Book's vehicles thread: Now with Two Different Wheels-Post 339

  • Thread starter Thread starter TheBook
  • 342 comments
  • 57,413 views
I smell a built 350 in that SUV's future :sly:

Hahahaha I'm terrible. Yeah, I'd get a little FWD car to buzz around with in the bad winter weather up there.
 
It's already got a 350 in it; I just need to start building. After I fix the safety stuff, of course.

I plan on getting a little FWD, but this is good for getting people to stay out of my way-a good thing for a first time driver. That, and it's way better in the snow than a Civic or something similar.
 
at least you got the good tires on that thing. they're practically required up here.

if your stuck with that even temporarily until you get your own little scroogemobile, watch for sticky doorlatches, locks, tailgate release, etc. GM's tend to have their hardware stick if it's not babied. if you go for body parts, you can raid junkyards for goodies for almost nothing in the way of cost.
you've also got the common easy to fix and plenty of aftermarket parts engine. it's the body and it's parts you have to worry about with THAT bugger.
 
That's a pretty decent K5, most of the ones I see are beat to hell. At least you have a vehicle to drive and with the way our winter is going so far it'll probably better suit you right now.
 
Sniffs
at least you got the good tires on that thing. they're practically required up here.

if your stuck with that even temporarily until you get your own little scroogemobile, watch for sticky doorlatches, locks, tailgate release, etc. GM's tend to have their hardware stick if it's not babied. if you go for body parts, you can raid junkyards for goodies for almost nothing in the way of cost.
you've also got the common easy to fix and plenty of aftermarket parts engine. it's the body and it's parts you have to worry about with THAT bugger.
Click to expand...

Dead on with the body; with this one, the locks don't work very well (it'll take 10 minutes to unlock it), the power windows are slow, and the rear window motor is shot, so the tailgate can't come down. I'll try to get some pictures of the interior so you can see the condtion of the stuff I have to fix.

Joey D
That's a pretty decent K5, most of the ones I see are beat to hell. At least you have a vehicle to drive and with the way our winter is going so far it'll probably better suit you right now.
Click to expand...

We (meaning my parents and myself) all agreed that it would be a good vehicle for me for that exact reason. Actually, I've only seen this thing stuck once, and that was when we were out playing in the snow with it (high-centered the thing; took an hour and a half to dig it out :lol:).
 
If you're willing to go with a larger car, might I recommend a '97-'02 Pontiac Grand Prix GT (or SE with the 3800).

Extremely reliable, and if something breaks I know a great source to get cheap replacement parts/help. 3800's are pretty easy to work on.

Pretty good gas mileage for a large v6 car.

Awesome in snow, Mine plows through 6" of snow no problem, as I blow by 4wd suv's.

Decent aftermarket, lots of possibilities for modding. Turbos, s/c, etc.

Cops usually ignore these cars.

Fairly cheap to insure.
 
EPIC K5 TIME!

Wouldn't be too hard to fix the rust, and as a matter of fact, I think you can get brand-new floorpans to weld in for pretty cheap. You'd have to look around, I'm trying to remember the name of the parts depo that sells 'em cheap, but yeah, with the aftermarket that exists for the K5... Its pretty easy to get parts when you need them.
 
I'll probably need some help with the floorpan issue; my metalworking skills are next to none.

And as for getting parts, I already know of a place that sells just about everything for the K5, so availability isn't an issue.
 
ty00123
Dead on with the body; with this one, the locks don't work very well (it'll take 10 minutes to unlock it), the power windows are slow, and the rear window motor is shot, so the tailgate can't come down. I'll try to get some pictures of the interior so you can see the condtion of the stuff I have to fix.
Click to expand...

see that thing in my Icon? that's an S Blazer. I've had enough GM product to know where the vulnerable parts are. I still own that thing, and it is currently sitting and rotting because nobody around here knows what to do with an engine that isn't carbourated (and our junkyards don't have anything more than about 5 years old, now)! I wanna get rid of em all and look for something else, and everybody tells me to throw out everything BUT the Blazer, and run the 9 mpg gas-hog.

