Opinions, project daily driver

[ProTouring442]

Any thoughts on the following?

1988 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, 5-speed

Currently stock with:

Adjustable boost valve
3" mandrel exhaust

What I would like to do is:

Wilson Racing Megasquirt II ( http://www.wilsonracingms.com/ ) with LS2 coils, boost control, wideband, and a knock sensor.

The reason for the MSII is that eventually I would like to install a Duratec 2.3 (turbocharged)

Other plans call for an interior upgrade, and a Cobra IRS.

Any thoughts?

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

[BlackenedRR]

Thoughts? DO IT!!!!!!! Sounds like it'd be a fun daily driver.

[deuce_454]

you have an oxymoron in the thread title.. the words project and daily-driver are opposites like thundery scilence or awesome daewoo :D

seriously... if you want to build a turbocoupe.. do it, they are supercool.. just know that projects make very bad daily drivers (you cant drive them when they are appart) you will sink alot of money into somthing with low intrinsic resale value (ask me how i know.. pro touring 79 malibus dont sell real well) and you will take time (and money) away from your other projects.... unless you are jay leno ofcourse...

[ProTouring442]

you have an oxymoron in the thread title.. the words project and daily-driver are opposites like thundery scilence or awesome daewoo :D

seriously... if you want to build a turbocoupe.. do it, they are supercool.. just know that projects make very bad daily drivers (you cant drive them when they are appart) you will sink alot of money into somthing with low intrinsic resale value (ask me how i know.. pro touring 79 malibus dont sell real well) and you will take time (and money) away from your other projects.... unless you are jay leno ofcourse...


No doubts on everything you have said, and those are in fact the downsides. There are upsides however.

First, I already own the car, and it is already a project of sorts. I purchased it as a running but messy (read: owned by a 17 year old who should not be allowed to work on anything) vehicle. Naturally, the first thing I had to do was to undo all of his bodges, swapping in a/c parts, swapping interior parts as he had ruined the original stuff with a tube of windshield sealer, stuff like that.

Next I swapped out the cracked dash, and installed a nice stereo with navigation so driving it would be a bit more pleasurable. I also installed the 3" exhaust and the manual boost valve, performed a major tune up, etc, etc.

Second, a well thought out project will still come in at a significantly lower price than a new car, and with significantly lower losses. I have maybe 4K invested in the car now, including all new sensors, new tires, new exhaust, new hoses, etc, etc. I don't see why I cannot complete the whole project including paint for under 15K (maybe less), and most people loose that much on a new car in the first 5 years of ownership! True, this doesn't include my labor, but so what. If I stay on target I will end up with a reliable car that is fun to drive and inexpensive too.

Third, what are my other choices? Domestics? None. Not if I want an inexpensive RWD car with a manual transmission and good gas mileage. The other choices are care like 1990's BMW 3 series and trying to find a good, low mileage 3 series means spending at least 6K on it. Then you know It will need some work, tires, etc, to the tune of at least another 2K, and now I'm at 8K. And if I go to a 5-series the prices go up further. In all of the cases, the parts are big bucks for a BMW!

Late model GTOs can be had for around 15K but those are V8 cars that aren't exactly great on gas mileage, something I am looking for when it comes to a daily.

True, in the end I'll loose money when I sell, but that is also true of a new car, only those tend to loose you more money! I know it sounds like I am trying to talk myself into this, but I am actually laying out my reasoning to see if there is a huge flaw I am missing. Please feel free to shoot it full of holes if it's there and I just don't see it.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/29435265592.jpg

Shiny Side Up!
Bill