new car

[john112deere]

I'm now the proud owner of TWO white late '90s Fords.

Took posession (though not legal ownership, yet) of my Grandma's '98 Escort today. She can no longer drive, and my Ranger's about done for, so it worked out well for both of us.

One-family car, and I'm the first owner under 75. Grandma's sister bought it new, then Grandma and Grandpa bought it from her when she could no longer drive. Basic little car, with an automatic , A/C , hardly any rust and only about 80k miles .

I'll clean it up, put in a CD player, and run it for a few years, at least.

(Pics when I find the battery charger for my camera...but it's not that exciting._

 

[Blue Goose]

I know you've said you want to keep the Ranger forever, is that still the plan?

BTW, congrats on the car....

 

[john112deere]

Well, it's hard to say. For now, yeah...but realistically, the Ranger is done for.

260+ on the engine and rear end, although those can be rebuilt. But...the radiator support is rotted to where it's basically gone at the lower left mount, the frame is starting to rot pretty good in the rear cross-members, and, most immediately, the power steering (pump and box) are about shot. With the rust, it's really hard to justify fixing anything else...and fixing the rust more or less would end up as a frame-off restoration. Which, while I may be nuts enough to do on that truck, I don't have the space, or the money (or, to be honest, the skill) to do it right now...and don't know when I would in the future.

I'll keep the Ranger plated and on the road in the short term, though, for sure.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

Well shoot... Shoulda given you Erica's 98 Escort with the manual. Congrats on the new wheels.

Ryan

 

[Raptor22]

New wheels are always good. Sorry about that Ranger though, you have sure gotten use out of it. Seriously Built Ford Tough.

 

[slmann]

congrats on the new car.

 

[john112deere]

Pics- it needs to be cleaned up a bit...






It needs something to make it look a little more interesting, too. Suggestions? Must be cheap, not too embarrassing, but goofy enough that it's clearly tongue-in-cheek.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

racing stripes....

And the 4-door is nice. The coupe version is WAY too small!

Ryan

 

[dragogt]

boost???? that way you can have some fun w/ it.

 

[john112deere]

boost???? that way you can have some fun w/ it.

Not really interested in having fun with it. It can never be very close to my idea of a fun car, so it's really not worth the time/money. It's a transportation appliance, and I'll figure to treat it as such.

Save up for a truck or RWD car in a few years, which will not be left quite so stock.

 

[dragogt]

Gotcha, but I still say you can play w/anything it's all how you wanna go about it, but atleast it dos have the mpg though.

 

[john112deere]

it's all how you wanna go about it

Yep. And I wanna save my money for the next one.

This one's too small, and the power goes to the wrong pair of wheels for me to ever really be satisfied with it as a "fun" car.

 

[john112deere]

May as well ask here...

Car's sat a lot the last few years...going to do some fluid changes and maintenance as time/funds allow.

Oil change is no issue, coolant shouldn't pose any problems (anybody think it's worth a chemical flush, or just drain and replace?), but I'm less sure on the timing belt and auto transmission fluid. On the timing belt, I'm mostly curious whether this is an interference engine...IIRC, one Escort motor is, one isn't- but I don't know how to tell which one I have. And on the transmission fluid- can I just drain/refill, or should I take it and have it thoroughly flushed somewhere?

 

[countryboytn]

It needs something to make it look a little more interesting, too. Suggestions? Must be cheap, not too embarrassing, but goofy enough that it's clearly tongue-in-cheek.

How about a cb/antenna, painted wheels/hubcabs (i dunno about a color that would look good though) and some bullet whole stickers!

 

[countryboytn]

May as well ask here...

Car's sat a lot the last few years...going to do some fluid changes and maintenance as time/funds allow.

Oil change is no issue, coolant shouldn't pose any problems (anybody think it's worth a chemical flush, or just drain and replace?), but I'm less sure on the timing belt and auto transmission fluid. On the timing belt, I'm mostly curious whether this is an interference engine...IIRC, one Escort motor is, one isn't- but I don't know how to tell which one I have. And on the transmission fluid- can I just drain/refill, or should I take it and have it thoroughly flushed somewhere?

Coolent should be fine just draining and replacing..

dunno about the timing belt, maybe get the vin and find out which motor you have?

Trans fluid, I would just drain and replace.. but I'm not known for going that extra step usually...

 

[john112deere]

I'm tryin' to figure out what to do about a CB. It'll probably get one, though. I've got a Wilson 1000 mag-mount base here, just need a coil and whip for it. Then figure out what radio/where to mount it. I don't think I can fit my Uniden that's in the Ranger, and I'm not sure I'm ready to pull it out of that truck, anyway. Thinking maybe a Uniden 520 stuck under the AM/FM, but I'm not sure.

 

[countryboytn]

I'm tryin' to figure out what to do about a CB. It'll probably get one, though. I've got a Wilson 1000 mag-mount base here, just need a coil and whip for it. Then figure out what radio/where to mount it. I don't think I can fit my Uniden that's in the Ranger, and I'm not sure I'm ready to pull it out of that truck, anyway. Thinking maybe a Uniden 520 stuck under the AM/FM, but I'm not sure.

I have a Uniden "PRO520XL" and it's pretty small... fairly cheap to.

http://www.uniden.com/products/productdetail.cfm?product=PRO520XL

 

[surewhynot]

Not the exact kind of escort I pictured you with...

 

[CowboyBilly9Mile]

It needs something to make it look a little more interesting, too. Suggestions? Must be cheap, not too embarrassing, but goofy enough that it's clearly tongue-in-cheek.

A buddy of mine may still have a spoiler for the trunklid. It's a normal one, not the kind that looks like something you'd find along a sidewalk in a city park with a handicap sign beside it (ie, extra high). If interested PM me and I'll check. Color is dark blue/navy blue. They're plastic so shipping wouldn't be too bad.

 

[surewhynot]

Put the blue star on it.