Alright, here's the ad I was referring to the other day: http://baltimore.craigslist.org/pts/2063155704.html She has 270,000 miles Transmission rebuilt 6000 miles ago Plenty of tread left on tires Radiator and alternator replaced 10k miles ago. (all of which I'm told: haven't been able to see it yet) My 1990 colony park has 116,000 miles. Lots of things have already went: transmission on mine was rebuilt 6000 miles ago also, all new window motors, new radiator, and now the lock actuators are starting to go (might try to rebuild from scratch ). It was his fathers car. Guy wants $500. He seems sadly quite firm on that, and was deeply offended when I suggested I might have more like $300 in mind, even not having seen it. What I would use, really, are just 2 bits of trim that are dented on my own car, and the 4 wheels as I need new tires anyway. However, I don't even know how much (or how little) tread is on them anyway, just his word before I see it (new tires = 11/32" generally?) and of course, there will be no warranty. At 270,000 miles, I seriously doubt any window motors or door lock actuators are in any better condition than my own, unless his father had them replaced in the last 50,000 miles-- but he can't say at all about that. No records or paperwork of any kind, is the impression I'm getting, when I asked about a warranty on those tires or that transmission... I'll have to see for myself. Finally, while he's very defensive about that recent "$1000 transmission," I think he's forgetting that it was probably a $500 rebuild + $500 to install, and I'll have to uninstall it (yup, a fun friday after thanksgiving for me, on my back, with only a jack and jackstands) to use it, and then keep it in my garage for quite a number of years until my own transmission gives up the ghost a 2nd time, or, try to sell on craigslist for probably not that much $$. If it is towing package, it would have more I can use. I don't see a trailer hitch, and he doesn't know: what would I look for? Obviously this is adding up to, I'm very unsure about taking on a parts car and spending my holiday weekend stripping it, only to store parts for the future, taking up space in the garage. I'm thinking, better by far to only replace parts as I well and truly need them, and if I feel I need a 2nd set of wheels for winter tires, go to crazy rays and pay $120 for all four; and pay $30 for the two pieces of trim, and not have to deal with the rest of the shell of the car sitting on my driveway, trying to find a towing company that will take a car with no wheels. Would you agree with that stance? Take my $500, put $400 into a set of quality tires that'll last the rest of the life of this car, and take another $40 and just buy the 2 pieces of trim that I need? I'm still tempted... for $500 I get a WHOLE CAR. But then I'll blow this entire weekend pulling parts off of it, and another weekend trying to sell what I don't need, and another weekend trying to find where to store all that sh*t in the basement for the day years from now that I might need it... it's very tempting to become a packrat! Or, while $500 I suspect is well and truly overpriced for a 21yr old, nonrunning, 270,000 mile car, what would you offer for it? Maybe let him sit on it for 2 weeks and call him back, after he's gotten no interest, or other "lowballers" like me
Depends I guess. If the trans is good you could pull that, you could also pull the radiator. If it is a tow package car it might have the 3.55 Trak-Lok rear end and possibly the larger rear drums. I think the larger rear drums are about worthless when you can swap on rear discs from a '92+ Crown Vic or Grand Marquis. Not sure if the sway bars would be any bigger. Like you said I wouldn't plan on the window motors or door lock actuators being good, but they can also be revived and kept as spares. Engine wise there isn't much there performance wise unless again you are just looking for spare parts. I would strip all the switches/relays/bulbs you can. Again hard to say if all of that is worth $500 to you. Not to mention dealing with the hassle of having a non moving hulk in your driveway for a bit.
