Today I wished I was a mechanic, with a shop and all that.

[MrNoodly]

I saw a 1972 Econoline for sale, $750. It had a 300 cubic inch inline 6 and manual transmission, no side windows on the driver side, sliding door, essentially bare interior. The body was in fairly good shape (a desert vehicle) which is important since those things were unibody rather than body-on-frame, but it needed mechanical work, like any unrestored 50 year old vehicle. Restored Econolines of that vintage go for about $15,000.

 

[bullfrog]

Restoration is an expensive process even with a shop and all that. Many old time restorers are gone and many new shops won't touch anything over 20 years old for several reasons. One being modern vehicles have few systems that aren't electronically/computer controlled and troubleshot. Most modern mechanics have never had to understand the old mechanical systems or how to repair them. Most "restorations" are going to have close to $15,000 in parts if everything is replaced that wears. Most uncompleted projects sell for about 1/4 of what the owner has put into them if they are lucky. Careful what you wish for! LOL!!!

 

[Calaverasgrande]

Can't believe a restored 2nd gen Econoline goes for that much?!
It seems that all old cars are now selling for classic prices.
I had couple of those over the years. Always preferred the 1st gen for classic looks and the 3rd gen for being tough as nails and also kinda like the snub nose hood thing.
But sometimes a 2nd gen showed up cheap and a van is a van.
I still pine for a 1st gen Econoline Falcon with the inline 6.

 

[RoamerRV428]

yea I know that feeling for sure

some days 'you wish' when ya see something of interest that is just off our control we could handle them easily and attack that project....I feel ya on that! Covers so many things in our lives actually!

 

[Zephyr]

For me, that's a desirable van because it's too old to have or require all the government mandated smog and safety equipment. Don't restore it, just refresh all the needed parts and use it. My '87 4-wheel drive Chevy half ton has an unknown amount of miles since the odometer only reads to 100,000 miles. But I can still get parts for it, the patina is real, and it meets my needs.

 

[MrNoodly]

It seems that all old cars are now selling for classic prices.

Right now all used vehicle prices are insane because there's a shortage of new vehicles and their prices are even more insane.

 

[Calaverasgrande]

Right now all used vehicle prices are insane because there's a shortage of new vehicles and their prices are even more insane.

I used to work for a used car magazine back in the late 90's early 2000's.
We had a set list of classic cars. Impalas, Falcons, Corvettes, Mustangs etc.
We would accept other car models, but they had to at least be '72 or older. (whatever the cut off for smog was at that point I forget exactly).
We would often get guys who had Import cars who were upset they had to list with the regular vehicles.
VW people would get especially bent out of shape over it.
BTW, I had a heart attack when I shopped around for a Westphalia not long ago. Way overpriced considering they are not reliable!

 

[MrNoodly]

Restoration is an expensive process...

In my case, "restoration" would mean stem-to-stern mechanical repair/replacement and a good cleaning. It wouldn't need to look pretty.

 

[RoamerRV428]

to me restoration is physical mechanical also...screw the curtains we put in it HA

 

[GotSmart]

Nothing wrong with restoring a classic. Many of them actually got better mileage than modern vehicles. I had a 91 B250 with a 1969 318 from a challenger. I ranged from the mid teens to the mid 20’s in mileage. Depending on terrain and traffic. New vehicles are more comfortable but do not have the curb appeal of the old iron. 

Restore it if you can. I spent a year rebuilding my van from a basket. I enjoyed every minute.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

If your vehicle is too old to have smog equipment, that means that it's spewing toxic crap into the air every minute you're driving it.
That must be why trees, healthy and growing along the highways in the '60s and '70s, started dying after the catalytic converter was mandated.
If your vehicle is too old to have safety equipment, that means that your chances of dying, should you have an accident, are much improved.
Seat belts, shoulder belts, collapsable steering wheels are easily retrofitted.  You are better protected in a tank than a tin can.  There is a lot more mass to protect you in an older vehicle.
If your vehicle is fifty years old, it lacks the technology that more recent vehicles have that makes them run better, last longer, and get better gas mileage.
I can't think of a 2021 vehicle that will be drivable in 50 years.  They are not built to be fixable; necessary electronics goes out of production.  My '51 one ton gets the same gas milage as my 2012 3/4 ton.
If your vehicle is fifty years old . . . It's not really possible to "restore" . . . if for no other reason than you can't find parts.
I can get new manufacturered, NOS, repaired, and salvage parts for my 1951 Dodge; I could build a whole vehicle out of acquired parts.  I got rid of a decent 1997 Dodge because the electronic modules were becoming hard to obtain.

