should have kept the vert though
The Pearl is 10 times the car the GT was for DD duty.
I loved the GT but, that roof and sloppy chassis... ugh...
So it had a little more power and two tailpipes. Whooptydoo.
The Black Pearl - Progress Thread
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The Pearl is 10 times the car the GT was for DD duty.
I loved the GT but, that roof and sloppy chassis... ugh...
So it had a little more power and two tailpipes. Whooptydoo.
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I could have fixed the chassis flex with some subframe connectors, but it still would have weighed quite a bit, the roof was still poop (even with a new top, it would've bugged me - wind noise galore and tons of rattles), and the stock AOD really sucked the fun out of that car. Unless someone makes a detachable hardtop for Foxes, I don't see myself ever owning a 'vert again. 
I guess I am partial to verts. Dave dont sell the thing. you have it running reliably and as long as you dont MOD IT, it's the perfect daily. you know whatever car you buy next is going to fight you and when you fix it you'll end up being sick and tired of it and wanting to sell it too. Im gonna go with Team Lynn on this one.
1990Coupe
Founding Member
Dumb move.. Big time...
You mod the coupe, DD the hatch why is that so hard? You are always saying your hurt for money, now your selling your perfectly fine DD? Doesn't sound like it makes even crappy sense let alone good sense....
You mod the coupe, DD the hatch why is that so hard? You are always saying your hurt for money, now your selling your perfectly fine DD? Doesn't sound like it makes even crappy sense let alone good sense....
http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/791622-how-do-you-all-manage-money-goes-into-your-car.html
'NUFF SAID.
I look at my paycheck and I gnaw away at it like this:
1. Bills
2. Fuel (enough to get to/from work)
3. Food
4. Crap that needs fixin'
5. "other" (car upgrades and fun stuff)
Usually, I have nothing left at all after #3, and if I do, #4 pretty much chews it all up. About the only time I have anything left for #5 is around tax return time, or if I get any kind of extra paycheck or bonus from work. Such is the under-$30k-per-year life.
'NUFF SAID.
1990Coupe
Founding Member
Second job? New Job? Something?
How many hours a week do you work? Pick something else up part time perhaps?
How many hours a week do you work? Pick something else up part time perhaps?
Rule #4: The better your car treats you, the more you want to sell it.
Not true. The Black Pearl has been, and continues to be, a royal PITA. Leaks that appear, then mysteriously heal themselves, and then start leaking again at random, a cooling system that I have completely gone through and STILL continues to leak and be fussy, brakes that continue to squeak no matter what I do with them, a surge/miss at cruise that will not die, a never-ending chase for vacuum leaks, and three letters that really put the crimp on that car right from the start: C-F-I. Crappy exhaust that's a major hassle to upgrade, crazy one-off fuel system and ignition parts, lousy performance, and an intake that causes the front two cylinders to run lean and ping at WOT even with the timing at 10* and running 91 octane.
Sure, these are all issues that could be resolved, but that would entail spending hundreds if not THOUSANDS more to correct, on top of the $400+ I'd need to spend on the car in the immediate future just to keep the thing safely roadworthy. And if I go spending all that money and time pimping the thing out to fix all that stuff, you KNOW what's going to happen: some random Mexican or tweaker without insurance is going to wreck the damned thing while I'm driving it to/from work someday, and I'll be left with nothing to show for all that but a pile of junk and no cash in hand ... or some old snowbird will destroy it just like my '87 Firebird, and their insurance company probably won't give me more than $500 for the whole damned thing. I'm not going to sink a bunch of time and money into something just for some random, selfish, reckless butthole to destroy.
Alternative: sell the Black Pearl, pick up a cheap S10 pickup or S10 Blazer like I did before, clean it up, change the fluids, and drive the snot out of it. I won't really care as much what it'll look like, whereas with a Fox I'll be a lot more anal about it (I think I washed Stinky, what, MAYBE three times?). If someone dings it in a parking lot or if I scratch it loading/unloading crap from it, oh well. I won't catch hell for having the "wrong" rims or steering wheel on it, or for having a ghetto paint job, or that I "need" to swap out the top end and put on a carb'ed setup, and I "need" to do this or not do that with it - it's a frickin' truck, an outright beater, and it gets me to/from wherever reliably.
Teh Notch needs, what, a rear-end rebuild or swap and ... ummm ... that's it. And it sees only weekend duty and short trips, anyhow. So, what, $200 and that car is kosher. Use the money from the Black Pearl's sale to acquire said S10 pickup/Blazer and fix minor crap, and just drive the damned thing without having to sink hundreds upon hundreds more into the turd. Seems more economical to have one about-right-where-I-want-it weekend toy and a DD beater, versus trying to maintain two "toy" cars.
