I wrecked my Wife's minivan 8 months ago, so I had to buy her a new car. At the time, I was driving a turbocharged '98 Mitsubishi Eclipse, and there was no way I was getting rid of it.
I worked for a Mitsubishi Dealership at the time, and being broke, with no credit, I was looking for a cash car I could score for $600 or so, just to get by until I could figure something out.
My boss at the dealership (technically, my Boss's boss. My boss was a Douche, but his dad owns the place) heard of my plight, and said "Why don't you use that $600 as a down payment to get a used car off the lot, and we'll work something out". I didn't have any other options, so I said "Sure".
There were a lot of Turds on the lot, and there were a lot more cars that I could never get financed for, but right in the middle of it all was Jessie. Not that it was Love at first sight, because it wasn't. It was the shiniest of all of the available turds, but it was still a Turd. My plan was to make the wife like it, and stick her in it until we traded it in for something we actually wanted.
She looked something like this, only without step rails, and with foggier headlights.
Flash forward 2 months. The wife HATES the Trailblazer. It doesn't fit the whole family (we have 4 kiddos), it ran like shit, and it was too big for her. She wanted a Minivan, Damnit! Problem is, being as that I financed the Trailblazer with Bad Credit, I'm locked into a bajillion year loan which has me paying a total of 17k or so for this shiny turd. Family comes first, so I put the Eclipse on Craigslist to trade for a Minivan. The first hit I got was a guy looking to trade straight across for this 4x4 Dakota with a nice body lift. I jumped all over that.
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It was a Badass truck, but A; it got like 8 miles to the gallon, and B; the wife still wanted a minivan. So back onto Craigslist it went. I had put a "3k or best offer" on the Eclipse, and it sat for weeks. I put the Dakota on for $6k, and it sold within 2 hours.
I bought the wife a '04 Chevy Venture, and I inherited the Trailblazer.
First thing I did was solve the Rough idle. You guessed it, Throttle body. Then I put a new fan relay and blend door actuator in, so my AC would actually work (Dallas Texas gets hot, occasionally). I put new motor mounts in her, and the difference was night and day. Like a whole new Truck.
Then I started modding.
First I bought Ebay "Factory Look" headlights to replace the foggy stockers I had. $100 for the set. Not a bad deal. I then painted the Grille, Bowtie, Mirror Covers, and Wiper Arms. I removed the roof rack and side moldings. Then I remembered to take Pictures.
Then i installed 8000k HiDs, and went from left to right.
I also put LEDs in my License plate lights, and did a custom "HHR Look" paint job on my Taillights (although as of now, only the left taillight is done, because it's been too cold to paint)
As far as the interior goes, not a whole lot done yet. I plan on converting from the ugly tan to a complete black interior. I got a Saab 9-7x cluster put in, and Black Leather Seats, but that's the extent of my interior work so far.
Sorry for the appearance by Mr. Blurrycam
Then last Monday, in the rain, I was making a left turn under a light, and an unknown person in a maroon GMC pickup was doing about 50 in a 35. I gunned it, and went nowhere (2wd in rain = No Bueno). They swerved left, bounced off my passenger bumper cover and fender, and continued on their merry way.
Insurance gave me $1400 for a new Fender, Header panel, Wheel and Tire, and of course the labor and paint. I did not need a new wheel or tire (it was curb rash, been there forever). They did not want to pay for a new bumper cover, as they had deemed this one repairable.
Here's where I should mention that I am in the auto parts business. I work for L.K.Q., which for lack of a better description, is one of the worlds largest Junkyards. Technically, it's a network of 400 or so junkyards, all owned by the same company, with integrated inventory. We also own Keystone, which is a huge supplier of aftermarket parts. Due to my job, I have lots of contacts with body shops and such.
I took my baby to Maaco in Irving, where Dave Sharp (the manager) did me a solid. I sold him (myself) the fender and header panel at employee price (ridiculously cheap), and I found a brand spanking new LT bumper cover on craigslist for $70. Maaco did the body work, painted everything, and now it's better than new. They also gave me $300 back from my insurance check, which almost perfectly covered the Rental for the time Jessie was down.
I got her back this afternoon, and I couldn't be happier. I had brand new Keystone Fog lights that I couldn't wait to install. So even though it was raining outside, and freezing cold, I spent all evening installing my DRL killer, fixing my headlights (body shop forgot to replace my zip ties for my ballasts, so stuff worked loose), and installing my Fog Lights on an independent switch, so they can be on with or without the headlights.
Crappy pictures, but it's dark out there.
