2002 Daily Driver?

['76mintgrün'02]

3 hours ago, Leucadian said:

Are you a lumberjack, and your commute is through the backroads of the Pacific Northwest?  Then yes, I would drive that car everyday.  

 

Absolutely.

 

I wish I drove mine daily, but I don't get out and about that often.  I am out of coffee, so I will be driving it today.  I buy groceries  in Bremerton, which is a forty-minute drive.   I like to take the back roads and time the departure based on gaps in the ferry schedule.

 

Maintenance seems minimal, once they're sorted; but there's always room for improvement.  It's not just about keeping it going, but also making it go better.  In that way, they can be very time consuming, but that's half of the fun.

 

Tom

 

 

Edited October 12, 2022 by '76mintgrün'02

[Mike Self]

10 hours ago, SydneyTii said:

One thing I did when I daily drove my car was make sure I had at least one of the necessary consumables in my stash,

Been doing that ever since my first car, a Renault, not the paragon of reliability!  I have a slightly-smaller-than-a-shoebox plastic container with an assortment of items that I've discovered over 53 years of driving 02s, what is most likely to: malfunction, is necessary to get you home, and can be repaired/replaced on the roadside if you have the part.  It's a given you have tools.  The kit also has electrical tape, terminals, some wire and duct tape.  I call it my TRSK (Trip Reserve Spares Kit)...this is a legacy of working for Air Force Materiel Command, who puts these kits together for deploying flying units. 

 

2 hours ago, jimk said:

12 hours ago, Mike Self said:

But I am very careful driving around in SW Florida; it's not Miami/Ft Lauderdale crazy but there are a lot of, uh elderly folks

You young dude, Mike.

Hey, I don't have to look through my steering wheel to drive!  and I'm not driving a Town Car...

 

3 hours ago, Conserv said:

‘02 A/C is… ‘02 A/C…

My favorite description is from Mike Miller, the Tech Tips columnist in the Roundel:  "2002 air conditioning is like a hamster blowing over a sno cone."

 

mike

[John76]

12 hours ago, Mike Self said:

once you have taken care of all your 02's mechanical needs, and keep up with the maintenance, it'll be a reliable daily driver. 

Seems like the mechanical needs and maintenance are never ending!

 

Mike, you are a seasoned 2002 owner who has literally written the book on maintaining our vehicles (PM me and I'll send you your technical notes 😁).

Every time I drive my daughter's 2015 Honda Civic, I wish my '76 could be as maintenance friendly (oil change every 6k miles, and coolant and spark plugs every 100k miles). That's about it, totally reliable year-round.

 

John

[jimk]

I keep a printed copy of a spreadsheet for the maintenance in the car.  For the columns it has an input cell at the top with the current mileage, then below columns for description, date performed, mileage when it was last performed and a final column that computes the mileage since last performed.

 

I can quickly see long forgotten items like when the rear axle bearings were greased.

[AceAndrew]

Maybe I'm a bit YOLO, but.... go for it.

 

In 2010 I moved to LA with everything packed into my honda accord.  A week living out of my car, it was totaled by a gentleman running a red light.  The solution?  Buying an 02 sight-unseen off of craiglist up in Seattle, perfectly reasonable.  Bought a one-way ticket, flew up, bought the car, fluid change, then spent two weeks driving it down highway one.  Slept in car or on the beach .... great memories.

 

It then became my daily driver in LA up until 2014... drove it on the 605, 405, 210, and 57 regularly.  Got in one accident (crunched nose a bit) and it left me stranded once when the diff spider gears gave up the ghost.

 

Wouldn't DD one now, given life situations.... however, if you're young, go for it.

[halboyles]

7 hours ago, dlacey said:

it's been lightly rear-ended twice recently

A third high-center brake light is highly recommended wherever you drive your '02.  The originals were designed in an era of smaller cars and haven't aged well in the last 50 years.  There are a number of versions available on the FAQ and 2002s Only offers one at:  

Third Brake Light | 2002s Only

WWW.2002SONLY.COM

 

[Carlos_M]

First off... Welcome!  You can search for a haiku that tells you to put as many miles on your car (and smiles on your face) or keep the miles down/value up. At the end of the day... do what gives you the most pleasure, it's all subjective.

 

When we lived San Diego - New Orleans - Park City - San Diego, we drove our tii all the time. Once it was restored, my wife now only drives it on fair weather days - Oregon.  I picked up a 69-2002 and once sorted out the mechanicals, it is my daily.  Small town Oregon but I drive it to Portland, over the range (in the snow) to Bend, out to the coast and even rapid weekend to Chico and back... 

