Thanks for the input everyone, it's appreciated and also helps with the direction.
So far...I found a few potential devs that may be able to translate the ElkArte database to something else, likely phpBB or MyBB, and that's fine. This would be the cheapest solution. To buy Xenforo outright would be around $300-400 with the good add-ons. I don't think that's a bad deal. Even if the initial install goes south on us, there are people out there that will install it for us for a fee. These solutions give us options at least.
Hosting...that's kind of another issue. I don't hate our current hosting but it is on a shared server and we very frequently have interruptions or downtime. Dedicated/cloud hosting through them is expensive (US $32/mo). I could move the hosting over to the dedicated server we have at work, but it would chew up a lot of space that we just don't have right now. Or we could go AWS for hosting, but as everyone has experienced, when AWS goes down then so does like 25% of the internet. Money-wise it is probably a decent deal though.
And we still have to think about backups for those hosting accounts which don't offer that. We've been using Backblaze at work and it's automatic, very nice once set up. Probably be about US $5-10/mo.
Lots to think about. For starters I'll look into getting the database translated and go from there. We've only got half a million posts and 40K topics to translate, no big deal.
So it's been a decade or so since we moved this board to the current ElkArte software. The reason we have ElkArte is that we needed to move over from the costly (and security-hole-ridden) vBulletin to something else in haste, and this was a good stop-gap solution at the time. Well, now that we've been using it for awhile, it's not modern enough and not keeping up with the expectations of the users.
As an admin, I can say that the software mostly works as intended but we do have some technical issues that are not being resolved with updates. For example, Alex and I jointly spent the better part of a day to move the board software to something that was compatible with a newer required PHP version, and it kept crashing until we did things one step at a time. We are literally one PHP step away from losing a bunch of data and functionality, I'm afraid. While ElkArte is still being currently developed, it's not at a consistent rate, and there are a lot of things that are inexplicably difficult to do on the admin end. I think we can do better.
So this means we have to shop for a different board platform. That in itself isn't terrible, it's that we are also trying to move the current database to the new software, which requires some type of database translation that merges the new structure with the current one. In general, another board's software will have roughly the same structure in its database setup, but each table might be called something different. So this is where translation is needed, whether there's an automatic script set up to do that, or a manual conversion. The ElkArte translation software works good when moving TO it, not FROM it. Hence the need for additional translation work.
We'd need to find someone that knows databases very well and can make this move for us. That will cost money...which is fine, I can probably cover a few hundred dollars or whatever. I have some resources that may work. If anyone knows somebody that can do that, we're willing to take suggestions.
NATO is using MyBB and it seems decent. I've also seen sites use phpBB, XMB, Vanilla, and FluxBB. Those are the free options. We could get into paid software again, something like Xenforo or Discourse. Those setups are sweetness but not something I think would be cost-effective with the relatively few consistent users we have. We don't want to nickel-and-dime you guys.
So...this is where we are. Suggestions, comments, criticism welcome. There is no timetable for this, just throwing around ideas but we would like to get going this year.
I've been following the foureyedpride saga from afar and definitely do not want our board to go the same way, not if I can help it. There's just too much accumulated knowledge to let it slip out of existence. I'm sure everyone here is in agreement with this.
I'll start another thread in the Lounge so we don't keep drive-by-pooping all over this one LOL.
I'm just glad this board is still working. It's barely running as it is...we're just one PHP update from losing all functionality. Love to move things over to a different board software. Unfortunately that takes way more database magic than Alex or I can do. So we just keep limping along and hoping for the best...
This is a vent window car, so I found some good used 93ish 2 door Tempo window runs. I’ve read that they work, haven’t tried them yet. Still need to find a run that goes into the vent window part, thinking maybe a ford pickup one might work. I do have one NOS ford window run I might use on the driver door, keep hoping I’ll stumble across another one.
I also ordered dew wipes from Steele, they are for a Lincoln Mark VII, hopefully they work out. Those are 4-6 weeks out.
I used the channel run from a Ford Ranger for my vent window convertible and that worked great. But I don't know if that works for a coupe door. It looks pretty close. Truck weatherstripping is plentiful and cheap so there's no harm in experimenting. The dew wipes should work great from a Mark VII.
I also commend you for getting new seals where possible. That's an overlooked part of restoration which most people ignore. Plus the cost is a huge factor...it's great to buy new but I've paid less for entire cars than the cost of new rubber seals LOL.
Nice little progress, that's always so satisfying to bang out all the details in a row.
On my car I had to slot the throttle cable bracket to move it upward and get clearance over the valve cover (Cobra intake, tall valve covers, 1" phenolic spacer). But all that did clear the adjustable FPR. It's not uncommon to need to adjust things. The EGR spacer will do the trick though.
OK, that explains it. I did see that type of sensor when searching and thought maybe the Mark VII one would work. So you have the round connector vs. the Mark VII/Continental rectangular connector, is that what you're saying?
That is a super beautiful car...outstanding. Good luck with the sale.
The HO cam requires 19 lb/hr injectors, the HO firing order (1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8), and a computer swap to at least a 1987-88 Mustang HO automatic ECU in order for it to run correctly. Just FYI.
Mannnnn that is a nasty leak. In the worst possible place too. Seemed to clean up nicely though, and you had help which means the world. Great to see progress on this....wish I had that kind of motivation...
That was a database transfer issue. Alex could probably explain it better but there was a problem in converting the old image tags over to the new database. I'm not sure if he ever got it to work properly in testing.
