Here in Calif. those fees all get rolled into the yearly registration. They assume the value of your car drops so over time they yearly go down from about $600 on a $40,000 (new) car. But I can tell you that the very bottom cost registration is now $148. I just registered my '61 Corvair Station Wagon and there was a list of about 10 different fees that were 'tagged on' to the actual registration cost. I think they added up to somewhere between $20-$30 of the total cost.

As the government goes deeper into debt you will be expected to pay higher taxes and fees on the credit card they say they have been running up on your behalf. While there are roughly 350 million people in the country only 161.5 million are wage earners. If all debt was to stop and accrue no interest those 161.5 million wage earners would still have $217,000 EACH in debt to pay off.

 Assuming a person works 45 years of their life and to fairly as possible spread the debt out, the debt should be paid in 22.5 years. The additional  tax for EACH wage earner to pay the 22.5 year debt would be $9,644 yearly, $804 monthly or  $201 weekly. If you are a husband and wife double those numbers for your household ($19,288 yearly, $1608 monthly, and $402 weekly respectively). And think about it taking Trillions out of the economy to stop debt and miraculously having no interest payments are pipe dreams that will never occur. So, the situation is far worse than it seems. And then there is the dwindling Social Security fund... . This is not meant to be a rant or be political. It is just true numbers about why things cost what they do. Think of it as a 'word math problem'.

It sounds like you got a few things accomplished over the weekend, and that's a good thing!

Dwayne

Yesterday I rearranged my garage and got my toys accessible.  The Harley got it's annual oil and primary fluid changed.  It doesn't get tranny gear oil change this year.  I put the battery in the Mustang and fired it up.  Took it to the end of the street and back.  Only put 500 miles on last year so no oil change.  Re-torqued the lug nuts as I bought new tires last Fall just before putting putting it away.  Glad I did...there were some that were loose.  The project car just got rolled around and admired.  I think the first things I will do is repair the cracks in the dash pad and get the rest of the interior parts (dash, steering column, rear interior quarter panels, rear package tray, junk tray) ready for adhesion promoter, primer, black paint.  I have to work in some gardening/weeding and other home projects, then a week in FL at the end of the month but I plan to make some progress in the next few weeks.

The first answer would be MONEY. Since you got no replies I took a cursory view. Kits seem to range from about $800-$2,500. In a post on another Forum someone mentioned that the earlier spindles were smaller. Oddly the kits show 71-80 Pinto so maybe they include a new spindle??? Be aware that a lot of the kits upgrade to the 5 bolt pattern. Also a lot of these kits are for drag car brakes that are thin rotors and likely not conducive to everyday driving. Both are something to be on the look for.

My personal recollection is that there are Ford factory parts that the swap can be done with. But off hand I don't have a list. I also remember people saying the whole (welded in) cross member had to be swapped??? Everyone wants the early, thin bumper Pinto, but there was a story on this site where someone had a later 74 Pinto and they swapped over the earlier body parts and it seemed easier than working around the brake/steering rack issues of an early Pinto. Sorry I can't be more help.

The Baby Blue color is a very '70s color, just today someone said they love the color.  I've yearned for years for the '71 gold color but I've learned to love this blue one....like you say, it works!