What it's like to own and drive an old car

"Chairman Kaga" (mike-mckinnon)
12/23/2013 at 15:49 • Filed to: None

Sitting in a restaurant, looking out the window every two or three minutes to make sure it hasn't caught on fire in the parking lot.

Your turn.

DISCUSSION (49)

505Turbeaux > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 15:52

looking at how it stands out alot from the beige, and wondering which relay am I going to start disassembling and cleaning tonight

jariten1781 > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 15:52

Panicking at every possible smell because: "fuck, what went wrong now"

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 15:54

Wincing over every bump thinking to yourself "Please don't let that knock a hose or fuse loose again"

Ian Duer (320b) > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 15:55

Constantly justifying to self how much more soul it has than newer cars in spite of knowing it's only a matter of time before you discover some other obscure/discontinued part will need rebuilt/replaced.

Thinking 26 MPG is pretty good.

liquid_popcorn > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 15:55

Having a trunk half full of spare parts and tools for when it inevitably breaks down half an hour after I got it running again.

Party-vi > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 15:58

feathering the gas pedal when you start it because even with electric choke it's coldblooded.

Party-vi > Ian Duer (320b)
12/23/2013 at 15:59

Thinking 10 MPG isn't so bad.

Buckner > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 16:00

Playing every classic car owners favorite game- "Whats that noise"?

Ian Duer (320b) > Party-vi
12/23/2013 at 16:01

Ha. True. Depends on the engine I suppose. I was thinking for a fuel-injected 4.

Paul, Man of Mustangs > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 16:01

Looking under the car in every parking lot to see if you should call hazmat.

Then adding a quart of ATF because it dropped out of gear.

Party-vi > Ian Duer (320b)
12/23/2013 at 16:01

Oof. That's good though haha. I was thinking a carb'd V8.

Paul, Man of Mustangs > Party-vi
12/23/2013 at 16:03

I've managed 17 before, but I think I average 13-15. I'm really shooting for 18-19, though. One day, I'll get there.

Ian Duer (320b) > Party-vi
12/23/2013 at 16:03

Figured you had to be.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 16:03

Constantly turning down the radio every time you think you hear a new noise and trying to figure out if it's a bad noise or good noise.

Party-vi > Paul, Man of Mustangs
12/23/2013 at 16:06

I'm pretty sure no matter how I drive I'm seeing 10 mpg with mine. I'm sure fuel injection would give me a nice bump to 14 haha.

SkootchyB > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 16:09

Starting it to make sure it starts....That smell isnt exhaust, its character...

Frankenbike666 > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 16:12

"WHAT IS IT NOW!?"

Kinja'd!!!

Chairman Kaga > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
12/23/2013 at 16:15

Which is why my radio is just for showsies.

Paul, Man of Mustangs > Party-vi
12/23/2013 at 16:15

10 is normal for me around town, unfortunately. I think a lot of that is just the inefficiency of older automatic transmissions.

Frankenbike666 > Ian Duer (320b)
12/23/2013 at 16:16

In my '95 Trans Am, 26 MPG was pretty good.

Come to think of it, with all the short driving I do, with stops on every corner, 26 MPG would be pretty good in my new, one year old car.

I've found "soul" in a car means idiosyncratic intermittent problems that lead to anthropomorphizing your car. I had a mechanic girlfriend in the 80s who said "Nothing will cost you more or be a bigger pain in the ass than anthropomorphizing it and treating it like a person. Once you give your car a name, it's all over."

Chairman Kaga > Party-vi
12/23/2013 at 16:16

Bad idea with mine. http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-75-…

Ian Duer (320b) > Frankenbike666
12/23/2013 at 16:18

Certainly depends on the mix of city/highway.

HammerheadFistpunch > Buckner
12/23/2013 at 16:20

its not the u-joints...I just replace those.

FlipperB > jariten1781
12/23/2013 at 16:29

Shutting off the heat so you can tell if the smell is really a new one.

Paul, Man of Mustangs > HammerheadFistpunch
12/23/2013 at 16:30

"Did I install them wrong? Oh god, I probably did..."

HammerheadFistpunch > Paul, Man of Mustangs
12/23/2013 at 16:31

HA! exactly.

Paul, Man of Mustangs > Frankenbike666
12/23/2013 at 16:31

...Should probably call HAZMAT...

