OK, so I am officially jealous..................!!!
Yah, it is pretty cool. I do have a lot more money in than I am used to having tied up in a car. I won't disclose what I actually have in it, but let's just say it's less than a lot of people pay for a new pickup truck.
And, this car, like most of them (or just about any older car), does have issues. If you want to learn more about them and might think about owning one, you can find out quite a bit on Ferrarichat.com.
88 Celica 85 Supra 85 Datsun pickup (I miss that truck!) 91 Dodge Dynasty 84 BMW 318i 89 BMW 325i 69 F100 76 RX7 76 BMW 2002 92 VW GTi (sadly 8v) 84 Datsun 4x4 85 MR2 (that never ran) 90 Range Rover (still have it) 91 Miata 2001 BMW 540i M sport (awful car that should have been good, the only car on this list I financed) 93 BMW 325i convertible (still have it) 87 Dodge Raider (badge engineered Montero) 92 BMW 525i wagon with a dealership installed 5 speed stick (still have it)
I think that's the list. BMWs are a recurrent theme because they're fun to drive and easy to wrench on, except for that awful 540i
[This message has been edited by Pancake (edited 04-13-2016).]
Short list for me compared to some of you, but in order of acquisition:
1976 Chevy Monte Carlo. 350, white with dark red vinyl interior and no AC. Dark vinyl: Such fun on hot Michigan summer days. 1976 Chevy Monte Carlo 400, 4bbl. Silver with blue/silver cloth interior. Ah, cloth. And AIR CONDITIONING. ***both of these had the front bench seats. Always wished one had the swivel buckets- such a novel thing. *** 1987 Fiero GT. Blue. Currently has a 3.4 and is about 90% restored. Bought when I graduated from college in 1991. 1986 Jeep CJ-7. Dark gray, straight 6, 4 speed manual. Paid $4900 for it in 1992 and had put over $6000 into it when we sold it in the late 90s or early 2000s. Fun car to drive around with the top and doors off...on the ten days a year when it's warm enough to do that in Seattle. 1995 Toyota 4Runner. V6, five speed. Bought used in 1999 or so. Great car. Sold to a friend. 1999 Toyota Sienna. Light metallic green, V6. Still own but will be selling soon. Was wifey's daily driver. 2005 Toyota 4Runner. V6, auto. Dark blue. Still own; my daily driver. Also a great car. 2008 Saturn Sky Redline. Red on red/black leather. Fun car. Sunny day car only; rarely have the top up. 290HP/340TQ. Has about 23,000 miles now. 1959 Austin Healey Sprite (Mark 1 "Bugeye"). Wifey's fun car. British racing green on doeskin interior. Upgraded 1275cc engine with Datsun five speed (both are very common upgrades to the Mark 1). Front disk brakes. Such a fun, FUN car to drive around. 2016 Subaru Outback. Wifey's daily driver.
So yes, at the moment we have six cars here, with one essentially for sale. Here are the fun/sporty ones:
From what you've posted, you seem to do some pretty wild conversions and such. I have an idea I've been kicking around and I'm curious if you think it's doable/worth contemplation or possible pursuit.
I was REALLY into minitrucks back in the day. Had my 84 Nissan Kingcab slammed with air shocks, loud stereo and several body mods. Well, I have been looking for a older Bullet Side Datsun 620 (prefer kingcab because of how I like to sit) in restoreable shape. I recall seeing I think it was a Toyota where the owner had taken the FWD engine and trans from a Ford Taurus SHO and installed it in the bed area of the truck. I had also box notched my truck, so I got to thinking with an actual frame rather than a unibody, modifications like that would be easier. That made me start looking at sports car chassis.
Lotus Elise.
Vector W8.
C5 Corvette.
Mostly, body on frame rather than unibody. Some are kind of psuedo frame/unibody.
I also remember reading about a kit car a highschool auto shop class in Pittsburgh, I think it was, built as a hybrid project. The used the K1 Attack kit for use with the Honda Accord. The car itself is kind of neat looking but the front suspension was a departure from what is so common. That caught my eye.
So, what I have been thinking on is a minitruck project. I don't want it to be the 1/2" off the ground with out air in the shocks like I had way back when. I don't want it to be the terrible handling that I had way back when. But I do want it to be stylishly low and handle well. My idea was that with a frame I could move the engine to mid configuration like in that truck I saw so many years ago in the magazine. I know it's a popular engine as far as Fiero's go, but the 3800 has a lot of appeal to me for it's power and durability along with fuel consumption. This would of course require a redesign of the rear suspension to go along with the FWD trans being used back there. That would free up the front engine bay which could be redesigned for better suspension up there along the lines of the K1 Attack, but lower profile so it's not sticking up out of the hood. Essentially, I want to upgrade the suspension to something much better while making the truck mid engined. I would probably do a body drop as well to retain suspension travel while still having that low appearance. I don't want to do air bags.
