OT - Road trip in an old car

You speak the truth. For years and years my daily drivers were 15+ year old VWs because they were pretty good cars but were available for

It's a real treat for the senses when you drive an old car. I've got a little over a year driving a Stude as a daily driver and have a lot of confidence in the car. Twice, strange things have happened. Once, when I started noticing the ammeter dancing around strangely, then suddenly finding the car stalled late one night because I'd been running off the battery....FOR A WEEK. Then just recently, sitting at the drive thru of a Dairy Queen while I watch the temp go up, and up, then start smelling that sickening sweet smell. Yup, water pump went south.

Still, I think I trust the Stude more than I trust my Grand Cherokee. If it quits, I'll just open the hood and walk away. There's nothing under there that I can fix on the side of the road.

Mark

65 Cruiser

Its all relative. I've put thousands of miles on my '65 Commander attending Zone Meets and International Meets. I have had very few problems with my Commander in the 22 years I've been driving it. This includes two trips to South Bend, Las Vegas in 120 degree heat, and Sacramento. Last July, I drove it to the North Central Zone Meet in Moose Jaw, as did fellow members, Larry Dansereau and Bob McKinstrey each driving original 2R5 pickups. Larry's wife, Mandy would not trust the 2R5, so she opted to tag along with the 'family' 1999 Chrysler 300M. In Moose Jaw, it was the 300M that developed a problem; one of the transmission cooling lines to the rad blew, so Larry spent half a morning fixing a modern Chrysler, not a Studebaker. I believe the simpler the car or truck is, the less chance there is for something to go wrong. The other thing I would say with experience is if there is some "small" thing you notice that could be a headache under the hood or elsewhere, fix the problem BEFORE you leave for a long trip. You can bet it will start causing grief by escalating into a major problem that could involve an on-the-road fix. Remember your trip is supposed to be relaxing and fun, not beset with a bunch of problems that should have been addressed beforehand. To be honest, I do trust my 41 year old Commander, and wouldn't hesitate to drive it long distances to a meet. We are a drivers club, right?

Craig.

Amen on the drivers club. I'm a bit ashamed to admit it, but when I bought my Cruiser it had just a tad over 52,000 miles on it. It just rolled over 70,000 last week:(. But, I bought it to drive and drive it I will. 18,000 miles in a bit over a year, and all I've done is oil changes, changed the water pump and alternator. Those are the kind of things you'd expect to fail. I am carrying a spare voltage regulator in the trunk and a fuel pump. When I bought the car, all of the hoses had been changed except for one small piece of fuel line from the engine to the carb. It had some cracks so I replaced it.

Mine's a six cylinder, but it's a joy to look under the hood at that clean shiny black engine with all that room around it and no mess of tangled wires. Hey, I can actually fix this thing:)

Mark

65 Cruiser

In December, 2005, I drove a 61 Cruiser from Arizona to Indiana, in two days. I left Tucson 9:00am Thursday and arrived in Muncie at 8:00pm Friday. I reversed the trip in a 94 Dodge converstion Van.

Unless I own a 1955 Packard Patrician, I will never take on a long distance journey in an old Studebaker again. The Packard is a product of the merger of the two companies and has the best ride in an old car there is. As far as the Studebakers go, they will be used around town or maybe a 200 mile trip at best.

Bob

I've run 1200-1500 mile weekend trip in my '62 ragtop several times and would not hesitate to do it again right now, Bob. The seats are comfortable enough and with power steering, power brakes (still drum), a 259/auto/3.31 combo and upgraded to cop car suspension and the cruise control I added, it is as comfortable and run to drive as 'most any car I've ever had.

For the past nine years, I have driven my '64 T-Cab on a regular basis. About 70K and the truck actually has over 300K on it. It has never let me down. It is a work truck that is presentable and has only had fuel, oil changes and brake work in the past four years.

In 2002, it went from Austin to South Bend, Rhode Island, JP's in Maryland, and back to Austin without so much as a hiccup.

It may not be plush but it is ultra dependable.

I must confess that it developed a "knock" about a year ago. I began to get quite concerned that the engine might give up. Then one day, a friend of mine suggested that sometimes fuel pumps can mimic a knock. Low 'n behold, that was exactly what it was... I had cut the old fuel pump out of the fuel circuit and the open lines were creating an acoustic knock. Plugged the lines and it disappeared. In the back of my mind, I questioned why a vehicle with great oil pressure would develop a knock anyway..

