The story of your car

[Mike]

OMGHi2U.

:?:

what does that mean anyway?

Oh my god, hi to you!

[Sijray21]

OMGHi2U.

:?:

what does that mean anyway?

Oh my god, hi to you!

well yeah, kinda figured that ...wtf does that mean though....

[Dave]

I too would like to hear RJs story, as well as Gerald's and Evan's

As for my story/novella, into the rabbit hole we go....
Rewind back to 1998, its summertime, and I'm turning 16. Dad and I have talked about cars, but they aren't a real big thing to me. I always notice nice cars, and I want something kinda sporty. Dad rolls home one day with a older Maxima (I think it may have been a distant cousin of Scotty's) with a semi-working sunroof and 4 doors. Pretty nice, but not quite what I wanted. Dad kept the car for like 5 years and eventually sold it. I wasn't being picky, since I could tell he really wanted to keep it for himself anyways. Then, he comes home one day with a 1990 Mitsubishi Eclipes 1.8L coupe. What, you say Eclipse only had 2.0 L; you're wrong this thing had no go and was the bottom feeder of the DSM lineup, but I loved it, I thought it was fast (WTF was I smoking?) and I still sometimes wish I had it (primarily so that I could drive it into the ground on track). I drove this car everywhere and missed it dearly during my freshman year at college in 2000. I had grown more and more interested in cars and had thought of all sorts of crazy stuff (I wanted to body kit, neon glow the Eclipse and then transplant a GSX engine and driveline into my Coupe; again WTF was I smoking?)
Now it's sophomore year in college, things are starting to break on the Eclipse and I'm not enjoying it as much. The previous summer mom and I talked about buying new cars and I'm really liking the WRX and the RSX-s (test drove it the 2nd day it was on the market). So, I get to thinking about how expensive a new car is and how I really ought to get something that I really want. I'd been saving money for quite a while so I had a sizeable chunk of change. Over the course of the fall, I decided that I wanted a Supra and managed to memorize damn near every mkIV supra for sale for under 20k. It was tough, these cars would sell within 3 days of the ad going up and since I didn't have that much cash just saved up it was hard to just roll down and purchase. I finally talk to a dude in MD who says that he has several people coming that weekend to check it out and the first person with a deposit gets the car. I immediately call dad and inform him that he is coming up that Friday afternoon and we were going to MD, regardless of if he was available . I get there, test drive and fall in love with an anthracite (aka Monkey Shit Brown) naturally aspirated mkIV Supra that is bone stock except for a Greddy exhaust and K&N intake. I give him $300 and sign paperwork saying that I would arrange for financing over Christmas break and he would have his money by Christmas. Fast forward to break-> having major issues getting loans but am eventually able to get $8000 loan at 11.25% with no co-sign and no prior credit history. Sold the eclipse to Dad, and added it all to my savings and I finally had the funds. January 2nd, I pick up my car and is definitely one of the best days of my life, despite driving home in snow (mind you I'd never driven a RWD car) and sliding into my driveway and having to let the car sit until the snow melted . This car is still my most favorite of all time and I have no intentions of ever selling it. I did some stupid shit with it and thought I was hot shit, but I've come full circle and truly respect the car for what it is.
Advance one more year and I find myself refinancing that loan on the mkIV for $10k at 8.25% so that I can buy a mkIII. You guys know the story. I order a 1JZ clip from a dude in Canada, pull the motor out of the car the day before it is supposed to arrive. Engine never shows. Fast forward 8 months and about 5 grand later and the car finally starts again with a 1JZ powerplant the night before one of our parties. Definitely had something to celebrate. Love/hate relationship with this car but it is responsible for my bout with b00st rot and realizing that pumping more and more money into a car will not always make it better. I wish I'd never bought the car and it rests at my home now with a blown head gasket due to major overheating as I try to sell it to somebody who will develop it's true potential, I wanted it to be a track car, but it just doesn't suit my needs.
March of this year I buy a black 240sx hatchback with a busted auto tranny and it sits today as my current project/toy. I also co-own a 240 parts car with Rex where I got a manual tranny and assorted parts. This car will be my track car and daily driver and I have applied many of the things that I learned from the busted pile to this project.
Many plans have been thought up for my automotive future but what will really happen only time can tell.

[ViPER1313]

1st car - 97' Taurus GL - Painted in an o-so-ugly green color. The car was originally a Hertz rental, bought by my father with 18k miles on it in 98'. My father drove it around for a few years, got a company car, and the car was given to my mom so she didn't have to drive her 90' Geo Prism. My mom drove it around for a few years, and when I got my license, the Taurus was given to me with around 110k miles on it. At the time, I actually wanted to buy my own car so my parents couldn't hold it over my head like they did with the Taurus (I could only take the car to school if I had an after school activity or if I had to work.)

I drove the living shit out of the GL for the past 2 1/2 years, and it has never broken down on me or left me stranded (even when I ran it off the road at 30mph and put it into reverse at 40.....). It's not a fast car by any means, but with the way I used to drive I am very glad it's slow, easy to drive and safe. The only repairs I put into it were a new brake booster and new brakes / rotors all around. I still have this car today w/ a little over 130k on it, and I have no plans on selling it. Even the ugly green has grown on me.

2nd Car - 92' Taurus SHO MTX - After driving the GL for 2 years, I decided I wanted something a little faster w/ a 5 speed. I also wanted something with 4 doors that was bigger than a Civic and that I could buy / get inspected for under $5000. At first I was thinking a 91' / 92' Dodge Spirit R/T or an older Nissan Maxima, but the R/Ts were hard to come by and expensive to repair, and the Maximas hold their value really well. An older SHO then became the object of my dreams.

After scouring Autotrader and SHO forums online, I came across a guy in PA selling a 92' SHO MTX with 123k miles on it. The car had had many of the maintenance services required by older SHOs preformed at around 100k (New cam position sensor, cam gaskets, valve lash adjustment, water pump, etc.) It also had a beautiful coat of paint (only 1 repainted panel from what I can tell), and the interior is one of the best I have seen out of any SHO to this day. The guy wanted $2200, which I would have been more than happy to pay in full, but my father wouldn't let me purchase the car until he had seen it for himself :x . In the meantime, another buyer had talked with the guy and was coming to buy the car. A small bidding war ensued, and I ended up shelling out $3000 for the car.

The SHO is now my temperamental baby. Since ownership, I have put a new cat back exhaust on the car, along with 2 O2 sensors, a starter, battery, head unit and speakers, 2 12in subwoofers, a tie-rod end and various paint repairs. I love the SHO to death, and it's performance keeps me coming back for more. The SHO has also taught me how to work on my own car, which I am grateful for.

Enough of this for now...

[ScottyB]

for some reason Viper, i never knew you had an SHO. i love those things, and that V6 is killer. they are very underrated cars IMO.

[Dave]

stock for stock, its basically the same as my supra, just 4 doors and much more of a PITA to work on

[ViPER1313]

stock for stock, its basically the same as my supra, just 4 doors and much more of a PITA to work on

Hey, it's not that bad, as long as you don't mind taking the whole intake out of the car to change the spark plugs, scour the internet for non-cracked HVAC controls and other random ass parts, and own every tool known to man (ex... front brake bleeder values are metric and rears are SAE........ wtf mate :x ) Still keeps me coming back for more though :twisted: .