Yeah -- I'm really debating about what to do. Now that I have decided to pass on the Thunderbird, I have plenty of money to do the job right. However, one drawback with taking the supercharged route is that once you take that step, you crossover the threshold of having a heavily modified truck, which I am not so sure is great for the long term collectability of the vehicle.

If you look at Fox body Mustangs for example, the "Holy Grail" of the category are the unmolested, bone-stock examples, which are almost non-existent today. I suspect the same thing could be true with this truck -- in 20 years having an unmolested example might just make it more attractive than a truck with a heavily modified engine.

The other factor that you run into with keeping a heavily modified vehicle over the long term is parts availability. I think guys who have gone the Roush route with their '04-'08 trucks are already finding this to be problematic -- and this is only a few years after you could walk into a Ford dealer and have that system installed on your truck! Just think what it might be like getting certain replacement parts 20 years from now if you still have the vehicle.....

 

catches the sun pretty well for 13

 

catches the sun pretty well for 13

 

True in parts availability. I've wondered the same thing in a general sense with all these on board computers, how their service life will be in 30 years. You imagine if every Camry needed a new PCM? Or every F150 needed a new smart fuse box (CJB)

As far as collectibility, you'd have to actually sell it for that to matter

Do what pleases you. Life is too short to wait for the perfect circumstances. Enjoy it while you're still here, and while your lived ones are still with you

 

Forget about supercharging the F150. Do it to the mustang!

 

Took the boy to the doctor. He took the ER splint off and put him in a regular cast. Said its looking real good and in 2 weeks they will cut the cast off. They started to put him in a boot but didnt have a small enough size, so they did the cast.

 

I think with the F-150, so many examples were built (and will still be around years from now in regular use) that there will be aftermarket support in this area. You see the same thing happening right now with a lot of the '80's-era cars that are becoming collectible, which is the time period during which you started seeing a lot of vehicle-specific electronics coming into play. I was talking to a guy with a late-80's Cadillac at a recent car show and he said there were already several aftermarket electronics vendors that had (or could repair) just about anything you needed as far as solid-state electronics were concerned. As time moves along and more of the NOS stuff disappears, I think this situation will only improve!

I agree with you on enjoying the cars -- the only limitation I have right now is the free time to do it. As my son gets older and moves into his teen years, I am hoping that I will begin to have more time to do the things that I enjoy -- but right now, I'm in the midst of my "full contact" parenting years! At the very least, I plan to spend a lot of quality time with my cars in another 10 years or so when I get to the point where I can start cutting back the number of hours I spend at work......

 

You know, the only problem with that is that the F-150 is the one I drive and say, "I wish this thing had more get-up-and-go!"

I can't think of one time I took out my bone-stock Mustang and wasn't left with the impression that the car is just a plain old blast to drive! I could care less about racing at the track -- I just like going for a ride on a back country road on a Saturday afternoon. And for that, the Mustang already makes for a really fun driving experience in its factory form!

 

But it would be more fun in supercharged form

Have you got to take the crown vic out for a drive yet? Last time i saw you unloaded it off the truck and went straight to storage

 

The same thing goes for buying a S/C kit. In 10 years they may discontinue selling kits for an "old 2005" truck

 

Yes -- I did get to take it out for about a 35 mile cruise in early June and then changed the oil before putting it back in storage. Two impressions:

- I am stunned how absolutely EVERYTHING works on the car! Even with only 4200 miles, I have been expecting to find at least a few things that no longer worked after almost 30 years in storage -- so far, nothing!

- The thing needs shocks in the worst way -- high on my list of things to do!


Grandma is taking my son this weekend to give us a little break from parenthood so I am hoping to get it out for another spin on Saturday or Sunday......

 

I can promise you that is exactly what will happen, and then when one component goes out you'll be stuck trying to scavenge a part from an old unit or be left with an expensive but inoperable upgrade.....

 

 

I meant the whole kit. I know service side suffers, but if you planned in 5 or 10 years to buy a kit, the whole kit might not be available