Well, here is my big mod I've been drooling over since I got the car...
I've always liked the car I've got from a body, paint, and ride perspective. In my thread http://www.dodgeintrepid.net/forums/t117032/, you can read in long prose about how I brought it back to life, and how it still ticks... (the short story is that I bought the car with an overheating problem. After an upper rebuild and new oil pump, the engine runs cool but it has this constant tick... when the oil is low, it ticks worse, and I'm sick of getting strange looks.)
First, here's a list of what I've done to the car...
For my first MOD (as apposed to repair of factory equiptment), I installed the 2002 sunglass holders on my B pillars. I am going to attach them slightly different to make them sit a little lower. The purple is from the lighting, not a stain in the headliner. I bought them from a member here - but I'm sorry, I don't remember the user name. User's first name is Nicholas. (admin, can you look up user by e-mail address?)
Next I bought a set of leather seats (and some other goodies I've not installed yet) from a member in Chicago, Kevin, 96_interped.
I was NOT happy with what I bought, so I went out to a local yard and found a set of dark slate (almost black) leather seats from a 1996/1997 LHS. I am VERY happy with these seats... they need a little touch up now, but here are some pictures.
My pictures there only show the front seat, my back seats are covered in child restraints! In that picture, you can also see my matching leather center console that was purchased from another user on the board here. Again, I don't remember his user name, but Patrick, maybe PezKing (or something), sold it to me along with a matching leather shifter for my autostick conversion (yet to come). You can also see the steering wheel cover my wife wanted to install over the black leather steering wheel. Sheesh. UPDATE: I think I found it, GAZE sold me some items, and I think it was these.
Well, with the motor still ticking, and with a broken windshield, but with the car really becoming part of the family, I went looking for a donor car for a new motor and new glass.
So, I bought a 1996 3.5 ES Intrepid from fellow Iowan and DI.net member, NHOGAN. The car has sat for about a year in my back yard waiting for the right time.
On the eve of Christmas Eve, I was at a junk yard at closing time rushing to get a rear window for my minivan after backing into a mail box in Terre Haute, IN... and sitting on the counter right in front of me was the CD/Cassette OEM radio... $55 later, it was mine.
The transmission went out on my car in June of 2009, and I replaced it with a 2002 2.7 tranny.
With a new tranny, I feel committed to make the car run... In September I was laid off from a job I really didn't care for, so I went on a quest to track down the last of my parts I needed for my conversion.
I found a user on the board here parting out a '93 Eagle Vision TSi. I still needed an ECM for the 3.5 that was an OBDI (as the 1996 from Nick was an OBDII), and I also needed an engine wiring harness that was set up for OBDI. I bought that and had some issues with shipping, so I won't drag the user's name through this thread. I also picked up a 3.5 1st gen FULL TIMING SET and water pump from bob441. Bob included 4 of the 6 spark plugs I'll need (freebies!!), and I also purchased from him the external drive belts.
So, feeling the time was right, I went and borrowed the engine crane from my buddy Jim.
I then pulled the car up to the garage... I don't have the room IN the garage for the car, the crane, all my tools, AND ALL THE JUNK I HAVE IN THE GARAGE I WANT TO THROW AWAY, so most of the car work will be done in the drive way. I'll pull the car 1/2 in the garage to do the pull, then push it out to the street for short term storage.
Here's what it looked like as I started...
The car is my wife's... I just like working on it and driving her around in it when I get to... So, I told her she had to be involved and help me out - you know, get tools if I'm laying under the car, chase the kids away, and take pictures. Here's the prettiest thing to ever sit on that bumper... (Nick may argue with me, and I will let him disagree with me, but my opinion still stands!)
Speaking of keeping the kids away, I've got my two little helpers in the garage with me on this day...
The little guy there thinks he's my tool runner... "Troos, troos!!!" ("Tools, tools!!!")
The older boy has his first cell phone, and I asked him to take pictures of the action... So he took some pictures of my wife and I, then me working.
Some of my older son's 'action' shots
There, the wiper cowl is out!
Well, after a couple of hours (I had to chase my photographer out of the chemicals and tools, etc), I had used three lenghs of extensions (1/2 drive), a 1/2 drive ratchet, 10mm, 13mm, and 15mm 1/2 drive sockets, a Phillips screw driver, a large flat screw driver, a mini flat screw driver, and a slip-joint plier.
This was the result so far...
I do not yet want to take apart so much that I can't pull it in the garage... so more is going to come off soon. I'm going to drive it up on ramps and remove bits and pieces from the underside of the car, then roll it down and remove the intake and unbolt the engine from the tranny, finish off the exhaust, and pull it out.
These are for my kids, they just love 'em.
:1959:
:banana055:
:banana049:
:rap:
:banana026:
:banana111:
:banana:
:banana105:
:banana025:
:banana085:
:fun_66:
:smilie_lo:
:elefant:
:light:
:gross_11:
:bouncgrin:
:band:
(last pic from my older son)
"TROOS!!!!!"
