Possessions; vehicles - irrational

[swampratt]

The 1995 corolla was bought in 2000 because the car the wife drove most had a transmission issue.
Sometimes just goes to Neutral. It was a 1989 Ford escort with 276,000 miles on it.
That Corolla had 74,000 miles on it when I bought it and I gave 6000 for it.

That is the most money I have ever had tied up in a vehicle.
I like to build my own and it usually takes me 3 months of scrounging parts and pieces to stick a basket case together and i found I usually have right at $4,500 in a finished basket case and every one of them are super reliable after I am done.

Well until i try and find the topend speed of the thing.
I have blown 2 engines up doing that.
I need to stop that

I have a few good builder engines left and enough parts to build another transmission and a few decent rearends.
Only thing I usually pay for is a good custom driveshaft.
I have built my own driveshaft and it had a slight vibration at 70.

That car was not driven 70 very often.
It was a 1956 4 door belair and no engine and no transmission.
A 1980 Mustang donated the 200" inline 6 and c4 transmission.
A chevy Luv donated the radiator and fuel tank.

I took the original 56 chevy shaft and cut the weld off the front yolk and slid out the yolk and did the same to the Mustang yolk. Lined the Ford yolk up in the Chevy shaft and welded it together.

Did some research in a parts book at Oreilly and found that a certain 1965 Volvo coolant temp sensor would fit the ford engine and have darn near the right resistance to make the coolant gauge read correctly.
10 ohms off so off to radio shack for a 10cent resistor.

That took me 2 days from the time I decided to put the ford engine into the chevy car and have it driving down the road.

I had 2500 in that one and that included buying it for 900 and new tires and shocks and tag
and every last bolt and all fluids.

I am a tight wad and that is why i like to build my own and not buy something ready to go.
But for the wife I keep her in an updated vehicle.

She likes power steering and power windows.
She drives a 2007 Vibe. 1.8 Toyota engine in it same thing as a Matrix almost.

 

[HoLeChit]

Attached to vehicles? Not really. Do i regret getting rid of a few? You bet. Vehicles are just posessions, they are things. I view vehicles as a way to go do fun things, not fun things in and of themselves. At least usually. My fast/fun cars in the past were a little of both. I dont think I have a need for more than 3 vehicles, I doubt I will own more than 4 ever. this includes projects. For me, that list is this:

1. truck/4x4 SUV that I can tow with, carry things in, and get to where I wanna go offroad
2. Car that is fun. economical is great too, but it needs to be fun and have some use. My M4 did 0-60 in under 4 seconds, made 26mpgs around town, and I could fit small adults or car seats in the back of that coupe. I think a CTS-V sedan, an M3, or or a GSF also fit in this catagory, I call them "fun dad cars". You can hit the strip, forget the kids have soccer practice, and go home, load them up, and still get them to practice on time.
3. serious fun car. This is highly optional in my book, and I have never had one, but this is the slot where a 911 would go. Or a cruising car, like a 80s deville coupe. Man I want one so bad.
4. number four would have to just be a work/farm truck if I had the land for that sorta lifestyle, or got back into turning wrenches.

But with that list, number one is essential, two is a luxury, number three and four are simply wants down the road. If I have project vehicles, its because I am trying to out something together to fill one of these roles. If not, its something I am flipping real quick, and I am not about to have multiple projects of vehicles I am trying to flip. Focus on one, and done. Move on to the next.

 

[wawazat]

But does having all of those cars really make you happy? It’s just stuff. Does having to keep it all from rotting not take away from you life? Why does stuff matter so much? Especially broken down vehicles.

All of that just depends on how you are wired. My wife and most of my family for that matter see vehicles as tools. Theyre there to commute in, haul kids around, and be reliable.

I have 3 different uses for vehicles.

The first one is a reliable swiss army knife between commuting and doing work. Typically a solid 1/2t crew cab truck does great for this, and I only buy 4wd trucks because I like to be able to drive out to the pasture to help out my dad or tractor my way through crappy road conditions.

