Ok,

I got to thinking some more about this today after seeing a post here that fizzled out last summer...

I want to see if I can get this idea I’ve had for a couple years rolling.

I'd like to see if a larger group of us could make our own informal club.

I have observed that many enthusiasts break off into their own factions ~ which IMHO, is really unwarranted, and in turn isolates us from each other.

Let’s tentatively call the group;

GM-WWD of Alberta

Or spelt out;

GM Wrong Wheel Drive of Alberta

“wrong” ~ Is a joke directed at the fact that most compact/4cylinder cars are FWD, and all the fast cars that get the glory are rear wheel drive, and well, the whole “FWD” is too familiar.

I envision this group to include any GM fwd or 4 cylinder car made from 1985 to present.

I do not want to limit us to strictly four cylinder cars, but rather welcome any car that would come in base trim as a four cylinder ~ and rather than only invite Ecotecs, I’d like to open it up to 2200’s, Twin Cams, and Quad4’s as well as the various V6’s that these cars came with ~ IMHO, diversity should actually help this group…

I short list of cars that I would like to see in this group is;

[*]Chevrolet Cavalier
[*]Chevrolet Cobalt
[*]Chevrolet HHR
[*]Buick Skylark
[*]Oldsmobile Calais
[*]Oldsmobile Achieva
[*]Oldsmobile Alero
[*]Pontiac J2000
[*]Pontiac Grand Am
[*]Pontiac Sunbird
[*]Pontiac Fiero
[*]Pontiac Sunfire
[*]Pontiac Pursuit/G5
[*]Pontiac Solstice
[*] Saturn Ion
[*] Saturn Sky

Think of this as a GM car club, for all the cars that the other car clubs don’t really want to have in their groups… or a larger group that for the cars which already have a small following.

Alberta has a lot of people, so there’s really no reason why we cannot find other enthusiasts

I have met up on a couple occasions with some members of the ‘Grand Am Owners Group’, as well as a couple ‘Quad 4 Forums’ members, and of late members of ‘Cobalt SS (dot net)’…
Only with the latter group have I ever seen more than ten of us get together, and even then, (this past year) there has really only been a core group of less than a half dozen.

I’d like to post this on ‘Beyond’, but have tried signing up (feature disabled for at least a year now), tried emailing admin, and tried getting friends to email admin… all to no luck.

Can any of you help spread the word to see if this can happen?
(feel free to copy and paste this post in other forums, or link it in other forums)

If anyone is interested in seeing a group like this get together please email me at (spaced & spelt out to hopefully avoid spam bots): unruh jon at hot mail dot com

If there’s a forum that I do not know about please email me about it…

Thanks for reading!

I like the FWD part, because small cars get overlooked a lot. But why can't it be any make of FWD car? I like Js and drive a Toyota. I won't fault a guy driving a built Honda or an old Sentra SE-R or a well executed show car Neon because of the brand of car s/he drives. You said it yourself: Diversity would actually help this sort of thing. I'd just like to be able to drive somewhere and meet up with other people who like modding and driving compact cars.


2010 Honda Fit LX

Tony T Crams wrote:I won't fault a guy driving a built Honda or an old Sentra SE-R or a well executed show car Neon because of the brand of car s/he drives.

I will

On a serious note though, I dont know how much success your going to have with this. There are a ton of other clubs out there for fwd cars. Not to mention half the cars you listed people simply dont mod or are around anymore. Even back in the day when Cavaler/sunfires were more popular to mod around here there would be 5-10 people tops that would come out. Now a days, not much left there. Your almost better to group up with the Cobalt/G5 club. Not harping on you either, just the way I see it.






"Straight roads are for fast cars, turns are for fast drivers"-Colin McRae

onecleancavy wrote:
On a serious note though, I dont know how much success your going to have with this. There are a ton of other clubs out there for fwd cars.

In or around Calgary?

Please name one Calgary area club catered towards domestic 'tuners' ~ that regularly meets...
(BTW, a bunch of imports with a couple ricers rolling in domestics, meeting at, and getting kicked out of the Chinook mall parking lot doesn't cut the cake in my book)...

Please note, I am not interested in making a web site, or some online "club"... I feel the need to clarify this.

onecleancavy wrote:
Not to mention half the cars you listed people simply dont mod or are around anymore. Even back in the day when Cavaler/sunfires were more popular to mod around here there would be 5-10 people tops that would come out. Now a days, not much left there. Your almost better to group up with the Cobalt/G5 club. Not harping on you either, just the way I see it.

Did you just dismiss yourself there??

