87's Garage

[EiGhTySeVeN]

1987 Starcraft Nova popup camper. Looks terrible, staying in it was even worse. Unloaded it on the last day of the nationals 10 minutes after I sold the GTP.

Bought 6/11/13, sold 7/21/13

Now for the Harley. Bought my uncle's 1987 Harley Davidson Sportster 883 in NJ. Brought it home, drained the gas, did an oil change and it's running pretty good. I still like the Yamaha way better, so my brother rides it more than I do.

Down in Jersey. Dirty

Back home, cleaned and took the bags off

Day I took the GTP out of storage I wanted to get both of my Grand Prixs together. I had also done my front inlay for the blue car by this time.

Black N' Blue

Sent these to my friend Zac who's got a 01 GTP Special Edition, clone to my black car except white. Next day he came over after work and we took these.

There was more but Zac has them

[EiGhTySeVeN]

Finally got around to doing this. This is the set of torque stars I got out of pick n pull

Sneak peak:

Tires were extremely dirty, and once the rims were black it stood out even more. So I did a lot of cleaning on each tire.

2 of the centers had kept the red in it. The other 2 faded, so I did the center arrows in black like on special edition center caps

And of course with my luck, as I was trying to take the chrome torques off, I stripped a lug. I hate it when people don't work on their cars. The previous owner never did anything to the car, he just had a garage do everything. And they torqued the rims down way too much. So I left it, and while I was at work my dad wondered over with a power drill

Scratched my chrome rims all to hell around the lug. I was pissed. But at least it was off. Running 4 lugs on the driver's side rear for now. After this I went on a photoshoot with Zac and his 01 GTP Special Edition. Pics to follow

[EiGhTySeVeN]

There are a lot of pics, so I'll just do the cream of the crop. You will also see my latest change

Me and Zac have driven past this 40th many times and always wondered about it. So we stopped and talked to the guy. Basically the car doesn't run, and the guy is willing to sell it extremely cheap. We gave him our numbers and we'll be the first he calls once he gets the ok from the bank to get rid of it. The bank won't come and get it because they think it isn't worth it

If you've read through this thread you'll recognize this next one

This next spot is my favorite

Another re-do

I've also gone on another shoot since then and I'll post that one later as well

[[ChaosweaveR]]

Cool pics.

Most shops do that because it's efficient. They'll get so busy that taking the time to do it right becomes inconvenient. Even though most shops will use "torque wrenches" on their impact guns, their techniques usually render them useless. I still use an impact gun, but I simply "blip" the lugs snug, as I like to say, then put the car back on the ground and torque them to spec by hand. NEVER have I had a lug on too tight with my method.

Oh, since PA junkyards fucking rule, you should find me Honda parts.

[killerspeed101]

Why am i never invited to these shoots???

[EiGhTySeVeN]

Chaos if you're serious, let me know what you need. I have two local yards I go to at least once a month. And Dalton, we'd love to have you in NY. Sucks I missed the Pacer, but I'm sure you, me and Zac will eventually meet up. Plus, I can go to Canada, not sure about Zac though

[[ChaosweaveR]]

I know it's a longshot, but:

Front lip off 03-05 Accord coupes

Any aftermarket exhaust on an 03-05 Accord Coupe 2.4L

Any intake off a 2.4L Accord 03-07

16" wheels off any +12 Civics (the two tone black and machined face ones)

Let me know

[EiGhTySeVeN]

I'll definitely check out the Honda section next time, but +12's are almost never seen in a pick n pull, at least in my area. I'll keep you updated

[EiGhTySeVeN]

Went to Sylvan beach with Zac. On the way we met up with a friend of his with a Regal GS. Zac did a few changes to his GTP. He added rain guards that he got from the kid with the regal, changed his grilles, and swapped his special edition rims for black torque stars. We also meet up with a fellow member on here, Rob. The GXP and the Trans Am are both Rob's

[Ghost]

its a double stuffed Oreo.