Chairman Kaga > HammerheadFistpunch
12/23/2013 at 16:31

"I just installed them," you complain to the seller.

"What do you expect? They've been sitting on a shelf in my garage since 1971."

*sigh*

FlipperB > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 16:31

The latest one for me is praying 1st gear will let me in each time I roll up to a stop sign so that I don't sit there looking like a dumbass.

Chairman Kaga > FlipperB
12/23/2013 at 16:38

Ooh. Yeah, that's a fun one. Also, "is there enough of a declining grade that I can start in 2nd" is a fun sequel to the original "1st gear roulette."

CobraJoe > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 16:42

Laughing when someone else tries to drive it because they don't know about it's peculiarities.

C'mon, it's not all negative.

FlipperB > Ian Duer (320b)
12/23/2013 at 16:43

My solution to worrying about fuel economy was to have a busted odometer so I couldn't keep track.

Just got it rebuilt so now I'll have to deal with knowing...

Buckner > HammerheadFistpunch
12/23/2013 at 16:44

If its not the u-joints, well then its prolly every rubber bushing on the car, even the ones holding the rust on.

megalomaniac > Ian Duer (320b)
12/23/2013 at 16:47

Cast Iron I6 in a brick with massive tires that make the aero even worse, 18MPG if I'm lucky unless I have another Jeep to draft on a road trip, then its 22MPG, and thats with a manual driven very conservatively (because roll-over).

FlipperB > CobraJoe
12/23/2013 at 16:50

Let someone else drive it? Never! :)

All the quirks add up to a security suite that would prevent anyone else from ever figuring out how to drive it.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Paul, Man of Mustangs
12/23/2013 at 16:51

No wait....SHIT! I didn't align it correctly so it's loosening the bolt as I speak! Oh god, please don't make me do any panic stops......F$%^#!

FlipperB > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 16:51

"Oh, God, no! An unavoidable puddle!"

d00mZ > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 17:06

Opening the windows because the triple webers are making me high. s30 ALL DAY

Kinja'd!!!

Paul, Man of Mustangs > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
12/23/2013 at 17:10

I had a bolt fall out of my then-recently installed disc brake caliper. That was fun.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Paul, Man of Mustangs
12/23/2013 at 17:13

same, even more fun since I had to pick my brake pads out of the pothole that knocked off the caliper.

Chairman Kaga > d00mZ
12/23/2013 at 17:17

You cannot roll down the windows because the fuse has blown. You have left your manual crank winder in the tool chest.

-15 hit points, roll 3 poison bonus.

d00mZ > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 17:20

FUUUUUU That sucks ass! I always forget my passenger crank because I'm too lazy to put in the pin. Another reason why my gf won't ride with me. You win sir. You win.

Frankenbike666 > Ian Duer (320b)
12/23/2013 at 17:28

Not just "city/highway" but what kind of "city" driving you do. Where I live, it's often six complete stops per mile, and if I've just set it, I watch the avg fuel economy report nosedive like a plane that just got its wings sheered off with even the most gentle starts from those full stops.

TwoFortified > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
12/23/2013 at 17:41

Lol...Whether or not it's a good idea:

Constantly turning UP the radio every time you think you hear a new noise.

Ian Duer (320b) > Frankenbike666
12/23/2013 at 18:31

True indeed. I hate that fuel econ reporting at red lights. Depending on the last time it was reset I can watch it tick down just idling.

Ian Duer (320b) > Frankenbike666
12/23/2013 at 18:34

When I say soul I tend to mean feeling like a proper machine that I'm operating ... as opposed to overly automated things that feels like just pointing in the general direction you'd like to go. It's probably the wrong word to use... Never named a car.

Rock Bottom > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 18:54

The knowledge that when you're driving alone to work, it runs like a champ. Taking a lady out to dinner? Now it won't start. Guaranteed.

tromoly > Chairman Kaga
12/23/2013 at 19:56

Best part? Enjoying an evening drive in September in the cool air, windows down, no radio, no AC, no vehicle computer, just the car and the driver, arm out the window, enjoying the trip for the shear fact of driving.

Sese > Chairman Kaga
12/30/2013 at 08:24

Driving down the road listening and trying to identify strange noises and smells (...is something electrical shorting? what was that loud click?).