Long trip in a old car..

[expat]

In my experience, car do not malfunction 'on the road' they fail at start up or soon after on short trips. once a steady state of heat saturation etc. is attained, not much seems to happen.
I have driven my 74 Triumph spitfire coast to coast (Canada) and back with no issues, but each year, after a winter lay-up, it always seems to need something.
A long trip in an older vehicle can really be a fun experiance, you are not isolated from your environment as you can be in a modern car.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: Whimsey

I don't get bored by my cars and itch for a new model

. It drives people crazy

.
Whimsey


I do not either...My 88 [302] 5.0 Town Car turned 300K miles on one of my trips from NYC to Miami...I have no plans to sell my current 05 [4.6] Crown Vic [106K miles] and plan on taking it on many more trips from Miami to NYC and elsewhere.

 

[wander2039]

Safety is a good issue brought up. I know the Festiva isn't as safe as the Escape but the Aspire probably is for the most part. The Escape does have a size advantage. The Aspire has air bags and alot of structural reinforcement the earlier years didn't have, the ABS stopped functioning and to $ to fix. The Escape does have 109k so it's not exactly a young chicken either. 75% of those are highway miles. By everyone on here the 97 really isn't that old. I won't say I get bored of cars I just run out of things to tinker with... the Aspire and Festiva will be kept for a long time. Can't say on the Escape the new Focus 5 door is very appealing.

 

[wander2039]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
What is old. A 10 or 12 year old car is not really old, well to me at least.
However I towed all over for years in an old 89 GMC 1 ton. The last big trip it made was towing my 7500 lbs loaded 5th wheel to Yellowstone from Washington state last summer. Over Snoqualmie pass, 4th of July Pass, Lookout Pass and the Continetial Divide. A heck of a lot harder towing a trailer than just motoring in a car. That trip to Yellowstone the truck had 280,000 original miles on the motor, tranny, rearend and a bunch of other stuff.

Look out pass coming up from the Idaho side 8% grade. 50 mph 3800 rpm pedal almost to the floor. 7500 lbs 5th wheel, 7500 lbs of truck and cargo. 281,000 miles.
High mileage cars do not impress me. They are just moving, well basically themselves. Old trucks towing, that is a bit more impressive to me.


You're right a truck with high mileage is more impressive. Really that goes to the owner and how well it's treated. A badly abused truck in high miles you'll have cracked frames, wore out body etc regardless of make/model. I hate to say trucks is one area where I'll say newer is sometimes better. The newer trucks comes with more power, better brakes, better gears. Not saying a old truck should be scrapped but few enhancements would help keep it on the road longer. Anyways that's what I gathered from comparing my dad's 86 F150 5.0L/auto with 3.55 and my 00 F150 5.4L/auto 3.55LS.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: Whimsey
I drive my 1996 Contour, 15 years old, to Key West from very Northern NJ every other year, 3,000+++ miles. Otherwise we usually travel 1,000+ miles on vacation. Every year we go some where. I keep up the maintenance on the car and have my mechanic give it a good inspection before we go. It's worth the money.

The car runs great, good power from the 2.0 Zetec 4 cyl & 5 sp manual. The trunk is cavernous and the ride is good. I almost bought a new 2006 Fusion but my Contour has more comfortable seats, a better feeling interior and ride quality. I cannot say about the power of the 2006 because it was an auto vs my stick. But the auto was much more of a dog with that 2006 4 cyl than my 1996 4 cyl with the manual. I know new 4 cyl Fusions have better 4 cyl engines than the 2006. If you can find a 2011 manual tranny car it would most likely be faster than the auto tranny. Though it is still heavier than my 1996 and might not be any faster.

Care for a car from the start and it should give you many years of driving pleasure. I don't get bored by my cars and itch for a new model

. It drives people crazy

.

Whimsey



I owned a 96 Contour 2.0, and put 104K on it before selling. I now have a 07 Fusion 2.0. I have to tell you there is no comparison between the two. The Fusion is faster, the ride is much better, the seats are far more comfortable, there is much more interior room, and the engine is much smoother than the Contour. In all respects the Fusion is a better car. That's my observation after owning both a Contour and a Fusion.

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted By: tig1
Originally Posted By: Whimsey
I drive my 1996 Contour, 15 years old, to Key West from very Northern NJ every other year, 3,000+++ miles. Otherwise we usually travel 1,000+ miles on vacation. Every year we go some where. I keep up the maintenance on the car and have my mechanic give it a good inspection before we go. It's worth the money.

