build a daily driver from scratch... What would You Do?..

[Brock Samson]

here's a clean sheet of paper.

Your ideas and suggestions Folks...

  Thanks in advance...
Strat! 

[TheGhost]

Right now?  For me, a nice, cheap Geo Metro, or something.  Cheap insurance, won't have to put gas in it for about a month, and only costs a couple hundred bucks.  Also, wouldn't care if it gets dings, dents, an/or rust from the daily winter driving.

[Brock Samson]

  ...Ohh God no.. Geo Metro?.. yur kiddin right?..   

[694spdRT]

I am going to try this with my '72 Challenger this winter. I would like a lot of things that will realistically never happen like a complete drop in 5.7 Hemi drivetrain. So here is my budget minded reality based daily driver.  

1)Either the original rebuilt 318 or a 360 Magnum I picked up that needs freshening. I will probably go with a 4 bbl although a fuel injection system would be nice if easily done. My wife hates the exhaust smell from old cars and it would be nice to have a computer controlled system. Overall nothing real fancy or elaborate with the engine, I even plan on using factory Magnum exhaust manifolds with duals.

2)1980 Chrysler 833OD 4 speed transmission(already have)

3) 8 3/4" rear with open 3.23 gears(already have)

4) One of the aftermarket A/C setups available

5) Upgrade front brakes with a disk conversion kit.(still looking at the options)

6) Stainless brake, gas lines, and new tank.

7) 15" Ralley wheels and Goodyear Eagles.

8 ) Chrysler's Inferno Red paint and white vinyl top.

9) Factory white interior with a power driver seat frame from some doner.

10) Dual Remote Racing mirrors I pulled from an Aspen R/T

11) I will be adding one of those repo R/T hoods as I can't stand the standard hood.

12) Front and rear sway bars, Monroe gas shocks, and new leaf springs.

13) Cruise control, and maybe power windows and locks if I can find a donor.

I was originally going to put a 440 in this but, I have decided to go for some economy and a small block with the 3.23's and overdrive should help. I drive about 50 miles a day to work and I was hoping to get close to 20mpg.

BTW: My daily driver now is a 1995 Chevy S10 4 cyl 5 speed that gets 30mpg....pretty happy with it to tell you the truth.

[Ponch ®]

Right now?  For me, a nice, cheap Geo Metro, or something.  Cheap insurance, won't have to put gas in it for about a month, and only costs a couple hundred bucks.  Also, wouldn't care if it gets dings, dents, an/or rust from the daily winter driving.

yeah, but you'll look like an assmonkey.

[ChargerBill]

Hmmm, good topic.

OK, I'd pick one of the lesser desired Mopars between the years of 64 to 74. Personally I'd probably choose a '66-'67 Satellite, '67-'69 Barracuda or a '68-'69 Dart. I'd also choose a 318 because they are plentiful, bullet proof and you could easily tune one to get 22mpg or better, and with EFI you could easily get 25mpg or better - and I might even go for a crate V6 since power is not the objective with this car. I'd definitely choose either an 833OD tranny, or maybe even adapt a newer OD tranny for mileage. Lastly, I'd probably go no steeper than 2.93 or at most 3.23 in the rear. This car is going to be driven every day, so needs to look good when dirty. In the city I'd pick a silver or medium gray metallic, in the hills I'd go for Bronze, copper or burnt orange and vinyl will get destroyed in all that sunlight so I'd choose a steel top car, or make it one when doing body work. Interior can't be dark, don't want to bake on that daily commute. I'd probably choose tan/buckskin color, but light gray would work just as well....and vinyl wouldn't be bad as long as I put some decent cloth seat covers on...and besides, vinyl will clean up better than cloth upholstery. My wheels would be steelies with dog dish (15" ...I can't stand the look of 14's)...because aluminum would look like crap unless I cleaned and polished them continuously and chrome won't last too long through nasty winters without pitting and rusting. I'd undercoat the car with bedliner type stuff for longevity. As far as safety features go, definitely put discs up front, but would do the inexpensive Aspen, Valiant, Cordoba swap. I would probably use as many Polygraphic suspension components as possible to keep the ride tight and sure. Sound will be important, so I would install A Satellite radio for those commutes. I would LOVE to build this car....talk about a sweet daily ride.

