I got it!!!

[RICH MUISE]

Went to the Auction in Lubbock this morning and was fortunate, or somewhat fortunate. I got the 95 Mark viii with 58K miles I had been watching for over a month. A little pricier than I had hoped, but still not too bad. For anybody that is curious about how this works....I matched an internet bidder at an even 1,000, and their policy is onsite bidders get picked over internet bidders at the same dollar figure. I was actually the only onsite bidder on the car, and I think there were two internet bidders. Since Texas does not allow private parties to purchase salvage cars at auction, I had to go thru a broker. The total fees thru the broker and the auction house will bring the final tab up to 1425. I figure that's pretty good for a low mileage engine and tranny,computer,etc. Had I decided to use the high mileage mark I already had, it would have cost me 1400 plus tax to rebuild the tranny, plus another 1000 for a 72k mile engine I had found. So, I figure I saved 1000 today, plus I now have all the parts I need to make that high mileage one I've got into a pretty decent little car, and some stuff left over I can sell and /or salvage yard.

[57 Ford Kustom]

Great News Rich ! I know you have been anxiously waiting for this day! Could not have happened to a more deserving Guy!
Tim

[hiball3985]

Sounds like a great deal, congratulations. Did you get to hear it run before bidding?

[Ford Blue blood]

Nice grab!

[sprink88]

Sweet!

[Frankenstein57]

Those mark 8's are sweet rides, I always wanted to replace my t-bird with one. Everytime I start looking, gas shoots up past $4 bucks a gallon. The t-bird gets 31-33 on the highway.

[RICH MUISE]

Sounds like a great deal, congratulations. Did you get to hear it run before bidding?

Yes, I did. They auction off the run and drive cars first and run them into a building like they do on t.v.. I was standing there when they worked their way down the line with the jumpers for the cars with dead batteries, and was there when they kicked it over...started right up. It did blow a little smoke out the exaust pipes for about 10 seconds, and then cleared up. I figured that was to be expected as I knew the car had been sitting there since oct. 9th waiting for Geico to release it. One thing I will do to the engine before putting it in the '57 is a valve cover gasket kit that includes the o-ring seals at the bottom of the spark plug tubes. ( the plugs on these are located on top of the heads in the middle of the valve covers). Forgot to mention in my opening post the car has a set of 4 almost new tires...be surprised if they had more than 1k miles on them.
My buddy at the restoration shop here in Amarillo I found out today has a car trailer he is going to let me borrow as soon as he gets it back from his cousin later this week....also cool 'cause that'll save me some more $.

[hiball3985]

WOW! you usually don't find ones with good tires too.. The tires on my Ranchero didn't look like they had a 1000 miles on them, then I found the receipt in the glove box and they were bought in 1998  Tires are on my endless list..

[57 Ford Kustom]

Amen, to the endless list hiball!
Tim

[gasman826]

I don't know about Texas, but in Michigan, you can drive a newly purchased vehicle home with no plates.  You need all the paper work and you better be pointed for home.  My insurance company automatically insures any vehicle I buy up to 10 days of purchase.  Done it several times and had people drive out of my yard with no plate. 
IF your Jeep is lighter than the trailer, play it safe.

[RICH MUISE]

Texas is the same way.That was my original plan, to drive it home. Technically I think that law only applies to purchasing from a private party though. When you buy a used car from a dealer they normally issue you a temp. plate. I would think buying it at an auction place would take it out of the private party category. I'm guessing having a salvage record recorded by the state also would be a problem. I just checked the bill of sale/receipt though and there's no mention of a salvage title....but all a tropper has to do is run the vin.
Any thoughts from maybe a retired registry cop out there?? even if from a different state. What would happen if I got pulled over..would they just issue me a ticket, or would they make me get a toe truck (or tow truck, LOL)?

[57dohc]

Rich,
Great find!  To answer some of your questions( to make that car legal to drive), you should be able to purchase a temporary registration form your DMV for a small fee.  At least in Colorado we can do a 10 day temporary.  Your Insurance Company should cover your new purchase without cost for a short period as well.  The company I retired from (farmers) would cover for 30 days at the best coverage you had in the household.  This would give you time to drive this car and sort out any problems you might have.

[RICH MUISE]

I could get a free one from the DMV, but because of the salvage certificate, it is does no longer "qualify for a temp. permit" according to their website when I poked in the VIN. Tommorrow I'm going to go down there and talk to someone to make sure.
Gary: As far as my Jeep is concerned, it has an 8 with the HD tow package, but the weight ratio as you mentioned is not good. That said, I don't think I'd have a problem as long as I was slow and careful. It's 115 miles of flat and straight, and I've towed more weight with the Jeep with an overloaded 16' cargo trailer I use to have from the mountains in Colorado in a blizzard to Texas.
That was a trip I won't forget soon. Normally a 5 1/2 hour trip...that one took 14 hrs.

[lowrider]

Rich, while you have it out put both sides of the valve cover gaskets & orings in. Eaiser on the floor than in the car. Also check all the rubber fittings going into the upper plenum. They get soft over time, collaspe and will suck vacuum after it finally falls apart.

[Ford Blue blood]

Plus one (maybe both) heater tubes run under the intake and time causes a leak.  Get on the MK VIII site, they have a butt load of info and every "do I need to worry about this" thing that has ever happened to a MK VIII.