What’s The Farthest You’ve Driven In A Classic Car?

In 1993 I drove a 1970 Datsun 510 ex race car 586 miles from Houston, Tx to Lubbock, Tx where I was studying to become a Mechanical Engineer. The car was great with a balanced and blue printed L20B engine and Mikuni 44 side draft carbs. It had “racing style” bucket seats and in lieu of a cruse control, I’d cut wood sticks at different lengths to put between the side bolster and gas pedal. Sliding the stick up and down the bolster would give my knee a break as the narrow seat required an awkward bend in the leg to reach the gas. I drove it back to Houston later that year and got a speeding ticket for 86 in a 70. The officer asked me if I knew how fast I was going. Upon explaining that the car’s speedo was not accurate because race car. I said, probably 75 or 76. I was so proud when he said 86 because the car was just causing along with little effort. What a ride, wish I had one to drive right now.

York, PA to Clarence, NY. About 300 miles in a ‘59 Edsel.

So far I’ve only done a hundred or so miles in a weekend in my 1960 Willys Jeep FC-150. Mostly around the Birmingham, AL area. It tops out at 50 mph so a cross country tour doesn’t seem to be in the cards. Still a ton of fun around town.

My dad and I drove from New Hampshire to Riverside California in a 1963 Sunbeam Alpine-in December, then drove back from California to the upper peninsula of Michigan a few years later. It was a while ago, but a great trip, with no problems. We have recently located the car, now living in Portland Ore, and are trying to buy the thing back!

I drove my 1977 Fiat 124 Spider from Michigan to New Orleans — then over to Florida, up to Maine, then back to Michigan. (Oh…it was in 1979.)

‘ Drove my first MG ZB Magnette (1958 model) from New Castle Virginia to Portland Oregon and then up to Olympia Washington in 2003. Pretty close to 8000 miles by the time we got back home.

In 2007, we drove our ’73 MGB/GT first from Harbor Beach Michigan to Rohnert Park California, then to Whistler British Columbia and return. Ran a steady 80 mph for over 1000 miles through Idaho, Montana and South Dakota on our return. The same summer we drove from Michigan to our old home in Virginia, then up to Massachusetts, then up to Ontario and return. Total for that summer of 2007 was over 11,000 miles. 2011, we drove the same B/GT to Reno, Olympia and return. Again, 80 mph across Idaho, Montana and South Dakota. This coming summer, we’re planning on running our ’57 Magnette to California and up to Washington and return. Classics uncomfortable? NO!! We do just a bit of modifying on our Magnette to deal with that: A/C, modern seats with head-rests, MGB engine (30 hp increase), five-speed O/D transmission, a higher ratio rear end, and disc brakes in front. This car cruises all day at 75-80 mph without a whimper.

Funny – on that first trip in our earlier Magnette, we followed the Old Oregon Trail much of the way, and stopped to enjoy many of the commemorative museums, monuments, etc. On a really good day, those 19th century travelers would be lucky to make 8-12 miles. Their children were sick and dying; they starved, and their wagons broke down constantly. Compared to that, we felt humbled in the luxury of our 45 year-old MG! Everything is relative…

We did 3000k in Canada and the eastern US in my 1970 Alfa gtv 1750. Glorious ride.

Two years ago I drove about 3000kms around New Zealand in a ’83 Mitsubishi L200

The first time I ever sat in a Porsche 911, I put it in gear and drove 2,100 miles. It was a 1973, and was reasonably comfortable, but — since I was accustomed to modern cars — had a surprising amount of wind noise.