afraid to drive the superbird anymore..opinions??

[Cooter]

Well , now that i have the bird back from Mike Mancini's with the NOS nose installed and painted im truly afraid to drive the car anymore.  I'm the guy that would bust on everyones balls for not ever driving and enjoying their cars, rare or not my motto was "what is the point in having something if you can't enjoy / drive it." but i think now i know why they don't drive them. I think for now we may put it in long term storage.

And now you know why I reply the way I do about idiots on the road. Yes, anything CAN happen, but IMO, it's just like Smoking. Something's gotta kill you right? I can't understand why anybody wouldwant to speed it up. Same thing when the inevidable happens to you. Oh sure, it's easy to preach about driving your ride, until your nose cone gets smashed. Then, it's a different story. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt, wore it out, and now I polish the cars with it.

[FJ5WING]

I guess after further revioew I need to stay on the sidelines on this subject until Im finished with my car. Ive never shyed away from giving her the buisness and hurt it in the process, just some engine damage that was not terminal to the numbers block thankfully.

Im not sure whats gonna happen when shes done?

[johnnyseville]

If you had an original you would understand.  

Proven false repeatedly in this thread.  Just drive it.

I don't see it proven, or will I need those funny cigarettes you smoke to be able to see it?

Roll call of some of the people in this thread who have cars and aren't afraid to drive them:


aero426
hemi_tyme
boss429kiwi
hemi68charger
62 max
1970moparmann
69_500
mopar john
(us)


funny cigarettes not required here.  I doubt any of actually daily drive our cars (last time I did was years ago) but that doesn't mean I don't leave it behind out of concern.  Truthfully, if I get the chance to go to a show and don't go, it's because I'm lazy and I'm tired of listening to oldies music.  'cause it ain't a cruise-in without Frankie fu@king Valle.  

Nothing proven at all!  There were about 2500 of these cars made, at least half are still around and you submit less than 10 owners that  freely drive them?  You should have been a politician the way you twist numbers around.  Come up with several hundred more, then you will have made your point.  I drive my Hemi Charger regularly, it is in the same ballpark of value as the Daytona, and have no issue.  Was hit once by a livery cab, needed a new fender and grille, but took care of that and went on with life.  The nose of the Daytona is different, not easily replaceable.  Yeah you can buy a glass nose or maybe something a guy made up in a metal fabrication shop, but not the real thing.  All these repops cheapen a car, IMO.  Like the original engine, once its gone, its gone and so is some of the valuation, no BS ing your way around that.  

Another thing, I am in NYC, not the Ozarks, traffic patterns are a bit different here, pretty much like dodging landmines, that is a big factor you do not consider.

[1970Moparmann]

I feel the same way too, have only taken it out twice, I know something is going to happen to that nose that makes me sick.  I have no qualms driving my 69 Hemi, but this damn thing  just sticks out so far and I know something is going to happen sooner or later.  Like you said thats is why you have insurance, but it will still make me sick to see it all busted up, should have bought a Hemi Cuda.

Specifically to you, put on a fiberglass nose on it then.   

[johnnyseville]

Thought about that, spoke to a friend who is an expert body man, he said color matching would be very tough, could not guarantee a perfect match, then that would bother me quite a bit.  Will see. Thanks.

[WINGIN IT]

Thought about that, spoke to a friend who is an expert body man, he said color matching would be very tough, could not guarantee a perfect match, then that would bother me quite a bit.  Will see. Thanks.

They were lucky to match from the factory , so no value lost there... 
Hell they still can't make cars match from end to end from the factory....

[Aero426]

Nothing proven at all!  There were about 2500 of these cars made, at least half are still around and you submit less than 10 owners that  freely drive them?  You should have been a politician the way you twist numbers around.  

That is not what I saw in his comment.    What I saw, was that a good number of participating forum members use their cars regularly.    It is not difficult to find other owners who drive their cars a few times a year without fear of the boogey man.   

It's your decision how you choose to use your car.    Of course there may be situations where it may not be practical (big city, concours car, physical limitations).   Otherwise, you have to decide whether you are happy with owning a 1/1 scale Ertl model.     It's like living with a beautiful woman that you can never touch.   

[62 Max]

Thought about that, spoke to a friend who is an expert body man, he said color matching would be very tough, could not guarantee a perfect match, then that would bother me quite a bit.  Will see. Thanks.

They were lucky to match from the factory , so no value lost there... 
Hell they still can't make cars match from end to end from the factory....

And the wing and nose were not the same paint as the body !

[johnnyseville]

Nothing proven at all!  There were about 2500 of these cars made, at least half are still around and you submit less than 10 owners that  freely drive them?  You should have been a politician the way you twist numbers around.  

That is not what I saw in his comment.    What I saw, was that a good number of participating forum members use their cars regularly.    It is not difficult to find other owners who drive their cars a few times a year without fear of the boogey man.    