I have a similar rear window motor burnout problem. unfortunately, they put all the dang screws on the inside of the tailgate(next to the body shell, and not actually where you can get to them). I can't get in there even to change a taillight bulb!
 
Sniffs
see that thing in my Icon? that's an S Blazer. I've had enough GM product to know where the vulnerable parts are.
Click to expand...

Translated: you definitely know what you're doing with these trucks.

I still own that thing, and it is currently sitting and rotting because nobody around here knows what to do with an engine that isn't carbourated
Click to expand...
Which would explain...

(and our junkyards don't have anything more than about 5 years old, now)!
Click to expand...
Something breaks, the mechanics can't fix it, the owners dump it. Purely logical, so I may be wrong on that count.

I wanna get rid of em all and look for something else, and everybody tells me to throw out everything BUT the Blazer, and run the 9 mpg gas-hog.
Click to expand...
Well, with as much snow as you most likely get (like I said, I don't live there, so I wouldn't know for sure), the Blazer would be a great vehicle. But... 9 mpg? Mine gets more than 15.

I have a similar rear window motor burnout problem. unfortunately, they put all the dang screws on the inside of the tailgate(next to the body shell, and not actually where you can get to them). I can't get in there even to change a taillight bulb!
Click to expand...
I think I can get to it on mine (there's a plate on the inside of the tailgate that comes off), so replacing the rear window motor wouldn't be too difficult. License plate lights, however, were a major pain.
 
EA11R
It's only a matter of time before that becomes a shirt.
Click to expand...
Which has what to do with what? :confused:

nissman
Or you should buy a Nissan Sunny GTI 94':)
Click to expand...
Hmm... not too bad of an idea. Closest trim level that we had in the US, however, is an SE-R. Anybody have any ownership experiences that I should watch out for?
 
Talk to YSSMAN, his brother just bought a 93 Sentra and I believe he told us his brother had one previously.
 
i swear the US equiv of a sunny was the Stanza. I had just picked up GT2 when a coustemer pulled up in one (where I was working at the time), and my brain said "that reminds me of a sunny". knowing Nissan, they both were, and a Bluebird came in somewhere, too. they move so much crap around thrying to make american versions work...

Ty: yeah, i know ABOUT them, but I can't physically WORK on them. I have to rely on people who know (or THINK they know) what they're doing. finding out in your thirties you have a learning disability involving coordination and motor skills when you have a constant state of breakdown on vehicles...

the carbed vehicles around here that older guys know how to work on are getting to the "so many flakes of rust" level. throw in the fact that everyone I know doen't know what to do with emissions controlls, independent suspension, coolant overflow bottles, metric fittings, and complains that they have no room to work in a 20 year old car...

we get mabey HALF the snow that Michigan does, and most of that in high wind snowdrifts or lake effect snow. if the damn plowboys around here weren't automatically paid to pay attention to I80 all the time before they plow anywhere else...

there's something screwed in the w type voretec V6 in my blazer, and I don't really wanna go through the effort or money it would require to get the blasted thing back on the road only to still top out at 12 or 13 mpg with, I believe, a 4500lb 4door SUV...before 4 200 lb guys with another half ton of equipment like I had to haul when I was running loggers (who didn't give a crap about the vehicle's appearance, only the fact that if it stopped running, they were out of work!)
 
Joey D
Talk to YSSMAN, his brother just bought a 93 Sentra and I believe he told us his brother had one previously.
Click to expand...

In addition to the 93 XE that he just bought, we also had a 91 "base" that is otherwise the same car. I really can't think of many problems that either of the cars ever had, although the 91 had a weird quirk with the starter where you would occasionally have to hit it with something so it would start. Otherwise, the 93 has gone through most of the stuff it would otherwise need... CV joint replacements, a new clutch, and I think the radiator is new too.

