Experts agree: Mavericks shouldn't be daily drivers

Well sorta. When I read the article, my first thought was "this could be a Maverick they are talking about". The are talking about a 1963 Avanti, but the same logic can (and should be in my opinion ) be applied to Maverick. If anything....it is interesting reading.

From the radio show "Click and Clack":

Motorist should consider purchase of ’63 high school "dream car" as hobby, not daily driver
Friday, August 13, 2010


Q. I graduated from high school in 1963, and my dream car was the 1963 Studebaker Avanti. Well, life got in the way, and I never realized my dream of owning an Avanti. I recently have been going on eBay to find Avantis that have survived these past 47 years. I have located several that are rated from museum quality to daily drivers. This car did not achieve star status, as Studebaker went out of business in 1966, and a Canadian company produced replicas for several years. But the ’63 and ’64 models, in average condition, seem to be going for between $6,000 and $13,000. My questions are: (1) Do you think a 47-year-old vehicle could be a dependable car for everyday use? I do not want a trailer queen or a covered dust collector in the garage. And (2) the Avanti was known as a muscle car in its day, so could I expect it to still be as strong today? I know I’m not. Finally, (3) in the vast experience you both have with automobiles, do you think I would have to drive this kind of car with kid gloves and always be fearful of old-age-related problems? I really don’t want to own a money pit.

TOM: We’ll take your questions one at a time. Do we think a 47-year-old car can be dependable for everyday use?

RAY: No. Forty-seven-year-old cars are, generally speaking, unreliable. Not to mention unsafe. That’s why most people got rid of them 35 years ago.

TOM: Would it still be a muscle car today?

RAY: In looks, yes. And possibly on the road, too. It’s possible, if the compression is good and everything is in good working order, that you could floor it and accelerate pretty fast. Just make sure nothing’s in your way. Like a curve. But that leads directly to Question 3:

TOM: Would you have to drive this car with kid gloves and always be fearful of age-related problems?

RAY: Yes. And that would preclude flooring it and trying to drive it like a muscle car.

TOM: When you buy a car like this, what you’re really buying is a hobby. If you don’t have the time or the interest for an old-car hobby, then buy a one-tenth scale model Avanti for your desk instead.

RAY: Right. If what you really want is a daily driver, the cheapest, most bare-bones, brand-new Nissan Versa is going to be safer, cheaper to run and much more reliable, and will handle a lot better than the Avanti.

TOM: So you have to decide what you really want. If you want to fulfill your lifelong dream, then buy an Avanti. Just understand that you’re not buying a car, you’re buying a dependent.

RAY: And on those weekends when it’s running well and you’re not out searching for parts, you can drive it up to the old high school and pretend it’s 1963 again. You can imagine that all the other kids are jealous of you, that the prom queen wants a ride home and that you still have hair. Good luck, whatever you decide.

 

Ahhh....those were the days.......

 

As usual, when you read questions like that either online, or in a magazine. The impression I get is that they are from people that have very little knowledge about cars to begin with. It's almost as if they woke up one morning and that's what popped into their heads.
At the Mustang shop, I go for coffee at weekly, they have new stories almost every week, about people buying cars that they have no idea about, and have no idea of even how to start them (carburetors have spoiled us). ONe lady, bought a 67 390 GT convertible, she always wanted a convertible, and liked the color of this one...it was a 390...drum brake car...4 speed!! Not what she really wanted after driving it, her arm got sore, it wouldn't stop, and it was hard to answer the phone while out driving....She would have been much better off buying a late model Mustang convertible, used, for what she spent on her car..which is now for sale.
Old cars are a hobby, at very time consuming hobby, if you don't have the time, money, or skill...it's not a fun hobby.

 

With all due respects to "click and clack", I'll keep driving my '75. Since I drive truck, nothing I own is a "daily" driver (more like 2-3 days a week) so driving old stuff doesn't scare me. At least if it breaks it's usually a simple fix. I will agree that older stuff isn't as safe as the newer cars (air bags, crumple zones, etc) but I can't wait for Jamie Miles and Facelessnumber to weigh in on this one...

 

The questions posed in the article are a perfect example of...Why we modify them.
We all upgrade the brakes
We all upgrade the driveline/powertrain
Many upgrade the lights/lighting system and electrical systems
We maximize the existing cooling system or upgrade it all together in the name of reliability.
Granted many upgrades are made with performance in mind but...
These upgrades enhance the safety/reliability of these cars.
I drive mine as often as I can...This includes running errands and road trips as well as the local cruises and car shows.
Do I consider the car a daily driver??? Nope...Could it be??? hasent let me down yet but... I havent had to wash it since last june either.
I agree with Daves assesment. Those not in the know...should stick to a new mustang and save the toy for the sunny weekend if they can afford to and just wax it weekly.

 

My Comet was a daily driver until I got the van. I literally drove it 30+ miles per day everyday to and from work plus whatever other errands I had to do. Now it sits in the yard being slowly tweaked on but mostly waiting for cooler weather.
I wouldn't hesitate to install a batter and go for a ride in my car right this minute.

I do want a Fiero though, for my about town ride and the Comet can become the hobby.

