What do I do?!

[Sonic04GT]

Basically, I only got back $1,000 in taxes this year. Got out of the military late last year and have been unemployed since, collecting unemployment for the last few months. Starting school in April hopefully, paid for by the Army more than likely, which also provides $1500 a month for expenses while in school. I have a good savings, which I don't want to touch unless I can really convince myself, and I'm not exactly tight on money in my checking but I don't have a good regular income and I definitely need to be smart about purchases. I have maybe $1500 to work with on the car, and that's kind of pushing it, without touching savings.

My front bumper looks pretty crappy from highway driving as does a lot of the front of my hood. Very tiny chips all over. Hood isn't TOO bad but up close the front bumper looks dull and chipped.

I have wanted cams for a long time. I'm excited about the new lopey exhaust, finally breaking 300hp (hopefully) and making it into the 12's (hopefully) but this will cost nearly $1500 with tuning, labor, valve springs, etc. maybe more.

On top of that, my girlfriend and my buddy's GF (they're still at Fort Hood and we live in FL) are coming down to stay with us for a couple weeks so I'm sure I'll end up spending some money during the visit.

So...should I just take care of the cosmetic stuff first and and deal with cams another time, like once I start school and find work? Or just say screw it, do the cams, I've wanted it forever.

I know the "smart" decision would be the former.

 

[N8Dogg98]

Neither, my advice is to dump your money in savings. If/when you land another job and have a steady income again you can then take that money from savings and buy some cams. Who cares about some rock chips anyways. If you drive your car on a regular basis it's never going to have anything better than 10' paint unless you meticulously detail it on a regular basis, use the 2 bucket wash method with grit guards, and either buy and have a 3M clear bra installed or don't drive it on the highway/behind anyone ever again.

If you must do one, buy the cams. You rarely see the front of your car and most of your time is spent driving it. May as well spend your money where you will enjoy it most...behind the wheel.

 

[Sonic04GT]

Neither, my advice is to dump your money in savings. If/when you land another job and have a steady income again you can then take that money from savings and buy some cams. Who cares about some rock chips anyways. If you drive your car on a regular basis it's never going to have anything better than 10' paint unless you meticulously detail it on a regular basis, use the 2 bucket wash method with grit guards, and either buy and have a 3M clear bra installed or don't drive it on the highway/behind anyone ever again.

If you must do one, buy the cams. You rarely see the front of your car and most of your time is spent driving it. May as well spend your money where you will enjoy it most...behind the wheel.

I try to be very meticulous with my car, which is why the bumper bothers me. (not as meticulous as the procedures you mentioned above) I don't drive on the highway that much anymore though. Did every day while I was in TX. The previous owner had a front plate installed so my bumper has the 2 holes and some minor wear down to the primer from the outline of the plate.

However, you make a good point. Should probably just take it easy, at least get my control arms installed, and the WB A/F that have been in my closet a while, then deal with the rest another time.

 

[Sonic04GT]

Actually here's a pic of the bumper, recently.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm142/thealmightyhubbard/IMG_1076.jpg

 

[007]

Actually here's a pic of the bumper, recently.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm142/thealmightyhubbard/IMG_1076.jpg

If I were in your situation I wouldn't spend money on the car.

But anyway, mine looked just like that. Beat up. Chin spoiler. I did this:

 

[N8Dogg98]

I try to be very meticulous with my car, which is why the bumper bothers me. (not as meticulous as the procedures you mentioned above) I don't drive on the highway that much anymore though. Did every day while I was in TX. The previous owner had a front plate installed so my bumper has the 2 holes and some minor wear down to the primer from the outline of the plate.

However, you make a good point. Should probably just take it easy, at least get my control arms installed, and the WB A/F that have been in my closet a while, then deal with the rest another time.

That's my point. You can hardly tell you have pits in the bumper from 10' away, and you'll kill yourself trying to get your car to be showroom quality while driving it on a regular basis.

