Need advisement

[UncleDave]

Zack, I met you at Pat's and you seem to have a good head on your shoulders. I wish I had as much sense as you when I was 16... You have use of the truck, you have your project, it sounds like you just want a nice daily driver that's all yours. You can find something nice in your budget; for example, I've seen a couple '06 300c's for well under 10 grand. So keep the faith.

Regarding kids and fast cars, let me use my nephew as an illustration. The kid is a gearhead born with the engineering gene, likes to go fast and is always thinking of ways to tweak things. But he rarely exceeds the speed limit by more than 5mph. He has that innate sense of responsibility and values life more than speed. So the equation "teenager + fast car = disaster" depends on the individual. I think Zack will be fine.

 

[Roc87]

Wow Bruce, I never knew that a model A was so advanced over the T! My Dad owned a 31 stone stock "A" for a while, it was simple to drive, still had the adjustable timing & you could lean it out, I think it would do almost 40, which seemed too fast!

Zack, if you're set on restoring the '84, I'd agree with Little6Pack, get a nice 6speed LS1 trans am or camaro, they have really dropped in price, handle very well and get decent mileage. Me personally, I'm glad I didn't have my GN when I was 16 - I wouldn't be sitting here right now, I still leave it in my parents garage most of the time, it's way too much temptation, even now it's too easy for me to get into trouble on the street with it.

 

[VMineo]

Im close to your age(18) take my advice buy a daily driver every day car before your GN.If not your going to cry.Your friends,ex girl friends will get jealous.If girls know you care about your car especially At 16 where girls are insane,it will get messed up,badly.When I was 16,I had a turbo 91 z28.Do you know how many times That car got keyed.If it was a civic,they wouldn't do it.Your not going to be able to watch it 24/7..I Make it clear to people at school if they touch My cars ,ill have a 7500lb dually on there hood.You'll say you'll only drive it on weekends and not speed but your 16 your going to want to show off.Its the way it is.Buy a daily driver,then buy a ratted out GN you can build that will take time.When I drove a pt Cruiser to school, I had NO PROBLEMS.If you want a car that gets girls,buy a corvette or a m3.Girls also love ws6.Its like a Magnet lol.

 

[Bruce Urie]

Dang Bruce...what a story...and all that just to drive a Model T Ford?

I've always been interested in how those things run. When you applied that left pedal for 1st, did you have to hold it down until changing to 2nd and then let up?

Wonder when they came out with the 3 speed manuals on the floor?

Thanks, glad you liked the story. No, it had NO stick shift, you just push in the left pedal to get it going, that gear is the bands on the transmission I was talking about. When you push it in, that particular band tightens around the rotating assembly of first gear and away you go. Letting it out untightens the first gear band from the rotating assembly and as the pedal is moved out from first (it's spring loaded towards the rear) the second gear band tightens around the rotating assembly in the transmission. The bands themselves are like a leather strap riveted to a steel band. You can use webbing material in place of them if you can find it.

So, changing gears was just pushing in the pedal to first, letting it out to second...that's it. It's the steering, spark and accellerator rod you have to be in sync with plus 100% attention to what's going on outside in front of you. Can you imagine the dweebs who drive like idiots today on the roads driving a Model T? The death rate would go up to 100,001 a day probably.

Driving that thing was a FULL TIME operation. If you let your attention drift even just a little, you can get hurt real bad. It was designed for days when there wasn't so many darn cars on the roads, just little ol' country roads filled with cowpies and ruts.

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[Bruce Urie]

Nice story Bruce! Certainly worth the read. Now I will know how to drive one of those T's if I ever need to!

Glad you liked it, I typed it just for you. Keep your cellphone and prophylactis at home if you ever get one. They would be of no use to you:wink:

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[Bruce Urie]

/\ that's a really cool story. I lol'd when I read the "virgin" part.

Funny, thanks. Sad because it's the truth!

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[Bruce Urie]

Wow Bruce, I never knew that a model A was so advanced over the T! My Dad owned a 31 stone stock "A" for a while, it was simple to drive, still had the adjustable timing & you could lean it out, I think it would do almost 40, which seemed too fast!

Zack, if you're set on restoring the '84, I'd agree with Little6Pack, get a nice 6speed LS1 trans am or camaro, they have really dropped in price, handle very well and get decent mileage. Me personally, I'm glad I didn't have my GN when I was 16 - I wouldn't be sitting here right now, I still leave it in my parents garage most of the time, it's way too much temptation, even now it's too easy for me to get into trouble on the street with it.

