Man Owned & Drove Same Car for 82 YEARS

Received this via email. Pretty cool story.

Mr. Allen Swift (Springfield , MA.) received this 1928 Rolls-Royce Picadilly P1 Roadster from his father, brand new - as a graduation gift in 1928. He drove it up until his death last year.....at the age of 102 !!! He was the oldest living owner of a car from new.

He donated it to a Springfield museum after his death. It has 170,000 miles on it, still runs like a Swiss watch, dead silent at any speed and is in perfect cosmetic condition. (82 years later).

Wow... I know a guy who's had cars for less than 82 hours... Cool story.

That story is amazing. Talk about not making them like they used to.

Maybe this is a little off topic...I hope not. But seeing a story like this makes me think that instead of people suggesting we should buy "environmentally friendly" automobiles, they should be stressing that we keep and maintain our current autos. I can bet this is less stressful on the environment than buying a new car that is more fuel efficient every time one is made. Sorry to if I strayed...

Cool. I like these kind of stories...surprising that we haven't heard of him before.

I hope he had another car. Otherwise, it seems odd for someone to brag about having traveled so little in life.

JFX001 wrote: Cool. I like these kind of stories...surprising that we haven't heard of him before.

Possibly because it's a somewhat old story... I did a little more digging and it looks like somebody's math is a bit off...

He died in 2005, so he really only had the car for 77 years... still nothing to sneeze at...

http://classiccars.about.com/b/2010/12/08/how-long-would-you-own-a-rolls-royce.htm

i didnt get a Rolls for my graduation

jlm_photo wrote: That story is amazing. Talk about not making them like they used to. Maybe this is a little off topic...I hope not. But seeing a story like this makes me think that instead of people suggesting we should buy "environmentally friendly" automobiles, they should be stressing that we keep and maintain our current autos. I can bet this is less stressful on the environment than buying a new car that is more fuel efficient every time one is made. Sorry to if I strayed...

I point this out to people that need to have the latest "green" machine to save the earth. They rarely see my point or they do not want too accept that they have been bamboozled.

pilotbraden wrote:

jlm_photo wrote: That story is amazing. Talk about not making them like they used to. Maybe this is a little off topic...I hope not. But seeing a story like this makes me think that instead of people suggesting we should buy "environmentally friendly" automobiles, they should be stressing that we keep and maintain our current autos. I can bet this is less stressful on the environment than buying a new car that is more fuel efficient every time one is made. Sorry to if I strayed...

I point this out to people that need to have the latest "green" machine to save the earth. They rarely see my point or they do not want too accept that they have been bamboozled.

Yep. I feel smug* looking at new Priuses next to my truck. I can pretty well guarantee that I'm making less impact on the planet, even with a 22 year old motor returning 12-14 mpg, than their brand-spankin' new Greenmobile did just to be built. And that's saying nothing of the unkown disposal issues of their battery packs; just about everything on my truck can be melted down and recycled.

(*Not really; smugness is a pretty ugly trait.)

Also, awesome story, however old it is. Classy old dude. I wish my grandfather had all the old Fords and Oldsmobiles I hear stories about. (Although one of the Model A's met its maker at the back end of a street car on the ice in Chicago, but that's another story...)

Ian F wrote: Possibly because it's a somewhat old story... I did a little more digging and it looks like somebody's math is a bit off... He died in 2005, so he really only had the car for 77 years... still nothing to sneeze at... http://classiccars.about.com/b/2010/12/08/how-long-would-you-own-a-rolls-royce.htm

Sorry...didn't think to research before posting. Glad it wasn't too far off base.

A little of both. They're big, and he's pretty small by early-model human standards.

I've met this guy:

http://www.hemmings.com/hmn/stories/2008/02/01/hmn_feature17.html

In that same year, 1953, Cleve had another adventure. He had built a racer in the late 1940s from a 1934 straight-eight Hudson. "I stripped the body off, shortened the chassis way down, and put three Carter sidedraft carburetors on the engine, just like the early six-cylinder Corvettes. Boy, I even beat motorcycles with that sucker.

"One of the highlights of my life was up at Ansonia airport. A guy named Harry had a Jaguar, a modified XK 120, and he was beating everybody. I showed up in my Hudson and offered to race him. He said, 'I don't race manure spreaders.' I said, 'Oh yeah? Well, this manure spreader will beat you so bad you'll think you're going backwards!' So we ran, and I beat him."

jrw1621 wrote: I hope he had another car. Otherwise, it seems odd for someone to brag about having traveled so little in life.

You know this guy probably took a lot of trains, right? The kind with dining cars in them and individual rooms.

Cool story. I don't see a single parking ding in that picture either. I'm sure everyone in town knew where he was at at any given time, too. Hard to miss a car like that in traffic.

