When is an old car too old?
 

We never see ‘50’s cars on the road. Limited 60’s. And I live in Nascar country.
How long do you think before the 60’s 70’s 911’s are just too old to be driven regularly and before they have little charm left?

Never.

I don't think it's that they are too old. I think it's a combination of other things.

1 There are fewer and fewer around, so you'll see fewer because they just no longer exist.
2 The remaining really old vehicles that are still around have probably been well cared for and/or restored and have started to appreciate so the risk for driving more frequently is increased.
3 And then for some of those, they just aren't as well suited to frequent driving duties. I'm sure for some vehicles, the performance and driving dynamics just aren't suited towards the traffic and roads these days.

But I don't think there's any issue with the performance of older 911s.

356s might be harder to daily drive.

I do still see lots of that sort of thing, but they are usually clearly weekend or very occasional use vehicles.

With the early pre 1974 911 now firmly in the collector car world, I'd say few are used as daily drivers. However, they are quite capable of keeping up with the demands of today's traffic.

Charm is in the feelings of the beholder...

I think a combination of value and usability is what takes older cars off of the road. A classic 911 is still very usable but they are worth too much money for the average guy to DD one.

It seems there is zero chance a millennial will buy a 40’ 50’s and maybe a 60’s car.
At what point will the 70’s be too old? There are plenty of those American cars for sale locally. The prices are falling because of low demand. Could this trend reach the 911’s?

^^^^^^zactly- each group of young people have their own experiences with cars they grew up with ^^^^^^ 80's cars ard the next hot market

My neighbors 17 year old son is driving a Nash Metropolitan daily

Look at how popular Radwood is becoming to see where the next generation is going.

Gotta remember, at least here in CA, the hot rodding has been severely hindered by the smog laws IMO. It's not like it was back in the '60's when you could do just about anything you wanted to an engine with no repercussions when it came time to license the car.

A fellow around the corner from me drives his tri-5 Chevy Nomad all the time. Old vdub busses are everywhere. I also see an old Corvair Lakewood wagon and an early 60s Continental convertible that are daily driven. But this is SoCal.

Yup. I watched Barrett Jackson a few days ago, most of the ‘60s muscle was either a no sale or no reserve auction.

I'd love to have an 'old' car, but, at my age I get to thinking about it and come to the conclusion I don't want to drive an old car with old technology that requires old time maintenance.

You are gaining mature wisdom, grasshopper. :)

Gotta disagree.

Vintage Mini's, I could find young people driving those in the Charlotte area.
Same goes for inexpensive MG's and Triumphs.
It is just the ones in collector pricing that outprice a young person that will be of less interest to own.

A major problem with this era when it comes to many American cars is the cars were designed to last until the next model came out. The attrition rate has been pretty high.
Combine this with attrition rate with more people in the country today, and the number of 1950's cars to the number of people today is not the same ratio as the 1950's.

I find that a lot of millennials are into cars from driving games. They'll hunt around for the cars that interest them in the game that they can also afford to own a real one.
For me, it was the Porsche 944. I liked it in game at age 13, I saved my money, and then when I was 18 bought one.

I will say this, each time I go shopping for older cars, the rust on body and frame turn me off.
I'm fine with drivetrain and suspension work on a potential project car, but I have no inclination for rust repair.

^^^this. Boomers are making vintage car prices unaffordable for younger folks.

When you have to carve the brake pads out of wood.. its pretty old..

"Charm Factor' is not quantifiable.. it's subjective.
I always smile when I se something old 50's or 60's still chugging along.
Cuba was great for that. but you still see it here from time to time....

I've pretty much lost the desire to get my 66 VW split window microbus back on the road. The thought of nothing between my lower extremities and the typical SUV other than a piece of 2 mm thick steel and a headlight bucket is no longer appealing "just to be different".

From a safety standpoint, we've gone from just lap belts to actual seat belts with a shoulder harness to airbags to automatic braking in passenger vehicles. Yet for some reason, the flat bed tow trucks are free to roam with what amounts to a horizontal razor blade extending far beyond the rear axle with minimal bumper/safety equipment below that in the rear. I try to stay away from those vehicles with the fear of either running up in to one or getting rear ended into one.

They just aren’t as safe as newer cars. I drive my ‘47 Dodge, my ‘56 Speedster, or my ‘65 VW on errands when weather is favorable, but I am hyper aware of how much more vulnerable I am. I don’t drive into the city or on busy highways.

When the perfect storm of random failures hits you, leaving it broken and makes it unappealing compared to a new alternative or you just get tired of fixing it, or- it becomes too valuable to lose to theft or an accident.

