
08/30/2017 at 16:47, STARS: 1
Alright I’m off to the leather store!
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
08/30/2017 at 16:47, STARS: 0
You should definitely attend events and get to know people - you might not get to drive them, but you’ll be around them, talk to owners, find out their quirks, and maybe get a ride in a few.
Join a club specific to your interests, and attend events - that might eventually get you a test drive, as well as advance knowledge of when a car is coming up for sale when you’re ready.
Rental companies are a good idea, just be prepared for big $ rentals — I looked at Vinty, and a ‘60 Chevy sedan was a couple hundred per day. So not something you’ll do frequently.
Crowmolly is dead right, too— and it’s a little hard to explain how vastly different the driving characteristics would be of his two examples. They’re completely different cars for all practical purposes.
I’m in a similar boat as you — I want to own one again, but it’s been a long time, so I’m working on re-educating myself when I have time (very slowly...)
"farscythe - makin da cawfee!" (farscythe)
08/30/2017 at 16:49, STARS: 0
just remember to lay of the negative vibes man.. kills the experience
"04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches." (04sneaky)
08/30/2017 at 16:52, STARS: 1
I think you may have the wrong idea, although I wish it worked that way. In my experience, you can drive two of the EXACT same car and have two totally different experiences. Especially if we’re talking about anything 20+ years old. Now, if you’re trying to decide between a Bronco and an older Mustang, this point may be invalid. However, if you’re trying to compare two older pony/muscle cars it’ll be very difficult to get a good baseline.
I’ve driven 1st gen Mustangs that were garbage and others that were perfect DDs. It’s all about upkeep, how it was stored, have bushings been replaced, anything upgraded/updated, etc.. A lot less about factory geometry and configuration.
This is my experience, over the course of probably twenty or thirty pre-80s era “sports” vehicles. I only say this because I’d hate for you to spend money, ride in something you think is great, go buy a used version of that same vehicle and hate it. I did that. It wasn’t fun. ‘65 Mustangs with drum brakes, anemic 289s, and 4-speeds are NOT the same as a ‘65 with disc brakes, modern struts/shocks, and a 6-speed with decent rear-end gearing. I hated that car when I first got it. Took a year and a lot of money to makeit into something I enjoyed driving as much as the car I originally rode in. My $0.02.
For general look/feel of cars, I’d just start going to some local car shows (not the big ones posted all over FaceBook but the hometown type) and tell some guys you’ve been looking at buying their model of car. Ask what things they’ve had to replace, don’t like, and sit in it for yourself. Probably won’t be able to drive them, but maybe you can get a ride-along if you’re lucky. That’s where I started.
Or you know, become a famous YouTuber and then everyone will come to YOU for test drives. :P
"Svend" (svend)
08/30/2017 at 16:52, STARS: 0
I’d personally approach an enthusiast car club in your area. For example Land Rover Defender, go to a Land Rover meet, ask a few questions and ask if you could try one out around the event. If you like that, then see if you can rent one from Turo or similar.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
08/30/2017 at 17:01, STARS: 1
Hey baby, if he don’t like the Oddball car he don’t have to drive it, y’know. Lotta schmucks around don’t have the right kind of car type scene going on - not my problem. Stayin’ positive, baby.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
08/30/2017 at 17:01, STARS: 0
Ah - one other (fairly obvious) thing I forgot - - DO take advantage of ANY opportunity to drive a car from the era that interests you. Even if it’s not a car that actually interests you.
If you’ve never driven a 40-50+ year old car, literally any experience with them will help you get a feel for what Crowmolly and I are getting at, and what these cars are like.
"crowmolly" (crowmolly)
08/30/2017 at 17:25, STARS: 1
Sorry, maybe I wasn’t clear enough. And I sincerely apologize if I’m sending this convo into the weeds. But it’s not really black-and-white, “working properly” or “needs work”. A lot of the time it’s muddy.
