Sunova bitch! I thought I could delay this. For years, I’ve been telling my friends that I plan to move “any day now,” and for years, I just amassed one new vehicle after the other. Winter after winter blew by, and I remained in Troy, Michigan, surrounded by cheap junkers. But then, last month, I fell into what, in retrospect, I now know was clearly a trap. “Fwd: Met & Morris Minor JUNKYARD BOUND SOON!” read the subject line. I clicked it immediately.
“Before long I will call Pick-A-Part and have them tow both cars away,” read the first line, referencing an old Nash Metropolitan and Morris Minor. “Both need work, both have clear Ca. titles and current tags in my name,” the email went on.
“NO ONE WANTS TO WORK ON THEM AT ANY PRICE so it’s time to junk them both,” Nate, the sender, continued. “Sad but I’m physically unable anymore and I’m also broke, barely making my monthly nut anymore so everything has to go dirt cheap or free before I wind up in the street.”
“Please help me get rid of these two cars, need to be towed out.”
This email had, of course, come to be by way of Chief Vehicle Hoarding-Enabler and Autopian cofounder Jason Beauregard Torchinsky IV, which is why I should have known this whole thing was a trap:
Jason’s lovable gearhead buddy Tom had forwarded Nate’s note our way, and sent along the two photos above. Here’s a closer look:
[Editor’s Note: I regret nothing. – JT]
I, being a thoughtful man (read: not a fool) was not about to just let a free Nash Metropolitan — and a rare one with a trunk lid (many Metropolitans had none, so you accessed stuff in the trunk via the front two doors) — just whiz by without at least seeing what was what. I talked to Nate, and he told me that he really just wanted his beloved Met to go to a good home. After all, he’d enjoyed years of just blasting that thing around LA at high speeds. Check out how this Met looks with the paint all shined up:
Anyway, I sent Nate a few articles of mine, namely the ones about me daily-driving a 1965 Plymouth Valiant for an entire winter, and about driving a 1948 Willys CJ-2A and a 1976 Postal Jeep from Michigan to the off-road trails of Moab, Utah, and Nate ate that stuff up, replying:
Wow David ;
You’re obviously the person to save my Met, I hope you’ll find if fun and rewarding, I did and drove it hard for well over a decade all over the South West .
The DJ-5 and CJ-2a threads were great .
Please save the Morris Minor too….
The Morris Minor, by the way, is an awesome little British Economy car from a similar era as the Nash, and appears to just need to be put back together; the body looks solid:
Jason’s friend Tom decided to take on that project, bless him, though I have to admit that I have quite a bit of work ahead of me, too. “I rebuilt the engine about 35,000 miles ago, std. Bore,.” he texted me. “New pistons etc but didn’t replace the .030/030 crankshaft. It was fine until I bumped the distributor, gave it too much timing advance, then I flew across the Arizona desert and beat the rods to death.”
He told me he has a standard crankshaft that goes with the vehicle, and even gave instructions on how to install it — instructions that make the rather tedious job actually sound rather easy:
“Engine and transmission come out together from below, separate tranny, flip engine, replace crankshaft (is in the car) and all bearings and thrust shims, button it back up and good to go.”
Not at all daunted, and actually rather keen to get wrenching on this little thing, I called up my team out at Galpin Ford, since the company is located only 20 minutes from Nate. Beau Boeckmann, the man behind The Autopian’s existence, and his VP Jeff graciously agreed to store my project car, and Jeff organized the pickup. He sent a flatbed to Nate’s house; Nate send me a few photos of the pickup operation, noting that he had lots of spare parts in the car, including a bolt of fabric to reupholster the door-cards. He also made mention of the keychain, which he’s apparently rather proud of, and. included photos of other Nash memorabilia:
Right now, the car sits on the Galpin property somewhere. I’m going to be getting a first look at it in August, when I fly west for Pebble Beach, an event for which I have far, far too many redneck tendencies. Eventually, I’ll be flying west permanently, and this little Nash will be my commuter. I’m actually quite thrilled that Nate gave me this car (I plan to give him some money for it, as I can’t take something this cool for free), because I’d actually been looking for a small car for Los Angeles. Fuel prices there are absurd, and none of my current vehicles do better than about 15 MPG in the city.
Right around the time Jason notified me of this incredible Met, I’d sent him a listing for a King Midget, arguably the U.S.’s first-ever microcar. With a top speed of only 50, it’d be a sacrifice, no doubt, but at 50 MPG, it’d make cruising around LA somewhat affordable. Highway jaunts, though, would be a problem.