[Brock Samson]

i was thinkin alittle more like this....   

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/images/carjpg/2004PMCCA/2/182/2004PMCCA2_182_Spc.jpg

and alot less then this...   

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ict/wxstory/2001070813_mvc-016s.jpg
  

[Silver R/T]

my mx3 is fine.. although some boost wont be bad

[moparguy01]

Honestly, as much as it pains me to say it. If i wanted to build something ultra reliable up here, I would base it around a few things. 1. parts must be available everywhere 2. parts must be cheap.

I'd build a street rod with some new fuel injected engine. id keep the a/c, cruise, p/s, p/b all that stuff. just make it cheap and reliable using modern components. such as brakes, wheels and tires, transmissions, guages, etc. then I'd paint it flat black, throw a mexican blanket over the seat, and call it a rat rod.
haha.

[Lowprofile]

I Think Bill is right on the $$$$$.  I would use a Old "Grandpa" Car. Kinda like a 72-77 Satellite/Fury or Coronet type 4 door or one of those early 80's Diplomat/Fury cop cars. Everything you need is there. Heavy duty suspension, brakes, cooling, A/C,etc......  Just rebuild that 318 with all the good stuff, and same with the tranny. Cop Rims, dog dish caps, Goodyear eagles. Nice sound system, Satellite Radio for the commute or the occasional road trip to a car show/ swap meet. 

Now you got me thinking

[ChargerBill]

My mistake... I thought you said DAILY driver. OK, if practicality is no concern and you don't want a Mopar, here are a few of MY favorites:

BTW, can you tell I LOVE burnt orange...can't wait to paint my Charger!!!

[ChargerBill]

and a few more:

[ChargerBill]

And the last few...

[TeeWJay426]

Wouldn't build a daily driver. My weekly commute tallies 400 miles easily; my current everyday driver is a '98 Intrepid. I need practicality, reliability, and economy; my time and money that I have available for any build projects go towards my resto-mobiles. For daily use, especially in our glorious northeastern winters, I need something that I can get in and use it up with no cares or regrets at all. Something I would go to the trouble to build wouldn't qualify for that.

[BrianShaughnessy]

I wouldn't "build" a daily driver.   Takes more work than anything I could already buy used.    Why take away time from my toy cars?

I drive 60+ miles a day to work and back thru bambiland.     I like cheap and disposable.   I have enough other cars to maintain without worrying about keeping the daily clean too.     I have my trans am at home that I was using for daily duty 6 - 9 months a year but since I got the Charger done I've lost interest in that too --  well the T-tops and AC was nice somedays.   So I drive my beat up Cherokee and don't worry about it too much. 

[nh_mopar_fan]

 

I consider my daily driver a disposable appliance. Well, ok, with a few extra creature comforts and some decent looks. Right now, it's a 2002 Sebring ragtop. I will drive it into the ground. My 1996 ragtop had 198K on it when I dumped it. It was well used up. As long as my commute is 150 miles a day R/T, it would make no sense to put any effort into anything more than that.

I picked this car up for a song because the previous owner was an idiot and threw a 500 Maaco paint job on a $13K car because his girlriend wanted the forest green car that they just bought to be red. Moron. Hey, my gain. When I am done with it, the quality of the paint won't matter much.

I'm looking at the pics of the nice rods etc and let me just say that up here in the northeast, those are no way, no how, daily drivers.

[Mopar440+6]

Bill, Im lovin those pics.

Anyway if I was in desperate need of a daily driver other than my POS 99 Chebby Lumina I would be going for (although I hate to say it) a Honda Civic or possibly a Chrysler Lebaron hardtop.

[Old Moparz]

Right now?   For me, a nice, cheap Geo Metro, or something.   Cheap insurance, won't have to put gas in it for about a month, and only costs a couple hundred bucks.   Also, wouldn't care if it gets dings, dents, an/or rust from the daily winter driving.

I told you that you should have kept that purple POS.