Maybe this is a better example:
Take the GM Muncie M20 4 speed trans. Used in a shitload of GM cars from the mid 60's to 1974 or so. Good trans but certainly a product of it’s time.
If you are used to driving today’s ATF filled precision manuals it will feel like a dump truck trans. You won’t have any way of knowing if that’s the way THIS Muncie trans is, or that’s the way ALL Muncie transmissions drive. Until you drive enough of them. Now confound it with a shifter. A stock GM Muncie shifter can jam up. An aftermarket Hurst shifter won’t really do that. But a Hurst shifter has stops that people screw up adjusting so the trans will bounce out of gear. But they think it’s just fine!
Or poly bushings in an old suspension with no grease. Sure, it will LOOK like it’s in great shape and exactly like a fresh build, but it will bind like a motherfucker and cause handling issues.
Plenty of people say “my car drives great” when it really flat out doesn’t. Most people can get a carb and dizzy running OK, but getting a good tune takes time and effort. Just look at all the people lambasting Rochester Quadrajets. They run fine, if you give a shit enough to learn. Or the MSD 8360 “ready to run” distributor. Made to just stab in and go- but the garage door advance springs will make the car only run “good enough”. You need to tune it to get a pure driving experience.
TL; DR:
The point of all that wall of text is that each car will be different depending on how it’s currently set up. Owners may be up front with you but in a lot of cases they are totally ignorant of what the car may need, or they are unintentionally (or intentionally!) misleading about the way the car is.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
08/31/2017 at 08:06, STARS: 1
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
08/31/2017 at 09:13, STARS: 0
The famous Youtube route sounds awesome, haha. But yeah, I’m just going to have to start getting plugged into the local scene. At this point I’m mostly an internet-enthusiast, haha. Thanks!
"04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches." (04sneaky)
08/31/2017 at 11:29, STARS: 0
Well, like the internet, there are always assholes out there. Don’t let them deter you from getting more engrained into the world of cars, especially classics. There are tons of people I’ve met over the years that have grown to be major influences in my love for cars and bikes. Just have to ignore all the rest.
I’m young, so I think that has made my experiences that much worse on average. When a guy that looks like he’s 17 comes up to you talking about the 408 he just built for his ‘65 Mustang, a lot of people seem to be in disbelief. On the flip-side, most of the “tuner” guys flip me off since I predominantly own V8 cars. Jokes on them, because I secretly want a really clean Datsun 260Z to DD instead. Car scene is such a volatile place. Mixture of testosterone and questionable ego/maturity levels.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
08/31/2017 at 12:12, STARS: 0
> Car scene is such a volatile place. Mixture of testosterone and questionable ego/maturity levels.
The boat scene called “hold my beer, watch this!”
"04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches." (04sneaky)
08/31/2017 at 14:35, STARS: 0
Oh, I can only imagine. Everyone owns a car, while only the “elite” (as they call themselves) own boats.
My favorite is the dude that owns an old Mazda B2000, but yet has a 40k boat. Is that the evolution of Jeep bros? Where all they can do is talk about boat stuff and boat related activities?
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
08/31/2017 at 14:49, STARS: 0
Yes, exactly. It gets really even worse when everyone goes to the bar after boating all day. It’s all about how they can get an extra mile an hour. How much they’ve spent, etc. etc. The best you can hope for is that their wives tagged along so you can talk to them about literally anything else. It’s only fun for so long to talk about boats after you’ve been on one all day.
"04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches." (04sneaky)
08/31/2017 at 15:38, STARS: 0
I feel like boats are definitely a bland discussion on most account. Maybe if you’re discussing inboard motor builds, as that’s intricate, but the majority of the guys I’ve met it’s just a money game. I’m not about that.
I live near The Ozarks, so I have my fair share once or twice a year. Honestly, it’s the worst part of the vacation. If I could afford to rent out that lake, and not deal with the boat-douches, I’d do it in a heartbeat.