For those who thought I had given up, no such luck.
Well, I am six plus months into using the 1961 Herald as a daily driver.
For a little background, I bought Old Weird last March with 83,500 miles on
her. Since then I have averaged over 100 miles a day 5 days per week (long
commute) with no major problems. It was down for about a week and a half,
but that was caused by my lack of pre planning on ordering parts. I thought
I had everything in hand to rebuild the rear drive shafts only to tear into
it and find that I need more parts that were only available from England.
Oh well. One time I was nearly stranded, up a helpful, if grossly
overpriced, out of town shop came to the rescue and installed an electric
fuel pump which allowed me to get home. The most surprising thing has been
the availability of parts locally. Other than the rear axle parts the local
NAPA store has been able to get almost everything I have needed. On
Independence Day the master brake cylinder gave out and I called a fellow
who runs a local LBC shop. Sure as heck, not only was in he in on the
holiday, but he happened to have a spare rebuild kit on the shelf. I was
back on the road within two hours. That was very lucky indeed. Otherwise,
it has been just gas and oil changes.
The odometer gave out recently, so I am unable to say with certainty exactly
how many miles but it presently shows 98,800 and there has been a round trip
to Chicago (400 miles), a 96 mile daily commute and twice a week trips to
out of town football games with the sons various teams (the local field is
being rebuilt so all of the games are "on the road" this year. None are
less than 30 miles with 50 being about the average each way.) I am guessing
it is about 105,000 now.
Observations. Well, the gas tank is too small. I end up filling up at
least every other day and EVERYBODY insist on passing the funny little car.
(Sometimes in dangerous situations.) The seats both have a bar right at the
point my fat butt sits which can get very uncomfortable on a long drive and
the water temperature seems to be strictly ambient temperature dependent.
(When it's hot out the car runs hot, when it's cold out it barely warms up.)
Otherwise it has been very predictable. I put in a half quart of oil every
other fill up. (400 miles, the trip odometer still works) and have been
experimenting with various oils. (So far, I like Valvoleen high mileage
special. It seems to have cut consumption slightly and is much cheaper than
the synthetics. ) The gas mileage has been consistently between 32 and 34
MPG and a new set of tires last summer ended up costing less than the kids
tennis shoes :). I still do not understand how someone can sell new radial
tires for less than $20 per corner. Considering that the gas consumption is
almost double the previous daily driver and I have been able to do almost
all of the work myself, it has been a fantastic deal financially.
It has started countless conversations and you never confuse it with another
car in a big parking lot. All in all, it has so far been a very successful
experiment. I wish it were faster and "cushier" but otherwise it has been
nearly perfect. I am encouraging everyone to "drive them like a modern."
Let us just hope that the one year report is as positive. A Midwestern
winter might be the real acid test. Wish me luck. :)
kg
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