I drove my 66 coupe into town this morning to have the VIN number inspected (old out-of-state registration) and to get it registered. Afterwards I drove it into work. After owning and working on the car for over a year now, this was my first trip more that a mile from my house. The whole way in I was a nervous wreck. I couldn't keep my throttle foot from shaking. Does anyone else get anxious during thefirst voyage? If so how long does it last? It doesn't help that I my '94 F150 blew a rear main engine seal a couple months ago orthat myMazda lost it's coolant coming home from a Christmas party.

I still need to do some tuning. The temp and oil pressure stay where they're supposed to be, but it does stall sometimes at idle and can be a trick to start after it sits a couple hours, but not overnight.

 

Mine has 74,000 original miles and has not gone more than 50 miles from its garage in over 14 years. 12 with my Dad and 2 with me. I still get scared after 2,000 miles in 2 years. Mine is not a ground up restoration. The 1st day I had it the radiator blew, the transmission crapped out last year, a few months ago it developedout of the bluean electrecal problem that made it stall after 20 minutes (since fixed).

There is a huge 3,000 + Car's Car Show about 105 miles from my house every year. Last year I vowed to take the Mustang next year. I chickened out and drove my dailey driver. A few nights ago while out cruising the neighborhood my accelerator spring snapped. Had I gone to the show I would have been on a large bridge when it snapped.

I'm sure a lot of guys who have more knowledge than me have restored thier cars to very dependable drivers. I love mine but keep it close to home and am happy when I get back.

 

Ha! I thought I was the only one. My first trip was driving the car home from where I bought it, about 15 miles.My foot was shaking really bad and luckily it was cold out and the heater didn't work so my friend riding with me thought it was just the cold. Uh huh. I didn't let on.

 

my first trip i had no seats, and no shifter. i drove to the autoparts store sitting on a bag of fertilizer, holding the steering wheel with one hand and the shifter linkage (thru the hole in the floorboard) with the other hand.

i loved every minute of it

 

Last time I felt confident about driving mine jumped atooth on the timing chain. Got one I'm putting together now and goal is to put as many new parts as I canso that I can feel confident driving anywhere.

 

i have owned and built my 70 for the past 4 years. I know its history for 10 years prior to that... I STILL am terrified to take it anywhere... but that doesnt stop me.

 

Let me guess Ford Carlisle or OC cruise?

My first voyage after my 1 1/2 restoration was a 3 hour trip (OC cruise)with only one stop for gas. I was a bit nerves, ok anxious is more like it. I packed everything you could imagine justto ward off anyevil spirits. The best part was is that she made it there and back with no problems

 

I think it as a adventure every time I take my 67 Coupe out , I always have my cell with me. I gone as far as 40 miles from home andwasnervous the whole time. Hopefully as time goes on I will get more relaxed .I dread the thoughts of going to show and breaking down.

 

OrangeGTCS : It was O/C. Unbelievable how many nice cars were there. I saw one being loaded on a roll back and two at the inlet that were leaking antifreeze all over the parking lot.

 

I think that is all part of driving a classic. Hell, I put a complete new motor in mine but, after about 2 months, it broke a dist gear. Fixed that and it did it again. fixed again and it did it once more. It always breaks at exactly the same location on the road. Now, every time I go past that spot, I'm holding my breath, crossing my fingers and listening for every little noise . You can't say it's boring to drive a classic.