[Brock Samson]

 Actually Ghost's current baccaruda would be a great Daily, of course I'd wanna upgrade it concideably with a built SB and discs.. 

[694spdRT]

I'd definitely choose either an 833OD tranny, or maybe even adapt a newer OD tranny for mileage. Lastly, I'd probably go no steeper than 2.93 or at most 3.23 in the rear. This car is going to be driven every day, so needs to look good when dirty. In the city I'd pick a silver or medium gray metallic

Bill you make a good point on the color. I was at first thinking a white Vanishing Point type exterior but, the gravel road to our house was recently paved and I like that new red a lot.

On the rear end gearing, the car currently has 2.71's and I also have a limited slip 2.93. I was afraid with the overdrive the final drive would be below 2.0 to 1 and I am not sure a 318 will have enough lug for a 1000 rpm cruise mode.       With the 3.23 the final drive works out in the 2.20's.

[ChargerBill]

Strat, there a really good looking red '68 Barracuda Convertible on Wheels-n-Deals online for $7,900...which is actually very low for that car. If you're interested and   you can't find it I'll go looking through my Browser history and get you the URL.

This is the ACTUAL CAR:

[TheGhost]

  ...Ohh God no.. Geo Metro?.. yur kiddin right?..   

No, I'm dead serious.  They are dirt cheap, super fuel efficient, and fairly reliable.  Plus, if it rusts, or gets in a fender bender, nobody cares.


And, looking at my car today, the lower 1/4s are gonna need to be replaced BAD after this winter, if there is any salt on the roads.....

[TheGhost]

Right now?  For me, a nice, cheap Geo Metro, or something.  Cheap insurance, won't have to put gas in it for about a month, and only costs a couple hundred bucks.  Also, wouldn't care if it gets dings, dents, an/or rust from the daily winter driving.

yeah, but you'll look like an assmonkey.

Considering as I'd only be driving it to and from my part time job, 3-4 days a week, that's not really a problem.

[TheGhost]

Right now?  For me, a nice, cheap Geo Metro, or something.  Cheap insurance, won't have to put gas in it for about a month, and only costs a couple hundred bucks.  Also, wouldn't care if it gets dings, dents, an/or rust from the daily winter driving.

I told you that you should have kept that purple POS.

Insurance was killing me on it.  It's actually cheaper to insure my Barracuda than it was to insure the Neon.

[Todd Wilson]

Wouldn't build a daily driver. My weekly commute tallies 400 miles easily; my current everyday driver is a '98 Intrepid. I need practicality, reliability, and economy; my time and money that I have available for any build projects go towards my resto-mobiles. For daily use, especially in our glorious northeastern winters, I need something that I can get in and use it up with no cares or regrets at all. Something I would go to the trouble to build wouldn't qualify for that.

YUP! You are right. When the old lady wanted to trade her Honda in for a new car they were only wanting to give us 300$ trade in for it. I said BS I'll take it home and let a tree grow thru it in th ebackyard before I would trade it for 300$. I now use it for my commute car. I will drive it until it falls apart and no longer runs.


Todd

[HeavyFuel]

Wouldn't build a daily driver. My weekly commute tallies 400 miles easily; my current everyday driver is a '98 Intrepid. I need practicality, reliability, and economy; my time and money that I have available for any build projects go towards my resto-mobiles. For daily use, especially in our glorious northeastern winters, I need something that I can get in and use it up with no cares or regrets at all. Something I would go to the trouble to build wouldn't qualify for that.

YUP! You are right. When the old lady wanted to trade her Honda in for a new car they were only wanting to give us 300$ trade in for it. I said BS I'll take it home and let a tree grow thru it in th ebackyard before I would trade it for 300$. I now use it for my commute car. I will drive it until it falls apart and no longer runs.


Todd

Hate to say it, But I somewhat agree. 

My daily is paid-off big cab pickup and my wife's is a paid-off Dodge Grand Caravan, covered with hail dents, bicycle scratches and parking lot dings.  We run kids all over creation.  A super nice daily would get f****d up in a month.  OK, maybe longer, but eventually it would, and I'd be pissed off about it.