Yeah, I agree with you. When I drove a buddy's Model A, it had a stick shift on the floor, three speed if I remember. You had to double clutch it for every gear. The "A" seemed "space age" better than the "T". But, I'll tell you, those cars are fun, really cool looking and so EASY to work on! Compared to today's cars there's no comparision.

Glad you have a good head on your shoulders and resist temptation on the street. I've lost so many friends over the years because of their behavior in cars. I've lost count, actually. Real sad even today for me to think about. So, good reasoning you have. You'll live a lot longer with that attitude.

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[Bruce Urie]

Im close to your age(18) take my advice buy a daily driver every day car before your GN.If not your going to cry.Your friends,ex girl friends will get jealous.If girls know you care about your car especially At 16 where girls are insane,it will get messed up,badly.When I was 16,I had a turbo 91 z28.Do you know how many times That car got keyed.If it was a civic,they wouldn't do it.Your not going to be able to watch it 24/7..I Make it clear to people at school if they touch My cars ,ill have a 7500lb dually on there hood.You'll say you'll only drive it on weekends and not speed but your 16 your going to want to show off.Its the way it is.Buy a daily driver,then buy a ratted out GN you can build that will take time.When I drove a pt Cruiser to school, I had NO PROBLEMS.If you want a car that gets girls,buy a corvette or a m3.Girls also love ws6.Its like a Magnet lol.

Incredible to hear your nice Z got keyed! I ask myself WHY??? What in hell did they do that for? Man, that's crazy! Why did they key your car? What a coward thing to do. I caught someone denting my door on purpose and I beat him half to death. Did you find out who did the keying? Just remember, the "beating half to death" can't be done today as most cowards/bullies carry guns. So, the dually idea is better. Don't get me out of context here, I said cowards, they carry knives, guns, not the law abiding citizens who carry guns for their own protection. I'm all for that and glad we have that right, but the cowards who distroy other people's things are the ones who are armed. So, in that instance, just because of the way life is today, I recommend just "Walk Away" (as Areosmith says)
Your story really is sad about that Z of yours. Bummer.

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[Bruce Urie]

Wonder when they came out with the 3 speed manuals on the floor?[/QUOTE]

Correct me if I'm correct, but I think, THINK, the Model A came out with the three speed in 1927 or 1928. I'm not old so I can't really remember at this time. I used to know all of that stuff because I was wholey in love with those cars from the 20's, 30's and 40's. My plan was to paint my first car, the '34 Chevy, maroon with black fenders, gold pinstripe around the middle from the grill to the back on the sides, 327 Corvette engine, TorqThrust Ds, tinted glass all around, four speed T-10, slighly jacked up in the back about one inch. It had mohair interior with bucket seats TOUCHING on the sides. No console, just the buckets in front and a small couch like seat in the back. Not a rip in it. I'll post pictures of this '34 and the T if I get them on a CD. Would you like to see them. Well, those were my plans when I first drove my34. God, I LOVED that car! I would trade my '69 for a '34 Chevy street rod in a heart beat, and that's saying a lot. I've had that Vette for 28 years but....that '34, man, it was so slick. I still have the Chevrolet front grill emblem from it in my garage.

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[VMineo]

Incredible to hear your nice Z got keyed! I ask myself WHY??? What in hell did they do that for? Man, that's crazy! Why did they key your car? What a coward thing to do. I caught someone denting my door on purpose and I beat him half to death. Did you find out who did the keying? Just remember, the "beating half to death" can't be done today as most cowards/bullies carry guns. So, the dually idea is better. Don't get me out of context here, I said cowards, they carry knives, guns, not the law abiding citizens who carry guns for their own protection. I'm all for that and glad we have that right, but the cowards who distroy other people's things are the ones who are armed. So, in that instance, just because of the way life is today, I recommend just "Walk Away" (as Areosmith says)
Your story really is sad about that Z of yours. Bummer.

Bruce '87 Grand National

Girls keyed my Camaro,I use to fool around a lot but nevertheless Brooklyn girls what can you expect..When kids use to park or hit my car,My dads shop use to be On the corner from my High school so I use to get the wheel skateboards and throw there car in the middle of the street.I did that 2 times before people realized not to touch my car.I miss driving that car.I ended up blowing the engine trying to race a cobra.The car had 6 rod bearing knocks,2 main bearings.I.Drove it like that for 6 months.I Ended up painting the car and putting it in storage.Then I got tied up In GN'S and the car is just sitting.After I finish my GN Im going to start on it.The best part about the car Is that I paid 800$ for the car,no headaches and I was happy.

