So after this, the TC was put back on the road, until I blew the rear. So thats two clutches, a transmission, two turbos, an engine, and a rear. I gave the car away as it was because of my frustration, and replaced it with this:
This was the worst mistake I made. Overpaid, put in far too much money, broke it many times over, and had it running correctly for maybe 20 minutes before I broke it. Worst of all, no one will buy it. I have more money in parts than I'm asking for the whole thing. It's going to the junkyard.
Got the car for a steal. Needs lifters, and luckily for me, a buddy of mine has a hookup. As long as nothing too bad happens, I'll be keeping this one for a long time.
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: 86XR7project on February 18, 2009, 12:27:53 PM
Eeeeew. GM product (*shudder*), I feel your pain, I drive a pilac Catera.
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: DVP on February 18, 2009, 12:35:08 PM
Wait so you gave the TC away?
Man, the LX was such a clean car. What happened?
F-Body......:barf: LOL just kidding. Almost bought one a few months ago because it was a steal. I just wanted to flip it though.
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: Tbird232ci on February 18, 2009, 12:46:52 PM
Quote from: 86XR7project;257483
Eeeeew. GM product (*shudder*), I feel your pain, I drive a pilac Catera.
You must have a low tolerance to pain, because I really enjoy this car. Far superior to any fox body car out of the box PERIOD.
Quote from: DVP
Wait so you gave the TC away?
Man, the LX was such a clean car. What happened?
F-Body...... LOL just kidding. Almost bought one a few months ago because it was a steal. I just wanted to flip it though.
Yeah, I gave it away. I couldn't deal with it anymore. The engine had no oil pressure at idle, had a blown rear, and the registration was suspended because it wouldn't pass emissions no matter what I did. I was tired of it. Car was well abused before I even thought about buying it.
I got rear ended in the LX in rush hour traffic. Guy wanted to get over a lane, was staring at his mirror, and ran right into me. He was doing about 60mph when he hit me. I came out fine, the power recline seat gave, so I didn't get the brunt of the impact. After I popped the trunk, hit the inertia switch, it fired up and drove home like nothing happened. Was a shame.
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: DVP on February 18, 2009, 12:56:02 PM
Quote from: Tbird232ci;257486
You must have a low tolerance to pain, because I really enjoy this car. Far superior to any fox body car out of the box PERIOD.
Yeah, I gave it away. I couldn't deal with it anymore. The engine had no oil pressure at idle, had a blown rear, and the registration was suspended because it wouldn't pass emissions no matter what I did. I was tired of it. Car was well abused before I even thought about buying it.
I got rear ended in the LX in rush hour traffic. Guy wanted to get over a lane, was staring at his mirror, and ran right into me. He was doing about 60mph when he hit me. I came out fine, the power recline seat gave, so I didn't get the brunt of the impact. After I popped the trunk, hit the inertia switch, it fired up and drove home like nothing happened. Was a shame.
Are you going to try and fix it or call it a loss?
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: Tbird232ci on February 18, 2009, 01:04:05 PM
The LX is long gone. I pulled the fenders, doors, and some misc stuff off and junked it. Would cost far too much to fix it. The car was bent pretty bad, you could see it in the roof, the door gap, and everything.
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: 86XR7project on February 18, 2009, 01:04:35 PM
I'll stick with the fox body thank you very much.
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: thunderjet302 on February 18, 2009, 03:05:12 PM
What year is the Firebird?
Too bad you junked the LX. I could have used a spare ECC head unit;)
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: Tbird232ci on February 18, 2009, 03:31:48 PM
Its a 97. Has a decent amount of options, and being a Trans Am, it has the LT1, and it has a T56. Very fun car.
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: thunderjet302 on February 18, 2009, 04:15:42 PM
Ah last of the LT1s. Looks to be a nice DD. Do I spy T-tops? ;)
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: Thunder Chicken on February 18, 2009, 04:18:20 PM
I can think of worse cars to own than an LT1/T56 Firebird...
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: V8Demon on February 18, 2009, 04:32:27 PM
Quote from: Thunder Chicken;257522
I can think of worse cars to own than an LT1/T56 Firebird...
Volvos, Saturns........:hick:
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: cougarcragar on February 18, 2009, 04:59:53 PM
I've had a fond feeling of the LT1 cars ever since I drove a '95 Z-28 with the 6-speed. That car was insanely fast. While the interior sucked, it was a blast to throw around. Very fun cars.
Keep an eye on the rear end in that car, too.
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: Thunder Chicken on February 18, 2009, 07:31:43 PM
Quote from: V8Demon;257527
Volvos, Saturns........:hick:
Maximas...
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: 86XR7project on February 18, 2009, 07:35:42 PM
Cateras
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: Chuck W on February 18, 2009, 07:45:10 PM
Quote from: 86XR7project;257570
Cateras
Who's Lisa Catera?
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: HAVI on February 18, 2009, 09:20:03 PM
Don't be surprised if you get in the firebird one morning and the shifter (and tranny) are gone. :D
Worse? my wife's 99 Blazer. :mad:
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: 86XR7project on February 18, 2009, 11:02:23 PM
Quote from: Chuck W;257572
Who's Lisa Catera?
What? I think I missed the bus here. :stupid: What I meant was my Caddilac Catera is a problem pit, bad intake gaskets, bad tranny leaking valve cover gaskets bald as hell tires, heated seats that no longer heat, a psgr seat that the leather is screwed up and is like cement......need I go on. I bought a lemon I though I could fix.
