The GoatBoat: 2006 Pontiac GTO

[Senor_Taylor]

I like CRV's, but doesn't that price seem a tad high?

Also those things have a full size fold out picnic table in the trunk. Sweet.

[davej]

I like CRV's, but doesn't that price seem a tad high?

Also those things have a full size fold out picnic table in the trunk. Sweet.

It's a dealer, so I always assume prices are like points in Who's Line is it Anyway?

I'd give them 5 or 6 for it

[Tyler.M]

How is it in snow? I'm planning to do some skiing this winter and need something with a decent awd system.

[WRXtranceformed]

If it's AWD it's going to be a beast in snow / bad weather. The CRV / RDX (like my wife has) depending on the year and variant had pretty good AWD systems. I don't think the CRV got the torque vectoring like our car has but it is known to be pretty mini tank-like

[Tyler.M]

Sounds about perfect, then. RAV4 looked interesting with the 270hp v6 but it's only part time AWD which completely sucks

[WRXtranceformed]

Sounds about perfect, then. RAV4 looked interesting with the 270hp v6 but it's only part time AWD which completely sucks

Not necessarily, our RDX is part time AWD too. When the system senses slip the AWD kicks in, it's actually quite a good system. Have you looked at our generation or the prior generation of RDX? I don't know what your price point is but the older ones look great and are still running like tanks. This is also by far the most fun SUV I have ever driven, with the exception of the SQ5

You can find 2008/2009s with +/- 100k miles for the 13s and less if you look for a while. Here's an SH-AWD with tech package loaded up for under 13k: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=28277&endYear=2010&modelCode1=RDX&showcaseOwnerId=0&makeCode1=ACURA&startYear=1981&firstRecord=25&searchRadius=300&showcaseListingId=0&mmt=%5BACURA%5BRDX%5B%5D%5D%5B%5D%5D&listingId=434283376&Log=0">http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale ... 3376&Log=0</a><!-- m -->

[Tyler.M]

I need something with less than 50k, even with Honda/Acura reliability. I'm prepared to spend so I have something I don't have to worry about for the next 10 years. RDX seems awesome though. I'm also interested in the cx-5's but CUV motor options are pretty crappy nowadays, everything is 4 cylinders with less than 200hp.

[JPolen01]

I'm also interested in the cx-5's but CUV motor options are pretty crappy nowadays, everything is 4 cylinders with less than 200hp.

Dead on with the cx-5. It's a great little car and pretty peppy compared to other 4 cylinders I have driven. It definitely leaves something to be desired at times though. It's a great bargain for the price when you consider the options you get. Really pleased with ours. Text me if you want to know anything else about it.

[Senor_Taylor]

next 10 years.

lul

[*insertusernamehere*]

I need something with less than 50k, even with Honda/Acura reliability. I'm prepared to spend so I have something I don't have to worry about for the next 10 years.

Said every car guy ever and said the guy who said he loved his GTO until it broke lol.

Why don't you just buy a Tacoma or a 4runner? They're basically the beasts of what you're shopping for. Better yet, get a land cruiser. Oh wait, never mind, you'll have to work on the cruiser probs.

[*insertusernamehere*]

. The recent 4runner thread has inspired me a bit and the reliability sounds like heaven on earth compared to my poop of a situation (that I always seem to keep returning to, wonder why that is?).

Lol I just read the full thing.You're already there man, just get a 4runner.

[Tyler.M]

4Runners are nice. Also cross shopping FJ Cruisers, just because I like the styling and they're a bit cheaper with the same powertrain as the 4Runner.

[Tyler.M]

Said every car guy ever and said the guy who said he loved his GTO until it broke lol.

.

I'm more frustrated with the situation than the car, I suppose. Warranty company shadiness + stealership idiocy has made this GTO pretty much a money pit at this point. The car itself is great, but the situation around it has been ridiculous both in time and money wasted on it. It could be a great platform down the road and it's an excellent GT car for road trips in the mountains but... I never intended to keep it for as long as I'll have to now. You live and you learn and my (several thousand dollar) lesson is to skip the warranty bullshit and do the maintenance myself.

