Post a recent picture of your car

[DK77]

Says he who does not post a picture...

Old one but I still like it My buddy's car that I did the powdercoating on.

[Street_Chally73]

Here's mine, complete with several months worth of dust on it...(hoping for that to change very soon, though!!)

Sorry about the blurriness...


& Chris, I'd have to say that you can't really expect to be throwing too much money at these cars until you're making a minimum of $40K a year...I'm making low-30s+benefits A.T.M., paying CHEAP rent, & continuing to pay off student loans that I accrued (4 1/2 years on-campus, changed majors + .5 yr overseas studies) & even then does that leave very little (at least IMO) left over for any notable changes/upgrades to the car. Budgeting your upgrades & smart shopping, whether it be supporting one vendor or multiple ones + discounted OEM parts from certain dealerships, are by far the easiest way to go about these cars (provided you aren't pulling more than $50K+ a year w/minimal or standard debt(s)).

I would say that the general consensus here is that the majority of 3/S owners today (read: not all) seem to be unable to conduct general maintenance on their vehicles, whether they choose to do that work themselves or hire a shop to do it for them. Case in point, the PO of my R/T TT didn't know a single thing about maintenance of cars & he openly admitted it to me, so here I am about another $3,500-4,000 worth of maintenance work over my initial vehicle purchase price ($5,400) & the car is still sitting for yet another major repair to be done.

Supporting vendors whenever possible is the best thing to do for this platform if we ever want to see more parts being produced, more competitive pricing on quality products, & more barriers being broken, but the truth is sometimes you can find products that can prove to be great alternatives to what the 3/S-specific vendors are offering. I know I've done that for a few items so far (those eBay silicone I/C hoses, for example), though I truly do try my best to continue to support the vast majority of our vendors to help ensure that they stick it out with this platform just like those of us who know we have more invested into these cars than their current resale values are.

[IPD]

My dad has a modded Fiesta... I'd rather drive that than most of the 3Ses I've seen.

largely due to owners who could never afford a 3/s in the first place, and trashed them.

anyone who says they're taking the cheap route is an idiot. (cheap, as in most of ebay & lots of untested shit--not "inexpensive" as in good solutions that some platform pioneers have espoused). even some of our supposed vendors aren't exactly reputable--and if the price seems too good to be true--it probably is. i won't even try and support new vendors anymore; i'll wait until they have an established business record.

i think a lot of owners forget that the 3/s was originally not even in the same ballpark as a car like the mustang--they were priced very differently. consequently, the 3/s is going to eat more money on upkeep and stuff; after all, it was considerably more expensive (especially compared to the fox body--MSRP vs. MSRP).

p.s.

pics in another week, hopefully. car hasn't been outside of the storage unit in a year.

[j2k4]

Here's mine, complete with several months worth of dust on it...(hoping for that to change very soon, though!!)

Sorry about the blurriness...

Your car looks super-straight.

[sergechronos]

largely due to owners who could never afford a 3/s in the first place, and trashed them.

anyone who says they're taking the cheap route is an idiot. (cheap, as in most of ebay & lots of untested shit--not "inexpensive" as in good solutions that some platform pioneers have espoused). even some of our supposed vendors aren't exactly reputable--and if the price seems too good to be true--it probably is. i won't even try and support new vendors anymore; i'll wait until they have an established business record.

i think a lot of owners forget that the 3/s was originally not even in the same ballpark as a car like the mustang--they were priced very differently. consequently, the 3/s is going to eat more money on upkeep and stuff; after all, it was considerably more expensive (especially compared to the fox body--MSRP vs. MSRP).

p.s.

pics in another week, hopefully. car hasn't been outside of the storage unit in a year.

Even the 99 3k vs a 99 Mustang GT on the high end you're looking at about a 10k difference in price tag, plus the Mustang had chains instead of timing belts..Although they were awful about eating the guides and tensioners (ask me how I know :P RIP Stang). Even with those, which were high 20 to low 30k cars, they were designed primarily for older guys and the parts for it are expensive considering that Ford reused the motor in damn near everything (as opposed to the more limited interchange options for the 6g72.) Factor in the huge aftermarket support for the Mustang platform even when it was an awful car (the 94-98 Mustang for instance), and they reused the same basic suspension and body stuff for 30 years and that's the only thing that makes those even semi-affordable for guys who are just getting out of HS and college. Compared to the reputation that the VR4 has for being expensive and hard to work on and unable to generate power (most likely due to all those years it was difficult to get past 400), a Mustang that you can throw 1-2k at (for a Foxbody) or 3 or 4k for a newer one and you can be at 450-500 with little else plus flashable ECUs from the factory. If you're a vendor, where would you rather go: the Mustang platform that buys cheap shit but sells in large volume, a foreign make (like a BMW) that is more limited in numbers but guys are willing to spend a ton, or the 3/S which has limited numbers of cars and limited numbers of people willing to pay to play.

I agree some shit is overpriced from some of the vendors, but by and large they're one of our best resources for quality, reliable parts that were designed for our cars and not just some generic POS. Not to mention for a lot of the vendors, the customer service is fantastic and they are guys who are genuinely invested in the platform AND the community, not guys just looking to make a quick buck. Cheap, fast, reliable: You can only get 2 of the 3 (or 1 of the 3 sometimes :P )

Now, let's get this shit back on track and get pictures going.


That is one of my cam lobes, 2 or 3 others on both intake cams are like that. So I bought another set of heads and got a free block with it :P Have to evaluate to see which block is in better shape.



Cause this rusted p.o.s. would be the block that was currently in my car.


And for the actual vehicle, this is how it sits now.

Away in NY for a week, can't wait to get back and strip the rest of these parts off of it. Need to get the side skirts off of it, but the metal where the skirt meets the underbody is literally folded and crushed over the bolts so i have to figure out how to get that off. Tried prying it off and cutting it with a dremel..Think I may have to get a grinder and a cut off wheel unfortunately :/

[familyMAN]

[sketch]

Says he who does not post a picture...

I've got photos now!

0ga quick disconnects for the my rear (secondary) battery just arrived so I can yoink it out if I ever take it to a strip - these things are huge. Came to 43 shipped UPS ground for the pair. Anywho, less talky talky more pictures:

one unpackaged:


each one had a little baggy of parts inside of each side - nicely pac


the included hardware for each side - one for the cabling (instructions are to torque to 150-250 ft :


the twisting side:


both sides - the one on the right is actually sticking out further than it should be for the purpose of the photo - it actually sits flush with the rubber



both parts assembled, inserted:



and twisted, with a double A battery to show scale:

[Jimvr4]

I've got photos now!

Fail! Parts pictures don't count

[Blackmount]

I've got photos now!

0ga quick disconnects for the my rear (secondary) battery just arrived so I can yoink it out if I ever take it to a strip - these things are huge. Came to 43 shipped UPS ground for the pair. Anywho, less talky talky more pictures:

one unpackaged:


each one had a little baggy of parts inside of each side - nicely pac


the included hardware for each side - one for the cabling (instructions are to torque to 150-250 ft :


the twisting side:


both sides - the one on the right is actually sticking out further than it should be for the purpose of the photo - it actually sits flush with the rubber



both parts assembled, inserted:



and twisted, with a double A battery to show scale:

That is actually pretty kool.

[green-lantern]

I would have gone with the other ones

Can you hook those up backwards by accident?