What Makes A Long-Distance Highway Cruiser?

Cars are like people, horses, motorcycles, bicycles and many other things in our lives.
They are what they are, which is usually the result of someone else's ideas, but we can still put our own personal stamp on them if we wish.
There is a bewildering range of possibilities within each of the categories above - and all the others elsewhere.
The problem, then, becomes not so much what to do, but rather what not to do by eliminating all but one of the possibilities.
At the moment, I'm in the middle of doing what I can to put my personal thumbprint on an original and somewhat neglected (but not abused) 1989 Lincoln Town Car.
I decided very early in 2011, after I acquired the car on little more than a whim, that I was going to go a step or two beyond just making it roadworthy.
I was not going to "restore" it (though it was certainly possible).
Rather, I was going to turn it into a long-distance highway cruiser.
So what's a long-distance highway cruiser? At the risk of being blamed for having an astounding grasp of the obvious, it's a car set up in various ways to take long trips on open highways, usually Interstates.
It should also have various things done to it to make it particularly safe, reliable, comfortable, efficient and economical.
We're not building a race car here.
Few, if any, race cars are all of these things.
We're not building a show car, either.
It isn't being "restored" to compete in traditional car shows with other 23 year old cars that look better than they did when they rolled off the showroom floor.
My Town Car has minor dings and scratches.
They will remain for as long as I own it because, for my purposes, minor dings and scratches don't affect the car's safety, reliability, comfort, efficiency or fuel economy.
Therefore, for the time being at least, they are not important.
The car will be modified in certain respects, improved and modernized to fit its new job.
Car Show Purists might appreciate, but would have a hard time liking, a purpose-built Highway Cruiser.
I'm using a '89 Lincoln Town Car.
But lest I be accused of parochialism, just about any car can have another life as a bona fide Highway Cruiser.
But I also have a '69 Porsche 912 that gets me from here to there just as well, but differently.
The 912 and Town Car are merely two wonderful but very different ways to do things.
But if you can find an older (pre-1973 for reasons to come) Mercury Turnpike Cruiser, go for it! If you can still find one, a '71 Plymouth Reliant with the legendary Slant 6 engine would be worth some effort and, as a reward, be a reliable and economical highway head-turner.
Have you ever considered talking to the lady down the street about that huge (121.
5 inch wheelbase) '71 Chevy Caprice in her garage that she no longer drives? Just about any car can be a long-distance Highway Cruiser, so don't get hung up on what it is.
Instead, focus on its positive attributes and what you can do with them.
The first thing to do is make sure the car is roadworthy.
This is especially true for older cars that may have been neglected or not properly maintained over the years.
You're going to build something special, so start with a sound foundation.
That means all of the functional components are safe and work as they should.
Be careful here.
You're not restoring the car.
You're upgrading it for a new role in life.
So if the upholstery isn't perfect, don't replace it to factory appearance.
Just, as I did on the Town Car, install fitted seat covers.
You'll save lots of money and the interior will be fully functional.
Body dings may be unsightly, but they don't affect performance.
The same principle applies to a faded paint job on your Cruiser candidate.
(Rust, though, can become problematic.
Best you look for your cruiser where salty roads are not a problem in southern California, Arizona, Nevada or New Mexico.
Just put a good coat of wax on the car to preserve what you have and let the next owner experience the multiple thrills of paying someone to do all the body work, in addition to the new paint job.
Your Cruiser will glide down the Interstate just fine with the shopping cart scratches on the rear fenders.
With this as an introduction, come back for future entries on some of the specific things I've done with my Town Car that you can also do on just about any car you'd like to enjoy greatly as a Highway Cruiser.