Daily driving a stunning vintage Fiat or other classic car.

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Drove all 3 of these to work regularly. Had a DeLorean...same thing. If you don't drive it, it's just a trophy.
 
I might have found a way to protect a "stunning vintage Fiat" while daily driving it.


Just build one of these cages around it....
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The X1/9 was sold as a daily driver unlike many other current day sports cars. If mine was located out west instead of the DC metro area I am sure I would be driving it every day.
 
ecohen2 said:
The X1/9 was sold as a daily driver unlike many other current day sports cars.
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To be fair, a lot of daily drivers from the 70's are not really up to the task in today's traffic and commutes. But I'm not saying the X won't do it, it really depends on the individual's situation and conditions. Does "daily driving" mean 5 minutes down a nice road (like in rural areas), or 2-3 hours in heavy stop and go traffic (like in L.A.)?
 
addictedpunk said:
I’m getting tired of my hometown
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Sorry to go a bit off topic, but in a way it applies to the question...what is considered a daily commute.

Having spent my entire life in So Cal I never gave too much thought to what my daily work commute was; 1+ hours each way, freeway stop and go congestion. Then a couple years back I was obligated to move to another state for family matters. The traffic here isn't great but nothing like So Cal. After being here full time for awhile, and returning to So Cal for business now and then, I really notice just how bad it is there (as "punk" says). Naturally it wasn't always that bad, but things gradually got worse over the years. And being a gradual change it really wasn't noticed - you just adapt. Now I can't imagine ever returning to all of the congestion (traffic and living in general) despite loving my prior life there. I guess some things just aren't worth the price.

The point is, I might be more inclined to drive my collector cars here than there due to the traffic conditions. However there are other factors that affect the decision; although the traffic here isn't nearly as bad, the drivers are actually worse so accidents are much more frequent (and I don't want to subject my cars to all the idiots). Also the weather here is a major factor. It is so unbearably hot most of the year that vintage cars cannot cope...and that applies to the AC as well as the engine. So traffic isn't the only consideration to what constitutes a commute and if you want to drive your X daily.
 
I think LA should be an outlier. I've only spent a week there in high school so no real experience. But by all accounts it sounds like the worst daily commuting environment in the US.

My commute is 45 minutes across Metro Detroit with 30 min of it being interstate if the ap suggests it. I dont plan to drive the X daily for this commute, ever. If I moved out to Livonia (for the locals) and commute to work, that drive would be very pleasant as it follows like 10 miles of curvy state park roads in the middle of the city. We would like to move there in the next couple years. In that case I might have to change registration to non historical.
 
Might I suggest eastern Kentucky as one of the prime places to own an X?

Small population, very twisty roads with elevation and the weather doesn’t suffer the extremes of other areas. Freakout will be there next year so it would be a great way to try it on for size.
 
I believe another benefit to being a Fiat owner in Kentucky is an abundance of Bourbon, to help cope with Fiat ownership. :D
 
Well, since you are looking for the ideal environment, don't forget to make sure cell coverage is adequate to call for the rollback.

Imagine similar conversations in the 1970s, "I love to commute in my 124 sedan but wonder about making my restored Ford Model T as a daily driver".
 
I have daily driven a Fiat in multiple locations over many years. First, in my high school years it was my 74 X. Only issue I ever had was I let the Clutch fluid run out. Opps. Later in life, I daily drove my Fiat 128 Rally to work all the time. Three years straight, a good 35 minutes of 65mph on the highway. Only issues I had was: 1 flat tire on the highway, 1 broken clutch cable, 1 head gasket (It made it home though!) Lived in Phoenix for three years and daily drove an 81 X with no AC. It was an awesome car which I still kick myself for selling. Had some truely epic road trips with my wife in it driving from Phoenix to Washington State to visit family. Drove a Fiat 124 Sport Coupe for awhile as well, no issues with it. In fact, I ended up giving it to a friend who drove it for probably a year before he took it to the junk yard where they bought it. About six months later, a town probably 300 miles away called him and said he needed to pick up his car. Turns out the junk yard never transferred the title and someone stole the car out of the yard! haha.... Today, I daily drive a Fiat 500, but that probably doesn't count, does it!

