65 days, 7100 miles (and 50 more to make it home. :))
It is the $64,000.00 question. Can a 40+ year old "daily driver" prove
reliable transportation?
So far, so good. Major expenses included a new battery and a rather
embarrassing run through an out of town shop. Otherwise, it has worked out
(so far) like a charm. I have spent two evenings chasing an overheating
problem and one afternoon putting new bolts in a rear u joint. On strictly
hours required to keep them running down the road, a modern would win hands
down, but this is also my hobby, so it's not been a big deal. Maybe when I
HAVE to fix something to keep going I will feel differently, but so far it's
been a nice trade off. I can say honestly that Old Weird has moved every
day this month, including a 380 mile round trip and a 130 mile round trip
and several 200 mile days and never failed in its appointed task.
A major surprise has been the availability of parts through local channels.
Not at the mass merchandisers, but at the local NAPA store, where you can
talk to a counter person and look at a book. Many, many "suitable
replacements" are still listed, and for the most part, delivery has been
"within commercial standards" (i.e. two or three days.). It would be
valuable to have a registry set up somewhere on the web, where every time
one of us finds an aftermarket part that replaces, we could register the
manufactures name and part number.
Low gas mileage has been 28.8, high was 34.2. The small tank is annoying.
I feel like I am filling up daily (it's really averaging every other day).
The take at the pump is minuscule (by current standards), but the frequency
seems often. Oil consumption looks to me to be high (about a quart per
800), but I am thinking of trying a heaver weight oil next change, just to
see if that might slow. I do not recall oil consumption being that high
before the last change.
Weather her has been very cooperative. It has been beautiful top down
spring weather. To paraphrase a recent statement by Randall, "The best
parts are that your hair gets messed up and you arrive with a smile on your
face."
Let the grand experiment continue.
Cheers
Ken Gano
1958 TR10 (blue piece of s*** that takes up space in the driveway)
1959 TR3A TS57756L the hot rod
1961 Herald (body #RAT 31) "Old Weird" 750 mile a week daily driver
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