Food for Thought

[WORTH]

Just a few thoughts from looking threw the posts every day.

I notice a lot you guys, especially the younger members are spending a tremendous amount of money on their Stangs.

I think you need to sit back and decide what you want your car to be and what your actually going to do with it. It's very easy to get caught up in the "my car has 400HP" mindset, when in reality you don't need it.

I'm not a "build it stock" kind of guy, and I'm not trying to preach about MY WAY of doing things.

There are plenty of places to spend money on your Mustangs, you should have a game plan and a set of priorities before you start dishing out cash.

Don't build a car that you don't want or need. I see a lot of guys end up never finishing their car, or finishing it and figuring out they built the wrong car and selling it.

Hot Rods and Classic cars are suppose to be a FUN HOBBY, not a place to throw away money or create frustration.

A '65 289 4 speed coupe can be a real fun car just as it was built. And there is plenty of time to improve it after it's a solid safe driver.

It comes down to, do you want to drive it or work on it? I have found it's alot more fun to drive it. I improve them when I have the time and money, and I do it a piece at a time.

As an example, right now I'm driving a '70 Mustang Ragtop that needs to be restored, when I bought it about 3 years ago I made it safe, put a new top on it, and I've been driving it ever since. I decided to restomod a '46 pickup while I'm still driving the Stang, after the Pickup is done I'll drive that and restore the Stang.

Have a plan, and build what you want, not what others are building.

 

[jbsteven]

It's very easy to get caught up in the "my car has 400HP" mindset, when in reality you don't need it.

Here is my problem with this statement. For those of us that can afford it and just WANT the "400HP+" it all comes down to what I WANT.

I like horsepower and lots of it. I have a V-12 Mercedes (389 HP), had a 2001 R1 that was stroked, bored, titanium connecting rods you get the picture. Now I am adding a 400 HP crate motor and a 150 HP shot of nitrous to my 66.


I see your point of view and now you can see mine.

 

[WORTH]

Here is my problem with this statement. For those of us that can afford it and just WANT the "400HP+" it all comes down to what I WANT.

I like horsepower and lots of it. I have a V-12 Mercedes (389 HP), had a 2001 R1 that was stroked, bored, titanium connecting rods you get the picture. Now I am adding a 400 HP crate motor and a 150 HP shot of nitrous to my 66.


I see your point of view and now you can see mine.

I didn't say no-one should have 400HP, I said make sure you need it, before you spend money on it, just to say you have it.

I have nothing against any of the Mods that can be done to a car, I just hate it when someones hobby becomes a money pit of frustration that ends in a junk pile and the hobbiest never gets to drive it.

 

[Max Power]

All part of the learning process, Worth. You never know if you really want/need 400hp until you have it. You never know what your limits are until you go past them.

It's all good.

 

[Ozsum2]

Here is my problem with this statement. For those of us that can afford it and just WANT the "400HP+" it all comes down to what I WANT.

I like horsepower and lots of it. I have a V-12 Mercedes (389 HP), had a 2001 R1 that was stroked, bored, titanium connecting rods you get the picture. Now I am adding a 400 HP crate motor and a 150 HP shot of nitrous to my 66.


I see your point of view and now you can see mine.

You are the exception to his statement. You have the means. He is talking to kids. Are you a kid?

 

[Rent-A-Racer]

I feel my main problem with this hobby isn't throwing tons of $$ at a poorly planned project, it's the lack of $$ I DO have.

 

[Cobain03]

well ok i might be the only REAL kid here but, i baught mine to have fun and when i need/want the power i have it right underneath my foot. thats why i passed on so many 6 cyl stangs.
I love classic cars and im sure you all do too. plus the fact that my car is two and a half times older then me (exactly) is kida of cool. Im showin all the people and young drivers what they can have even without people or their parents handing it to them on a silver platter, cause i sure didnt.

 

[Ozsum2]

well ok i might be the only REAL kid here but, i baught mine to have fun and when i need/want the power i have it right underneath my foot. thats why i passed on so many 6 cyl stangs.
I love classic cars and im sure you all do too. plus the fact that my car is two and a half times older then me (exactly) is kida of cool. Im showin all the people and young drivers what they can have even without people or their parents handing it to them on a silver platter, cause i sure didnt.

I suspect you are NOT the only kid on here. In fact, many probably don't have drivers licenses.

 

[Cobain03]

oh i no, one of my friends in high school has a 66 coupe

 

[DarkBuddha]

I'm gonna rant here a bit, especially about magazines...