:worky:
I've always liked the car I've got from a body, paint, and ride perspective. In my thread http://www.dodgeintrepid.net/forums/t117032/, you can read in long prose about how I brought it back to life, and how it still ticks... (the short story is that I bought the car with an overheating problem. After an upper rebuild and new oil pump, the engine runs cool but it has this constant tick... when the oil is low, it ticks worse, and I'm sick of getting strange looks.)
First, here's a list of what I've done to the car...
For my first MOD (as apposed to repair of factory equiptment), I installed the 2002 sunglass holders on my B pillars. I am going to attach them slightly different to make them sit a little lower. The purple is from the lighting, not a stain in the headliner. I bought them from a member here - but I'm sorry, I don't remember the user name. User's first name is Nicholas. (admin, can you look up user by e-mail address?)
Next I bought a set of leather seats (and some other goodies I've not installed yet) from a member in Chicago, Kevin, 96_interped.
I was NOT happy with what I bought, so I went out to a local yard and found a set of dark slate (almost black) leather seats from a 1996/1997 LHS. I am VERY happy with these seats... they need a little touch up now, but here are some pictures.
My pictures there only show the front seat, my back seats are covered in child restraints! In that picture, you can also see my matching leather center console that was purchased from another user on the board here. Again, I don't remember his user name, but Patrick, maybe PezKing (or something), sold it to me along with a matching leather shifter for my autostick conversion (yet to come). You can also see the steering wheel cover my wife wanted to install over the black leather steering wheel. Sheesh. UPDATE: I think I found it, GAZE sold me some items, and I think it was these.
Well, with the motor still ticking, and with a broken windshield, but with the car really becoming part of the family, I went looking for a donor car for a new motor and new glass.
So, I bought a 1996 3.5 ES Intrepid from fellow Iowan and DI.net member, NHOGAN. The car has sat for about a year in my back yard waiting for the right time.
On the eve of Christmas Eve, I was at a junk yard at closing time rushing to get a rear window for my minivan after backing into a mail box in Terre Haute, IN... and sitting on the counter right in front of me was the CD/Cassette OEM radio... $55 later, it was mine.
The transmission went out on my car in June of 2009, and I replaced it with a 2002 2.7 tranny.
With a new tranny, I feel committed to make the car run... In September I was laid off from a job I really didn't care for, so I went on a quest to track down the last of my parts I needed for my conversion.
I found a user on the board here parting out a '93 Eagle Vision TSi. I still needed an ECM for the 3.5 that was an OBDI (as the 1996 from Nick was an OBDII), and I also needed an engine wiring harness that was set up for OBDI. I bought that and had some issues with shipping, so I won't drag the user's name through this thread. I also picked up a 3.5 1st gen FULL TIMING SET and water pump from bob441. Bob included 4 of the 6 spark plugs I'll need (freebies!!), and I also purchased from him the external drive belts.
So, feeling the time was right, I went and borrowed the engine crane from my buddy Jim.
I then pulled the car up to the garage... I don't have the room IN the garage for the car, the crane, all my tools, AND ALL THE JUNK I HAVE IN THE GARAGE I WANT TO THROW AWAY, so most of the car work will be done in the drive way. I'll pull the car 1/2 in the garage to do the pull, then push it out to the street for short term storage.
Here's what it looked like as I started...
The car is my wife's... I just like working on it and driving her around in it when I get to... So, I told her she had to be involved and help me out - you know, get tools if I'm laying under the car, chase the kids away, and take pictures. Here's the prettiest thing to ever sit on that bumper... (Nick may argue with me, and I will let him disagree with me, but my opinion still stands!)
Speaking of keeping the kids away, I've got my two little helpers in the garage with me on this day...
The little guy there thinks he's my tool runner... "Troos, troos!!!" ("Tools, tools!!!")
The older boy has his first cell phone, and I asked him to take pictures of the action... So he took some pictures of my wife and I, then me working.
Some of my older son's 'action' shots
There, the wiper cowl is out!
Well, after a couple of hours (I had to chase my photographer out of the chemicals and tools, etc), I had used three lenghs of extensions (1/2 drive), a 1/2 drive ratchet, 10mm, 13mm, and 15mm 1/2 drive sockets, a Phillips screw driver, a large flat screw driver, a mini flat screw driver, and a slip-joint plier.
This was the result so far...
I do not yet want to take apart so much that I can't pull it in the garage... so more is going to come off soon. I'm going to drive it up on ramps and remove bits and pieces from the underside of the car, then roll it down and remove the intake and unbolt the engine from the tranny, finish off the exhaust, and pull it out.
These are for my kids, they just love 'em.
:1959:
:banana055:
:banana049:
:rap:
:banana026:
:banana111:
:banana:
:banana105:
:banana025:
:banana085:
:fun_66:
:smilie_lo:
:elefant:
:light:
:gross_11:
:bouncgrin:
:band:
(last pic from my older son)
"TROOS!!!!!"
:worky: