now that my lifted wagon has 'sold' (I meet the guy next saturday morning to finalize the deal...), I've been doing some thinking.

 

first, it started with the though of how much I spent on the rig. well, origionally....$150.

lift, pugs, and tires: $500

maintenence stuff (couple sets of timing belts, oil pump reseal, new aftermarket electric fan, etc. etc.): ~$300

tube bumpers, skidplate: $350 (came with the black wagon when I bought it for $350, and I kept them before giving the wagon to my buddy for his birthday last summer)

a few junkyard axles, and a couple reman'd ones: $100

 

then we get into major mechanical stuff...

much better cared-for, lower mileage EA82 SPFI engine, came out of the loyale, which served for years before I got my hands on it, and am still driving it....so that motor didn't really cost much. and the motor that replaced it came out of my mom's old legacy, which was replaced with a much better legacy for $350 from ebay. almost all of which was made back in parting out the old one. not to mention the 5-lug stuff I saved.

 

lower mileage D/R tranny out of my old '85. the car cost $700, but served as an awesome daily driver for a year and a half, AND all the 5-speed, 4WD conversion stuff that I used on my loyale came off of it. so that cost is pretty much zero.

 

 

approximate total build cost (equipped as I'm selling it): $1400

sold for: $1600

 

worth it? still not sure. but I just keep telling myself that I'd pretty much reached the maximum performance capacity for my budget and patience on that car. and it's replacement will be much better suited to my needs....

 

and no, I'm still not going to reveal the replacement

approximate total build cost (equipped as I'm selling it): $1400

sold for: $1600

 

worth it? still not sure. but I just keep telling myself that I'd pretty much reached the maximum performance capacity for my budget and patience on that car. and it's replacement will be much better suited to my needs....

 

and no, I'm still not going to reveal the replacement

 

I' ve had almost 30 cars now, and I've rarely madea profit on any I've gotten rid of, not because I ddin't want to, but I've always felt like if selling whatever car enabled me to get another I wanted, it all sorta evened out. That's how I look at it, or how I convince myself I haven't given away tons of money!

 

I've never been able to look at a car as an investment, otherwise I'd wind up like that guy with 10K in his Brat and never being able to sell it.

I don't look at it as an investment at all! That's why I'm so shocked that I 'made' money on this deal.

 

keep in mind, that figure was calculated without the many hundreds of hours of blood, sweat, and tears that went into building it.

 

but I think you're right. I've had alot of fun with it, but it really is time to move on.

 

 

part of it is the fact that I've never sold a car. I've had 4 EA82 wagons, parted one out, and gave another away (which I knew from day one wouldn't be around for more than 6 months or so anyway...). a year ago I was saying that I'd keep this thing forever....