The 25 year, 500,000 Mile Bullitt - What should I do and How Should I Plan?

[Ozcraig]

My opinion? If you drive it properly your heart should fail before 25years is up, but you will have enjoyed it!

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[Smunczen]

If you're true and really going to keep it as you say - then stock up on anything that is Bullitt specific, period. The unique Bullitt items will be what can't be had in the future - they call it unobtainium. If you don't get those parts now at a reasonable price, trust me - you won't be able to touch them in the future for a reasonable price.

I'm not just talking an item that has "Bullitt" scripted on it, but anything that is unique to the engine, dash, etc. because those small parts won't be available. Ford Parts starts to discontinue vehicle parts 10 years after their production cycle.

Maintenance is key and you could most likely get 500k out of it without ever having to open the engine - if it's maintained properly.

Wear items - again if they are only specific to the Bullitt, stock up what you can.

As far as the electronics - it's like anything else, usually with circuit boards the concern is the solder joints, then it's resistors or capacitors failing IF they are an integral part to certain modules.

If the Bullitt PCM is specific to the Bullitt, BUY ONE NOW ... like I said, it's stuff like that which you won't be able to touch for a good price years later.

All good advise. The parts now will probally be the cheapest also that are specific to the trim level.

 

[Nightmonkey]

Think about getting a cavity preservation with Mike Sanders grease and have the underbody protected with transparent wax.
If you want to take it even further, have the axle parts coated with marine grade paint.

 

[JCFoster]

My daily is 23 years old. So far I don’t have issues getting parts for it and it was discontinued in 2004. But the stuff that’s hard to get are oe seat covers, interior wear items, head lamps, and stuff like that. I’d try to find a set of bullit front seat covers, a steering wheel, two or three sets of oe head lamps and a set of tail lamps. They usually last bout 7-10 years. After ten years of manufacturing those items get harder to find. Aftermarket headlamps are never the quality of oe in my experience.

 

[OldPhart]

Hi - Let’s see, I’m 80, so 80+25 =‘s something not likely. Even if I live that long, my family will have hidden the car keys from me long before that and one of the grandkids or great grandkids would have managed to wrangle it from me in my progressing state of senility. But in the meantime I’m having a blast driving it and rowing through the gears while my hearing still allows me to enjoy the glorious sound of a naturally aspirated V8 gasoline engine. “Watch out for Papa, I hear him backing out of the garage…“ Bruce

 

[Bobn57]

You need to put it under a tarp in a barn so Dennis Collins can find it in 25 years!

 

[bonz50]

This, +1. Turn it into something of a scavenger hunt. Right now, the bits are probably somewhat expensive. But over time you'll find sources and opportunities for good pricing, before the market turns yet again and things become rare.

Junkyards and the aftermarket should be able to continue to support more "regular" parts.

Otherwise, do like most: document everything well and keep the car as original as possible.

Above all, enjoy it.

I tend to agree but the laws surrounding junk yards may change and reselling old parts to keep gas cars on the road may not be a future option. I would get a motor/trans and stick those in storage for future use in addition to what CJ said.

 

[Nightmonkey]

This is how my Bullitt looks from underneath now.
Cavities flooded with Mike Sanders grease, underbody showered with Dinitrol/Carlofon 4942, large gaps filled separately beforehand.

Nothing will rot anytime soon.

At the front of the sill, I still need to extend the wheel house liners, the ends of the sill are exposed and bombarded by anything that is picked up by the wheel.

 

[CF-105]

This is how my Bullitt looks from underneath now.
Cavities flooded with Mike Sanders grease, underbody showered with Dinitrol/Carlofon 4942, large gaps filled separately beforehand.

Nothing will rot anytime soon.

At the front of the sill, I still need to extend the wheel house liners, the ends of the sill are exposed and bombarded by anything that is picked up by the wheel.

Could you explain a bit more about the products you chose?

Impressive work!

 

[XFactor7889]

I'm going to suggest a different approach. Don't waste your money on parts right now that you may or may not need in the future. Sure, certain parts may be more expensive due to scarcity in the future, but others may be cheaper for all we know. Don't forget, before Covid Bullitts were sitting on lots being discounted for less than GTs. It stands to reason there are many Bullitt owners out there that bought one without concern for what it was; so they won't be competing with you for parts in the future. Instead, start a Bullitt repair fund. Put some of it in a savings account to keep it liquid and risk free. And invest the rest of it. As years pass, if you start seeing certain parts that you know you'll need going out of production or becoming pricier, then use your Bullitt repair fund to buy them. Otherwise, just buy what you need when you need it. In the meantime, your money is growing, you haven't wasted it on parts you won't need for potentially a decade plus, and you may even find that your money has grown to the point that you can spend some of it on something else too.

 

[Nightmonkey]

Could you explain a bit more about the products you chose?

Impressive work!

Thanks!

This is a usual procedure for historical vehicles here in Germany.

Basically, you have to know that vehicles that are produced here (Mercedes, BMW, etc.) in most cases since 2000s have good cavity preservation and good underbody protection from the factory.
Everything before that, eventually rusted away if not stored high and dry after purchase (barn find). Some vehicles before the times of corrosion protection precautions from the factory have not even reached a normal service life without the welding work was necessary.
I think it was the automotive media in particular that made sure that factory protection got better and better over the years through criticism.

The issue is somewhat related to the climate here, just as there are regions in the US where corrosion is not an issue at all.

If you look at the Mustang from underneath, you'll notice that nothing has been done there at all (at least for the vehicles for the EU; the vehicle price has to come from somewhere).


Underbody Protection:
Essentially, it's a matter of providing additional protection to the sheetmetal, which is already basically protected by galvanization and paint, from the effects of the environment. Sheet metal edges and cavities are the first points of attack for corrosion, you could see it on my vehicle already now after 2 years and 10,000 miles.
In particular, the impact beam behind the rear bumper appears to be a particular weak point and is the first to show clearly visible corrosion damage.
For underbody protection, bitumen products and wax products or in my case a hybrid of both are best.
In my case, this one was used: https://www.dinitrol.com/produkt/dinitrol-4942/?lang=en
If I am informed correctly, this product comes from the military sector, army vehicles are of the essential substance often after more than 30 years still in excellent condition.
You can also try to preserve the underbody with grease-based products, but that washes off comparatively easily, so you would have to rework there again very soon.


Cavity preservation:
There are various ways to do this, grease and wax are known to me.
Grease has the advantage, in the cavities also migrates upwards, that is, over time, especially in hot weather, the effect is even better (below can of course also times drip a little bit). The migration works even better when there is already light surface rust.
Wax is only where it was once applied, so it is best to use grease.
There is a company called TimeMAX, which is the technology leader here in Germany in this field (recognized by classic car journals in extensive tests), and uses its own formula for the grease. The hardly worse, somewhat longer known, and somewhat cheaper product is from Mike Sanders https://www.mike-sander.de, which should also be the market leader in Germany in terms of quantity.
Here is the essential info about it: https://www.mike-sander.de/images/pdf/Infoblatt_EN.pdf
Also this thing with the grease has its origin probably in the military, where one has made from Vaseline and oils / solvents to enable long storage and long life in use.


You have to pay attention to what to do first.
First and foremost, the underbody, because the grease that runs out of the cavities obstructs the application of wax based underbody protection.

It is hard to imagine that there is nothing comparable in your classic car scene.


After about 10 years, you should have both checked once by a specialist and have it repaired if necessary.


I hope that my non-professional knowledge will be of some help as a small introduction.

 

[tdstuart]

I would replacing all timing chains and guides every 100k miles. The timing chain guides are plastic and some of mine were pretty worn at 110k miles.

I think the bearings and internals will be able to last 200k+ easily.

 

[OldPhart]

I'm going to suggest a different approach. Don't waste your money on parts right now that you may or may not need in the future. Sure, certain parts may be more expensive due to scarcity in the future, but others may be cheaper for all we know. Don't forget, before Covid Bullitts were sitting on lots being discounted for less than GTs. It stands to reason there are many Bullitt owners out there that bought one without concern for what it was; so they won't be competing with you for parts in the future. Instead, start a Bullitt repair fund. Put some of it in a savings account to keep it liquid and risk free. And invest the rest of it. As years pass, if you start seeing certain parts that you know you'll need going out of production or becoming pricier, then use your Bullitt repair fund to buy them. Otherwise, just buy what you need when you need it. In the meantime, your money is growing, you haven't wasted it on parts you won't need for potentially a decade plus, and you may even find that your money has grown to the point that you can spend some of it on something else too.

Hi - With the hindsight of being able to look back on a lifetime of decisions and consequences (age 80) I have to basically agree (IMO) not to spend a bunch of money on parts now. You don’t know what your health or life circumstances will be in the future. What if something caused you to have to downsize your life significantly? Where would you put all the parts. It might be better to invest the money you would spend on replacement parts. If suddenly, God forbid, you were no longer around, you would be placing a bigger than necessary burden on those left behind and chances are the parts would be sold at bargain basement prices. I can’t imagine my wife trying to unload a spare engine. You may have a legacy plan, but that too is unpredictable. I’m not a doomsday kind of guy, but rather a realist. We don’t even know what the status or legality of internal combustion engines will be in the future. People might be unloading these cars for a pittance someday. Drive you car and enjoy it. If you just take reasonable care of it you can have it for many years, particularly if it isn’t subjected to road salt. By that time, or later, if these cars are still part of our society your finances might allow you to buy a replacement from someone who preserved or didn’t drive theirs. You might not even care that much about the car by then. I could go one but you get my message. At this point in life my philosophy is “Live for today. I don’t know if there will be a tomorrow and half the time I can’t remember yesterday, so live for today“. When you’re young you can’t have that philosophy, particularly with regard to finances, in spite of what’s happening with the markets presently…. Bruce

 

[Jaymar]

Hi - Let’s see, I’m 80, so 80+25 =‘s something not likely. Even if I live that long, my family will have hidden the car keys from me long before that and one of the grandkids or great grandkids would have managed to wrangle it from me in my progressing state of senility. But in the meantime I’m having a blast driving it and rowing through the gears while my hearing still allows me to enjoy the glorious sound of a naturally aspirated V8 gasoline engine. “Watch out for Papa, I hear him backing out of the garage…“ Bruce

This guy gets it! Bruce, you're awesome.

 

[willymo72]

Can't tell if this is Matt Marans long lost twin

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