This Nash, though, ticks all the boxes. Its little 1.5-liter “B-Series” four-banger from British automaker Austin will do 35 MPG in the city and over 30 on the highway. And I do mean “highway,” because though the car had a top speed of 75 mph, and though most Metropolitan owners will tell you that that’s rather ambitious given the three-speed and 4.22:1 rear axle ratio, Nate swapped his rear diff for a 3.73:1 gearset, meaning the car can apparently drive 75 “all day,” per Nate. Motor Trend and Popular Mechanics tested the earlier 1.2-liter A-Series engine-equipped Metropolitan, and fuel economy was as high as 40 at lower steady speeds and closer to 30 around 60 or 65, so I believe Nate’s fuel economy claims.
There’s so much more about the unibody Nash Metropolitan that I need to tell you; in many ways, it offered incredible features that you might not have expected in an economy car from the mid 1950s; I’ll get to that later once I actually get to sit in the car and experience its glory. I’m excited.
The move to LA? I can’t say I’m that excited about that. I’m ready to leave Detroit (even though I do love it and its incredible car culture), as it’s been nine years already, my army-brat nature is telling me to move on, and I have no family nearby. But I do have concerns about LA — cost of living, truly accessible car culture, the homeless population (I’m not worried about them, I’m worried for them), the time difference from the east coast, traffic, etc. But the fact is, being close to our west coast team will yield tangible benefits that will help The Autopian grow as a business, and that’s where my head has to be right now. I’m just glad I’ve got a little, moderately-broken 1950s economy car ready to show me around.
Completely unrelated: Does anyone in Michigan have a giant pole barn ideal for storing Jeeps (on the cheap)?
Update: Somehow — and I don’t know how this happened — I only just realized that Nate had, somehow, swapped in an automatic transmission. How that wasn’t clear to me when I bought this is beyond me. Obviously, Nash never offered an auto in a Metropolitan, and swapping one into such a small package seemed very unlikely, but here we are: That’s a PRNDL on the floor. I’m not a fan of automatics, so I’m likely either going to swap this back or have to part ways with it. Bummer! But pretty hilarious that I’m only now learning about it!
It’s an automatic? Weird. I bet it’s one of those Borg-Warner 35s that someone yanked out of an MGB/C or Marina. Man, with that installed, you could bake a batch of cookies in the time it takes to get to 60 mph. Don’t drive that on the freeway.
Never spent much time in Southern CA, but as much as we all hope The Autopian is stuffing the pockets of its writers with cash, isn’t finding a house near L.A. to store some version of the Fleet going to be hideously expensive?
I mean I live in a pricey area, and would probably need $5k to rent a house on a decent lot (and not in a HOA). And that is assuming the house isn’t that great. Either that, or you are basically not living in the metro area.
Even if DT can store them at Galpin, that means he’ll have to basically live at the dealership….there you go, free story idea. “DT is low-key living in a car dealership”
I just won’t wrench as much. I gotta run this place!
Re: The Autopian “stuffing the pockets of its writers with cash” —
Not gonna happen until the site’s advertising gets underway in earnest. (Which reminds me of at least a couple of ugly elephants lurking in the room: when & how annoying?)
Looking forward to welcoming you to sunny Los Angeles! You are going to have a blast here. All places have good things and bad things, and LA is no exception. Be prepared to hating it for the first few months, this is a tricky city to embrace. But once you find “your LA” (there are almost as many LAs as Angelenos), you won’t regret your choice.
LA has everything you need. Except rust.
Where will you find your recommended daily intake of Ferrous Oxide?
That’s easy – drive shitbox to ocean boat launch ramp, back halfway in, drive home. Done.
Oh man, looking forward to this one David!!! I’ve always loved these things….there’s just something about quirky, small, basic and interesting cars that draws me in so much more than anything else! Good luck with the move when the time comes and getting this little time capsule back on the road! 😀
So no concerns about having to go through California emissions testing?
The Metro is brilliant but I don’t know that I’d daily something without A/C in SoCal.
Morris Minor is my kink. That’s an import car and could/should be rather rust free. Probably a 1959 or 1960 which were the peak years for American market sales. Everything is available for them. I buy my parts directly from England. Usually frmo East Sussex Minors (ESM) super service and using FedEx fast delivery.
WE NEED EDIT!
How did the Metro come to be an automatic?
