At what point is it just parts? June 17, 2005, 03:15:37 PM Of course, I don't expect anyone to have a definite clearcut answer for that, beyond maybe a generalization like "whenever there's more to do than you're willing to do". I also don't expect anyone else to answer this definitively for me, as I am the only one that can ultimately decide.. but I'm trying to get a bit more reasonable objective outlook on this before deciding, so I'm sounding it off in hopes that random feedback might help.My fiance starts a new job Monday. It's literally 3 blocks down the road. She could ride my mountain bike to work if she wanted, it's that close. (less than a mile) I'm also looking for work now, and may have something soon. Anyway, it is becoming crunch time here on figuring out what stays and what goes. My '86 is looking like it will need the 351 soon. My '88 has gone nowehere, except it may have leaked a lot of water during our recent deluge. (around 18 inches in 2 weeks) My Lincoln is a tempting target to fix up, but I sat down and made an off the top of my head list of stuff it needs to be at least on par with my '86 as a daily driver:- Water pump ($54 for a FMS pump at Summit)- 1 or 2 suspension relays ($13 each locally)- A new exhaust after the H-pipe. (no idea)- 4 new tires.- 1 new LSC rim. (it has a generic steel wheel on it now with the wrong offset)- lower back seat (free if I make a trip to Alabama, if svopaul's offer is still open)- New connector plugs for the ATC module. The current plugs are distintegrating. Climate control is a MUST right now. - Unspecified work to get the radio functional again. Doesn't have to be fancy, just make non-static noise. Doesn't even power up now.- Both windows need re-mounting, possibly needing new motors as well or electrical work. Nothing responds to the switches, and the windows are held in by screwdriver handles.- Various minor electrical gremlins, don't remember all off the top of my head.. but things like power mirrors intermittent or not working, fuse panel is hanging loosely under the dash, etc.- Possible brake work.. (it has ABS) a minimum of a bleeding, no idea how far it goes.The debate here is between all that, and making it a parts car and picking up another LSC.. salvaging what I need and selling the rest. I also have to have this debate regarding my '88 T-bird, but I'll save that for later. Some possible good points:- Front (leather) seats are in decent to good condition. Minor rips and cracking.- Carpet is in great condition, just needs cleaning.- SD 5.0 HO appears to be in good condition other than the water pump weeping.. could be used for HO transplant. Supposedly has 116k miles on it.- All body panels are in good condition, could be used elsewhere. (would a Mark VII front clip fit on a T-bird/Cougar? hahaha)- Aside from the back half of the exhaust, no significant rust found anywhere yet.If you put yourself in my shoes for a moment, (and they don't even stink too badly) would you throw in the towel on this or just shelve it for a year or so and come back to it? If you were set on having A Mark VII no matter what, would you part this one out and get another? Any other thoughts that aren't occuring to me? I have a drive to make all three of these cars good cars again.. but I'm starting to see that it might not be reasonable to do so.Sorry for the length of the post AGAIN.. but it needed quite a bit of info, and might need quite a bit more, for me to make this decision. Quote Selected
Re: At what point is it just parts? Reply #1 – June 17, 2005, 03:38:03 PM Peronally, if the body is in as good a shape as you say, and the interior is in fair shape, and especially if the engine in it is already in at least "mostly" repaired condition, you aren't doing to bad for a car of this age. Electrical problems can be a pain, but a new fuse box or harness here or there isn't too bad. Rims have to be replaced, that is fairly standard, windows are a pain, but not too bad if you remove the door panel, radio is pretty easy to get aftermarket and run fresh wires, most if not all of the repairs are things that would have to be done a car of that age anyway, if not more if the "better" car is full of rust. Personally (and if my wife would let me) I patch it so it is drive-able then save up for the rest of the work and do it over time. but you have to do what you gotta do, if you really want an Mark then one with a good body and a mostly running engine is a pretty good start IMO Quote Selected
