What's the Oldest Car You'd Drive Regularly?

[piscator]

What’s the oldest automobile that you would consider driving today? I don’t mean a car that simply ‘can’ be driven, but one you might actually use with some regularity.

Last weekend there was a large car-show in my Mom’s town and her local paper featured a gentleman who collects and drives Model T Fords. He lives in a somewhat rural area and says he uses the car locally, without hesitation. And, he’s about to take his wife on a second ‘coast to coast’ endurance test endurance test with one of his T’s – driving to Seattle at a little under 40 mph.

Reading this, I remembered a neighbor who started a carpentry business; driving a 1930’s panel truck – and he really used it! I’d hear those gears shifting, every morning, as he passed my house – it’s a fun memory.

So I got to wondering about older cars that might be enjoyable to use, rather than just admire. I can identify some cars built before 1940, but since I know very little about them, I thought I’d ask you guys.

I’m not offering any parameters on ‘usage’ because there’s just too many. Where one lives, weather, types of road, highway driving, etc. etc. I’m interested in hearing about autos that are, could be, or that you’d like to put into regular service in a way that works for you.

I have no idea what my own choice might be, so I’ll stand by and wait with anticipation!

Here's a photo of the gentleman and his 1912 Model-T (it's not me).

[GH85Carrera]

I use my 86 El Camino daily, and the 85 911 regularly. Anything much older would need a lot of updates to be fun or practical to fit my needs.

My brother uses his 1954 VW bug and 1976 Volkswagen Westfalia Camper all the time. His bug is his normal daily driver but a deer ran into the door and tore it up enough to need a replacement door and new windows winder and of course that leads to other while you are in there things. It will be back on the road in daily use soon.

I require a car with a good heater, and air conditioning, so the really old cars are just not something I care about as a regular driver.

[pavulon]

Regularly see a guy commuting in his patina'd/original early 60's F150.

[yellowperil]

I drive my '29 Chevy mostly every day. Great heater for winter, lots of breezey
windows, fair HP, comfy seats, NO check engine light, and handles like a sports car.

Old cars are great IMO

[rfaust6024]

[Tervuren]

It really depends on the traffic.

If I need to take 485 around Charlotte, I want something powerful and big.

For driving around peaceful roads without the ragers it really doesn't matter.

I did get very tired of driving the 944 where bigger cars would make a lane change like you weren't there, expecting you just to go onto the shoulder to accommodate them.

Then there are the people that hit the brakes at the end of entrance ramps, or only decide to get up to speed at the end of the ramp. The 944...poor little soul, did not do very well getting up to the 80MPH traffic was doing in that situation.

I needed most of the ramp to make a safe and speed matched merge.

[Evans, Marv]

Where I live it would be impractical to have something that couldn't be driven on the freeway. Locally we don't have anything but a post office, country store, and small restaurant about two miles away. Anything more than that involves getting on the freeway, which some older cars wouldn't work out too well for. There are a few people around here who drive old cars/pickups when running short errands. One cool old guy has a 1940's/early 1950's International pickup he drives everyday to the post office and hay & feed store. He doesn't have a driver side door on it & always wears old jeans and sandals. This is a favorite destination for weekend drives for car clubs though. Lots of hot rod clubs and antique car clubs come up for drives on weekends as to lots of motorcycles. Last week I saw a line of Corvettes, maybe 25+ long & a couple of days ago there were two Ferraris and another super car I couldn't identify as I was passing by parked at a local restaurant.

[sc_rufctr]

Right now I'm driving a 1992 Mercedes Benz. I can't imagine daily driving anything earlier but it certainly can be done.

The good Porsche 356 (who really needs air conditioning?) is easy to live with daily but their value makes them impractical.

[Les Paul]

Every day.

[masraum]

Since I live in Houston where it's uncomfortably hot for a fair amount of the year and often, unpredictably rainy, I'd be happy to use just about anything that was weather tight and had good AC. For me, the stuff that most comes to mind would be from the 60's. I've never ridden in or driven anything older, but I'd be game.

I can't imagine driving that far in a Model T. 40 mph all of the way across the country would be tough. I guess maybe in the right circumstances if I had nothing but time...

If I lived someplace with better weather (like Cali) then I think just about anything could be driven daily assuming that all of your driving isn't in traffic heavy environments where the fun would be sapped out of the experience.

[ckelly78z]

DDed my 1985 Porsche 944 until a year ot two ago...I just sold it last week.

[911boost]

Drive my 78 VW Westfalia daily during the Spring/Summer/Fall and park my truck for the most part.

In the winter with the unpredictable weather here I stick to my truck.

[Jim Richards]

My ‘75 280Z, once I get it back together.

[Zeke]

Speaking of businesses with old trucks, there used to be until around 5 years ago, a glass company that did mobile service for windshields, etc. They had 2 identical Model A hot rod pick ups with the typical post and foam glass racks in the bed. V8's and auto's, raked and with big meats on the back. I suspect the big mobile glass co's put them out of business.

But more to the point of the thread, I'd drive any year PU to work as long as it had good seating and AC. Better suspension and brakes are simply bought and bolted on these days. And modern tires make a huge difference, but no rubber band low aspect ratio tires for me.

Panel trucks are very cool but I had one van and hated loading and unloading. Give me a PU.

[R K T]

This was my DD for three years.

[Jeff Higgins]

My daily was my '72 911 but, granted, that was 20 years ago. After about three to four years of driving it, I bought another Beetle, this one a '70, and daily drove it until I retired. I commuted in it, ran all of my errands, all of that. It was my daily until it got totaled by some inattentive clown in an F150 two and a half years ago.

Interestingly, until I bought my '93 Land Cruiser about six or seven years ago, the '72 911 was the newest car ever registered in my name. Oh, I've (since I've been married) "owned" (in my wife's name) newer cars, but they were always "her car".

I bought my son's 2002 Boxster S three years ago, so my ownership jumped forward another decade. I did commute in it a bit in the year I owned it before I retired, but the Beetle was still the mainstay of all of that.

I've just never had much of an interest in newer cars. I like simple ones I can work on myself.

[yellowperil]

Originally Posted by yellowperil

I drive my '29 Chevy mostly every day. Great heater for winter, lots of breezey
windows, fair HP, comfy seats, NO check engine light, and handles like a sports car.

Old cars are great IMO

Forgot the picture

[sugarwood]

Anything with a carbureted motor world be a deal breaker. Remember the 70s where you'd see a broken down car on the side of the road every few miles? Today's cars don't even need hazard lights. Spark plugs good for 100k.

I have a 20 years old car I use a few times a week. Im gonna switch it for an 2007+

10-15 years is my reply

[vonsmog]

I drive my Mercedes W123's just about every day (just not in the winter) one is an 84' other an 85' Took the wagon across country last summer, put 4k miles on it in 2 weeks.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by ckelly78z

DDed my 1985 Porsche 944 until a year ot two ago...I just sold it last week.

I daily drove my '88 targa, and if I still had one, I probably still would.