MyStarCollectorCar celebrates road warriors because if you don’t drive them—why own them?
That’s why today’s Five for Friday is about three old cars (1960 Dodge Pioneer, 1963 Plymouth Belvedere and a 1995 Buick Roadmaster wagon) doing the same 1000-mile run.
They’ve all faced the same 1000-mile road trip to Summerland, BC Canada, so here’s a five-point comparison.
Jerry Sutherland
The first point is wind noise.
The ’63 Plymouth was the first car to do the run back in 2017 and it was a wind tunnel because the windows were open the whole trip. Spoiler alert—it’s a wind tunnel with the windows closed because the seals are shot.
The ‘60 Dodge did the Summerland run in 2023 and it was a little less noisy but it’s not much better.
The 1995 Buick Roadmaster was whisper quiet because the windows were up and the AC worked like a champ.
The Roadmaster was also the clear winner in the passing-semis-going-the-other-way-on-a-two-lane highway test. The other two were like a gut punch with the push-back wind blast
The second point is fuel economy.
The Plymouth pulled down an honest 22 miles per gallon with a low of around 18 in the mountains and an average of 24 on the flats.
The Dodge did about 18 miles per gallon with a low of 15 in the mountains.
The big Buick did a high of 27 miles per gallon with average of 25 mpg. Not bad for a massive wagon with an LT1 under the hood.
The third point is road manners.
The ’63 Plymouth is surprisingly good—its handling is close to a modern car and the manual steering gives you decent road feel.
The ’60 Dodge is less nimble because it has a higher center of gravity. It’s more like you’d expect from a 65-year-old car but it’s still a great turnpike cruiser.
The Buick is rock solid and corners flat—plus the power steering is new enough to have a road feel.
The fourth point is brakes.
The ’63 Plymouth is running drums all around so it’s good for one–maybe two hard stops but it gets a soft pedal if you push it too hard. Welcome to 60s tech.
The ’60 Dodge is a dark horse because it has disc brakes all around. That wasn’t a factory thing—it’s a previous owner thing because he had kids he wanted to protect. Brakes weren’t a problem on the ’23 run in the Pioneer.
The ‘95 Buick has massive disc brakes–and they definitely work. The jump in technology is obvious because the big wagon had all you needed—even in the mountains.
The last point is the passing gear.
The Plymouth has a 318 LA motor donated by a kindly and crashed 1987 Fifth Avenue. It has a decent passing gear when you need it but don’t expect hemi-like performance.
The Dodge has a hard-hitting kickdown with its poly 318 but it runs out of steam sooner than the ’63 Plymouth.
The Buick probably has the best passing gear, but it too has its limits. You get drawn in by the rumble of the LT1 but it is pushing a bigger car so yes—it has an upper range .
Bonus point.
What was the coolest way to go? Simple answer—they were all cool. They’re all road warriors.
Jerry Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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