Anyways, considering the projects you've worked on, do you think that's workable? I do know how to weld, worked in a machine shop for about 10 years, have been wrenching on cars since I was 17 including about 10 engine or transmission swaps and have torn down and repaired tractors quite a bit as well.
Oh, this is the frame from a 620 (a little modified with what looks to be a V6 on it) and also a picture of a 620.
[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 04-14-2016).]
Oh, definitely do it! I love old Datsun pickups, that would be incredible.
My project idea that's never likely to happen is to get a 521 or 620 short bed and build what's essentially a Japanese model A pickup build. Motorcylce fenders over the front wheels, a deuce coupe radiator, high chrome L16-20 with a pair of sidedrafts, and a cherrywood bed. Of course it would be awful tempting to lengthen the front and stick a L28 out there with a trio of sidedrafts.
Oh, definitely do it! I love old Datsun pickups, that would be incredible.
Yeah, I like the Datsun trucks the most. Another option I considered was a 1st gen. Chevy Luv. My father had a Luv when I was a teen and I had been considering buying it from him to lower and all but I wanted a kingcab so I had room for woofers and ended up with a 84 Nissan/Datsun 720 (transition year model). Probably a good thing in retrospect thinking about the rear suspension on the Luv. Moving the axle from below to above the leaf springs would have lowered it in the rear about 3" without the use of blocks but that would have left just about no suspension travel so it would have needed notched right off. At least with the 720 I was able to use 3" blocks that lasted me 5 years or so before I wanted to go lower and did the notch along with pulling leafs and adding air shocks all around. I've tried to think of another truck in case I just can't find a Datsun 620 in decent shape (I know I have little chance of finding a rust free one). The Luv is one possible but it's also a common truck for doing a V8 swap into so finding one isn't all that easy either. The other hard to find but high on the list that would work is the 1st gen, Dodge D50/Ram 50 or Plymouth Arrowhead. I would prefer the Datsun but could live with the Dodge.
In order of ownership: 1. 1994 Ford Taurus SHO (Sold) 2. 1988 Pontiac Fiero Formula 3. 1998 Ford Taurus GL (Traded to have Fiero painted) 4. Technically 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee (Scrapped) 5. 1989 Toyota MR2 base
The story with the Jeep goes so, I bought the Jeep from a close friend who didn't know much of cars. It had some problem with a loud lifter, something I read was common with the 4.0l Jeep engine so I went ahead and bought it for $450. I drove about a block away from his house and the engine seized up. Being a close friend he gave me my money back and I believe they scrapped it. Technically I owned it as we had signed over the title and everything. I was lucky I knew him otherwise I'd have been screwed. Although I think at that price I could've parted it out and made my money back.
The '98 Taurus I bought for $400 then traded to a guy for a garage paint job on my Fiero. Not the best but worth what I essentially paid.
By far my favourite is the Fiero, but there are still days I long for my SHO.
I think it's funny, at age 18 I've owned more cars than my dad has owned in his entire life! My direct family never had the car bug like I do. Something I got from my uncles and even my grandfathers. My dad has owned a Corolla, Grand Marquis, and now a Traverse
[This message has been edited by Dylpro (edited 04-21-2016).]
I have a lot of fond memories of my '89 SHO. I had a first-month production car without a rev limiter and a total base model with no leather or sunroof or anything. It was light and could hit 70mph in 2nd without breaking a sweat. It was *really* fast if you could get the crappy transmission to play nice - talk about long throws! My favorite memory was taking a couple friends out to a late dinner when an early '90s Celica pulled up the light next to me - little impromptu street race between a 4-door family hauler and a Japanese sports car. Not even an issue, the SHO left it in the dust. Next light, same thing, even worse. With two car lengths between us a third car passed the Celica in my wake, and next light a 3rd gen Camaro was sitting next to us. My two friends were dying - we're three up in a Ford Taurus and an F-body wants a try! Light went green, a little smoke from the right front wheel and the Camaro was in the rear view a few moments later. We had to pull over I was laughing so hard at that point. That car was unstoppable in the early '90s. But, by the mid '90s cars were getting a lot more power - Nissan has the 230hp VQ motors, BMW had the 300hp M62s, and pony cars got real V8s again - and the SHO didn't seem quite the powerhouse it originally had. Too bad the next generation cars were such a disappointment!
95 Dodge Neon. 96 Dodge Neon. The 95 was the driver. The 96 was bought with a bad engine but a nice interior and body so I could swap parts over to the 95 and fix it up.