Re: At what point is it just parts? Reply #2 – June 17, 2005, 03:46:56 PM Well if it seems like I might be looking to throw in the towel a little too quickly on this, just keep in mind that I have to do significant work to two other cars.. one of them my current daily driver. Having more problems with white smoke now.. and being that it's a 3.8, I'm really not happy. Between that and the leaking rear main on it, I'm looking at the possibility of a carbed 351 swap AND suspension work this year on that one. The '88 is in better shape as far as I can tell, but still needs a new fuel pump.. and I'll need to track down and deal with that leak. (think it's in the windshield right around where the auto-dimmer sensor wiring hangs down) Plus I've never ever had it on the road so I don't know what will crop up after 7-8 months of sitting.There's also the argument that if I part out the Lincoln, I can do things like a 5-lug conversion and 8.8" swap on the car getting the 351.. and my '88 (5.0 SO) could get a full HO speed density swap. It would also get a transmission that is most likely in better condition.. my '86's AOD is getting goofy on me.I expect that all these cars will require work. What I need to determine is how much work is worth it. If you think the solid body and drivetrain is a big plus, I'll add that to the equation on the "keep/work on it" side. Quote Selected
Re: At what point is it just parts? Reply #3 – June 17, 2005, 04:01:18 PM yah. I can tell you right now that my wife would never let me have 3!! hehe. keep what you feel would give you the most enjoyment if you really have to sacrafice one, i guess. pretty personal decision really, good luck with it all. Quote Selected
Re: At what point is it just parts? Reply #4 – June 17, 2005, 04:11:10 PM I guess I'm lucky in that regard. My fiance likes all three cars.. especially the Lincoln.. but it's kinda sorta agreed that the '88 T-bird will be "hers". So if I get rid of that one, I have to replace it with a comparable car. (T-bird/Cougar/Mark.. Fox body first, maybe an MN-12 in a pinch) It's also sort of agreed that any Mark we have will become the "road trip car".. so we'll want to get one into good condition so I can take her up to see her family once a year. Quote Selected
Re: At what point is it just parts? Reply #5 – June 17, 2005, 04:24:03 PM Typical.4 PM on a Friday we get a call from the temp. agency she signed up with, telling her that the permanent job up the street from us fell through because they changed their minds and wanted to pursue someone with more experience in their specific field. (pest control) Looks like work doesn't start Monday.. but something else should come up soon, 'cause many businesses are desperate to hire people after lots of people left because of the hurricane. Oh well.. I still need to decide the fate of this car soon. Quote Selected
Re: At what point is it just parts? Reply #6 – June 17, 2005, 06:05:59 PM use to have an 86 lsc.was my favorite.just too many electrical gremlins.the airride would work when it wanted to,not when you needed it to.try stopping quickly from 70mph when shes laying flat on the ground.wasnt pretty,but i got lucky.front tires must have come off the ground about 5 inches and 20 times before i came to a stop.anti-lock breaks wouldnt work.couldnt find relay,so ran a jumper wire directly to battery.then they worked.all i can say is i cried as i drove it to the junkyard,spinning tires at every light.(sniffle) Quote Selected
Re: At what point is it just parts? Reply #7 – June 17, 2005, 06:37:13 PM Quote from: Funky Cricketyah. I can tell you right now that my wife would never let me have 3!! hehe. keep what you feel would give you the most enjoyment if you really have to sacrafice one, i guess. pretty personal decision really, good luck with it all.You need another wife :D .... Counting her Grand Marquis and my nephews '87 Mustang I have 11(thats right ELEVEN) cars around here(and I'm negotating on another Turbo Coupe).. Wife occasonally says yo need to get rid of some of these, I agree and life go on. I actually do have plans(some are distant) to get rid of five or so, guess I better get busy.Ben I know you are fond of that LSC but here's what I'd do...Use it for a HO conversion on the '88 Bird(even the gas tank will swap, just need to switch the gage sender), and let the fiance drive it(you get to drive it occasionally). While you are making the swap, do just enough to the '86 to keep it going(get some of that 20-50 oil I mentioned, or even straight 40 weight). Once the '88 is up to par, find something for transportation(maybe then would be the time to look for a nice LSC), pull the '86 off the road and dive in with the 351... Quote Selected