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: Loaded87IROC on February 18, 2009, 11:36:16 PM
Thats a sharp lookin Trans Am! Congrats! ;-)
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: Chuck W on February 18, 2009, 11:44:56 PM
Quote from: 86XR7project;257617
What? I think I missed the bus here. :stupid: What I meant was my Caddilac Catera is a problem pit, bad intake gaskets, bad tranny leaking valve cover gaskets bald as hell tires, heated seats that no longer heat, a psgr seat that the leather is screwed up and is like cement......need I go on. I bought a lemon I though I could fix.
You obviously don't remember the old commercials...
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: grutinator on February 19, 2009, 12:15:20 AM
if you take care of it. dont soup it all up. and dont get it wrecked. that will be one of the best things you ever bought. a good reliable car thats not a money pit. congrats man.
and now you have time you can get to work on the red bird ;)
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: 86XR7project on February 20, 2009, 03:26:19 PM
haha bad memory, I had a buddy that had a 95 Camaro Z28 T-56 it was fast as hell but I just don't like em. I do however like the Firebird/Trans Am styling better. I'd take one but it'd stay stock other than exhaust the engine bay is laid out all retarded.
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: ivygreen on February 20, 2009, 03:39:59 PM
Quote from: Tbird232ci;257486
Yeah, I gave it away. I couldn't deal with it anymore. The engine had no oil pressure at idle, had a blown rear, and the registration was suspended because it wouldn't pass emissions no matter what Idid. I was tired of it. Car was well abused before I even thought about buying it.
For future reference, Maryland lowered its requirements to register a car as Historic to 20 years old. Get Historic tags and...no more emissions inspections. Plus, tags are only 51.00 for two years.
Yeah, you're not supposed to use the car for daily transportation, but trust me, nobody checks.
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: Tbird232ci on February 20, 2009, 05:26:31 PM
Quote from: ivygreen;257872
For future reference, Maryland lowered its requirements to register a car as Historic to 20 years old. Get Historic tags and...no more emissions inspections. Plus, tags are only 51.00 for two years.
Yeah, you're not supposed to use the car for daily transportation, but trust me, nobody checks.
My Dodge is actually tagged historic, and I've been pulled over for no front tag, and they said nothing about the historic tags. I was fed up with the car and I wasn't going to waste any more time fixing the thing. When you've swapped out nearly every mechanical component of a car for it to keep failing, you tend to get burnt out quickly.
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: Thunder Chicken on February 20, 2009, 06:10:00 PM
Quote
When you've swapped out nearly every mechanical component of a car for it to keep failing, you tend to get burnt out quickly.
I had an MN12 T-Bird like that...
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: EricCoolCats on February 20, 2009, 07:38:18 PM
Good deal, Shawn, that's awesome. You'll love it.
And you're right about the exterior quality. There are parts of those F-bodies that are so well done, it puts the Mustang to shame. GM got a lot of those little details right. I am continually impressed, the more I check them out.
However...the interiors, everyone is right, it's not all that. Quality FTL. My brother has a '97 T/A WS6 6-speed, basically the same as your car, and even with a mere 2100 miles on the ticker you can watch the A-pillar flap as you drive. Very strange use of plastics too.
But hell...when it goes fast, you overlook those things. :)
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: mywifeskitty on February 21, 2009, 12:20:20 PM
Quote from: Chuck W;257572
Who's Lisa Catera?
Quote from: 86XR7project;257617
What? I think I missed the bus here. :stupid: What I meant was my Caddilac Catera is a problem pit, bad intake gaskets, bad tranny leaking valve cover gaskets bald as hell tires, heated seats that no longer heat, a psgr seat that the leather is screwed up and is like cement......need I go on. I bought a lemon I though I could fix.
Quote from: Chuck W;257624
You obviously don't remember the old commercials...
here it was tia carrera... the duck would go on and on about it......
btw, EVERY catera is a piece 'o .... gm really screwed the pooch on that one....
as for the trans am, they are wicked fast..... when i was selling them, i drove a 1997 Firehawk.... what a fun car to drive, but i agree that the interior was .... felt like i was in a sardine can, but a really FAST sardine can :)
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: Tbird232ci on February 21, 2009, 09:21:38 PM
Quote from: EricCoolCats;257898
But hell...when it goes fast, you overlook those things. :)
You don't overlook things such as engine placement. I was getting ready to start tearing it down to do the lifters and pushrods...this thing is no joke to work on. It may handle better and go faster than a fox, but a fox is much easier to work on.
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: V8Demon on February 21, 2009, 10:27:33 PM
Quote
a fox is much easier to work on.
Understatement of the month, my man ;)
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: 86XR7project on February 23, 2009, 01:39:29 PM
Amen to that. Thats why I'd never buy one to mod in any way.
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: Chuck W on February 23, 2009, 01:47:08 PM
Quote from: mywifeskitty;257971
here it was tia carrera... the duck would go on and on about it......
You obviously don't remember them either...:flame:
They would say "Lease a Catera"...
The duck would go..."Who's Lisa Catera?"
Look it up...
On topic...Yes Shawn, the Foxes are MUCH easier to work on.
I hated doing parts for the F-Bodies.
I did do one of the cage installs on one for HP TV (The old Chuck and Joe show on TNN or whatever it was). We installed it on Chuck's F-Body. When I say "we", I did most of the work while they worked on copy points and then planned their shots for the show. Still at that it was done in an 8-hour day, stopping to shoot the show along the way. I used to love it when folks would call in saying it took them a week, etc to install one...I would just reply that I did it in a day with actors and a camera crew in the way ;)
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: jcassity on February 23, 2009, 11:41:04 PM
i had no idea you had been through all this,, kudo's for the calm post. Im sure you've been long past pissed off and posting all this was pretty easy.
Atleast you could easily transition back into a bird, its not like you dont know what your doing.
Title: The Daily Driver Shuffle.
Post by: Haystack on February 23, 2009, 11:57:46 PM
that would be a good donor car if that one gets wrecked...