Hey guys so I'm thinking about get a 1946 series 76 4dr for my family as a daily driver. Why not? Didn't people do the same thing back in '40s and 1950's? My priority is to put seat belts. I have twin 2 year olds so I would need to install seat belts. Next is reliability. I've never own a car this old especially an oldsmobile. It's got a 6 volt system which I would like to keep. Brakes: I would like to upgrade to a dual master cylinder. Other than Fusicks what other vendors cater to 46-48 olds?
thanks

 

This is the worst idea I've heard in a long time.

Of course they did, but that's because the cars of the '40s and '50s were all there was in the '40s and '50s. But this isn't the 1940s. It is almost the 2020s, and cars are so incredibly more safe today that it isn't funny. In 1946, there was no such thing as anti-lock brakes, air bags, padded dashes, collapsible steering columns, disk brakes, seat belts, the list is endless. Adding seat belts to a car that never had them and wasn't designed for them is not trivial. It's not a matter of just drilling a hole in the floor and bolting them in. That area of the floor needs to be strengthened to withstand the force of a sudden pull on the bolt in the event of a sudden stop.

A 1946 car is great to restore and to take on a Sunday drive. But as a daily driver? With small children? That's irresponsible.

 

Did you ever see this rather famous video of a 1959 Chevy Bel Air being crashed into a 2009 Chevy Malibu? It was conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in 2009. The bottom line is that the passengers in the 2009 Chevy would likely have walked away with a few scratches while occupants of the 1959 Chevy, at least in the front seat, probably would have all died.

This is why we don't use 1940s vehicles as our daily drivers. I wonder how a '46 Olds would fare against a 21st century car. Probably worse, if that's possible.

 

In 1946 driving a 73 year old car would be something from 1873. Oldsmobile hadn't even started then and the Karl Benz Motorwagen wouldn't come out until 1886. I agree with Jaunty that this is an unobtainable dream. Even Jay Leno has modern cars and various classics to choose from in his daily driving.

 

The powertrain on the 46 is really not up to the task of daily driver status reliability wise. My DD's appreciation start around mid 50's, preferably 60's or 70's, they are easier to maintain. Not saying it can't be done, but as stated above should it be done. My family was almost wiped out by a headon with a drunk driver in the 40's, major injuries.

 

You guys are right. I'll go out and buy a minivan or a Camry.

 

It doesn't have to be one of those. It just has to be something that was built recently. As we've said, anything built in recent years is eons safer than anything built in the 1940s. You have small children to consider. Their safety should always be the first consideration.

Are we allowed to ask what your wife thought of this idea?

 

okay how about 1960's or 1970's? It has to be a classic car that I can play with and work on myself. The new cars are safer but they are all plastic and everybody has one. They need to be smogged as well. I live in CA

 

How important is the safety of your kids to you? When my wife rear-ended another car in our Sienna, with both my daughters in the van, I was pretty damned happy the airbags were there to keep their foreheads off the dashboard. The van was a writeoff but my family wasn't. When my Corolla got rear-ended by a 5 ton cube van, I was really grateful for the rear crumple zones. Personally, I wouldn't use anything pre-1995ish for my family's daily driver for reasons of safety features and mechanical reliability. If you think you're gonna save money buying an old car and maintaining it yourself you may be in for a surprise!

Having a classic/collectable/fun car is fun, but not always a practical choice. If I had to pick "fun" or "safe" for my family I'd go with safe everytime. Sometimes the time just isn't right to have a "fun" car as well, but that doesn't mean you can't have both.

 

Do you have much experience on maintaining a "classic" car? Not meaning to be a smart*ss here, but depending on the model, year, etc. parts may be very hard to source parts, or very costly, or non-existent. Plus its sounds like you may be dealing with vintage emissions systems and inspections, which adds another layer. You may find the car is inoperable a lot due to searching for parts, or the cost is much more than you anticipated. The safety concerns would be a non-starter for me.