i have come to the decision i have way too many irons in the fire when it comes to my projects , and my bird is falling apart due to age , miles , and the heavy usage . i am considering selling the 52 customline , as it is driving me crazy . i still have not gotten it fixed / restarted since someone plugged up the tank with whatever it is they put in it . it needs a new clutch , pressure plate , throwout bearing , pilot bearing , exhaust ,,,,,etc etc etc .i have no time once again due to the work and home schedule . the bird has essentially got to have the complete front and rear suspension gone through , a new radiator ,and even though she runs like a champ , she's got over 300,000 on her . i have long been a proponent of buying and fixing and keeping 'em alive , but man everything all at one time and the 53 is the one suffering as all my money is going to the other two !!!!!!i am contemplating selling the 52 and the bird and ..... GASP !!!!!!! buying a new car so i don't have to pi$$ with fixing the others anymore . as nice as the 52 is it is in my mind second fiddle to the truck and the bird has served me well and is a blast too drive . worse yet is the car iam looking at is wrong wheel drive , and italian ........................ i cannot stomach the toyota tech in many of the fords , i cannot have a mustang gt truly the way i want it , and the styling of much of them is to be honest HIDEOUS !!!!!!! so what would ya's do .... i am already looking at 3000 in upgraded after market suspension parts for the 95 if i gotta do it and i have to drop the driveline to fix the oil leak ( by replacing the 95 4.6 with a o1 pi from a old squad vic with 1000,00 on it from my unk joe's tow yard ) so here i go again !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I can only speak for myself, but my goal is to have nothing newer than 1980. Anything older than that, I have a fair chance of fixing. Anything newer may require a code scanner or some sort of electrical degree, lol. That translates into shop-rates, and I ain't rich, so.... And I won't even get into aesthetics, lol.

 

Um, you want input from a bunch of amateurs when you're a master? Well, goorsh, what can go wrong?

Seriously, you know your vehicles, needs, and budget better than anyone. Comes down to your call.

DW

 

Are you really seriously considering a FIAT??? What Toyota tech are used in Fords? Toyota is affilliated with GM AFAIK, Mazda with Ford. I'll take Mazda tech any day! In fact I'd take a Mazda over anything Italian.
AFA the 52, The most common gas tank additives used by vandals is sugar or urine. Despite old wives tales, neither will do serious harm that a complete cleanout won't fix. Sugar will simply plug up the fuel tank pickup and fuel lines, it can't get into the engine and would just burn if it did. Urine will do what water would, it simply will stall the engine. The only thing someone could put in the gas tank that would do serious damage would be acid, but the corrosion would be very obvious by now.
Continuing to the 95, it certainly not make good economic sense to do expensive suspension upgrades unless you are going to do a complete rebuild/resoration of the engine, transmission etc. Even then, Nothing you could possibly do to the suspension would make much of an improvement to a 95 'bird, the best it would ever be is a cruiser, will never be a sportscar.
My opinion for what it's worth, (probably what I charge for it?) would be to sell the bird, use the price + the 3K to repair and upgrade the 52 and use it as you DD. Now you would have the cost of the Fiat(?) to work on your 53 with. If you want a sportscar, buy a used Miata, one of the most dependable, bulletproof, economical, fun to drive cars on the road. (I know, I owned and raced one, and have many friends with them.) Good ones are available for 3-7 K.

 

i know the feeling, but along time ago i made myself a promise i wouldnt sell anything worth keeping. for most of my life i have heard my father and alot of old timers talk about the ONE they sold. i wont be that guy. at 41 and holding i am up to 10. the newest is a 06 and oldest is the three 52's. every situation is different and only you can make the call. good luck, hope you dont sell the ONE.

 

Talking about new cars, I'm not a big fan of them but when you really think about them they are usually a lot less maintenance than our old trucks. I drove my daily drive for over 100K on the original plugs, I know not a good idea, sure when I finally did change them they were way out of gap but I have to tune my old Fords every year and I put on less than 1/4 of the miles I put on my daily driver. Sure when the new stuff goes out it costs an arm and a leg to fix it but I can have some one else fix it if I don't have the time or knowledge. No one will touch my old stuff, I have to do it all myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm by far not a rich person, just ask my wife, but I like being able to get into a newer, not necessarily new but newer, vehicle and knowing there's a really good chance that it's going to start and take me where I need to go. I do tend to buy new but keep the cars for a long time. My current vehicle is an '04 and I'll have it around for another couple of years, at least.

My dad used to crack me up. He was a very good mechanic but got out of the business in the early mid '70s when they came in with all of the fancy electronic stuff. He didn't want to work on anything that didn't have points and condenser. He changed vocations and landed a very good paying job in local government and my mom worked for many years for the telephone company. They could have afforded to buy new cars but my dad always said the new cars were junk, so he'd buy some 10-12 year old beater that was all patched together but looked good. He'd drive it for 3-4 years until he couldn't disconnect anymore systems that stopped working and most of the bondo fell out then he bought another car, 3-4 years newer than the last, eventually buying one of the cars that one of the the ones he said wasn't any good back then but by the time he bought it the car would be 10-12 years old with 75K miles and half the life beaten out of it. He never bought a new car in his life although if he calculated all the money he spent on the junkers he did buy he probably would have been further ahead. Even if he would have bought a car 2-3 years old he would have better off.