[EiGhTySeVeN]

*Blue black metallic! At night its basically black

Side note, since it's automotive related I figured I'd make a quick note. Me and a buddy of mine were asked to go retrieve a junk Impala down near the PA border. We were literally 1 block away from the PA border. We didn't know anything about this Impala, kid told us that he only wanted the front end, bumper, hood, grille and fenders. When we got there the car didn't run, wouldn't get out of park, passenger side rear was missing a lug and the driver's side rear tire was locked up. We tried jacking the car up but the jack went threw the rocker twice due to so much rust. The car was falling apart but we dragged it onto a tow dolly, broke the tire free by dragging it onto pavement and were off. About an hour later I had fallen asleep when I got a text. It woke me up and my buddy asked me if the car looked a little lopsided. I looked back and the driver's side looked low, so we pulled over figuring we had to adjust the straps. Nope, this is what we found:

We figured we were probably dragging the car for between a mile and five miles, but we really don't know. Tried jacking it up and the jack went threw the rocker again. We threw the donut on and as we were tightening the lugs guess who pulls up behind us? A cop! Didn't see a single cop all the way down or for the first hour back. When the tire fell off it took all the lugs so we stole 3 lugs off the other tires. With no tire the control arm got scrubbed almost all the way off, caliper was gone, rotor was nice and shiny from spinning 60mph down a road for 5 miles, and every exhaust hanger had broken off allowing the tip to be grinded down to a very interesting looking point. Cop told us we couldn't drive with the exhaust like that, so we tied it up and asked were we could buy a tire. He told us we were about a quarter mile away from a shop so we stopped there and the guy told us there was no way of getting the car back to Syracuse without a trailer or a rollback. So we left it and went home. The end

[Ringo64]

Oh man. Sounds like an adventure for sure.

[EiGhTySeVeN]

Bought another car. A replacement for the GTP. Someone guess:

[[ChaosweaveR]]

A Chevy Nova! I want to say a 68 or 69.

[EiGhTySeVeN]

70. It's got a 350 w/ a 4bbl carb, edelbrock intake, headers, TH350 tranny, and a 10 bolt posi rear end

Plans are to redo the interior, black steelies wrapped in RWL tires, and paint it. This will replace the GT as the daily next spring. I'll keep the GT just for winters

[[ChaosweaveR]]

I'd modernize the suspension and brakes as much as possible if you're doing to DD it.

[Ghost]

thats cool. hows it sound?

[EiGhTySeVeN]

I'd modernize the suspension and brakes as much as possible if you're doing to DD it.

It was probably a base model b/c it's not power brakes and it's drums all around. Which doesn't bother me since my van is drum all around w/o power brakes and I could DD that. It's a project I can drive so over time I'll slowly build it, but for now as far as mechanics go I'm keeping it the way it is

[EiGhTySeVeN]

thats cool. hows it sound?

Not loud enough for me

Probably throw glasspacks or something on it. My buddy has a 68 firebird w/ a 350 in it w/ cherry bombs. I like the sound of that.

My dad's chevelle has flowmasters and while they sound good, they aren't mean enough sounding to me

[EiGhTySeVeN]

I wanted a nice fall shot with the GT. Just so happens my neighbor's tree was a very nice red

[EiGhTySeVeN]

Wow, I haven't updated this in awhile, almost a year. A lot has changed, got more vehicles, got rid of some, just the usual. Since the last time I posted in this thread, October of 2013, I acquired a new job. I'm now a federal employee, meaning more money for toys, but less time to enjoy them. Last October I had my van, VStar, 87 Harley, 02 Grand Prix GT and my little Honda Express II. So I'll start from there. In December of 13 I bought this:

[EiGhTySeVeN]

Hmmm, it looks like I can no longer use the "paste" option on this site. I can only attach images at the end of a post. Well I'll make it work. That above is a 01 GMC 3500HD. I got it in December of 13. And they weren't kidding when they said heavy duty. The rear axle on that truck is so heavy duty that I was told I'd need a CDL to drive the truck with just a simple car trailer attached to it. Reason we got it is my dad has always had a truck. He would lease a truck, and when the lease was up trade it in and get a new truck. On the last truck we had he didn't lease a new truck. Instead he got the piece of junk below this text. It had a V6 in it and a ton of problems. So we got rid of it after about a month. Then we found this GMC. I knew I'd eventually need it, so I bought half of it.

Next up I bought the pic following the f150. 1995 Damon Challenger. 32'. I bought it in January of 14. Story with that one is I came home from work around 9 at night. My dad's retired so he spends his days working around the house or online. He found the rv and showed it to me when I got home. Price was almost too good to be true. So I called the guy and made an appointment to see it the following morning. That night it snowed really bad. I guess some other guy was supposed to see it before me, but he couldn't make it with the snow. We had just gotten a new Subaru, so getting out into the middle of nowhere was easy. I bought it on the spot. Plan was to sell it in the spring and double my money. But I wanted to use it for Syracuse Nationals to camp in, so that's what we did. I'll be selling it in the spring.

Next!

Oh I forgot, I bought a Mazda. Bought a 02 Mazda 626 just for a quick flip. Bought this in September of 13. Turned out it wasn't as good as I had hoped and I sold it after a week. Made $50. Wooo! Pic below the rv.

