Car tried to kill me yesterday. Electrical pattern.

[Butch]

What Guy forgets to mention is, the entire wiring harness was soaked in oil for years due to oil leaks. The starter signal wire has NO insulation left on it !!!!!! I moused it in 2009 and told him it NEEDS to be replaced. It's turly amasing the car hasn't burnt to the ground by now. I found at least a half dozen harness's in the yards but he refuses to buy one. He claims no one can fix K car electrical problems, BUT me and several SoCAl SDAC members have COMPLETELY rewired EVERYTHING under our hoods. All this CRAP about mechanics not being able the fix K car stems from an inability to acept the TRUE nature of his problems ( mainly the ones in his head ). Funny thing Guy, the kids Lebaron has been running FLAWLESSLY for 10 mos. now and EVERYTHING works on the car. What is really sad is that people try to help him but IT'S JUST A WASTE OF THEIR TIME.

[89ARIES]

Butch, you are 100% wrong, and your motives are questionable to me. And, none of you SDAC guys that I have seen to date, with the exception of a few, are willing
to help anyone with their car. But it sure is easier for you and the other people to poke fun. Now, I do thank you for letting me know my car is about explode. A lot of help that does me.

[MyDodgeDip]

I've been driving 20+ year old cars for years with no problems. Just because it's old doesn't mean it needs to be retired. I daily drove a 72 coronet for a while a couple years back, no problem. If you maintain a car of any age and do the repairs that it needs it will run forever. Being beyond economical repair is the only thing that kills cars.

[Pete in NH]

A question I have to ask- does this thread really promote the objectives of the club in presenting K cars as reliable well engineered cars worthy of preservation. I can’t help but wonder what a casual visitor interested in K cars would think after reading several threads in this section. Would they come away thinking K cars are dangerous, poorly made deathtraps? If the stated aim of this club is to preserve these cars perhaps it would be best to be careful of how they are talked about and presented. Guy, as President of the club you are the club’s number one representative, how do you think it looks to have you talk about your car in the terms you do? Your car represents all K cars to the people you meet, shouldn’t it be in really good condition? There are people here willing to help you make it so.

[K-CAR_WAGON]

Just because it's old doesn't mean it needs to be retired. If you maintain a car of any age and do the repairs that it needs it will run forever. Being beyond economical repair is the only thing that kills cars.

However, if you don't do at least the basic repair items yourself, it can quickly become uneconomical to keep an old car running (especially if you are not getting good value from the services of your selected mechanic). At some point it does not make financial sense to keep dumping money into a high mileage K car as a daily driver with a growing list of problems when there are much better alternatives (a lower mileage K car that is not worn out or an equivalent K-car derivative from the 90's (like a Spirit/Acclaim/New Yorker - which are widely still available in great condition with low mileage for very reasonable prices.)

[MyDodgeDip]

Just because it's old doesn't mean it needs to be retired. If you maintain a car of any age and do the repairs that it needs it will run forever. Being beyond economical repair is the only thing that kills cars.

However, if you don't do at least the basic repair items yourself, it can quickly become uneconomical to keep an old car running (especially if you are not getting good value from the services of your selected mechanic). At some point it does not make financial sense to keep dumping money into a high mileage K car as a daily driver with a growing list of problems when there are much better alternatives (a lower mileage K car that is not worn out or an equivalent K-car derivative from the 90's (like a Spirit/Acclaim/New Yorker - which are widely still available in great condition with low mileage for very reasonable prices.)

Agreed 100%, just commenting on the "cars should be retired from daily use just because they're old" part.

Guy could have saved 3 or 4 nicer, rarer K cars at this point with the money he's dumped into this one that still doesn't run right. Heck, with the money dumped into that Toyota he could have had a fleet. Speaking from experience here, you just can't save them all. Trust me, I've tried.

[89ARIES]

Well, I always changed the oil. Its not my fault the electrical stuff decided to take a dump. Butch said its because oil got on it. Some now I am looking at investing $200-400 to get wiring harnesses mailed to me
so I can perhaps install it and see if that smooths out the ride. If it wasn't for the electrical problem, I would say the engine still has very good compression and smooth take off for almost 200,000 miles.