Today I...

[Casey]

Oh well, at least now they have no reason to take yours so not a total loss.

[FormTA]

I hate having to look for a key to the toys though.  But ya this one also uses clutch instead of the auto clutch so none of the kids can even ride it... Yet... I built a 100MPH Yamaha banshee when I was a kid. Darn thing had a 12" longer swing arm to keep the front wheels on the ground.  I haven't had a decent quad for 15 years. I'm excited

[Casey]

If it weren't for the fibro I've thought about some kind of bike just to have for going around here, there're a few kids around here that do such with an ATV.  Though for what that'd cost that's money I'd rather put towards a car anyway.

[FormTA]

Saw this at the Hobby Lobby.

[ryeguy2006a]

Today, I went out to start my truck after installing my new Dynomax Ultraflo X muffler, and found this! I didn't notice it last night, but I guess this would explain why the truck seemed to get louder on my 10 min. test drive last night!







Glad I bought it through Summit, because they were super good about returning and already processed my return order. Kudos to them.

[FormTA]

That's crazy! I thought you hit a fluffy dog at first. 

Did it sound better than it did with the other loud one (for the short test drive).

[roadking77]

I was gonna say a blonde.... LOL, I hear you guys talking about hobby lobby, closest one that I know of is about 3 hrs away! I had a nice mom n pop hobby shop that had a great selection of models but last time I went by they were shuttered.

[Casey]

I like how you got the decal into the picture.   Oh well, I guess those kinds of things happen from time to time but at least it was easy enough to get resolved.

[GTABill]

Saw this at the Hobby Lobby.

I saw that at our local Hobby Lobby too.  I wanted to pick it up but I have a smaller 91 Formula model I haven't even opened it up lol.

[FormTA]

Tore the front bumper off my truck because it had all sorts of damage to it. I sanded and filled and sanded and sanded.... The bumper cover filler is so much harder to sand than conventional filler.







I sprayed sealer and two coats of color.



Then three good coats of clear so I can sand out the garbage (you can see my shop is not the cleanest)..





The color matches perfectly which is pretty exciting for me. I still have to paint the new rear bumper and now the tailgate.... I backed into a tree with the gate down this morning... I just want my truck to look good again.... More work...

[Casey]

Looks good, are you using a gun or rattle cans?  Sigh... this just makes me mad that my brother hasn't fixed the Firebird already...

[FormTA]

I have many guns but I really like the Devilbise Tekna Pro lite I'm using now. I use a 1.5 tip which many will say is too big but I grew up spraying conventional guns so I like to move fast. Muscle memory from the old guns. It may look like there's a lot of junk in it but most of that is reflections.  It really did turn out nice.  I'm  really pleased as it has a better finish than the factory paint.  On the other hand, it may stand out now...

Here's another.



My bench is organized like my brain...

[Casey]

Hmm... at least it's the bumper though so it should be less noticeable than if it were a fender or door.  That's ok we all know it's really the manufacturers' fault for stopping the use of metal bumpers on trucks, then again most get used as over-sized Corollas anyway so I guess they know their market...  The Honda Ridgeline is as much truck as most people need, and it has a trunk in the bed!

[FormTA]

then again most get used as over-sized Corollas

ha, ha. I have always thought that too. I really use my truck as a truck.  Plow snow,  haul stuff and pull heavy trailers. Heck, I have 5 trailers.  There is not many days it's not hooked to one and I have a desk job so it's not like I make money with it. My dad keeps telling me to stop worrying about it's appearance,  it's  a truck....

[nas t eh]

Ridgelines are good vehicles, but if you restore old cars, repair the vehicles you drive, camp, boat or repair houses you prefer and often need a real truck. I daily drive mine and yes 1/2 the time it’s overkill, but the rest of the time it’s solving a problem.

[FormTA]

It's a Dodge RAM. It rides great, pulls great and is very comfortable.  First Dodge I have ever owned. I've had it for over 5 years now. I'll probably replace it in two years but trucks are so expensive. It's tough to pay that much when mine is doing fine... I'm trying to make it look nice again.  But once it starts rusting, it's gone.

[roadking77]

Looks nice. I really need to paint the steel bumper on my f150. My son hit a deer a few years ago and put a slight bend in it. Then it started to rust and now it has several rust pockets. I bought the paint just haven't got around to it yet. The darn thing was sitting in the shop for months getting the trans replaced I should have taken it apart and painted it at that time.

[737driver]

Today (actually yesterday) We got a lot of work done on the Jeep. Jeeps are really easy to work on. The Jeep came back from the paint shop recently and We managed to get nearly all the exterior items put back on. Also started putting the FatMat on the inside. We spent pretty much all day yesterday and most of Friday working on it and its almost ready to have the carpet and seats put back in. We plan to re upholster the seats and clean and re dye the interior plastic trim. We had all the metal trim and bumper powder coated and they really make it look great. Next week my LeMans comes back from the upholstery shop with a new top so we have to get this one done quick!

