I appreciate all varieties of antique cars, but personally would only go back as far as what I have experience with.  I think mid '30s would be my limit.  My '50 GMC is mechanically very similar to GM products from the mid '30s, so I'd be comfortable with something like that.  If I'm going to take a vintage vehicle out on the roadways, I want it to have basics like hydraulic brakes on all four wheels and stuff like that.

Keep us posted on the Dodge.  It sounds like you've made up your mind, so be sure to put up some pictures here!

I wonder if she drove it around Pebble Beach.  That's a very laid back, exclusive enclave where privacy is paramount and the two-lane roads in the forest are all but deserted except for the scenic 17-Mile Drive, which the locals avoid unless they happen to live on it, and even if they do, it's practically a given that they have staff to go fetch things.

Oldest car I ever drove was a friend's 1927 Lincoln with only 7,500 original miles on it.  This was back in the early '80s.  It handled beautifully and I really liked that it had so much torque that you could slow way down to less than 10 MPH and not have to shift down from cruising gear to resume speed.  With its huge wheels you barely noticed when driving over a railroad crossing.  I felt honored that he trusted my driving skills enough to offer me the driver's seat.  To say it was his baby would be a major understatement.

You might find this series of vintage cars, trucks and automobilia enjoyable. I'm currently up to my 9th part.

I'd love to find a red 1958 Plymouth Fury.....yes, like Christine.  Beautiful car!

The oldest car I’ve ever driven was the 1939 Chevrolet Flat Bed Pickup that belonged to our neighbors.  When I was 15 in 1966 I learned to drive stick in this truck.  The starter pedal was on the floorboard to the right of  the accelerator.  You had to keep your right foot on both the gas and the starter to start it.  The clutch was very forgiving and a perfect car to learn stick on.  There was also a throttle knob on the dash so you could drive it with your foot off the gas, by adjusting the gas from the dash.

I love vintage cars and have had a subscription to Hemmings Classic Cars and Hemmings Special Interest Autos for over 25 years.  I look forward to each issue.  My particular favorite years are from 1937 thru 1955, all American cars, but especially Buicks, Cadillacs, Chryslers and Mercurys.  I would love to have a ‘39 Buick 2 dr coupe or convertible, ‘47 Cadillac Convertible or a ‘55 Mercury Monterey 2 dr HT. But really, if I was rich I’d have one of each.

And Louie, I really love your Cruise-O-Matice postings.  Those old auto ads have a wealth of information about how the automobile has evolved.  I have a special interest in how transmissions evolved over the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s in the quest to make driving more effortless.

Ralph your description of driving your friends ‘27 Lincoln and being able to take it down to 10 mph in high gear and then accelerate back to cruising speed without lugging it was indicative of all the higher end makes.  They purposely geared them this way as a selling point, especially for women drivers so you could drive all over town in 3rd and never have to shift.  You could even start out in 3rd on many of these old Packards, Lincolns and Cadillacs if you weren’t in any rush, and just keep it in 3rd.

Eddie

Eddie, your '39 Chevy experience matches my '50 GMC, but when my dad first tried to teach me a stick in that truck, I couldn't get it.  I tried my sister's '65 Chevy Biscayne with column shift and got that down right away.  After that, I was driving the GMC fine (column shift also).

I had always held my foot on both the starter and gas pedals until about 15 or so years ago after an expert mechanic fine tuned the GMC and instructed me to keep my foot off the gas when starting.   I've been starting it that way ever since, with help from the choke and throttle just slightly engaged on cold starts.

I'll take the GMC's clutch action any day over the sloppiness of my 2003 Subaru Baja, where everything seems to happen in the last half inch of upward pedal travel.  There is just no contest.

I belong to a couple of classic car clubs and enjoy reading their various posts, but I always seem to enjoy those that pop up on here the most. I've never driven anything older than 1950. I assume a car from the early 1900's requires both a great deal more work and skill than any modern vehicle. Even cars much newer can be a challenge to someone of my age and "slipping" physical ability. The last time I had my '65 Buick (which has power everything) at a car show one of the participants, an older guy like myself, said "you know, driving a car like that's a lot of work." The more I though about it the more I realized he was right. My first car, a '62 Buick Electra coupe, wasn't that much different than my Wildcat, yet I drove that car effortlessly like it was a Corvette. Age, a person's, not necessarily the car's, has everything to do with it. I hope to see a lot more contributions here as well as many more photos...so much more enjoyable that discussing dead squirrels. 

PS...I sold my Corvette 3 years ago because it became very difficult to get into, and even more difficult to get out of. People would stare at me in parking lots like they were watching a white sperm whale give birth.

LOL Joe! 

Alas, there are no dead squirrels to discuss.  Yet.

Oldest one I've driven is a 53 Stude Commander HT I had years ago. Would love to drive something from the 20's or earlier.

Kenny, did it have Studebaker's peanut butter action automatic transmission?  I've always liked those Raymond Loewy Studebakers, but I like the '60s GTs best of all. 

The car that was my Moms when my Dad passed away in 1962 was a ‘62 Studebaker Gran Turisimo Hawk.  It was a light metallic brown with tobacco colored upholstery.  Since Mom was only 4’9” the clutch and brake pedals were built up with blocks and the lever for 4 speed transmission was a longer extension from a Volvo (the Studebaker dealer also sold Volvo’s).

It was a really nice car.  My Mom hated it at first when Dad drove it home.  She said, “It looks like a GD Edsel Jimmie, and I won’t drive it!”  She had her heart set on a ‘62 Ford Galaxie 500 Convertible with four on the floor.  But she grew to like the GT Hawk.  Sadly, it rolled down a hill and crashed into a house in the early spring and was replaced with a’63 Chevrolet Impala 2 dr HT with a 327 and Powerglide.  I learned to drive in that car.

Eddie

When I bought it, it had no motor or trans. I bought a 64 Stude Commander, and pirated the 259/3 speed OD out of it for the 53.

I have always admired disc wheels.  I think Chevy nailed the Machine Age look with that optional treatment.  Standard wheels looked ancient in comparison.

I'm looking forward to pictures!

Agreed.  I think Hudson produced some of the best looking cars of the 1930s. 

Even before I could drive -- around 1970 or so -- I wanted to buy a 1934 Hudson Terraplane with money from my paper route (I can't remember its price but was likely well below $500) but my dad talked me out of it, saying parts would be difficult to find.  They probably were by then, but I think it was more about him not wanting an old beater sitting on our driveway.

Dan, I had the '50 GMC pickup to drive once I got my license.  There wasn't a whole lot different about it mechanically from a mid-'30s GM vehicle.  Many cars have passed through my parents' household and my own since my dad bought the GMC in 1960, but the truck has been a constant presence for the past 60 years.  It's parked in the single carport at the end of my driveway right now.