I know what you mean, but what I'm thinking is that there might be four or five J-body owners up to this, another five or so Cobalt/G5 owners, maybe a solstice owner, and maybe one Grand Am owner... all of these cars have their own little corner of the internet, but on a ground level here in Calgary, these groups aren't really embraced into any club (EG: how often are J-bodies welcomed into local show & shines?!? ~ I saw a nice on in Three Hills about five years ago.) ~ I say that our common bond would be enthusiasm for the "other" domestics...

I've had a Sunfire, my brother has a Z24... there's two...
I already know at least three other Cobalts who would come out...

What really spurred me on here is reading a post here of someone trying to get other local members to meet last summer...
Granted not everyone will always be able to make it ~ but the larger the group, and the more planned out events or meetings are, the more often people would be able to make it out.

There are a couple cobalt type websites, with decent local membership, but to date none of those sites/groups really put out the welcome mat for non Cobalts...

@ Tony;
I know what you're meaning, but look at it this way, typically the Import 'tuner' owner is a whole different type of enthusiast than the domestic 'tuner' owner.
Although I'm not into the scene, I'm confident that right now there are a couple local clubs that cater to the import crowd ~ I met a guy who drives a Cobalt SS(turbo) at race city last year who said he was the sole domestic in his club (that met downtown iirc)...

Crap, if we were able to make something of this, I'd never say someone couldn't come out ~ but as with any club, there would have to be some kind of loose pre-requisite to join the club...

Does that make sense?

And 'Wrong Wheel Drive' is just one suggestion for the club name;
think of it as the anti-thesis of this kind of group...

another name that might be more encompassing might be:
- Domestic Tuners (of Calgary)
- GM Tuners (of Calgary)
- 'Imports not allowd' (just joking!)
- <8 (of Calgary) / 'less than eight (cylinders) of Calgary

AJ B, myself, and Brad have already been through this crap. We were the only three that would show up in our J's at the 780Tuners meets at United Cycle. They are a good crowd of people to get along with, though there will be the occasional jackass with a stock DSM or Civic that will make fun of a J. Bear in mind that a lot of the members may be rig-pigs or work in other high paying professions and have a lot of cash to throw at something that was better made. I do love my Z, but there are times I wish I had something that didn't require dumping a lot cash into just to make sure it runs good. Sadly, J's are very bad for this and a lot of people know about the numerous flaws with the platform.

Personally, I don't like showing up in a car that has the reputation of being one of top favorites at the local Pick 'n Pull.

Brian E wrote:AJ B, myself, and Brad have already been through this crap. We were the only three that would show up in our J's at the 780Tuners meets at United Cycle. They are a good crowd of people to get along with, though there will be the occasional jackass with a stock DSM or Civic that will make fun of a J.

This touches on two of my above points;
1) low number of similar platform domestic enthusaists who will actually come out
2) import guys typically being a totally different crowd

Brian E wrote:...I do love my Z, but there are times I wish I had something that didn't require dumping a lot cash into just to make sure it runs good. Sadly, J's are very bad for this and a lot of people know about the numerous flaws with the platform.

Personally, I don't like showing up in a car that has the reputation of being one of top favorites at the local Pick 'n Pull.

that "reputation" is purely a result of the market being flooded with them.

IMHO, the J-body is, and always had been a compact GM;
a car that was intended to be sold in high numbers, and designed/built with compromises that would make the car competitive with the compact car market.
I have, and always will like the j-bodies ~ I actually prefer the diversity therein with the Jbodies over the Deltas (the J replacement, which is also now after a HUGE 6/7 year run discontinued) in the fact that there was alot more diversity in them, and just how many different drivetrains!!?! (there were at least thirteen engines if my memory serves me correctly) ~ the deltas are all ecotec... not to mention the different divisions cars were each distinctly different inside & out.

That bad rap, is really unfounded - for people who like them, there are still 1980's versions driving around I met up with a guy the other year who had a 1986 or 1987 Subird GT (1.8LTurbo/5spd/convertible iirc) ... every single car has it's faults...

But back to the subject at hand...

There are these cars around town;
There are local enthusiasts that don't have a group to hang out with ~ unless two or four of them are able to meet up...
Although you might not realize it, the Cobalt's have the same rap as the J-bodies, and also of late suffer from not having a 'group' to meet up with...
I'd like to start a group for these "other" cars...

With the impending closure of Race City, there's going to be even less places for us domestic guys to hang out at unless you're into the local (illegal) racing scene ~ which I am not a part of btw.

Taken this past year on a night that literally like four of us met up at Race City;



signatures are for loosers.

unruhjonny wrote:

onecleancavy wrote:
On a serious note though, I dont know how much success your going to have with this. There are a ton of other clubs out there for fwd cars.

In or around Calgary?

Please name one Calgary area club catered towards domestic 'tuners' ~ that regularly meets...
(BTW, a bunch of imports with a couple ricers rolling in domestics, meeting at, and getting kicked out of the Chinook mall parking lot doesn't cut the cake in my book)...


