Here is to all the HAMBers who have ditched late models, I'm done with new vehicles

Excuse the rant....

I am here to commend (and join) the HAMBers who have saved the money and hassle of maintaining these new plastic POS by driving their customs, hot rods and "old" stuff.

I just talked to my mechanic, apparently the 4Litre 32V DOHC V8 in my 2002 daily driver has an overly complicated set of 3 timing chains and the quote came back at $4000+ for the repair.

I'm going back to driving my "old" 70 chevy truck and will get my 52 Pontiac on the road as my second vehicle way before I spend $4000.

I should have done this sooner (or $6000 ago)

 

My daily is a 72 pontiac ventura, 6cyl, powerglide, power steering, manual brakes, hell the radio doesn't even work. Just about as basic as you can get and it suits me just fine!

 

drop a 350 in it.

 

I'm running a hamb correct (pre-64) motor in my 1981 daily, does that make it HAMB legal??

 

Maybe drop a 350 ON it! (right thru that fancy sunroof)

It will without a doubt be the most expensive vehicle I have ever junked!

No REAL V8 will fit, the Lincoln LS has a Jag AJ series engine and a lot of computers (I knew better)

 

You on crack ?? maintenance of an older car can be as expensive as a newer ,,

Cost of parts ( if you can find em )

'your' mechanics labour costs

etc..

all cars break,,all repairs cost $$ some more than others ,,and if you can do it yourself ,,you can save some there

hell drive what gets the job done
regardless

whats gets you to work,,the kids to school,,the parts you need home

btw,,,how much of that $4000 is labour ??

 

So your O/T car is a Lincoln LS ? While the timing chain system on that car is complicated. It's really not that hard of a job to do. It just looks hard because it is so packed in there. Once you remove the radiator and other crap in the way it is pretty straight forward job. IMHO they are a lot easier to work on than a fwd car.

 

Anything will fit, just gotta break out the torch!, Local guy had a 4x4 xke jag with a hemi 30 years ago

 

My daughters 2002 P.T. Cruiser overheated. Hot enough to quit on her. I figured it was toast. Next day it started. So I'm working midnights and I told that it would be worth it to me to take it the local Chrysler dealer and pay a diagnosis charge.

They told her that the engine was ruined. That they found a junkyard engine. With that and a new radiator, water pump, timing belts etc, $3400. She paid $2200 for the car.

That didn't seem right. I had it towed home. First I will say that there is absolutely no reason why you should have to drop an engine to change a water pump. It's just stupid. Anyways, I added coolant and out it poored out the side. I figured bad water pump.

About 20 hours later I had it installed. LOL, Price around $125.

Do it yourself.

 

I don't think he's on crack. My 57 Buick costs way less to maintain, and cost way less to build than my '06 Dakota cost. Real easy to figure out. And the Buick appreciates.

 

My 64 Caddy is my daily driver, slammed to the ground, comfy and cool. I'd rather drive this than;

My 2001 Chevy crew cab 8.1/Allison trans- trans blew at 27,000.
My 1995 Yukon, front end went out at 35,000
My wifes 2001 Cadillac Catera, went through a complete set of tires in 2500 miles (after the alignment!!)
My wifes 2006 Magnum, the rocker shaft rotated at 21,000 miles and cut off the oiling to the drivers side head. Wasted it.

I'm with ya'....new cars suck balls.

 

yes ,,but you do your own work too ,right ?? I'm saying going to mechanic either way is big bux,,

 

If I do my own on the Dakota it's still way more. Even if I were paying for labor on both the Buick is less. Nothing takes near as long. And the new stuff quality is shit.

Tires are more. Belts are more. Plugs are more. Damn computer crap to contend with. And it doesn't get any better mileage either.

 

This is the theory I am operating off of. Sadly my '66 Ramblers 232 has decided to not like life, and time and financial constraints are putting off a rebuild probably until the spring. I have come to the conclusion that an old 2wd truck will generally be the cheapest vehicle to operate (besides gas mileage sometimes). If you get one that is solid enough to make you happy, and you can restrain yourself from fixing it up, you are only ever at any given time a max of $500 away from having a running vehicle if something should go wrong. The way I figure this is since they have so few parts on them the worst that can go wrong is an engine or tranny going bad. I think for most old trucks the parts are common enough that you should easily be able to find these parts used for under $500. Rear end goes out? Craigslist, $100, and a few beers later you have an operational vehicle again. This all assumes you are mechanically inclined, but that is mostly a safe bet around here. Anyways, that is just my 2 cents.