Second job? New Job? Something?
How many hours a week do you work? Pick something else up part time perhaps?
I work 40 hours/week, but my commute chews up another 8 hours per week (basically four 12-hour days). All my weekend days are spent fixing or maintaining either my cars, others' cars, fixing stuff around the house, or trying to get out and away from the usual work and home routines. I don't see a point in taking up a second job just to finance an automotive hobby. Yes, maybe an extra job to dig myself out of debt caused by other things - although that would leave me ZERO free time to get anything else done outside of work like laundry or whatever - but working a second job to support a hobby seems excessive. I'm trying to shift my focus slightly AWAY from car stuff by doing this; rather than obsessing over upgrading TWO cars, I'll be cutting it down to ONE car (which is already pretty close to where I want it), and getting something for a DD beater that's less of a maintenance attention whore than the Black Pearl, so I'll have time and money to spare for OTHER things in life ... y'know, like going places, seeing things, and doing other stuff.
Jeez ... y'all act like I'm selling BOTH of my Foxes and buying a frickin' Geo Metro or something...
That's one problem I know I'll have if/when I ever get myself another S10 pickup/Blazer. Not only will I inevitably have to fix a bunch of things here and there to get it up to DD-level reliability (fluids, tune-up, tires, brakes, steering/suspension repairs, etc.), but I'll also want to lower it a couple of inches (spindles/blocks), swap in an electric fan, change a few minor appearance items, and probably do something with the exhaust ... at which point my DD will, in itself, be something of another "toy car" money pit for me because I'll have between $500 and $1,000 wrapped up in assorted crap in the thing (beyond the cost of the vehicle, itself). And then, inevitably, I'll get bored with it like I do with every other damned vehicle I've ever owned, and I'll turn around and sell/trade it off like a frickin' moron and start all over again.
It's no wonder I'm always broke. I'm too retarded to know when to quit throwing away good vehicles and dumping money into basket cases.
1990Coupe
Founding Member
Not true. The Black Pearl has been, and continues to be, a royal PITA. Leaks that appear, then mysteriously heal themselves, and then start leaking again at random, a cooling system that I have completely gone through and STILL continues to leak and be fussy, brakes that continue to squeak no matter what I do with them, a surge/miss at cruise that will not die, a never-ending chase for vacuum leaks, and three letters that really put the crimp on that car right from the start: C-F-I. Crappy exhaust that's a major hassle to upgrade, crazy one-off fuel system and ignition parts, lousy performance, and an intake that causes the front two cylinders to run lean and ping at WOT even with the timing at 10* and running 91 octane.
Sure, these are all issues that could be resolved, but that would entail spending hundreds if not THOUSANDS more to correct, on top of the $400+ I'd need to spend on the car in the immediate future just to keep the thing safely roadworthy. And if I go spending all that money and time pimping the thing out to fix all that stuff, you KNOW what's going to happen: some random Mexican or tweaker without insurance is going to wreck the damned thing while I'm driving it to/from work someday, and I'll be left with nothing to show for all that but a pile of junk and no cash in hand ... or some old snowbird will destroy it just like my '87 Firebird, and their insurance company probably won't give me more than $500 for the whole damned thing. I'm not going to sink a bunch of time and money into something just for some random, selfish, reckless butthole to destroy.
Alternative: sell the Black Pearl, pick up a cheap S10 pickup or S10 Blazer like I did before, clean it up, change the fluids, and drive the snot out of it. I won't really care as much what it'll look like, whereas with a Fox I'll be a lot more anal about it (I think I washed Stinky, what, MAYBE three times?). If someone dings it in a parking lot or if I scratch it loading/unloading crap from it, oh well. I won't catch hell for having the "wrong" rims or steering wheel on it, or for having a ghetto paint job, or that I "need" to swap out the top end and put on a carb'ed setup, and I "need" to do this or not do that with it - it's a frickin' truck, an outright beater, and it gets me to/from wherever reliably.
Teh Notch needs, what, a rear-end rebuild or swap and ... ummm ... that's it. And it sees only weekend duty and short trips, anyhow. So, what, $200 and that car is kosher. Use the money from the Black Pearl's sale to acquire said S10 pickup/Blazer and fix minor crap, and just drive the damned thing without having to sink hundreds upon hundreds more into the turd. Seems more economical to have one about-right-where-I-want-it weekend toy and a DD beater, versus trying to maintain two "toy" cars.
