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This is the year I stop buying rusty shitbox projects that end up going nowhere. It has happened way too much recently, and when it got to the point a few years back where I had five cars crammed into a 1.5 car driveway / carport, I said enough is enough. Then recently the Valiant and the E30 came along and welp... So my 2014 resolution comes down to being a very good boy and not spending anymore money on bullshit I don't need over the next six months or so. This is the year I buy what I've wanted for many, many years. A US classic of some kind. I even have a plan! The current plan: Replace my current VZ wagons rear shocks, exhaust, coils, harmonic balancer, crank angle sensor and sell the fucker before it blows something major again and goes over my self imposed 'half the purchase price' limit. It's already eaten about $4000 in non service / workshop repairs over three years and cost $11,500 initially to buy, so it's nearing it's sell point for me. A polish, bay detail and above repairs and I should be able to snag 5-6k for it quite easily. Sell the E30 before it's exhaust deafens me / the racing seats break my spine / the pedal position destroys what's left of my knee cartlidge. Do my best to get debt free throughout this period. Only ~$6000 of combined debt to blow through! Go me! Most likely using the sale of the two cars to cover that and pay out all my debt in one hit, leaving me with a fair chunk left over to put into 'initial car repairs fund' if anything needs fixing / replacing in the first six months, or if I need to replace things when the car lands. Once debt free, bug the bank again for a $12-14k loan which should be easier to wrangle from them thanks to previous one. Buy a cheap local / go through a broker and import and finally live my dream of buying a US built classic. Rules for choices I'm No Mustangs - Can't fart without hitting one these days, and parts are overpriced because the aftermarket knows this. Also overpriced for a good example to begin with so not bothering with 90% of them unless the price is good enough. No Corvettes - Same as above with a few cheap diamonds in the rough, but mostly overpriced half finished bullshit. Maybe a Stingray if price is right? Nothing 6 volt - $3000+ job to rewire for hassle free motoring. Also very hard to find major electrical parts for so trying to steer clear. Must have service parts commonly available - Pretty wide open thanks to the aftermarket, but any of the more common engine sizes is good for service / interchangeable bolt on parts [289, 350, 440 etc can pickup or order most service stuff from local auto shop]. Nothing much bigger than the Commodore [~5033mm] - Holy poo poo it's built for Aussie roads, and yet I still feel like I'm in a cruise ship in carparks, especially multistory which becomes a goddamn nightmare. This may be the hard part in regards to final choices, but I'm sure I can adapt to whatever I buy and LHD will be a new thing to me, so since it will be like learning all over again, it may not be so bad. Nothing made after about the mid 70's - Because nearly everything gets super ugly and weird. The biggest challenges are not spending money I don't need to and if I do an import, it could be up to six months before the prick of a thing lands onshore, which means if I sell the VZ and E30, I have to drive the other halves 90's Camry around for that entire time  Importing also brings the wrath of ASIQ such as quarantine and if it's not cleaned properly, it has to go through again and again until it is, costing around $400 a hit, as well as all sorts of stupid registration issues which boil down to govt. paperwork nitpicking, but I'm sure I can get through all that with research.This is the year I make this poo poo happen. 
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Jan 7, 2014 02:45
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 06:48 |
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Pham Nuwen posted:Get a Studebaker and we can be Studebros A Golden Hawk or Daytona would be hot poo poo. Just the right size and still fairly easy to maintain. Or a Scotsman with tartan seat trim. 
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Jan 7, 2014 05:00
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