Fact or Fiction?
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 18,401
Likes: 3
From: Retired but working
Cruise-In VI Veteran
Fact or Fiction?
For you heavy duty mechs out there. I used to drive sprints and rails and I was always told by the owner to really drive the pi$$ out of them.
Also if one sat for a long time it was rebuilt before being put back on the track.
I do have a real good friend who works on nothing but HP Vettes, Camaros, etc. and is know as one of best hot car mechanics in Ohio.
In talking with him the other night he said that HP cars should be drive and not parked in a garage (Garage Queens) and tooled around only a few times a year. He also said that he would never buy a "low" milage older HP car of any kind as they are likely to "go South" when the new owner decides to "drive" the car.
In addition to pushing the older engine to places it rarely saw, to dried out seals and bearings the car has aged beyound it's years.
He also said that he'd rather pick up a HP chevy engine that had 12 to 15 K a year on it than one with 2 to 3 K.
I've been away from it for a while and I have a tendancy to believe him regarding the seals and stuff, but does it also pertain to the engine too?
Also if one sat for a long time it was rebuilt before being put back on the track.
I do have a real good friend who works on nothing but HP Vettes, Camaros, etc. and is know as one of best hot car mechanics in Ohio.
In talking with him the other night he said that HP cars should be drive and not parked in a garage (Garage Queens) and tooled around only a few times a year. He also said that he would never buy a "low" milage older HP car of any kind as they are likely to "go South" when the new owner decides to "drive" the car.
In addition to pushing the older engine to places it rarely saw, to dried out seals and bearings the car has aged beyound it's years.
He also said that he'd rather pick up a HP chevy engine that had 12 to 15 K a year on it than one with 2 to 3 K.
I've been away from it for a while and I have a tendancy to believe him regarding the seals and stuff, but does it also pertain to the engine too?
Instructor
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 241
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From: Marion Ohio
In April of this year, I bought a 2000 convertible with 10k on it. The original owner left it sit in a garage most of the time, only taking it out very occasionally on a nice sunny day for a ride with the top down. He had several other vehicles also, so he just wanted a triple-black convertible sitting there when he wanted to take it out. He traded it in April back to the dealer for a new triple-black C6 convertible, and that's when I found it and bought it. The dealer put a new battery in it (still had the original!), and did nothing else to it, the salesman told me they didn't have to detail it, it was that clean! Since April I have put over 8k on it, including a 1500 mile trip, and have had no problems with anything, no leaks, no squeaks, no rattles, no nothing! What your friend is telling you may be true in some cases, but certainly not all! 
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 115
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From: Savannah GA
I prefer cars that have been driven....I dunno, seems like all the car I own have lots of miles on them and work fine.
We seem to see that people who rarely drive there cars, break alot....People who daily drive em, then abuse them, seem to break much less often.
We seem to see that people who rarely drive there cars, break alot....People who daily drive em, then abuse them, seem to break much less often.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 43,084
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From: Raleigh / Rolesville NC
Originally Posted by 70Stang
We seem to see that people who rarely drive there cars, break alot..
People who daily drive em, then abuse them, seem to break much less often.
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I agree that you do run the risk of having seals dry out, hoses go bad, etc. Best to get out and drive it to keep things in good working order.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 25,889
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From: Virginia Beach
CI 3-5-6-7-8 Veteran
Modern motors w/ hydraulic valve trains and modern ignitions don't have issues like "race" motors of old. A motor w/ a solid lifter cam/valve-train, carburated intake, and distributor ignition will need constant and regular tune-ups and checkups.
Our cars w/ coil-on-plug ingnition, computer controlled fuel injection, and hydraulic cam/valve-train will be fine.
A '97 C5 w/ 10 miles on it might worry me... but so long as it has fresh fluids I don't see a problem.
Our cars w/ coil-on-plug ingnition, computer controlled fuel injection, and hydraulic cam/valve-train will be fine.
A '97 C5 w/ 10 miles on it might worry me... but so long as it has fresh fluids I don't see a problem.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 1999
Posts: 12,952
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From: Greer SC
Cruise-In II Veteran
Maintain the car properly and Drive It Like You Stold it!!! I never understood buying a high performance car and turning it in to a garage queen. 
Or driving it like sedan. 
Our cars are built for handling & speed...Drive it that way!!! I go to the track every chance I get. The only problem I have is that the car is so use to high speed driving, that runs better at 130 MPH than is does at 30 MPH. 
Or driving it like sedan. Our cars are built for handling & speed...Drive it that way!!! I go to the track every chance I get. The only problem I have is that the car is so use to high speed driving, that runs better at 130 MPH than is does at 30 MPH.
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Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,058
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From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
I agree with your friend that low mile cars can be a problem. Part of the problem is due to seals drying out, another problem is due to not getting infant mortality issues (especially electronics) resolved before the warranty runs out, and the biggest may be the way the car is broken in. Usually the owners of these cars never run them through the rpm range and the engine wears just enough to build a ridge where the piston travel stops. A person I know bought his first Vette this year to make into a track car. It was an 87 L98 that had been babied all of its life and low mileage for a 19 year old car. It didn't burn oil got reasonable gas mileage and was in overall excellent shape. He stripped the car, changed fluids, checked the engine over from the outside, put a rollcage in the car and took it to WGI in September. He got 3 laps out of it before the engine grenaded all over the track. Bill
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Raleigh / Rolesville NC
Originally Posted by Sully C5
Maintain the car properly and Drive It Like You Stold it!!! I never understood buying a high performance car and turning it in to a garage queen.
I tell you with two Corvettes and a Silvardo, our Garage queen is my wifes old Toyota Corola. We just never drive it.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2004
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From: Southern New Jersey, The wet part at the bottom
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10
Back in the day of UDRA Gas Class drag racing, B.B.R. (Before Bracket Racing) We used to buy up 392 Hemi engine blocks and burry them in the ground behind the shop. This wasn't some kind of satanic ritual or anything. But it "seasoned the block" Also we didn't look for "virgin, low mileage engines" but an oldtimer with 100K on it or more as these steel blocks were settled and less likely to deviate from "blueprint" after machining. This thread is making me feel REAL old!