Drive it or preserve it? Your thoughts on rare vehicle preservation.

[Bill D]

My old Cadillac has 120,xxx miles and I’m super careful where and when I take it out. I treat it like I’m driving a $2 million car. It was my first car so it’s kinda irreplaceable to me. Just spent a boatload on it getting a new gas tank,tires,etc,etc on it. It’s amazing how sentimental value sways a car owner.

[Setec Astronomy]

Ah, the days of metal gas tanks.

[PouncingPanzer]

I gather you are thinking about the P-51/B-17 crash a year ago, I thought the same thing, does the appeal/benefit of flying them outweigh the historical value of intact airframes. I think about that when I see period movies where they crash the cars, and if someday there won't be any (insert vintage car model) left to use in movies...of course, there is always CGI. (before people lay into me, yes I know when they crash a 442 in a movie, they aren't using the real 442, they're using some rusted out Cutlass that they slapped some Bondo on painted to look like the hero's car, and yes I just made all that up, so don't ask me what movie)

P-63* That was the most recent one sadly there have been others over the years. Terrible, and so avoidable usually. Two B-17s in as many years I think. The benefit of CGI in movies is evident in Ford V. Ferrari and the likes. The new Ferrari movie looks to have many crashes. Imagine crashing a $15,000,000 vintage Ferrari race car for real? Talk about a high budget...

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[PouncingPanzer]

Classic Car Voyage on Instagram: "1995 Mclaren F1 which had been driven just 242 miles before going into auction.
📸 Photos by: @davidcoynephotography

#mclaren #mclarenf1 #f1 #v12 #supercars #classiccars #DriveVintage"

This is an example of what I envision. Without people like those I describe stories like this can't exist.

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[Desertnate]

So basically, don't kill them if they are something that is rare. If it's a 1970 LS6 454 Chevelle with super low miles, be careful where and when you drive it, but drive it.

This is my thought too. Whether it's an old fighter plane or a car, the rarer and harder to replace/maintain the more precious it should be treated. If there are only two in existence, by all means put it in a museum or well curated collection. Otherwise get it out once in a while to knock off the cobwebs and let it run. Also, be honest with yourself. Personal sentimentality is it's own animal (i.e. your first car, a car you built with your dad, etc). Otherwise realize your car which saw 100K models sold a year, sadly isn't really that rare or unusual. Just drive that thing as much as possible, take good care of it, and enjoy it to the fullest.

I think a lot of this discussion comes down to how you like to experience your machines. Sitting in the garage with a drink in your hand while your eyes roam across the sheetmetal, or behind the wheel and operating it for the pleasure of the experience. Neither is wrong.

If anyone finds themselves in the UK I highly recommend visiting the British Imperial War Museum at Duxford, UK just north of Cambridge. It is their national war museum dedicated to aerial warfare (the ground version is near London). Every plane there is flight worthy and they have a hanger where they are constantly restoring aircraft, some of them found on the bottom of the ocean. Depending on the day and the weather there is no telling what you might see in the air. I visited several times when lived in the area 20+ years ago and it was thrilling to see hear all manner of old war birds in the air. They even had a de Havilland Tiger Moth which flew multiple times a day several times a week doing orientation flights around the local area.

[Ace22]

I say drive it like you stole it...I see too many of these exotics farting around too scared/timid with the throttle. I personally don't care if it's a Ferrari or classic Cuda. At the end of the day it's just a car.
Life's too short, enjoy it for what it is, a go fast machine that thrills....crank up the AC/DC and shoot the thrill

[Setec Astronomy]

P-63*

I guess I remembered that wrong, I should stick to talking about cars, like a Mustang Mach 3...wait, was that a Gillette Mach 3? Does Gillette make cars?

[Big Dave]

There's an Aviation Museum at Temora in country New South Wales, about 6 hours from where I live, they have flying days, they call them an Aircraft Showcase, a few times a year. I've been there a couple of times. Seen all sorts of things, Spitfires, my favourite, Sabres, the RAAF flew in an FA-18 to fly a display with it, A37 Dragonfly, Hudson's and Wirraways, and lots of others.

Temora Aviation Museum - Home of Australia’s Historic Ex-military Aircraft

I'm just glad they're flying them.

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[PouncingPanzer]

The Air Force Museum here at Dayton is beyond incredible. It honestly makes the Smithsonian Air and Space look tiny and incomplete. The Smith has some rare one-ofs here and there and some oddball German birds but when it comes to a complete collection the AF Museum comes the closest. They even have a Kettering Bug, the worlds first Loitering Munition, technically. It is also free thanks to the AF. The centerpieces are the sole surviving XB-70, the B-36, the Memphis Belle, and the Boxcar. Touching the Boxcar was a tad surreal. They also have a section of a Space X Atlas rocket.

[PouncingPanzer]

Minor detail buddy.