Cars from 40's, 50's and 60's (F150, vehicle, Germany, auto)

[Dave 92 LSC]

I've driven 70s cars and owned a 73 Lincoln Mark IV for a year.

I am curious for those who have driven cars from 40s or 50s or 60s. I am interested in each decade.
If you could describe their characteristics, that would be great.
I am interested in, Handling, steering, brakes, power, ROAD NOISE, body/chassis rigidity.
Would a car from any of those decades be usable today for daily basis, why and why not.

AS for my 73 Mark IV. It was pristine and I wish I still had it, but I lacked proper storage ability so it had to go. It was pretty but thats about it. Grossly underpowered with its 460. Marginal brakes, horrible handling unless you call going straight in uncontrolled manner handling. Small inside, huge outside. It was outrageous in an American was and I love it for that. I miss it.

[mshultz]

1966 Chevrolet Malibu wagon.
Handling: Poor by today's standards, but predictable and forgiving without the need of stability control. Predictable and forgiving handling is a must in the snow belt.
Steering: Poor. 4.3 turns lock-to-lock, and little road feel. Variable-ratio steering was introduced in 1970 on GM intermediates. Cadillac had it since 1966, along with a dual-chamber master cylinder.
Brakes: Poor. Disk brakes were not offered on GM intermediates until 1967, along with dual-chamber master cylinders. This meant that when a brake line rusted out, you had no brakes. Parking brakes typically stopped working by then, and were not repaired.
Power: Poor. This was a 283V8 with Powerglide transmission. My parents' 1966 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with its 320 hp V8 was said to be quite responsive, though.
Road Noise: Noisy. It was a station wagon. The 1966 Cutlass Supreme sedan was said to be quieter. Plus the 330 V8 was uncommonly smooth and quiet. Even the Buick Electra 225s and Cadillacs of the 1960s were nothing special in terms of road noise. I did get to ride in a 1972 Buick Electra. It was impressively quiet. From the limited sound data I have been able to find, my subcompact Buick Encore is just as quiet.
Body/Chassis Rigidity: Poor by today's standards.
Daily Driver: No. Even when these vehicles were new, they were unreliable rust buckets.

[leadfoot4]

My father wasn't really a "car guy", but over time, I rubbed off on him, and he cultivated a semi-interest in cars. In 1967, he bought a brand new Chevy Camaro, and the following year, I took my drivers test in that car, and later managed to get a hold of it for "Sunday drives", with my then-girlfriend.

For it's time, it was a fairly nimble, fairly comfortable, and somewhat peppy car, even though it had only a 6 cylinder engine. A few years later, when I was buying my own cars, I owned later model Camaros and Firebirds, and they were far more nimble, than that '67, and since I went with bigger V-8s, much quicker.

But like everything else, vehicles, in general, have evolved over the years, and my '01 Corvette is "light years" ahead of my earlier cars. For that matter, even my Jeep Grand Cherokee, even though it's not exactly nimble, by today's standards, is a very good daily driver/road trip cruiser, and somewhat "sportier" than that early Camaro....

[volosong]

The only automobile I owned of this vintage was a 1959 Mercedes Benz 190B. Today, it would be considered an E-class model. It was comfortable and spacious. With a 4-cylindar gasoline engine and four-speed transmission with the shift lever on the steering column, it drove and handled well. Plenty of power. Had a huge trunk.

Best part is that you could actually work on it yourself. Mechanically, it was very simple and there was more room in the engine compartment than actual engine. You could see and access everything.

Would still be a practical auto in today's world, but probably not recommended for lengthy trips of more than several hundred miles.

However, all was not perfect. Even though it had the latest "technology" of its day, (for example, an idiot light that came on when you were low on fuel), it was built before the days when they understood "flow through air ventilation" and "sound insulation". It was horrible to drive in the hot summers because you have to have the windows down, (which was not enjoyable on the freeway).

I miss that ol' Benz. It was totalled one day when while on a four-lane highway, somebody pulled out in front of me, (cross traffic), and I couldn't evade nor stop in time. All other cars/trucks I've owned were built in 1970 or later.

[HeartNox18]

I think you'll miss power steering and power (disc) brakes, and ride and handling quality.

I like to drive vintage but it comes at a cost.

PS, Disc Brakes, and rack and pinion steering were pretty big improvements.

As were Alternators, Fuel injection, Electronic ignition, electric windshield wipers, radial tires....


1968 brought emission controls. Then the detuned motors followed through the 90's
Late 50's early 60's were the 'sweet spot', but some pretty big cars.

Find a model that had a continuous run of engines that will drop in. And steering and rake geometry that bridged over to avail you to swap parts with a newer car. Each brand has potential body styles in the late 50's and early 60's that make it easy to do powertrain and suspension / brake swaps with later models.

For early 1950s and earlier, I think you will want something with a Ford flathead V-8 for performance and available parts and service. There were some really comfortable interiors in the early cars.

[selhars]

Ah, yes. The days of roll-up/down windows, AM radio, no power steering or brakes, no AC....bank front seats, gears on the steering column, and no seat belts!! Heck, not even a cassette player!)

A Chevy II, Chevy Nova (both new) and a VW Beetle (used).

None had power steering. The Beatle was a stick-shift. Trunk in the front.

