It’s well-established on The Autopian that my life has changed a lot over the past 30 months. In 2023, I was single and had nothing but time, but now I have a family to look after and an increasingly-complex business to run. Caught in the midst of this transition are a bunch of amazing vehicles that I simply no longer have time for. So it’s time to make some changes to my fleet, and my newest plan is… a bit convoluted, but possibly ingenious.
OK, so it makes sense to start with a list of vehicles I currently own.
First, I own this Nash Metropolitan:
I also own this 1985 Jeep J10
I own this 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee five-speed:
That ZJ Grand Cherokee is a bit of a project, so alongside it I have this parts Jeep:
I also have my brother’s 1966 Ford Mustang:
Plus I own a BMW i3S:
And I own a 1989 Chevy k1500 pickup truck:
Plus I have a 1991 Jeep Wrangler YJ:
Back in Michigan, I have a Jeep Cherokee XJ that once looked like this:
And in Germany, I have a diesel, manual Chrysler minivan:
My goodness. How do I still have 10 cars?! I just sold my Willys CJ-3B! Anyway, this is all a bit… much. But the good news is: I have a plan.
The Plan Is A Bit Complicated, But It Might Just Work
First off, I’m giving the Nash away as soon as I find the right home, and the diesel, manual Chrysler minivan is basically my parents’ at this point. Should they decide to sell it, they can. My first car, my XJ, will remain in Michigan for a bit. And my BMW i3S is my daily driver; I have no plans to get rid of it. My 1991 Jeep YJ was my wedding vehicle, and it’s the ideal convertible for SoCal, so it’s sticking around, too. I have to keep my brother’s Mustang, as well.
As for the others… well, the J10 — after 10 years under my ownership — finally has to go. I won’t be happy with it until its minor rust is fixed and it’s repainted, and that’s expensive; what’s more, the J10 will never pass California emissions. And, as I’ve found that it is almost completely worthless in California due to it having minor rust, I’ve decided I’m going to ship it to Michigan.
That’s right; I’m planning to pay $1500 to ship my J10 to Michigan to see if the value delta between the rust-belt and here is enough to actually net me a significant profit. Stay tuned.
My bbeloved 1989 Chevy K1500 350 5-speed is probably going to be sold. Part of me likes that it can seat five and that it can tow, and it’s comfortable as heck for a truck, but I’m not a Chevy truck man. And so that leaves me truckless — a problem that I will remedy with the purchase of another pickup. I have already committed to my J10’s/K1500’s replacement; I’ll let you guess what that is in the comments. Hint: It’s extremely cool.
As for my two Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJs? I’m debating replacing both of them with an already-running and driving ZJ. Is it worth spending 5 big-ones on a beautiful Jeep that’s done versus me building the ultimate overlanding vehicle? I’ve amassed years worth of parts for that project, which — with its crank windows and manual locks — really is the ultimate overlanding budget-Jeep. And speaking of money: I paid basically nothing for that red ZJ, plus my kittens were born in it.
Should I keep it and hope I can someday finish the epic project, or should I buy a minty fresh one that unfortunately has power windows and locks, but at least runs and drives today? It’s not that I really need a running, driving ZJ to get around, so maybe keeping the immobile hulk for a while isn’t the end of the world… so long as I can convince my wife that we can store it in our driveway (this is proving difficult).
So that’s the plan right now. I’m keeping:
- i3
- Mustang
- YJ
- [New truck that I’m buying]
- Either my ZJ project or that new $5000 ZJ
- My original XJ (stored in Michigan for the foreseeable future)
On the chopping block are the K1500, J10, Nash, and maybe the two ZJs to be replaced by the minty one.
A logical man would just get rid of the ZJs and not replace them, but I’m obsessed with manual Grand Cherokees, so that’s just a step too far for me at the moment.
Expect news on my exciting new truck soon, and on whether shipping my J10 to Michigan made sense or was a giant blunder. Oh, and expect news on what I’ll do regarding the manual ZJs… I remain torn.