Is that color Neon a standard color for that year? I've seen one that looks just like that one at a dealership where I live. I think the wheels look very similar as well. I'll have to go to that dealership and take a pic to see for sure.
[This message has been edited by iced_theater (edited 04-24-2016).]
Originally posted by iced_theater: Is that color Neon a standard color for that year? I've seen one that looks just like that one at a dealership where I live. I think the wheels look very similar as well. I'll have to go to that dealership and take a pic to see for sure.
In short, No.
Long answer, I had about 1/2 a gallon of a yellow left from another job, about a quart of a red and a little white. I just mixed the yellow and red and then added a little bit of white at a time until I felt it was muted enough. I kept telling my wife I was going to paint one of our cars orange someday and the Neon was the recipient. Overall, I liked it .
I have seen other Neons with a similar orange color though so I believe they did make them in a orange like that. At the time they made Neons in a variety of muted colors. They had a muted blue, auqamarine and purple among others.
Sorry the pictures are so big. I use Photobucket to host the pictures, an I've gone back to Photobucket several times and resized the pictures, but the size isn't changing in the forum. I'm most likely doing something wrong but I don't know what it is. The last size I set up in Photobucket was 250W X 150 H but the forum size never gets any smaller. I give up.
Trying to resize again.
[This message has been edited by johnt671 (edited 04-27-2016).]
Sorry the pictures are so big. I use Photobucket to host the pictures, an I've gone back to Photobucket several times and resized the pictures, but the size isn't changing in the forum. I'm most likly doing something wrong but I don't know what it is. The last size I set up in Photobucket was 250W X 150 H but the forum size never gets any smaller. I give up.
You didn't do anything wrong. The photo was just cached in your machine so you didn't see the change but the change did happen .
Well, I'm in the Ogden area of Utah. Evanston is about 70 miles from me. My daughter had the car and sold it to a friend of hers. She had problems with it stalling.. She took it to her brother who I was told worked in a garage. They "tried" to fix it. It had compression. It had spark. It had fuel pressure. However, it just kept running rough and then stalling on her. I told them if it has all of that check the injectors because it sat at my daughters place for a year or so without being driven. I told them it probably just has clogged injectors after sitting that long. Her brother instead bought a new coil pack for it. No change. They supposedly acquired a different computer, still no change. They never did check the injectors instead opted to call a auto wrecker. If you ever stop to look at it, see if inside the door jambs are still blue. If they are, it's the same one. They might have fixed it rather than scrap it. I never got around to painting inside the jambs or the inside door frames and such. Honestly I didn't take much time painting the car really. I just did not like the faded out blue with peeling clear. So I sprayed what I had on it and saved the quart or so that was left to do detail work if I kept it or ever got around to it. Daughter ended up needing a car so... Really though, that looks just like it. If the wheels are Tenzo it probably is. Oh, another way. Check the vin on the dash verses the vin on the door. If they are different, then that's another indicator. The 96 had quite a few dents in and the 95 I had didn't. So I pulled a bunch of the body parts off the 95 and swapped them with the 96. I also did a lot of the interior panels as well. Another thing, if it has the DOHC humped hood on it (which the pic looks like it does) but it's a SOHC engine, the hood came of the 95 with the DOHC engine in it. The 96 hood had a bunch of rust along the front edge.
[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 04-28-2016).]
Wouldn't surprise me if it's the same car, this one is in Rock Springs which is 100 miles from Evanston. The salesperson said they replaced the transmission in it. Also only showed I think 90k miles give or take if I remember correctly.
Wouldn't surprise me if it's the same car, this one is in Rock Springs which is 100 miles from Evanston. The salesperson said they replaced the transmission in it. Also only showed I think 90k miles give or take if I remember correctly.
Sounds about right. It was somewhere around 85k when my daughter bought it from us. She drove it for a couple of months and then her and her fiancee got a place together. He had a Saturn SL and a Ford F-250 and since they are planning on getting married she started driving his Saturn. She parked it in my garage for about a year then sold it. Pulled the stereo I had in it out though before she did. They are looking at replacing the Saturn with a Toyota 4Runner and she wants me to install the stereo in it like I had in the Neon before she bought it.
This is a while building pic and then a done pic. You can see the blue on the upper edge and the purple trunk lid corners from the 95 body parts I swapped it with.
Edit: Ahh, what the heck some picks from the painting to. I only had evenings to devote to working on it so I painted it in steps.
Over all, I really enjoyed that car. I wouldn't mind having another one possibly but I'd want a 2 door and would rather swap a different engine in. The stock engines are interference engines .
If that is the car, which honestly I think it is, I wonder if it still has the sub boxes in it. We just pulled the 10's and left the enclosures.
[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 04-28-2016).]
