How far have you driven your newly aquired car/truck?

[LilD]

So Im rather adventurous, or stupid sometimes, and have found some potential trucks for my daily driver. The local scene for older trucks is limited but going out beyond state lines nets a bunch of options. So how far have you driven your new old cars?

 

[Willowbilly3]

When I bought my 1969 Ford F250 crew cab in 2003, I got it over the internet and it was 2000 miles away. By the time I got there it was 6-7 months and it hadn't been started. I knew my 96 F150 wouldn't pull it so I jumped the F150 on the trailer and hooked it behind the old 69 and took off from Yakima to east Texas. After I got the bad gas ran out of it, it ran perfect all the way home.

 

[Flipper_1938]

We like to play the drive far away and bring something back game too!

The tank motor and one of the Jag motors came from upstate new York. One of the 52 mercedes came from New York the other came from Michigan. The firetrucks came from Georgia, Kansas, Colorado and Tennessee. The Dodge came from Kansas too. The wheels for the dodge came from colorado. The headers for the flatbed came from michigan. The jag parts car for roofus came from Arkansas.

I drove to New Mexico to buy a rust free, dent free chevy truck from the desert...when I got there, it was a rusty, gun -shot POS. I drove home empty.

 

[dmw56]

I drove my 68 Mustang over 1000 miles and my70 AMX over 1500 miles and stopped at every gas station!

 

[the reverend muddy grimes]

The 20 miles from where I found it in a field "Ran when parked" to my house where I started taking it apart. It ran well, but topped out at 45 and blew a tire on the highway.

 

[Krooser]

Several years ago i bought a '55 F100 that had been parked about 20 years... I busted my tail to get it ready for Back To The Fifties in St. Paul but had lots of fuel pump problems. When I figured out it had sand in the original gas tank, i put a 6 gallon marine tank in the cab and i headed off to BTTF's... the truck has only been running about an hour when I took off.

My buddies thought I was crazy.... what's the worst that can happen?...having to tow it home? So what!

Drove it for four days before the ign. condensor died... bought a new one and drove it home. Put on about 600 miles that weekend.

 

[Sam_Fear]

Drove my 63 F100, bought off e-bay, from Omaha to home 300 mi. Had to tighten up the wandering front end before I left. It had a "new" rear end, but could only go 55. Lost the exhaust at about 100 mi. A week after I got it home the "new" rear end exploded - hadn't been adjusted.

 

[LilD]

Wow! You fellas put some miles on em right away. Awesome! I just found "the one" about 300 miles from my place. 1970 C10 with outstanding patina. Only mechanical issue is a small leak in the heater core. Not gonna be able to do anything until next weekend though. Hopefully its still up for grabs then.

 

[Rat'l Trap]

Mine was locked up when my son and SIL-to-be went to pick it up about 50 miles south. Uhaul trailer on the interstate is about as close to driving my truck has been in 30 years. Envy is oozing from every pore on me.

 

[sneakysnake]

Never been that optimistic.LOL I did drag one home with the clutch for brakes and a pair of Vise Grips clamped on the shaft for a steering wheel.

 

[PhilJohnson]

I bought this thing about a month ago for 600 bucks. It is a 1965 F100 with a 300 six and three speed. I think it was last registered in 2001 but I would have to look at the old plates to be sure. The guy who had it did a little brake work so it would stop and that was about it. The truck had been used to putt around a few miles here and there. I drove to the next state about 150 miles to get it. I blew a brake line in Rochester Mn but luckily it happened in a parking lot while it was parked. I replaced any line that was questionable but there was one line that I couldn't get off from the wheel cylinder in the rear axle. I wound up pounding a line shut and went to my friend's house which was near by and fixed it right the next morning. Since getting it home I have changed the oil, replaced the spark plugs, and had one of the very weather checked tires blow out on me. It has been my daily driver since getting it home.

Last year I drove a 63 Rambler Classic as a daily for the whole summer and then part of the fall. It too was in Minnesota. The guy had fixed up the brakes and replaced the carb. The car had a tired 196 six cylinder with a zillion miles on it. The car had quit running two years prior and the PO thought it needed a fuel pump. I had a spare pump for a 196 laying around so I bought it along. I also brought along a chain and another battery just in case. When I arrived to look at the car some 120 miles away I put in a couple of gallons of gas and tried starting it. To my amazement it started right up. After checking the tires and the fluids I gave the guy 500 bucks and I was off. I drove it all the way home without any problem what so ever. I did wind up changing all the tires (with free ones ). I would always make sure I had a good spare. I blew every single one. The generator went out which costed me 15 bucks to fix. The car had a wicked oil consumption problem (one quart every 80-100 miles). After a while I got lazy and started dumping a few extra quarts over capacity. Unfortunately I think it sped up the engine's demise and it blew up after 8000 miles of chronically being over filled.

I bought a 54 Packard that had been sitting for a long time a few years ago. It wasn't that far away (15 miles or so) but it was probably the least road worthy out of the old wrecks I've driven home. The brakes worked (amazingly). I don't think it had been on the road in over 20 years when I bought it. The guy I bought if from acquired it from a renter who traded the car for his rent payment. The guy wanted to scrap it I decided it was well worth the 400 bucks he was asking for it. He put in a battery and the car sputtered a few times. Tried it a few more times and then the car was running great. I took it out on a short test drive to make sure everything was ok. The brakes stopped, the car didn't wobble or anything. I drove it home but didn't quite make it. I was a mile away when the car sputtered to a stop. The car had ran out of gas. I pulled it home the rest of the way. I wound up giving the car to my Dad but now I wish I would have kept it. It is a nice driving car. I do sneak in a drive every now and again though