 

The only parts I keep in my trunk are a cap & rotor and a spare guibo.  I've had a couple of small issues hear and there but nothing that has required a tow.

 

I love my car and if I get smashed, I'll be sad at the loss but I will put as many miles on my 2002 as I can between now and when I finally walk into the light.  

 

Enjoy your car, plenty of great people here to give you assistance.  Again, Welcome!

 

Carlos...

[kiva667]

I've been daily driving my NK for 12 years now - to be fair, off and on  while I lived abroad - in the PNW. Only exception is I park it when there is snow since both WA and BC love to douse the roads with a Caribbean Sea's worth of salt.

 

I did mechanically restore the car but all in all it has been a very inexpensive way to get around. Plus, with eyes in the back of my head to watch the SUVs, the car has enough to zip to extract it from the normal problems of idiot drivers, who are thick in these parts.

 

So I say, go for it!

[landon]

40 + years of daily driving thoughts;

 

1. Once sorted out these are very reliable cars. These were all daily drivers at some point. It may take some time to get it back to that point.  Keep common spares and tool box in the trunk. I rarely use them. 

2. You will have to do most maintenance yourself as the available mechanics out there willing to work on these is diminished. I do all I can do and plan around larger jobs that I don't have expertise with or tools to do. FAQ is your friend.

3. More maintenance than newer cars. Yes. It becomes your hobby. At least the oil change and battery change is not a dealer service. 

4. Less comfortable than newer cars. Yes. louder, can be warmer with marginal AC, smell of fuel and oil. You like it that way. 

5. More dangerous than newer cars. Yes. But only if you get hit. Drive more defensively. I am in a rural area but take the car to cities and on trips and it's not a big deal. Performance is fine compared to modern cars so it keeps up and stops fast. Drive more defensively.  

6. More fun to drive than (most) newer cars. Yes.      

[ray_]

6 hours ago, Conserv said:

It’s the humidity, wise ass! 😋

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

Oh, like it's humid up there.

 

[bavariaboy]

Keep that spare water pump in the trunk. It will do you no good on the shelf when the current one fails. And they do and it will.

 

I would not cruise(well, stopgostopgo) LA or any other big city. As said above, you are driving an appreciating instrument the rest are losing money with each mile and day.  No matter what your agreed value it can never be high enough. 

 

Buy an old reliable Honda and relax. A Grand Marquis is destined to be closing fast.

 

 

[Conserv]

1 hour ago, ray_ said:

Oh, like it's humid up there.

 

All right, I’m still LMAO about your “hot up there” comment!

 

Best,

 

Steve

 

 

[jimk]

Don't run the fan belt so tight and the water pump will last and last.

[bavariaboy]

I would like to take Mike Miller for a ride in Lilli, my 76 2002 with an upgraded Behr ac unit. At 90 degrees and humidity at 90% my Behr unit will freeze your knuckles. And the temperature gauge won't budge above 2 o'clock.

Granted the unit was worked on by one of the most experienced and knowledgable 2002 experts, Chris I.

But it can be done.

 

 

 

 

[cda951]

This topic has been discussed ad nauseam on this forum and others. The additional maintenance required for an older car is an obvious factor: one either has to be willing and able to do it themselves or have the money to pay a shop like mine. In any case, you have to really enjoy the entirety of the old car experience to be willing to drive one every day. 

 

The safety aspect is another matter, and should be a major consideration. An 02 is a tin can on wheels compared to modern cars. I live in Santa Barbara, CA, which is far removed from LA in terms of traffic, but I could still easily be rear-ended or T-boned by an inattentive driver in a truck or SUV. Nonetheless, my 2002tii shares rotating daily driver duty (year round thanks to our climate) with an Alfa Romeo GTV6, Porsche 944 Turbo,  and occasionally my girlfriend's '99 Z3 Coupe or Jensen-Healey roadster.  All are in scruffy cosmetic condition, but are sorted mechanically and rarely have issues (we just bought an old French thing that needs work).

 

Our only true "modern" car is her company Acura SUV. But, we also don't have kids, and both live and breathe driving old sports cars. It is very fun and gratifying to every day drive something with character and flair, though every now and then I wish for something with A/C and keyless entry. I then snap out of it and hop into one of our fun machines, and smile during every drive.