 

My newest car and my current daily driver is my '72 Dodge Challenger. Not HAMB friendly, but still pre-smog and no computers. The way I look at it is this, if I bought a new car I'd have a car payment. Although it was a little spendy to go through everything and get it up to daily driver type reliability, now that I've had it for a year it costs far less to maintain than a new car payment, and even with purchase price and initial repairs it was much less than a new car. And I don't have to wait on some moronic dealership technician every time I have an issue with it. When I spend money on it, its going to something I actually like and will at least hold its value if not better. By the time a new car has 100k miles on it it'll be practically worthless. And best of all, I get to drive a cool musclecar.

For $4k you could pick up a pretty decent older ride, especially if you look at stuff post HAMB but pre-'75. Or just spend the $4k on your truck and your pontiac to get them closer to the reliability you need. Ditch it!

 

Little Wing you must be running in a different class of "older" car.

I may be out of touch but I won't have $4k in "maintenance" costs in my pontiac in 10 years, upgrades maybe but maintenance hardly. I just paid $585 for 8 ignition coils for the LS, mechanic quoted me $800 for that job. It took me 2 hours to get it donw, 1 hour to move enough stuff to be able to see the coils on the drivers side,

I do most of my own maintenance, access to a lift, good selection of tools, etc.

I could talk myself into the hours required for the fix, I'm just not prepared to buy or fabricate the 3 "required" tools to keep the cams degreed while I remove the 4 cam gears and the other associated crap.

30+ hours labor est, $972 in parts

 

I dumped my 2003 "Moneypit" (AKA "Dakota"), and bought a '63 Chevy C-10 to use as a daily. No more OBD for me........

 

It sounds like YOU are the one on crack!
Yes, it *could* cost if you paid other people to work on your old car but what true HAMBer does that??
I have been driving my 1939 Ford pickup every day for 16 years.
My costs per YEAR are about the same as your monthly payment on yer fancy new cars.
Add in another old car, my 1957 chevy wagon, as backup for those occasions when the 39 is down for repair and even with antique insurance added for both cars, my yearly cost is still unbelieveably CHEAP.
I have a 59 Ford that I rarely drive but its running licensed and insured and costs maybe $100 a year to repair.
Its rarely driven, nothing wears out.
I have many ol cars, most arent driven much per year either, they dont cost much to maintain.
Buy several, spread the wear and upkeep around.
My newest car is a 1966 Chrysler convertible that I inherited after my parents died.
It s too new, wont drive it, not exciting, take it to the grocery store once every two months

 

My friend Sam has a 04 Chevy pickup, the gas sending unit went bad
Chevy dealer took $700 to repair it!!!

Makes me glad I do old cars.
about $60 for the sending unit in my 59 Ford

 

OBD2 is/was the death of newer cars in my view. I have a bad knock sensor on my truck right now. The part is cheap $30. Unfortunately the damn thing is under the intake manifold,major pain in the ass to get at. I am going to drive it this winter and when summer comes around I will replace it. Or better yet just remove the stupid check engine light bulb and sell it.

 

yeah yeah yeah,,Im basically saying ,,,,that problems exists period and it can get costly either way,,the way the post is made,,justifying driving an older car casue of a timing chain cost on a new one ,,..thats all

you ( it would seem ) can do all your repairs ,,which is not the case with most,,,this whole righteous car thing is just kinda old

Yeah I had a Pinto ,,drove it for ever,,rust got it before it dies,,hamb car ,,no

old car and easy to work on yes

and like you agreed with me,,if you take it to a mechanic ,,which is about 50% of the folks I would dare say

not defending new cars
hell they do nothing for me either ( well none of teh American cars )

but were talking cars,,and we all know they can ALL be hassles

 

I look at it like I'm making a car payment except on my hotrod. If you think about it, at $300 a month, you can buy a whole lot of parts for an old car!

After 2 years I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel on my build. I'm sure it'll still cost money here and there, it's an old car, but I've finally replaced all the mechanicals stem to stern. When any of them crap out, at least I'll know exactly how to swap them!

