Need To Make Serious Car Decision

[ABCarr]

A bit of background:

I've been the proud owner of my early '98 T-Red SVT for 10 years next month. It has now travelled around 161K km, and is greatly in need of some long-delayed maintenance and parts replacement. Fundamentally, I still love this car, and I'm really in no financial position to take on another payment at this time, as we've decided on no more than one car payment at a time (wife's Grand Caravan).

What is of immediate concern is my suspension system. I've been aware for some time that I've needed new struts, probably A-arms, bushings...maybe springs. In short, the front camber is completely out of whack and is chewing up tires at a prodigious rate (I put on half-worn Goodrich KDW's in the late spring, and I'm basically down to the belts on the inner tread now). Here's my dilemma: I need to make a decision in the next day or two as to my course of action, since the car is quite dangerous to drive as it is now, and it serves as a taxi for my 6-year-old son.

Do I:

- get Steeda to install the Koni Sport kit plus A-arms, bushings, etc. as I've been planning for a while (delay in arranging a time with him, plus ordering in the Sport Kit, plus do I trust the car enough to drive it to Michigan)?

- get my local mechanic to do the job (who I trust implicitly with most things on this car, but he might have a real ordeal with the suspension work, plus charge me a lot more than Steeda would)?

- find someone else local to do the work (I think a few here have used some suspension specialty place in Scarborough)?

- think about dumping the SVT, and get some alternate basic transportation (which I would hate to do), or possibly another newer, better-maintained SVT since suspension is just the first of many things I need done (would take time to sell mine and procure another)

I need to do something very soon, as these tires are about to pop and really shouldn't be driven on any longer. Whatever I decide to do, I'm likely faced with renting a car for at least a few days, since I don't have the option of public transit and need to pick up my son from day care.

Any thoughts, folks?

 

[98TredSVT]

Well if you've owned it for 10 years then you know how its been treated its whole life, which is a plus, unless you didn't treat it well. I wouldn't chance another svt, also, it'll probaly be hard to sell yours considering you say its dangerous to drive. I'd go with Steeda... to install your koni kit. I just put mine on and love it. You sure don't wanna eat through more tires, kdws are expensive. What else do you need to fix?

 

[LauraSVT]

The good news is that none of the stuff you're talking about is not overly complicated. You have a great opportunity to replace the entire suspension all at once, from the strut mounts on down. I'd call Steve at Tousley Ford -- 800-328-9552 -- and get everything ordered -- struts, mounts, lower control arms (front) sway bar endlinks and bushings (front and rear), etc., and revitalize your beloved steed. Doesn't sound to me like you'll be as happy with another car, and for that I can't blame you.

 

[ABCarr]

Ive pretty much decided that keeping the car and fixing what it needs is the prudent move, and will keep me happiest. As with most things in life, putting the plan in motion is complicated by logistics...procuring the parts, deciding who will do the work, finding the time, finding the money, etc.

Once I do get the suspension sorted, other items on the to-do list include: clutch (would also like to do Quaife/Torsen), some minor bodywork, sort out a CEL I've had for a while, probably a few other things. As stated earlier, I won't be in any position to replace it with anything "decent" for at least 2 years, so I would like to make my remaining time with it as enjoyable as I can with a reasonable cash outlay.

 

[steener]

And, for what it's worth, after driving on KDWs exclusively for seven years, but getting tired of the hideous cost of replacing them every 25 or 30K kms, I installed a set of Kumhos in mid-August. I have been very happy with them. Less than half-the-price of the KDWs, and unless you're doing some really spirited driving, I am sure they would more than meet your needs. I've put about 4K on these (they are all season - local dealer got the wrong ones, but he let me try them, and they seemed ok, and I would have had to wait for several weeks to get the summer-only tires I had ordered, yadda yadda, so I decided to keep them) and although I do notice a slightly softer feel to the sidewalls, they stick really well, are great in the wet, and feel very secure at speed.

Also - really quiet: so nice to hear the exhaust!

Just a suggestion if you're looking to save some dough as you re-furbish a car that if you sell you will regret for the rest of your life...