It's your decision how you choose to use your car.    Of course there may be situations where it may not be practical (big city, concours car, physical limitations).   Otherwise, you have to decide whether you are happy with owning a 1/1 scale Ertl model.     It's like living with a beautiful woman that you can never touch.    

You can read into his statement what you wish, that is why it is called interpretation.   A few times a year, which is what I drive the Daytona, so far, being I only got it this summer,  is not regularly.  I interpret regularly as every week, which I drive my Hemis, it may be winter in NYC, but as long as no snow they come out for a spin, maybe a mile or so, but one of them comes out.   As you said, being in the city can affect it, you might as well put a sign on the nose, HIT ME.  BTW, I would do more than touch the beautiful woman!

[Aero426]

Most of us do not drive our cars weekly.   Maybe once or twice a month in the summer for me.    But I certainly do not live in fear the times I am on the road.   I am always a bit wary and try to avoid traffic or places that I know could be a problem.    But it wouldn't matter if it was my Superbird or my little Fiat convertible.   Both are nice cars.   I don't want anything to happen to either.   

[Aero426]

Here is a local high dollar car that the owner is very happy to use regularly.

[FJ5WING]

Here is a local high dollar car that the owner is very happy to use regularly.

*LIKE*

[TiMopar]

With respect, are we not straying from the OP's problem here? If I understand correctly he is specifically worried about the nosecone, a piece that is particularly vulnerable, scarce and expensive to replace.

[Aero426]

With respect, are we not straying from the OP's problem here? If I understand correctly he is specifically worried about the nosecone, a piece that is particularly vulnerable, scarce and expensive to replace.

This is true.   His car which I believe to be largely original was damaged.   A NOS nose was sourced and installed.  He had good insurance.   The car looks great.   

While I am in favor of "getting back on the horse", I do understand that someone would be gun shy after such an experience.   

[boss429kiwi]

Key word: Insurance!
As long as NOS nose cones are available? are they?

[moparstuart]

Key word: Insurance!
As long as NOS nose cones are available? are they?

there are a few out there still , in the case of johns car I really think his cone would have fixed also
but he was luck to find a nice NOS one .   

[Dirtybird]

Well , now that i have the bird back from Mike Mancini's with the NOS nose installed and painted im truly afraid to drive the car anymore.  The nose crunching incident last summer was a horrible experience for me to deal with, i was sick. The good thing that came out of it is that i now have a perfect NOS nose on the car with no filler in it, my original nose had some filler skimmed over it in places.Yes, I'm the guy that would bust on everyones balls for not ever driving and enjoying their cars, rare or not my motto was "what is the point in having something if you can't enjoy / drive it." but i think now i know why they don't drive them. I think for now we may put it in long term storage.

I put 3,300 miles on mine in 10 days this summer. Run it!

[70Sbird]

If you had an original you would understand.  

Proven false repeatedly in this thread.  Just drive it.

I don't see it proven, or will I need those funny cigarettes you smoke to be able to see it?

Roll call of some of the people in this thread who have cars and aren't afraid to drive them:


aero426
hemi_tyme
boss429kiwi
hemi68charger
62 max
1970moparmann
69_500
mopar john
(us)


funny cigarettes not required here.  I doubt any of actually daily drive our cars (last time I did was years ago) but that doesn't mean I don't leave it behind out of concern.  Truthfully, if I get the chance to go to a show and don't go, it's because I'm lazy and I'm tired of listening to oldies music.  'cause it ain't a cruise-in without Frankie fu@king Valle.  

Add 70Sbird to this list!

I drive my original sheetmetal car in all kinds of adverse conditions -
(when it's running!)
Most of you have seen these pics before but here they are again

[boss429kiwi]

I drove my Bird to work today and parked in my underground University car park, next to all the academics Peugots and Toyotas.
You could only imagine the looks 

[Ghoste]

Why am I thinking about frozen chicken right now?

[hitail]

Not the best picture but this was taken during a touring event at Road America in Elkart Lake Wisconsin.
This is a 4 mile road course. The event "allowed" high speed (100+ mph) on the straights.
LOTS of fun.

Hitail

[Ghoste]

Blurry background and blurry tires, a perfect wingcar picture. 

[Old Moparz]

Just drive it, the cone is not NOS anymore.  

[pettybird]

I *do* drive the 'birds more cautiously than my dailys, though.  The old E36 M3 and the 944 turbo stop and turn a lot better...I tend to be in 'cruise control' mode more frequently in them.  I pay a lot more attention to escape lanes, brake lights and such in the old whales.

Get back in the saddle slowly, remember why you LOVE the car, and you'll drive it around again.  I'm more reluctant to take the B5 car out now that it's painted, but I'm also using it as an excuse to put a bunch of miles on the Petty car. 

Smug bastard, aren't I?

[DAY CLONA]

Well , now that i have the bird back from Mike Mancini's with the NOS nose installed and painted im truly afraid to drive the car anymore. 





Geez, it's just a machine, man up and drive it, or sell the dam thing