Is your car moody?

[TATurbo]

Hello TAC,
  I've come to the conclusion that my 1981 TTA is moody.   Every car has quirks, but my TTA has different quirks on different days.  And many days...No quirks at all.   
This is my 4th season with my 'finished' my 1981 TTA build (http://www.transamcountry.com/community/index.php?topic=83354.0)

The car is pretty dialed in...Most recently I posted about the improvement welded in sub-frame connectors made to one of the noises a 40+ year old, 200,000+ Mi. car makes.   That most recent change seemed to completely eliminate one final unusual noise I attributed to body flex. Welded them in, drove 1000+Mi. home and the car was flawless.    But, the other day that sound was back with a vengeance.  It was so bad I thought maybe one of the welds broke.  But..No...The Sub-frame connectors were fine.  I opened and reclosed the doors, checked for anything out of place.  Nothing helped.  Literally, the next day (driving the same roads!), that noise was completely gone again!  My TTA also does this thing where the turn signals get 'lazy'.  Some days it's fine. On other days they blink a little slow.  I have a 'heads up' voltage gauge. So, I'm pretty sure that it's not a measurable voltage issue causing the lazy signals. I even tried swapping the flasher relays while experiencing the problem.  It got better for a few minutes, then the lazy signal was back.  Next drive...they are back to normal. 

My 1981 TTA is a positive, endearing buddy on most days.  But some days I think it wakes up on the wrong side of the garage. 

Is it just me?  Is your car moody?

Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

[roadking77]

There are a few things about my car that I never finished (its on the round to it table!). No speedo, I use a phone app, no tach, I have the wiring on a shelf in my office, no radio, I bought a bluetooth speaker and dont care about the stock radio. No a/c and although it would be nice not interested at all. Other than that I think most everything else works as is should. It pretty much runs the same, with some squeaks and rattles, lol. day in day out, anytime of the year. I would say it is like me with an even keel personality 

[5th T/A]

Tom, I grew up with driving these cars when they were brand new. They were far from perfect, I guess you could say that's part of the charm of these antique cars. Modern cars and pickups are pretty much trouble-free requiring nothing but tires and fuel for the first 100,000 miles. They handle better stop better and engines start immediately regardless of weather. Once running there is no hesitation or stumbling. But they all kind of blend in together without the look or feel of a classic.

[Raven]

Oh yes, they can be moody!  Back when I first bought my '78, it would randomly shock me, though it seemed like it wouldn't if I talked to it nicely first. After doing some digging, I figured out that one of the grounding straps wasn't properly secured after some engine work, after I cleaned and fastened it down it stopped giving me a random jolt.

As for noises, get used to it, even new these cars were filled with squeaks and rattles, so was everything else. That being said, even new cars do this, though it's nothing like the old days. One of the most irritating issues we would troubleshoot at the dealership was squeak & rattle concerns on new cars. We had kits from the manufacturer to address them but they were tedious. Once I had rattle noise in my new '14 Fusion, sounded like a bunch of rocks when I went over bumps, couldn't figure out what was causing it. Took it to the shop, after about 30 minutes the tech comes in with a box of aluminum 9mm rounds that had slid under the driver seat.  Never heard that sound again!