That said I've had it off the road for a year, daily has been an O/T '92 I picked up for $1500 and runs like a top.

 

Man to bad you are in Montana and I'm in Seattle. If you were near me. I could let you borrow the tools required. It sucks to buy tools you will never use again.

 

Manyolcars is right, running old cars is CHEAP and easy. I could be complaining that it cost me $300 for a new Weber carb meant for a VW to replace the worn out one on my 63 Capri, but it's nothing compared to fuel injection on a Honda. It took me less than an hour including modifying the linkage.
I am gonna miss the Escalade though, it's going back the lease is up but I'm not spending $500 a month for a gas hog, even if it does seat 9 in total comfort.

 

I have decided to ditch my daily for something older as well....however it is drawing mixed reviews. I am ditching my 98 Honda Civic for a '61 Falcon. I enjoy old cars, and honestly, if anyone tells me that old cars cost more to maintain I will gladly point out the fault in their statement. My Civic, alternator is 130 bucks, and UNDER THE CAR, '61...35 bucks and I can change it in about 15 minutes. Everything is easier on older cars. I have even thought about selling my '99 Lightning because it is such a pain in the ass to work on...but I love that truck!

 

I'm with Verbal and Zman, a 1970 Chevy Pickup is modern enough to require little maintenance, but if it does he can probably fix it easily...if not any mechanic will be able to, parts are cheap, too.

I had a 1973 Chevy Bel Air that I got for $500 in 1996 with 92K on the odometer. All it's needed in that time was a tune up, timing chain, brakes, and the normal stuff (tires, oil, gas, wipers, etc.).

Since this is a rant thread:
A tune up for something old would probably run you $80 if they did everything, but you could easily do it yourself because it's so simple. A tune up on my buddy's newish F250 set him back $450 or something because now every cylinder gets it's own coil. And I'm also as annoyed that all this new technology doesn't yield any better gas mileage. My '05 Sierra with V6 just got me...13.2 mpg around town. That's about what that 1973 Bel Air got, only THAT had a 350 with a big dumb old Holley 600 on top...no computers or fuel injectors or sensors there.

 

Depends on how "late" of a late model.

My daily is a 92 GMC 350 5 speed. 180K miles 21MPG runs like new, parts are dirt cheap.

Rich

 

I have a 1973 Satellite Sebring I bought for $400, put a couple into, sold some parts off it and drove it for six months for a net investment of about $350 or $400.

My Chevy trucks have always been an exercise in cheapness, I had a 1973 Chevy truck that I drove for several years and never spent more than $500 total, not including insurance, oil, and gas. Free truck, two free engines, and $40 in Vietnam OD green.

My 1957 Chevy truck has cost a bit more, it needed more work, parts cost more, and I wanted a stickshift. Still, I can't imagine having more than $2000 into it, and I've driven it for two years now, minus six months where I was waiting for a free or cheap engine. Truck cost $500, most recent engine was a $50 307 which replaced a free 350. T-5 cost a hunnert and a half. Rearend was free...

Don't even get me started on the plethora of sub $500 slant six Mopars I've owned, cut up, and thrashed mercilessly...

In fact, I've never owned a post 1975 car, you have to smog those here in Cali...

 

yes but on another thread ,,theres this so... Thats all im trying to say,,it can get just as costly in some cases,,in others no,, and yes slant 6 lives forever..

 

I hear you, this dam POS 98 honda,what a joke, my 86 has 300000 miles on it it's just getting a major carb change due to non repairability issues, the 98 everything is falling apart, the window motors have failed, cooling system problems, alignment problems, keeps eating brakes, and the DAM ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS!! no matter what I do can't get the check engine light off, says an 02 sensor is bad, tested and replaced the sensor, light comes right back on and says same sensor is bad, checked the wiring etc. I also have ground problems, the gauges act crazy because of it, I know a lot more about car wiring then the average person, and i STLL can't find it after tracing the harness. Oh and the transmission is slipping now. should have know when we brought it home and the radiator exploded after parking it. you can recognize one a mile away because they all have the same clear coat peeling patterns. every last one from that year. I'm going to search for a nice simple carburated truck aftrr I get back on my feet