Need some advice, opinions.....

[thrashingcows]

Need to talk this out....I could ramble a bit....

Been thinking a lot lately of selling my 48 Desoto 2dr Sedan. I feel I have too much on my plate with House, family, wagon, and my DD cummins crewcab. The wagon pretty much gets neglected, and only the bare minimum in repairs and upgrades to keep it on the road. Most of my spare time I do have gets split between the desoto, and into the general maintenance, and upgrades of the crewcab....which I love more then any of my vehicles, past or present.

I only have a single car garage, and enough room for one additional car on the driveway. Currently the truck is parked on the road. I had been keeping one of the cars in storage that I rented from a local fellow. But he finally had to ask me to leave, it was not unexpected. So now the wagon gets parked in the driveway, and the desoto is in the garage.


I have discussed, and got the OK from the wife, to buy an Enclosed car trailer to store one of the vehicles in. But I don't know if I want to commit to that expense or not. Also I really don't know if my heart is in the Desoto or not. I like the car, but I don't know if I can see myself keeping it long term. I was passionate about it when I got it, but the long term time frame on getting this car back from the dead I think is wearing on me.

It's not like I need the money from the sale of the Desoto....but it sure could come in handy with building a fresh 440 for the wagon, and a few other things. Or I could buy the car trailer, load up the desoot and all related parts and lock the doors and forget about it for a few years....concentrating on the wagon and other more pressing responsibilities. I just don't know if I will fall back in love with the car after that time or not?

I would appreciate any thoughts, opinions, points of view, or similar decisions you've made.

Thanks for listening.

 

[68R/T]

In my opinion the best way to look at the situation is in the long term. Start with each vehicle and go thru a list. And think of each one as a "finished" vehicle.

investment vs value (I know this doesn't always apply but still worth considering)
future usage (gonna take a family vacation in the DeSoto?)
When you climb in and turn it on, does it do the same for you?

Before making a final decision I would get the Soto to a legal driving condition (crude, but driveable) and use it somewhat regular. Try to get to know it as if a part of you. I don't think that you've had enough seat time to make a final choice. And no one wants to do something that you may regret. Storing it away will only serve to move the project backwards and allow total loss of interest. You've been storing for periods of time throughout the past. Did you always look forward to getting it back out?

A finished car has the most value, a driving project is next and last is a complete project. If you do decide to pass it on to someone else at least your loss will be less if they can drive it away.

I've been in your situation of having more than one project and it's hard to stay interested in all of them. And not having room for them only makes it worse. (Hence the reason why I bought a different house and built 2 huge garages)

If you do decide to keep it prioritize what needs to be done to make keeping it a little less hassle. If that's not easily within reach, your best choice may be to cut your losses and wave good bye. :huh:

 

[restoman]

^^^^^^^ What he said. Lots of wisdom in them words...

Also keep in mind that you own the car now. if you decide to turf it and later regret the decision, could you afford to get another to replace it? I've sold a few cars in the past, after wrestling with the decision, and later regretted it. One in particular is long gone and something similar is far out of my reach.

Tucking it away for that rainy day would be my choice... if you never develop that warm and fuzzy feeling for the car you can always sell it later.

Once it's gone, it's gone.

$.02

 

[69.5CUDA]

they are right but missed one thing

"if" you got rid of it....could you even find another one?...in as good of shape the way you want it..or would you likely end up with something twice as far gone or worse not saveable?

shes old enuf that id say squirel it away....desotos arnt exactly falling out of the sky and that engine you got and stuff...you have all the stuff a solid car and all that...imo you cant actualy replace it if you parted with it...not without bending over backwards ona a LONG hunt only to end up with a HELL project that you over paid for

im currently weeding out and selling all the stuff i will never get to...something ive NEVER done..ive let a few go in the past that i just didnt care about....i only regret leaving my 71 caddy coupe behind..but lets face it if i wanted one finding one would be pretty easy..my 47 ford that i tradded off..while im happy with what i got..i kick myself for letting it go..and i wont find one that solid ever

 

[thrashingcows]

Was discussing things with the wife last night and maybe it's due to the fact that over the years I've brought a few cars back from the dead, and I just don't want to do it again. Been there, done that, and would prefer to have a car I could get in, drive and enjoy. Maybe this also comes along with age too...in my 40's now.

