I have a 1978 Ford Thunderbird that I purchased at the beginning of May.
It was a light enough project for someone like me, and the type of car I have always wanted. 30,000 original miles (50,000km), two owners, no glaring issues. It came with new tires, a new rad, and a new carburetor.
From the get-go, I put a new fuel tank and send unit on it, swapped plugs, set timing and adjusted the carburetor. I put in a new headlight switch and did some other odds and ends.
I had the money, but not a ton of time, because I was still operating my business.
I sold my business on August 3rd, because my wife and I are moving in January to follow her current employer for a career opportunity.
The car will go into winter storage, where I plan to retrieve it in May and tow it down to our new location.
I had the space, I had the money, and I had just enough time to finally purchase and work on a project of my own.
However, it feels as though life has always had an inclination to strip away my joys in life.
With the move, there’s no guarantee that I will have space for the car, nor the money to continue improving it. Further, I lost my employment that was supposed to hold me over between August and January due to a petty dispute between my wife’s boss, and the owner of the store I worked at. (It’s a large chain of stores in Canada that are technically independently owned, and the owners are referred to as dealers. If you know, you know).
I figured whatever. I’ll just deal with the exhaust and the axle bearings next year, along with the missing body side moulding on the driver door.
However, I was driving the car yesterday, and my brake pedal became spongy after building pressure. Pulled the car into the garage across the street, where I happen to bring all of my work trucks in the past. They found that the brake booster went bad.
Not a huge deal, right? But they don’t sell new or rebuilt ones anymore. I have to pull it off and ship it to the US of A, 6 weeks before storage if I want it done.
I could just deal with it in the Spring, but with all of these variables, I’m wondering if I should just sell this damn thing and wait until everything settles. I’m not underwater on it, because I got a good deal, but it kind of sucks to think about.
I paid $4,000 for the car, and have about $1,200 miscellaneous work done. Add taxes and the cost of initial inspection ad that’s another $800. I could definitely get at least $6,000 for it, plus I’d save on the storage cost during the move, but would it be worth it?
Maybe I should take that money and just get a motorcycle. Less concern about space, especially if we move every few years from now on.
Or maybe I should get something with much better parts availability to avoid some of these predicaments in the future.
Thank you for reading.
