This is going to be long winded, but bear with me. Goong to break it up into multiple posts. I own a 1994 regular short bed, xl, I6, 5mt, 2wd for going on 5 years now.
Have completely rebuilt the transmission, all new clutch except for master. New rear main seal, new oil pump and pan gasket, all new topend gaskets from lower intake up, rewired and upgraded to 130amp alternator, rewired dash and swapped to a cluster with tach, rebuilt rearend and added tracloc(but I couldn't get the gear mesh right and she whines), new u joints, electric fan conversion, flushed and replaced entire cooling system(though rad is defectiveand leaks), repaired/replaced all vaccum lines, replaced both tanks and pumps(though rear pump is weak and runs out of fuel at 3grand), added class 4 reciever hitch, helper springs, new shocks all the way around, Also added rear sway bar(none in front)

She has 258,000 miles on her. Runs like a top, tons of power, no problem running 80 on the highway pulling a load, doesn't use a drop of oil, except what leaks out the side cover, but that's very minimal. Drives excellent, except steering box is worn out( tightened it once already and needs done again)

 

Now if you're still with me, ive grown tired of getting my truck stuck in my muddy driveway and decided I would convert it to 4wd. So I went and picked up a 1989 regular cab short bed, xl, 302, 5mt, 4x4, with 160,000 miles, according to the paperwork, though I question the accuracy. Paid 900 bucks for it, which it turns out was way too much.

My original plan was to swap all the 4x4 stuff to my 94 and swap the 89 to 2wd and sell it to recoup my money. Upon getting it home however, I started having second thoughts.

My 94 is rotted at the front body mount, under the rad support, still attached but I don't know for how long, the wheel arches in the back are also bad enough for me to put 4 fingers through. The 89 is like new in the front, and only cracked above the rear wheels. I would swap the bed, But it is a single tank and my 94 is duals. However, even though the 89 has less rust through, there is almost no paint left on it, it's just surface rust, if I decided to keep it for myself I would have to strip it down and give it a full paintjob. In addition, the driver door and fender were smashed together on the 89, I picked up replacements, but they are two different colors.

the interior in my 94 is trashed, seat filthy and torn, dash cracked in a dozen places, headliner torn and falling down. The interior in the 89 is immaculate, everything is like new.

The 89 drove really nice on the highway, once I got up to speed. The suspension and steering felt really tight, it didn't wander like my 94 does.

However, the 302 in the 89 was only firing on 6 cylinders or less. Shaking like crazy and barely running..clutch was completely out of fluid, leaking out of slave cylinder, rear axle seal or brake cylinder leaking, tailgate is twisted and doesn't open, rear glass seal is literally falling out, brake lines rusted out, no ebrake, no ac(was never converted from r12, my 94 has ice cold factory ac, and it gets over 100 here in the summer).

Upon getting it home I tore into the engine, and the deeper I get, the worse it gets. One of the alternator bracket bolts is siezed in the head, tried everything to get it out, welded nuts on it 3 times, snapped them off each time, finally resorted to drilling it, all I managed to do was put an extra hole in the head. Picked up a spare set of heads, intake bolts siezed in them, won't come out. Intake bolts siezed in the truck, stopped after my impact wouldn't turn them cause I don't want to break them off. Cylinder #8 only has 140psi compression, cylinder 6 has 200!, it's all over the place, burned oil like crazy when I pulled it in the garage. Couldn't stand in the garage more than 30 seconds without my eyes burning.

 

The 89 is currently in my garage with the engine stripped down to block heads and lower intake, waiting for me to decide what to do with it. Part of me wants to build a 5.0 truck, because power, the I6 is a bit of a dog. The problem is I already have over a grand of wedding money tied up in this thing and to do it right, building the engine and restoring the truck, I'd have another 2 grand in it anyhow. I just don't have the budget for that right now, I have 50 bucks in my checking account! The wedding is in October, I need my 900 bucks back asap, or as much as I can get.