I think I'm leaning more towards selling, and if in a few years I want another vehicle, then I can pick one up that is road worthy, and mostly complete. Then I can enjoy it, while making it my own.

Thank you for the the advice so far....

 

[thrashingcows]

I got to thinking about some of the others cars I've had, and sold over the years. I had a lot more love, and history with my 69 Charger, 68 Coronet 500 convertible, 73 340 Roadrunner, and my 70 Sport Fury...but I let them go because it was the right thing to do at the time. Do I miss them...yup, but I don't regret selling them. Will probably be the same with the Desoto.

Thing is there will always be another old car to buy out there. Might not be a 48 Desoto....but I'm sure if/when the bug hits me to buy another vehicle I will be able to find something that tickles my fancy.

 

[68R/T]

....but I'm sure if/when the bug hits me to buy another vehicle I will be able to find something that tickles my fancy.

And this takes us back to the last thing on my short list in the first reply............"when you get in and turn it on..............." :huh:

 

[Dr.Jass]

Well, for what it's worth...

When I sold off my '81 LeBaron, it was a tough decision. I had a lot of time and money invested in it and hated to part out a 10-year collection of parts as well as offer the chassis for sale (ultimately it got crushed). Things were pretty dire, though, so I thought long an hard about it before taking action. No, it's not a Road Runner or Challenger, but if I wanted another '80-'81 coupe there were never a lot of them in the first place. And I'd driven that car for over a year, almost daily. I liked it quite a bit and I think my vision for it would've resulted in a car that a lot of people would've appreciated, even if they didn't care for that body style much.

Ultimately, as much as I did like it, I didn't love it. For me, it came down to the fact that a lot of what I had left I could use on my Imperial if I got it back (which I did) and the Imperial, strange as it seems, is one of my dream cars. It has been since they were new on the lot. I realized that a lot of the reason that I had the LeBaron was timing and price: it was an inexpensive 2-door RWD Mopar that I found while still agonzing the loss of the previous project (a stroker W2 RWD conversion to an '87 LeBaron coupe). Some of it was nostalgia; my now-best friend had a gorgeous '80 Dippy coupe way back in '89. So, when all was said and done, it's a lot of what 68R/T said... the car really didn't turn me on all that much. I'm still bummed that no one bought it, which forced me into "lose the house or crush the LeBaron" territory, but in the final analysis I really don't miss the car.

Also, f_ck those cheapskates on the M-body boards. There was a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth when the pictures were posted of the "Holy Grail of M-bodies" being thrown into the pile as a tangled mess, but the car had been listed for sale for over a year, and those assholes had repeatedly whined that $400 was too much money for a very-clean, complete example of something to which they furiously masturbate. :doh:

 

[v8440]

My sentiments exactly on cheap motherfuckers that cry when you scrap something. You may remember a rant I posted on the subject. If it had a title, the title would have been "Improving the life of the Chinese people".

 

[thrashingcows]

Thanks again guys for the advice and comments. And as 68 mentioned...I don't get giddy taking the Deosoto around the block, or getting to go out and work on it, unlike the wagon or the crewcab. Both of those I adore to get in and drive, and even work on.

And now since the wagon is out in the driveway, and I can grab the keys and drive it whenever I want, I sometimes stand inside the house for quite a while and try and figure out which vehicle I'm going to take out.

 

[68R/T]

And as 68 mentioned...I don't get giddy taking the Deosoto around the block,

Kinda brings to mind Stretch's clip of him taking the Oakland for a test drive. After the novelty of the first drive wears off, would he want to own one? :huh:

 

[Not A Duster]

Cars like the 48 desoto don't get me off....so I personally wouldn't think twice about dumping it. There are cars from that era I would very much like to own, but frankly as much as I love Mopar, Desoto has always equaled dumpy to me. Lots of folks like them a lot. Just not me.

I think that at the point of your life that you are at, if you are going to invest the time and money to build something special, it should be something you want to keep forever.

And Doc: for as much grief as I gave you over it, I though it was a shame that you had to unload the leBaron. I liked that car.

 

[thrashingcows]

I'm pretty much committed to selling it now, and feel pretty good about it actually. Still lots of work to do before that can happen though. I have to get the reggy sorted out, and will finish the re-wire job, No one wants to buy a partially re-wired car.