I was at my shop today when I started speaking to a gentleman whose '65 Mustang had died on him on a freeway (carburation problem). With cars zipping by and angry drivers honking, he siad it was a very scary experience.

Anyway, I got to wondering how dependable are your rides? On the whole, do vintage Mustangs break down very often? Are you confident enoughin your car to take it on a long trip? What are the most common arears of vulnerbility/breakdowns for our 'Stangs?

 

the only non-confidance in my car is that its 41 years old. if you think about it tho, our engines are very simple. no electronics, not coil packs, no oxygen sensors etc

if your car dies its usually a major failure or in my case...

i went into downtown seattle and at the time b4 i had low-jack my ghetto saftey system was to take the plug from distributor to coil. well when i came back and hooked them back up, i didnt quite hook it into the distributor enough. needless to say it popped off half way home, car died.

also gotta watch out for hoses that are weak and about to fail. just other normal car stuff, fluid levels, fuses, belts, etc

otherwise when talking to ppl their not that much to go wrong since they are so simple. my mom yells at me about this same thing tho. my dad had a 70 mach 1 with 351c that he sold (damn him[:@]) and said/says same thing, not much to really go wrong as long as u keep up with usual maintenance

 

I saw a brand new Viper stranded on the side of the road, that made me feel sooooooooooooo good.

 

It's reliable only had need carb rebuild and valve adjusting, however my mech skills and lack of quick parts even an autozone makes when she of the road longer!!

 

Let me see....my stang is 40 years old and has been runninglonger than any other car I have ever owned. Requires only cheap, basic maintainance for daily driving. Gonna have to side with the stang for longevity and dependability at this point.

 

I have been on long trips without problems. New cars break down too as in mine three weeks old dead on the side of the road (computer). But at least the classics seem to be easier to diagnos and repair a bit faster. Most of them have a problem sooner or later. The fact that mine are about 40 years old meansit hasnt been to bad.

 

I've had my '68 fastback for 13 years. Driving her at least 12K miles per year until 2001 when I married into more cars. I've had to call a tow truck 4 times for things bigger than what I could fix on the side of the road. (got T-boned, stripped tranny drum, lost oil pressure/spun bearings, busted axle bearing) Otherwise, if you take care of your car, she'll take care of you. Everything is so simple, there's less to go wrong and if it does, all you need are simple tools.

Now, I've got lots of cars to choose from, but I'm still more inclined to take one of my oldies whether I'm going on a long trip or just to the grocery store.

 

The only three times my car didn't start/died.
1. The wire from coil to dizzy came loose (my fault like above I didn't get it on good).
2. Starter was bad/plugs were all fouled and couldn't make a spark (again my fault, should have looked at that stuff when I got the stang. Now I change plugs every year.)
3.Somehow my brake pedal was engaged and I didn't notice the brake lights were on all night. Drained the battery. Hooked it up to the durango and vroom vroom off I went. So nothing major, and I got it running each time (not counting replacing the starter) in no time!

 

clogged fuel filter, due to gas tank rusting away which has been fixed - a quick side-of-the-road fix
cooked starter a couple times, due to headers and no heat shielding - thank god for lifetime autozone warranty
thats about it cept for normal stuff like belts and hoses.

my dads M II with a 2.3 used to throw rocker arms once in a while (when he revved the crap outta it) - so he only had permatex on one side of the gasket and he kept a speed wrench and a large screwdriver with him. if it popped off, he'd yank the cover and pop that sucker back in there. literally a 5 minute fix LOL

 

Mine is really reliable. If something is going to happen that will leave me on the edge of the road it always give me a weeks notice or more. The only real issue I had was a heater core and a stuck float once.

I wouldnt trust my car on a long trip today because I think I have a bent axle but once that is taken care of then sure I would.

Gun