Hi All - thanks for the ongoing feedback.
I'm at a jumping off point with the ambulance I bought back in August last year. I made a couple of blunders through the process and now I need to figure out whether to complete the process of getting it on the road, or chalk it up to learning and let it go at a fraction of what I've put into it.
Here's the mistakes I made:
-
bought an Arizona titled vehicle in California - I had absolutely no understanding of the differences in smog requirements across states (I'm an Aussie based in California if you're just tuning in), and have been struggling to find a carbon canister for this particular vehicle so that I can get plates on it (it passed on everything else but that!)
-
trusted my mechanic - suffice to say that I have significantly over invested in this vehicle; on the upside, it's virtually bulletproof now
-
gutted the interior before getting it registered - now it's back to bare metal, and not really useful for much in its current form other than a cargo hauler; on the upside, all of the old ambulance interior which was old, rotting and/or just plain nasty, is out and it's a clean canvas
Here's what's good about it:
- 460 7.3l gas V8 - it's strong enough to tow just about anything
- dual tanks - has killer range; I've got close to 400 miles on one fill up
- rebuilt carburetor
- new fuel pumps
- fuel tanks dropped and boiled etc
- interior blasted clean and ready for fit-out
- enough monstaliner to seal the floor
- enough radiant barrier to wrap the entire thing up like a burrito if I wanted
- functional shore power and inverter
- new house and starter batteries
What needs to get done to get it on the road:
- replace the ignition switch
- replace the starter motor
- install a vapor canister
- all up about $500 in parts and labor
What needs to be done to finish it up for all-season camping:
- insulate it
- put in a new floor
- put in wall panels
- replace all the door seals
- all up, about another $600 in parts, and probably 3-4 days of my labor
- there's obviously a mile long list of other things to do to completely fit it out, but these are the basics.
I've already paid the registration and the insurance for the year, which is money I'm not going to get back.
So before I invest a bunch more money and time, I have to decide if it's worth it, or if I should just get it on the road, sell it for $2-$3K and put that cash into something that is already completely setup. As much as I hate to just lose the time and money I've invested, I'm smart enough to know I shouldn't throw good money after bad. Ultimately, I want to be
out there, not tooling about in my driveway for the next two months making perfect the enemy of good.
$9,000 and I'm done
Thoughts?
