22nd Jun 2016, 01:08

I started driving in 1969. I had a few hand me down domestic sedans. One was a 67 Buick Special and later a 68 Cutlass 350. I wanted something sportier after college. These 2 cars were still circulated throughout the family. Daily driven.

My point is the cars from that era were simple and very reliable. Part of the reason many are not driven daily today is rust concerns. Even washing cars, water would become trapped behind the chrome mouldings. Especially the rear window.

I drove these cars many miles without issue. Today I have ones that have mods like headers, different rears etc that are great for performance, but not for everyday. If I had one for everyday, it would be a 350 V8 2 BBL automatic with stock manifolds. And air. And drive anywhere on long trips. It's when you get caught up in performance, high end paint and restorations they languish weekdays in a garage. In turn old elements like manual steering and drum brakes and points etc can do the same.

My favorite cars are mid 60s to 1972. That's a narrow window. After that anti pollution smog devices and electric ignition issues were common in mid 70s. I can pick many domestics that could be considered classics and daily driven however. Not so much from the 50s and prior. Sometimes the 60s cars needed tune ups and plugs, but that was simple as well.