Tom was looking for volunteers for LOTM, so I hope y'all don't mind I volunteered.
For as long as I can remember, I've loved cars. Like many of you, I was born into a "Big Car Family." My dad comes from the school of "...if a 2x4 is good a 4x8 is better." So that translated into his cars. We're kinda weird tho, we love Ford trucks but GM cars... it's a little backwards but that's just the way we are.
The first car I can remember was our '76 Buick Regal. Here's me in '83 with my dad and I working on the Regal. I have distinct memories of standing in the back, on the hump and holding onto the back of the front seat, while they were driving (????!!!!).
Later that year my dad lost his job because of the recession and my sister was born so they "upgraded" to our first wagon. A '78 Ford LTD Wagon... This isn't the actual car, ours was that disgusting green color from the 70's.
After Old Betsy floor disintegrated and she blew the head gasket dad replaced it with a '76 Buick Lesabre, which was MINT green. (What was with the green?!)
Things got better for dad and the economy stabilized and my dad has always a van guy. So when we were old enough to put our own seat belts on, they went through a series of vans. First a Chevy then a bunch of Fords.
When I was 12, I started a lawn cutting business so I could buy my first car! It took me three years to save $1200 for my 1966 Chevy Impala with the factory 327.
We were going to do a simple restoration since all we had were hand tools and a 1 car garage. However, one day I went over a set of railroad tracks and heard an awful crunch. When I got it home I saw the frame under the driver's side door had snapped in two! You southern guys won't understand that... We found a rolling chassis for $750 and a case of beer. I had only the car for about two months before I had to stop driving it. The full off frame restoration commenced with pulling all the interior out, fenders off, and then proceeding to free the body from frame using hand tools, cutting oil, cinder blocks, 4x4 wood beams and our ONE 2-ton floor jack. In the mean time I still needed a set of wheels. So my daily driver was my 1980 Ford F100 Ranger with an inline 6 automatic trans. That was a great truck. The previous owner had painted it using a rattle can to cover up the fact the doors were different colors from the body. On occasion, if I was doing some spirited driving around a corner, the passenger side door would pop open, locked or not!
After a few years driving around the farm truck, I took out my first loan for $8,000 to buy a car. A 1996 Chevy Camaro - V6, Automatic, & retro T-tops
This car was later totaled by some idiot running a redlight while I turned in front of him. Even tho he ran the light, I was still considered at fault. I really think God had his hands in this tho. Because I was going down a path of drugs and alcohol and on this particular night, I was headed to a party.To cover the cost of court fees, lawyers, and to keep my butt out of jail for not being insured, I had to sell my beloved Impala. It was a painful lesson to learn and I've regretted my decisions during that time ever since.
My folks, once again bailed me out because I need wheels. So we found a 1984 Olds Delta 88 Broughm 2-door. MAN this thing was cool! It was grandma fresh and only had 70K miles on it (2005).
However, I was driving over 70 miles round trip every day to work and the big land yacht wasn't cutting it on gas mileage. So I traded it in for a (don't hate me for this) a 2001 VW Beetle GLS Turbo. This was a cool little car until the engine blew up one day....
...that's all I have to say about that.
My dad was selling his 1995 Ford work truck so I bought it off of him to drive everyday... again... not an economical vehicle. During this time, my wife was pregnant with our first baby and the regular cab truck worked fine with the baby seat, until 1 1/2 years later we found out why she kept getting the flu. SURPRISE!! You need a bigger car! My cousin-in-law was selling a 1976 Chevy Nova Sedan and after the fiasco with the Bettle I wanted a car that I could work on. By no means was it an award winner... or even a decent car, but it ran and I could work on it.
However, not having AC or a decent heater I sold my Ford truck to buy my first GM Longroof (if that counts). A 2001 Chevy Venture LS
Don't worry... we're getting to the Roadmaster now. The Nova had an issue with the carburetor and would stall if I didn't keep my foot on the gas pedal. So I found a local mechanic who said he'd rebuild the carb and get it running. Well... a 2 day job turned into a 2 month job. So I went there to raise hell and we got to talking for awhile and decided to work on a trade business. He'd do the carb on the Nova and fix the AC in on the Venture and I'd design some business cards and a new logo for him. If you ever get a chance to work out a trade deal with someone, DONT! Well, one day while the Nova was in his shop, he was pulling in another truck into the shop that didn't have brakes and he slammed into the front of my Nova, destroying the grill, the bumper, the hood, the radiator core support, headlight surround and driver's side fender. We estimated $1200 worth of damage in just parts (I only paid $800 for it). So instead of trying to fixing the turd he bought the Nova off me for $1200... now I needed a set of wheels. So I started shopping on Craigslist and came across this ad for a 1994 Buick Roadmaster Station Wagon for $1200 obo.... I went and looked at it and bought it on the spot.
Minus the Impala... this is by far the coolest car I've owned. I love the sleeper aspect of the LT1, the cargo space and how comfortable it is to drive. Right now, my plans include, but are not limited to the following:
- Fixing the rear brakes. The brake line running to the back of the car rusted and leaks fluid so I technically don't have rear brakes
- Install new heater core. Last winter, I got as far as pulling the dash off and it never dropped below 30.... wasn't really that cold
- Stop oil leak (oil leaks out of the pass side valve cover, drips down the back of the engine, drops onto the exhaust pipe and then smokes like hell)
- Remove/Strip/Polish the trim
- Fix rust problem areas
- Tint Windows (current tint is the Walmart peal-n-stick junk)
- New Exhaust
- Air Bag Suspension
My one and only mod so far
Towing my dad's Eddie Bauer Ford when it died a few months ago
The crinkled side of things. The PO tried taking out a house, I think.
No it's not a trick of the light... my garage is in-fact painted mint green. EVERY WALL in the house was painted a variation of green
We're still moving in... we've only been in our new house since January
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Tue Oct 02, 2012 9:39 am
I take it that the "mod" is the Buick logo on the air intake hose?