King Midget – a friend had one back in the late 60’s. Loads of fun. He flew a pennant on a long rod so cars could see him.
Pre-smog regulation cars (or maybe just pre-1975 cars) are exempt from mandatory smog inspections in CA. That has to account for a lot of his fleet…
Pre 1975 cars don’t need to be tested so the Nash is fine.
So David is shedding all his other vehicles?
Ok, absolute nerd admission time. I >have< the Morris Minor engine manual stored as pdf on my phone for those times I’m at a cell site under the tower with no signal & need something to read while I eat lunch. I enjoy the rather archaic language.
Go ahead: flame me. I ain’t care
No flames for you. Just a respectful nod.
No flames because Lucas did the electrics, eh?
I’m imagining something like: “Upon every second revolution of the Great Shaft controlled lightning is directed into the pits where the pistons lurk, simultaneously crushing and firing the petrol vapors so that their force may be carried by sundry mechanisms to the wheels and thence impel the carriage either forward or backwards as is the driver’s pleasure.” Close? Too much? Not enough, maybe?
A bit much, maybe, but enjoyable. One that stands out in memory is in the section on de-carbonizing. Something along the lines of: ‘Remove all traces of carbon by use of compressed air or by vigorous use of household bellows.’
-vision of stereotypical British mechanic yelling at encrusted pistons
*rubs hands in anticipation*
I am really looking forward to this rebuild David!
And welcome to the West Coast!
Where the only salt you will encounter on the roads is when you go to the beach.
Was this a real DT post, or Cockrum Mississippi Jeepster DT post?
DT’s neighbors see the moving truck pull up to his house. They let out a cheer, the Jeep hoarder who goes mudding in the backyard is moving. A few days/weeks later Mercedes moves in with a bus, a fleet of Smarts, assorted motorcycles, some kei cars, a fleet of Volkswagens, and a Saturn Sky to boot.
I think I would be terrified to drive that Nash at 75mph on the freeway. Distracted drivers in crossover uniformity vehicles and Tesla’s on Autopilot seems like a recipe for an early release from life.
I think Mercedes is locked into Rockfordtucky
#815life
Good luck with the move. Forget all those naysayers. It will be great. I’ve seen that movie before.
BTW: If anyone asks when you get to Beverly Hills with all your life belongings hanging off the back of Jeep J10 pickup, tell them you are Jed Clampett’s great-grandson. It will make perfect sense then.
The J10 will never pass emissions. All the original equipment is gone. No air pump! Aftermarket carb. Etc.
You should probably just give up on the Golden Eagle as well so I can add it to my fleet.
Isn’t it pre-1975? And don’t early emissions-era (up to 1980 or so) cars have some leeway when it comes to smog testing? If so then you might be in luck with the J10?
No. It won’t.
Have you really, I mean REALLY thought this through? If you gave me the choice between having a J10 available as a daily driver or moving to California, I would tell California to go to hell in a hot second.
Also, why does voice-to-text capitalize random words like “driver,” but not proper place names like “California”?
So, when can I come get a look at the J10? I’ll keep it in Michigan for ever!
The Metro is cool and all, but you’re m8dding a big opportunity to buy a rust free CJ/YJ/TJ and enjoy riding around with the soft top stored safely elsewhere.
It’s California, man! Get a top you can drop.
David this is so awesome, what a way to start out your LA fleet, not sure where you will live to keep more than one vehicle but I’m sure you’ll find a way!
Looks like several SoCal TT road rally stickers on the back window. This car has been loved, very happy to see it’s being rescued.
Alright.. (PLEASE LORD GOD DO NOT SPITE ME FOR WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY)
Alright…
Nash…
You already have a Jeep Collection, there IS a LINE you could draw from Nash to Jeep. I mean, it would involve 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon. But I know its there. I just dont want to be banned, beaten, shot, raped, invaded, executed, drawn, quartered, hung, castrated, discombobulated… as a result.
Oh yeah, I’m absolutely still in the family.
it came right into my mind immediately. You are correct. Stand proud of your instincts! DT has not left the Shit Quadrant on this one, and we all know how uncomfortable he gets when he does (ie. nice Lexus SUVs)
I’m begging you to put on a Weird Al wig and glasses for some photos in this car. I’m sure you know it was his car in UHF.
David needs a shiny suit and an adequate dove budget for whenever he needs to show up for meetings.
https://youtu.be/qpMvS1Q1sos?t=13
My Advice: Don’t move to LA
Day long response time from police, massive rise of violent crimes, massive homelessness issue, the traffic has always sucked there, SMOG Testing, etc.
