im at a point where im tired of working on it and throwing money into it.it seems liek everytime i fix it,something else goes wrong a couple weeks later and it sits for a few more months.ive had it for almost 2 years now,and ive maybe put 2000 miles on it.its either put it up for a long time or sell it and buy a bike.i dont know what to do
Do you have any friends in the area that help you with the car? I find that having a couple of extra hands around keeps me motivated sometimes.
I know the feel'n.I have to keep my '60 going everyday because it carries my *** to work and sometimes its a pain .Its seems that when it rains it pours as far as problems go on it,but it sure is a whole lot cooler than what most people drive to work in.Dont give up,you will eventually run out of **** to fix.I am almost to that point on my Chevy,if i dont run out of cash first!
nah not really..the closest place i have to work on it,is an hour away right now.thats why its put it away or sell..puting it away involves putting it at my dads and working on it maybe once a month if that.its also taking away from me saving up to get a bike
The best advice I can give is to buy a beater, and go over your car with a fine toothed comb... You have to make an old car new again at least mechanically to rely on it... I know, I bought a car that sat forever and expected to drive it daily, it basically fell apart. Age against the machine, as they say. Put a rebuild kit in the front end, go over the brakes, replace the lines, wheel bearings, universals, radiator, heater core, replace all the hoses, do everything that you would expect to fail. In my opinion, that's better because you then you KNOW everything is kosher, rather than wondering every day what might **** out. Breakdowns ****, and working on cars when you have other **** to do ****s also.
judging from the way you feel about your car.unless you get a "new" bike(as in 2000 and up),,id keep your car,,old bikes can be even more headaches and time consuming,,
a bike i can at least work on at work when we're slow (im a bike mechanic) and i get get parts almost at cost.all my tools happen to be at work also,and a bike is easier to pull onto my bike lift than a car..haha
Weren't you the guy with the oil change problems? Did you ever get that straightened out? Sometimes cars are a pain in the ***. Especially if they're big and you haven't got any space to work on it. If a bike makes more sense, then sell the car and get one...IMHO... I don't know what I would without my acre of parking space and two car garage. I've lived without a garage before......damn, I don't know how though.
I feel the same way, pretty often actually. I like my car, but it needs so much done to it, it's just a friggin money pit. It's had a rough life, and i'm trying to bring it back in shape. When ever I get a major thing done to it, it helps me want to stick with it though. I just changed out the front control arms for ones with new balljoints and bushings. When I first started driving it afterwards, it didn't seem like much of an improvement, but after driving it all day I can really feel a difference. I think it all boils down to how much you actually like the car. I hated mine at first, I just needed a way around. But now, i've really grown to enjoy it, and that's made it more worthwhile to deal with.
You say you "fix it" as in "apply bandages as it is wounded". Unless you tear it down and go through all systems (and then it will still break, they all do) it will continue the way you are going with it. You also say you are a bike mechanic? Cool, I say build a bike. No face lost in that. When you have the time and space and skills to do a car, do it. Use your expertise on the bike for now! Are you good enough to build a few basketcases into saleable bikes? Do that, bank the coin, build a fun daily bike and put the rest into a car project if that is your desire! Good luck man.
I know how you feel. I was talking to a friend earlier and mentioned that since I bought my Galaxie, all I've done is scramble to fix all the little things wrong with it. The enjoyment-to-PITA ratio just hasn't been good. When you get to the point where you can at least drive it and enjoy it while you work on it, things will seem a lot better, but getting to that point ain't always easy.Not having a good place to work on your **** is a *****. Every h***le is amplified when you don't have the right tools and a good work space. Tman brought up a great point about going through everything, but that isn't always an option when your car is a driver. A bike might not be such a bad idea. Sure they can be as much of a headache as a car, but they sure don't take up much space. Hell, worse comes to worse and you can throw down a tarp and work on a bike in your living room. Plus, you being a bike mechanic already puts you ahead. The last thing I'll say is that when you think about getting rid of your car, think also about the alternative. That's usually a good way to keep your frustration from blinding you. For me, the thought of driving around in a little late-model dollop of four banger powered plastic is usually enough to keep me going. Still though, there are those times I'd just like to take the gas and the matches to my car...
i've always had older cars. when i was younger and i would ***** about having to fix something (at the time i could'nt afford a beater and a hot rod so i had to keep em running to get to work) my dad would remind me that it's just "the price you pay when you drive vintage automobiles".... yeah, it never made me feel better either . so whats wrong now man?? get the trans fixed up yet???
