This will be a little long. So, to set up my situation, I'm 30 years old and bought my first and only classic car in Jan 2011. I've always wanted a 68 fastback, but finally had the means to buy one. I drove it for less than a week and had an engine fire on the way home from work that burnt up the front half of the car before the fire truck could put it out. I noticed a burning smell and some smoke coming out from under the hood, so I immediately pulled over and called 911. So it's been over 1.5 years and as of today the car has been practically completely restored. I had a local guy with lots of muscle car experience do everything except body and paint. Basically everything up front has been replaced except for the suspension components.
I drove it off from my mechanics shop and it was doing fine for a few miles. This was the first time it's been on the highway as I just put tags on it today. So after some stop and go driving I noticed a burning smell and saw smoke coming from under the hood. I immediately pulled into a gas station and thought not again. The owner came out and looked at it. He noticed some brake fluid dripping down onto the pipes, not really anything else. After letting it sit for awhile I called my mechanic and told him I was bringing it right back. I made it back and didn't notice anymore smoke and the gauges were reading normally. He saw the brake fluid and told me he would check it all over again and drive it around some more. On a side note, it was raining and on my way back to his shop the wipers stopped working. He replaced all the wiring with an EZ system, so not sure what's going on there. At this point I think what's another few days after waiting this long.
Anyways, am I just paranoid based on what happened to me? I would like some insight from you guys with experience on what to expect, what to look out for, etc when driving your car. I bought this car to drive it, enjoy it and know that my family and I are safe in it. Right now I'm so afraid of what could happen that I can't even relax when driving it. Please tell me it gets better than this, because I would hate to think that I have to pull over every 10 minutes because something goes wrong. Thanks for any advice/help and have a great weekend.
I drove it off from my mechanics shop and it was doing fine for a few miles. This was the first time it's been on the highway as I just put tags on it today. So after some stop and go driving I noticed a burning smell and saw smoke coming from under the hood. I immediately pulled into a gas station and thought not again. The owner came out and looked at it. He noticed some brake fluid dripping down onto the pipes, not really anything else. After letting it sit for awhile I called my mechanic and told him I was bringing it right back. I made it back and didn't notice anymore smoke and the gauges were reading normally. He saw the brake fluid and told me he would check it all over again and drive it around some more. On a side note, it was raining and on my way back to his shop the wipers stopped working. He replaced all the wiring with an EZ system, so not sure what's going on there. At this point I think what's another few days after waiting this long.
Anyways, am I just paranoid based on what happened to me? I would like some insight from you guys with experience on what to expect, what to look out for, etc when driving your car. I bought this car to drive it, enjoy it and know that my family and I are safe in it. Right now I'm so afraid of what could happen that I can't even relax when driving it. Please tell me it gets better than this, because I would hate to think that I have to pull over every 10 minutes because something goes wrong. Thanks for any advice/help and have a great weekend.