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I call this my experiment, my attempt at having a classic for a daily driver.
Living in Florida, I don't have to worry about the harsh winters I was accustom to growing up in the Northeast. Yet since moving south I've always kept one SUV or another. I also had a 1969 Corvette 427 Convertible I could drive for fun. Before getting married and having kids it got a lot of use. Shows, meets, or just cruising, I probably put about 5k miles per year. Priorities changed after having my children, and the wife was a hard no on a car seat in it. My friends all said don't sell it, you'll regret it later, so I kept it tucked under its cover, running it occasionally, then infrequently, then not much at all. Then one day I decided to fire it up to go for a drive and it wouldn't start. It had been sitting so long the gas had gummed the carb. It was then I realized it was time to sell.
It started to eat at me about a month after it was sold so I started thinking of what I could do. It was also time to change out my daily driver. Somewhere along the way I came across an article on Hagerty about having a classic for a daily driver. Eureka! A solution to my woes. The late 60s and early 70s is perhaps my favorite era for classics and after flirting with a mid 60s Impala, soon settled on the 69-72 Cutlass. IMHO they have the best styling of all of the A-Bodies of that era and they also typically have more of the options I would want. For me, the car had to be a convertible, have A/C, automatic and other power options. Oh, and a backseat for the kids.
Eventually I found this 1971 Viking Blue 442 and fell in love. The ram air hood and white stripes really make the car. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't a fixer upper either. It seemed just right for being a daily driver. It's a real 442 with many power options including A/C, PB, PS, PW, His/Her Hurst Shifter, and cruise control. The car came with a big folder of docs from the previous owner who has passed away. Looks like he had for a good 15 years but probably only put on about 3k miles.
I absolutely love driving the car. No matter where I go I always seem to get a compliment, a reminisce, or a smile. Best of all, my kids, especially my son, love the car too. They want Daddy to take them or pick them up from school in Big Blue. The wife, well, she thought I was joking about it when I first showed her the picture so she said she played along. Oh well! A story for another time.
So far the car has been pretty good as a daily driver. It's been running a little hot but hope to have that resolved soon. My half hour commute is so much more pleasurable and I end up at my office before I know it. I'm only a couple months into the experiment and the corona shutdown has put a serious crimp in my driving. Time will tell if my experience is a success or failure.
So far the car has been pretty good as a daily driver.
I did the same thing starting back in 1990. I bought the 1971 convertible intending it to be a daily driver, and so far that has worked out well. I will say that after a couple of 110+ summers, I went back to one of the newer cars that has a much better AC system, and I now use the Cutlass for fall/winter/spring driving and leave it parked through the 5 months of summer hell.
I did the same thing starting back in 1990. I bought the 1971 convertible intending it to be a daily driver, and so far that has worked out well. I will say that after a couple of 110+ summers, I went back to one of the newer cars that has a much better AC system, and I now use the Cutlass for fall/winter/spring driving and leave it parked through the 5 months of summer hell.
Phoenix certainly gets a lot hotter than South FL, but we'll see how I do in the dog days of summer. We had a couple of days in the 90s and with the A/C on it was fine.
I am more concerned with the rain than the heat. With heavy rains I usually end up getting some water in the convertible top stow. Haven't yet figured out how that was suppose to drain on its own.
Phoenix certainly gets a lot hotter than South FL, but we'll see how I do in the dog days of summer. We had a couple of days in the 90s and with the A/C on it was fine.
I am more concerned with the rain than the heat. With heavy rains I usually end up getting some water in the convertible top stow. Haven't yet figured out how that was suppose to drain on its own.
I grew up / lived on the SW LA and SE TX Gulf Coast area prior to moving here, so I can relate to the summer temps and high humidity. My cars' AC did fine on the Gulf Coast (1970 Supreme and 1971 convertible), what with the fog blowing out the vents and condensation forming on them. I will say that the "crotch vent" was an excellent design and was very much appreciated. While the high fan setting doesn't move the same amount of air as modern cars, it worked well enough for me not to complain for the many years I drove the cars through high school, college, and first jobs.
As for the rain, I did not have any issues with water leaking on the 71 convertible, so this is something that you should be able to correct. There is a plastic U shaped "gutter" under the top opening that catches the water and channels it to the drains at the front of the wheel wells. Your gutter may have some cracks, or the lower edge of the top material may be sitting such that not all the water runoff goes into the gutter.
Last edited by Fun71; April 8th, 2020 at 01:42 PM.
seems the paint is a little darker than my 70 Cutlass SX but both colors look great. Look for my SOLD 70 in Fl. where it is today. My car was white changed it to Viking Blue like yours. I sold it for $20K 4 yrs ago.
Look for it.
Gerald in Nor Cal.
April 7th, 2020 | 05:08 PM
