I've dumped a ton of money into my car and looking back some of it was a huge waste but vaulable learning experience. I'm alot more frugal in my purchases, but when is it time to say good bye to your car? I'm 3 hours removed from mine and feeling like it is a burden at this point. Mostly as I can't work on it, and can never sell it for what I have in it. I could of bought a new mazda 3 in cash if I hadn't spent what I have on it over the years.
(I'm keeping my car but frustration is at an all time high, wishing I started with a nicer base to work from)
a car that's 20 some years old is pretty much a hobby, and should be thought of that way. Even Vinnie's DD is still a hobby, or shall I say addiction...lol .......and I'm sure you had something way better to work with then I did....;)
Jerry, nothing will ever convince me that lead can't be turned to gold after seeing your car's thread lol.
One would think you had been an auto-body specialist for some time...
I'm very consistent in my "I'm keeping my Thunderbird forever" attitude. I have to weigh the options. First, I'm SUPER cheap when it comes to working on my car, and I do a lot of thinking before I do just about anything so whatever I'm putting into the car isn't waste. I don't put any money from my paycheck into the Spore, which makes building it harder. But if I were to put a dollar value on everything, it would add up. Getting rid of the car would be the waste. Watching it go for pennies on the dollar. Not cool. Also, weight the costs.......it's cheaper for me to swap a radiator, a fuel pump or whatever than it is to make another car payment and insurance payment that goes along with it (we do that for the wife's car). It's a process. When you're working on the car, and funds are low, you have to ask yourself....Do I want it, or do I need it. In the end, most of what we do is on a "Want" basis. We often times convince ourselves the "wants" are actually "needs". I'm a perfect example. I NEED that Trck Flow intake. I NEED the new throttle body and spacer. I NEED to start bodywork due to the hail damage. Actually, it's all wants. The car runs fine without all that, but, I want the Sport to be all I can make it be within the budget and opportunities for parts that arise.
SO, Don't feel bad about what you've done to your car. It's done, can't go back and change it. Just from now on, be very aware of what you're doing, think about any mods for a couple of days or more before you obligate yourself to it (you'll see that you'll change your mind a lot that way), and do what NEEDS to be done, and let the "wants" work themselves out over time. If you put a lot of "I'm into it WAY too deep" kind of thought into it, you'll have a strong possibility of losing interest in the car, ditching it, then regretting it later. A LOT can be done very cheaply when you're patient and do a lot of hunting, then you don't have to feel bad about what you've done. I am an example of that..
Wow, after typing that I have to say..............sorry for the rant.
No, I think that summed up pretty much how I felt and glad I'm not alone in it.
And ya your car has made a MAJOR transformation, Daminc.
Main thing is I want to bring it up here where I'm at but it wants to run warm and I have no where to work on it up here. Think I'm going to see if the timing isn't advancing (the hot issue) fix that and the PS leak, then swap to vacuum breaks and bring it up. I think I can pull and recover the dash, plus fix wiring in the parking lot of my apt without any one complaining. I'll just buy a window blocker and hide most of the work I'm doing.
Iunno I'm just kinda disappointed, think I got like 5k in the new engine and it is probably just a little over 400 hp. The motor was made for a ranger but my 2.3t motor was disappointing so I swapped it out of my bird (I like curvy roads more than straight line so ranger wasn't going to fulfill any road race ideas). Same for my trans, I built it up for my 2.3t (c4) and now I want to go AOD. So I have a 2.3t motor I built up and a trans with no home, or possibly a ranger, but don't want to start 2 projects. I sold all the extras I had for the 2.3 but stuff like an engine is hard to get rid of in my area.
My though was when the car starting costing more than a new car payment(of a car i'd actually want) then It'd trade it in.