Exhausted. The auction Corolla now looks pretty good, however it sounds like a tin can full of flatulent bumble bees. The old muffler was pretty rusty, well what was left of it:
I found a pretty good deal on mufflers at Amazon. $23 bucks shipped with my prime membership, however, it had a 2.5" inlet, and the Corolla had a 1.75 outlet. I didn't want to spend a bunch of coin on adapters, so I got to work.
You can see the difference in sizes (above). The first order of business was to make an adapter plate. First I took a price of scrap and drilled a 1.75" hole.
Then I cut out the plug for the 2.5" inlet in the muffler.
Then I popped it on the muffler and welded it up.
I'm no professional fabricator, but this worked swimmingly and I saved about $15 in adapters by building it myself, out of scrap! It sounds real nice on the Corolla too! In the next Corolla post, I'll cover some of the final cosmetic touches before I put it up for sale.
In part one, I told you about my impulse buy, in part two I showed you a few of the challenges I found that will need to be solved to make this car flipable. In part three, I'm gonna show you the transformation of a cancer hole from "this is hopeless" to "I can live with that."
My fist order of business was to cut the cancer out.
Next, I traced the approximate shapes I needed on wax paper. Then I cut the shapes out of the wax paper and transferred the stencil to some 22 gauge sheet metal.
After cutting my metal shapes I trimmed as needed to fit correctly and welded the whole mess up.
Then I ground the welds with an angle grinder and applied a coat of body filler.
Sanded the first coat with 80 grit sand paper.
I eventually did a second coat of filler, also sanded with 80 grit, and a coat of glazing putty sanded with 80, 120 and then 320 grit papers. After wiping it down and priming, I think I have something that's passable.
I also did some reconstruction of the front of this same fender arch, and the rocker panel with the same methods. I repeated the same process on the passengers side.
To finish this off I needed some paint. A huge point of cost in any flip is paint. I could prep and paint the whole car for around $200, or I could spot paint it for much less. I chose to spot paint for $20, finding a close color in a duplicolor rattle can, figuring that I can paint it later if I it doesn't sell. I've never painted a car before, so I followed this tutorial for blending a rattle can touch up (nsfw).
The final product came out fairly decent. I'm obviously no expert, but my guess is the person shopping for a car in this price range can't be to picky. Each car is practice, and I'll get better on the next one I suppose.
I love mid summer car shows. It doesn't matter if they're at the local Tasty Freeze or at billion dollar race tracks. For 3 years I've taken my camera to Kentucky's biggest car show, the Keeneland Concours d'Elegance, documenting the competition, cars and owners. Featuring Enzo #399, Tucker #25 and a the worlds only Fuel Injected Dino Ferarri (also raced by Paul Neuman).
I saw this majestic beast parked in the handi-spot outside Kroger. It seems to be a mid 80's-ish Dodge Ram Van, with an identity crisis.
The conversion style rear quarter windows conflict with the 70's metal flake-faux wood paint. Every body knows you don't put picture windows on the side of a shagg'n wagon. Also, most conversion vans were long body's. The 90's American Racing rims bring us a third decade of confusion, while the luggage rack and Family Truckster double stacked headlamps complete the rape van look.
Despite this vans creeper status, I kind of digg it. I mean look at the fiberglass sun visor! Those were made for only the Chachiest of rides. Honestly, I can see Scott Baio rocking this right now! If it where my van, I'd hop on craigslist and score some cheap 13" reversed offset wire wheels, put War's Lowrider on repeat and call it a day... but, to each their own. I lift my beer in the air to you Mr. Handi Van, you may not have taste on your side, but you've got style, and that's good enough.
In part one, I told you how I stole a 1990 corolla at auction for the low sum of $250. My intent was to buy, clean and then flip the car for $500-$800. Well, the idiot tax for buying old used cars adds up pretty quick. I won the car for $250, but then come the added auction fees.
Winning Bid: $250
Auction Fee: $75
Online Bidding Fee:$39
Lot Fee: $30
Suddenly I'm into this heap for $394.00, and I haven't even gotten it home yet. Speaking of getting it home, how am I going to do that? My Ram 3500 is in the shop. I guess I'm taking a long lunch from my 8-5, renting a car dolly (+$55) and borrowing the wife's mini van.
