Man I am in a jam so bad. Got tons of bills comming up, can't go to work (delivering pizza) because the maverick guzzles gas and my metro has a fried alternator. Can't afford to fix the alternator on the metro, need to get the maverick inspected but I don't have the money to get a new winshield and exhaust system. Getting really close to my mom and I losing our jobs and being homeless.........I mean do any of you have newer cars (90s and up)? Is it just me or does something really expensive break on them every.......three days!!! This has been going on for years now, we have been in debt over and over and over again because we keep buying cars that fall apart faster than we can fix them, and there's no way we can afford a newer car which would have less work to be done on it. I mean at this point we don't even have $25 to put towards anything on any car, this crap has been going on for 2 1/2 years now and it's driving me insane. Do any of you actually have cars that don't break every time you drive down the freakin' road? The last 6 or 7 I've had were like that. Well now that I'm finished releasing a little anger (mostly directed at people who don't have to struggle just to survive everyday) I guess I'll go ahead and ask my question. I have $250 saved up for a rainy day and at this point I really need it for about 10 different things, but we need a running car. Personally I'm not putting a penny towards that damned metro because it's just going to break again, so can anyone tell me what the cheapest price you guys think I could get on a complete exhaust system and installation at a muffler shop? I am quite literally at the end of my wits, nothing I do can stop the universe from sh*tt*ing on me every freakin day. So please give me some good news.
Just get the exhaust system you already have fixed (new muffler, welding, etc.) and in the future, don't spend money on things you don't need, like KYB shocks. Get your priorities straight and life will be a little easier...
Personally............fix the Metro. The Maverick will still be there, but you got to have a car you can drive and deliver Pizza's in.
I agree...At $2.00 a gallon for gasoline, the Metro is the way to go. The I-6 doesn't do that great on fuel ecconomy. Like I said before; "priorities"...
I am with fixing the Metro too. Is that a standard size alternator in there? If it is, I would go with a 1 wire 60amp replacement. It will eliminate all the voltage regulator and charging circuit problems you may have right now. I love these things for there simplicity and easy adaptation to most vehicles. They are the size of a small / standard GM alternator. If it does not bolt right in, you may have to fabricate a bracket. Cost wise, JC Whitney has them for about $60 if I remember right. With shipping and a new belt, maybe a trip to the junk yard for a bracket to fabricate, a little 10ga wire -your looking at less than $100. Hang in there. The best advice I can hand out is be positive and avoid getting stuck in a "life sucks" attitude. Eric
Anyone? What do you guys think the cheapest whole exhaust system plus install would run me? If I'm going to do something I'm going to do it right, and not have to come back later and do it again.
Exhaust on the Maverick.....done "right"...would probably be $150 on up. I think the exhaust is the least of your concerns. You've got the windshield, those rear shackles, and other problems you have mentioned. Fix the Metro, get back to delivering Pizza's, and put the Maverick on the back-burner for now. Signed, Former Pizza delivery driver.
A Fatherly Talk.... The hardest thing for a youngster to learn is priorities and budgeting. I'm speaking from experience. Early in my marriage (I've been married almost 22 years), my wife and thought we had to have everything that was in our parent's houses. It never dawned on us that what they had took 20 years or so to accumulate. We financed everything and damn near filed for bankruptcy. We learned. My last hot rod or car toy, if you will was 1978 when I sold my '67 Fairlane. My daily drivers since then have been a '77 T-bird, '80 Cutlass Supreme, '82 Buick Park Avenue, '85 Frand Marquis, '90 Grand Marquis, '86 Crown Vic, and '96 Town Car (current daily driver and wife drives '99 Suburban). Not a one of them were bought new. Not a one them was "souped up" or "fixed up" in any way. I was smart enough and fortunate enough to buy smart, cheap, and get mechanically sound cars. During that car history, I finished college, started a career, married, and had four daughters. I could not and did not have a car to play with. I now have a '66 Galaxie ( a gift from an uncle), '74 Maverick Grabber, '72 Maverick Grabber, '71 Maverick, and will soon have a '73 parts car in the yard). All the Mavs have been obtained since November 2003. I waited until my family was financially stable and I was making more money than we actually needed to live on. It took time and it took patience. Fortunately, at nearly age 46, I'm still young enough to work on all these toys and enjoy them. Plus, I have a 14 year old that is somewhat excited about her first car being the '74 Maverick. I gave you all that boring history to help you understand that you do what you need to do to get reliable transportation and to maintain employment. It may mean selling your Metro and your Maverick to buy something good and reliable. It may mean selling the Maverick to make the Metro very reliable. Once you have good, solid tranportation, you bust your butt delivering pizzas. While delivering pizzas, look for a more steady job. I don't know your educational ambitions, but get more education and/or get skilled in a demanding trade; delivering pizzas will never get you to where you can actually support a family and have playing around money. Once you have a career and your needs are met, then you can begin to think about having that Maverick to toy with. Dadgum, I sound like a father, here, but I am one. I've learned the hard way. There are three ways to learn. You can from education, you can learn from the experience of others, and you can learn by peeing on the electric fence yourself. Trust me, the first two are the easiest and most pleasurable. Good luck, son.
My first encounter with an electric fence (didn't know it was one) felt like somebody threw a 90mph fastball into the middle of my back. It was my leg touching the fence. BTW, I was 13 years old. OUCH!!!!!! Maybe this kid is beat up enough to listen and not pee on the fence.
There are a lot of priorities you need to rethink. Motorcycle purchases, fancy shocks, two cars, internet access, having a job that is hard on your car, etc.....
Well I've been poor my whole life and I plan on changing that by getting a good college education, but in the meantime I refuse to have nothing, the maverick will be fixxed up. Maybe there are more important things, but at the moment the most important thing to me is not feeling like a poor man and actually having something I want and deserve. Anyway, the debate aside, I still haven't gotten a good answer. I know that my whole exhaust system has leaks, I need a rough estimate on what it would cost to get a new exhuast system..
The cheapest way is going to be to do it yourself. Check J. C. Whitney (or some other source - maybe even a NAPA) for prices on pipe, muffler, and clamps. That's how I used to do it before I could afford quality or anything for that matter. By the way, deserve and earn go hand-in-hand. Never, ever get the attitude that you are owed something. You earn it. Don't expect bonuses when you get a good job. Those are rewards for a doing a job very, very well. Yep, you earn bonuses, too.
Cheap would be this one http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=8333 if he still has it. You should post something in the wanted forum.