Move to Douglas County Nevada, no SMOG testing, no State income tax, lots of off road trails, Lake Tahoe is a short drive away, etc.
That’s too far from the team in LA.
Get a place out in the Central Valley next to Steve Dulcich. You can trade parts of decrepit old rust buckets.
Nobody should ever recommend moving to Earlimart.
It’s only a day’s drive. I’ve done it plenty of times. It certainly beats living there
A day’s drive often turns into 2 or 3 when you drive vehicles of the, ah, vintage that David does. 😉
You’re not wrong about L.A., but the suggestion to move to Nevada is pretty silly as it doesn’t address any of the reasons that he actually wants to move to L.A. At that point he might as well stay put and save the hassle.
It’s basically on the west coast without the west coast problems. He wanted to be close to the west coast and he would be in Nevada, except he wouldn’t have to deal with humidity, smog testing, state income tax, horrible laws (especially around automobiles), horrible local and state governments, etc.
Smog laws in Washoe County (Reno) and Clark County (Vegas) are actually more strict than California’s
Fortunately LA sprawls to the mountains, so you can pick your favorite suburb and it’s still LA.
FYI, smog isn’ an acronym, it’s a combination of “smoke” and “fog”.
Yeah it’s a portmanteau.
Portmanteau is a Good Word(tm).
I like the idea of him being The Autopian’s European editor, where he can go on epic drives in his diesel manual minivan between TUV failures, go to auto shows and press launches from there, and post those 6 AM Eastern Time-embargoed press releases at 9 over a leisurely Konditorei breakfast.
That or living in Jason’s RV on Jason’s property.
I’m doing LA for business reasons. My heart wants to live in Bavaria.
You’ll want to keep that automatic while you navigate the L.A. crawl.
I’m not interested in driving an auto. Plus, I have no issues driving a stick in traffic. The whole continent of Europe does it just fine!
I had to look up some statistics on this, not that I don’t trust you or anything. And yes, Europe has way more manuals than automatics, exactly the reverse of Japan and the US. But when you break down sales by country you see that for some reason automatics are more popular in Northern Europe than Southern Europe. They have overall been increasing market share but the coming of EVs will render them moot. Although I think of EVs as automatics whether that makes sense or not. No clutch pedal? Automatic.
This. Living in Scandinavia, I haven’t seen a rental or carshare auto with manual in about five years now. They’re all automatics. But after twenty-five plus years of stick, I do have ‘fantom’ manual muscle memory: at lights or corners, I still ‘push’ the clutch, which, thankfully, only once meant I accidentally applied the brake.
I never got people who seem to think that a manual in traffic is torture. I have always owned manual vehicles and I don’t hate traffic.
I drove manual transmission vehicles for 20+ years until I traded my Jeep for an F250 last year. In a way, I find manuals easier to drive in very bad traffic (i.e. creeping along at less than 5 mph). If the road is downhill, you let off the brake, roll a few feet, and lightly press the brake to stop. If the road is level or slightly up hill, let out the clutch a tiny bit to start moving (you don’t need to use the gas pedal for most vehicles), then lightly press the brake to stop. Very little effort is required in either of those situations. It can be mildly annoying if you are driving up a steep hill, but that doesn’t happen too often. With my F250 and other automatics, I have to keep my foot on the brake at all times to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me.
I’ve noticed those who complain about driving standard transmissions in traffic tend to ride the clutch a lot and don’t seem to understand that the car can simply be allowed to idle in first at five mph. Transmission shops probably love these people.
My Polo does about 2mph in 1st at idle, which makes it an absolute dream in traffic. I even braved the North Circular in London recently and it was loving it (the cooling must be good too because the water temp never budged).
I’ve definitely found it depends on the manual. Mostly the clutch, but also low-end torque. My mazdaspeed6 had an absolutely brutal clutch and was pretty unpleasant in traffic. The Elise and Abarth 500 were both just fine.
Precisely. The majority of drivers drive manuals in Europe so traffic flows at a different pace. I wish we had lights that went red yellow green so you know to engage the clutch on yellow. American driver’s mostly in automatics, have little patience for stick shift drivers or older carbureted cars in general, if the driver’s are not hammering it off the line when the light turns green.
Ah yes, then you could grow a giant mustache, and walk around in lederhosen all day eating sausages.