Jim

[Casey]

These days "it's a truck" wouldn't excuse wear and tear from being used as a truck to most prospective buyers though, so you're doing the right thing if you intend to sell it at some point and it's your truck so if keeping it nice makes you feel good then keep doing it.

I feel compelled to do a Hella ECE and wiring harness upgrade on the Jeep, throw in some 80/100W bulbs and see all the things.  Or if you really want to melt mosquitoes throw in some 100/130W bulbs.  Halogen, it may be a dinosaur but dinosaurs can be powerful.

[FormTA]

It was raining all day so this is the best pictures I could get.

[Casey]

Looks pretty good to me and a match in colour at least.  Plus if it's any further consolation I don't think I've ever seen a factory paint job where the bumpers matched the rest of the car perfectly anyway(either in colour or orange peel), because of either flex additives and/or being sprayed separately from the rest of the car.

[737driver]

Great paint job on the bumper! Looks pretty close to perfect!
Jim

[roadking77]

Jim, looks too nice for a jeep, now you won't want to do any off-roading!

[roadking77]

Jim, I sent you a pm.

[DeCaff2007]

It was raining all day so this is the best pictures I could get.

All that rain came my way last night.  Once again my basement decided to flood........ 

[737driver]

Jim, looks too nice for a jeep, now you won't want to do any off-roading!

Kerry,
My fiancé bought it over 25 years ago and she used to off road it quite a bit, she lived in Colorado. It survived several winters there. She hit some deer and what not. I am really surprised how tough this Jeep has been. There wasn’t any rust and only one minor dent in the grill which was fixed. I doubt she will be driving it off road anytime soon because she has put about $6k into fixing it up and painting it. For her it has the sentimental value north of a million. We have really enjoyed working on it so far. I tried to warn her about how projects can snowball into an avalanche and how a simple freshening up can turn into a big project. Now she understands our world a little bit more!

Jim

[Casey]

Brother finally caught the paint and body guy that comes by at Maserati and the guy said he'd only charge $450 to fix everything to daily driver condition, or would charge $750 for show car condition.  Hell the rest of the car is 20 something years old so I suspect even daily driver condition will stick out...  At any rate the guy said my brother could try fixing it first and wouldn't charge any more if it didn't turn out well, or would charge even less if the preparation was at least right.  For what it'd cost in materials anyway might as well just have the professional do it, if his work is good enough for a new Maserati it should be plenty fine for an old Firebird.  Also my brother asked about what kind of filler to use and the guy said he'd just melt and fold over the raised plastic and smooth it out, so I guess he's some kind of wizard.

[FormTA]

Definitely take him up on it. The quart of PPG DBC for my truck was around $750 and that didn't include the reducer or clear and activator.  I went with BASF Diamont as it was only $250 a quart.

[Casey]

That was my thought process, after it first happened and looking around it was going to be over $200 just in materials and using the Dupli-Color Perfect Match spray paints.  Getting a gun, compressor, and the paints to run through it easily over $400.  I mentioned to my brother about asking him if he'd come to the house to fix it if the car was already taken apart so all he'd have to do is repair and paint the parts, then after curing I and my brother would put them back on.  That way I don't have to put on a tag and insurance only to turn around and take them off after selling it.

On a similar note I saw something about PPG stopping production of automotive paints, but I guess it must've just been their more affordable lines then.  It's insane how expensive paint can get...  Why I've considered just getting a black Miata and then vinyl wrapping it purple, that and the vinyl can look a lot nicer for the price and I only have to wash it off with soap and water and occasionally apply vinyl conditioner/protectant.  Much easier for me to take care of, and it'll be PURPLE.

[roadking77]

Its insane how much paint cost! I know its comparing apples to oranges but the entire process to produce it cant differ that much from product to product, a gallon of house paint is $50 (which is ridiculous as well) it doesn't make sense that auto paint cost many many times that amount.

[GTABill]

Not today, but yesterday evening it was nice out so I decided to wash the winter crap off the trailer and get it ready for the season.  Planning on at least two trips to trailer the GTA this year with one being the Nationals....



Since I was taking pics, I captured one of my son working on getting his red GP fired up.  Had to jump start it with his black GXP.  Aplolgize for the quality of the pic.......



And lastly took a pic of the "Project".  I really need to air up the tires and get it moved to a better location to free up some driveway space.........

[76 - 455 - 4]

Nice! Never saw a black GXP with tan interior before. All of my red ones have had the tan, I love it!
A true PONTIAC family!

