[Dan66]

Hi folks. Long time Mustang owner - first time poster. I've got a dilemma that probably most all of you have faced, and I need a voice of reason! I have used vintage Mustangs as my primary transportation for the better part of 20 years. But about 4 years ago, my 66 fastback was nearing completion; so I decided to semi-retire it. In doing, I purchased a brand new Ranger pickup as my daily ride. It will be paid off this august, and I have an unhealthy urge. I'm thinking of selling it, and using the funds to purchase another daily driver Mustang.

I've always been "the guy with the Mustang", but not for the last 4 years. I love my little truck, and the fact that it has no leaks or squeaks, cold ac, a CD player, and needs no maintenance - but man, I miss driving a Mustang every day! I feel like I'm wearing someone else's shoes when I'm in the truck.

I simply can't drive the fastback daily. It's restored past that point, and doesn't have ac to boot. I'd like to have a simple V8, 66 hardtop, that didn't have to be so concourse perfect. What makes me want to do this even more, is the fact that I'm self-employed. I don't have a commute at all. I may drive into Austin once a week to visit a client, and they generally ask me why I didn't come in the fastback.

How many of you would sell the truck? Am I being too impulsive by doing it; or not taking advantage of an ideal situation by not doing it? Your opinions are appreciated.

Dan66

Dan66
66 Fastback, 289, Tahoe Turquoise,
Turq/White Pony, GT trim, 2nd owner

 

[janschutz]

Keep the truck and buy a beater mystang you can drive.

John L. Anschutz
Allen, TX
68 Diamond Blue Coupe - 302
68 Acapulco Blue Coupe - I6 - 200
http://www.dallas.net/~jjmsansc/parts/Stangs.jpg

 

[Guest]

Not to side track you or anything, but whats it like driving one as a daily driver?

I just bought my first mustang, a '65 Fastback.
Engine / transmission wise it's in good shape, needs new brakes (first mod it's getting is to disc brakes).

I've also got a 2000 Mercury Cougar which has got all the nice options etc... but is costing me an arm and a leg or three in insurance (can we say $192 a mo without the 'stang? heh I'm 19 and own two sports cars I must be nuts or just stupid) and then the car payments (not that bad).

I'm thinking of keeping the stang for a secondary / project car, but with as many problems as I've had with the Cougar I wonder if I should just fix up the stang to a decent shape and sell the cougar. Heh I could own 2 vintage mustangs for less then owning that damned thing.


Just curious do you think driving a vintage mustang as a daily driver is a viable option? I'm both self-employed and have a day job (yes I work too much, can we say 4 jobs? tis the life of a computer programmer), I drive at least 100 miles per day between getting to work and having an overly active social life that is all over this town.

I think I'm probably better off driving the cougar for the daily driver, but I dunno how reliable I can get the 'stang to be. Still need to figure out gas mileage etc.. right after I fix the fuel gauge on the mustang.


'00 Mercury Cougar - Hunk of Sh*t (Anyone wanna buy it? come on you know you want to)

'65 Mustang Fastback (my first Muscle Car, give me some slack I'm 19 and dumb enough to try to get into fixing up an old car)

 

[Guest]

Dan, take my advice, I'm not using it:

Keep the truck, buy the Mustang, too. The idea is to acquire MORE toys, not trade in one for another. Insure the Mustang w/Hagerty's (for which you will have to have another daily driver anyway) and you will save so much on insurance you can afford another Mustang.

Dan
Be a good dad to your kids and phone your mom twice a week...
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1589115&a=12097562&p=43884454.jpg

 

[Guest]

I just sold my Honda Civic daily driver for 4 years and bought a vintage stang.
I do have to work on her and fix her. She needs love, she is 36 years old.

I put in a CD player, fixed the leaks and am working on the squeaks. I have no AC. And living in GA, that is just as bad as TX. It's my trade off, my trade off for turning the corner and hitting it into the turn and realizing, how much I do love this car.

Even after three months. I am sooooo glad I did that. The import was not me.

Go with your gut.

LOL


P.S. I agree, keep the truck if you can. I have my wife's car listed as primary on the insurance.

Jimbo65

65 I6 200 Coupe (Daily Driver)<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Jimbo65 on 03/21/01 10:16 AM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[66emberglow]

I thought I'd sell the daily driver and get a vert. I got the vert and then decided to restore it. I still have the daily driver, and am grateful.

A restorer can't have a beater Mustang. You'll start fixing her up, and before you know it, you'll have two stable queens.

Keep the truck, and just drive the fastback when you get the urge. If it's raining or hot, drive the truck.


Coppertone's current condition:
http://www.knology.net/~dorner/images/coppertone2.jpg

 

[Dan66]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the advice so far. But let me clarify something before we go any further. Loosing the truck would not leave me without a current ride. My wife drives a Concorde, and we're about to trade that for a Honda minivan (I know, I know...but we have an 8 month old).

Keeping the truck and purchasing a second Mustang simply is not an option. I don't have that kind of money to burn. The $7,000 to $9,000 I would get for the truck is what would fund an already nice daily driver Mustang.

Dan66
66 Fastback, 289, Tahoe Turquoise,
Turq/White Pony, GT trim, 2nd owner

 

[bluefinger]

Well I guess I just type too slow, since you clarified before I finished responding.

In that case go for the Mustang, you've got your wifes car and the fastback for backup. Just make the Coupe as safe as possible to give your wife piece of mind.

Original message: I know how you feel, I've had several vintage Mustangs as my daily drivers and loved them. Recently my daily driver was a 4runner (bought for work), which I had for 3 years. It's a great vehicle, but it's just not me. When I sold my company I decided to get rid of it and buy another Mustang. It's not a classic, but it fits way better than the 4runner. I comprimised for utility by buying a '91GT hatchback with a trailer hitch and have a 4'x8' folding trailer for trips to home depot. If my wife had a larger car and we didn't spend so much time and money at home improvement stores I would have purchased an early fastback for my daily driver.