The second one is more of a passion that is how I blow off steam. This car is something I will build an engine for, completely go through the suspension, braking system, etc to build something that is terrifyingly fast. Then I drive it for a few months and get used to the power and it goes back down for the next increase in horsepower. Once I hit a plateau of what is within my comfort cost wise to hit the next tier of speed, I sell it and find something else to start the process over again. My goal when I was single was to work my way up in platforms each time I swapped so that I would eventually end up in an early 2000s Ford GT that I could build for standing mile 250mph+ runs. By the time the kids get out of school, I will have lost too many years to get there though and sadly neither of them have any interest in cars like that for me to live vicariously through. I sold the CTS-V last summer and that money had to be routed back into things I had saved for before the house build but the builder had squandered so I am starting back over at 0 in about 10 years when the kids are out of school. I try really hard not to think about it much, haha.

The third is something that is woods/trail handy and fun. SXS, dirt bike, whatever. I grew up on dirt bikes and the gang I used to ride with along with my dad and grandfather still take several trips a year to go camp and ride SXS through the trails. It hasn't been in the cards to pick anything up along those lines either, so maybe once the kids are out of school and I find some spare time for a second job.

 

[swampratt]

I do have one I will not sell. I got it when I was 17.
Had a 396" with dual 4 AFB carbs 12.5 compression in it that my dads fishing /hunting buddy pulled from his super Gas 1965 chevelle it went 9.8 in the 1/4 in the chevelle.

Wife which was my girlfriend then got pregnant and I sold it to my fishing /hunting buddy for the same price I paid for it 700 bucks.
I tried for many years to get it back and offered him much more than he paid.

It sat since I know 1972 as it was a wedding present to my dads buddy from his wife.
Never got it on the road.

10 years later I come home and that truck is in my driveway.
My wife bought it for a birthday present to me from my buddy and her for 900 and then it sat another 2 years in my back yard and I had enough.

That truck will be put on the road.
3 months later I had removed the straight front axle removed and sold off and the 57 chevy rear end that was under it was replaced with a 9" and front suspension came from a Pinto I got at Puckets.
Sold off the rest of the pinto and was ahead 45 bucks.

Ford truck leafs out back. I built the front end so it tilts and slides off and the bed tilts.
Chevy power and TH350 transmission.
It has had a few different cams and intakes and a roller engine.
Engineless now but got one on the stand and porting heads for it.

This is it and it will not be sold. I was offered 35K for it 5+ years ago and turned the guy down.
He then told me to give him a price as he wants it. NOT FOR SALE.
This one has cruised the highway at 145 MPH and spun the rollers at Moboost's shop to 165 MPH.
He makes me only use second gear for my pulls now
1947 Dodge

 

[wawazat]

That is really stinking cool! My current plan is keeping an eye out for a decent 66-67 Nova that is driver quality that I can enjoy tinkering and cruising in until the kids move out. Then I can take it down and set it up to be my guinea pig for drivetrains and suspension setups going forward. Itd be a LOT cheaper to rework the same car and build memories than swapping over an over every 5 years.

 

[turkeyrun]

I have had some vehicles that I wouldn't mind having back, but I tend to drive the wheels off. I want dependable.
The ONE exception is my '58 Fairlane PI. Papa bought it new in Feb '58. My problem now, is Fauci biohazard, I can't fool with it but 15 minutes at a time and can't crawl around. Good news, grandson loves turning wrenches and wants to get it done.

 

[swampratt]

My current plan is keeping an eye out for a decent 66-67 Nova that is driver quality that I can enjoy tinkering and cruising in until the kids move out. Then I can take it down and set it up to be my guinea pig for drivetrains and suspension setups

Moboost had this one.
9" and Pinto type front suspension and a 4.8 LS engine that never had the head bolts removed and yes a turbo and stickies.




He kept the front end down a bit lower here.

 

[wawazat]

Moboost had this one.
9" and Pinto type front suspension and a 4.8 LS engine that never had the head bolts removed and yes a turbo and stickies.




He kept the front end down a bit lower here.

That looks like a blast! I am far more comfortable setting up IRS for a street driven high HP application, but I have seen some rowdy straight axle cars that seemed to do just fine with a lot less headache on sticky tires.

 

[montesa]

Moboost had this one.
9" and Pinto type front suspension and a 4.8 LS engine that never had the head bolts removed and yes a turbo and stickies.




He kept the front end down a bit lower here.

That was awesome! I wish I had the skills to build a car like that.

 

[montesa]

This seems like a deal.

https://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/cto/7558738730.html