Some of the forum members on Autopia have had great luck/results with this stuff:

Dr.ColorChip Custom Automotive Touch-Up Paint Kit - Dr. ColorChip: Automotive Paint Chip Repair Systems

Might be worth the small investment

 

[Kdubslugga]

HAHA, sorry saw the headline to the post, immediatley thought of Lebron James" stupid commercial. "What should i do"?

 

[Crzyhrse]

Got out of the military late last year and have been unemployed since, collecting unemployment for the last few months.

You can collect unemployment after military service?

 

[PULMEOVR]

I would wait until you secure stable employment before you spend any money on the cosmetics of your car. I hear you about the bumper bugging you though. Mine is chipped up as well and I can't wait to have it painted ($800 though!!!!). I'm trying to find a place that sells painted 03-04 Cobra bumpers. No luck so far, besides some sketch places on EBAY.

 

[Rejekt]

Screw it, get the cams if you want them. Only live once.

 

[007]

Mine is chipped up as well and I can't wait to have it painted ($800 though!!!!).

Thats nuts, dude. I paid $300 for the wing and nose to get painted. Look great too. You need to shop around!

 

[PULMEOVR]

Thats nuts, dude. I paid $300 for the wing and nose to get painted. Look great too. You need to shop around!

I've gotten quotes at 4 different shops around town and they are all similarly priced. I think it's more-less a Canada thing in that pretty much everything up here is much more expensive than the US. $1,000 in mods goes MUCH farther in the US than it does in Canada.

 

[Coyote5.0]

Personally, I would not put anything that's not totally necessary into a car until I had a steady income. If you spend the money and end up having financial hardship, you won't be able to enjoy the car anyway. I also wouldn't do major power upgrades that might affect the durability of the car at a time when you can ill afford any unexpected breakdowns.

Also, don't worry about the small paint chips. They actually don't look that bad, and probably aren't noticeable except from really close. If it's a daily driver, those small nicks aren't blemishes, their battle scars that prove the car can and has been driven. (At least that's the way I've always thought of it).

 

[Sonic04GT]

I thought about a new bumper but I kind of like my Mach-1 wannabe front haha I'll check out that chip repair and contact my detailer, thanks for the link!

Thanks for the information guys, I'll probably just hold off for the time being, especially being a daily driver. Can't afford for something to go wrong. Well, I can afford it but I would be upset pulling money out of savings for repairs, but it's not like I'd be stranded.

As for paint, my detailer dropped his Honda off at Maaco recently and said they actually did a good job. Probably less than $300 to re-paint the front, hence why I was considering it.

As for collecting unemployment, I wasn't sure but my uncle works for the VA and said I could so I gave it a shot and 2 weeks later I was receiving direct deposit. Just had to send them my DD-214. Was a breeze. Seems they tax the hell out of it though.

 

[RedDaemon]

sorry about your bumper. i know how it is. mine was terrible until i got it repainted. if you decide to get the bumper repainted i would suggest getting a clear 3M mask to go over top of the fresh paint. it will protect it from road rash.

i have one on my car. i paid $115 bucks of it and installed it myself in a few hours. its been on my car for about 6 months now. i am so happy i bought it.

 

[PULMEOVR]

sorry about your bumper. i know how it is. mine was terrible until i got it repainted. if you decide to get the bumper repainted i would suggest getting a clear 3M mask to go over top of the fresh paint. it will protect it from road rash.

i have one on my car. i paid $115 bucks of it and installed it myself in a few hours. its been on my car for about 6 months now. i am so happy i bought it.

Can you give me more info? Is it easy to apply? Does it stop rock chips from damaging the paint? Is the mask noticeable? Any pics?

Thanks!

 

[RedDaemon]

Can you give me more info? Is it easy to apply? Does it stop rock chips from damaging the paint? Is the mask noticeable? Any pics?

Thanks!

Sorry i've been away watching Fringe and catching up with Outsourced

Correction. My clearmask has been on my car since last April. So thats been 10 months.

Anyway, I purchased a clear bra mask from clearmask.com. The mask is virtually invisible. I applied it myself and it was the first time I have attempted anything like it.