Sorry for the rambling, my point is that of the others, get what you want, but keep the truck for backup and utility IF you can.

Jason
Formerly Bluestangcom
"Got gas?"
Vintage Burgundy'66 Conv. 289 & C4. GT-ized
Strawberry/Silver '91GT
Rust/Red/Turquoise '67 coupe - Parting Out
Guards Red 2000 Porsche Boxster

http://www.bluestang.com<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by bluefinger on 03/21/01 10:43 AM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Guest]

Guess it depends too on how much work you'd do to the daily driver. One thing that can take the fun out of working on cars is HAVING to finish the job so you can drive it the next day. If you're just going to do routine maintenance and not get dreams of restoring or resto-ing the daily driver this is not issue. Ever try to do major work when you NEED the car the next morning in reliable shape? It can make for more pressure. That's why I have a daily driver truck and enjoy my Mustang when I feel like driving it.

Randy

 

[Mike_B]

Why not sell the truck and get an older-newer Mustang to drive? I've seen 94-95 GTs in the $6000-$7500 range. They still have 302 in there and a 5 speed overdrive is sure nice. 4-wheel disks, A/C and a even a running horse in the front grill. There are so many speed parts for these things around you can walk down the street and trip over them. Anyhow, just an idea.

http://216.71.48.244/archive/mikecar.jpg



65 Fastback 289 4spd in storage :-(
91 CRX Si... A.K.A. my go-kart with AC!

 

[ShanMan]

get it

Shannon a.k.a. The ShanMan! /forums/images/icons/cool.gif
66' Vintage Burgundy C-code coupe
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1571656&a=11943851&p=42935059&Sequence=2.jpg

 

[Guest]

The ONLY reason I'd keep the truck is if I had to haul stuff on
a pretty frequent basis, I used too and I had a truck, don't any
more so we sold the truck and bought the Stang. More room
you understand than our 4 tr7s...

66 Coupe, 289/2v, C4, CA Red

 

[Guest]

Sell the truck and go for the Mustang!! You don't really have a commute, and you have an "emergency" car, so just do it!!

65 coupe 302
(rebuilding a 351W)

 

[ken_schall]

Not sure it would be dum or not.... the real debate... is value.
Funny how we all will go out and buy newer cars ,trks, etc.(this is not just about Mustangers) .... we think nothing of paying say $30,000 for a Yukon or $25000 for a new car etc.
and drive them daily , leave them outside use and abuse them.
But, take an older car (semi restored.. whatever) and we refuse to drive them when their value maybe a 1/3 or less of the newer stuff we're driving...(and their at lot funner ta drive). there's no reason that you can't be careful driving your classic (any classic).... so you put a new paint job on every 4-5 yrs.
And maintenance you have on anything you drive..... So unless your classic is Concours and has extreme value...why not say some bucks (extra cars) and drive it?

 

[TFOB]

Sell the Truck, Buy the Stang. You should be able to buy a nice daily driver for 7,000-9,000
if you are patient. Nuf said, end of Discussion. Buy it!!!


73 351C C6 3.25 T-lock
Mustangs are great,
But nothing is Greater than GOD.
http://www.folksite.com/TFOB

 

[camachinist]

Hi Dan,

First of all, welcome to the VMF....as you've probably seen this morning, you get inundated with great opinions...

As to your dilemma, I tend to agree with 66emberglow....if you're a restorer at heart and have reservations about driving your current car, then the same feelings will likely come to you at some point if you buy a "daily driver" Pony...the restorer in you will want to start tweaking here or there and pretty soon you'll be worried about who's parking next to you in the parking lot...

I've always been more a racer than restorer...always felt the car looked much better with the hood down and going fast *G* and I have treated my Pony's much as you would treat your truck....do the maintenance and drive them everywhere...
I don't even roll the windows up on the D-coder when going places and parking during the non-rainy season.....it pretty much says "this car really isn't worth your trouble to steal"....

I've had much more trouble with Pony's I've owned with alarm systems and locks and Clubs, etc...

Of course, moving to a small town may have something to do with it...my wife is from Los Angeles and still can't get over how I go everywhere and never lock the car...

Anyway, if you tend to worry a lot about your Pony's, a pony DD is probably not for you...who needs that kind of stress....*G*

That's my .02...

Hope you hang around and share your experiences...lots of folks here restoring their Pony's could use your help...

Pat
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1570936&a=11937754&p=42910787.jpg

 

[pamcorral]

I don't see anything particularly stupid about wanting a daily driver Mustang. I just bought my very first and my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. You can always add A/C. Repairs happen to all cars. Next subject. . .

Pam

[color:red]Just another wrench-turner</font color=red>
[color:blue]1967 Coupe, v8 302 - Hers</font color=blue>
[colorurple]1990 Nissan Pathfinder - His</font color=purple>

 

[Guest]

Once the convertible got to the point of being reliable and able to be driven daily, I jettisoned my fully optioned Nissan 4x4 Ex cab and it's monthly payment. Certainly there are days that I miss my truck, but they're usually times when something unexpected tore up on the Mustang. Otherwise, I'm glad I did it. Ten years from now my convertible will be worth at least what it's worth now, while the Nissan would be lucky to get a couple of grand.

Think about it this way with your truck: let's say you could sell it for 7k. Seven thousand dollars can buy you a pretty damn nice daily driver, with AC. In 4 more years, that truck might get you 3k leaving you another 4k short of a nice daily driver.

Visit my repair page for Repair info, with pictures! http://home.dencity.com/mustangcub