 

[Bruce Urie]

Girls keyed my Camaro,I use to fool around a lot but nevertheless Brooklyn girls what can you expect..When kids use to park or hit my car,My dads shop use to be On the corner from my High school so I use to get the wheel skateboards and throw there car in the middle of the street.I did that 2 times before people realized not to touch my car.I miss driving that car.I ended up blowing the engine trying to race a cobra.The car had 6 rod bearing knocks,2 main bearings.I.Drove it like that for 6 months.I Ended up painting the car and putting it in storage.Then I got tied up In GN'S and the car is just sitting.After I finish my GN Im going to start on it.The best part about the car Is that I paid 800$ for the car,no headaches and I was happy.

Now I understand...thanks for your explaination. Girls in Brooklyn are like that? Man, glad I live in Virginia. They sound NASTY!

Glad to hear you still have your Camaro. You've got plenty of time to finish your GN and go back to the Z. They are real nice cars. You should have beaten that Cobra, as I have with the GN plenty of times, even with my old '69 Vette. But when beat that particular Cobra, the owner flipped me off...sore loser. Cobras are snack food for GNs and Vettes. Ask me how I know.

That is a good price you paid....wish deals like that were existant today.

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[Bruce Urie]

Im close to your age(18) take my advice buy a daily driver every day car before your GN.If not your going to cry.Your friends,ex girl friends will get jealous.If girls know you care about your car especially At 16 where girls are insane,it will get messed up,badly.When I was 16,I had a turbo 91 z28.Do you know how many times That car got keyed.If it was a civic,they wouldn't do it.Your not going to be able to watch it 24/7..I Make it clear to people at school if they touch My cars ,ill have a 7500lb dually on there hood.You'll say you'll only drive it on weekends and not speed but your 16 your going to want to show off.Its the way it is.Buy a daily driver,then buy a ratted out GN you can build that will take time.When I drove a pt Cruiser to school, I had NO PROBLEMS.If you want a car that gets girls,buy a corvette or a m3.Girls also love ws6.Its like a Magnet lol.

You're close to 18 and you have those five fantastic fast cars!?!?! How in hell did you manage to swing that? Dang, I must be living in a different universe. When I was 18 I was driving that Model T and '34 Chevy.(and a '49 Desoto, mint condition, which I paid $70 for) And this was in 1966. I could barely afford to, even with a paper route, working part time at Ft. Belvoir, Va. How in hell do you do it? Did you win the lottery? Just curious.

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[Pronto]

Well Zack, you missed out on Steve's Limited. For the price it really was a good first car. Plenty of potential. Maybe you should go for a GTP or GS with the s/c engine.

 

[terik.m]

How about a Chevy 1500 pickup truck? They are not the fastest thing in the world but its really easy to drive, easy to work on and cheap to insure. Parts for it are plentiful and it comes in handy when you have to haul around parts for your projects. There are many different ways to mod them to fit your liking.

 

[ZNix]

I have a nice pick-up to haul around crap. I love my 85 Nissan 720 . Little 4 banger, fuel injected and 5 Speed. Pronto, I know man.. Still wish I jumped on it that day. A-well. It wasn't meant to be I guess.

 

[aminga]

Gotta agree with Ronnie here. Get a 4 door cheap beater that gets good gas mileage. Work on the car you've got and make it what you want. That will save you money and give you something reliable. Insurace will be cheaper as well.

Listen to the old farts kid.

A TR is easy to steal and hard to replace. They have several hard to get parts (meaning you can't just go down to Vatozone and get a part) that can put the car down until replaced.

Get something you won't feel bad when it's totaled for first car.

 

[CamoDeafie]

I believe he says he already has a cheap toyota or nissan pick up and is looking more for a weekend driver while working on the 84....
my first car was an 86 celeb with an anemic 2bbl 2.8L engine, but it was fun for 3 years....clearly; its influenced me to owning A-body cars tho I'm trying to save up for a TR...

 

[turbo39151]

As unpopular as this might be, especially on this board, I'd tell you put the GN on the backburner for a little while... Get yourself a cheap little beater of a honda. Cheap to buy, insure, fuel and maintain. (The money you save can be spent on your project). Not saying to give up on the GN, just take your time... At 16 years old, lots of other things will come up that will require you to split your time and money. (ie: college, etc...)

I too said I'd never speed. Sadly, I have the dubious distinction of being pulled over by every police agency in SW florida from state troopers to port authority... I got tickets for everything imaginable. After "donating" several paychecks to the authorities, I slowed down...

This car hobby is fun but it ain't cheap, especially if you want to do it right... Take your time, don't be in a rush, enjoy your time working on your project.

Best of luck.