Of all the Fiats I have daily driven, I enjoyed the 128 the most. Good seating position, able to fit a couple of people in it, and it was fun and had a lot of spirit. Super easy to work on and every time I got into it, I found myself grinning like a mad man.

Ciao.
 
I try to drive my’78 x as much as possible through the summer months. I have an ‘03 bmw with nice leather sport seats and a/c, but for some strange reason, I prefer to drive my X!! It’s noisy, stinky, no sound system. In dire need of a paint job(tremclad satin black now!!!) No cup holder for my morning coffee(i still manage!!) i think I smile all the way to and from work(until someone almost takes me out’cuz they don’t look properly). Cars are meant to be driven and enjoyed!!
 
I have tried to be quiet, but I am not successful. I bought a very low mileage X1/9 (less than 25,000). I drove that car as a daily driver and the car now has almost 90,000 miles and belongs to my son.
I bought another very low mileage X1/9 (less than 7,000) to replace the one I gave my son. I drove this car daily until the effort to get out of the car is not worth it. Now I drive the car to events and maybe 3 days a month to work.

To summarize. The drive hell out of any car you own as long as you can. The car getting older is not as important as the owner getting older.
 
A friend once told me” having a nice car and not driving it, is like having a really hot girlfriend/boyfriend and not having sex so they’re are unspoiled for the next person”
 
Dr.Jeff said:
I think the biggest risk would be parking lot dings, rock chips, fender benders, and such. I go to great lengths to protect all of my vehicles from those hazards, but they still happen. Like Karl suggests, it is impossible to predict the behavior of stupid people...and there are a LOT of them out there. It might depend on where you live (traffic, congestion, attitudes, roads, mentality). Also how often you are willing to pay to have those blemishes removed.
As far as actually driving it though, isn't that what it's made for? However one factor I might add to your list of criteria (weather, etc) is having the flexibility to be late getting somewhere in the occasional event the car lets you down.
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Parking lot commandos is my biggest concern.
About a week ago one got my wife's car on the left rear fender.

Over the years I have had several dings caused by those thoughtless imbeciles.
A couple of them I caught in the act and the rest managed to slink away with out owning up to their mistake.
I have had a car that was parked out by it's self at the end of an empty parking lot get hit.

The chance of a traffic mishaps is something that helps me keep my blood pressure up.
I live in a tourist town and I am convinced that the people coming here on vacation brains have taken a vacation in a different part of the country so I am constantly on the look out for some nit wit.
Had to lock the brakes to the point of squalling tires twice yesterday for cars pulling out in front of me while I was out running errands.

Got home and swore never to go out again but later that evening talked myself into taking my sweetheart for pie and ice cream at a little restaurant about 15 miles out of town.

A nice little stretch of turns (some tight) on the way and lucked out with no other cars in sight.
On the way back was the same and this is where driving vintage tin can be a problem.

I was laying into a fairly hard right turn when I hears a pop!
Didn't feel anything and the car kept going smooth and handled the rest of the turns fine but I am going to have to make time to go over the car looking for ant visible cracks or what ever.

Five or six years ago I was pushing my X pretty hard and luckily it waited until I got in my driveway for the left radius rod to break letting the tire move back against the fender well.






Dr.Jeff said:
There have been many times when I wished I was driving a big heavy beater that wasn't in my name so I could ram the hell out another car and walk away. :mad:
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There is a W.C. Fields movie called Road hog where he buys a fleet of cars and crashes into other cars he deems to be offensive.
I understand your feelings Dr Jeff but we must curb those thoughts and remember our Hippocratic oath lest we become no better than those that irritate us.
However rather than crashing into the other car and then having to walk home I think a couple of silkworm missiles mounted on each fender and puncture proof tires for driving over the debris would be more efficient.
I have read a couple of SiFi's where highway duels are the norm in the future kind of like old wast gunfights.

Here is a clip from The field movie.
 
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