They're pretty reliable cars overall, and I have to admit that they're a lot of fun to drive. The little 1.6L engine doesn't move it with the upmost ooomph, but its fun to have to wind it up and down to get it going.
 
YSSMAN
In addition to the 93 XE that he just bought, we also had a 91 "base" that is otherwise the same car. I really can't think of many problems that either of the cars ever had, although the 91 had a weird quirk with the starter where you would occasionally have to hit it with something so it would start. Otherwise, the 93 has gone through most of the stuff it would otherwise need... CV joint replacements, a new clutch, and I think the radiator is new too.
Click to expand...
I'm guessing that being an older import, parts would be cheap and easy to find as well. Not to mention the fact that there isn't a whole lot of stuff in the way, making things easy to work on.

They're pretty reliable cars overall, and I have to admit that they're a lot of fun to drive. The little 1.6L engine doesn't move it with the upmost ooomph, but its fun to have to wind it up and down to get it going.
Click to expand...
Which is a good thing; I can have a car without a whole lot of power to start, and as my experience behind the wheel builds, I can build up. I'm sure there's a fairly decent aftermarket for these cars (and other small Japanese imports).
 
Well, there's the E82 Nova/E92 Prizm. There aint' nothing to either, both being Corollas with Domestic badges. As such, they're just about bulletproof, save for rust, and, to be honest, they don't rust as bad as other cars I've seen.
 
Rust is all depending on where you live, I don't know how much salt Illinois uses on its road but here in Michigan we put so much salt down it bleaches the roads white. Although keeping your car washed and waxed is a good way to prevent that.
 
Jim Prower
Well, there's the E82 Nova/E92 Prizm. There aint' nothing to either, both being Corollas with Domestic badges. As such, they're just about bulletproof, save for rust, and, to be honest, they don't rust as bad as other cars I've seen.
Click to expand...
Good idea, but there are only 4 of them around for sale in my price range, none of which I would want (too many miles for their age, large amounts of rust, etc., etc.)

Joey D
Rust is all depending on where you live, I don't know how much salt Illinois uses on its road but here in Michigan we put so much salt down it bleaches the roads white. Although keeping your car washed and waxed is a good way to prevent that.
Click to expand...
Two points: The City of Sturgis uses even more salt than the county/state road commissions do. And about keeping the car washed, that won't be a problem.

Actually, that brings up another point. How often should I do things like applying wax or shining up the interior?
 
Yeah, that's true. We do put down a lot of salt, but I dont' think it Ices as much as Michigan..."Lake Effect" and all.
 
Bump, with information.

Accidentally put it in the ditch (swerved to miss something in the road that, looking back, probably could have just run over) last week. Threw the alignment off, but, luckily, that was it. $62 later, I'm back in order. Ill try not to do that again, though.

Yesterday, Dad approached me with a tentative proposition; I keep the truck and get it back in good running order, and I can do what I want with it. If he decides that's what he wants to do, I'll probably keep it as a daily driver, and buy a small car I can use to modify and go play (legally, on a racetrack) in.

Thoughts? Ideas? If this happens, what could I buy to mess with?
 
buy a toyota celica my first celica lasted for 212,000 miles with no leaks or any kind of noise but if i didnt get hit by an old lady then i would have had it the 5th generations are the best so i went out and bought another one
 
Punctuation and capitalization are both your friends. Please get to know them. Thanks.
 
Doesn't seem too terrible, but I don't know that much about them. Seems like the price is pretty good, thank God for our domestic-friendly way of life out here, or the value would be sky-high!
 
No kidding; I haven't checked, but I'm guessing it blue-books at around $4,500. I'll go check.

EDIT: In its condition (I selected Kelley Blue Book's "good"), it goes for $1,385. That doesn't sound right...
 
Last edited:
I think its the Michigan/Indiana/Ohio area pricing. A car like that west or south of here would likely go for a lot more.
 

Latest Posts

Back