"-Amateur" (amateur)
01/09/2019 at 22:28 • Filed to: None
10
17|
"-Amateur" (amateur)
01/09/2019 at 22:28 • Filed to: None | 10
| 17 |
I’m a scavenger and such a simple man. I find stuff from the junkyard I like, I buy on the cheap cheap and put them on my car. Then profit?
For the record, it damn near touched 50 degrees a few days ago and just like that, temps plummeted in the Midwest with a windchill that made my hands and face go numb today.
That aside, I wander junkyards from time to time to see what’s good in t he hood. Well imagine my surprise when I see a top trim 1998 Chevy Cavalier Z24 convertible that met it’s demise...same color as my lowest base model.
Without hesitation I rip off it’s face and take it’s sweet sweet strut tower brace.
As you can see, my car distinctly lacks a steel brace connecting the towers; Run of the mill cavaliers never got them, there was never a need despite the fact these j-bodys have all the rigidity of a half cooked spaghetti noodle.
Now you cut off the top and now we’re talking turkey, hence why the convertibles are the only ones that came with them from the factory.
I’ve driven Cavalier Convertibles over train tracks before, you’ll feel the chassis twisting in realtime with all the rigidness of a seasoned gymnast...pretty surreal really.
The brace cost me $10 and took all of 3 minutes to put on. It just follows the firewall contours so well unlike some straight barred ones you can get from the aftermarket for much, much more.
The face transplant begins in earnest. I can not get over the sheer simplicity of these things.
The Z24 kit comes with clear turning lenses stock but that ain’t me. I’ve never understood the appeal for clear turning lenses, I’m team amber to the core. So my originals are swapped in.
Viola! Another quick and easy upgrade in the books for this little project of mine.
I’ve always been a fan of the 2003-05 sunfire side mouldings. I also happen to have a non-running 2003 Sunfire. I’m sure you can see where this is going. I work outside in the elements, so it’ll have to wait until the weather warms up to above freezing.
Upgrading to a 12" Wilwood brake kit with 4 piston aluminum calipers outside during a snowstorm back in the day, fun times lol!
shop-teacher
> -Amateur
01/09/2019 at 22:35 |
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Wow! 12" brakes on a Corsica/Beretta, that’s a different!
AMGtech - now with more recalls!
> -Amateur
01/09/2019 at 22:36 |
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2.2 OHV! What a turd of a motor! I had a 97 background in the day. Bought it for a grand. Fantastic college car. Mine dynoed 77whp at 7200ft elevation but it would get over 40mpg in road trips easily!
FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
> AMGtech - now with more recalls!
01/09/2019 at 22:39 |
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I live at 7300 ft and would love to see how much power I’ve lost over the claimed factory output in my car... where did you find a dyno up so high? I’m pretty sure there isn’t one in my podunk mountain town...
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-Amateur
> shop-teacher
01/09/2019 at 22:44 |
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and expensive lol! That Beretta also had a Quaife limited slip diff in it. It was a fun car.
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-Amateur
> AMGtech - now with more recalls!
01/09/2019 at 22:46 |
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You got me beat! The best mpg I could ring out on road trips was 33 mpg with a 2.2 ohv 5 spd.
facw
> -Amateur
01/09/2019 at 22:53 |
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Good stuff. My car has a super unexciting junkyard update. The old trunk floor was slightly sagging and slid around a lot, but after much looking (the trunk floors seem to go missing/get destroyed in the hurry to extract the battery at junk yards), I found an earlier model that not only had latches to hold it in place, but also has an integrated fold up divider to groceries from wandering deep into the trunk. I’ve got some additional stuff I’d like to grab, was thinking about trying a place about an hour away this weekend, but I want to see if things stay dry for a few days first.
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-Amateur
> facw
01/09/2019 at 23:24 |
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It’s the little things that make a world of difference! My brother has a little net divider on his Focus ST that hugs groceries to keep them from harpooning themselves all over the place in the trunk...it is a godsend!
Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
> -Amateur
01/10/2019 at 07:45 |
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I love updates on mundane cars.
The bumper update looks great!
I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> -Amateur
01/10/2019 at 09:14 |
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Do you still have that Beretta you stripped out? This is very good Oppo.
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shop-teacher
> -Amateur
01/10/2019 at 09:17 |
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Cool!
There was a really nice looking teal Beretta with a 3.1 and a 5-speed for sale down in Oswego. It got down to $1400 before it sold. I’m probably going to regret not buying it, but I wasn’t ready to buy anything.
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AMGtech - now with more recalls!
> FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
01/10/2019 at 13:05 |
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WyoTech in Laramie. That student life yo
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AMGtech - now with more recalls!
> -Amateur
01/10/2019 at 13:07 |
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But you have a manual! Mine was auto and I did some mods to improve economy. Got rid of the factory air box, aftermarket header and exhaust, port and polish the head and intake manifold. Still slow as hell. And I was still a teenager when I did all this, so don't judge too hard
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-Amateur
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
01/10/2019 at 15:19 |
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It went bye bye. I sold it because I wanted to try something different. Strange enough, the buyer ended up getting rear ended and the car totaled shortly after the sale ...he was okay though.
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-Amateur
> Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
01/10/2019 at 15:20 |
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Thanks!
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-Amateur
> shop-teacher
01/10/2019 at 15:31 |
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I’ve always like the sound of a 60 degree GM V 6, they have such a meaty grumble to them. The 3.1/5spd combo was always interesting in those cars from the early 90's. They left HP on the table since they were multiport injected; when they finally upped the anti with sequential for the bump in HP, well they weren’t available with a 5psd anymore and only came in auto.
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shop-teacher
> -Amateur
01/10/2019 at 15:56 |
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Yeah, they do have a great sound to them :)
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-Amateur
> AMGtech - now with more recalls!
01/10/2019 at 17:42 |
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I’m sure those headers did wonders! The stock 4-1 design leaves alot to be desired, def on my bucket list to put a 4-2-1 design.