year round

[lynx5653]

Anyone drive their truck year round ? Thinking of doing that when I get truck done.

[1project2many]

I used to in MT but I wouldn't dream of it out here in New England. The salt and brine solution they use on the roads would bring out the metal termites. If you have the time an inclination to wash it every use you might be ok. But I usually wait until after May to even think about bringing the oldies out.

[mongocanfly]

We do here...but no salt.....

[lynx5653]

I think with proper care and rust proofing I should be ok even in new England.

[_Ogre]

idk... oem has been trying to do this for years without much success
you'd need to e-coat the whole body: basically degrease, acid dip, neutralize and then electroplate everything with whatever they have come up with
epoxy paint will work as long as you never scratch thru the epoxy; pretty impossible considering every tightened bolt scratches thru the paint

i'm going to go out on a limb here and say your in your 20s or 30s
because anyone that learned to drive last century in salt country drove rusty cars
our trucks did ok the first 20 years because thru the 70s sand and cinders were the main winter road treatments
even then a 20 year old truck had rust in typical areas you'd see in a current northwest truck
the next 30 years of salt exposure just compounded the rust and thus is why you don't rebuild a 50s truck unless it was a 70s barn find

i drove a 58 pickup thru high school, in the 1975 yearbook i was voted the least likely to drive a vehicle with 4 fenders

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

idk... oem has been trying to do this for years without much success
you'd need to e-coat the whole body: basically degrease, acid dip, neutralize and then electroplate everything with whatever they have come up with
epoxy paint will work as long as you never scratch thru the epoxy; pretty impossible considering every tightened bolt scratches thru the paint

i'm going to go out on a limb here and say your in your 20s or 30s
because anyone that learned to drive last century in salt country drove rusty cars
our trucks did ok the first 20 years because thru the 70s sand and cinders were the main winter road treatments
even then a 20 year old truck had rust in typical areas you'd see in a current northwest truck
the next 30 years of salt exposure just compounded the rust and thus is why you don't rebuild a 50s truck unless it was a 70s barn find

i drove a 58 pickup thru high school, in the 1975 yearbook i was voted the least likely to drive a vehicle with 4 fenders

LOLOLOLOLOLOL

This is my truck parking in the high school parking lot 1977.

On the subject, it really depends on where you live. I have driven my year round in the SF bay area, and the last number of years I have been driving my stone stock 59 Rambler. Not a single issue, just like driving anything else.

As far as CAN YOU drive one of these trucks year round, well, they did in 1950! That is what I have to ask my self every time someone says something about drum brakes or something, how you HAVE TO put discs, how in the hell did we drive them when they were new?

If you want to drive it, drive it!

Brian

[_Ogre]

op lives in maine, salt country. a newly total repaint would probably last 2 years before rust reared it's ugly head again
i grew up in wisconsin, my 58 rear fender had rusted the whole edge attached to the bed and fell off
my neighbor had a sheet metal shop, we bent up a jeep type fender, since every jy fender was similarly rusted out
snow boogers would form under the fenders and body, when they fell off, all wiring encased in ice would fall off with it

[mr48chev]

I drove my truck year round all the time I had it on the road but it does show. Winters do take a toll on them after a while. I didn't have much choice with mine most of those winters as it was the only thing I owned that ran that I could drive to work.

Everyone has their argument for driving or not driving older vehicles all year round in all types of weather. I know guys here who won't even open the garage door if there are clouds in the sky in the middle of summer. If there is rain in the forecast they won't even think about taking their ride out. I know a couple more with older rigs that are maybe worth 20K who tow them everywhere in enclosed trailers behind 60K crew cab trucks. One says his too valuable to drive on the roads but he doesn't think a thing about driving the 60,000 Diesel dualie on any kind of road.

Disk brakes/drum brakes, no you don't need disk brakes but I hate to see guys argue against them unless the truck is going to be a 100% traditional build where being authentic in every way counts. You stand a better chance of not eating that late model BMW with the 4 wheel disk brakes if you have disk on at least one axle. That is the why of disk brakes on old trucks, to give ourselves a fighting chance in traffic. With 4 wheel drum you had better be always driving defensively and always know where you out or excape is along with staying in the outside lane to have that excape spot.

The only bad things about driving year round are rust, rock chips and worrying about the damned fools in 4x4 Toyota pickups who think snow on the ground means you are supposed to drive faster rather than slower.

[lynx5653]

Ogre I am 65 and drove many an old vehicle year round in Maine and I don't recall driving any rust buckets, maybe less salt on the roads back then I don't know. My plan is to keep it clean as possible, rust proofing, undercoat. We have a local company that specializes in rust prevention. http://www.hacheyautoenhancing.com

My main feeling is it wont rust out any sooner than my other trucks and by the time it does I probably wont be able to drive it anymore so might just as well enjoy it while I can. Summers are short in Maine don't want to wait all winter to enjoy driving it .

