Breakdowns happen in threes right?

[datsunaholic]

Some weeks I really regret relying on 30+ year old cars. Of course the bright side is it's usually an easy fix...

 

So, Tuesday the heater core in my daily driver '76 Kingcab decides to blow, sending antifreeze all over the windshield (since I had the defroster on at the time). Leak was small enough I was able to get home, and I had a squeegee in the truck to keep the window clear.

 

Today, driving the '72 510, the alternator gives out in Fife. No warning- lights go dim, light comes on, suddenly starts to not want to run right (because the anti-dieseling solenoid closed). Since it was 5:30 AM and dark it wasn't gonna make the turnaround on battery alone with the headlights in so I called AAA.

 

Waiting for the next shoe to drop.

[Jassifrass]

i think it does (happen in 3's)

 

my car had timing issues, then starting issues, now exhaust issues...all in a row one after the other

[hang_510]

I called AAA.

^ thats 3 right there ;)

 

all done!

[datsunaholic]

Nah, the tow truck guy showed up on time this time. Better than having to pay for the tow. I get my money's worth out of AAA.

[FoxyRoadster]

I'd been thinking about getting AAA, I've got the crappy phone roadside and my insurance roadside, might as well just have one more so I can make it all the way home on free tows from across the country lol.

[jun]

"waiting for the next shoe to drop"

 

I have a friend who swears by old cars. He says "old cars are the best, because when something goes wrong, you know how to fix it."

 

This is coming from a guy who has at least 5 cars, all old, and only one of the runs, coincidentally a Datsun. And it will break down in some form every other week. "oh but it's an easy fix!"

 

He absolutely hates new cars because "you can't fix them".

 

Looking back at the past year, my 510 wagon has needed way more repairs than my Titan and Jetta combined. Granted, it's old, and parts are on their way out, and between my friends and I we have performed all the work ourselves. A new part goes in and I figure it will last many years. It took me some time to get used to this, but I've accepted that it's just part of enjoying an old car. When I don't feel like dealing with the old car, I have a newer car that doesn't need so much attention.

 

The one thing that helped me get my 510 was knowing that I have other cars to rely on. I drive it almost every day, but only on my short work commutes (5 mi each way) and the occasional fun runs through the twisty roads. I don't think I could just rely on my 510 as my only car, so I gotta give you guys who do use them for a do-all vehicle a whole lot of credit! :thumbup:

 

I don't think I've contributed to this thread at all, it's just what crossed my mind right reading your experience!

[datsunaholic]

The newest vehicle I ever owned was 9 years old, had it for 6 months (it was a '91 Corsica I had in 2000). Sold it to my Dad who gave it to my brother who is still driving it- 3 headgaskets later. It was fairly easy to work on once you got the EFI stuff out of the way. It didn't look so at first. But today's cars REALLY have stuff crammed under the hood. The plastic shrouding is designed now to direct air, because otherwise all that stuff would trap heat.

 

 

I kind of put these breakdowns on myself. I drive 46 miles each way average to work, and I put 23,000 miles on my "Daily" in the first year I owned it (Sept 09 to Sep 10). This being a '76 King Cab... that had seen under 2000 miles the previous 10 years COMBINED. Oil change records showed it was due in March 1998 at 138,000 miles... it had 136,500 when I got it in Sep 09, and it turned 160,000 a few weeks ago. Naturally, stuff is gonna break. I expect it, and carry a lot of spares. But not a heater core, which I don't have a spare anyway. Worse, they appear to be NLA from everywhere, OReilly has a part number but none in stock anywhere. "Special Order, Limited".

 

What sucks is I'm now relegated to driving my Chevy, with a top speed of 55 (due to extreme gearing). That's going to tear it up, as it's an extreme low-miles truck itself (under 14,000 original miles). The 510 is an easy fix though, I probably have a half dozen spare 35A alternators. Unless the (brand new) voltage regulator went out. The 510 seems to have inherited the reliability of the car it was traded for- a '77 280Z that never made it 500 miles between breakdowns.

[danfiveten]

My 08 se-r has been in the shop 4 times since we had it. My 510, zero. My datsuns have always been way more reliable than anything else i own, i would drive my dime every single day for the rest of my life because of how dependable it is.

[izzo]

i drive my 510 everywhere. i took it on a 1400 mile road trip just over a week ago. Straight there and back, took me 24 hours. But it didn't skip a beat the whole way :D

[MicroMachinery]

I daily my Datsuns. The 610 and the 521 are both better than 30 years old, and have rarely let me down. The 521 until recently has been a flawless runner at 300k+. By keeping up on regular maintenance, the only issue it ever gave me was the condenser going bad(and that only happened because I forgot to replace it when I did the points). $5 part, 5min fix. I've put 50k miles on the pickup since I got it, so $5 and 5min of my time has been well worth it.

[Shonuff]

im a believer in the 3's.

 

on my wheeler the headgasket went, then i sucked a washer into #3, then the rods went on a "shakedown".

 

 

now the diffs about to blow after 6mo of reliability, and im afraid to touch it without everything to rebuild the axl. :D

 

 

 

but ya hate new cars, like why does my '09 E250 work van really need 82 fuses, i mean seriously. i dont even have cruise control, its a base model. dont even get me started on how new cars havent "talked to you" in 20years.

[datsunaholic]

Aaaannd... #3 happened tonight.

 

The brake light switch in my Chevy quit. It works if I jiggle it, or rattle the pedal, but not always.

 

Great.

[moparvwfreak]

well you had to ask didn't ya???? dont feel bad though, i have had all 3 in less than 2 weeks. first the passat, then the caprice and on wednesday night the 620 started not wanting to run right. at night of course WHILE i was on a delivery.......