Maintenance Log: 205k-270k s70 rebuild before being totaled Topic is solved

[ZionXIX]

Looks like a snapshot of my life over the past 5 years

[abscate]

Three years of $300 car payments and your $10800 of cost is almost identical to your spend. When you think of the skills you have acquired and the confidence you have attained you have done really well. It’s no stretch to expect another 5 years /50 k from that car on consumables only. Add to that, this community , and the ability to access hard to find parts and you are living the Volvo dream

[hausmeister]

Yeah, no lie about the money needed to fix a p80 up. I am also in way over what I should be. I learned a lot so I think it was worth it for me.

These things every p80 owner will have to do, either sooner or later - or if you are really lucky some else did it already shortly before you bought it.

[abscate]

I must be up to 60 hours and $1000 parts on the Kat

That’s about $3000 for a $1500 car, maybe $2500 with a wind behind me.

I’ve put 3000 miles on her since, so she is paying back quickly

[abscate]

TLDR

Instead of spending 20,000 to go to Autotech school. Young guy spends only 10k and gets a free luxury Euro car at end

[smacknab]

TLDR

Instead of spending 20,000 to go to Autotech school. Young guy spends only 10k and gets a free luxury Euro car at end

Haha yes on this i think its relevant that i've become the car guy that people go to for help and me and my friends now get together to work on our old trucks.

Also in the last year I completed two projects entirely built on the knowledge i've gained and community i've fostered:
1. is the pencil truck - (made for my friend's illustration business, included alot of mechanical work)
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/05/06/ ... omerville/

2 is turbo-swapping my 93 ford ranger (which included rebuilding an engine from the block up, vehicle electrical and now tuning an aftermarket ECM)

turning my parents barn into a spray booth

PXL_20220403_030341942.MP.jpg (208.83 KiB) Viewed 861 times

The pencil truck

PXL_20220403_191508737.MP.jpg (468.63 KiB) Viewed 861 times

Truck running with the new engine and megasquirt based ecm

PXL_20220430_213143845.jpg (456.66 KiB) Viewed 861 times

87 Thunderbird 2.3 after i rebuilt it

PXL_20221205_221311388.MP.jpg (289.52 KiB) Viewed 861 times

[Sveedy]

Interesting projects ! That's a neat conversion for your Ranger. My son has one, and it is sooo under powered. Always feels like its towing a boat.
I'll bring this idea up to him.

[abscate]

some personal finance types say a car should cost you no more than $1500 per year average over the course of ownership)

Personal finance people are stupid wankers

Average driver in US , 12000 miles per year

Fed gives you 50 cents per mile for a new car, of which half is depreciation , so in average people spend about 6k a year per car. Getting that to 1500 a year is only possible if you do your own work.

Your running 40 cents per mile now but that will drop steeply each year you run it, and will converge to 20 cpm long term, which is a good frugal target.

Update on the Federal mileage rate. It’s now 62.5 per mile

For a guy who had barely turned a wrench to three major engine and body projects in a couple years…. Incredible.

Hmmm pencil car…

Does it draw a crowd?

Can you park it in sketchy neighborhoods?

Can it use leaded gas?

Is it his #2 car?

Did it look good and sharp on paper?

[MrAl]

TLDR

Instead of spending 20,000 to go to Autotech school. Young guy spends only 10k and gets a free luxury Euro car at end

Haha yes on this i think its relevant that i've become the car guy that people go to for help and me and my friends now get together to work on our old trucks.

Also in the last year I completed two projects entirely built on the knowledge i've gained and community i've fostered:
1. is the pencil truck - (made for my friend's illustration business, included alot of mechanical work)
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/05/06/ ... omerville/

2 is turbo-swapping my 93 ford ranger (which included rebuilding an engine from the block up, vehicle electrical and now tuning an aftermarket ECM)

PXL_20220403_030341942.MP.jpg
PXL_20220403_191508737.MP.jpg
PXL_20220430_213143845.jpg
PXL_20221205_221311388.MP.jpg

Hello there,

Wow you did a lot of work to your car from the first post. Looks like you basically tore it apart from top to bottom and repaired everything you could have thought of.

So my question is, what are you going to do when you have it all working perfectly? You're going to be lost unless you buy another one and start all over again
Maybe you could start restoring these cars and selling them.

[abscate]

There are lots of business plans out there spending $10,000 to generate $1500 of revenue .