[_Ogre]

no disrespect intended, just figured old timers knew the salt story. possible maine doesn't use much salt
i hear you on short summers.
many states didn't use salt until the 80s when the lawyers got involved
i remember a mid 80s lawsuit in morganton nc, when a 16 yr old got killed driving to school on icy roads
nobody takes responsibility for their own actions, preferring to sue and now every state uses salt
i also remember the 80s cars were the fastest to rust in salt country

[MARTINSR]

Brian

[Foot Stomper]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

Brian

Brian, you never cease to make me laugh out loud! Seriously!

[Black_Sheep]

I wouldn't even dream of driving year round in Minnesota. The use of liquid deicers such as magnesium chloride and calcium chloride is so widespread, it would destroy vintage tin in no time. I won't bring out my old cars in the spring until the streets are swept and we've had some heavy rain to wash away any residual deicing chemicals. It's that bad...

[capnduane]

Out here in Sunny So calif we can drive all year round. But July, August and September the temps get into three digits. Yesterday was 115 at my house. My '55 has no AC, so I don't drive it as much in the summer! I have a Durango and a Toyota 4x4 pickup with AC so they get driven most in summer. Yesterday we had thunder storms but they went around me and we didn't get a drop!

[solidaxel]

I drive them all, mostly the 55 GMC year around
I like the A/C ones in the summer around here

[MARTINSR]

On this subject, interesting call I just got from a sandblaster/powdercoater I had left a message for. They sandblast, ZINC prime then powdercoat.

That sounds pretty damn good huh!

And the price was cheaper than others I called, sounds like they get my business.

Brian

[Volfandt]

The 49 Chevy gets driven just about every weekend year round. If it's raining or we get the rare snowfall it stays in the dry otherwise it makes the dump run and country road cruise. The Arvin recirc heater will run you out except on the coldest days. Thinking about adding one of those sliding glass windows for better summer cruising.

[MARTINSR]

Cool!

Brian

[47 Fasttoys]

Yep drive it every day, have since April 2015. As a matter of fact just in the last few weeks crossed a mile-stone, 100K. 25 to 30 % of the time the camper is on the back.
Rob

[DransportGarage]

I had bought my '55 Chevy sedan in L.A., where it was made, in 1969. 61K and no rust. In 2001 I drove it once on a sunny December day to the new house. I didn't realize there was that much salt, although I did recall a spray of moisture now and then on the windshield. I parked it in the garage for about a week, then happened to go out and look at it. The Cragers were wiped out and every non-painted part on the underside had a nice coat of rust. I personally wouldn't drive it in winter in the salt belt, because I look at us folks as caretakers of the vintage iron. There aren't many youngsters coming up that will be restoring these old buggies again, so they'll be going to the boneyards.

[mikebte]

Drove mine for 10 years using it as a work truck and daily. Made a few heavy hauls along the way. That is of course after the original owner ran a grain elevator with it for the 1st half of its life and the second owner parted it in a field for 16 years.

Made a 1750 Mile road trip pulling a heavy trailer from California to Oklahoma one time, made a video of that for memories.

https://youtu.be/_cNYP2aY19Q

This was all prior to the V8 swap with the 235 and 4 speed.

[MARTINSR]

Cool video!

Brian

[bosco]

Originally Posted by capnduane

Out here in Sunny So calif we can drive all year round. But July, August and September the temps get into three digits. Yesterday was 115 at my house. My '55 has no AC, so I don't drive it as much in the summer! I have a Durango and a Toyota 4x4 pickup with AC so they get driven most in summer. Yesterday we had thunder storms but they went around me and we didn't get a drop!

Agree, even with AC it can get too warm in the cab of our truck, plus mine starts to run a bit to warm when it hits 100+ during the summer months. Typically we'll head out early to where we want to go, then return later when the afternoon temps drop.

[evilokc]

I lived I new mexico and drove year round for several years. now im in Oklahoma and drive through the winter as long as we don't have a bad ice. Oklahoma doesn't doesn't really use salt though.

[vintovka]

I plan to drive mine year round. Right on ocean and our salt is in the air. It settles on everything and will cloud up your windshield in no time. The un coated parts of my 2004 dodge still had all the paint on them when we moved here 2 years ago. Now all rust. Trying to combat this on the ad by painting everything that will rust or corrode. The use of stainless steel and synthetic bedwood. Even had the transmission and transfer case painted as well as shock casings.