classic cars are unreliable, here's why mine don't break

UNCUT #2
Classic cars are unreliable, but that doesn't mean you can't make them go the long way round.
INSTAGRAM // / onlyaroadtripaway
Sony RX100

[@Rich_Lambert]

"You are as much a part of the journey as the car is"...you are wise beyond your years.

[@platinmetallic3797]

Great Video, whenever something on my car breaks, it's an opportunity to learn something new about it. Still got much to learn but videos like this are truly motivating.

[@GibbsEmphasis]

The wisdom here is epic. I've come from a similar background of lacking *any* formal automotive education. Having hesitated to take trips in my '91 Toyota MR2 in the past, I feel reassured to view things from a more proactive, risk-managing perspective. Thank you for demonstrating what can be done in a classic car!

[@althejazzman]

I'm on my 3rd Porsche transaxle. '85 944, '83 924, now finally my '80 924 Turbo. I've learnt most things I need to worry about over the last 11 years so I know what parts are likely to fail, what needs to be regularly checked, and what simple stuff I could fix by the roadside. I'm always a bit anxious after doing major work, but confidence soon grows again with use. I had no mechanical experience before owning these cars.

[@daverolls8565]

Great words of wisdom! i've a 1988 Porsche 944, currently with 435k km. Yes the car needs regular maintenance, but, as you say, when it was new it also needed maintenance. Driving to Germany from the UK once a month; have done. Have done 23k km since January this year. It is also important that you know your car and recognise what its telling you! Looking forward to the next build/videos (with the lightened flywheel). Good luck and thanks for the videos

[@apoptygmer]

Hi! its a big mistake... In 2003 I had my first road trip with my Ford Capri, Erzgebirge- French north coast to St. Malo and across the country and Nancy, back through Germany. Only defect: loose fuse and torn off exhaust bracket, because I had "shortened" at le Mount St. Michel at the car park... My own fault, I had it re-welded in a nice garage early on. Most of the time I slept in the car... Been on the road with T4 for a couple of years, no big problems. Then, a few years later, I drove through Belgium with a friend and a Capri number 2 and an Opel Commodore A on a similar route. The only defect on the Capri was a worn tyre on the inside front, my fault, so I screwed it back on and went on. On the Commo, a defective (NEW !!) radiator cap, never change a running system!!! 4 years ago I was in Barcelona with, now, my Commodore A Coupe, 1970. across France, only one defect, water ingress, in the only downpour there was. Self-inflicted, as I left the window open. And 150km from home, a broken light switch. It was possible to bypass it. Don't forget, I always have to cross Germany first. Now the Mazda MX5 is waiting for the next road trip. It's all a question of preparation and reduction! I love your channel and your English!! ;) and have been following it for 2 years ! Take advantage of your youth and the opportunities, travel with older vehicles, they are symphaty carriers and can certainly always be repaired. you have it easier today, if there is a problem and you have wifi, you can google almost everything. but you have to have the entusiasm and the will in you. Our learning and google was :TRY & ERROR ;) Stay healthy, see you on the road. Life is a f... Roadtrip!!!! Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) Sorry my german is realy better, maybe yours too ;) The first what you must do: START! remember, older vehicles need some affection, just like your partner. And a little technical understanding... And we only learn from problems... and there is always someone who can help... Put your smartphone in the corner and start, I'm happy to help...

[@TheJagjr4450]

I laughed out loud at the 928 comment and look on your face... thanks for that! My father in law did 50 miles in a 1905 Cadillac ONE CYLINDER. 20MPH top speed. No windshield no top no doors in the middle of the winter.

[@garrettlowell7637]

I couldn’t agree more on this topic. I have put more than 300k miles on my old Jeep over 25 years (YTD) & taken it everywhere. Also have just turned 50k miles that I have put on my old E28 (YTD). Not afraid to take it anywhere. But I prepare for the worst in both vehicles.

[@TheJagjr4450]

I drove a modified 1986 951 (944 turbo) as my daily driver in college from 1992-1995. I had to replace the balance shaft belt, timing belt, and idler along with the oil cooler line and one fuel inj relay while i owned the car. But I roadtripped the car with college buddies and literally beat the snot out of it. One friend had a Supra Turbo and another had a 1989 V6 Turbo trans am which we used to race each other all the time. I currently have a couple of 1960's - and early 1970's corvettes which I drive often... I drove one of the vettes on a 3 hour trip last weekend.

[@helgfurryirl]

Wow, I'm very glad you showed up in my feed! Great video, with awesome truths. Love it

[@bjrnrs]

I own my 944 S2 for 8 years right know. It has already over 215k km. Bought with 168k km. Of course you have to do the maintenance. But then it runs very well. And it never leave me alone. But it’s not my daily even when it was my only car for most the time.

[@genesisstudios-nynashville6852]

Awesome David you are so inspiring and love your videos. 1980 924 owner here and will be doing a coast to coast trip NY to LA next year. You explain it all perfectly !! Thank you

[@BEGGARWOOD1]

After a 4800 km drive to Tuscany and back in a 1996 SL I totally agree . All that the car needed was done. My journey was uneventful and joyful in equal measure

[@raceway3982]

Great format (uncut)...I enjoyed the relatable content with a relaxed delivery. I am now a subscriber. I have a 1990 Mazda Rx-7 convertible and just lost engine compression last week w/ 97K miles. It's been my daily for 15 month and I new the risks, but why buy/have it if you don't drive it? I plan to rebuild the engine this fall and your common sense message will resonate.

[@gvi341984]

944 used to make sense second hand but now are priced way beyond they should be. Then you realize a twingo feels like a sports car compared to a clapped out 944

[@GavinEarnshaw]

My son is a Mechanic. Modern cars are designed to be 'maintained' from underneath on a ramp or lift. With special tools and computer. Some are designed to be throw away. Example: Fiesta ecoboost 1litre. 150k miles req timing belt change. Local Ford dealer told them to just throw the engine away as it was easier and cheaper. {Maintenance on modern cars is pushed to as long as possible to be as cheap on finance as possible for the first owner. So oil change at 20k miles...}

[@bv2225]

Very interesting video! Thank you, please keep it up… my longest road-trip was Athens to Wales in a 1967 Lotus Elan…. It made it there and back with few hiccups

[@fransubaru]

Great video! I feel the same way about cars!

[@less_vanity5820]

can relate to every single word. And it also applies to relatively modern cars. I have both, car from 1982 and from 2010, the later one has 300k+ on the odometer. They both are as reliable as my attitude. And every time I start a journey, there is only one thing to consider - that my risk aversion corresponds the car technical condition.. after all, if it fails - live it through, fix it, learn the lesson, make adjustments (mindset). go on..

[@bergamotte21]

Dear David, Thank you for your last video, I was delighted to listen to it. You are absolutely right, when we love cars, let's say, a little old or more, that we know how to respect them, love them and take care of them, what pleasures they give us. You know what I like, it's restoring them, refurbishing them, researching parts, understanding how they work and finally bringing them back to life. Very rightly, we must love them, listen to them, feel them, respect them, take care of them. Yes, you have to like mechanics, you have to learn them, yes, yes, it is possible, but then what freedom it gives us! And, they give it back to us so well, what a pleasure they know how to give us to drive and travel with them, we are changing of time Best and have a long way

[@peterhabel]

Well, as one that has planned for at 6.000km trip in Scandinavia in one week in a 26 years old LR Defender I hope I have identified all the issue that needed to be fixed... but experience tells me that 9 out of 10 times something unexpected happens 🙄 so I always bring a lot of tools and spare parts... but,... that is just part of the adventure ☺️

[@BeyondTheVan]

I know how you feel! I'm getting my 34yr old Defender ready for a Portugal trip next month. Replacing everything before I go and still taking spare parts haha!

[@peterhabel]

@@BeyondTheVan Enjoy the road trip :-)

[@JethroBronner]

14:20 haha that took me by surprise!

[@80sAudiSport]

Strange question... but faffing with the Quattros (having the 016 gearboxes), was that a 10-bolt flywheel used for the 924/944 ?

[@OnlyARoadtripAway]

9-bolt

[@willemduijff9449]

Hi there! I'm enjoying your videos and drawing some inspiration from them from time to time. I've been driving my '82 924 2.0 for about a year and a half now and I've done about 15.000 (mostly) effortless kilometers in it. Sadly, I'm not mechanically proficient and can't do work on the car by myself. In the very near future however, I'm going to have the timing belt changed and new shock absorbers installed. The plan is to do a big roadtrip through Europe again this summer. Now to the point, as I don't know the car inside and out mechanically: are there any parts you'd recommend I should look into or replace? I've been thinking about replacing some rubbers as they obviously wear out. I don't care if the car isn't in concours shape; as long as it's sound under the bonnet, I'm quite happy. Grüße aus den Niederlanden!

[@OnlyARoadtripAway]

Truth be told, the sky is the limit. Only by the time all wearing parts have been restored or replaced is the journey clear for a while. Timing belt/water pump is dead easy on these, in your case I‘d figure out how it drives and change from there. If it was mine, the entire suspension and braking system would be done to as new.

[@UberWerks914]

Well said.

[@BENJI_BUILT]

OARA: "Classics cars are unreliable" ME: * Laughs in Toyota Hilux

[@TheJagjr4450]

1.7KG is going to make that thing rev ALOT quicker. A 150 grams off of the rotating assembly will reduce lap times on a road course more than 50KG off the car weight. RECIPROCATING Weight is where the big gains come... every piston, pin, ring pack, and small end of the rod is acclerated from a dead stop TWICE every revolution. Every bit of power used to acclerate the piston cannot be used to accelerate the vehicle.

[@undergroundgarage]

Geiles video, vie immer! 👍 FIY "non interference engine" is the englisch term for the 924 engine😉

[@OnlyARoadtripAway]

Genau das fiel mir im flow natürlich nicht mehr ein - rede auch eher selten über den Motor. 🫣

[@slowlearner984]

I've been driving classic cars as daily drivers for twenty years. Regular maintenance. Just like modern cars.

[@chelchis]

lil question, is this episode 1 or two. the title says 1 but the description says 2...

[@OnlyARoadtripAway]

2, messed that up. 😛

[@JethroBronner]

Nothing is ever finished, nothing is ever perfect, and nothing lasts forever. Well that’s my philosophy anyway. My cars are all eternal projects.

[@OnlyARoadtripAway]

A dear acquaintance of mine has an about equal saying: ‚They only reach more or less acceptable intermediate states‘ - not a perfect translation from german but close enough.

[@thatot2863]

💯 percent

[@Jpampyn]

Classics car are unreliable, yes... but a Mercedes 300D not hahahhahahah. Great Vid and true words. The end is the best HAHAHHA

[@farazakhtar7461]

Picasso of engine building 🫡❤

[@TairnKA]

Owning a classic car requires its owner to chase the vehicles, "Weakest Link" so they don't reveal themselves at a most inopportune time. ;-)

[@orlandocoronado1330]

I feel like I’m getting scolded 🤣

[@Shithead63]

Compressor.

[@13Rcdrifter]

What about the Range Rover? They love gremlins lol

[@OnlyARoadtripAway]

Leaking injection pump once, but even like that it ran fine.

[@Welcometofacsistube]

I disagree. Classic cars are more reliable than new ones.

[@OnlyARoadtripAway]

Yes, but only if kept well. I‘d always trust an old car more.