And schnitzel!
No need to smog this car or cars before 1975.
Fortunately LA sprawls to the mountains, so you can pick your favorite suburb and it’s still LA.
Well, that doesn’t look bad at all! And by the way, the BMC B-series is also used in the MGA and MGB (and the Morris Marina, but we don’t talk about that side of the family), so if you wanted/needed to, you could drop in a 1.8 five-main-bearing MGB engine, add twin SU carbs or a Weber DGV, and gain some breathing room on acceleration/top speed.
Additionally, the 1200cc engine used at first in the Metropolitan line is in fact an early version of the BMC B-Series as well, and not part of the A-Series lineage. The 1200cc was first used in the Austin A40 series of models (Dorset / Devon / Countryman / Somerset). The A-Series debuted in the Austin A30 of 1951 at a tiny 803cc displacement.
The goto motor for the Morris Minor (aka Morrie Grinder)in my youth in NZ was the Essex V4 (manufactured by the UK Ford Motor Company from 1965 to 1977). The engine was available in both 1.7 L and 2.0.
From memory, it was used in the Ford Corsair, Capri Mk I, Consul/Granada Mk I, Ford Zephyr Mk IV and the Ford Transit Mk I van.
Easy fit. No obvious panel changes or odd bulges, which made a well sorted one a real sleeper.
So begins “David Tracy’s Home for Derelict and Rejected Automobiles,” i.e. a big ‘ol field in California where rust is faded memory and every rocker has a panel.
$5k/month for that field in Southern CA.
And he will not be able to drive one single vehicle he owns off that property, because absolutely none of them will pass California emissions.
Moving to California would be the single most ill-advised project he has ever undertaken, and that is saying something.
Thankfully for Mr. Tracy, cars older than 1975 don’t require a smog check.
Not in Barstow, hell they’d probably pay Tracy if it brought in some tourism!
I only had to read “I Bought a…” in my feed reader to immediately know four things to be true:
1) This was another hare-brained David Tracy (mis)adventure
2) He would use a lot of ink to describe how awesome this vehicle was
3) Said vehicle will inevitably, predictably – inexorably – be less awesome and end up requiring way more work (and way more words) than he ever truly comprehended
4) Said vehicle will be much less suitable to its environment than he anticipates
Now that I’m at the end of the article, I’m even more confident in my assessment.
There’s a word for someone who sees other people’s wasteful passions as flaws to be corrected: *psychopath*.
Isn’t this why we all come here, rubbernecking at the scene of unspeakable horrors?
Let it be known that David has offered me his current abode should he follow through with this. I almost immediately said yes. Then I remembered his misadventure with Troy city inspectors.
What’s the under/over on a Troy city inspector having a heart attack when he or she spots an RTS bus and a mob of Smarts sitting on that property?
I still think it’s a good idea.
I don’t know, that’d be actually pretty badass if you did that. The landlords are super chill (as we know) and if you’re lucky, they might even let you resume David’s current rent. As far as I’m concerned, that property is already on the national register for Autopian Sites of Historical Relevance. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
As a local, with former ties to Troy, there is no over-under. They 100% will NIMBY that, but as long as you stick to the letter of the law the city won’t abuse their power, as DT experienced. Loosing a Tracy to Gain a Mercedes seems like a fair trade though.
I think it’s the Karens that are of most concern.
But I’d like to keep up the tradition of seeing various amount of automobilia parked all over out front as I drive by.
Can you HIDE the SMARTS inside the RTS?
If I gutted the whole interior and turned the walls into big cargo doors…maybe.
But I could probably hide them behind the RTS!
“Hang on, lads; I’ve got an idea….”
Unlike David, most of your fleet is operational.
Am I not operational?
Well, kinda.
depends on local standards; some places don’t even bother with tetanus and its big brother lockjaw. But the twrenchfoot is almost impossible to mask
Isn’t there a mud bog in the back yard? Dirty hoonage!
I would take it. You know it can store cars. Keep em inflated and plated who would know?
Isn’t the moggie engine the same as the Midget’s? Which means it’ll take a BMW K-series head which is quite the horsepower bump. Hot-rod the Morris and put slot-mags on it.
Somewhere in depths of my sheds I have all the bits and instructions to swap the mechanicals (engine and five speed ‘box) from a Fiat 131 into a Morris Minor. If memory serves me right the engine swap is comparatively simple, getting the box to fit requires some literal metal bashing but no welding and the rest of the job is just parts swapping and sort of second level car knowledge,
Unfortunately, most of the necessary suspension and disc brake upgrades came from the much maligned Morris Marina and the Fiat Miarafiore.
