jhawkthebeast

Hey guys I have a 72 cutlass 350 rocket with a th-350 with a lot of miles but she runs fine. I am going to college in a month and my college is 3 hrs away I was wondering what could I do to make my car road trip reliable? I’ve taken her on 40 mile trips and back but that’s about it no problems. What should I do? I’ve read and thought of a lot of things but wanna hear what you guys have to say. If u have questions please let me know

oldcutlass

Start with what have you done to the car since you got it. Have you done or was the following done or inspected?
Timing chain
Water pump
Tuneup
Belts
Hoses
Brakes/ wheel bearings
Front end parts replacement
Tires/age
Transmission inspection
Rear end inspection
Ujoints

joe_padavano

If you want the car to be more reliable, drive it more often. Your daily driver is reliable because you drive it daily. Seriously.

Look, these cars were "road trip reliable" when they were new. What's different now? Make sure it's maintained properly, and drive the wheels off of it.

jhawkthebeast

I do drive it everyday i just never took it on a trip over 50 miles my dad drove it all over Texas when he had it so is there anything that I can do to guarantee it won’t break down on my way to college ?

jhawkthebeast

We did all of this last summer when we brought it out the garage because it had been sitting up for 10 years.

oldcutlass

Then drive and maintain it.

Tedd Thompson

Have a look at your brake lines, rubber and metal, other wise it looks like you have hit all the majors. Drive it. Three hours isn't really much of a trip.... Tedd

joe_padavano

^^^THIS.

I just drove my 62 F-85 2600 miles in nine days. If something hasn't broken in 40 miles, it likely won't break in three hours.

oldcutlass

Cept maybe Ujoints...

joe_padavano

Yeah, but he's already replaced those.

rustyroger

You can't guarantee any car, new or old, won't break down. But you have done the obvious, and as has been said, if it's good for frequent 40 mile trips there is no reason why it shouldn't undertake a 300 mile jaunt.
Make sure the tires are in good shape and correctly inflated, check the oil & water before you leave, and keep an eye on the worry gauges or idiot lights.

Roger.

Gpc1

Just in case take some basic hand tools, duct tape, and a jug of water. You never know. Have a safe trip.

lshlsh2

Add AAA wouldn't be a bad idea either, no matter what car you take.

joe_padavano

The two most important tools to pack are a cell phone and a credit card.

troyd

I took my 71 on a 3K mile, South Carolina to Maine and back road trip a couple years ago and a lot of people thought I was nuts.....

Me? Make sure your routine maintenance is up to date.....oil, brakes, belts hoses. Roadside assistance....which is pretty much a gimmie with insurance these days.. a cell phone and a credit card and you are pretty much safe as a kitten.

General rule of thumb, I always keep a quart of oil, a gallon of 50/50 coolant, AT, PS and Brake fluid in a box in the trunk along with a a very basic tool bag.

Other than that, man, just drive it and have fun. Why have a car that you don't drive?

Cheers,

Troy

joe_padavano

The worst thing you can do to a car is to NOT drive it. Seals dry out, bearings get surface rust, the exhaust system collects condensation, gasoline evaporates and leaves deposits in the carb, etc, etc.

troyd

The Prophet speaks

My brother in law has a 66 Mustang that sits in his garage.....and every time he moves it, it leaks like a sieve for that very reason.

I'll never understand the mentality of having a car just to look at it. Especially our cars....I mean no offense but save a few (H/O's W cars...but even then..) they aren't particularly valuable (we aren't driving AC Cobras), rare or hard to find parts for. Drive it like you stole it, man!

Cheers,

Troy

droptopron

Not a bad idea to keep some stock replacement parts on hand in addition to some hand tools.
If you have the stock distributor points & condenser. If HEI a module. I think the biggest difference in reliability these days compared to 50 yeras ago is the quality of the replacement parts. You are just as likely to have a new part prematurely fail than an old part give out.

If you haven't done so, give the exhaust system a good once over including the hangers

Tedd Thompson

My car is almost 65 years old and I wouldn't be afraid to jump in it and put it through a 2000 mile trip tomorrow (could use a lube job in the morning though) but I do carry spares and the tools to install them that I haven't been chang out in many many miles. A starter (the original) and fuel pump come to mind there is always a set of used points in the glove box. Other than that it's just the usual safety stuff I carry in all my rides Just get in it and go, have a great time...... Lost in the fifties ...Tedd

matt69olds

Why would anyone think your nuts? Like Joe said, and I have said, when these cars were new they were people’s daily drivers. Properly maintained, there is zero reason they can’t be daily drivers now.

matt69olds

The biggest hassle I could see with a long distance road trip is finding repair parts if something did happen. Parts stores keep as little investory as possible. I joke with my Advance, NAPA, and AutoZone people about not stocking parts for 50 year old cars.

Look the car over well, things like hoses, front end, brake lines, etc. you probably won’t have trouble finding belts, starters, alternators, etc. application specific parts like water pumps, fuel pumps, etc may be a little more difficult.

Its good that your driving it daily now, your familiar with the sounds and feel of the car. If your driving it and something sounds or feels out of the ordinary, don’t ignore it! Find the issue while it’s minor.

A 300 mile road trip is nothing. That’s basically about 2 months of daily driving at once. Relax, and enjoy the trip

troyd

LOL....oh, I'm certifiably nuts. No arguments from me on that....