Please note, I am not interested in making a web site, or some online "club"... I feel the need to clarify this.

onecleancavy wrote:
Not to mention half the cars you listed people simply dont mod or are around anymore. Even back in the day when Cavaler/sunfires were more popular to mod around here there would be 5-10 people tops that would come out. Now a days, not much left there. Your almost better to group up with the Cobalt/G5 club. Not harping on you either, just the way I see it.

Did you just dismiss yourself there??

I know what you mean, but what I'm thinking is that there might be four or five J-body owners up to this, another five or so Cobalt/G5 owners, maybe a solstice owner, and maybe one Grand Am owner... all of these cars have their own little corner of the internet, but on a ground level here in Calgary, these groups aren't really embraced into any club (EG: how often are J-bodies welcomed into local show & shines?!? ~ I saw a nice on in Three Hills about five years ago.) ~ I say that our common bond would be enthusiasm for the "other" domestics...

I've had a Sunfire, my brother has a Z24... there's two...
I already know at least three other Cobalts who would come out...

What really spurred me on here is reading a post here of someone trying to get other local members to meet last summer...
Granted not everyone will always be able to make it ~ but the larger the group, and the more planned out events or meetings are, the more often people would be able to make it out.

There are a couple cobalt type websites, with decent local membership, but to date none of those sites/groups really put out the welcome mat for non Cobalts.

Thats what im saying, there is no turn out. Jbodyalberta used to have meets. They dont exist anymore because most of them moved on to different cars etc. To make a club like you are trying to do is only catering to a very small group. Its worth the effort but I just dont see it going beyond a very few people actually coming out or it will turn into a crap show like most of the clubs that have started around, just like you mentioned.





"Straight roads are for fast cars, turns are for fast drivers"-Colin McRae

yes, but you're expected small response is in act why I made the list that big.

I didn't make a long list thinking that a hundred people would show up.

every club starts small;
it's finding a core group of people, that make a club work.

I know at least three other Cobalts that would make it out ~ and I see the occasional really nice Solstice...
One of the Cobalt Guys goes normally to High River, I saw him first at the '08(?) Firebird club show & shine... but he seems to be the only Cobalt guy (also a former Jbody owner btw) who's been going to shows that will have him...

I am planning on going to the car show this year at First Alliance (one of the bigger local shows of the summer)... not sure yet which GM-FWD car I'll take though.



signatures are for loosers.

Although you are right about a lack of people continuing to drive and modify these types of vehicles, what is wrong with starting out small and having, say, 5-10 people in a group?

BCJbody has lots of members on their site, but few members that actually get out to the hells gate cruises and random meet ups. having too many people can be a downside.

Personally, I have driven by a few cavy's that are nice, but don't know of any other boosted cavalier in Calgary. Sadly, this platform doesn't get enough respect in the tuner world, and there isn't enough interest.


But hell, if we start up something, I am definitely in!

Im not against the idea, nor am I counting myself out. I just gave you my opinion.

Id like to get into more local shows once the car is finished. I dunno for me its more on my own. I like the fact that nobody els or next to nobody has a modded cavalier around here, and love that I can go to pick n pull and get whatever I want on a daily basis lol. Im not up for hanging out with some teenagers at a local tim hortons, talking sh&t about cars and ripping around on the streets. Not my idea of fun, grew out of that era long time ago.


"Straight roads are for fast cars, turns are for fast drivers"-Colin McRae

Erik Nyman wrote:Although you are right about a lack of people continuing to drive and modify these types of vehicles, what is wrong with starting out small and having, say, 5-10 people in a group?

BCJbody has lots of members on their site, but few members that actually get out to the hells gate cruises and random meet ups. having too many people can be a downside.

Personally, I have driven by a few cavy's that are nice, but don't know of any other boosted cavalier in Calgary. Sadly, this platform doesn't get enough respect in the tuner world, and there isn't enough interest.


But hell, if we start up something, I am definitely in!

No there is nothing wrong with having 5-10 people. It just seems to die out fast when you do. You need to have some kind of cycle of new memebers or people at least some new activity.

Hvaing something like a bash where BC, Alberta, Sask js would be really cool. I think they did have them back in the day.


"Straight roads are for fast cars, turns are for fast drivers"-Colin McRae

I am totally game for meeting up with people, and seeing something start out...

we could hope for things to escalate, but I'd rather take it one step at a time ~ even the 2010 western canadian cobalt meet fizzled out at the last minute;
I agree that there isn't too much support for j-bodies, but that doesn't mean they aren't nice cars, and can't be cool (who says you have to be the fastest car around to have a cool car!?)