Re: At what point is it just parts? Reply #8 – June 17, 2005, 07:00:21 PM Well, the '88 may be its own can of worms. I think it took a decent amount of water in the interior during the last couple weeks. I put a home-made DampRid canister in it, and it was raining inside the canister within a day or two. Also smelled very nasty in the car for a couple days. Plus I don't know what else is wrong with it after the fuel pump replacement, if that'll fix everything or not. These cars are two unknowns because I am stuck not being able to fix them past a certain point to go on to checking other stuff.As for the '86 and the oil thing.. it has 4 qt. of 10w40 in it now, and 1 qt. of 5w30 synthetic in it as well.. and it's behaving again. Minimum of 16 PSI at warm idle w/o load. The occasional ~12 PSI dip when under load at idle is bothersome, but not as bad as with the last oil change.. and no more knocking now. Maybe next time I will change it out for all 10w40 or heavier.. but I'm going to let this batch run awhile. (only been like 300-400 miles on it)I've given a lot of thought to throwing the carbed 351 into the '86 when that V6 s out.. and it makes a lot of sense vs. repairing that engine. However, part of me thinks it might be wise to run it until that V6 s out, take it off the road, and let it sit until I can get the 300 I6 I want and begin that project with it. That would also be the most likely car to do the sedan delivery project with. But that means I need something else for transportation. I've looked into getting an econo shiznitbox if I do get a courier job like I'm looking into, but I don't know. Anyway, if I get a fourth car, one of these HAS to go. It's just the "law" of the house.. we don't want to make this look like a parking lot at best or junkyard at worst. (which is something my father used to do.. had like 11 cars here on a 120x100' lot, when I was a teen.. there are parts of the lawn that still won't grow from all the automotive chemicals dumped on them years ago)I'm not closed to any of the above ideas.. hell, if I did part out the LSC, there's a bunch of good parts I could use on whichever car becomes the beast. (8.8, 4-wheel disc and 5-lug, etc.) I just have to be sure of whatever I do.. once I part out and junk a car, there's no going back on it, obviously. Quote Selected
Re: At what point is it just parts? Reply #9 – July 01, 2005, 11:57:17 PM Had to resurrect this thread. Now the picture is quite different.I have two driveable cars now, thanks to the '89 Mark.. so it's not critical to get either '88 (Mark or Tbird) running again. It is, however, important that I get a little money coming back (to start sinking into this '89 for little fixes) and also try to free up a space in the yard.As I see it, I now have four options:1) Try to fix it up with all the little shiznit wrong with it, and let da woman drive it. (so she doesn't wreck my Mark.. heh)2) Part it out and junk the body. (still a shame to do to a decent body)3) Pull a few significant parts off of it and sell it to someone looking for a good body for building up a Mark of their own. Especially good if they already have a parts car or two.4) Keep the '88 Mark, intact, to d parts. Unfortunately that doesn't get me another running car.. plus, if I ded intact parts cars, I would like to store them somewhere other than my front or back yards. I won't be able to do that until I get work again and can rent a garage somewhere in town. I would also probably have to eliminate the '88 T-bird to free up some yard space while I figure all this out. I really don't like the front yard looking like a used car lot.. and neither does anyone else in the house.How do you tend to deal with situations like this? Yard's only really good for four cars at most.. we have five here now.. and I can't get rid of the only car here that's not mine. Ideally, I don't want to get rid of any of them.. but something's gotta go.. and whatever remains needs to be running within a reasonable time frame, like before the end of the year. :DI have a temporary plan that involves putting the unused suspension relays from the '89 into the '88 so we can try to get it on normal footing again and then try to remove the gas tank from it so that we can mate a working fuel pump to the '88 T-bird with a couple quick tank drops and an exchange. But beyond that, I really need to figure out what's going where. Again, I'm not looking for anyone to tell me what I should do.. only I can ultimately figure that out.. just wondering what others would do if in similar situations. Quote Selected
Re: At what point is it just parts? Reply #10 – July 02, 2005, 12:01:47 AM BTW, I think I am going to try to take a bunch of pics of both "project cars" tomorrow.. in case I have to sell one or the other.. or to help determine if they should just be parted out or whatever. Maybe I'll post some of them in here. Quote Selected
Re: At what point is it just parts? Reply #11 – July 02, 2005, 09:06:32 AM QuoteYard's only really good for four cars at most..Does your local airport have any hangars they're not using? Quote Selected
Re: At what point is it just parts? Reply #12 – July 02, 2005, 09:39:50 AM Yeah, probably the ones that were destroyed in the hurricane. :p Quote Selected
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