An Abarth tweaked 1.8, or 2.2 litre twin cam in a Moggie was fun, Charles Ware used to sell very well (2″wider) wheels. Much as I appreciate a slot mag, the finished thing wasso subtle. My Traveler was a geniune 120mph car and I miss it.
Godd luck today if you can find either a Fiat 131 or a Marina!
minor
Holey crap i love it.That’s faster than my last motorcycle!
You’re gonna have so much fun out here!!!
Just drive very carefully.
OK this move is a HUGE opportunity for you David. It’s time to start shopping for shitbox car hauler 18-wheelers to fix up and move your ENTIRE fleet to California.
Good idea! Maybe a truck manufacturer will lend me a heavy duty truck.
Ya could always… just get a few trailers put them on the back of the Chief.. and tow the load there.
Not just no, but HELL no.
Company-wide caravan across the country. Imagine the stories you guys will be able to milk from that. You, Torch, Mercedes, Mark, the Bishop, and all the other writers in a caravan of shitboxes travelling across the US and fixing the vehicles as you go?
You guys would be set for the next three years.
I think you’re right. That’s the move.
I’m in! I call dibs on whatever runs the worst!
I think you might be swapping vehicles on the move, in that case.
I can see it now…
Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World… Autopian version!
They had half a fleet of Chrysler vehicles and a C O E ontop of a dude who just SAILED RIGHT OUT THERE…
You got a bunch of stuff thats.. well, have to be PREVENTED FROM sailing right out there.
BTW… funniest damn movie Ive ever seen.
Waht a thing of beauty this would be.
Hell you might even start a trend. Hordes of $hitbox enthusiasts making the annual pilgrimage from David old place in Detroit to his new place in Cali.
They might even call it “The Autopian Rally!”
Need help? I’ve never owned an automatic and am scared to drive one. I don’t pay anyone to do anything in my life, except welding, I need a new sub panel to support that first. I think I still have 15 days vacation on the year, and need to get away from my family for some me time. This is perfect me time.
yes this and I hope the route hits I 40 in Oklahoma so we can watch them drive by or tow by however it is going at that point.
Oh OH OH OOH OOH OOH…
Someones gonna get towed… I SO WANT PICTURES!
I can admire wanting to be in California for nice weather, but based on their insane fuel prices and (I believe) relatively costly registration/etc., I can’t picture it being a car hoarders paradise (unless practically everything you own is on “non-op”, which theoretically would be a fair amount of your fleet.)
If you move to California I assume the Michigan fleet will have to shrink drastically. What remains and what gets sold prior to the move?
California registration is based on vehicle cost, so old cheap shitboxes shouldn’t be too expensive to register.
My 1996 and 1997 cars are ~$150 each. My 2015 and 2016 are ~$250.
Non-op is the way to go for much of DT’s lawn art.
And you can go to AAA rather than the DMV for all your registration needs. I really miss that about California.
That, and splitting lanes on my motorcycles. And the food. Otherwise you can have it.
Yikes. $150 is five times what I pay for my older cars. Although in my case insurance is a much bigger piece of TCO than registration.
Soooooo what happens to the remaining fleet? Will Galpin be soon wondering why it has the only full dealer lot in town, but none of it is for sale?
Nashes are delightfully cute little things. Not sure I’d want to risk it to daily driving though.
A late 50’s subcompact car? I’m sure he could survive a crash of upwards of 6 MPH!
From what I understand, this the the average speed of LA rush-hour traffic.
At a previous company, one of the programmers daily drove a Model T since it kept up with Bay Area surface street traffic just fine.
avatar invokes involuntary nausea, throat constriction and convulsions
That’s one thing I miss about the southwest (and west coast by extension) is the weather being agreeable enough year round to daily drive a classic if you’re willing to put the inevitable maintenance/repair effort, and willing to accept the risk of something that’s not as inherently as safe as a more modern vehicle.
I know the registration costs are legendary out there, and I couldn’t say I have the first clue what something like the Nash would run each year, much less David’s fleet of misfit Jeeps.
Does California have anything like the one-time fee collectors vehicle plates which some of the Midwestern states I’m familiar with have? I’m guessing at least a couple of his Jeeps would qualify age-wise.
Nope. Gotta pay annual registration no matter what.