Question about upgrades

[marinofan]

K, I know Dan and Andy both do lots of mod work to there cars. You have both seen mine and its stock as far as performance issues go.

So heres my question.

With my new job and living situation I'm debating a)put money in the cougar and upgrade everything, slowly. Put money up for a 3L ATX-MTX swap.

Or should I just keep it the way it is, do some minor upgrades. Brake upgrade, suspension upgrade, and use the money for a 3L, ATX-MTX swap as a nice downpayment on a different car? I like the cougar, but reading thread after thread about people dropping all this money in there car and then knowing the resale will never cover the expense I paid, the car is going on 90K miles.

I just sorta want Opinions. I really want to get a Camaro, either old (70's) or 90-92 model. Both can be had for decent money, and then start dumping money into that.

I know Dan talks about missing his cougar but loves his new car. Now im just rambling.. so fire away with opinions.

Oh and what brake Kit should I get? I have to get new brakes and rotors before winter, there fine right now but it is my pass brake pad thats causing the little squeek in the front, pad is still good, but I guess its that plate they put in to let you know its getting bout that time.

So I figure might was well upgrade while I'm replacing.

[Pyro81]

It depends on your perspective of the car. Do you plan to own it for years to come regardless of whatever problems that will occur down the road? Or is it just taking up space in your driveway till you can afford something you really want?

If it's the latter then by all means do as much as you want. If your not planning on selling it then trick it the **** out. I don't plan on ever getting rid of my car. The only way it will ever leave my possession is by outside forces. I've sank several thousand dollars into my car already and it's no where close to being completed.

If it's the former than i would choose carefully what i buy. If going this route i'd maybe do a few minor cosmetic mods and maybe some light suspension and performance mods. Just enough to make it better but not enough to drain my bank account for the next decade.

[LinkMan]

If the Cougar is going to be a daily driver down the road, and you're saving for the car you want to mod (Camaro), then do the "minor" upgrades that make the Cougar even more fun without lowering the reliability (suspension, brakes, etc.) or costing a small fortune (3L, tranny swap). If the Cougar is going to be the fun, project car, then sink that cash.

You will NEVER get resale to cover the expense of mods, especially with a Cougar.

If you're upgrading brakes, I'd go with the VOA Big Brake Kit and the Warmonger (NPG) rear kit, or the Warmonger (NPG) kit all the way around. Personally, I'm going with the first option as soon as I have money and time to install.

[B3NN3TT]

I don't think about resale value. I don't think about other cars. I just drive 15000 miles a year. and have good times. And when I see a good deal on something that would make MORE good times, I buy it.

It's a fun car; I think I'll keep it.

[marinofan]

If the Cougar is going to be a daily driver down the road, and you're saving for the car you want to mod (Camaro),

Thats probably more of what My cougar is going to be. A V-8 with these gas prices is silly as a DD.

ok, so now I have to get myself a list of parts I need to buy and figure out how much money I need. lol

[B3NN3TT]

Also, here's the nice thing. Pretty much anything you buy for the 2.5 can be re-used later, when it's finally 3.0 time. And it's way easier to swap out the ATX when you do an engine swap. LATER.

I'm totally planning on upgrading to a 3.0 sometime, but I don't feel like I have to keep up with anyone. I'll do it when I want to. When the time is right, and I find it for stupid cheap. You'd be surprised at how LITTLE I've actually spent on all these mods, just by waiting and being patient.

[nadthomas]

I think Mark hit the nail on the head. Since you currently have an ATX its going to pretty much double the cost of your 3L swap when you add a MTX, ECU, subframe, etc for the MTX swap as well. If the car is going to be a daily drive, then I say don't invest to much mod money into the car at this point. If the car is going to be a weekend/track car and you have another DD spend away. Daily driving and mother nature put a beating on a car, and since our cars are starting to push 10 years old keeping up with maintenance can sometimes be hard enough. To be perfectly honestly since and ATX-MTX swap requires so many parts from the MTX car, and you are looking to replace engine as well I would almost say you would be better off to find an MTX cougar with a blown engine for cheap. Then just do a complete rebuild on that.

