[V8] The neurosis spreads!

[Roger Woodbury]

I've been here too long.  I am seeing "ME" everywhere I look.  If you all
will recall, I have delivered many posts on the "do I keep it, or do I sell
it" or "do I buy another one" or "(MOAN) I've sold it and now I regret it"
theme.

 

Now the syndrome is spreading and Arman has caught it.   It's worse than the
swine flu!  It's V8itis in its worst iteration.  

 

But, Doctor Roger is IN, and I know well the symptoms and can give on line
therapy. I am well suited to do so as I have NO intentions of replacing my
90 V8 for five years or fifty thousand miles AT least.  At that point, the
car will require a new timing belt and all that jazz, and will be older than
dirt.  Parts will no longer be available and my mechanic will probably have
become sick of seeing me and my car anyway.  I will also be ready to be
fitted for a walker, so the whole question at that point may be moot.

Besides, we may be out of oil on earth at that time anyway, and we may be
riding around on little electric bicycles powered by the little solar cell
beanies that we will wear on our heads.

 

So, Mike come in to Dr. Roger's plush but not overly ostentatious office,
sit in the special Audi V8 seat converted to a therapy couch and let's
examine your quandary. You have come to what you think is a decision point.
The V8 is "right" right now, but no longer reaches you.  So I have some
questions that you didn't answer.

 

1.	Is the V8 a daily driver and therefore of some necessity.  That is,
do you NEED to have the car running every day, or do you have something else
to use to get from point A to point B?  
2.	Is there space in your kingdom to keep the car inside and out of the
elements unless it is actually being driven.  By that I mean, if it is
indoors, will your wife or other people in your life always be on your case
because it is in the way of the clothes dryer, the bicycle rack, the
baseball glove repository, or perhaps the living room sofa?
3.	Aside from the fuel tank issue, what else does the car need in order
to be driven down the road a bit.let's say, from Punta Gorda, Florida to
Yakima, Washington?  They all need something, but most of the things that
they "need" are items that can be ignored as being nonessential.  This is an
important consideration..probably should be number 1, actually.
4.	Assuming that you hit a home run, and sell the car for $4000, will
that money make a serious difference to you the day after the car is gone?

 

That's all the questions that Dr. Roger has.  See?  The psychotherapy of
keeping or selling a V8 is really very simple.  This I have learned the hard
way.  My V8 #2 went away because I felt that keeping it sitting was
foolishness, AND I knew that it was probably going to need "something" and
didn't want to get caught with it needing "something" when I couldn't get it
done, or needed it, or SOMETHING.and I had started another restoration
project and believed (read:  convinced myself) that I was going to be in the
truck mostly and the dark red V8 should go away..it went and turned into the
Gentlemen's express, and as soon as it left the yard, I was sorry.  But that
was then and now is now.

 

Anyway, this is "self-therapy".   You can answer the questions yourself, and
make a decision that is based on whatever reality you want to tune in to.
You will never "get over" the V8.  It will just be something that you "had
once".  

 

Weekend before last we drove to Ottawa.  It was a great trip including
Interstate, two lane, mountain and some pretty urban stop and go.  The V8 is
running perfectly and part of the enjoyment of driving the car was that when
the cars are running well and right, it's such a kick because the cost of
the experience is so low, even if you pay for the vast majority of the work.
Our trip to Ottawa would have been smooth, comfortable and slick in a newer
S8, but much less fun at eight times the investment.  And besides I just
like the look of the V8 more.

 

Dr. Roger advises that if you can, put the car away for a while.  You will
be hard pressed to replace it, and if it is not a financial load, just let
the car rest for a bit.  If you have the room,  leave it be, and then later
on, if you find you have no interest then do what you need to do at that
point.  

 

It isn't a sin to have something sitting in your garage that is not being
used.  Your descent into hell will be no faster nor slower because you have
kept the V8 in stasis while you moved on to other things.  And if that day
rolls around in a few months, when the mood seizes you, you can breath life
into it again and enjoy the car for the wonderful vehicle that it is.

 

You can sell it quickly, but if you end up with V8 Lament, you may be doing
that far longer than you wish.

 

Roger