I needed some opinions.
And, well, I wanted to ask a non affiliated, non-biased car group and this is about the only one I kinda participate in. Warning, long story below:
I wasn't really into cars until I first started driving. My first car was a 1986 Toyota Celica GT-S, and I immediately fell in love. Lots of memories involved with that car. Unfortunately, I didn't know much of anything about working on cars and due to my shortsightedness and neglect I blew the engine about a year later.
About six months later after limipng along with a Tercel I had to buy as an emergency, I came across the GT-S's rarer brother, the turbo Alltrac(or GT-Four if you're outside the US). Despite having very little in the way of mechanical knowledge and working for barely above minimum wage, I decided to take home a WRC homologation special that skilled mechanics ran away from(as a 20th birthday present, no less). I learned to work on cars keeping this beast on the road. I went from barely knowing how to change my own oil to replacing turbochargers, doing mild modifications, and even replacing the transmission(with help). I gained a huge amount of satisfaction with this car, but unfortunately I ended up selling it almost seven years ago due to practicality... I thought my life was going to take a major turn and I needed to make sure I had transportation I could actually afford, rather than scraping by keeping a rare rally legend on the road.
I admit I made a mistake. That big turn in my life never really happened, I purchased a rustbucket Acura for the money(which was pretty fun, granted, but...), and the friend I sold the GT-Four to ended up blowing the engine and selling it on. I've always kept the idea of owning another one in the back of my mind. I even took one on a test-drive a couple of years back, but it was in pretty dodgy condition. Also, I was under rough times for the past couple of years and was barely scraping by.
My situation has completely changed as of a few months ago. I'm working a pretty well-paying job now and as a result I've got a pretty good chunk of disposable income to play with. Unfortunately I was a bit foolish and spent all of my extra money on computer stuff and the like, which is what brings me here.
A couple of weeks ago I found another nearly identical Alltrac for sale. It's about three hours away, and from the description has a low-mileage engine swapped in, some minor mods, and is overall mostly stock. From how the ad is written the seller knows these cars and what they're capable of. I'm kicking myself as I had enough to meet his asking price before my computer build. Now I'm back to square one. The ad is still up so it's likely still around, but I likely won't have enough to make an offer until around Christmas. I'm really wanting to get my hands on this one, but another complication is getting in the way.
I stopped by a local performance shop recently to get ideas on what I could do to spruce my current car(BMW E34 540i/6) up a bit; stuff like opening up the exhaust a little bit. He showed me a few of his projects, and I spotted another Alltrac parked behind the shop. I asked if I could take a closer look at it. My jaw dropped to the floor as I looked it over. The old rear quarter dent caused some suspicion, which looking at the VIN confirmed... I was looking at my old 'Four. Not one nearly identical to it, but the car I had busted my ass to fix up so long ago. The way he was talking about it basically told me this is a back burner project for him and he is on the fence about selling. Unfortunately, it needs serious work. The engine runs(someone along the line replaced it), but it's leaking like a sieve and there's no telling what sort of abuse it's been through. It's likely better to get an engine swapped in and gone over with a fine-toothed comb. There's also a lot of bodywork that needs to be addressed. No serious rust that I can tell, but it needs a full repaint and some dents worked out.
So... which one? I'm having a huge dilemma. Should I hold out hope and see if I can snag the good, running one or should I give into nostalgia and rescue the basketcase I struggled with when I was 20? That's what my mind's been wracking itself over the past few days. It'd take until Christmas until I'd have enough to make an offer on a good one. I'd be able to make an offer on my old one as early as this weekend if I really wanted to. However, my current job is a major time sink(despite the good pay) and a huge source of stress. I don't know if I'll be able to find the time to do an engine swap. Cost-wise I'm looking at about the same to get my old one and buy a good engine versus buying the 'already done' one, but projects are seldom as clean and neat as that.