Cheers,

Troy

FN723

I don't think you could ever make it that reliable. You couldn't trust a brand new car completely but a brand new car doesn't take a week or more to get parts. You might get yourself stranded somewhere you don't like waiting for parts. We did that a number of years ago and ended up having to stay a weekend in a motel that was so dirty we all slept in our clothes on a blanket we had brought with us and didn't bathe. Timing belt decided to go bad. It was something you couldn't possibly check.

joe_padavano

Availability of parts is not a measure of reliability. It is, however, a fact of life when daily driving an old car. This is why I stock pile typical repair parts that take a while to get (and yes, I now have an ample supply of spare U-joints...). The fact remains, however, that there are methods for securing difficult to get parts if you are on the road. At worst, you can pay for overnight delivery. Yeah, it's expensive, but how does that compare to several nights in the Bates Motel?

As for a timing belt (which must be a significantly newer car than what we're talking about here) or timing chain, or similar item, those should be replaced BEFORE they go bad as a preventative maintenance item. In fact, if you crack open your owner's manual, you'll find many of these items listed there. I routinely change timing belts at 50K miles and chains at 80K.

FN723

That's true the vehicle is newer but that same vehicle broke down on the way home from the dealer when it was new and took a couple days to fix. The point about the timing chain is you can work on a old car all the time and think you have everything in perfect condition and it can break down on you driving around the block. You can't know the condition of every part. Then on a old car sometimes parts are difficult to find. It's not just a matter of shipping, some parts are junk yard only parts and you wouldn't know one in a strange place. You would have to rely on the shop you had the car towed to who maybe doesn't care. The newest vehicle I own is 20 years old and we rent a newer vehicle when making a road trip. Any problems and the rental company takes care of it.

oldcutlass

Almost every mechanical part on that car can be had at or through your local auto parts store within 24 hours. Properly maintained the car is no less reliable than when we were driving them as kids. That's really not the issue. The issue is it will be at a college campus and don't ask me how I know, but careless kids and cars don't mix, they drive like idiots. I'm not saying that the OP is, just all the others that happen to be around. Young kids cannot get full coverage classic car insurance, so he's at the mercy of regular liability insurance and low ACV in case of an accident that's not his fault.

joe_padavano

Well, from your story, the same is true for a new car...

I'd argue that an older car with no electronics and few options is inherently more reliable. There just isn't as much stuff to break. Frankly, the biggest thing I'd worry about on a car with a lot of miles is metal fatigue on the suspension attach points. This is rare, but as we've recently seen in another thread, not unheard of.

Our daily drivers are 35 years old. The newest vehicle I own is my 1999 truck, and it has 300,000 miles on it. I'm building a 1986 truck to replace it, because I'm getting tired of chasing the electrical gremlins and with all the wiring it is a PITA to work on. I do not usually rent a car for personal travel, I'd rather drive my own. I drive enough rental cars with all my work travel, and I hate them all.

troyd

In my limited experience.......

Parts availability is a non issue..... I can’t think of anything that you can’t get in pretty short order.

Now, the things that I have seen be an issue are neglected regular maintenance items.....like belts and hoses that would be an issue on any car, save for near new, if it isn’t maintained.

Cooling (or lack thereof) is a little different story.... but kinda still falls under routine maintenance.....I’d say that overheating due to a cooling system not up to the task is the biggest reason ( other than belts and hoses) for concern for older cars.

All solvable with a credit card and a cell phone....

my .02. YMMV

Cheers,

Troy

joe_padavano

That may be true for the OP's 72, but not for cars that aren't 68-72 A-bodies.

Try and find a water pump for a 62 F85 in "short order". For that matter, try and find a water pump for a 64 Cutlass (hint, they are one-year-only and completely different from the 65-up pumps). For that matter, try and find a voltage regulator for that 72 at an auto parts store. Yeah, you can get them, but it depends on your definition of "short order". There won't be one on the shelf, that's for sure.

troyd

Point well made and taken........

That said, there isn't much with a credit card and a cell phone that you can't get delivered in 24 hrs. Chances are, if you break down on the side of the road with a failed water pump on a late model vehicle that is in stock, it's still going to result in a night in a hotel and a hefty repair bill (changing a water pump on the side of the road isn't something most people can or would tackle in any event....a Motel 6 parking lot perhaps but that's in the realm of a tow bill and bite the bullet and pay to have it done) so, in my mind, it's a pretty moot point.....again, I'm just saying if you keep up on the routine MX items, have at it and enjoy, which I think is your point as well, no?

Also, as a side note, being career logistician (prior to being a restauranteur).....the world has moved on from the time where an outlet would keep huge inventories of widgets. It's more cost effective to have a robust "reach back" capability to a centralized distributor.......and the Amazon's of the world have only exacerbated this issue. Sure, years ago you could probably go to an auto parts store and chances are, they'd probably have parts for a Stutz somewhere in the back....and a guy who knew A. that a Stutz wasn't some sort of insult and B. knew exactly where that box was. Now? Forget having anything in stock, I'm happy to find a person that can operate the computerized point of sale system and make change with less than two assists by the Manager.......but that's a whole different discussion.

Here in Charleston, Parks Auto Parts did, in fact, have a voltage regulator in stock.....whodathunk it.

Cheers,

Troy

joe_padavano

Yup, exactly!

R_CK_R

I LOVE THAT ANSWER!!!

In German there is a saying called "Es heißt Fahrzeug und nicht Stehzeug"
roughly translated: "It's called a driver, not a stayer"