what should i do?
 

here's the situation and i'll try to keep it short with the major points in it.

bought a 92 LS~L that wasnt' in great shape ->actually worse than what i thought it would be.only paid 3500$ after taxes.
owned the car for about a year and a half now . july 13 2005. only started driving the car end of august of 2005. spent 25000$ fixing the car up (roughly say - half on labour and half on parts {though i'm sure there is more on parts}). have changed out seized and badly worn parts with new parts or used parts and in some cases used parts and then new parts or upgraded parts. have had final invoice amounts costing more than double or triple the estimates which has racked the credit card. financially this car and take up all the money that i can make and faster than i make it.
the car just blew a headgasket on me a couple days ago. assuming it's going to be another 3000$ at least.
without this "love of the svx" thing and being realistic. what would you do or what is your advice?

Tough call. How much do you want the car? It's difficult to place a dollar value on enjoyment and entertainment. In other words, if you ain't smilin' you're dyin'.

My personal credo: If you're not happy, get happy! If the car doesn't make you happy, get rid of it.

Look at it this way: Can you buy another car for the price of fixing it? Or if you sell it, will it be enough to buy another car? Unless you buy a new car you will always need to put money into a used car. My personal opinion is to keep the car as a project car and fix it at your leisure. Buy a more reliable car for everyday. To sell it with a blown HG is like giving it away. keep it for now. Good luck!

Tha is ALOT of money for repairs...I'm quite suprised you haven't taken up mechanics yourself..I mean, a simple 150$ toolset saved me a few thousand in repairs already...and besides needing to fit your hands in some tight places, most repairs are fairly straightforward. \
When I got my car last year, I had like..six oil changes and a radiator under my belt from my first car. thus far I've swapped out entire interiors twice, swapped engines, fixed my starter,cam angle sensor, found and fixed a problem with a "Custom" intake nstalled by previous owner, fixed the power steering pump, brake pads..and not to mention the repairs I've done for / helped friends with.
The fact is, dont be afraid to dive into the ol' thing and fix it yourself. If something's broke, you pretymuch cant make it worse (Unless of course, you can) You have a great community here that'll help you figure out your busted stuff, and you'd be suprised just how gratifying it is to make something work again

I say..head gasket..meh, what's that, like 60$? 150$ toolkit? Weekend or two? Well worth it

Well you apparently like the car.... You've poured enough into it already, kind of foolish to get rid of it at this point..... If you don't like the car, get rid of it.... But changing some things on cars is relatively simple. Even I can do some of it, and I am known as 'Car Illiterate' lol. Mechanics jack prices anyway.......

Though as a footnote, even my father hates changing HG(s).

New rule: No disparaging remarks about mechanics (or any other group) without first placing yourself in a group others can make jackass remarks about.

Here, let me get you started:

Schmuck...

Man, you've spent a TON of money on that car. The only way to recover even a fraction of your expenditure (notice I didn't type "investment") is to drive it 'til the wheels fall off.

But as Beav alluded, if you're sick of it, stop pouring money into it.

dcb

I voted to drop a new engine in, you've spent a significant amount of money thus far and as others have said it would be a waste to get rid of it now. After all the parts you've replaced, what else could go wrong!!?

As a side note, get a good set of tools and the factory service manuals, the high costs of fixing this car have inspired me to do many jobs i have never even done before, its intimidating at first (i have very limited knowledge of auto mechanics), but with a bit of patience, the right tools, and instructions, anything is doable on this car...good luck!

Buy another, kepp this one for parts (or, vice-versa)
 

I appreciate your question and respect your privacy concerns, but where exactly is "Gates of Hell"?

A suburb of NYC?

Revealing your geographic location might help others to help you. If you live in Iceland near an active volcano I can see where good SVX mechanics and parts availability might pose a problem.

If you can find a reasonably priced SVX with a good running motor and a blown tranny you might have all/most of the parts you'll ever need.

IMHO a head gasket shouldn't be a $3k repair: if the engine is removed, do 'em both!

And the valve cover gaskets, the Crank & Cam seals, water pump, oil pump, etc. ad infinitum

Cheers!

You know my opinion Perry.;) You just let me know when your ready and we'll fix ya right up.:)

I had a car like that, and thats not how it works...

Lemons and beaters start to eat away at more than just your disposable/total income, they make owning a car suck. As rewarding as it might be to fix stuff on your car, it is neither fun nor cheap.

Fix the head gasket. You can DIY or pay a shop to; but after that, agree not to throw ANY more money into it besides normal maintenance and wear parts. It's a 15 year old piece of metal, leather, and rubber meant to move you from point A to B. Buy a Toyota

Mr. Perry from the Gates Of Hell,
As you have already spent enough to have purchased 5 or 6 SVXi, I will venture an opinion that you love your car so much as to never really consider parting with it. As prior posts have put forth, purchase a good set of metric tools (with extra, high quality 12 and 14 mm ratcheting wrenches as add-ons) and fully consumate your relationship - you will achieve a level of SVX-awareness that will make you soon forget the $25,000 you have already sacrificed at the alter.

my 3500 dollar 92 LS-L SVX has ended up costing me about 1200 bucks in repairs that I didn't know when I bought it. partly labor, mostly my own labor.

Learn to do your own work, and that 25 grand ends up at only five grand.

There's thinking with your head/wallet and then there's going the "Ah what the heck" route and just going for it. I agree with Beav, if it's fun, or can be, go for it. If it ain't fun no more, toss it off a cliff. Or sell it.

It's hard not to throw in the whole "love for the SVX" thing, since that's what tends to make people spend money on this car that they would never consider on another. If I had a repair needed on my Ford that was more than the car's value, I'd strap a few pounds of TNT to it and send it to the moon. If I had a car I loved I'd go all out to keep it rolling.

If it's absolutely down to the wire for money then getting out becomes the wisest option, but if it's possible to get through it and keep the car I'd go for that.

I HG replacement is a daunting procedure in the SVX. and a simple gasket will probobly not fix your issue. You will need to have the block checked and have the heads checked and maybe milled. This is still a fraction of the cost of 3k. To be honest, that my friend is a rip-off. I would say, pick up a yard motor and pay someone $600 to swap em out. Then you can take apart your old motor, replace the HG and then have it ready for the next time... because I have learned many times by now, there is always going to be a next time with an SVX

Tom