Alright. So back to the good stuff. I started driving the Nova as a daily driver in May. It's been a great daily, drum brakes and all. Before I even put it on the road I ordered new rims and tires. The rear tires I got were too big for the old set up in it so I got Gabriel HiJacker air shocks, gassed up a little bit. Rear tires are 255's. The rims are Cragar Deluxe 69's. I love this style, knowing full well that most people hate my wheel choice. I don't care. I also had a plate made for it. You can see it in the pic below the pic of the Mazda. The name I chose for the car is exactly what it sounds like. You don't like my car? You don't like what I've done to it? It should be this way or that way? This car is supposed to be the "insert name on plate" of the car show. Exactly what I wanted.

So since I was driving the Nova I had no use for the GT. So I sold it in June. I was going to just keep it in storage until winter, but I looked under it with my new lift (more below) and realized the rockers weren't just rusty, they were gone. So off it goes.

So the lift. Best tool I've ever bought. It is an Atlas 9000lb base plate lift. Less than $2k, and shipped right into town I think it was $2100 or $2200. I've already gotten my money's worth out of it. I bought it in May. If anyone is curious about having a lift just ask me. Easy installation, easy maintenance, and working on cars is beyond easy now. Plus it's fun to just put a car on it and walk underneath it. It's like looking at a completely different car.

Alright so back to cars. I needed a winter rat to replace the GT. I didn't want the typical boring plastic car, so I found this: (bottom 2 pics). So I went and looked at it, and it was mint. Drove great and everything. And the trunk was huge. I could have literally put my motorcycle in it. I wasn't really interested in it though, so I asked him the lowest he'd take, I think he said like $4k or something. I didn't even give a number back, just said I couldn't pay that and left. Went home, ordered pizza, really good pizza, and while I was trying to enjoy it the guy texted me and asked if I'd make an offer. I lowballed him, thinking I'd just show him I wasn't interested. To my surprise he countered with an offer $100 more than mine. Told him nope, I was paying more than what I had just texted him. Then he says ok and it looks like I just bought the car. Damn. So I bring him the money the next day, drive it home and try to go the DMV to get it titled and registered. When I get there there's this mess with the title, basically I couldn't title it. So I called the guy and he took it back and I got my money back. I was kind of mad the guy wasted my time but oh well. I got to own it for 4 hours. When I dropped it off I told him I'd still buy it if he got the issue with the title taken care of, if in the meantime I didn't find another car, guess what, I did. Pics of the car below. It dwarfed the Nova

[Ringo64]

Hmmm, it looks like I can no longer use the "paste" option on this site. I can only attach images at the end of a post. Well I'll make it work.

You can ONLY paste in URL's of images OR upload your image as an attachment and click the "Add into post" so that you can organize it in your post (this will add some bbcode into your post and you can organize it). You cannot paste an image directly into a post without one of these two.

[Young gun]

Now that last one is a cruiser. Interesting progession. Hope you keep the nova it looks pretty BA as it is

[EiGhTySeVeN]

So that cruiser was a 1976 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale. It only had the 350, so it was a bit of a dog, but man that thing rode great. Unfortunately since owning it didn't come to fruitation, I went on the hunt again. Acquired the Delta's successor two weeks later on July 14th. It's much more Forever-Pontiac-ess. Who agrees?

1974 Pontiac Firebird. Original numbers matching 350 with TH350 tranny. Decoded the vin and found it to originally be a single exhaust car, but someone put dual glasspacks dumping just below the seats. This thing sounded so mean. The body was bad, but I didn't mind since the whole point of the car was to be a winter rat. 74 firebird in the winter, 70 nova in the summer. Also while decoding the vin I realized that this was the 455th firebird made in 1974, so why didn't they put a 455 in it? Forgot if the original carb was a 2bbl or a 4bbl, but it now had a Holley 4bbl on it. Original color was fire coral bronze, but someone put a amateur paint job on it, enamel based, no clear. And no, it wasn't posi:

Side track to my buddy's car. Not sure if I mentioned this earlier in this thread or have shown the car earlier, but my buddy Nick had an El Camino as his first car. Loved it, but it had issues. Unfortunately it caught on fire from a combination of a gas leak and backfiring. So Nick, his brother and I drove all the way to the other end of Michigan to buy the El Camino's replacement: a 1968 Pontiac Firebird. Originally a sprint 6, it now has a 350 bored .40 over with a M21 4 spd. This how we got it:

It now looks like this:

He has put a new black interior in it, and had it painted hugger orange/carousel red. The American Racing outlaw II's were supposed to go on my 74 once he put the new Cragar's on.

I'll go more into detail later