improving stock 200

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Timnmelinda

Well-known member
I am rethinking what I want to do in Daughters ride, long story but I do not know that she deserves all the extras.
I got a replacment used 200 a while ago, just freshening it up
it will have headers and dui from old engine.....running 1 barrel as of now

is there a cam that would be a benificial upgrade with out carb upgrades or head improvments

Or would a different cam be a waste without the rest
Just after good drivability maybe a little better running or fuel economy

Undecided which way this way or giving her a good built up engine.

Tim
 
Does she care for the car? Doesn't necessarily sound like it...

If this is the case, leave it as it is and only fix things when they break. Or sell it and buy her a '98 Honda Civic!
 
Part of the issue, she is a teen!

She claims she loves the car, but she is always looking for something wrong with it, always complaining about it, but when I say fine I am getting you something else, she cries out ....No I love my car!
Two days later she is moaning n groaning about it again.

I explained, the car is 40 years old, it has a different personality (and technology) than new cars.......Either way I gotta put the new engine in, rings are shot in old one. I am figuring we may end up getting rid of it, and getting her a used late model pc of junk to drive. I will lose my fanny on this one, buying the car and redoing it the first time was 10,500.00....then she wrecked and rebuilding again was just over 3000.00

I do not have any idea what I could get out of it, and do not know if I would sell it easier if I made a nicer engine package or kept it more towards stock.........And if she still says she wants it, do not know what to do, I was giving her a 200 with raised compression, cam, direct mount 2 barrel plus the DUI i have. I still have to swap rear end as well, her rear is whinning bad, I got a 8 inch I am going to swap in, I was going to regear to 3.25 or 3.55 But if I am going to get rid of car, I think I will just go with the 8 inch stock2.89

Do not know what I am going to do, Trying to figure it out.

Tim
 
Is she your first female teen? That would explain much of your confusion. It is part of the human psyche that teens don't understand themselves, either. Grin and bear it. You may miss the car, but you'll mis her more when she flies the coop. :cry:
 
Not my first, and she is stepdaughter at that.
She is a good kid but extras in the world revolves around her and her stuff does not ever stink.

She is giving her mom and I many stresses, but we keep trying to remember teen age times but it does not make it easier,

Her mom and I have really worked to give her the car she wanted and make it really nice for her, But we are both starting to get sick of it.....There is lots I could tell but do not think this is the place, I will share we got her Christmas presents for her friends , her dad, and all the aunts uncles cousins on that side, to be nice, guess what she got us....nothing, not even a card, But we keep trying to be parents as we think, even though it really hurt, we still try and be there for her and try to bail her out when she is in a jam, but as many teens do, she does not want us messing in her life (till she needs/wants something)

We are just getting sick of the car issues, thinking maybe buy her another car,putting it in her name, paying a years insurance then it is her baby to deal with (She is 18 next week)
 
I had the same problem. I said, the next time you wreck it, it's gone. Period.

And then I didn't get another car.

The basic problem is that you are putting what you wanted at that age on her. She just wants a car. Not a classic. Get a Toyota and get out of the way. I make my kids pay for gas and the deductible. If it goes down, tough. Next one's on them.
 
Let me add, that this came from an AHA moment. It seemed that the car had been rolling on the spare for a long time. I opened the trunk of the Stang. There was a bunch of school gear and old clothes AND a tire that had been so little used, the rubber nubbles were still on it. YET there was an 8d nail sticking out that was rusty. Worse yet, there was a tire repair warranty in the glove box. Now I had three worn out tires and a flat with new tread.

The whole picture came to me in a flash: gas, insurance, repairs, replacement; everything. That and the THIRD time my Jeep got wrecked. Scr*w it. Oddly enough, I haven't had much more trouble after that point.
 
ill be 18 next week too (the 21st), but i love my mustang. part of the reason is that ive been doing all the work to it and paying for everything myself(including the car itself), im really proud of it. kinda sounds like she doesnt really appreciate the car. maybe you should have her help you build and swap the motor and whatever other work needs done, that way she feels more like its her car, rather than the one you built/bought for her. might be kind of hard to get her into the garage. if its the car in your signature i sure wouldnt be complaining, and i drive my dads 92 civic around while workin on the mustang, theyre nothin special.
 
Actually she wanted a classic car
1st choice was a 70 Chevelle SS.....yeah right I can not afford one for me so she was not getting this

Next she really liked Mustangs either brand new or the older ones, but she really thought the older ones were cool

So no I am not pushing my wanted or wished for (Nothing personal all, but personally I favor Chevies, but I like em all)
Really it was what she wanted or at least thought she wanted
 
cool 8)

i think its pretty great that your daughter apperciates classic cars. im about the same age(19) and and thats not something you see much from this generation. so congrats on being a good parent :LOL:

but im thinking the mustang might be a better father/daughter project car then her daily driver though
 
It was a suprise for her the first time around, really got taken on the car, stripped the paint which I knew it neaded, discovered the body was garbage, put in lots of new steel, redid the interior, upgraded engine to DUI header, true dual exhausts (exiting through Mustang Gt rear lower valance with chrome split outlets on both sides, Mags, custom candy paint, awesome stereo etc...the whole 9 yards. She wrecked it in about 2 months........I tried really tried to get her involved in redoing the car that time around, I was hoping for Us to do it together (Her mom helped out the first rebuild)

She was excited, said she wanted to learn and help, BUT
every time It came to working on the car, she was too busy Watching a movie, doing this or that. She talked the talk but never made herself available, and I asked many times.