NO ELECTRONICS and I loved them both. Thought each for their own reasons was the perfect car for me at the time. Missed those cars for the longest time.

[marlinfshr]

Originally Posted by Dave 92 LSC

AS for my 73 Mark IV. It was pristine and I wish I still had it, but I lacked proper storage ability so it had to go. It was pretty but thats about it. Grossly underpowered with its 460. Marginal brakes, horrible handling unless you call going straight in uncontrolled manner handling. Small inside, huge outside. It was outrageous in an American was and I love it for that. I miss it.

Years ago, about 90', I bought a 460 out of a 74 Lincoln to replace the blown "boat anchor" 351M that was in my 79' Bronco. Compared to the 351, the 460 had a lot more power but in the overall scheme of things, it was very weak and anemic. Not much power at all. But I swear my gas gauge needle would move to the left as the speedometer needle would move to the right! The 70's were a bad time for power and performance. Big V8's that didn't pack much punch!

Some may disagree but I feel the 70's were really the first decade in which one could have a reliable and comfortable vehicle for day to day driving and I'd have no problem doing a cross country drive in one, if it was restored as a driver. Vehicles by then had power steering, power brakes, front disc brakes, electronic ignition, seatbelts, AC, intermittent wipers and some even had power windows/locks. But there would still be quirks such as wind noise, rattles, squeaks, clunks, poor brakes, drafty vent windows, etc.

But that all adds character IMO! If that's not enough of a reason, then spend less and get a modern vehicle from the early 2000's (yes, I call that modern) and call it a day. Or new if that's in the budget.

I'm looking for a 78/79 Bronco/F150 as a toy but would love a 57 Chevy as well. (My wallet says I can't get either right now, but I can dream) The truck would be fine with only personal mods for me (tires/susp, motor) but I feel a car like a 57 would need a bit more to "modernize" it to 70's/80's standards. It would probably need a rebuild anyway so might as well put a 70's/80's Chevy "tweaked" 350, auto trans, a ford rear, AC, power brakes, disc brakes, power steering and a few other things to bring it highway worthy for our modern times.

Or scratch the AC on the 57 and just get a convertible! Hey, if I'm gonna dream, might as well dream.....so make it a 59 Caddi Coup De Ville convertible then. I like the tail fin era!

[Stylo]

It's a good time to buy cars from that era, excluding the super rare and desirable cars like Ferrari's, Aston Martin's, etc.

I had a chat with a classic car dealer locally (we have several that deal in super high end vintage cars), and the audience that gravitated toward that era is aging out. They are selling their cars and values aren't holding.

I haven't driven anything from that era, but would love to!

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by mshultz

1966 Chevrolet Malibu wagon.
Handling: Poor by today's standards, but predictable and forgiving without the need of stability control. Predictable and forgiving handling is a must in the snow belt.
Steering: Poor. 4.3 turns lock-to-lock, and little road feel. Variable-ratio steering was introduced in 1970 on GM intermediates. Cadillac had it since 1966, along with a dual-chamber master cylinder.
Brakes: Poor. Disk brakes were not offered on GM intermediates until 1967, along with dual-chamber master cylinders. This meant that when a brake line rusted out, you had no brakes. Parking brakes typically stopped working by then, and were not repaired.
Power: Poor. This was a 283V8 with Powerglide transmission. My parents' 1966 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with its 320 hp V8 was said to be quite responsive, though.
Road Noise: Noisy. It was a station wagon. The 1966 Cutlass Supreme sedan was said to be quieter. Plus the 330 V8 was uncommonly smooth and quiet. Even the Buick Electra 225s and Cadillacs of the 1960s were nothing special in terms of road noise. I did get to ride in a 1972 Buick Electra. It was impressively quiet. From the limited sound data I have been able to find, my subcompact Buick Encore is just as quiet.
Body/Chassis Rigidity: Poor by today's standards.
Daily Driver: No. Even when these vehicles were new, they were unreliable rust buckets.

Yes, the good thing was that they were simple to work on, but the bad thing was that they always needed attention. Nowadays a car might go 100k miles without a tuneup. Back then at 100k miles the car might be heading for the junkyard.

[recycled]

I learned to drive in 1970 in the four cars that my dad had in the "fleet" - '56 Chrysler Imperial, '56 Chrysler New Yorker, '56 Desoto Firedome and '61 Chrysler Newport. At any one time, only two of the four were typically in running order. Many components were interchangeable on the 1956 Chryslers or the Desoto, so sometimes a part would get removed from one to get the other running, until he could find a suitable replacement part from one of several junkyards. All of these cars had automatic transmissions with push button gear selection!

All of these mid-20th century Chryslers were big and heavy cars. Handling and braking were sub-par, but when they were rolling along the highway the hemi V8 did a good job. The trunk space was massive. Once I learned to parallel park these behemoths, the rest of learning to drive was pretty easy.

Later I owned a few cars from the 1960s and 70s, but none were nearly as big as the Mopar fleet. I had a 64 Ford Falcon Futura, which was mechanically almost a twin of the first edition Ford Mustang. In the mid-1970s, I spent 4 years in Germany when I was in the US Army. I had a '62 VW Beetle that I drove all over West Germany and many nearby countries whenever I had leave. Later when I returned to the USA, I had a '72 Saab 99, not such a great car but it got me around for a few years.