Most of the car batteries on the auction lot are dead because most cars sit on auction lots for weeks, and even months with doors open or accessories on. My first order of business after getting the Corolla home, was to charge the battery and take stock of what works, what doesn't and what will need to be fixed.
I saw these rust spots in the auction listing (from a picture taken far away), at the time they didn't seem so bad. But then I started investigating. I wish I hadn't.
So the major problems so far are rusty quarters, a saggy headliner, a missing mirror and the bombshell in the picture below:
Dammit.
How are we going to fix all this and make a profit on our flip? Check out part 3 next week and find out.
I happened to be marching through the bureau of purple curbs when I caught this majesticness with my smartphone:
I took me 2 passes (24 hours apart) to realize this marvelous monstrosity was more than some local guy's experiment with Krylon and masking tape. No, this is a full on tribute to the 3rd gen eclipse in 2Fast 2Furious. See the original picture car in the pic below.
I was never a huge fan of the 3rd gen Eclipse, nor was I a fan of the sophomore version of the Fast franchise. I remember my initial reaction to the 2Fast Eclipse in the theater, it was something like "I don't love it, I don't hate it, but I can't think of any sane reason you would do that to a vehicle." It's now ten+ years since the film premiered, but it certainly left a impression someone.
This tribute brings us the all the essence of the original vehicle, without any of the details. Sure, the purple is not the same color, the wheels don't match, the body kit is missing and the owner can't be bothered with the rear wing. If everything were correct it would be a replica, and (as Tenacious D says) this is not the greatest replica in the world, this is just a tribute. Either way, I lift my beer in the air to you, Mr. 2Fast tribute owner, for keeping and old Eclipse on the road, and for shining your light on the most forgettable vehicle of the entire Fast & Furious franchise.
I'm not a fan of mechanic in a bottle solutions, but I'm in a situation where I need a quick fix to get a car through the next couple of weeks with a blown head gasket, until it can be properly repaired. Apparently, according to the masses of YouTube testimonials, I need a product called Blue Devil Head gasket sealant.
The guy in the above video is not me, and that's not the Gas Donkey Garage, but his video and results sold me on the temporary solution, so I wen't online to search for the best price. I stopped by the manufacturers website first, to see how much it was in the company store, and then to read up on the warranty. In order for the warranty to be valid, you must purchase the product from an authorized retailer, which means my favorite parts house (eBay motors) was probably out of the question. So next I searched the major parts houses near the GD Garage. First Napa:
I original y looked at Napa, because they sell the block tester in the above video. I rarely shop there, because back in the day they seemed to want to cater to commercial customers only. I went there once when I was 17 to get a head gasket for my B2200. I stood at the counter, staring at the parts guy 4 feet away eating a sandwich for 20 minutes without so much as a "Hi", "Hello", or "someone will be with you in a few". I haven't stepped foot in one since. Next I looked at Advanced.
Hmm...$16 more and terrible customer service? Nope. Next up, Auto Zone.
Really Auto Zone? It's 2014, you can do better. Apparently, so can I. I'll try Oreily's next.
Umm ?WTF Oriely? You've always been the most helpful, and cheaper on things that bolt to engines. I've rewarded you for your great service and cheap parts with my unwavering loyalty. Had I blindly walked in and purchased this off the shelf, I would have left walking funny, because you would have raped me.
Oreily's is $26 dollars more. That's somewhere in the range of 75% more than Napa. How is this even possible? Thank god we live in a day and age where prices are at arms length. I guess today I'll be giving Napa a 2nd chance.
Sometimes I get dumb ideas. This blog is one of them. Other times I get really bad ideas, like buying a car online without having seen it in person, and with no other information other than "it starts". Meet the newest addition to the Gas Donkey Garage, a 24 year old 1990 Toyota Corolla Deluxe, which I stole for the bargain sum of $250. Or so I thought.
The above picture is from the online auction site where I purchased the car. First impressions imply a relatively straight body with some clear coat issues. I wasn't really concerned about the clear coat, because the age of this econo-box means I'm relegated to the land of the sub $1k flip. Also, the car's listing said it "runs" and "drives" which made me cross my fingers for luck and dive into the bidding process. I mean, can you really loose money on a $250 car? It has to be worth that much in scrap, right?