[*insertusernamehere*]

FJ would also be super cool. Do iiiiiitttttt

[JustinG]

I'm also interested in the cx-5's but CUV motor options are pretty crappy nowadays, everything is 4 cylinders with less than 200hp.

Dead on with the cx-5. It's a great little car and pretty peppy compared to other 4 cylinders I have driven. It definitely leaves something to be desired at times though. It's a great bargain for the price when you consider the options you get. Really pleased with ours. Text me if you want to know anything else about it.

If you are serious about the CX-5 only get one that has the 2.5, the 2.0 is too small for it.

[Tyler.M]

Ended up finding a pretty minty 4Runner with a tow package (trailer brake!). It was actually a cheaper option then going with a cx5 or a crv for what I was looking at. I'll do a project thread here in a bit.

[Senor_Taylor]

Ended up finding a pretty minty 4Runner with a tow package (trailer brake!). It was actually a cheaper option then going with a cx5 or a crv for what I was looking at. I'll do a project thread here in a bit.

Welcome to the fam!

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk

[Tyler.M]

Welp, motor is back FWIW. Only took 7 months and cost enough that I'm just now peeling myself out of a fetal position.

But. It's done. I can now slowly get this thing back together.

First things first, getting the motor back in. Surprisingly hard to find a shop in Hburg that's willing to do motor installs, so looks like I'm going to have to do this the old fashioned way; with a coupla cases of beer and a few friends with some spare time. Christmas time means everyone is busy so this will probably take a little while to get everyone together. Fortunately, I have a hoist and I have some space to get this all done. Now I just need to figure out how to do this the proper way.

Just found out this week that Pedders started distributing to the US again. Pedders is an Australian suspension company that focuses primarily on Holdens and Fords and it looks like prices are pretty cheap for what they're offering. Adjustable coilovers, sway bars, polyurethane bushings all for less than 2k? Not too shabby. I'll hold off on full suspension stuff until I can validate the quality of the motor build though. Will probably do motor and tranny mounts for now and get the tires mounted.

Looking to do an LS7 clutch swap since the tranny is out, might as well get a new fly wheel too. I'll probably stick with stock weight. Driveshaft is a two-piece and needs a new center bearing: I think I found a shop that will do that. If not, I'll probably have to save up for a fancy one-piece. While I'm doing that, would make sense to do a health check on the diff, too. For some reason, Holden put in a pretty weak diff that is rated for stock LS2 HP but not much more. Could be a point of failure down the road. A built diff is not something I really want right now, but it could be the only option I have. Exhaust headers need a good cleaning, lots of surface rust. New belts. New cooling hoses. Might as well do a new radiator. Will need a new battery. Could probably go ahead and do fuel lines. Fuel pump should be okay, I can do that later, though.

At this point, the goal is to take my time on this build and to officially call it that, "a build". What was once a semi-practical daily driver, turned lawn-ornament with a murky future is officially my project car this will be built for....for what? I'm not sure yet. Just something that looks okay and drives pretty nice, for now. 90% of my car related adventures have been fun WVA trips and forays into more hardcore motoring have gotten derailed by lack of time, lack of money or both.

I'm rambling now. Sorry. Just putting down some notes so I can start ticking these things off a bit at a time. I've taken my lumps on this car, mainly through my poor decision making that is taken over by near-instantaneous anxiety that spawns from my lack of understanding of how this system works. I don't mean mechanical systems, I mean how this hobby works. It is not kind for someone that makes bad decisions, as few hobbies are. Lesson learned. Time to improve and start doing this right for once.

[davej]

Expensive lessons to learn, but still cheaper than a semester of college. I'm sure all the frustrations will melt away the first time you fire it up.

Unless it goes ka-blam-O.

Which it won't.

[Tyler.M]

Unless it goes ka-blam-O.

Which it won't.

This just caused such a roller coaster of emotions.