I work 40 hours/week, but my commute chews up another 8 hours per week (basically four 12-hour days). All my weekend days are spent fixing or maintaining either my cars, others' cars, fixing stuff around the house, or trying to get out and away from the usual work and home routines. I don't see a point in taking up a second job just to finance an automotive hobby. Yes, maybe an extra job to dig myself out of debt caused by other things - although that would leave me ZERO free time to get anything else done outside of work like laundry or whatever - but working a second job to support a hobby seems excessive. I'm trying to shift my focus slightly AWAY from car stuff by doing this; rather than obsessing over upgrading TWO cars, I'll be cutting it down to ONE car (which is already pretty close to where I want it), and getting something for a DD beater that's less of a maintenance attention whore than the Black Pearl, so I'll have time and money to spare for OTHER things in life ... y'know, like going places, seeing things, and doing other stuff.
Jeez ... y'all act like I'm selling BOTH of my Foxes and buying a frickin' Geo Metro or something...
You sound like a bitch.. plain and simple...
Blackpearl is a Daily Driver.. Who cares if the brakes squeak or the thing pings at WOT... Its a god damn DD why are you going WOT anyways?? I think your coming up with reasons to get rid of it..
The second job was more of a help you dig outa debt, and put money IN THE BANK instead of spending it on things unecessary. Drive the black pearl to and from work and THATS IT.. Fix the necessary things - if its running leave it. Who cares about surging idles, if it runs and doesnt stall leave it. Get money in the bank and get something DECENT.. Not a god damn POS S10 or blazer.. You will be putting JUST AS MUCH into one of those POS's then you'll put into your black pearl to do some minor things here and there..
Just my .02
While I welcome the input, and you do have valid points, it would be a better if you could offer it without headlining it with an insult.
I haven't placed an ad or done anything beyond openly throwing the idea out there. I haven't done anything that's set in stone, I'm just weighing my options a bit more closely now ... although I'm still seriously leaning towards selling/trading it off right now.
The fact remains that the Pearl requires a bunch of money to be thrown into it - not just for petty OCD things that annoy me, but rather for stuff to keep it safely on the road - and I'm having a hard time justifying sinking more money into a redundant vehicle that does even less for me than my weekend toy. The '84 is exactly the same as the '89, except it's WAY slower, gets maybe 2 MPG better (since teh Notch has 4.10 gears), and the rear seat folds down ... which is somewhat useless since the hatch glass angles down in such a way that anything over 12" won't fit in back, so I can only carry things slightly LONGER than in the notch but nothing TALLER. What's the point of owning a car that does even less for me than the other car I keep on reserve for weekend duty?
If it rode nicer, got the same gas mileage or better (anything over 20 MPG), had a larger cargo capacity, larger fuel tank/range (filling up every two days VS once a week is a little bit annoying), rode nicer, and wasn't constantly leaking or breaking crap, THEN it would be an issue. But as it sits ... I could do a lot better for a DD. If the parking situation where I work wasn't an issue, even a Crown Vic would be a better alternative to the Pearl.
FWIW, going WOT every now and then is necessary in downtown Phoenix traffic in order to get up to speed to merge and so on, especially with all the crazy crap they're doing right now on the Loop 202. When you're only rocking 150 horses or so under the hood and 3.08 gears, you have to stomp on it now and then just to keep up with the traffic flow, or at least to get out of the way ... thus, the opportunity for exposure to ping due to a crappy design with the CFI setup. (By design, the TB butterfly does not open completely at WOT, it hits a stopper on the linkage before then. As I've read it, SSP models equipped with CFI allowed the TB to open 100%, but good luck tracking one of those suckers down...) I don't drive around with the throttle mashed to the floor all the time, and generally I drive the car like an old lady for the most part because I'm always trying to squeeze out the most gas mileage I can from the thing.
look for a 95+ s10 with a four banger and a 5spd. they run better than the previous generation and there are an assload around. the isuzu hombre is the same truck with a gheyer front end so if you run across one of those dont let the import name scare you off.
1990Coupe
Founding Member
While I welcome the input, and you do have valid points, it would be a better if you could offer it without headlining it with an insult.
Your right. My apologies. I was not having a good day yesterday at all. I am sorry.
Prolly more to do with your post count.Your right. My apologies. I was not having a good day yesterday at all. I am sorry.
*666*
1990Coupe
Founding Member
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