Bidding on the Corolla started at $200, and someone had beaten me to the first bid. I had predetermined that I would pay no more than $250 for this car, and since bidding raised in $50 increments, I had one shot. I clicked "bid" just before the timer ended and (as it turns out) I was the new owner. Well, not really. After bidding (and winning) I was informed that the vehicle had a $400 dollar reserve, and that I could up my bid to $400 and buy the vehicle, or wait for the seller to approve/disapprove the transaction. A few moments later I got an email saying the seller approved the sale, and I got an email saying I had to have it off the consignment lot in 5 days or I start racking up storage fee's. It was this moment that I realized my first costly mistake, My normal tow vehicle was out of commission with transmission issues, and none of my other vehicles were heavy duty enough to tow the Corolla strapped to my 16' car hauler.
How does a guy, with a full time job and no tow vehicle, retrieve a car 50 miles away, on a lot that's only open bankers hours? Tune in next week and find out.
I bought my CJ5 about 10 years ago for $800. It was road legal (with a title) and since we had just recently moved to a farm, I thought it would be more useful than the Kawasaki 4wheeler I had my eye on for quite some time.
The Jeep was stock height and had stock wheels ( for the golden eagle/daisy duke edition) when I got it. I traded around and got a 4" leaf spring lift, dropped pitman arm and 35" tires from craigslist. My wife and I tore up the countryside in this thing. We took it through creeks, rock crawling and up a 70 degree 300 ft hill affectionately known as "Cow Run". Over the first few years of ownership we did other modifications. I rebuilt the carb, rewired the starter and ditched the ford dura spark ignition, in favor of a GM HEI setup. These mods made the Ford 304 motor way more dependable and more enjoyable to drive.... Only "we" were no longer able to drive it.
5 years ago we got preggers with our first child, which means our rough riding jeep was no longer something the pregnant wife and I could share as a hobby, and unfortunately the small tub of the CJ5 meant that our now 4 year old daughter didn't have a safe seat in the back of the jeep. The Jeep has lived in the barn (with my other barn cars) for the past 4 years and nine months. We now have 2 daughters and I felt as though I needed to bite the bullet and buy a bigger jeep that the whole family can enjoy, but first I needed to let my old one go.
A quick scan of Craigslist revealed a shortage of running Jeeps in my area, and a glutton of overpriced half finished projects. So I listed my jeep for $1k over book and the calls came rolling in. I clearly explained my jeeps strengths (solid frame, 304 v8, dependability upgrades) and weeknesses (leaky main, water pump and rusty front fenders) and buyers were inquiring nonstop. The first guy that came to see it paid me in cash, $1k over book and more than $400 over what I had in the whole project. Below is a rally of my total jeep investment:
Jeep - $800
Lift kit and Pitman arm -$275
35" wheels and tires - $175
Moded GM HEI - $90
Carb rebuild Kit $35
So, I had a total investment of less than $1400 and sold it for $1800, and I never even washed it. Sure I didn't get paid for my time for installing the upgrades, but flipping is about trading your time to make cash on the sale. In the end I made $400 and a bunch of memories as the temporary owner of one badass Jeep CJ5.
Some beaters have an ethereal quality that exudes cool. It's like an automotive machismo. I found this lowered mini behind the court house while I was at the DMV to transfer my Jeep's title to its new owner. When I saw this slammed 'Yota on supra wheels, with the yella' lights I gave pause, and noticed how the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Well done Mr. 'Yota owner, if I ever meet you, I'm buying you a beer.
What do you get when you combine a burned out Ferrari "348 Midengine Supercar", a quart of latex paint and global warming? You get the worlds most expensive cattle trough. This guy says he's not on drugs. I think he's lying.
The Bradley GTII is an odd duck. It's the successor the the Bradley GT, which is arguably the worlds most recognizable VW based kit car. The GTII had a lot going for it when compared to its older brother. The lines of the car body flowed better, it had actual doors (gasp!) and door glass. When I saw this one at a car lot in my home town I had to stop to take a few photos. The part that caught my attention was the round "33" sticker and copper "rape van" wheels with chrome spinners. I highly doubt this car has had any track time, but I really do hope those spinners are hooked to a James Bond-ish mechanism the will grind the tires of my opponents in a illegal Tiajuana street race. I really like the front and back of this car, but the mid section kind of kills the sex appeal of the whole. I am kinda strangely in love with the early 80's vinyl interior and black faced gauges.