The mask protects from all rock chips. It is very resilient. It is perfectly clear and has not tinted (yellowing) in any way. It is easy to manage. You can wash/wax it like your normal paint. I probably would stick to hand application if performing any wax job.

For someone (me) who isn't experienced with this sort of thing had a somewhat difficult time applying the mask. I had the help of my dad and at the time, my girlfriend. The mask comes in one large piece. It is manufactured to be cut on the small side. The reason for this is the method to apply the mask is to fasten down the middle and stretch it outwards to the side to make it fit. If I were to do this again I would most definitely cut it up into three pieces from the get-go. During installation I had to cut it up because it was just not fitting right (which is because i am not an expert, not a fault of the design). It would have gone a lot more smoothly had I cut it up sooner.

I am under the impression that they are to last at least 5 years. How to get them off I really haven't looked in to it. I am sure its some sort of heat source.

Pictures...let me try to see if I have any. I know I have one from when I was in the process of installing it. You can see how the mask comes in this picture. The white is just a backing that the clear mask adheres to for protection and shipping purposes. As you can see I am removing the mask from that backing:

As I said before, it was a pain but I would certainly do it again. All of the highway driving I have put on the car has made it worthwhile many times over.

I will try finding pictures of my car with it on

I dont have any super close up shots but I did find this one. This picture has the mask installed on the front bumper. This was taken with my crappy 28-135mm lens:

I have a 50mm prime now so when its a nice day ill go out and take a close up if youd like

Side note:
I just went to their website and apparently they don't have 99-04 Mustang GT products in stock right now. I am going to send them an email about that as I would definitely like to purchase some more for future use.

 

[Sonic04GT]

Good info! Looking forward to seeing pics of it on your car.

 

[txredgt]

Sorry i've been away watching Fringe and catching up with Outsourced

Correction. My clearmask has been on my car since last April. So thats been 10 months.

Anyway, I purchased a clear bra mask from clearmask.com. The mask is virtually invisible. I applied it myself and it was the first time I have attempted anything like it.

The mask protects from all rock chips. It is very resilient. It is perfectly clear and has not tinted (yellowing) in any way. It is easy to manage. You can wash/wax it like your normal paint. I probably would stick to hand application if performing any wax job.

For someone (me) who isn't experienced with this sort of thing had a somewhat difficult time applying the mask. I had the help of my dad and at the time, my girlfriend. The mask comes in one large piece. It is manufactured to be cut on the small side. The reason for this is the method to apply the mask is to fasten down the middle and stretch it outwards to the side to make it fit. If I were to do this again I would most definitely cut it up into three pieces from the get-go. During installation I had to cut it up because it was just not fitting right (which is because i am not an expert, not a fault of the design). It would have gone a lot more smoothly had I cut it up sooner.

I am under the impression that they are to last at least 5 years. How to get them off I really haven't looked in to it. I am sure its some sort of heat source.

Pictures...let me try to see if I have any. I know I have one from when I was in the process of installing it. You can see how the mask comes in this picture. The white is just a backing that the clear mask adheres to for protection and shipping purposes. As you can see I am removing the mask from that backing:

As I said before, it was a pain but I would certainly do it again. All of the highway driving I have put on the car has made it worthwhile many times over.

I will try finding pictures of my car with it on


Side note:
I just went to their website and apparently they don't have 99-04 Mustang GT products in stock right now. I am going to send them an email about that as I would definitely like to purchase some more for future use.

Also a side note to yours: I have found out at least for me now mine would be a 'custom' piece and basically they would take a huge roll and cut it to match my bumper. Stock ones have the cutouts just like in the picture but if it isn't a GT/V6 bumper I doubt they will have an exact fit. Maybe Cobra but it might be a stretch.

 

[RedDaemon]

Heres a photoshop i did a while back depicting the different sections that I ended up cutting it into. Where the colors end are pretty much where the actual mask ends. it does not cover the entire bumper. it simply protects from head on debris:

Theres a top and bottom piece with 2 pieces that go in towards the fog lights.