If your real goal is a Camaro then keep your mods on the cougar to a minimum. Depending upon how hard up you are for a Camaro and when you think you might be getting the Camaro then maybe no more mods for the cougar. Modding two cars even if one is only getting modest mods can make you bankrupt. It was ridiculous how much money I was spending and how much more I wanted to spend when I had two cougars.

If I ever get another cougar it will be kept extremely simple and be given daily driver use, or it will be track preped for auto-x and road course events and only driven to and from events otherwise. Trying to mod a car for performance, show, and keep it a daily driver is the most difficult and expensive thing to do in my opinon.

[nadthomas]

You'd be surprised at how LITTLE I've actually spent on all these mods, just by waiting and being patient.

While its cheap for the mods that you have, I bet you have about $3k or more invested into mods for your car. Which is nothing to sneeze at.

A V-8 with these gas prices is silly as a DD.

Ugh, don't make me think about that please. When ever I'm at the gas station I just try to go to my happy place, until I'm pulling away from the pump and far from sight of what I just paid, knowing that I will only have to return in a week. Of course leaving black tracks and a smokey cloud while exiting the gas station helps me forget all about it. Yes, I'm in denial. :(

[fordrule]

start collecting parts. have it all ready to swap and try to do in a weekend to have the least amount of downtime as possible..its doable to do it to a DD

[B3NN3TT]

While its cheap for the mods that you have, I bet you have about $3k or more invested into mods for your car. Which is nothing to sneeze at.

True.

I've spent maybe 3500 in the 6+ years I've owned this car on mods, a little at a time. Just a rough guess. But if I'd have just gone out and bought the stuff whenever I wanted it, I'd have spent probably $10k.

[marinofan]

Welp, just ordered me a predator hood and new drift front bumper. Paying for them after fest and should have them on by the end of august. She'll look purty, just run slow.

[Tygerr]

Do w/e makes you happy.

[streetracer8605]

while i miss having a cougar, if i could do it all over again and have the money i spent on the cougar to spend on the redline...the cougar would have never seen more than maybe an intake and exhaust. i would love to have the $5k+ i spent between the two cougars. my Redline would be ridiculously quick if i had that money to spend on it. i spent all that money and couldn't even get to where i am stock w/the Redline. i considered just getting another cougar when i was looking for cars, i bought the redline and wouldn't change it for anything. it's so much more fun to have a car with parts that make a dramatic difference. i can drop $500 and pick up over 60+hp in the Redline, as opposed to dropping $500 on the cougar and crossing my figures for maybe 15hp. it's personal preference with what you want to do. i will be getting another cougar most likely after i move to dayton. however, it will not see too many parts and the main reason i'll be getting one is to keep miles off the redline, lol.

Ugh, don't make me think about that please. When ever I'm at the gas station I just try to go to my happy place, until I'm pulling away from the pump and far from sight of what I just paid, knowing that I will only have to return in a week. Of course leaving black tracks and a smokey cloud while exiting the gas station helps me forget all about it. Yes, I'm in denial. :(

i too am in denial w/u dan. everytime i fill up it kills me to see how much i'm spending. while i obviously don't have a v-8, premium for me is nothing to laugh at even if it's only a 4 cyl. however, when i hear the s/c scream pulling away from the gas station my tears are replaced with a grin from ear to ear. it takes the pain away, until the next stop to gas station :rofl:

[nadthomas]

Yeah, ummm both my cars chug premium, getting 25mpg in the GTI is just freaking awesome to me. With the tune I just loaded into the GTO 93 octane is a must, where as the factory tune just recommends 91 octane.

[Tygerr]

Biggest reason I didn't get the legacy gt, premium gas PLUS worse gas mileage by about 6mpg. As well as higher insurance rates = not worth it as a daily that gets a LOT of mileage. I just hit 40k. :(

I'm not giving oil companies any more money then I need to for my job.