I knew you’d come around on the J10. Sensible plan. Personally I would save myself some cash and keep the k1500. It’s a truck that does truck things. But that’s just me.
Has anyone ever seen David Tracy and Homer Simpson in the same room together?
“I have already committed to my J10’s/K1500’s replacement; I’ll let you guess what that is in the comments. Hint: It’s extremely cool.”
The obvious answer here is the 454SS.
…So, you’re replacing a GMT400 with another GMT400?
Better idea than shipping the J10: have a contest to let (LOL) an Autopian drive it to Michigan for you. For fuel cost, or whatever. And they have to write a story about it.
I will happily write an article about the regrettable life decisions that have brought both myself and DT to this point.Give me gas money and coffee money and I’ll do it. I am not joking. I work in IT, the prospect of taking a few days off and driving a shit-tier pickup across the country sounds like heaven compared to a meeting about how long we can hold off on upgrading solidworks.
I think the mentioned $1500 for shipping IS the fuel cost. /S/
It’s probably below actual fuel cost! But then that money would go towards, you know, helping the business.
Regarding California cars, a rusty vehicle there is a rolling anti-theft device.
The great detective series, Harry O, preceded Garner’s Rockford Files and his shiny cars.
Harry Orwell drove a British roadster in primer grey, that mostly didn’t run at all, and was once stripped in minutes, in broad daylight.
An accurate depiction of crime in a TV series, for once.
The reliability of his car was a major plot point in the stories, resulting in mass transit or cab pursuits.
You don’t have to do what everyone else does in California.
Cars on pause is not an issue, if you minimize costs.
I think everyone should own a light trailer with a good suspension that can be pulled by any vehicle.
I have a proper pickup now, and the luxury of having it loaded to the top with concrete, but still able to tow or go up steep hills is a good thing.
It is a bit modified.
Deja Vu. These articles make me realize my own paralysis by analysis is nowhere near as bad as it could be.
I don’t know how in the hell you handled it this long. I’ve got four cars at my house and a trailer at my parents’ house, and it’s actually driving me nuts.
Seriously. I’ve got one car at the moment and plan to buy another, and the thought of two cars alone is stressing me out.
I have two at the moment, while I wait for the relative I promised my old G37x to to get her driver’s license. Having two cars is a pain in the ass. It might be a little better if my driveway & garage allowed three cars (my Elise has a car too) random access, but now I have to shuffle the cars once or twice a week. The administrative overhead is also a pain. And cars need to be driven so as to not disintegrate sitting in place – I try to drive a few miles each week or two on both cars – I can only imagine that David’s cars do not move enough to keep them healthy.
Exactly. I’m always looking for a second car, but when I really find one, I imagine the insurance cost, parts and fuel (these ones I could live with) and the fact that they need space. But none of this compares to the fact that I just can’t stand the thought of leaving my original car parked for long. So I never actually get a second one.
Constant stress.
How much do you want for the J10? I can fly out and road trip it back home. It’ll save you $1500 and I get a new (to me) Jeep. It’s a win/win.
It’s in Michigan for sale right now! See marketplace.
Why? what is stressful? Maintenance? occasional license renewal? Or are they all projects waiting for money? I have a bunch(8 cars/trucks and 2 motorcycles), all run, though I do want to upgrade a few to Fuel injection as money frees itself up. Most of them just need an annual oil change and a tank of gas to be driven out of them every couple of months or so. they are paid for and parts so far have not been prohibitively expensive, though a few of the older rarer things are changing in that regard.
Well, I can only drive one at a time, three of them are mine, I’m only supposed to have two at the house per my lease, and at any given moment all of them need “something”.
Right now?