I think every car I've had, I've had to do something to - usually basic ****, brakes, tune ups, a water pump or two. Unless you buy a relatively new one, it's a part of life. I drove a '60 Pontiac daily for 3 years with a ****py electrical system in it (regulator went bad and fried some wiring, I redid it there in the driveway), went through two generators and half a dozen sets of brushes, 2 starters, a set of tie rod ends, brake hoses, I was cannibalizing wheel bearings from 2 parts cars and combining the best balls into one race to make one decent set, a spring inside the trans broke and I had a shop fix that so I could tell when I was shifting in and out of gear, plus went through a full set of tires. Used to have to take the starter off about once a month and file down the copper plate in the solenoid too, until I replaced it - muscling a 25-lb starter around a tight exhaust pipe, I did get sick of after a while. Outside of that, I loved every minute with that car and I drove it all over the place - It never really let me down and it even got me home one February day from college that it had been 60' overnight and was still in the 40's when I left - I had to drive through a flooded street in town and more water in another place - and well below zero by the time I got the 35 miles home. Had one good scare when it didn't want to stop (ice on the shoes maybe) but that was it. As stupid as I was to run it in the snow, I used to p*** people that were stuck or run off the road with their sport utilities and cruise along at 30 or so just fine. I took it back once too and drove down to the other campus probably well after I should have even had it on the road... I think it would run today if I put a battery on it, still have it stored away now. Now that I have a '50 Chevy here I already grabbed half a dozen sets of generator brushes out of a guy's s**** pile just to be prepared. Should be interesting when that's up and running, see how long this engine lasts and how bad the front end is. At least the shocks looked like they were decent from what I could see in the mirrors towing it home -
yeah my trans is still being ****ty..my cooling system is leaking again.someone on here said something about how im feeling about it.ive put more time working on it and putting money into it than driving it.its just no fun,to have a cool car that no one has ever ridden in or seen,and cant be driven far.its just no fun to me anymore.
it's an 82 Toyota Celica. original Michigan car too! **** man. i spend most of my time workin on other peoples cool cars that i never even get to ride in once they leave here. you think i have time or feel like workin on my **** just to get it to runner status??? i'd sleep on it and put alot of thought into it before you do decide to sell it or not. and don't sell it too cheap or you'll regret it even more. i know.
True, but I can do alot of fixin and pimpin for that $200-$400 I save drivin a car that's paid off. Even better, when old cars break down they tend to be super cheap to fix. In addition you can probably sell it for what you paid for it initially or more. Basically you pay X dollars a month to own an old car. Guess your dad was right .
I agree with Pigpen........sell it. Use the money for a shave and a hair cut. I own lots of cars. None of them run anymore. My daily's down, so it's a lift or a thumb to get to work. Once I get to work, I spend 8 hours in front of a HOT grille making food for other people. I come home, TRY and cool off, maybe go wonder the garage or sit on the bottom of the pool. Every paycheck and tip I earn goes into my Pontiac. You are a lucky boy, at least you get to drive yours..............I've never driven mine. I've slapped wheel bearings and axles into my 58 Chevy more times then I care to count just so I could make it to a show RIGHT NOW. I have no help other then the HAMB. My father lives hours away, I live in a pit of cowboys and I my younger sibling would rather rot in jail then help me. **** it up. You entered this World knowing that cl***ics take effort and patience............they wouldn't be as rewarding if they didn't. **x Brandy
Indeed, they can be a pain but they're sure easy to spot in the parking lot. BTW Brandy re: "DirtyT is my own personal foot stool. He likes to be tied to hot chrome bumpers and whipped with jumper cables while singing Hank Williams Sr. songs. Naughty Dirty!" If I may ask a personal question in a public forum - Are you singing or is it DirtyT doing the crooning? I may wanna try it sometime with my Significant Other and I want to make sure we do it right... I've always been a ****er for hot chrome!
Thanks guys! No Dirty T has to sing Hank...................I'm more of a Patsy Cline kinda girl! Although Hey Good Lookin Whatcha got Cookin seems to have a place in my heart! **x Brandy
I think you should sell it. In my opinion you probably didn't really want this car anyway. Sounds like you got it to be cool.I'm fighting off the damn county and junk man off my piles of rust that don't run, some of them don't even have a frame. Having to work on my cars would never bring me to sell them. Just my opinion.
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