 

Your missing the point, both those guys know how to work on cars, where the general public doesn't (anymore) Anyone on here can argue all they want, but this is a car forum, full of car people...
Look at the people that get on here, rush into buying a Maverick or a Comet, then can't get anything done, then sell it, happens all the time.

 

I have always had a weird soft spot for Fieros.
Our cars arent complicated or especially difficult to repair. Just need to money and mechanical ability to keep it going. I'm not a mechanic or a machinist but I'm smart and mechanically inclined to be able to make repairs, some arent.
A Honda Civic is a far more practical car but for a car guy who doesnt mind getting dirty you just cant beat a Maverick.

 

Exactly. Nothing wrong with an older car if you know how to fix it. Most of our cars are in better shape than lots of used cars on the market. We replace engines, transmissions, suspensions, etc, and put in newer, better stuff. Would I expect my wife to drive my Mav every day? No, she is good at stuff, but fixing cars is not her best thing. At least she can tell me what's going on, a lot of men nowadays can't even do that. I see'em all the time on the side of the road, having to call somebody to come change a flat tire for them because they don't know how to do it.......

I hear this all the time how older stuff isn't as safe as newer stuff. I disagree. How many people have been killed or seriously injured by an air bag? They may be safer sometimes, but not always. I understand the crumple zones absorbing the impact and can agree there to a point. Sometimes it doesn't matter what kind of safety features a vehicle has, they simply are not enough. My son Bubba was killed instantly when a Kenworth T boned him in the drivers door, he had pulled out in front of it. The airbags deployed and the truck crumpled like a beer can. Would he had been safer in his 82 F 100 or my 99 F 150 instead of the 98 Nissan pickup ? No way to know for sure. There is NO completely safe vehicle. The Govt can't protect us from ourselves. There are some dangers in everything we do, we just have to take responsibilty fo our own actions.........

 

Thats the key here. An awful lot of people out there that may like old cars but dont have the mechanical ability, time or knowledge to own and operate one.

I had a lady show up at work week before last in a 71 Challenger. Nicely built car, healthy 340/727 car. Frame tied,leafs moved inward and very well done car. Black and straight southern car. She went down and bought it out of a dealer in Missourri. Anyhow she has a definite love for old cars but cant fix it. I think she's going to be bringing it to me now along with her Rotiserrie 68 Camaro 454 car. She only drives them the odd trip here and there though. She knows better than to try and drive them everyday and realizes they always need something done or fixed.

 

And some of us bought an old Maverick to learn. I may be going at a slow pace, but I am learning. But Dave is right, as a new learning car guy, Id not want to drive the Mav daily. But it sure is fun to work on and drive. Now I am off to install my tach.....

 

Very well put. Mine is my daily driver, 125,000 miles since late December 2005, and I will continue to drive it daily regardless of what some proclaimed "experts" think. But driving an old car daily is not for everyone, by any stretch of the imagination. Driving an old car takes serious perseverance at times, dedication and genuine enjoyment of working on it regularly. I have a very rigorous maintenance schedule, open up an original Maverick manual and look at the maintenance intervals, I do pretty much everything listed two to three times as often as the manual says to. It's not like a newer car that can go 100k with only average, minor stuff needing to be done. My hobby IS driving the car daily, and the associated work that comes with it. Old cars need EVERYTHING more often, tires, brakes, ball joints, front end alignments, etc. I have spare engines, transmissions, rear ends, pretty much everything.. and the tools and ability to swap any one of them out in less then a day if need be. and when all else fails, a back up car. That said, the car rarely has any serious issues these days, but that's primarily because the drive shaft is the only original drive train component left.

 

Yea, you got a point. But my point was that an older vehicle CAN be reliable daily transportation. And simple to maintain. We don't know if the guy asking the questions is mechanically inclined or not, I just do not agree with the statement that old cars can't still be used as...cars.

 

I can say may biggest fear with the Mav is collision. Not for the car but for my passengers. I do think about it when my girls are in the car but what can you do. I guess most things have a risk factor. Hell my oldest rides our horse and it still scares me to death.
It would be nice if the car had side impact beams. I dont think that doorskin is going to do much for me in side collision.
Could put in a roll bar with door bars but they can be dangerous as well without a helmet.
I guess thats why I dont use it as daily transport.

 

My 71 F100 has been my daily driver off and on for 36 some odd years. If it makes an odd noise though I pretty much know what it is. I now have a 90 Cherokee I use and am giving the old girl a rest. One of these days I will get my 72 Maverick on the road and will sell the Jeep. My kids are grown so I don't have to worry about them riding with me.
I agree newer cars are safer but everybody can't afford a Volvo. I keep my wife in a newer car when I can but since I don't have a 9-5 job I drive the old stuff. Wouldn't have it any other way though. A person driving an older car or truck has got to either have money to pay to have it worked on or know how to work on it themselves.
My daughter has a 96 Mustang. She say a 66 Mustang and fell in love with the looks. It was a good buy so we took it for a drive. After about a mile she pulled over and asked me to drive. The steering was so loose (power) she was all over the road with it and she said it had no brakes (manual).
She was too used to power everything on the 96 Mustang. lol
An older car can be a DD but really, only for somebody that can work on them I feel
clint