I think Worth has some valid points here. There are a ton of contributing factors that have helped perpetuate the "gotta have 400hp" mentality, not the least of which is all the magazine coverage of buying or building what they call reasonable and streetable "budget" 400hp motors. Everytime I read one of those articles, I shake my head. My version of budget starts ends at $1500. That is for the whole damn thing... rebuild, machine work, performance parts, etc. I can save $1500 in 6 months, but beyond that, I've got to start thinking about financing it... credit cards, personal loans, etc. To me that puts it in the "not-so-budget" category. And as for streetable... I don't know about most of you, but I can't afford regularly feeding gas to a 400hp motor on top of car insurance premiums, rent, food, electric, water, phone, cable, college savings, retirement savings, vacation savings, health insurance, etc.

Whatever happened to the concept of project car or fixer-upper or true driver? Magazines (and media in general) just perpetuate the idea that there is nothing between starting point and finished product, between resto candidate and full-tilt show piece. Even Mustang & Fords' Young Owners club appears to be (at least on the surface) full of nothing but ultra fine and complete cars. Does that inspire the average kids or ultimately kill their enthusiasm when they finally realize that it takes daddy-like wages to make it happen? Add to this that while magazines talk "daily driver" stuff, they don't do it in a very practical way... I've watched their projects and realized that I'd need a daily driver/parts runner just to keep life going. I'd love to see them do a car that required them to do every project in a weekend starting Friday at 5pm and ready to drive Monday at 7am. Give us real ideas about how much effort stuff really takes and how to make our real life projects go more efficiently.

All I can say is thank goodness for forums like this of real people doing real projects on real budgets to help give real perspective. I think it's our responsibility as mature enthusiasts to help the younger/newer folks some guidance and not let them going bull-in-a-china-shop about their projects.

Just one guy's opinion...

 

[bnickel]

i agree as well. however in the 20 years i've owned my car, i have found that driving it daily and trying to restore it a piece at a time just didn't work for me and the car ended up needing to have something replaced all the time just to keep it runnning, so all my money went to keeping it on the road and all the cool resto and hot rod parts had to wait. i know what everyone is thinking, that if needed al this stuff to keep it on the road then i shouldn't have been worrying about all the cool stuff anyway, the problem was that dailt driving eats up 35 year old parts pretty quickly so instead of being able to save money for the good parts i ended up having to spend money to replace thing one part at a time. so i would say make the car daily driver capable before you start driving it daily. make sure the brakes and suspension are in good order and spend you're money on that first. next make sure the electrical system is up to par and replace everyting you can afford to replace ASAP. then you need to make sure the engine and trans are good to go as well. i would also recommend flushing and changing all fluids in the car before you even start thinking about driving it. the cooling system is a major thing that needs to checked closely as well. my point is to spend evey dime of the money you have saved up or can get your hands on to make sure the car is up to the task of daily driving before you start driving it, then you can save up for all the goodies like 400HP engines, 5 speed conversions, ne paint and interior stuff etc. if you have to find a beater car to drive while you are doing all this stuff then so be it, you'll be happier in the long run if the car is dependable and safe, than if it has a 400HP motor with a worn out suspension and screwed up electrical system

 

[HistoricMustang]

I am also with WORTH on this one!

Been saying this same thing from day one and I have taken a lot of "heat" from individuals that are directly or indirectly trying to sell stuff.

You do not need to spend a ton of money to have fun with these things. If you got the bucks then spend them and chances are "if" you ever unload the car a lot of money will be going to someone else as your ride will not be "WORTH" what is invested.

HistoricMustang
www.historicmustang.com

 

[jbsteven]

You are the exception to his statement. You have the means. He is talking to kids. Are you a kid?

If I went by what my wife, employees and friends say then yes I am a kid.

If you got the bucks then spend them and chances are "if" you ever unload the car a lot of money will be going to someone else as your ride will not be "WORTH" what is invested.

Also keep in mind if anyone is spending money on a car no matter how much or little the enjoyment of owning and restoring your car has a pricetag. I value happiness which is why I enjoy numerous hobbies.



I know and understand where you guys are coming from with the points you have made.

 

[burnout289]

WORTH, thanks for the smack to the head. it's easy to get caught up and get all excited about something, but then get crushed when you realize it's way over budget.

HistoricMustang, thanks for your entire site! I love seeing people with near stock components who can give the big finger to Total Control and MII kits. it's nice to know you don't have to pay $3000 to be able to corner.

rock on you guys. but now this food for thought is making me hungry...

 

[65stanger]

That's the main reason why my current resto / "mod" project is going so slow (besides my current health issues), Because of the budget factor, but I am doing as WORTH and others have stated. I pick one area that needs the work, I budget what I need for parts, etc., and then I work on that part of the project until it's completed before I move on to the next area.