How hard is it to pull the trans? Is it going to turn into a logistical nightmare, running back to the store again and again to try one more thing to get it off, or can it be straightforward? At least if it is just 6000 miles old, it won't be rusted into place I've never removed a transmission before. I'm in a bit of a bind as for as the unmoving hulk bit: I have some family friends who would host it, but only for this weekend while they're away so they don't need to see the eyesore. I'd need to have it towed 30 miles to their place, do all my stripping in 2 days, and have it towed away to the junkyard. Off topic, but I've always wanted to know: is there ANY merit to drum brakes, or are disc brakes better in every sense: simpler, cheaper, dissipate more heat, more braking power, lighter weight? Someone told me that as drum brakes have more surface area, they might provide better braking (until they heat up), he also said they were something, "self-energizing" was the term? What did he mean by that?
Dropping the trans isn't overly difficult, but I wouldn't go out and pull one out just for fun. The good part is that since it's a parts car you can be a little more destructive than you would on your regular car to get what you need. Might have to drop the exhaust (or cut off). After that comes the driveshaft and the trans cooler lines. Probably the biggest pain is the bellhousing bolts and the converter bolts, but they aren't terrible. Once it's loose you have a big ungainly weight on top of a jack. All told it's not bad, but you'll get dirty and probably get trans fluid in your hair at some point. Honestly the whole drum versus disc setup probably won't yield a huge performance gain. I just think discs are easier to keep in good operation. Drums aren't bad to work on with the proper tools. The whole towing here, towing there sounds like a pain, but mostly because I just don't have the energy for that kind of stuff any more. If you can get the parts you want/need and some good spare parts it might be worth it. If it has the K-code rearend (3.55 TL) I'd say it would be worth it to me.
Would it necessarily have a trailer hitch showing out the back, if it had the tow package (and the 3.55 rear)? How do I tell when I go to look at it whether it has the towing package?
Oh right-- on the driver's side door panel somewhere...? where would the "K" be to denote a 3.55 rear end?
Dunno what all was included on the tow package. On the driver's side door jamb will be a sticker with a bunch of codes on it. Under "AX" is the rear axle code. K is the 3.55 TL. I posted the other codes in another thread a while ago I believe. I wouldn't waste my time with any of the other rear ends though. I personally wouldn't get hung up on whether it has a factory tow package. The rear end would be the main thing. It might also include an auxiliary trans cooler, but it is easy enough to add an aftermarket cooler that will work just as well.
You've probably got another 5 years before you need a Parts car. I can find ignition and maintenance parts for mine, but any glass or trim is getting really hard to find. Your 1990 powertrain went on for a few more years, so unless you really need a trans, or its got some really rare feature, I wouldn't.
What is exactly wrong with it? It appears like they tried to maintain it since they poured $1000 in it to fix the transmission. It seems that they planed on keeping it if the trans was fixed 6,000 miles ago and they replaced a list of other parts. What would it take to get it running? Even if the engine is totally screwed and locked up, the ford 5.0's are cheap and plentiful, and also easy to swap out. Drop a low mile 5.0 in it, and along with the new transmission it came with, you could have a good beater wagon for less than $1000. If you are looking at it for a parts car, IMO it is totally not worth it to you for 4 tires and 2 pieces of trim. You can go to any junkyard and get 4 tires for like $100 and the two pieces of trim for less than $10 a piece. Even if it had a k-code IMO it is not worth buying the whole car just for the rear end, as you can also find one in a junkyard if you look hard enough.
Alright: I'll let it go I don't know exactly what's wrong with it, nor does the son. Sounded like it actually might run. But at that mileage, things start breaking on a very regular basis Maybe someone else on this forum will pick it up! It's to the NorthEast of Baltimore. A real issue is that I'm a college student, with precisely two places to put it: outside my parent's townhouse (not possible), or in the backyard of some lifelong friends (also not possible), so I'd be stripping whatever I could this weekend only, putting all the trim in storage, and getting it towed off by Saturday night. One of these days I'll have a more rural house-- or a house with a fence and a sign saying "swimming pool" to please the neighbors, while in fact having my own little private junkyard hidden in there When I do need a parts car... well, either my car will become the parts car for your cars, or vice versa. There are still a number of running wagons out there that will slowly but surely become nonrunning wagons over the years.
