what do ya think...

ok, ive been thinkin lately. (that scares people around here when i start my sentence that way haha), with a wedding comin up here in about a year, my financial situation, i.e. broke, will probley be getting worse. now my fiance has a car, and with my two trucks, that equals 3 vehicles to maintain and insure. add in a payment on my 06, and that also means full coverage, we'll be spendin a good chunk of change on vehicles. so i thought about this plan, tell me what yall think. i was thinkin abt sellin my 06, pretty much restoring my 78 and using it as a daily driver. plans include:
fix all rust
repaint it
put 33's on in place of 36's
return to stock springs
transfer toolbox and contents from 06 to the 78
also install reciever hitch and trailer brake controller from 06
either pull original 350 and rebuild, or build replacement 350 and install to reduce down time
fix AC system
other odds and ends, basically make it like new

this would do several things:
no more truck payment
parts are cheaper
i can work on it much easier
cheaper insurance and taxes
pretty sure it would tow better, 78 has lower gears
cool factor haha

what do yall think? i know ill be sacrificing a bit, like no power mirrors, windows, or locks. and i know it will ride a lil bit rougher, but im not sure how bad it will really be. im also thinkin that with roughly 3.73 gears and 33's, and like new motor with new carb tuned properly i'll obtain 13-14 mpg. its a three speed manual with granny gear. does this sound right? tell me what yall think, good or bad.

What I would do, and what I did do, is sell the older truck and keep the newer truck. Newer by default will equal less trouble. It killed me to sell my 85', but it was that or my 03', and I knew the 03' would be more reliable. Just my .02.

if your gonna be pulling the motor why not go with a newer motor.. i.e. like the 5.3 i have sitting on a stand in my shop. it came out of an 03 tahoe with just under 70k on it and i picked it up for 500 bucks.. a trans would cost you around 400 with the transfer case and the harness and ecu around 200.. jegs sells bolt swap kits for your truck for a couple hundred.. you would have the power and reliability of the 06 without the payments and high insurance rates plus the gas milage would be better with the newer motor and thats always a plus..

I am going to have to agree with merlin on this one.... with that many changes on the way... keep only what you will NOT have to think about or worry about.... leave the problems for someone else... then as you settle in, and settle down, you would have more time for projects.... awwhell.... what I am talking about, my Jeep heap is a DD too! nevermind, go for it! LMAO... but seriously, think about what would give you the least amout of worries and in the long run, (over the course of say the next two years) what will cost you less and have less surprizes so you can focus on the more important things.... JMO though

I understand how hard it is in these economic times to keep paying on a newer truck (trust me, another $15K, and my truck will be paid off), but if you are able to make ends meet while you're paying on the truck, you're only helping your credit which will mean that later on down the road, you'll have an easier time getting your family into a home. Sure, if you get rid of the truck, you're not hurting your credit either. Not only that, but how many problems do you have with the newer one versus the older one, and how many quirks are you going to have to mess with when the older one starts to be your daily driver? Is it going to be more cost effective to keep the more reliable vehicle, or the less reliable one that may make you miss work?

Like any financial situation, you should always do the Benjamin Franklin method: Grab a piece of paper and draw two columns, one column will be the Pro's and the other will be the Cons. After filling both out to the best of your ability, whichever one has the most will help you make your decision. In this case, if the pros outweigh the cons on keeping the newer truck versus selling it, then you keep it.

Also, while it can be time consuming, every 6 months you should shop around the insurance companies. Even if you've been with one company for a while, you can find another with the same or better coverages for less.

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage, and I wish you the best of luck!