It was wierd she liked when we went to car shows, asked millions of questions about what parts were and so on. But she would just never come help on the car.........Her mom thinks she does not want to get her nails dirty!

I do have to put the new engine in, which is what the origional question in this post was about, trying to decide, try to fix it on up for her, or with all her complaining about the car, even though she claims to love it, just get it ready to sell or trade in for something else........I will also admit it is kind of good therapy sharing the bits about her and the frustration we are having. I want her to have the car, it is a beautiful car, not perfect as I am not a pro, but it is pretty nice. When ever I drive it people always talk to me about it and say how nice it is, I am tempted one of these times to say to the admirers, you like it then ou can have it! (ok not really but I do start feeling more and more that way)

Her mom and Myself are really just getting tired of it, the more we try the less it is appreciated.
 
Patrick66":322u8l9b said:
ill be 18 next week too (the 21st), but i love my mustang. part of the reason is that ive been doing all the work to it and paying for everything myself(including the car itself), im really proud of it. kinda sounds like she doesnt really appreciate the car. maybe you should have her help you build and swap the motor and whatever other work needs done, that way she feels more like its her car, rather than the one you built/bought for her. might be kind of hard to get her into the garage. if its the car in your signature i sure wouldnt be complaining, and i drive my dads 92 civic around while workin on the mustang, theyre nothin special.
Click to expand...

Such wisdom at a young age. :D Patrick, I take my hat off to you. (y)

Tim, there is great wisdom here. :nod: A sad truth is that kids don't appreceiate that which they didn't have to work for. Put in a bone stock, reliable engine, and take a vacation. :vert

The next time she destroys the car, she can ride a bike or walk. And stick to it.
 
well i really like the car and if your ever in the market to adopt another teenager that will aperciate it gimme a call :LOL:

but in all honesty i know way too many people who claim to really be into cars but when it comes to putting some work in they act like the wrench is gonna bite them or they just dont have any intrest in the inner workings and would just rather pay someone else to do it for them.

i have a feeling your daughter just wants to be seen an clean old classic but not actually get her hands diry busting @$$ on it

The thing that got me into old cars is that with some basic tools i could go out there and get my hands dirty and have something to show for it. that and i didnt have the money to pay someone else to do the job and go-fast parts were alot cheaper for my mom's cutlass then they would be on something new off the lot.

she'll probably regret it down the road when she gets a little wiser but as it stands now i think the car will be much more aperciated in another's hands. i'd tell her straight up, if your not gonna come out here and get your hands dirty with this engine then we're selling it. busting her @$$ on the car will probably cause her to baby it alot more on the roads so she doesnt have to get back under the hood again fixing broken stuff. i know the time and money i spend on my cars has taught me to be alot nicer to them
 
Sounds like the best soloution is that you keep the car for yourself and go buy her a little rice burner. Then someday if she wants it back many years from now it's her's
 
gtm1086":1utse4h3 said:
Sounds like the best soloution is that you keep the car for yourself and go buy her a little rice burner. Then someday if she wants it back many years from now it's her's
Click to expand...

yup, i second that


better yet keep the stang for yourself, make her get a job and buy her own car
 
Well, the origional plan was like this.......

I figured she was young, getting the car, But it was a car we figured she would like. Remembering my own youth, I often wanted change, we anticipated she would maybe not want it forever. This is part of the reason I have not complained about putting the extra work and the extra dollars into it. My exact plan was when she got tired of it and wanted something else, I would help her get into a different vehicle. Take the Mustang for myself (Put a much stouter engine in it of course!)
Then I really figured if later she wanted it (missed it) I would have it to later return to her (OH i would love to have my first car back again (1963 Impala SS, 4 speed car as well)

But there is a problem, I am a big guy, my head just hits the ceiling, and my stomach is a bit close to the wheel, the car is not really a comfortable fit for me. Do not get me wrong, I love the car I miss my first candy paint and the hood scoop. But really it is a cool car, I love the comments I get when ever I am out in it, the paint the chrome, the exhaust tones all of it is great but the comfort for me is not there.

My wife asks do I want to keep it if we yank it back from her? But she very much sees I do not fit well in the car. What can I say, been big most all of my life and GM Products have always been roomier and far more comfy but if I could find a nice early Galaxy, maybe then?

I do love the car, But am really torn up about all of this. I will also admit, if I push the seat back all the way It is passible, just not the comfort I have had in Vettes or Camaros.....Please do not hate me for that!


Tim
 
Your step-daughter sounds like mine, but mine is only 16 :shock: !!!! Jeez, only 2-3 more years before she move out :D

I'd handle your daughter the same way I'm handling mine, you must realize that REGARDLESS of what you do, she'll bitch. So ignore her and do what's right. Personally I'd tell her you're doing your best, and that reality is that she can 1) drive the Mustang "as-is" 2) get rides from her friends 3) buy her own damn car OR 4) its the "Adidas Express".
 
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