Well... it's been nice because I finally got the money for the standalone in the Cavalier. But since it's getting cold and it DOES run, I figured i'll just wait til spring (and turns out, it's a good thing I did). Then I can save a bit more on top of it. I save myself a seperate account for doing work to the car, just have to wait til it builds up high enough.
I dont drive the car on a regular basis. For my DD I picked up a 97 GTP for a really good deal a year or so ago. It's a nice car. There's some things that I disagree with as far as creature comforts, but for the price I got it for, i'm not gonna complain.
So I got this money saved for the cav, and all the stuff I wanna get for it. I think the list gets longer every day. The GTP's alternator went dead, so that was a pricey replacement. Funding gets removed from what's saved for the cav. Then all is good for a day. I planned on some other work this coming weekend. It needs a water pump and that was gonna get done, along with a valve cover gasket. And maybe lower intake gaskets too. Looking into some money basically.
I pull into work for another easy 10 hour shift of basically sitting on my ass and watching the conveyor system move boxes around. I'm early like usual so I sit in the parking lot and let the car run while I blast the stereo for a while (wouldnt want to drain the battery). Pretty soon, I see what looks like steam coming out from under the hood and the front grille. I roll my eyes and think to myself "great now i'm gonna have coolant all over the place". My friend donny parked not too far away and he looks at it and starts @!#$ with me and goes "It's on fire dude!" then LOL'd and i made a joke back. So I pop the hood open expecting to see coolant blowing out under the radiator cap. First thing I hear is Donny go "oh @!#$ dude, it really is on fire" as I stare at flames running across the front side of my engine, and getting a bit larger. So I just walked away and went over to the gaurdshack (where I have to go through on my way in/out anyways) and told them i need a fire extinguisher cuz my car was on fire. Of which they handed over quite quickly. Went over hit it, and the fire went out immedietly.
in 2-3 minutes of burn time i've completely burned through all 6 of the new plug wires, melted the oil cap, the little thing on the end of the oil dip stick, the plastic guide that runs the plug wires or somethign down the engine. Burned through and destroyed fuel injector wires (so not only will it not fire, apparently it aint gonna get fuel either).
RIght now, i'm suspecting that it was caused from the blown valve cover gasket. It got enough oil out onto the exhast manifold, which is of course hot as hell. Especially when I like putting boost into the engine too much. And when I started sitting still the heat lit up the oil that was there. At either rate, i'm having it towed to my buddy's house where we were going to do the water pump and valve cover gasket. Now I guess we're just gonna do a couple more things while we're at it. I'd guess at tops it'll be 250 bucks to repair, including price of beer.
Now the Cav will have to suffice as DD for a few days. Sucks cuz the GTP just recieved a full tank of gasoline, and now I have to put some in the Cav too.
I dunno, does anyone else feel like there's some sort of superior force at work keeping you from getting work done to your car that you want to get done?
Glad I posted this in the incorrect forum.
Mods: if possible... this post was intended to be posted in the Mid East regional forum. thx
that happend to my freinds gtp
dont worry, we've both been working on our J's about the same length of time. well, your second project at least LOL.
you'll get done with the Cav in good time. probably about the same time the Sunfire gets done. That way we can race each other first thing.
Well let's see......
The house needs to be pressure cleaned and painted, Need three new doors inside the house, both bathrooms need to be refloored, need to reshingle the roof, kid needs new clothes for winter (out grew most of old clothes), my clothes are worn out, I need dental work(2 crowns), the dog needs a new doghouse (colapsed the old one from jumping on it all the time), Cavi's due an oil change, had to replace the starter relay, brakes are starting to get worn, strut mounts are shot,etc....and still pay the bills. It never ends, infact it just gets harder, especially as the kids grow up! Especially as a single parent that's not getting any child support yet!
Is it any wonder why I haven't made a whole lot of progress on the Cavi?
Just trying to say I know how it feels.
^^ Agreed.... it sucks throwing out that cash for rent every month. Plus the food and and lights and all that other stuff that I kinda like to have as well.
Not only does it cut down on the number of mods, it cuts down on the number of nice tools that I have too.
harbor freight sidewalk sale this weekend SHO...not real nice, but tools none the less.
They usually have one down the street from me (kinda) once a month. They have it at the Amvets building. True, not the best tools in the world but I look at it 2 ways. One, it's good for little things. They have a solder gun and solder iron with a case and stuff for 9.99. I could use some impact sockets (know how pricey those can be at Sears) cuz apparently regular sockets just dont hold up quite as long on an impact.
And if there's anything else I need/want, i could get those and then replace them when they break down the road when I hopefully have a little money.
Some items on my wishlist:
Soldering kit
Impact Sockets
External Torx sockets
Good sized breaker bar
I could also use a couple fittings for my air compressor. But I may be able to get those at work for a fairly good price.