 

ax it seems that ford has been using toyota tech in anything marked with hybrid or alternative fuel tech as far as i have been able to ascertain . yeah im kinda looking at a fiat 500 . i want a gt stang bad but i cant have a no frills big motor manual trans 4 wheel disc stripper . gotta take what THEY waht to sell you . havi i understand but in dealing with turd bird i am beginning to understand it's electronics and such . thundersnow i don't really want to part with anything , but the 53 is the one for me . i love that old truck like no other and it's staying here no matter what !!!!! the 52 is a really nice old car but i have got too many things going on . ax that old bird is a cruiser but i have stuck to or passed the **** of many sporty types whether through luck or my lack of a sense of self preservation . i drag raced it a little too . it's a solid car , but ......... ireally like driving the 52 but i am tired of fixing crap all the time . still window shopping as it were but the price and the in ability to buy what i want , not what they specify , is killing off a lot of stuff . no matter what any car of asian decent , no matter where it was built , or who they are affiliated with will never be in my vision or drive way ........ and used cars are out of favor too as i am tired of fixing other peeps problems just to drive them . we shall see . i am just looking for input or ideas . it all comes down to me and a decision that one way or another could haunt me . if i do the 52 will not be sold to anyone unless i am sure they are not gonne hack it up and respect it and give it a good home . the 76 stang went to the crusher a week ago ................................

 

I was kidding on that for the most part.


Now, to be serious. I would sell everything but the '53 pickup, and buy one newer vehicle. If you're prone to hauling things fairly often, something like a Toyota Tacoma, or Ford Ranger will fit the bill. Gas mileage will suffer a bit compared to a car, but it'll at least serve a need. Otherwise get a car, but concentrate on getting things in order first and foremost to reduce the number of payments on the new ride. Then, and only then, look at (re)-building the old pickup back to its glory days. Why have 3 vehicles that involve money, when you should really only have 1? (new daily not included) Make it a project, and leave all else alone. When it's done, then move onto finding something else, if you so choose to build one over driving THEE '53 everyday. Serious!

 

I think we all have good reasons for making the decisions we did to get us to the point where we are at. Stepping back and taking a look isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes we can see where we are headed and other times we realize we have lost our way. The perspective of a friend can bring clarity as well.

 

You certainly can't buy a Fiat the way you want it, and there is no good reason to believe they've improved their reliability since the last time they were imported into the states, and are uggin fugly. If you want something that allows flexibility in the way it's configured, has 4 seats, has nothing to do with Asia, has simple lines and handles like a rollerskate then get yourself a Mini Cooper S. Or if you want the above with 35+ mpg than a base Mini should be on your shopping list.

 

exactly why i'm asking mike . i'm hoping to see some bit of wisdom to help clarify things and see what i need to do ......... new and used trucks are way outta the equation . new costs more than ya pay for a house , and around here used is a beat up piece of crap that's way overpriced for the most part . not too mention so many folks i know have new trucks with more rust and issues than the ones i'm thinking of selling ....... like my son in law tim's dad's new ford 3/4 ton that just seems to invent it's own electrical gremlins on a monthly basis ................ scary at the least , and scott as i mentioned before i'm an automotive racist ... no asian derived vehicles for me period !!!! the one i did buy during my divorce do to lack of funds , a new hyundai , was a BIG PIECE OF CRAP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it hated me and i hated it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

There is a frustration level when you're dealing with either restoring or maintaining an older vehicle, especially if you're adding parts that were never intended to be on them. I've built motorcycles and cars over the years and the list of "things to do" literally never ends. For example, last Wednesday my truck started making a whining sound that I've been trying to chase down. I spent $60. and two hours on Saturday changing wheel bearings and it didn't fix a thing. Now I'm looking at axle bearings, more money and more time. I understand your frustration, I think we all do. When I drive my 2007 I can just get in and go but I wouldn't abandon all my projects if I were you. Maybe sell one and replace it with a newer vehicle, then get back to your other two vehicles. Just my two cents, good luck!

Wally

1951 F1 - "Lucille"

 

I like cars up to the late '90's, and in some cases a little beyond. Not interested in a car with 11 airbags, or electric power steering, and so on. If you're buying used, just find the best deal you find, you don't get to choose like at the new car dealer.

AX, I can't believe you are endorsing the Mini. Talk about an impossible-to-fix car, with overpriced parts, and a history of transmission problems (made in Japan, BTW). They aren't exactly cheap either.

 

Hey 55 F350,
A reliable Daily Driver would seem to be one priority &
the second priority is getting down to one Project that you are serious about restoring.

I've got a ton of teenage drivers & am unfortunately very experienced in finding reliable daily drivers. I sort through Craigslist limiting my search to above $6000 & below $11,000 By Owner Only. Lot's of junk below $6000 & I've found you can find some nice reliable cars in this price range.
- 2009 VW Rabbit with 54K miles
- 2008 VW Jetta with 48K miles.
- 2005 VW GTI
- 2005 Mercedes C-240 Wagon
- 2008 Volvo S40

You can go get a Fiat or you can get some lightly used cars from more established European brands.

Picking the Project you really want to restore is your call - Get some help
if you work too much - no one is keeping score. I've used some very good mobile mechanics on things I'm not comfortable doing myself.

Good luck over there.

Ben in Austin

 

Hi Kevin,
I find it hard to get excited about any daily driver anymore. Heck I can't even find ambition to wash the darn things. I don't care what it is, they all need something sooner or later. I always look for "more bang for the buck" Low mileage clean car/truck. IIRC your wife has a newer ride..payment? No good answer, but why buy another new one just to have some butt wipe door ding it?
I have looked at program cars too. I figure if they can stand the rental market, they will be ok. Ever rent a car? Yeah...let's see what this thing can do!
Just depends on too many things. It's a gut instinct when it happens and then drive on down the road...Good Luck Man!