The car runs great, good power from the 2.0 Zetec 4 cyl & 5 sp manual. The trunk is cavernous and the ride is good. I almost bought a new 2006 Fusion but my Contour has more comfortable seats, a better feeling interior and ride quality. I cannot say about the power of the 2006 because it was an auto vs my stick. But the auto was much more of a dog with that 2006 4 cyl than my 1996 4 cyl with the manual. I know new 4 cyl Fusions have better 4 cyl engines than the 2006. If you can find a 2011 manual tranny car it would most likely be faster than the auto tranny. Though it is still heavier than my 1996 and might not be any faster.

Care for a car from the start and it should give you many years of driving pleasure. I don't get bored by my cars and itch for a new model

. It drives people crazy

.

Whimsey



I owned a 96 Contour 2.0, and put 104K on it before selling. I now have a 07 Fusion 2.0. I have to tell you there is no comparison between the two. The Fusion is faster, the ride is much better, the seats are far more comfortable, there is much more interior room, and the engine is much smoother than the Contour. In all respects the Fusion is a better car. That's my observation after owning both a Contour and a Fusion.


That's what I experienced in a 2006 Fusion test drive. The seat bottom cushions were short & the seats were not as supportive as my 1996 GL seats, a base model. The interior of the 2006 was just cheaper looking & feeling then my 1996 Contour GL. I'm sure the new Fusions are all around better. My question is it worth it for me. My car is rust free, it get's 28 mpg local, 36+ highway, runs great, it's been paid for since 01/01. It's cheaper at this point to repair & keep for me.

Whimsey

 

[rslifkin]

I run my Jeep on the 350 mile highway runs between college and home every couple months. It's aging (13 years old, and rolled over 113k miles today), but still runs like a champ, and I wouldn't hesitate to hop in and drive cross country.

 

[onion]

I've taken many a road trip- often around 2000 miles round trip- with old junkers. And through many years, many road trips, and many junkers I had always got away with it- with only a few minor problems.

That is until my most recent road trip from Kansas to Tennessee- roughly 950 miles each way. I took my '94 Corsica, and left the wife with our '01 Lumina so she would have a reliable car while I was gone. Not the best decision in hindsight.

The Corsica had 182,000 miles on it, and had lived a hard life. But it was religiously maintained and ran as perfectly as a Corsica had ever run. Made it to Tennessee with no problems. The trip was completely uneventful. Drove around for a week- no problems. Not the slightest hiccup. Got ready to head back to Kansas... made it about 200 miles and the car quite suddenly and with ZERO warning quit pulling itself. The transmission was effectively in neutral- no ATF was being pumped within the transmission. I still don't know the exact failure, but I removed a transmission cooler line and started the engine- no fluid moving. Either the pump failed completely, or whatever drives the pump has failed. I did check and made sure that the converter bolts were in place.

At that point the transmission was shot. The body was falling apart. The a/c was functional, but cobbled together. The tires were iffy at best. The interior was worn out. So I talked my brother into picking up me and the Corsica with his car-hauler trailer. I flew back to Kansas and bought a replacement (for the wife, or course- I inhereted her old Lumina). My dear old worn out corsica now sits at a friend's house... waiting for him to get around to selling it or hauling it off for scrap.

 

[chrome]

Originally Posted By: Eric Smith
Originally Posted By: chrome
The episodes in Top Gear doesn't reflect what actually happens in real life.

They have a team of mechanics with them, and probably a heap of spare parts available. Bottom line is, it is a TV show designed to entertain.


Question... just how many episodes have you seen?


Answer... every episode from season 1 till season 16 episode 6, including their specials.

 

[wander2039]

Originally Posted By: chrome
Originally Posted By: Eric Smith
Originally Posted By: chrome
The episodes in Top Gear doesn't reflect what actually happens in real life.

They have a team of mechanics with them, and probably a heap of spare parts available. Bottom line is, it is a TV show designed to entertain.


Question... just how many episodes have you seen?


Answer... every episode from season 1 till season 16 episode 6, including their specials.


Huh in Season 7 Episode Episode 4 the engine in Jeremy's mid-engine Italian car explodes. Season 13 Episode May's Ford Carpi overheats and he has to drive a Morris Marina. Bolivia Special Hammond loses the rear diff in the Toyota. I'm sure there's more. They must leave the mechanic's at home on occasion...

 

[CharBaby]

Back in '74 I drove a '70 Camaro from Rochester, NY to Myrtle Beach(~800 miles one way). Experienced more road construction than you can shake a stick at! Never changed the oil before I departed, never checked the belts, tires, battery etc.

Over the period of a week, I drove down there, all around the area and back again when I experienced a tire blowout after being home a couple of days when the cords were showing through the front passenger tire. Shortly after that, the fan belt POPPED!

No cell phone or GPS bach then, only a folding paper map and no spare tire in the nothing for a trunk.

