Need Help With Car Ideas For Daughter

[Tim in Az]

So my 13 yr old comes to me and says dad I want a Farmers truck when I turn 16. She said she saw one over the weekend and loved it.

I'm right away thinking 50's to 60's era F-100 so we brake out the laptop and sure enough a later 50's F-100 but its gotta be Pink dad.

I told her we could do it but she had a $6500 budget. Thats what we spent on her sisters lifted f-150 so pink might not happen since we would have to paint it.

I told her to take the laptop and google away for ideas....

This is where the plot thickens. She comes back and shows me a Pink and White Bronco and a Black convertible Mustang with Pink Rally stripes and Pink rims.

The wife suggests I give her my Bronco and paint it Pink --I'm kind of ok with the idea as I would start over and try to do everything the way I really want it on my new one.

The down side on mine is I would have to
1) Buy Top
2) New doors
3) install heater
4) Paint Pink
5) Has no windshield wipers or motor
6) possibly add A/c --120 is hot for a daily driver.

The plus side on mine for her
1) Runs good --efi swap
2) hydroboost so stops well

Or option #2
Try and find a clean straight Bronco needing as little as possible and having it painted Pink.



Or option #3
Pick up an older low mileage Black Convertible Mustang for hopefully under 5k
and add Pink stripes and Pink rims.
I'm kind of liking this option as hopefully I could get something pretty reliable
and less than 15 years old.

Option #4
Hunt down a 50's era F-100 fix it up and paint it Pink.


I could do either option #1 (my Bronco) and Option #3 (Mustang) for around our budget.

Not sure I could pull off option #2 or #4 for $6500

Any oppinions,thoughts or ideas would be great. I have 3 years but man it goes so quick.

 

[Skiddy]

I think your best bet would be option #3 and probably the easiest to find. Also i know where you can get a 96 blue one for 1500 no motor or tranny or less here in OK

 

[70 Steed]

I've got a '90 Mustang GT convertible I'll sell you.;D

 

[70_Steve]

The wife suggests I give her my Bronco and paint it Pink --I'm kind of ok with the idea as I would start over and try to do everything the way I really want it on my new one.

The down side on mine is I would have to
1) Buy Top
2) New doors
3) install heater
4) Paint Pink
5) Has no windshield wipers or motor
6) possibly add A/c --120 is hot for a daily driver.

The plus side on mine for her
1) Runs good --efi swap
2) hydroboost so stops well

For the opportunity to start over (if that's what you'd like) I give serious consideration to (what I assume is) Option #1

1. I just gave away my hardtop. They can be had routinely for less than $100
2. Could be a couple bucks, but nowhere near $6500.
3. Used heaters can be had for less than $100, and are easy to install.
4. Macco? $1000 for a decent paint job.
5. Wiper setup for $150 or so.
6. A/C!!?? She's 16 and will be driving a Bronco!!! She'll never notice...

Randy at Driven can hook you up with whatever you need.

 

[Ethansdad73]

how about this option. get a decent bronco, pait yours pink and build yourself another bronco, teaching her how to fix hers by working on yours ... free labor and keeps her out of the dating world..

 

[sprdv1]

Option # 1 will be your cheapest route I think! Work w/what you already know!!

Whatever you decide, she will luv you even more for it, I'm sure.

Good luck

 

[Rustytruck]

Having been down this path before spending money and a years time on a Pink VW I suggest option 3 Get the Mustang and put no time and money into it. If it doesn't have automatic and air conditioning she wont want it. You want the least emotional tie into this first car as possible. Get it wrong and they change their mind they'll break your heart. First year driving with girls has a very steep and costly learning curve. They think they can do it all but cant and if they are not personally involved its just an item of consumption. Its not like boys who love their cars as trophys to be paraded with. Girls just want to get from point A-B looking cool and dont give a damn how its done. I know there are exceptions but the emotional powder keg at that age overwhelms rational thought. Good luck with what ever decision you do.

 

[Old School]

Having been down this path before spending money and a years time on a Pink VW I suggest option 3 Get the Mustang and put no time and money into it. If it doesn't have automatic and air conditioning she wont want it. You want the least emotional tie into this first car as possible. Get it wrong and they change their mind they'll break your heart. First year driving with girls has a very steep and costly learning curve. They think they can do it all but cant and if they are not personally involved its just an item of consumption. Its not like boys who love their cars as trophys to be paraded with. Girls just want to get from point A-B looking cool and dont give a damn how its done. I know there are exceptions but the emotional powder keg at that age overwhelms rational thought. Good luck with what ever decision you do.

Bam!

The Bronco is a big mistake on many levels. It's a tip over kit while she's putting on her eyeliner and texting her BFF as she sips her frappucino. It's constant maintenance and as safe as a rusty tuna can. I love 'em but if you've ever seen one after an accident- it's scary.

A car is not a toy. Automatic, AC and airbags beats walking. If that's not good enough, there's a bus stop on the corner, here's a roll of quarters.

Buy a roll of pink pinstriping tape.
Besides, in 3 years she won't like pink anymore anyway.

 

[Explorer]

Safest and creature comfort wise, I agree with the Mustang. Minus the convertible part if possible.

 

[Tim in Az]

Thanks for all the input guys.

 

[BicksBronc]

We have started building my daughters. We have a year and a half to finish.
All points are valid in some capacities. You know your daughter better than any of us.

Must haves: Power steering, Hydroboost brakes, EFI (for ease) 3 or 4 point harness. no more than a 2.5" lift with 33's(that's the cool factor) no back seat for awhile.

Mine wanted hers charcoal metallic with purple stripes. stripes are now going to be Duke blue Metallic. If you can talk your daughter out of painting the whole thing pink and only doing stipes you could use vinyl stripes that are removable when she gets tired of pink.

 

[Old School]

I've already told my kids: It's going to be a white Crown Victora ex-cop car with a pushbar and the fiberglass back seat.

 

[BicksBronc]

That's too funny!!!

 

[Scoop]

With 3 kids I've gone through a lot of cars with them. A '66 Bronco, an '89 BII, a couple of FSB's and several Mustangs! The "best" one for a reliable driver for a teenager was a '93 Mustang convertible LX with the 2.3 4 cyl. The convertible made it sporty and the 4 cyl kept them out of trouble! We bought it for the oldest and it was passed all the way to youngest. All three put their marks on it - small fender-benders! - but we kept fixing it and it kept on going. I acutually used it for a while as my DD. It was a nice car. I converted it to 5-lug and put 94 Pony rims on it. It looked pretty sharp.

Anyways, my recommendation would be a black convertible Mustang as new as $6000 will buy which will leave $500 for the pink stripes! LOL

 

[71massbronco]

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194158

Post 15.

Please don't paint it pink. I know you love your daughter and want to make her happy, but think about how hard it will be to sell a pink bronco when she decides she is done with it or you need to move on automotively. Then again, you may sell it to another daughter of another Bronco owner or wife. Either way, hope she stays safe, and has fun.

 

[dave vh]

goe with the mustang what girl wouldnt want to cruise in an old mustang convertable. then when shes done with it add it to your collection. lol

 

[bosshoff]

Fsb

I would say to pick up a Full Size Bronco, then paint the top white, and the body pink. They are cheap (usually under 2K) and big and strong for teenage drivers. You can spend money updating the brakes. The only downside I see is gas mileage. The ABS systems are OK. The drivers airbag is nice. You also can remove the rear roof section, which may satisfy the convertible requirement of this question.

 

[Tim in Az]

Having been down this path before spending money and a years time on a Pink VW I suggest option 3 Get the Mustang and put no time and money into it. If it doesn't have automatic and air conditioning she wont want it. You want the least emotional tie into this first car as possible. Get it wrong and they change their mind they'll break your heart. First year driving with girls has a very steep and costly learning curve. They think they can do it all but cant and if they are not personally involved its just an item of consumption. Its not like boys who love their cars as trophys to be paraded with. Girls just want to get from point A-B looking cool and dont give a damn how its done. I know there are exceptions but the emotional powder keg at that age overwhelms rational thought. Good luck with what ever decision you do.

Rustytruck,
This makes allot of sense. I think I'll go the Mustang route. You hit it on the head with girls not caring how a cool car got to that point. It's almost like you know my daughter. I guess I'l have to wait for grandsons to do a project.
After giving more thought to giving her my Bronco I realized I'm to emotionally attached to it to start over.

Thanks again for everyones input.

 

[Rustytruck]

I spent a year building a pink bug for my Girlfriends daughter only to be rejected in 3 days because she got frustrated with stick. A really hurtful story and burned bridges that I won't get into. In the end if the girls want to build it themselves then help them but otherwise run as far away as you can from the situation.

 

[fatboy]

The only requirement I gave my son who is now 19 and been driving for 3 years and my daughter who is 16 and driving for about 6 months was that their first car had to have air bags until I was comfortable with their driving ability. With that said I would probably go the Mustang route.