My GX finally came home today. I still have to detail myself. Could they possible slather any more tire shine on there? Probably, since most of what was on the tires is now all over the body.

Anyway, as a 4Runner replacement, it's rather familiar in most ways. The cooled seats are quite nice, though, and my son really likes the rear controls/ceiling vents. The leather could use some refreshing, but it's not torn or ripped anywhere, just typical wear spots.

Overall, I'm happy. I'm hopeful that it will be a capable and comfy family hauler for some time to come. I've always felt a tinge guilt having a project car, throwing money at that, AND making payments on another vehicle.

I replaced it with a 5th Gen V8 4Runner, AKA a 2011 GX460 Premium. Net gain for me is about $20k, $5k towards payoff, $15k in the bank. Selling price was $4800 more than I paid for it new.

New vehicle will be ready early next week, there was a parts delay for some of the service it needed. Two owner, no rust, full service history. In the meantime, I’m driving around my old 4Runner, it makes for a nice loaner vehicle.

Pics of the new to me ride once I take delivery.

I’m comfortable running errands in it, and with the rear seat belts installed, I’m much more comfortable having my son ride in it, and willing to take him with me on trips outside the ‘hood The front belts arrived today and while I have the correct bolts for one belt, I needed to order one for the passenger side. Since my ‘68 came with shoulder belts originally (and were oddly removed and headliner installed over the mounts) mounting the new ones will be easy. I’m not sure why the previous owner decided to ditch seat belts, but they did.

I need to do a coolant flush and a host of other tuneup things, but it really does run quite well. The next major job will be suspension. Oh, and fix the reverse lights...

Really, though, my son and I ran to the store this evening and took a couple of pictures, so here I am.

My GX had two previous owners. The first owner kept it for 8 years. The second owner kept it for two. It appears owner number two probably got fed up with repair bills and dumped it for a new car. Here's what is new in the last 6 months:

Rear air suspension replaced in December
Radiator
valley plate coolant leak
Battery
Rear rotors/pads
front pads
Timing Cover Gasket, water pump
etc, etc

Quite a few of these are common on the "what to look for" buyer's guides for the GX, so I was quite pleased to see they had been recently taken care of. I added up all service performed since December. $8545.10. The cost of the service that apparently drove the previous owner over the edge? $3,285.13. They traded in rather than pay that, but the dealership still performed the service before the sale.

Some people might view this as "uh oh", but I view it as stuff I know I shouldn't have to deal with anytime soon. It also tells me I'm glad the 2 previous owners took their cars to the dealership for service. Woo. And third, it tells me service at the dealership is expensive.

Pulled the Mustang out today to shuffle around some things in the garage. I took it out for a drive last weekend so it fired up easily today. I noticed my reverse lights are always on, so I’ll have to check that out. It looks so much better outside than it does inside the garage.

License plates for the Mustang showed up today! Resolving the title issues took 4 months, getting actual plates took another three, as there was a COVID shutdown that delayed plates being made. Even though I have the title, once I put real plates on a car, that’s when it feels like it’s mine.

I’m also planning on picking up some vintage stamped 1968 Colorado plates.

My first stage of prep for the Mustang is to get the garage in order. I’m going to install additional lighting and clean up the clutter that’s leaning against the walls. It’s also time to fashion up a workbench.

No pictures of the actual seat belts, because they’re just seat belts. But today, I was able to install the front seat three point retractable belts on the Mustang, just in time for a rainy weekend here in CO (or so they say). I hope to at least get it out for a little bit tomorrow.

I did learn a dirty little secret about why there were no seatbelts. The floor pan was replaced and where the inner belt mount, the pan was sandwiched over the old metal. At least the metal is solid. I was able to drill out the holes and use the existing anchors and adding locking nuts on the exposed thread for good measure.

Otherwise, everything went together easily, and four people can now ride in the car wearing seatbelts. I now consider the interior acceptable enough for summer use (I do need to add a windshield mounted rear view mirror). Next up, suspension.

Original MSRP was just north of $41k in 2019, I paid $36,400.

I am liking the GX so far. My wife finds it "old", mainly because the seats show some wear and the infotainment is straight outta Win95. It works, although the USB reading my music on a thumb drive is painfully slow, and can't randomize "all" songs, only an album. Bluetooth works with no issues, though.

I don't love the running boards. They will definitely be snow/sludge collectors in the winter. It sits low enough that I don't think it needs them.

One year ago today, I brought the Mustang home. Apparently, it was nicer weather one year ago, too. I found it on Facebook Marketplace about 3 miles from me, and after looking at it on a Sunday, went and picked it up Monday morning. $5600 Ameribucks were traded for the privilege of owning a C code (289) 1968 Mustang.

One year later, the total out of pocket investment has swelled to $6255. That's a little misleading, as I was gifted the wheels/tires that are on it now. The steering rebuild, as well as the front disc brake conversion and rebuild of the rear drums was paid for by selling off some old Exoto 1:18 die cast cars. I had purchased quite a few Ferrari 1:18 F1 models when they used to routinely go on sale for between $79-99 a couple of decades ago. I sold a few on eBay, and they brought over $400 each. Not bad for sitting in a box in the basement for the past 15 years.

