Sell and buy new (to me)

[MrSchaeferPants]

So I haven't done much to the Blazer in a while, just been in a rut of not wanting to do any mechanical work lately. It doesn't need much to get it up and running, but even after that, the body isn't great. Well, technically it runs, just needs buttoning up. Fuel tank/sending unit put in, intake mannifold on, new calipers on, needs all new drum hardware/shoes/p cable hooked up.

So I have some monies coming my way, trying to decide if maybe I should sell the Blazer, and buy someone's 'completed' project I find some really nice K5s here, CL, wherever, but I'm picky, and would want another 6.2/700r4, 3/4 ton at least

I think I'd spend more fixing the rust and rot on mine, and still not be as nice as someone's completed project. I could do 5-10k and just call it done. But if I'm going to spend the money, I'd like to get about exactly what I want. That also means a 91 front clip too

I'm sick and tired of driving this jeep, and that could be a couple grand more to add to a buying budget.

 

[MrSchaeferPants]

I think a lot of it is I don't have a shop or garage. Tired of working in the dirt/rocks, lugging my tools, running extension cords, then putting it all away. If I had a shop I could putz for an hour or two here and there, and eventually get it all done. But it just sits.

Plus we're in the middle of deciding on keeping the place we're at now, or moving. Driving to MD tonight, going to be there for a week visiting. Lots of decision making going on. Probably not the best time to add this to the mix.

Sometimes I think of just dropping the Blazer off and paying to get it all done, but I know I'd be money ahead on buying someone's project. My neighbor owns a custom shop in town, thought about talking to him about it. He'd probably tell me to sell it and put it in the jeep, as he's a jeep guy with a nice one But hellz no.

 

[diesel4me]

I feel your pain--even though I have a garage,(but no lift!),I am getting very discouraged trying to just keep my truck driveable,never mind "nice" ,mostly because I dont feel up to doing the labor thanks to back pain and my arms going numb instantly when I go to wrench on anything overhead..the blood drains right out of them...

It took me 20 years to get enough money up to build the garage,by the time I got it built,I was already starting to experience difficulty working on things...having the garage is nice,but in my instance,it quickly became a "lounge" more than a garage,and I filled it to the gills with a lot of things others would consider "junk" like spare parts,yard equipment,etc..to the point my truck barely fits in it..

I regret not getting a lift right away for the garage..I could have done a lot more on my trucks without being put in agony instantly..but I ran out of money,I barely had enough to get the thing erected and closed in..

I ache for a week after doing a relatively "easy" job lying on the tar ,and getting up and crawling under the truck 100 times isn't fun or easy...you never have that tool or bolt you need once your under the darn truck...also getting any dirt,rust flakes or fluids in my eyes could finish them,I have lens implants now after cataract surgery,and I fear getting anything in them,especially something like carb cleaner,etc,will finish them off for good...not having good vision makes working on a vehicle a suck pill too...you feel like Mr.Magoo trying to read sockets,put wrenches on bolts--.

After all the trucks I've owned,(you may have seen the photos of them I posted in the lounge awhile back),none of them were ever "nice" even after I labored for weeks patching up rotted floors,doors,and got all the drivetrain woes ironed out...I didn't spend a lot of money fixing them,most of it was labor rather than parts,but I failed to have that "nice truck" I dreamed of,despite having several candidates that could have been,had I got to work on them sooner,not let them rust for years or just drive them till I HAD to patch them back together...

None of them ever got "finished" to the point they were worth painting up nice,with my lousy bondo work...I never was one concerned with looks much though either--I just want a reliable decent vehicle,I dont care if it wont win awards at car shows..

Now that I'm almost 56,not so great as far as health,I'd rather just fly to a rust free state and shop for a nice original truck thats unmolested and no rot,and if I had to swap in a motor or tranny,I would have a shop do it--body work has never been my specialty,and even trucks up here I've seen "professionally" restored look like crap in a few years...I think its not worth buying anything up here and trying to make a nice truck out of it...but if I ever do buy a desert rust free truck,I would be wise to MOVE there,so I wouldn't have to watch another good truck rot away in 5 years..it would be the last one I'd have to buy..

 

[Smokinthehippies]

Make sure that you keep in consideration, that even if you buy someone's "completed project", don't think it's completed. There is always something to be fixed or replaced or corrected.