Car Talk

Knucksie said:
Excellent idea!

Currently, 3 vehicles are in my possesion with only one driveable!

The go-to is a 2010 Ford Taurus SHO. Will share story on how it stomped a BMW later.

Other one is a 2000 Ford Contour. It has 193,000 miles with clutch NEVER replaced. Buffalo winters, or salt on the roads more specifically, has caused significant damage. We picked up a hood, over a year ago, in a yard and had it painted. Looks great. I replaced the headlamps and grille panel myself. Two years before, we did rocker panels and front doors. The latter were shipped from Portland, OR. Apparently, they have mild winters, as these were good as new. After last winter, the shop found that the inner rockers (part of unibody) and floor boards were rotted.

A gift came my way. One of the mechanics, at the service department at the Ford dealership, was working on his nephew's '98 Contour SVT. He was replacing the alternator, but couldn't get it off. So, he had to torch it. That and the wire harness caught fire! So, he told his nephew that it would've required dropping the engine and transmission to repair. They sold me the car to salvage parts for 5 bills. That meant that the plan was to swap out the engine, transmission, clutch and a few other parts (coil springs and right rear brake caliper). The interior on the SVT was not well-maintained but the exterior is is decent shape. We're going for the inner rockers, floor boards, quarter panels, fenders and front doors.

This project is pretty massive in scale but will be immensely satisfying when completed. Originally, I was going to use kids at trade high school to perform most of the work. Unfortunately, time ran out at end of semester last year and they changed rules this school year. Non starter which could've saved several hundred dollars in labor costs.
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My dad had a Contour SVT for a little while. Under-appreciated, under-the-radar badass ride. I think they killed the contour in order to use the lines and tooling for the Escape.

I am far from a car guy—kinda 180 the opposite, but I appreciate a good car. My favorite all-time vehicle was my '94 Saab 9000 Aero. I still miss that ungainly but stinky fast mother****er.
 
Some sexy pics of my cars:

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Julio3000 said:
My dad had a Contour SVT for a little while. Under-appreciated, under-the-radar badass ride. I think they killed the contour in order to use the lines and tooling for the Escape.

I am far from a car guy—kinda 180 the opposite, but I appreciate a good car. My favorite all-time vehicle was my '94 Saab 9000 Aero. I still miss that ungainly but stinky fast mother****er.
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Glad that you shared that info. On a Contour owners message board (contour.org? - I never joined), there were posts from people who dropped Escape engines. The 2000 was the last production year. Actually, the hope at the time, was to acquire an SVT but they were building until 8 months later. My car at that time, was a '93 Tempo. Don't anybody here laugh. It got me through grad school and my rides since do not inspire snickers.

The mechanic and I had a serious converation yesterday. He's recommending against the swap. He thinks it'll be better to replace the alternator on the '98 SVT and raid other newer parts from the 2000 SE model. The only caution is that the 2000 has a sunroof, and it's going to require some footwork to determine who's capable of that kind of work. Body shop owner says go OE.
 
I drive a white 2009 Chevrolet Impala. Have just one more payment left on it!:rock:

It barely has 80,000 miles on it, so I shouldn't have to get another vehicle for at LEAST a couple years. When I do, I may look at a Ford Fusion or Escape. I really like the looks of the Fusion. Pretty sharp. I've always driven Chevrolets and I really haven't had any problems, especially with the Impala. But GM as a company seems to be kinda sketchy, from the bailout to this mess with their recent recall.
 
I've always been partial to the Ford Bronco.

I like the two door suv look. Wish they'd modernize it and re release it.
 
I'm half musing assuming I don't start sucking at sales of treating myself to a Model S next summer. I know cars are a terrible investment. But I really don't care too much. I'm switching jobs from one where I use my car (and electric cars aren't an option) to one where I have a company truck to handle sales ****. So my range concerns are assuaged. The bummers with where I live now is I'd have to drive all the way to Mass to check one out and make sure I can see myself in that car for the long haul. By the end of 2014 they're supposed to have supercharger stations in New Hampshire and Vermont so I'll be able to make long driving days happen as well.

I was originally considering going for the cheap model in 2017 if it's realeased. But if I have the cash why not go big and get it sooner?
 
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