Basically, any advice, anecdotes, tomatoes, etc.? I know this post is kinda jumbled, but I had to get it all out.
I wasn't really into cars until I first started driving. My first car was a 1986 Toyota Celica GT-S, and I immediately fell in love. Lots of memories involved with that car. Unfortunately, I didn't know much of anything about working on cars and due to my shortsightedness and neglect I blew the engine about a year later.
About six months later after limipng along with a Tercel I had to buy as an emergency, I came across the GT-S's rarer brother, the turbo Alltrac(or GT-Four if you're outside the US). Despite having very little in the way of mechanical knowledge and working for barely above minimum wage, I decided to take home a WRC homologation special that skilled mechanics ran away from(as a 20th birthday present, no less). I learned to work on cars keeping this beast on the road. I went from barely knowing how to change my own oil to replacing turbochargers, doing mild modifications, and even replacing the transmission(with help). I gained a huge amount of satisfaction with this car, but unfortunately I ended up selling it almost seven years ago due to practicality... I thought my life was going to take a major turn and I needed to make sure I had transportation I could actually afford, rather than scraping by keeping a rare rally legend on the road.
I admit I made a mistake. That big turn in my life never really happened, I purchased a rustbucket Acura for the money(which was pretty fun, granted, but...), and the friend I sold the GT-Four to ended up blowing the engine and selling it on. I've always kept the idea of owning another one in the back of my mind. I even took one on a test-drive a couple of years back, but it was in pretty dodgy condition. Also, I was under rough times for the past couple of years and was barely scraping by.
My situation has completely changed as of a few months ago. I'm working a pretty well-paying job now and as a result I've got a pretty good chunk of disposable income to play with. Unfortunately I was a bit foolish and spent all of my extra money on computer stuff and the like, which is what brings me here.
A couple of weeks ago I found another nearly identical Alltrac for sale. It's about three hours away, and from the description has a low-mileage engine swapped in, some minor mods, and is overall mostly stock. From how the ad is written the seller knows these cars and what they're capable of. I'm kicking myself as I had enough to meet his asking price before my computer build. Now I'm back to square one. The ad is still up so it's likely still around, but I likely won't have enough to make an offer until around Christmas. I'm really wanting to get my hands on this one, but another complication is getting in the way.
I stopped by a local performance shop recently to get ideas on what I could do to spruce my current car(BMW E34 540i/6) up a bit; stuff like opening up the exhaust a little bit. He showed me a few of his projects, and I spotted another Alltrac parked behind the shop. I asked if I could take a closer look at it. My jaw dropped to the floor as I looked it over. The old rear quarter dent caused some suspicion, which looking at the VIN confirmed... I was looking at my old 'Four. Not one nearly identical to it, but the car I had busted my ass to fix up so long ago. The way he was talking about it basically told me this is a back burner project for him and he is on the fence about selling. Unfortunately, it needs serious work. The engine runs(someone along the line replaced it), but it's leaking like a sieve and there's no telling what sort of abuse it's been through. It's likely better to get an engine swapped in and gone over with a fine-toothed comb. There's also a lot of bodywork that needs to be addressed. No serious rust that I can tell, but it needs a full repaint and some dents worked out.
So... which one? I'm having a huge dilemma. Should I hold out hope and see if I can snag the good, running one or should I give into nostalgia and rescue the basketcase I struggled with when I was 20? That's what my mind's been wracking itself over the past few days. It'd take until Christmas until I'd have enough to make an offer on a good one. I'd be able to make an offer on my old one as early as this weekend if I really wanted to. However, my current job is a major time sink(despite the good pay) and a huge source of stress. I don't know if I'll be able to find the time to do an engine swap. Cost-wise I'm looking at about the same to get my old one and buy a good engine versus buying the 'already done' one, but projects are seldom as clean and neat as that.
Basically, any advice, anecdotes, tomatoes, etc.? I know this post is kinda jumbled, but I had to get it all out.