The truck may be making a return trip to the east coast this summer. I do not look forward to the fuel bill though...

JT

Mark Anders>

We have to consider (as you stated) the simplicity of our older cars. No plastic radiators, temperature sensitive electronics and a ton of (IMNSHO) unneeded interlocks. Failure by any of these components will stop you dead in your tracks. The Stude OTOH probably can be patched and will press on...

JT

My '65 Commander is as comfortable as any car can be. I've done lots

12 hours + days driving in it, most notably, my fast trip home from the Zone Meet in Boise in 2003. I had to be up early Monday morning for work which made for an 800 mile drive the Sunday. I left Boise at around 8:00 AM and got home about 11:15 PM. I had only a 6 hour sleep before going to work, but I NEVER had any back pains or leg pains or any other complications from sitting more than 12 hours in that Studebaker the day before. And I have stock Studebaker seats that came out of a '65 Cruiser in that car.

Craig

For display purposes, I've greatly revised the "an old car as a daily driver" thread that I put on the NG about a year ago.

There is one hell of a lot of difference between the last Studebakers and a modern car in safety, comfort and control. On the other hand, no one ever came up to one of my (past) modern cars talking about the one "just like that" his uncle drove.

Karl

I'll agree with that, I have driven a few Studes decent distances for JP, including Lee's (now Pat's) Cruiser back from NJ, an Avanti back from Carlisle (with brand-x seats) a GT Hawk to the zone meet in Martinsburg, etc. etc. etc. the only one I had a real problem with was the blown Avanti II that we picked up near I-81, the car was fine but the combination of the stock high-back buckets and stiff clutch destroyed my back. If you have comfortable seats, most of your problems will be concern about the mechanicals, easy solution to that problem, fix everything :) But I've found Stude buckets and benches to both be comfortable, it's just Avanti seats I don't like.

nate

Lee wrote:

Road trip in a 'prepared' old car is fine...

Banzaii run home after buying an old car and not prepping it is just dumb. Nostalgic maybe...But not the smartest thing to try.

*** Posted via a free Usenet account from ***

That Cruiser was an awesome road car, N8! Debbie and I drove it on several short tirps (300 mile weekends and such) and Pat jumped in the damned thing and drove it from South Bend to Fort Wayne to LA.

The ONLY problem I ever had with the car was the day I sold it when the master cylinder went dry on it (NOS unit with a defective fitting) and Pat did have a U-joint go dry in New Mexico on the way home. I know he has done some upgrades and maintenance to it but, it was, and still is one hell of a car!

The seats in my Daytona ragtop are in need of restuffing due to the foam deteriorating over the last 44 years but, all in all, they are still more than comfortable enough for an 800 mile day! The only modern convenience I have added to the car is the electronic crusie control and, to be honest, I'd do it again in a heartbeat! It's amazing how much better the car feels on the road when you don't have your foot on the gas pedal that is attached by solid linkage to the engine. LOL....

I'll second that - my goal is to get the rest of the fleet running as sweetly as that cruiser - it's rock solid.

Lee wrote:

That would be the "engine mount failure early warning system" :)

nate

Up until the fire, we have driven our Hawk unknown thousands of miles, no working odometer, since 1992. What went south over the past 14 years: Replaced original transmission last year Installed a TT rear end - only because I got it at a good price One generator One Power Steering pump Two sets of belts - one belt broke, then entangled other and it ripped apart One water pump pulley Two fuel pumps Three sets of points and plugs Three sets of front brake shoes Two sets of rear shoes Full set of new drums

Normal interval oil changes and lubrications.

The only issues about driving the Hawk is changing over from the Hawk to our SUV in late Fall and then getting accustomed to the smells and sounds of going back to the different sounds and aromas the Hawk gives off after a long winter.

Since I installed the NOS Speedometer I won on Ebay earlier this year, we have already put 878 miles on the car. I think I installed it in late March or early April.

The big test will be going to the Shrock Brothers Hawk Party, as the Hawk is now 50 yrs old. I believe the distance is 300 plus miles from my house. So we will be shooting for 600 plus mile trip.

BG

I still miss that car, Pat! Most likely, it is the best riding and driving Studebaker I've ever had the pleasure of having here. With the cop car suspension, however, the ragtop is VERY close.

Buy my '62 and yo ucan get that feeling back :)

nate

(oh, wait, I already sold it... well buy it from JP.)

Lee wrote: