I think if you’re concerned about the 7 1/4 packing it in, I think you should also be concerned about your car being t-boned or in another type of accident caused by another driver. The odds of an accident are higher than the 7 1/4 packing it in. What’s your back up plan for the accident so you’re not in a holding pattern without a car?
It’s clear your desktop research shows the 7 1/4 will fail soon so convincing you otherwise is futile. Someone should sell him an 8 1/4 for market price plus shipping and the problem is solved. Fussing about the price of it is a moot point as you’ve shown your hand you need the item, so be prepared to pay up for it. Complaining about the price of it from wreckers has you contradicting your need for not wanting to hold up your project.
When it comes to almost everything, there are 3 things we all want but you can only have two. Cheap, Fast and Reliable. You want the item fast (to not hold up your project) and you know the 8 1/4 will be more reliable which checks off the second item. Therefore you can’t have it for cheap or a good price. You can’t have all 3.
Somehow I think there will be a post in 6 months time once the project is done talking about how your fuel economy is worse and what options there are to improve it?
