Hello Oppo, My Name Is trickjos.

"TrickJos" (trickjos) 10/15/2015 at 22:19 • Filed to: None

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Hi Oppo! I’ve been granted authorship. Hooray! I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and my cars. I know you just want to hear about my cars so I’ll keep it short and sweet for my into. I’ve been hanging around here for, oh, I don’t know, about a year now. Been commenting a lot recently. I’m an engineer. I live in Dayton, OH (Go Flyers!). In less than a month I’m getting married to the loveliest woman I’ve ever met. I have a dog, he’s pretty great, I may post about him now and then. I like planes too, and I have a weird obsession with roller coasters. So there you have it, that’s me. Here are my cars.

My pride and joy is a 1994 Saturn SC2. SC2 indicating that it was the two door Saturn with a 124 horsepower twin cam engine and flip up headlights! It has a 5 speed manual, manual windows, manual locks, no ABS, one airbag, and automatic seatbelts! My grandpa helped me buy this car right after I turned sixteen. The deal was that he would loan me the money, up to $2,000, and I would pay him back by doing odd jobs around the house and in the yard. Grandpa had just sold off and developed a bunch of his land and had a new house built for himself which meant there was plenty of work to be done. We built a deck, trimmed trees, plumbed in a water softener, and got lots of quality time together. Got the old SC2 for $1450 with about 130k miles on the odometer. Although it had a shattered windshield and holes in the hood and quarter panel it was easily the nicest car within my budget. Besides, it was nothing we couldn’t fix with a little elbow grease. The previous owner claimed it was sitting on the street for sale one night when someone came by and blasted it with a shotgun. There has to be more to that story... Anyway, here’s what it looked like after we patched it up. Not great, but good enough for my first car.

After a few years I had saved up enough money to give the old car the new paint job it really deserved. So, I set about replacing the hood and quarter panel because our bondo job never really looked all that great. Fixed up a few other imperfections, scuffed up the rest of the paint, and then dropped it off at Macco for some fresh paint. I went for their top tier paint job, which cost one hell of a pretty penny for a college kid. It came out nicer than I dreamed it would! The color is Toreador Red, a color Ford used on lots of cars for many years.

The odometer stopped back in 2007 at 145,571 miles. I know that number by heart because I’ve been staring at it since then. My most recent, and probably very conservative estimate, puts the mileage at 230,000 miles. This car is still my daily driver. On the whole, it has been stupid reliable. That old 1.9L four banger still starts and runs like a champ. It has lots of quirks but we always get each other to our destination. These days the Macco paint job is starting to look pretty bad, and I want to do something about that, but that’ll be another post. I LOVE this car. As long as it is there for me I will be there for it.

My fun/weekend car is a 2012 Chevrolet Camaro SS. I bought it new in 2012 just after college graduation. It wasn’t the smartest decision for a new college graduate, but buying a new car is what motivated me through those long nights of homework and I don’t regret the decision whatsoever. The details: 6.2L LS3, 6 speed manual with the factory installed Hurst short throw shifter, Imperial Blue Metallic paint, RS package, heritage grille, and the Boston Acoustics stereo which I never use because the car makes a much better noise. I don’t have much to say other than I love the hell out of it, it’s a blast to drive, and It will probably have a place in my garage forever.

Finally, Mrs. Trickjos’s car. It’s a 2004 Volkswagen Beetle. It has the 2.0L with the 6 speed tiptronic. This thing is always broken. Always. I’ve spent many nights and weekends wrenching on this car to keep it on the road and safe for Mrs. Trickjos to drive. She loves the damn thing, and so do I! The Bug and I have become close friends. We spend a lot of time together in the garage, and I tend to develop an affection for the things I work on, so I was bound to like this car from the start. Yeah, it isn’t so reliable, and that 2.0L single cam engine is gutless, but putting the top down is a pretty neat trick and it has a pretty damn good stereo. I like this car and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

So that’s me and my cars. I hope I didn’t make you too bored. I’ll be around with posts once in a while. Mostly I’ll probably keep you all up to date with what’s broken on the Bug, pretty pictures of the Camaro, and what I’m going to do about the paint on the Saturn. I’ve got a few other ideas too. So, stay tuned, and thanks for reading!

$kaycog > TrickJos 10/15/2015 at 22:23

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Welcome to Oppo, new kid on the block! We always look forward to having a new victim friend here.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > TrickJos 10/15/2015 at 22:25

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Greetings! Enjoy your stay

New S4. Huskies. Party music. > TrickJos 10/15/2015 at 22:27

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Welcome! Love the updated SC2. My best friend in high school had one that you would go in reverse when it was in drive. Amazing. Super jealous of the Camero, and obviously have a soft spot for the VW. Have fun out there!

Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. > TrickJos 10/15/2015 at 22:27

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Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > TrickJos 10/15/2015 at 22:28

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Welcome! Enjoy your time.

TrickJos > New S4. Huskies. Party music. 10/15/2015 at 22:29

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Reverse while in drive? Sounds dangerous but very exciting!

Swayze Train GTi > TrickJos 10/15/2015 at 22:29

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I like the Saturn, the Chevy, and your writing, but god do I hate Beetles. Especially convertibles, with that silly little rag piled like an afterthought on the back. Look, its not the damn 60s anymore! We can figure out what to do with that more elegantly! And a 2.0l SOHC that’s always breaking... each of those descriptors shouldn’t go with the other 2.

New S4. Huskies. Party music. > TrickJos 10/15/2015 at 22:31

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Incredibly dangerous and yet so funny to high school kids. Never while driving, just upon initial gear selection. We dubbed it the Red Devil - never knew what was going to happen.

TrickJos > Swayze Train GTi 10/15/2015 at 22:34

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Yeah, it's far from perfect. But I like the little thing. Thanks for the compliment on my writing. I did actually put some effort in so that's nice to hear. :)

TrickJos > New S4. Huskies. Party music. 10/15/2015 at 22:36

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Oh yes, absolutely delightful for a high schooler! I'm amazed mine made through high school and college. Still running strong. It's just a shame the paint is deteriorating.

New S4. Huskies. Party music. > TrickJos 10/15/2015 at 22:37

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Nothing a high quality 3M vinyl wrap can't fix!

TrickJos > New S4. Huskies. Party music. 10/15/2015 at 22:43

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That's actually the main thing I'm considering.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > TrickJos 10/15/2015 at 22:45

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Damn, that Saturn is quite a looker with that new paint.

New S4. Huskies. Party music. > TrickJos 10/15/2015 at 22:50

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I got a quote on my B6 Passat (I'm in Minnesota, mind you) and it was $3250 for full car and some carbon fiber accents inside.

JGrabowMSt > TrickJos 10/15/2015 at 22:53

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Interesting garage youve got there. The only experience I have with any Saturn is the SL2 my older sister had in college. Caught fire twice, had to be push started because the starter failed one night, and overall it was a piece of garbage. Motor had to be replaced because it grenaded, not sure we ever knew the true cause other than it was a Saturn.

Big props to the Camaro. Sweet looking weekend toy for sure. Quite the jump as well. Any plans for it?

Beetles...I had an ex girlfriend with one. Piece of work....to put it nicely. Unecessarily one of the most expensive cars out there.

wiffleballtony > TrickJos 10/15/2015 at 22:55

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Chariotoflove > TrickJos 10/15/2015 at 23:29

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Welcome! Cool car history.

PatBateman > TrickJos 10/15/2015 at 23:36

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WAIT WAIT. You’re getting married in less than a month?! We must start the initiation immediately!

SOMEONE GRAB THE PADDLES, NON-TOXIC LUBE, AND GOATS!!

TheJWT > TrickJos 10/16/2015 at 00:10

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Welcome! I’ve always had a soft spot for those Saturns...

RallyWrench > TrickJos 10/16/2015 at 00:17

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Welcome! Hard to kill those Saturns, they're fun little daily drivers.

Dunnik > TrickJos 10/16/2015 at 00:58

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Hi and welcome!

Saturns are polarizing, I find. Half say they’re crap. Half say they’re great. I suppose the reason is the early Saturns were great - before GM choked the division to death - while the later ones were not so great.

The respray and the new wheels really do make the car look great. Always liked the first-gen SC2’s looks, but as an 80’s kid I have a thing for pop-up headlights.

When you mentioned the Maaco respray I was waiting for the inevitable “these days the Macco paint job is starting to look pretty bad” and did not go away disappointed. You could get another respray - from somebody other than Failco - or maybe consider a wrap for a budget solution.

Driving the Camaro makes me feel like I’m wearing one of these:

pip bip - choose Corrour > TrickJos 10/16/2015 at 04:34

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welcome!

TrickJos > JGrabowMSt 10/16/2015 at 06:20

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What year was your sister’s SL2? From what I’ve heard the quality really went down hill when the did the redesign in 1996. Such a shame because they really had something special going.

TrickJos > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 10/16/2015 at 06:22

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Thank you! Unfortunately that picture is a few years old and the paint hasn’t held up well, despite taking care of it. That’s what I get for going to Macco I guess. But I’m going to do something about it!

JGrabowMSt > TrickJos 10/16/2015 at 07:54

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I want to say it was a 1996, but I was in middle school and starting off in high school when we had that car.

TrickJos > JGrabowMSt 10/16/2015 at 08:19

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Oh, and to answer your question about Camaro plans. Nothing big, just a better exhaust system eventually. The stock system is too quiet. Maaaaybe a cam for a few extra horsepower down the road.