2008 Kia Rondo (my daily) needs transmission work and inner tie rod ends. The transmission shifts perfectly, but whines slightly on cold start and the torque converter clutch doesn’t stay engaged, resulting in a P0741. Fresh fluid and a new torque converter solenoid didn’t fix it, so now I’m tracking down all of the parts to rebuild an A5GF1 transmission. Kia’s no help (they still have the remanufactured transmission listed on various dealer parts websites for less than the cost of rebuilding components, but no availability), and as it’s such a niche car, finding all of the parts isn’t a one-stop affair. Other than that, it’s freaking mint and runs and drives like new. I’m driving it 112+ miles a day (even drove it to work this morning).
My 1996 GMC Sonoma (former daily, current project and work truck) needs a full transmission rebuild (2/4 band is trashed, but it drives great so long as you get through 2nd quickly and keep it out of overdrive). All of the parts to rebuild it were purchased over a year ago, I just keep needing to use the truck for this errand or that one (including towing the next car on the list back and forth to the shop I work at). It also has a big exhaust leak where a stud broke before the 2nd cat, but I don’t really care about that so much, as it actually quieted the exhaust slightly over the Flowmaster exhaust a previous owner installed.
The 2011 Mazda3 parked at my house was never supposed to be there. I bought it from a song off of a regular customer after he blew the engine. I had it parked at the shop waiting on the funds for a salvage engine when some asshole smashed the driver’s window so they could pop the hood and steal the front bumper. After that, I towed it to the house with the Sonoma, then back to the shop after I acquired an engine, then back to the house, where it sits, waiting on the funding to get it registered and plated since work at the shop has slowed to a crawl (already installed all new front bumper parts and painted them).
The 2013 Honda Civic is the fiancee’s daily. Right now it needs 1 wheel stud and for me to finish fixing the peeling clearcoat on the roof (I was sanding it with 600 grit when an emergency came up, and other than hitting it with a quick coat of spray wax to protect it from further damage, the next day, I haven’t had a chance to get back to it).
Finally, a plan that makes sense! I just hope I don’t read another “I have too many cars, help” story a month from now ;). In all seriousness, this is a good plan.
You must be new around here.
LOL, not new at all. I realize David will likely get rid of one car (prob the chevy truck, because it’s the only one that he should probably keep), buy two more, and we’ll have another column “I need to thin my fleet of 11 cars” in a couple months.
An extremely cool (in David’s eyes) pickup…is Project Cactus coming stateside?
The question is simple, though the answer may not be. What do you treasure the most about owning the ZJs? Is it the useable vehicle or the project and process of building?
If you treasure the driving and using of them, sell yours buy something. If you treasure the project, then keep the project. I prefer the build, owning cars after is just gravy. But I can sell the cars to start a new project because the project is what I actually treasure the most.
You have seen many comments over the years about how the garage is how many of us maintain sanity. Those comments are not coming from single 20 somethings. Those comments come from a group of men experienced in marriage and fatherhood. You will upset your wife. Your wife will upset you. Work will be too heavy a burden. Fatherhood, and the failure you will feel yourself to be trying to do it, will drain you. You have to have a place for you to recharge from all those stressors.
If that place is driving, then sell all and buy running. If that place is building, then who cares they don’t run, what you need is the project.
It’s the building.
My humble advice:
Get rid of all the project cars. Work with your on getting your son successfully launched in life. Twenty-two years or so from now, you can re-start with the projects.
Owning this many vehicles is a mental and financial burden you don’t need right now.
Bingo. Maybe buy a project when Delmar is 15 or so (IF HE HAS INTEREST) and make it bonding experience. If his interests lie elsewhere, support them to the utmost. You must take a backseat for a few years.
Sorry… meant to say “Work with your wife…”
What is the over/under of David’s vehicle count in next year’s car reduction article?
6.5?
Is that the over/under on the number of vehicles David will own, or the over/under on the number of articles David will write about needing to reduce the number of vehicles he owns?
Yes!
Get rid of the ZJ’s now, keep your dream-spec accessories collection in storage and set about prowling California’s classifieds for a good one when you’re ready. I’ll put down some definitions that may or may not match the dictionary ones:
A good one: A car that doesn’t need anything to be fully functional. They’re out there, they exist, your holy grail is mass-produced.