The list of work done thus far:

• Steering rebuild (inner/outer tie rod ends, pitman arm, roller idler arm, adjusting sleeves, Flaming River manual steering box)
• Brake rebuild (front disc, Kelsey-Hayes calipers, rear drums rebuilt, all hard lines replaced, master cylinder, proportioning valve)
• New hoses, belt, battery, miscellaneous small harnesses
• BFG T/A on Magnum 500 wheels

I've got seat belts on order to install, and I'm still deciding on what I want for suspension. I've run out of "free" budget, so now I've actually got to plan a little more. My wife has mentioned selling the 4Runner during the current resale value craziness to help fund it. Hmmm...

Kinda of like the Cougar, it photographs well. There is some rust, most noticeably, the torque boxes (ugh), and some by the rear sail panels. At this point in time, other than the torque boxes, I have zero intention of diving into body work. I'm just looking to have a driver/cruiser car. Eventually, I'll pull the drivetrain and refresh/rebuild. But for now, it appears I'm on my way to one goal, and that's to have the car available as a summer DD for local trips.

Mustang to Cougar comparisons? I won't get into looks (Cougar wins for me), but as far as condition, the Mustang wins. The previous owner liked this car and it shows, although they did make a few puzzling decisions on what/what not to repair. It runs much stronger than the Cougar, shifts better, steers better (I never did replace the steering box on the Cougar), and is overall a much better base to start with.

Yes, the back window has a Mustang etched into the glass. No I'm not replacing it.

Issues? Well, except for one, EVERY mail order has been wrong. Or significantly delayed. My first order took about 3 months to arrive for just basic parts. Received wrong harnesses, restocked pitman arm missing parts, restocked and incorrect steering box, bent wheel. Throw into the mix, the out of state title that was signed in the wrong spot, getting the title mailed to the sellers mother in South Dakota to get it signed, etc, etc. It hasn't been the easiest road so far, but hopefully it ends up worth it. My son really likes it and every time I fire it up, he comes out and jumps in. My project cars tend to live a three year life span in my care...we shall see how long this one lasts.

TL;DR I bought a Mustang a year ago, fixed it up some, and haven't sold it yet.

A month or so ago, I decided that I needed a father/son outing. I had never been to the Shelby Museum in Boulder, so that seemed like a good destination. Of course, after we returned home, he broke out the Ford GTs and GT40 Hot Wheels cars we have, played Forza Motorsports, and asked if we could watch Ford vs Ferrari that night. One of the employees at the museum mentioned the movie. He held it together in front of me when Ken Miles died, but LOST it when he went to tell mom goodnight.

Anyway, we've made some future car plans, the Denver Auto Show at the end of March, and potentially a trip to Mecum in April.

@dr-zoidberg I'm right there with you on the Cruiser. I briefly debated a 4Runner for new Cruiser swap, and vowing to keep the Cruiser forever...but I could not fathom spending that much on a vehicle. There's also the keeping it forever part, too.

On a smaller scale, I'd sworn I'd never buy a leaf blower. My mother in law bought me one for Christmas last year, so while I now appreciate my leaf blower, I still haven't spent money on one!

@adamftw So far, so good. It really feels like 4Runner+. Quite honestly, my main dislike is the running boards. While my wife and son using them getting in and out, I have to step out over them when I get out. I'd love to swap them out for some Prado rocker panels.

I actually like the swing out rear door. The main issue I can see with it is street parking, and folks parking too close to the rear where you can't fully open the door. Thankfully, I don't park in congested area terribly often.

@jminer While I was waiting for one to show up closer to what I wanted to pay, I seriously considered going with a newer model for closer to the equity I had in the 4Runner, and just making closer to an even swap.

Right when I made the decision to keep the 4Runner, the dealership called the following morning that they just had a GX come in.

@saracen I have a buddy that got out of his diesel and into a Wrangler. He did well on his truck, too.

@davesaddiction 100k equates to 8-10 years. Hmm. I think it's doable for the truck, not sure it's doable for me.

One negative to the inflated price I was paid for the 4Runner, was the mildly inflated price paid on the GX460. Now, was it really that bad? I paid $21k for a vehicle with 128k miles on it, and a full, complete service history. The longest stretch without a routine dealer visit between Sept 2010 and now is 7500 miles.

Anyway, if you just slide the scale for the 4Runner to "realistic price" to, say, 80% of MSRP (not price I paid), we're at $33,120. 12 months or so ago, that was pretty much a typical offer for my 4Runner. This year, I received $41,200, and paid $21,359 (yeah, numbers are weird) for the GX. If I were to net the same difference from that $33,120 from a year ago, that would mean a purchase price on the GX of $13,279. No way could I have found a 2011 GX 12 months ago, nearly regardless of miles, for under $14k. At least not in CO. The lowest price I can find nationwide right now is $16k for a base model with 205k on it. There are none within 500 miles of me for under $20k, regardless of mileage. So that extra year of driving the 4Runner was well worth it.

Ultimately, could I have found a better price on a GX? Maybe. I do wonder if the market will correct itself anytime soon on the whacky used car pricing, especially for Toyotas.

@just-jeepin

SUV!

@exage03040 I'll take the GTO, despite being a little nervous that there are no chassis pics.

@racinbob I'd say anyone that drives one is acutely aware that they are not as safe as modern counterparts.

@baconsandwich I have so many little small containers and was just contemplating how to deal with fasteners this weekend. Those case @HammerheadFistpunch posted look like they may be the ticket for me. I’d also help with what I consider the “junk drawer” of the rolling toolbox.