So my question is, do I,

A: swap the drivetrains over like I was originally going to, put the 302 back together as it is and hope someone will be dumb enough to buy the 89(now 2wd) for 800 bucks.

B: swap the drivetrains, and part out the 89, scrap what I can't sell.

C: try to sell them both and buy a different one.

D: sell my 94 and restore the 89 for myself. Problem with this is I will be out of a truck for at least a year.

let me know your thoughts!

 

The last thing a broke newlywed needs is two rusty classic trucks. Scrap both the trucks tomorrow and go buy a Honda Civic. There's no good reason to spend time and money on old junk worth nothing. You need reliable wheels to get back and forth to work and to drive the old lady around.

That's sums up my vehicle advice. Since you brought up your finances you're going to hear my thoughts on that too. Weddings are expensive. Cancel that thing ASAP and go ask a pastor to marry you in his office. The best part about not having a wedding is your in-laws won't speak to your for 2+ years.

I don't know if you've heard of Dave Ramsey and his baby steps about finances but if you don't want to live paycheck to paycheck you should probably check him out. Get your finances fixed now because you have a wife to take care of soon. PM me and I'll send you Dave's book if you're interested.

 

No offense, but save the self help BS please. My dd is a 2015 focus st, stage 3 full bolt ons, pro tuned. What good is having money if you live like a hermit???

i own my own home that is a work in progress. I need a truck, not one that I have to make a payment on either. Plus, I really like these old trucks. They are just plain cool! And why the hell would you suggest scrapping the trucks? They may not be worth a ton but thwy are worth way more than a couple hundred bucks in scrap metal. Don't talk about financial responsibility and then suggest that I throw 5 grand in the trash. Seriously, go troll somebody else.

 

Hey hey now. You brought it up so I thought it was okay to talk about. You did ask for my thoughts, and this is a forum. I'm not sure if you've ever been to a forum but every reply is an opinion. If you plan to keep the trucks the OBS guys will be here soon to help you out.

Having money and living like a hermit is what most people do. It's not all that exciting or lavish. The "good in having money" is you can invest it and watch it grow and not live paycheck to paycheck.

I suggested scrapping the trucks because it sounds like they're worth very little and require lots of work. You wouldn't be throwing 5 grand in the trash. That sounds like a sunk cost fallacy to me.

 

C., sell both trucks, use money to buy one decent v8 4x4.
Sell both as a package.
That should get your $900 back with change to spare.
Buy what you need when you need it.
You definitely do not need two project trucks right now..

 

Reassemble the 89 as best you can and sell them both to buy one that better suits your needs. You know what's going to be more expensive than a wedding? A divorce when you've spent all of your money on two 30 year old trucks.

Best case scenario, you end up with a little money from the '89, and a little more from your '94. Neither is going to fetch the $5k you have sunk into your '94.

 

Sounds like neither is currently roadworthy. You could spend a lot of time cobbling something together using the good parts from each. It wouldn't be worth the hassle for me. Do you prefer mechanical work or body work? That'll dictate the best avenue for you.

 

I drive my 94 at least once a week. Just gotta keep the coolant topped up. A brand new radiator is only a hundred buck, a used one less than that. I prefer mechanical work. I don't have the space or equipment to do an actual paint job.

QUOTE=jtab;19800667]Sounds like neither is currently roadworthy. You could spend a lot of time cobbling something together using the good parts from each. It wouldn't be worth the hassle for me. Do you prefer mechanical work or body work? That'll dictate the best avenue for you.[/QUOTE]

 

I agree with you guys that selling them both and buying a decent 4x4 would be the easiest and no doubt most affordable route. The caveat is trying to find one!. I'm very particular about vehicles, I refuse to own anything with an automatic transmission. If I were to sell my 94, I would HAVE to find a 94-96, 5.0l, 5 speed, 4x4. Just try to find one for less than 4 grand, that hasn't been completely run into the ground. Go ahead I'll wait. This is why I wanted to convert my 94. Yeah it's an I6. But it's reliable. And at some point in the future I can get around to building a nice v8 for it.