That Supra still running a stock 5M-GE? My first "real" car was an 85 Supra that had a 3.0 6M swapped in and a custom intake and exhaust setup, that thing was pretty quick for only about 200hp. I actually had all the hardware from a 7M turbo motor to swap on to it but never got around to it.
[This message has been edited by Pancake (edited 05-06-2016).]
That Supra still running a stock 5M-GE? My first "real" car was an 85 Supra that had a 3.0 6M swapped in and a custom intake and exhaust setup, that thing was pretty quick for only about 200hp. I actually had all the hardware from a 7M turbo motor to swap on to it but never got around to it.
Yes, still stock. It was given to my son so didn't want him to kill himself, LOL. I haven't decided yet what engine change I'll go with, if any, during the restore.
It was given to my son so didn't want him to kill himself.
Funny you mention that, one of my most vivid memories is looking down the long hood of that car at a ditch when I punched it in 2nd going up a hill not realizing it had a lot more power then what I was used to. Thankfully I'd been taught to countersteer by my brother in law for gravel driving and held it . Decades ago, I was 19 and pretty dumb at the time.
The thing that's kept me from getting another one if Toyota couldn't care less about old Supra parts. A lot of the MA61 parts are NLA and finding parts for the much more common MA70s (3rd gen Supras) is hard. They just want you to buy a new car instead *eyeroll*
[This message has been edited by Pancake (edited 05-10-2016).]
Funny you mention that, one of my most vivid memories is looking down the long hood of that car at a ditch when I punched it in 2nd going up a hill not realizing it had a lot more power then what I was used to. Thankfully I'd been taught to countersteer by my brother in law for gravel driving and held it . Decades ago, I was 19 and pretty dumb at the time.
The thing that's kept me from getting another one if Toyota couldn't care less about old Supra parts. A lot of the MA61 parts are NLA and finding parts for the much more common MA70s (3rd gen Supras) is hard. They just want you to buy a new car instead *eyeroll*
Yes, I've found the Fiero quite refreshing with the support out there. Never was much for the Supra or the Supercoupe I have for that matter. You really have to dig to find anything for them. The Fiero is a nice change.
[This message has been edited by Supracoupe (edited 08-06-2016).]
June 1999 - May 2003 87 Fiero Coupe 2.5L (My first car!) - CRASHED Sept 2003 - March 2010 93 Acura Integra LS Special 1.8L (Daily driver / Show / Track) - SOLD Dec 2006 - March 2016 91 Chevy S10 Blazer 4X4 4.3L (Utility / Daily driver after 2010) - SOLD June 2013 - Current 2004 Toyota Echo 1.5L (Current daily driver with only 25K - thanks mom!) July 2012 - Current 87 Fiero GT soon to be 3800sc (Current project - stay tuned!)
------------------ Fiero's Owned:
1987 Coupe 2.5 5spd May 99 - June 03 1987 GT V6 5spd July 30 2012 - Current
[This message has been edited by Fastfiero1 (edited 07-26-2016).]
I'll try to go in order.. 1974 duster slant 6 autp gold with tan gut 1966 tempest more door ohc inline 6 auto 1966 lemans 326 v8 auto 1966 GTO black/black 389 4spd 1980 yellow firebird 301 auto 1985 t/a silver 305ho 5spd 1986 t/a red metallic 305ho 5spd 1980 sunbird 3 door 151 duke auto 1982 crossfire t/a red black recardo seat interior 1983 t/a black 305 4 spd 1980 tercel 4cyl stick 1982 s-10 izuzu 4 5spd 2wd 1988 f-250 4x4 35" tires and a get out of my way push bar 302/zf5spd 1997 f-150 2wd flare side 5.4 auto last black vehicle I'll ever own, tan gut 1971 el camino 396(402) th400 1971 chevelle 350 auto blue/blue 1970 chevelle ls5 auto DIY kit (bought in boxes) 1970 chevelle 396 auto also bought blown apart 1972 chevelle 350 auto red black gut 1985 cutlass 231 auto 1975 cutlass 260 auto 1985 buick lesab 2 door rear drive tank that gm thought a 231 v6 was a good idea 1985-6 caprice 2 door 305 auto tan/tan 1978 caprice/impala 2 door tan on tan.. 350 two barrel, 3spd 1989 grand mark 302 auto 2004 z71 4x4 5.3 auto green charcoal gut 1999 grand mark blue, blue 4.6 auto 1986 SS 305 auto 1986 2+2 305 auto 2006 HHR 2.4ltr auto 1971 c-10 long bed '81 cali 305 v8 th350 stage 1 gm crate vortec 350 ramjet cam and rockers, 2004r stage 2 496 2004 sport trac 4.0 v6 auto 4x4 1984 Indy I'm sure I missed some street cars/trucks..
.
.
