Quote:
Originally Posted by LEEVON
I have gotten soft/spoiled from driving new trucks.
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This is the real problem, and I have it to.
I DD my '72 from '86 to '02
My "new" truck is now 10 years old and it does everything so well, I just about have to make myself drive my 72. Or have a need for it's 1ton 4x4 capabilities.
I am almost embarrassed to say how few miles I have driven it in the last ten years, but I love my old truck and decided to change some things to make it DD friendly. First and foremost was to fix the A/C. If you live somewhere that it truly gets hot, it is a deal breaker.
Next was to remove the headers and use them for target practice. Stock manifolds and a quieter exhaust to get rid of the leaks and gasket issues.
Last was a more practical suspension, in my case it was too tall, and 37 inch tires are just flat out uncomfortable, not to mention the gas they sucked. Make the suspension work for your needs, ie not to high/low/stiff/uncomfortable. A suspension that makes it look great, or is designed for the racetrack or the off road trails, but is a pain to put up with will always make you get into your newer car.
There has always been discussion about what is a DD. There are guys running the Hot Rod Drag week event in 7 second - 200mph drag cars that call them streetable, but there is a big difference between streetable and a real DD. A couple of things I agree with to decide whether a ride is a DD
too me, can be phrased as questions. Would you put a suit on and take your family to a wedding/funeral/church in it? Would you drive it to work and take your boss out to lunch? Even if the weather was hot/raining/cold? Would you get into it and drive across country with no more than a credit card for gas? And the answers are not "
can you", but "
would you enjoy doing it"
The other major thing that takes a vehicle out of the DD category for me is a fantastic paint job. Perfect paint means you are forever going to be parking at the farthest parking spot, and you will still worry about some idiot hitting it with a shopping cart. Not a problem with my 72 truck, but I have a Camaro that is too nice to let out of sight. It is undrivable, don't make that mistake..
A few changes and I now drive and enjoy mine much more, you can to.