I have a ton of money into my rust bucket, something like $4-5000 but like Ron said it's cheaper than a car payment and other than the engine failure early on, it's been very reliable. I'll be real happy if I can get another 3 or 4 years out of it without any more major issues. At that point I will either give it to one of the kids or part it out - maybe use the drivetrain for something else or maybe I'll run across a better body to drop onto my frame.
I think a lot of people are just not in the right mindset to keep old junk running and/or take on huge projects. I get it, kids/life/other hobbies demand time and having a reliable vehicle is important... I learned that early on, it's better to have a reliable driver AND a project, or a reliable driver and nothing else. As you can see from my signature, I've got a bunch, if one breaks down, I drive another one... I keep my interest alive since I can work on other projects if I get burned out on one.
Yup. My original build on he choptop (purchase, fix engine, convert to 4x4, 3” lift, 33’s) I had about $1,500 into it. Want to say I was low $2k after 5” of lift. Now I have no idea what’s into it. I probably don’t want to know either. Motor and front axle are both FUBAR and the only part of it that bothers me is that I didn’t hardly drive it before it blew up again. Hell, I put the motor together and dropped it in the night before the 20th anniversary trail ride. I have got burnt out a little working on it, but not too bad, it’s a fun toy when it runs. When it doesn’t, I long for the time and money to fix it again so I can drive it more.
My F-150 I know I’ve sunk thousands. Practically rebuilt it as a 250. I burn out easy working on it, but it’s been an impressive truck especially in its current form. It’s a freaking tank on wheels. Not at all fast but it’s pulled everything I’ve ever hooked it to... including trees still rooted in the ground. The last tree was about 40-50’ tall! A ton in the bed makes it look like a stock F-150. Empty it looks like a super duty. Unfortunately all that torque likes to eat parts. U-joints seem to get crunchy quick and it was eating slave cylinders like candy until I upgraded the trans to a ZF5.
My 88 I probably don’t have more than $2k into right now. Of course it’s also in a LOT of pieces right now... I have seriously burned out on it more than once, but I refuse to give up because although it was the second vehicle I bought, I was still making payments on the first when I bought it outright. Never got to really enjoy it though, bought it, fixed a few issues, drove it for like 2 months and the motor blew. That was over 15 years ago. I want it to work again, damn it!
My current Ranger, I burned out a couple times with and I haven’t really got to love it yet. It had issues from the start and every time one thing is fixed, it’s on to the next. I’ve gone as far as fixing everything around what’s bad in hopes of throwing enough parts on it to get ahead of the next and it’s still bludgeoning me. This current repair my plan was to re-do the entire driveline in one shot and then I find myself back to frame repair again and it burned me out instantly. So I think I really just needed some re-assurances that it happens and to just keep plugging away so it can be enjoyed
Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and Register
for our forum. Even if you don't want to post, you can still 'Like' and react to posts. 