I got a 50 year old, and a 30 year old in my fleet now. My only 'real' disposable car is my 2013

Funny I have had a guy on motorcycle till me how unsafe my 1965 MG midget was!
Newest ca I have is 1978, average age of the cars I drive is mid 70's.
But this is AZ, no rust, light traffic and very little freeways.
My 1917 Hupmobile going on a 100 mile drive with firends ,30 of which was up a mountain on dirt http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1573332751.jpg

Very true. my recent 50's truck "inheritance " was reasonable. Trying to buy it on the open market would have been stupid.

awesome car, green motoring at its best, please keep using it

My daily is a 1995 Toyota 4Runner, not old compared to 50's cars

I think the sweet spot for usable old cars are from the 80's and early 90's, easy on maintenance, not full of unfriendly DIY electrical systems and with enough performance/comfort to keep up with modern traffic

I feel the same with my 944.

I keep it to the less crazy roads if I take it, and prefer not to take it at night where there is increased chance of head on from drunks.

Other than very few 80s cars (If I could afford another old 911...!!) I would prefer mid 60s to early 70s. Plenty of performance and at least for American cars, I think handling and braking could be made adequate.

I’m currently renovating a ‘75 Datsun 280Z. A lot of the cosmetic and mechanical systems are taken care of, and it does have new brakes. I still need to finish refreshing the suspension and maybe look at upgrading the brakes. As it is, I feel comfortable on the freeway...just not driving it aggressively. Before long, it should be ready to drive up to Mulholland Hwy and go canyon carving.

I wouldn’t daily drive anything without air conditioning...

What will happen to these car prices when the boomers start to fade away?

My Z has AC. 😁

I think the prices will drop.

That’s what I’m getting at. The 50’s cars. And 60’s even are rare sights. You see them for sale but are they really selling?
At what point will the market dry up for people wanting a 40’s-70’s era car?

Price for 50’s are already dropping. Sales are tough. Will the early 911’s ever feel this fate?

I decided to look around at 1950-1970 with a maximum of $7,000.

This had appeal.

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/d/charlotte-military-m561-gamma-goat/7001442233.html

gamma goat. I haven't seen them since the remagen range in sc.

I've wanted to drive a few cars from the 30s for a long time. I expect they are better in my head than on the road. My newest car is a 2003, not many older than that on the road usually.

Too old to me means unreliable or too slow to keep up. Not much patience in my area for slow.

when I lived in the Mojave a few years ago, I often saw 50's cars out driving around...not because people wanted to drive classics...but these were the cars they had.

After dabbling with 60's British cars, tons of Porsches, Italian stuff (including my Ferrari)....I have developed a soft spot for brass-era cars. The ability to replicate any part on them...because they were originally hand made is very intriguing to me. The performance aspect of cars is largely lost on me at this point...I've reached a point where aesthetics reigns supreme.

As for pricing on classics...it's all cyclical. Look at what Model A's cost now, compared to 20-30 years ago. The guys who loved these cars are all dead.

Parts availability and wrenches to fix them unless you do your own work.

My brother’s daily driver is his 1955 VW Bug. He has driven it since 1978. It is converted to 12 volts, has disk brakes, and a 90 hp engine. Everything else is stock.

Anything with no AC is too old for me. I think a guy has to have a tolerance for the lack of technology in old cars. And be a little tough. For over 10 years my buddy drove a mostly stock 55 Chevy truck everywhere. 18 miles each way for work. Single digit temps in winter and near 100° in the summer. No AC and minimal heat. He still has that truck but he bought a 2003 truck last year and the 55 has barely moved since. Power steering and AC are hard to do without. I consider my 94 S10 primative . Radio delete, crank windows and no cruise control. It does have a V8, PS, AC and semi automatic trans and thats as primitave as I can go.

Just look at collector cars from the 1920s into the 1950s. Except for super rare or historically significant stuff the values are in the tank. Everybody who cares is dead.

There is a local guy with a 52 Ford pickup, restomod. It looks like a 52 from the outside but it is on a modern chassis with all the modern stuff. It is very well done.

There are a lot of '50's, 60's and 70's cars in this area on the road on a nice weekend day.

I could not imagine daily driving one. A friend of mine owns the "Stovebolt" website for old GMC trucks (https://www.stovebolt.com/) and I used to drive with him in parades, etc. The old truck look cool but are not at all enjoyable, at least to me, to drive.

I don't think American cars from the 60's, 70's and 80's were made to last. I think most of these cars are in the "Land fill".