[GTABill]

Nice! Never saw a black GXP with tan interior before. All of my red ones have had the tan, I love it!
A true PONTIAC family!

Thank you!  The Aztek is sitting on the other side of the trailer...........the "other" project lol and of course the GTA is sitting in the garage.  When we went and looked at the GXP, I was surprised it was tan as well.  It even has the factory nav on it.  It was truly loaded and for the price he was asking, it was a no brainer.  Hard to believe its got 190K miles on it now.  Its still a mean machine.

[76 - 455 - 4]

Nice! Never saw a black GXP with tan interior before. All of my red ones have had the tan, I love it!
A true PONTIAC family!

Thank you!  The Aztek is sitting on the other side of the trailer...........the "other" project lol and of course the GTA is sitting in the garage.  When we went and looked at the GXP, I was surprised it was tan as well.  It even has the factory nav on it.  It was truly loaded and for the price he was asking, it was a no brainer.  Hard to believe its got 190K miles on it now.  Its still a mean machine.

My latest '08, red with tan, just turned 50k miles last week. I hope to make this one last  a LONG time.

[GTABill]

Nice! Never saw a black GXP with tan interior before. All of my red ones have had the tan, I love it!
A true PONTIAC family!

Thank you!  The Aztek is sitting on the other side of the trailer...........the "other" project lol and of course the GTA is sitting in the garage.  When we went and looked at the GXP, I was surprised it was tan as well.  It even has the factory nav on it.  It was truly loaded and for the price he was asking, it was a no brainer.  Hard to believe its got 190K miles on it now.  Its still a mean machine.

My latest '08, red with tan, just turned 50k miles last week. I hope to make this one last  a LONG time.

WOW! He wishes his had that kind of miles.  His is an 06.  Its had the cylinder deactivation delete done, lowering springs, installed still new in the box bilstein shocks and struts on it, bought another full set of 06 wheels and put the fronts from that set, on the rear to give it a wider look, and removed the resonator and mufflers and replaced the resonator with a bullet style muffler.  Needless to say, you can hear him getting on the highway from our house (about a mile and a half away).  It turns heads when he fires it up.

[Casey]

Its insane how much paint cost! I know its comparing apples to oranges but the entire process to produce it cant differ that much from product to product, a gallon of house paint is $50 (which is ridiculous as well) it doesn't make sense that auto paint cost many many times that amount.

If I had to take a guess it's a matter of supply and demand, probably a lot more people care about painting their house, shed, or barn than those that care about painting their car and especially those that're willing to do it themselves.  I guess a more even comparison would be to compare enamel paints, since it's used for house and automotive paint and a clear coat isn't needed.  Still even then I think house enamel is cheaper than automotive enamel, so maybe quality of the components or certain things needed in the automotive formulations?  Would just have to ask someone at one of these paint companies that make both and would give an honest answer to know for sure I suppose.

[Casey]

OH YEAH, between all the excitement of returning I forgot to mention my brother has a new toy.  Will have to get a picture tomorrow after he gets back from work tomorrow, but I can drop a few hints; It's German, RWD, and manual.  I also refuse to let him ruin it like he did the Genesis.

[roadking77]

Bill, I like those grand prix's. I bought one new, mustve been around '86-'88 maybe, same style and looks of the black one. Mine was white with a red velour interior. It was the luxury edition whatever they called them at the time. It was a dealer leftover almost a year old when we got it, it had every available option but the reason it would not sell was it had a manual transmission. I cant remember now but it was heavily reduced in price. I loved that car.

[GTABill]

Bill, I like those grand prix's. I bought one new, mustve been around '86-'88 maybe, same style and looks of the black one. Mine was white with a red velour interior. It was the luxury edition whatever they called them at the time. It was a dealer leftover almost a year old when we got it, it had every available option but the reason it would not sell was it had a manual transmission. I cant remember now but it was heavily reduced in price. I loved that car.

Wow a manual tranny GP.  Those were hard to find when they were new.  I saw one in a white SE  in 88.  Had the color matched wheels.  Very cool ride.  The two McClarens we have only came with the automatic, but are specific to that particular model.  My son had the tranny rebuilt in the red one and the guy called him saying that there were internal parts in the tranny that are marked "TURBO" and sourcing those parts may be difficult.  I think he was able to source them out but it took a lot of searching. 

[GTABill]

Today I came in to work late because I took in the boy's GXP to get a state inspection and the tags renewed.  He was only expired 4 months.  Told him he needed to get that done, but ya know kids...........

Needless to say, I almost made it to work after getting the inspection done before having a scare from local PD coming up behind me.  Fortunately, they turned left and I turned right...............right out of their jurisdiction lol.  He's now got good tags and I have a new grey hair.