Only one windshield wiper worked(and man, did it down pour)the front end shimmied the whole trip and the brakes made a whole lot of noise but the car stopped only OK! The V8 had no problems going through the mountains of Pa, Va, WVa but, when she be commin down the mountain, the smell reminded me of when I would visit my welding buddies...OK, I'm still here aren't I?

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

Back in the mid-nineties, I drove a '71 Duster all over the West and a lot of the South and Midwest--road trips of 1500 miles or more. Slant-six and manual everything. One-barrel carb with one vacuum line. Electronics: lights, ignition, gauges, radio, blower fan, wipers. I traveled with a toolbox, extra fluids, a drain pan, and the spare parts I could change myself by the side of the road.

It only got close to quitting on me once, coming off the Ozarks into Talequah, OK on a trip from Indiana to Colorado by way of El Paso. I swapped on my spare carb at a convenience store, but that didn't help. Finally had to call a shop, and they put in a set of points and sent me on my way. I carried new points and condensor after that. Besides crawling underneath to pump fluid into the trans when the tailshaft was leaking, the only other roadside fix I can remember was changing the water pump at a motel in St. Paul, MN (Colorado to Mississippi by way of St. Paul).

I have some great memories and saw a lot of the country with that car. I remember cruising right by another Duster that was smoking and wheezing its way up Vail Pass. The driving experience definitely included an awareness of the surroundings that you don't get with air conditioning and cruise control, especially places like the Mojave, or Memphis at 90 degrees.

It cost me $250. I sold it for $300 and traded up in 1998 to an '87 Caprice cop car with air and cruise, which I drove about the same way. Amazing how much less exhausted I was after a long day in the Chevy. Driving that Duster was a physical activity. One guy told me that car didn't owe me a dime; I owed it money. Somebody else said they would have to shoot it on judgment day.

 

[CharBaby]

Rhym,
Great story! The more I think about my trip, the more that comes to mind about that week. Not only about the car(which I slept in one of those nights) but, about the whole week I spent in by the ocean.

Been to the ocean many times since but have treveled better and stayed in nicer places.

Myrtle Beach was the first place I had an all-you-can-eat buffet. I had never heard of one til that time. There are other parts of that vacation that I can't speek of here!

 

[wander2039]

Wow impressive examples! I hate to say the old Aspire won't be making the trip in April. Just haven't had it long enough to trust it. And seeing that it has been hit in the front and back and repaired with alot of silicon. Maybe next year or October if we go again. Is that the key? Looks like quite a few on here has owned the car a while before taking off?

 

[rslifkin]

Yeah, having some history with the vehicle is key. It gives you a better idea of what its quirks and issues are, and what kind of problems you're likely to have.

 

[ted s]

i still drive my 66 newport from Albany NY to columbus OH every year. Well maybe not this yr since the motor is on the engine stand..

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

Originally Posted By: rslifkin
Yeah, having some history with the vehicle is key. It gives you a better idea of what its quirks and issues are, and what kind of problems you're likely to have.


Exactly. I had spare parts to carry because I had replaced them. I also knew who owned the car before me, and spent plenty of time doing maintenance and repairs when I wasn't traveling.

I slept in the car quite a few nights, too. Not super comfortable, but easier than pitching a tent in the dark and cheaper than a motel. Every now and then I would splurge on a $25 room off Rt. 66 somewhere.

 

[antonmnster]

I drove my 85 Saab Turbo from Minnesota to San Fran, including a jaunt across Hwy 50. Drove it up Hwy 1 up to Vancouver, then back down to Seattle and finally back to MN. Took 6 weeks for the trip and drive about 7500 miles. I changed the oil once at my brother's place in CA and also the water pump.

I slept in the car most nights I was on the road, including letting it idle all night so I could have some AC. It had about 160,000 miles at the start of the trip. The only annoyance was it's 3-spd auto trans... It buzzed at over 4000 rpm the whole time on the interstate. It was smooth, but not exactly relaxed.

 

[M1Accord]

I am looking for someone to take a ride with me from Northern Virginia to Atlanta for a product delivery. I would love to be able to split the gas bill in half. Normally, I won't sweat the gas cost much but I plan on driving my 94 Bronco with 6 inches suspension lift. I am looking at 10 miles to a gallon fuel economy with its oversize tires and 5.8 liter engine. This would be a great opportunity to test the old girl out.

 

[Benzadmiral]

In late '01 I piloted my '86 Mercedes 420SEL, the big W126 sedan, from Denver to New Orleans in a three-day trip when I moved back here. The car was about 15 years old and had about 170,000 miles on it when I finished. The previous owner, and I, had maintained the car well. So, no problems at all; and the big beast clocked up another 28K over the next 3 years until it was totaled.