Fully functional: a car that you can hand off to anyone, be it Elise (NotHerRealName) or a valet, without giving them any special instructions, and be confident that they will safely, legally and comfortably make it to their destination.
Ready: When you have the resources to have the car, and more importantly, the conditions to use it.
Resources: Time to drive/maintain the car, space to store it, money to buy/maintain it.
Conditions: Are you going to go overlanding right now, with a baby seat in the back, or leaving Delmar (NotHisRealName) at home while you disappear into the mountains for a weekend? Would the ZJ’s presence change that? How old will Delmar (NotHisRealName) be when he’s ready to accompany you on overland adventures in the YJ? Does the ZJ make that possible right now?
If you’re not ready, then having a ZJ, even a good one that is fully functional is just a waste of resources. Your conditions dictate whether you’re ready, more than anything else.
So much this – every year I get my performance bonus and start looking for a used Miata or something else fun. Then reality sets in: it needs stored, insured,etc… Better to put the money into the home and making memories, particularly when kids are young.
The issue is that there just aren’t any manual ZJs to buy. There’s one for sale right now, but banking on finding one in the future would be silly.
I understand the urge to keep it, I won’t try to deny that it’s rare, and Lockleaf makes a great point about what you want from it. I think his question is a prerequisite to my pontifications. You don’t need to justify keeping it based on difficulty of finding another, if you want to have a project, then have the project. “I want it for what it is” is plenty.
But about finding a replacement, the future is infinite. If there aren’t any for sale at the moment you start looking, one will pop up later. Years of keeping an undrivable vehicle without a doubt drains more of your resources than months of searching or waiting for one to come up, even if one appears in the wrong spec, so you pass up on it and wait for another one to show up months later, on repeat. The hunt itself is exciting, in many ways.
My point about readiness stands, though – are you ready to start working on it? If not, what will it take to be ready? Does selling the other projects put you in a position to start? Does parking your i3 outside do it? Aim to put yourself in a position where every vehicle left is one you can enjoy – whether by driving it or working on it – right now. This can be achieved by getting rid of vehicles you can’t enjoy, but also by making room in your life to enjoy the ones you’re keeping.
So here’s a mission that’s harder than selling your ZJ: Start enjoying it, as soon as possible.
So drop the powertrain from the parts ZJ and put it on the shelf for later, also keep the accessories and anything that is unusual and scrap/sell the chassis. It looks like there were more than 1.25 million ZJs made (although that includes all the models), surely in another decade or two someone will have one that isn’t beat to shit – maybe even better than new if you are willing to go to an auction.
how hard is it to convert an excellent condition auto? you have the parts for it
Then that’s a manual-swapped ZJ, not a factory manual ZJ. Not the same!
Good on you for selling the J10 and the Silverado. Do you really NEED a pickup? I do well without one, rent or borrow the 2 times a year I really need one. Get a small utility trailer for the Lexus.
You’ve been hot on the ZJ overlander project for years, but do not have the time to make any real progress. As Delmar (NHRN) grows, time will become even more valuable. Let it go.
We have dailies for myself, the wife and 20 YO daughter, plus an occasional use 3 row SUV. None new, all modern and efficient (excepting the SUV). I’m at a point where I would like a toy again, I also have no covered car storage. That means car covers, a rental garage, or so some unslightly car port.
You’re buying that International Flatbed for this morning’s showdown aren’t you? Can’t fail smog if you’re smog exempt!
Cool Truck: So David’s buying a Chevy SSR.
Why not just list them here?
You bought that Nissan Titan/Scout huh?
Hahahahhahaha.
So much effort went into that, but yet…
Is your new truck an old Studebaker E series with a 4 bt swap?
No college plan for your kid? Time to stop being one. Think long and hard again. Save the lust for your wife.