 

[MrNoodly]

With the way I travel around, one disadvantage of carburetors is elevation changes. I've been from -280 feet in Death Valley to over 14,000 feet on Mt. Evans. Not in the same day, but still. I'd either be changing the jets often or just accepting it running too rich or too lean.

 

[maki2]

I am a fan of power steering and very comfortable seats, literally a pain saver. Ease of use beats out sentimental nostalgia.

 

[MotorVation]

My 25 year old (almost 26 yrs old) Rav4 paid for itself, paid for my van, paid for my solar setup and the rest of my equipment, paid for my travels the past two winters and is also paying for my upcoming trip out west. Yes, I have to work on it and it would be a hell of a lot easier with a lift and air tools. Because I maintain it, it's been a great tool for my driving gig

 

[bullfrog]

^^^If your Rav4 has less than 300,000 miles and you have done regular maintenance what have you had to work on?

 

[MotorVation]

It's only got 113k and change on it. I bought it with 70 some k on it about 5 years ago. I think it was a snowbird's Florida vehicle and sat a whole lot. The paint is toast. The Florida sun did a number on some plastic and rubber parts but the engine and tranny are good. The AC is great.

Actually, I lied a bit. BUSTED! After a while the seal in the water pump died I paid a friend to replace it and all the timing parts at 105k. I bought the OEM water pump. There's about 3/4 of an inch between the timing cover and the inner fender (the engine is in there sideways) and I knew it was going to be more tedious than I was willing to deal with. He's a pretty good wrench and in fact, just finished restoring a 60's Triumph Bonneville from a basket case. The old timing belt on the Rav which had been replaced at 60k still looked new but it had been replaced in 2006. If they had replaced the water pump while they were in there I probably wouldn't have had this problem. I'm not a big fan of timing belts but it is what it is.

I personally replaced the radiator and hoses a couple months ago and just about every fastener, screw, bolt and whatever stripped or just broke off. I had to buy a bolt extractor set to get the heat shield off the exhaust manifold. When I was finished, I flushed the cooling system and filled it with OEM coolant and distilled water. After that mess, I flushed the tranny with OEM T-IV fluid. When I get back here next spring I'm going to drop the pan and replace the filter.

I have to replace the driver's side CV axle soon. About three years ago the boots took a dump so I cleaned them up as good as possible and put those split boots on. Hey, I got another three years out of them. The driver's side axle is notoriously hard to pull of course. I have a slide hammer kit and heel pry bars on the way.

I'm on my second set of tires so this time I put Cooper on it. I've replaced the front brake pads once and cleaned the IAC valve twice. I can't think of anything else right now.

They probably could have stuffed more crap in the engine compartment if they tried but it would take a whole lot of effort. It's not easy to work on but I doubt anything with all the emission goodies would be much easier.
I had an '86 4Runner for 17 years and it was a joy to work on compared to this. I ran that one right into the salvage yard.

 

[bullfrog]

I'm a real fan of Cooper Tires. I guess GoodYear is also as I heard a rumor they were trying or did buy them out.

 

[MotorVation]

I'm not sure but the cheap tires the Toyota dealer put on it when I bought the Rav4 were shot in 30k. The tires that were on it were totally dry rotted so they pretty much had to replace them.

The Cooper's have good reviews. I bought them from Pep Boys during a black Friday sale. Oh yeah, I just had them balanced and rotated. They're wearing well

 

[NctryBen]

Oh how fun it would be Mr Noodly. One of my best friends was a mechanic who was so reasonable I couldn’t afford to not have him work on my stuff. After he died from a bee sting I just decided to do most things myself again. Oh boy what a shock... my ability to do the things that were nothing a few short years ago are pretty taxing now. Probably best someone like myself not get tempted like that. But oh, the fun times we had in the day fixing and improving our rides. We have one last truck in the firehall with the old gas engine with points and all. I’m in the middle of doing a complete tuneup with plugs, wires cap and rotor. I haven’t had my timing light out for some time. As soon as we get this old rescue rig on the road again, we’re going to sell it and probably get like an old ambulance... but new enough to have better electronics and fuel injection. Cause as I move into retirement I see the younger folks on the department have way less experience with our old school equipment.

 

[hugemoth]

Can't believe a restored 2nd gen Econoline goes for that much?!
It seems that all old cars are now selling for classic prices.
I had couple of those over the years. Always preferred the 1st gen for classic looks and the 3rd gen for being tough as nails and also kinda like the snub nose hood thing.
But sometimes a 2nd gen showed up cheap and a van is a van.
I still pine for a 1st gen Econoline Falcon with the inline 6.

I had a 64 Econoline Travel Wagon, straight 6, 3 speed manual, with an all metal pop top. Junked it about 15 years ago but kept the pop top. Very underpowered by today's standards. One thing I liked about it is you could work on the engine while driving.