I have been and avid reader/seldom =
contributor to
the list since 1998 and now need an objective opinion....
It's decision time. My westy =
has 101,000
miles, an exhaust system that resembles swiss cheese, a dead front =
defroster
fan, surface seam rust below the water/electrical connections, bad =
ball
joints, bad front shocks, dry rotted tires, stained pushrod tubes (ie =
leaking
is around the next corner) and I need belts and a tune =
up.
Did I mention the scratches down the driver side and the flattened =
fender
flair? That is another story but needless to say the parking =
garage
pillar won......
My question is this, I estimate =
the costs
to get back into great shape at: (with my mechanic's =
help and
he is very good)
ball
joints &=
nbsp;$200
front
shocks $300
Tune Up
$100 &nb=
sp; All
OEM
Exhaust &nb=
sp; $1200/1500
OEM
Tires  =
; $500
Mich =
MX4'S
Belts  =
; $100
defroster =
$600
pull out replace with OEM =
AC
conversion $130
This ends up being $3000 =
to $3500, I
figure a decent paint job/rust clean up to be $3000 and now I have a =
"new" westy
with an engine that has over a hundo on it. Do I do it? It =
might
mean selling my 1965 fire engine red Mercury Monterey convertible. =
We are
talking about a convertible as big as a Suburban (with 2 count'em 2
doors.) This thing has more chrome than I know what to do =
with.
Seats six ( good for a guy with 4 kids) and is the perfect summer =
toy.
Any and all help is =
appreciated...
Mike