Seems like the K1500 should be used to drag the J10 back to Michigan and then sell both in that state. the k1500 is worth a bunch more considering California rust free and 4wd. Not sure if the manual is more revered up north or not, but I would certainly rather have that and I am sure plenty of youngsters looking to get into an OBS might be down to have that badge of honor under their belt.
Yeah that K150o could easily sell for 8k+ up in the rust belt. I know all the ones around me in NWI are all rusted to hell and still sell for 5k
Well he could make a few article about the trip and treat it as a work trip. They did just take a hoopty ass taxi across country hah. He could also stop by Mercedes on the way to do some hoodrat stuff with friends.
This is exactly what I was thinking as well. If it makes sense for the J10 that does have some rust, it makes even more sense for the chevy
Both would sell in minutes here in PA.
He’s gonna go the full California and get an electric truck.
Could be a slate, but that won’t deliver until late next year (at the earliest). He put a deposit on the Scout, but that’s not a truck.
Could be a Jeep Comanche, but I’m not sure that qualifies as cool enough.
Hmmmm….pickup replacement, and David thinks it is cool. It has to be something new enough to pass emissions and be rust free. Note that he says “committed,” not “bought.” What would qualify as commitment instead of just going and getting what you want? Importing. Where has David been that he had a life changing experience (that many of us absolutely loved reading about)? Austrailia. What could come from down under that would get David exited? Holden.
2000 Commodore Ute inbound.
Depends on what he wants the truck to actually do. Both the J10 and K1500 are at least on the edge of having truck like towing abilities, so the right choice for David would be something with at least 90’s level half ton towing abilities. This kind of blows out my thoughts on what he would buy, which would be a California clean later model FI Comanche https://ebay.us/m/40VaMB But that lacks extra doors and a back seat for the kid nazi’s in Cali to Karen about. SO the right answer should be a blip down to Cedar falls Iowa to trade the K1500 for this! https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/11b994f7-036c-42b5-b102-0bb88f05caf9/?aff=atempest&utm_campaign=atempest&utm_source=autotempest&utm_medium=trp&utm_campaign_id=1&utm_trusted=TRUE
The last Toyota product he had was declared to be too nice, reliable, and boring. It had to be sold to clear space for more rusty Jeeps.
however it is rarish (Manual 4wd) and has the bigger 3.4, so likely can tow at least 5,000 lbs. it is smaller than the other trucks he is getting rid of and because of miles, it likely has a few things to tinker with for his unreliable streak. I bet the price would be the limiting factor here for DT.
David, if you were to rid yourself of the five-speed ZJ…please let me know, as you turned me on to that particular sickness and now I need my fix..mine may be just too rusty.
Let’s talk?
Please! I’ll shoot you an email.
Aren’t you waiting for a Scout? Also simplify. Keep the Mustang. Keep the wrangler (why?) the i3 for sure, get rid of everything else. Use the few thousand dollars and go on a simple vacation with your wife and child. Might I suggest Germany in October? When you return look for your holy grail Jeep. Preferably one already restored. Set aside wrenching for awhile. You have a spouse child business to wrench. Also go to the beach and watch a sunset. Use that as the metaphor for getting rid of alot of the excess.
This advice from a guy who has been holding onto a 1986 VW cabriolet that I bought for my daughter in Boston to bring back to WI, I made it as far as Somers CT. Many things were wrong. I spent the best weekend ever with my oldest brother in Somers putting it right enough to drive home. He died a bunch of years ago. Cancer. The VW was t-boned drivers side while I was driving said daughter to the doctor. It had 50,000 miles on it. I have had it now going on 20 years with many restoration false starts. I will never get rid of it. It will be restored and driven. I have spent enough money on it to buy a really nice semi current new beetle convertible. At a certain age money vs memories. Memories win. So get rid of the chaff and make some family memories.
Why October?
something about a fest?
Might want to check the schedule I linked to. Germans are sneaky.
It’s officially called: “DasgrossebierfestthatendsinOktoberfest.”
I’ll be there at the end of Sept/early Oct!