ebay car comparison

[hiball3985]

Rich, I think trying to compare your car to the Ebay one is like apples and oranges. Yours has quality and craftsmanship built in, Ebay one look more like something slopped together to flip.
We all have our own ideas what are cars should be. I've kept mine basically stock and simple turn key and drive it because I just like the feel of the old days 57s

[59meteor]

Jim, I think like you, if I wanted a fully loaded car with modern ammenities, I would just buy a new car. I like the fact that my 59 looks AND drives like a 60+ year old car. Yes, I have made some upgrades, front disc brakes, alternator, electronic ignition, plus the increased performance with the 428, 4 speed, and wider 15" radial tires, but I still want to know that I am driving something from years gone by. Maybe the manual steering and brakes, and slow (by modern car standards) steering with that huge skinny steering wheel, would be horrific to many people who have never driven anything older, than say, a 2000 model year car, but for me, its therapy that lets me unwind, and puts a smile on my face every time I go for a drive in it. As for modern cars having more reliable engines, maybe yes, maybe no, but even as a recently retired mechanic who worked at new car dealerships the last 34 years of my career, I must say that I would much rather have to diagnose and repair my old carburated, pushrod FE on the side of the road, than a modern computer controlled distributorless, EFI engine, like the V10 in my F350! I can have both heads off my 428 in less time than the single head on my wifes DOHC, EFI Toyota Corolla!

[hiball3985]

I agree with you totally. I'm non power disc brake, alternator, manual 58 steering box, 292 3sp OD, choose my own gears and no air and I can fix it on the side of the road if needed. It's my escape from todays world, just add music and drive  ...

[djfordmanjack]

this has become a very interesting discussion and seeing how many ways there are to build and use these beautiful old Fords. Right on.
What I find very interesting in addition to that, is that there seems to be more than just the pattern of modern vs old or hi po against reliable everyday driver. I find that everything being said from Bill, Lynn, Jim, Rich, 59Meteor shows that it is a lot about pride in our work and our car, that we own for a long time. I think the dedication that goes into a certain vehicle and us making it ours, definitely is a highly underrated point in many builds. We have to agree that the ebay car does look very good and probably everyone here on the board would park it in his garage, but it lacks those refined labor-of-love details like Rich's Galaxie tail lights, the perfect stance ( from working and trying different springs) and the many small improvements that Rich has made on HIS car over the years, or had to work on because something wore out.
I believe that is what we call the soul of a car and what seems to be the common number in our statements. Just saying, what do I know...

[lalessi1]

I really do agree with Jim for the most part and I don't like changing the nature of my '57. My original intent was to drive the car every day but I soon realized that the biggest issue in this climate as far as enjoying any car is having air conditioning. I added power steering at the same time almost as an after thought. The A/C added to an already large heat load and now I can't drive the car in the summer! Now I have given up on keeping the engine cool enough for the carburetor to work so hello fuel injection... I LOVE driving my car and I am determined to make it work even though it is morphing away from my original vision of a '60's sleeper.

[mustang6984]

When I saw the pic...I thought the same thing..."clone of Rich's"..shine those wheels up and from 20 feet away it would be just like yours.

I also think it is over priced for not being finished in a "ready to drive anywhere" fashion. If that thing is worth that much...then Rich's must be worth $10k more. Having ridden in Rich's...I can say it will "go anywhere"on a moments notice.

[mustang6984]

, I must say that I would much rather have to diagnose and repair my old carburated, pushrod FE on the side of the road,

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[Ford Blue blood]

When traveling and I see an old car sitting I stop to offer help.  Of the many stops I have done not a single one was for a car equipped with EFI.  Almost every stop the person driving the car had no idea of how to diagnose or even what went wrong.  They had purchased the car, knew nothing of the build and were waiting on the tow to come.  Almost every stop involved electrical issues, mostly bad grounds.  Only one ignition problem, that one was the old HEI on a small block.