As a matter of fact, if other cars started coming out ~ I'd fit in with the other Cobalt guys, without having to drive my own Cobalt...



this is the one time I brought my Grand Am out to a car show ~ and yes, I was the only GM FWD car there...



This is a candid shot of me with my GA at Race City from 2009;




signatures are for loosers.

btw... I also still kinda itch to buy a Sunfire GT;
by my great-aunt's place is one that doesn't appear to be driven anymore;
and I have an engine from a '95 GT (sold the transmission last year) that I've been figuring out what to use it in

on the other side of my block is a yellow Sunfire GT with either an RK Sport, or GMPP hood on it... the owner appears to baby the car...

I liked the '98 Sunfire I had for a spell...





It was a great little car...

I would love to see some J-body enthusiast come out...



signatures are for loosers.

I like the approach you are taking to this. I have seen a few cavs and fires around that are slightly modded or look like the owner takes care of them. Dont ever see them post on the org or on jbodyalberta.com though. Getting the word out to these people could be fun Iv got three j bodys in the family, gf has a 97 sunflower, 2.2, completely stock. She just uses it as a daily driver. Also my sister has a 98 z24, stock, except its lowered and il be putting some wheels on it for her this summer. Plus my cav which is heavily modified to say the least. Hopefully this can get going, id like to see it work and have some fun with it.


"Straight roads are for fast cars, turns are for fast drivers"-Colin McRae

Brian your right MOST JBodies are laughed at especially poorly modded ones, you saw how had it was for me to get some respect in Edmonton for us guys, due to some being stock, or looking like Brad's "fish car", and yes BC j does have meets and we have meets up here, but to have a club 5-10 ppl, why not call it bunch of friends hanging out, you need to have strong and common bond not just ideas, ideas get you knowwhere if dont act on it, sadly yes even though Im not in Alberta I still know the tuner scene pretty well

"As I lay rubber down the street, I pray for traction I can keep, but if I spin and begin to slide, please dear God protect my ride." -Amen

I dont know about you guys up north but I miss the old Jspeed days with alot of people from Calgary. Unfortunately I got on there as it was fizzling out and never got out to a meet but did meet a number of the members over the years. Awesome people!

I would really like to see people have get togethers on early saturdays and go for a cruise out to the mountains or go to breakfast and have fun together. I do understand the gm only thing but like someone (I think it was tony but I could be wrong) said, it would be nice to bring out other cars once and a while. Maybe enter a couple of car shows in the area... I plan on going to a few if I get my car cleaned up and it would be nice to have some people with similar cars to talk with... Fortunately I got to hang out with some relatable younger guys in the 2 Olds MVP Car shows i've entered.

Either way im keen on the idea!


had a blown ecotec swapped 2000 cavy, now just an 02 Grand Am, and a 74 BMW 2002...

Ok guys, rather than do the tried and true thing of trying to have this group meet on a website - I'm going to try something slightly different.

I've made a Facebook "group", and this might work by letting everyone get emails for any times we're thinking of doing something, or meeting somewhere.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_151166574939170

yeah, I know facebook is lame... but I've got some interest from people not on any site ~ plus this is one of a couple sites in which I'm posting this.

Please join the group if you're one of the guys (or gals) here who's interested in this.




signatures are for loosers.

Well hows about you post any scheduled get togethers on jbody for us people that dont use fb when the time comes?


had a blown ecotec swapped 2000 cavy, now just an 02 Grand Am, and a 74 BMW 2002...

I can do that - that's no problem.

I just figured that since there's a high percentage of younger people (under 40) these days on FB, that it might be a good (unbiased) meeting place;

I also see (since setting this up) that there is an option for me (as the group leader) to email the whole group in one shot ~ so this might help get word out in advance to any 'events'...

Jonathan


signatures are for loosers.

yeh, once we meet a couple times im sure you can just mass txt everyone

I dont know about you guys but im deadly keen on getting my cavy out once the snow subsides!


had a blown ecotec swapped 2000 cavy, now just an 02 Grand Am, and a 74 BMW 2002...

care to tell me anything about your car?


signatures are for loosers.

00 Cavy, eco swap, m62 blower, eibach pro drop, buncha ricer exterior crap, and thats about all. Already got ahold of you on youtube a few weeks back



not dropped in the pic


had a blown ecotec swapped 2000 cavy, now just an 02 Grand Am, and a 74 BMW 2002...

cool! ~ on both accounts!!

Still running the '95-98 Sunfire GT rims?

If you ever get rid of them give me a heads (assuming they're in decent shape) - I have one set, but they're from an Ontario Sunfire, so they're pitting out in spots;

I really like these wheels... I ran them on my GA for about a year;





signatures are for loosers.

Nice Q4 Grand Am.


2010 Honda Fit LX

Tony T Crams wrote:Nice Q4 Grand Am.

Thanks!


signatures are for loosers.