Cars

(More than just a way of getting around...)

First Things First.....

1984 Pontiac Firebird

This was my first car. Picked it up on Sunday March 12, 2000 after seeing it in the Auto Trader the Friday before. It (for the most part) was in great shape: low k's on the engine, nearly immaculate interior, and a half decent body. Hard to beleive I only got it for 900 bucks!

It was a bit of a project though (thanks to my Dad for putting a lot of work into it) to repair the body (especially replacing the quarter panels of the doors which were pretty rough). It didn't help that right after fixing one part of the bumper, I went and smacked the other side of it into a wall at a parking lot. As Tom would put it "The best way to fix it would be to buy a can on body filler, put the can in the hole and fill it with the filler." (a near quote!). Actually, after it was pushed out, it wasn't too bad. That June, the body was completely patched up and ready for a paint job. The color I chose was Blue Starburst Metallic, which looked pretty sweet once I got it back!

For the next two years, it was a strong runner (for a v6). It always needed some little repairs here and there (and a couple of larger ones), but it never left me on the side of the road. I even drove it both winters! I bought a good set of snow tires and I (almost) never got stuck. Never let anyone say that you can't drive a Camaro/Firebird in the winter!

But by spring 2002, I was starting to believe that I needed something different. The car still needed repairs, the body was starting to go (my fault) and the gas mileage was never great (thanks to a weak engine in a heavy car). So the search began and the For Sale sign went up. It took a good part of the summer until it sold (newspaper ads, 5 weeks in the Auto Trader, numerous posters). Although I do miss it. I'm confident that the kid who bought it got a half decent car at a half decent price (like I did way back when).

The Current Ride

1994 Pontiac Grand Am SE

My car search wasn't going very well in spring 2002. I had been looking for months for a half decent car, and wasn't having much luck. The closest we cam was a 96 Neon Ex which although was a nice car inside and out, had many mechanical troubles (after calling the owner) which were not limited to that specific car but to Neons in general.

So, for a time, I believed that I would be stuck with the Firebird forever. However, in late May 2002, we found it. A 1994 Pontiac Grand Am. We took it out for a test drive and it was a great car at a half decent price. So we decided that night that this would be the car for me, and put a deposit on it Two days later we picked it up, and to this day I still am happy with it. It still has to prove itself over the long run like the old car did, but I believe that it will stand out as a quality vehicle like the one that came before it!

For a time I had both headlight and taillight covers on the car. One day on a trip down highway 11, one of the taillight covers fell off (my fault again). Amazingly when I went back for it, it hadn't been run over by a single vehicle and had blown right off the road. However, it was heavily scratched, and I haven't put both of them back on since until I can find a way to fix it. The headlight covers are still on and off from time to time (they really hamper night driving though). But by winter, they'll all come off.

I'm currently working on a stereo system. I have my old CD player in, and an amp and 2 subs waiting to join it. Too bad I haven't had the time to work on it...stay tuned!