I've built two cars with a factory EFI system.  Loved both as they would fire right up after setting for two to three months.  Nice thing about the factory EFIs is the "limp home" mode they will go to if there is a major issue.  Will I build another EFI car?  Most likely as their reliability is second to none.  Add to that the wife is really not happy if/when we are on the side of the road........

[hiball3985]

I would expect we all have different experiences. I never run across classics on the side of the road but that may be because most people here don't drive them on the hiway. I do pass broken down newer cars, for unknown reasons, every time I go on a road trip..

[59meteor]

I would expect we all have different experiences. I never run across classics on the side of the road but that may be because most people here don't drive them on the hiway. I do pass broken down newer cars, for unknown reasons, every time I go on a road trip..

I gotta agree with that, obviously very are many more "modern" computer controlled vehicles on the road than old cars, so that does make sense. Nice thing with an older car, often you can make improvised temporary repairs to get you at least to a parts store or home, where if a sensor, ECM, dies during a trip, you are waiting for a tow truck. Another reason why I am not a big fan of these expensive aftermarket serpentine belt kits. If, say an alternator, PS pump, AC compressor was to fall apart or seize up, with multiple V belts, you can often remove the one belt running the failed part, and keep going for a while. On a serp. belt, one thing fails, including an idler that does not actually operate anything, you are dead in the water. And on many vehicles, even if you have a spare serpentine belt, you may need to remove a tire, or lift the vehicle up to replace it. Some of the Toyota trucks that I worked on at the dealership, had as many as 14 pulleys being driven by that single belt, and replacement of the belt was a chore even with the truck on a hoist after the skid plate and splash shield were removed. As an extra "bonus", Toyota elected to not but a belt routing diagram under the hood, so if the belt was broken, or fell off, would be all kinds of fun!

[hiball3985]

I would like to get a refund from AA for all the years I paid for towing that I have never used 
Love my old Fords 

[rmk57]

  Only time I had my 57 break down was when my Pertronix ignitor failed. Had to get it towed home. I guess I should have had a set of points and condenser in the glove box as a backup.

[FiveSevenLiter]

If you were building a car with my drivability requirements, would you consider a 428? Would it be more preferable than a 4.6 dohc? What kind of gas mileage would a car like that get? (mine low 20s). Could you do an oil check on a car like that and hop in it for a 1200 mile weekend?

To answer your question, if I were to do it again I would go 347 / 450 HP with a 5-speed, mostly to get weight off the front end.  My FE gets 19 US gallons per mile with the 5-speed Tremec.

I am in full agreement with Rory regarding the therapy factor, big steering wheel, scouting the parking lot for the best escape spot, and I do not mind having to think while I am driving.

As far as comparing cars, I used to work with one of the top Ford salesmen in Canada and when someone would phone in and ask what their car was worth, he would tell them to hold it up to the phone so he could have a look at it.  I wish I had a dollar for every time I have used that since.

Terry

[rmk57]

If you were building a car with my drivability requirements, would you consider a 428? Would it be more preferable than a 4.6 dohc? What kind of gas mileage would a car like that get? (mine low 20s). Could you do an oil check on a car like that and hop in it for a 1200 mile weekend?

To answer your question, if I were to do it again I would go 347 / 450 HP with a 5-speed, mostly to get weight off the front end.  My FE gets 19 US gallons per mile with the 5-speed Tremec.

I am in full agreement with Rory regarding the therapy factor, big steering wheel, scouting the parking lot for the best escape spot, and I do not mind having to think while I am driving.

As far as comparing cars, I used to work with one of the top Ford salesmen in Canada and when someone would phone in and ask what their car was worth, he would tell them to hold it up to the phone so he could have a look at it.  I wish I had a dollar for every time I have used that since.

Terry

   That's not very good mileage Terry.

[mustang6984]

with all due respect...for an FE motor...19 mpg is pretty damn sweet. I am hoping to get that or maybe a bit better with my 390. Beats the hell out of the 13-14 mpg I used to get out of the old PI Interceptor that was in it originally.
JMHO...