I'm fixing her. She'll be even more a frankenstein than before.

"NKato" (NKato) 10/21/2018 at 02:11 • Filed to: Killer Queen

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When I got her, her engine had already been replaced by the previous owner. Then her ECM acted up. Grabbed that off the donor car the engine came from. Then her rear axle exploded. I replaced it. Today, it has only about 5,000 miles on it. Then along comes dip-ass in an SUV with a trailer that’s wide. Crunch goes the left front, tie rod snaps. I had just gotten those replaced during the tire service.

I went to the junkyards on Friday, scrounging up parts in the Pierce County area. I’ve spent about $200 so far. Got a nice-condition bumper frame, and a header panel from a 2000 Crown Victoria LX. Color might not be a perfect match, though.

All that’s left now is getting a bumper cover and a salvaged fender. I’m planning on calling a few junkyards around the Oregon-Washington border, they’ve got a couple in Silver.

Game plan is to get the tie rod replaced, pull off the old, damaged bumper cover, and put on the new bumper assembly. Then asking the body shop it’s at to measure the frame if at all possible.

Then I’m going to complete the repairs by replacing the fender and header panel. Going to have to get a new corner light, too. Left headlight looks like it can still be used, the impact only knocked one of the bulbs out of the housing.

So right now, game plan is to keep the Queen. Her financial value has diminished quite a bit, but she should still be road-worthy once I’ve had the tie rod replaced. Going to ask the boys at Chevy of Everett to give her a thorough suspension check while I have them change the brake fluids.

In the meantime, I am watching an auction in Connecticut, waiting for it to start. There’s a very nice 2011 Crown Vic with half the miles as the Queen, and in slate gray paint. I’m going to see if I can land that car, and get it shipped here.

If not, the Queen will be on daily-driver service until I make a decision on what to do. Source another Vic, or start looking at other cars. I’ve been also looking at the Ford Taurus Interceptor, the V6 non-turbo with the AWD option, for example. There’s a metric fuckton of them in Illinois. And they rarely sell for above $13000.

That’s not bad. Downside is, I’d have to take out an auto loan to get the Taurus, while the Crown Vic in CT would just about deplete nearly all my surplus money (including the insurance settlement). And I’d been trying to save up, too, so I could try to get a house.

Life is an asshole. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . I’m seriously considering quitting this state for good. It’s not worth the burden to stay here for much longer. The regressive taxes make financial mobility for the lower income brackets impossible .

So, yeah. Life is an asshole, but I can be a bigger asshole if that’s what the world wants -- but I refuse to indulge in their madness.

Tristan > NKato 10/21/2018 at 03:48

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You live in the PNW, where cars don’t age. Illinois and Connecticut are the land of rusty shitboxes. Don’t buy a car from the land of rusty shitboxes.

pip bip - choose Corrour > NKato 10/21/2018 at 04:40

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good luck fixing it

CB > NKato 10/21/2018 at 05:24

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Best of luck fixing it.

If you're going for used cop cars, why not a Charger? The Taurus is pretty cramped.

TheRealBicycleBuck > NKato 10/21/2018 at 06:50

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I hope that it’s only a tie-rod. When I was side-swiped, the rear wheel took a big hit. At first, they thought the wheel and tire took most of the damage. After they straightened everything out, they discovered that the suspension no longer lined up with the mounting points.

shop-teacher > Tristan 10/21/2018 at 09:16

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Yeah, Illinois resident, trust us on this. Here are the remains of my 12 year old brake lines, after one of them blew . Not pictured is the even crustier also leaking trans cooler lines. And the rocker panels on my poor truck are dissolving fast. You won't believe how crusty the bottom of this Taurus's will be.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > NKato 10/21/2018 at 09:45

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Sure, blame the guy with the trailer. Not the person that didn’t check and hit the trailer.

Would you have the same response if you didn’t see a bike for being exactly where they are allowed to be?

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > NKato 10/21/2018 at 10:38

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On the bumper cover, unless you find a good one in the wrecking yard in the matching color, you might be better off buying a new one and having it sprayed the right color . Aftermarket plastic bumper covers are often pretty cheap, and I’d be surprised if a body supply shop in the area charged more than a $100 or $200 for one.

Paint prep on used bumpers, especially the front where they are full of rock chips, isn’t fun. Doing the job right via spraying some adhesion promoter and then laying color and clear with some flex additive mixed in on a new bumper can be cheaper than the added labor of properly prepping a used one. Trying to fill and/or sand out rock chips takes a lot time, and then you still have to all the prep and painting.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > NKato 10/21/2018 at 10:39

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“I’ve been also looking at the Ford Taurus Interceptor, the V6 non-turbo with the AWD option, for example.”

Why do you like such awful cars?  