Datsun1500 wrote: Are the cars that big? He looks pretty small next to it...

How big do you expect to be at 102 years old? Probably about 4 ounces of fertilizer.

82 years 170k miles?

He never drove it. That is 2k miles a year.

I'm also glad they don't build them like they used to... That car has crap brakes, crap engine, crap trans.. generally crap. Looks cool, but can't stop, turn or accelerate worth a damn and with an open crankcase it's a gross polluter.. 7.7L producing 150hp... Inefficient junk. (EDIT: 120 Hp sorry)

come on people.. It's a neat feel good story, but don't get all silly.

Ian F wrote: Wow... I know a guy who's had cars for less than 82 hours... Cool story.

i had one car for two hours.

i am going on 30 with my belair, hope i can make it to 82. actually i hope i can make it to 102.

If someone said I could only own 1 car for the rest of my life....sorry, I can't do it. I would be able to one a car for my whole (driving)life, but I would have to be able to "switch off" every now and then.

The car I would want to own all my life? A Porsche 914 2 liter, in perfect condition. But the only one I ever owned I didn't buy until I was driving for 15 years.

Ignorant wrote: I'm also glad they don't build them like they used to... That car has crap brakes, crap engine, crap trans.. generally crap. Looks cool, but can't stop, turn or accelerate worth a damn and with an open crankcase it's a gross polluter.. 7.7L producing 150hp... Inefficient junk. (EDIT: 120 Hp sorry)

Yeah, they should have hauled it to the junkyard decades ago. I for one would love to have a car like that.

stuart in mn wrote:

Ignorant wrote: I'm also glad they don't build them like they used to... That car has crap brakes, crap engine, crap trans.. generally crap. Looks cool, but can't stop, turn or accelerate worth a damn and with an open crankcase it's a gross polluter.. 7.7L producing 150hp... Inefficient junk. (EDIT: 120 Hp sorry)

Yeah, they should have hauled it to the junkyard decades ago. I for one would love to have a car like that.

That isn't the point. The point is I think people put on blinders when they say " they don't build them like they used to" in a sentimental fashion. There are definitive reasons why they do not make them like they used to. Great collector car, etc, stupid for driving daily.

Safety for one.. Summed up by... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgaZMSjhpH8

From that youtube link: "...The driver and passenger of the Model A were killed when the driver of the Titan failed to yield when making a left turn. The eldery couple was returning home from an antique car event." Certainly, the lack of seat belts and the relatively fragile structure of a car that old contributed to the tragedy. On the other hand, since they were hit by a big truck it's possible they could have been killed even if they were riding in a modern car, or for that matter if they had been on a motorcycle or on bicycles or simply walking across the street. I have a couple older cars, and I don't have any problem with driving them in today's traffic. I did put seat belts in them.

In reply to Ignorant:

I would rather have that car then 99% of new cars. And they really don't build them like they used to. Old cars have more soul. Sure they are slower but I would rather drive one.

That idiot who can't spell wrote: In reply to Ignorant: I would rather have that car then 99% of new cars. And they really don't build them like they used to. Old cars have more soul. Sure they are slower but I would rather drive one.

I don't disagree with you about the soul bit..

My 1st vehicle was a 1971 cj5...

But, I get tired of the wrote sentimentalism that involves bygonne era's..

Those cars leaked oil, broke down constantly and were made of very inferior bits of wood and metal. I'll guarantee you that your average chevy malibu has an engine block of extremely higher quality cast iron.

stuart in mn wrote: From that youtube link: "...The driver and passenger of the Model A were killed when the driver of the Titan failed to yield when making a left turn. The eldery couple was returning home from an antique car event." Certainly, the lack of seat belts and the relatively fragile structure of a car that old contributed to the tragedy. On the other hand, since they were hit by a big truck it's possible they could have been killed even if they were riding in a modern car, or for that matter if they had been on a motorcycle or on bicycles or simply walking across the street. I have a couple older cars, and I don't have any problem with driving them in today's traffic. I did put seat belts in them.

you miss the point.

Ignorant wrote: 82 years 170k miles? He never drove it. That is 2k miles a year.

Who knows how many times the odometer has clicked over, though. Could be 270K, 370K etc.

Ignorant wrote: But, I get tired of the wrote sentimentalism that involves bygonne era's.. Those cars leaked oil, broke down constantly and were made of very inferior bits of wood and metal.

I think you exaggerate in the opposite direction.

I get into this argument often with my vintage truck guys who can't believe any pre-1965 truck is drivable without a modern V8, automatic, power steering and 4 wheel disc brakes. Yeah, if you want it to compare to modern vehicles, then it's not going to be it's equal at all. To say they weren't any good the way that they were originally built, however, is false also.

This guy has had no real problems thus far driving his Model A every day. In Michigan. 365 Days of A