 

[MrBobMarley]

I'm gonna rant here a bit, especially about magazines...

I think Worth has some valid points here. There are a ton of contributing factors that have helped perpetuate the "gotta have 400hp" mentality, not the least of which is all the magazine coverage of buying or building what they call reasonable and streetable "budget" 400hp motors. Everytime I read one of those articles, I shake my head. My version of budget starts ends at $1500. That is for the whole damn thing... rebuild, machine work, performance parts, etc. I can save $1500 in 6 months, but beyond that, I've got to start thinking about financing it... credit cards, personal loans, etc. To me that puts it in the "not-so-budget" category. And as for streetable... I don't know about most of you, but I can't afford regularly feeding gas to a 400hp motor on top of car insurance premiums, rent, food, electric, water, phone, cable, college savings, retirement savings, vacation savings, health insurance, etc.

Whatever happened to the concept of project car or fixer-upper or true driver? Magazines (and media in general) just perpetuate the idea that there is nothing between starting point and finished product, between resto candidate and full-tilt show piece. Even Mustang & Fords' Young Owners club appears to be (at least on the surface) full of nothing but ultra fine and complete cars. Does that inspire the average kids or ultimately kill their enthusiasm when they finally realize that it takes daddy-like wages to make it happen? Add to this that while magazines talk "daily driver" stuff, they don't do it in a very practical way... I've watched their projects and realized that I'd need a daily driver/parts runner just to keep life going. I'd love to see them do a car that required them to do every project in a weekend starting Friday at 5pm and ready to drive Monday at 7am. Give us real ideas about how much effort stuff really takes and how to make our real life projects go more efficiently.

All I can say is thank goodness for forums like this of real people doing real projects on real budgets to help give real perspective. I think it's our responsibility as mature enthusiasts to help the younger/newer folks some guidance and not let them going bull-in-a-china-shop about their projects.

Just one guy's opinion...

Post of the year

I'm 20, my stang ws well on it's way to being fuel injected, w/5 spd, new paint and minor bodywork, and a/c for my daily driver. Then I got hit. I decided that I would take the money from the insurance and put it into a savings for when I do the car, I can have enough to do it right. Half of what they gave me was the shops's labor I work for free, so I can stretch it twice as far.

One thing to note. Most of us are content with our stangs but you know, I've always wanted to have a fastback. It was love at first sight and while the coupe holds a soft spot in my heart I would like to have a fastback sometime in life, but it won't be for a long time. Have you guys seen the prices on these things. Ebay, trader ads, you're talking minimum $14,000 for a decent one and most won't take less than 18,000 to 23,000. I;m glad the cars are going up in value for the mustang's sake but how is a kid not supposed to feel kind of defeated when you're looking to buy one. Oh well, there is only one thing left to do..... build my coupe and enjoy the hell out of it.

 

[HistoricMustang]

Dark Buddha, Worth and others. This is VERY good stuff!

Everyone keep it coming.

HistoricMustang
www.historicmustang.com

 

[Stang_1973]

I am going to be 20 in December, My '73 has been my DD since I was 18, i started working on it when I was 16. It is my first car. Reason I got it was cause my dad abandoned it. I made it run decently for 2 years until it was time for rebuild. What I would do was see what needed to be fixed and fixed it. I am still not comletely done with getting it how I want it. yeah after you total it up it 'prolly gonna be quite a bit of money, but it's not gonna be anywhere near as close to buying a new car on payments. Figure it, If I make a $300 payment for 12 months on a new car, that's $3600 worth of mods/resto a year on a classic with a smaller insurance premium. I am not trying to get a 400HP DD either. How many of those cars in the magazines are DD's? Another thing, people forget how much 400HP really is especially getting it out of an "old school" engine.

 

[degins]

Remember that the magazines exist for and derive their revenue from the advertisers. They will push expensive mods in their aticles. This attracts advertisers. I'm sure that the editors and writers are interested in the cars that they write about, but the publishers are interested in the bottom line. Smart manufacturers don't just respond to consumer demand, they create demand for their products.

 

[Ares67Coupe]

Since my second car I have never done anything half ass, if I build suspension it is all the way, power, it is all the way. I have never had a car slower than high 13 seconds, I own a sportbike etc etc. If the car is NOT quick enough to get out of it's own way and then some, than it is not enough, the motorwork, along with suspension and brakes are the first things to get changed on my cars. My mustang is pushing as it stands 350HP + a 150 shot of nitrous. I wouldn't have it any other way, now all I need to do is build my transmission and rearend to match!