Spaceball-Two > NKato 10/21/2018 at 11:04

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James G Murphy auction house in Kenmore has ton of Vic’s. You might contact them

NKato > Spaceball-Two 10/21/2018 at 13:29

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I’m aware, but they do not do buyouts. The next auction is in December. A friend and I are going to jointly bid for a 2008 Vic and likely part it out. Depends on its condition. 

NKato > Tristan 10/21/2018 at 13:32

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 The car I'm looking at did not get driven much in the winter. The department it was with often switched to their Tahoes. Had a friend inspect it, and it's worth some money even at 58000 miles.

NKato > shop-teacher 10/21/2018 at 13:33

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 The dealership I'm looking at imports cars from across the country. Not all of them are from the rust belt. 

NKato > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 10/21/2018 at 13:33

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Hey, fuck you.

I saw the SUV, not the damn trailer. 

NKato > CB 10/21/2018 at 13:35

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 Thinking about it. But my mother hates the Charger. Door dinged her in the eye. Plus, blind spot visibility is atrocious because of the b and c pillar placement. 

NKato > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 10/21/2018 at 13:36

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Goal right now is getting the car roadworthy. Getting the Damaged components swapped is Priority. The color matching comes later.

NKato > TheRealBicycleBuck 10/21/2018 at 13:39

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Your hit is different from mine, tho. I had my wheels at hard left and the car was angled 30 to 45 degrees out of parking.

The tire and lip of the wheel took the hit from the trailer fender. If there’s any suspension damage, it’ll be limited to the control arms and hub.

NKato > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 10/21/2018 at 13:40

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Because your tastes differ from mime,  and I don't routinely insult other people's tastes? 

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > NKato 10/21/2018 at 13:41

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That is your fault, not his. 

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > NKato 10/21/2018 at 13:42

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The current-gen Taurus is just a terrible vehicle. Possible exception made for the SHO which manages to be fast, but still incredibly dull, cramped, and poorly built.

NKato > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 10/21/2018 at 13:44

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This isn’t an appropriate conversation. We all tell everyone else to never admit fault in an n accident and now you’re blaming me when I want to move on and focus on the future?

I’d say you’re being quite an asshole. Go away. I don’t need the stress.

As to the matter of fault, I ’m leaving that up to insurance.

CB > NKato 10/21/2018 at 13:55

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I mean, it’s your car, not hers.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > NKato 10/21/2018 at 13:56

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Are you too daft to understand that you are admitting fault when you said you didn’t see the trailer? I’m sure the guy local to me that shot a fucking sign and hit a bystander on the other sign didn’t see him on his porch, but that doesn’t remove fault. 

shop-teacher > NKato 10/21/2018 at 14:04

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Ok, just be careful. You don't want one of our rust buckets.

NKato > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 10/21/2018 at 14:12

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The trailer was low, wide, and black. No reflectors. And the driver said this had happened 3 times prior to this. This was in SEATTLE. The roads are cramped.

Even If it might be my fault, I would question the idea of having a wide trailer in a historic district when the driver had a history of prior accidents with it.

Moreover, he was also not from Seattle. That means our unfamiliarity with Seattle’s roads played a role in this.

The more you drag this conversation out, the less sensitive you are being. This was my first accident, and it has already taken a toll on my nerves. Quit being an ass.

NKato > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 10/21/2018 at 14:16

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S eriously I keep telling you to drop it. It’s in the fucking past, and the accident keeps haunting me in my sleep. Fuck you for insisting I’m at fault when I’ve asked you to stop bringing it up. You are incredibly insensitive. 

NKato > shop-teacher 10/21/2018 at 14:17

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I know. I just talked to the guy that inspected the crown Vic in CT.  He says it's one of the cleanest in the auction lot. Barely any rust. 

NKato > CB 10/21/2018 at 14:20

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 true, but after the accident I'd prefer to have blind spot visibility.

CB > NKato 10/21/2018 at 14:28

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Correctly positioned mirrors and being cautious will help with your blind spots (speaking as a guy who drives a vehicle with atrocious rear visibility for work).

NKato > CB 10/21/2018 at 14:29

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Yup.

shop-teacher > NKato 10/21/2018 at 14:57

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You need to understand, those of us who live in the rust belt have a very different idea about what constitutes, "barely any rust," than what you're used to dealing with in the PNW.

NKato > shop-teacher 10/21/2018 at 15:13

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I’m aware. But if the car is in good enough condition, wouldn’t it be a good idea to rescue it from the eventual Rust of Doom? If I move a low-mileage Crown Vic (for the norm, average liquidation is at 150k) out of the rust belt to the PNW, it would save the car and have it last a whole lot longer than it would have in CT.

shop-teacher > NKato 10/21/2018 at 15:40

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Doesn't really work that way. Once the rust starts, there's no stopping it.