Just Headlights;
Just Fogs;
OHDEARJESUSICAN'TSEEANYTHING!!!;
Switch mount inside. Looks pretty good. I left myself room to add another switch, should I choose to add other things to the truck.
Switch in "On" position. I'm going to have to throw some nightshade coats on it or something, because it really is that bright;
So that's where we stand right now. At first, I didn't care much for Jessie, but now I don't know what I'd do without her. I have lots of plans for her going forward. There's a lot of easy stuff (antenna delete, resonator delete, etc) and a lot of harder stuff (finishing my interior conversion), so I should be busy for awhile yet.
Primary on my list of things to do is getting the correct size tires on these bad boys, and putting them back on to stay (yes, I bought tires before I did research. Yes, my steering knuckles ate 2 of the tires). Right now they're sitting in my shed, and breaking my heart each and every time i walk out there.
I'll be adding pics as the mods come along, although I have a feeling it's going to be a slow winter.
I want to thank all of you guys. Without the info from all of the helpful people on Trailv0y (most of which are now here), I would still be driving a stock LS with bad motor mounts and Idle problems. You guys are a wealth of knowledge, and y'all are the reason I was able to see this girl's potential, and nudge her towards it a little at a time. Jessie and I thank You.
As always, comments, criticisms, and suggestions are welcome.
I worked for a Mitsubishi Dealership at the time, and being broke, with no credit, I was looking for a cash car I could score for $600 or so, just to get by until I could figure something out.
My boss at the dealership (technically, my Boss's boss. My boss was a Douche, but his dad owns the place) heard of my plight, and said "Why don't you use that $600 as a down payment to get a used car off the lot, and we'll work something out". I didn't have any other options, so I said "Sure".
There were a lot of Turds on the lot, and there were a lot more cars that I could never get financed for, but right in the middle of it all was Jessie. Not that it was Love at first sight, because it wasn't. It was the shiniest of all of the available turds, but it was still a Turd. My plan was to make the wife like it, and stick her in it until we traded it in for something we actually wanted.
She looked something like this, only without step rails, and with foggier headlights.
Flash forward 2 months. The wife HATES the Trailblazer. It doesn't fit the whole family (we have 4 kiddos), it ran like shit, and it was too big for her. She wanted a Minivan, Damnit! Problem is, being as that I financed the Trailblazer with Bad Credit, I'm locked into a bajillion year loan which has me paying a total of 17k or so for this shiny turd. Family comes first, so I put the Eclipse on Craigslist to trade for a Minivan. The first hit I got was a guy looking to trade straight across for this 4x4 Dakota with a nice body lift. I jumped all over that.
It was a Badass truck, but A; it got like 8 miles to the gallon, and B; the wife still wanted a minivan. So back onto Craigslist it went. I had put a "3k or best offer" on the Eclipse, and it sat for weeks. I put the Dakota on for $6k, and it sold within 2 hours.
I bought the wife a '04 Chevy Venture, and I inherited the Trailblazer.
First thing I did was solve the Rough idle. You guessed it, Throttle body. Then I put a new fan relay and blend door actuator in, so my AC would actually work (Dallas Texas gets hot, occasionally). I put new motor mounts in her, and the difference was night and day. Like a whole new Truck.
Then I started modding.
First I bought Ebay "Factory Look" headlights to replace the foggy stockers I had. $100 for the set. Not a bad deal. I then painted the Grille, Bowtie, Mirror Covers, and Wiper Arms. I removed the roof rack and side moldings. Then I remembered to take Pictures.
Then i installed 8000k HiDs, and went from left to right.
I also put LEDs in my License plate lights, and did a custom "HHR Look" paint job on my Taillights (although as of now, only the left taillight is done, because it's been too cold to paint)
As far as the interior goes, not a whole lot done yet. I plan on converting from the ugly tan to a complete black interior. I got a Saab 9-7x cluster put in, and Black Leather Seats, but that's the extent of my interior work so far.
Sorry for the appearance by Mr. Blurrycam
Then last Monday, in the rain, I was making a left turn under a light, and an unknown person in a maroon GMC pickup was doing about 50 in a 35. I gunned it, and went nowhere (2wd in rain = No Bueno). They swerved left, bounced off my passenger bumper cover and fender, and continued on their merry way.
Insurance gave me $1400 for a new Fender, Header panel, Wheel and Tire, and of course the labor and paint. I did not need a new wheel or tire (it was curb rash, been there forever). They did not want to pay for a new bumper cover, as they had deemed this one repairable.
Here's where I should mention that I am in the auto parts business. I work for L.K.Q., which for lack of a better description, is one of the worlds largest Junkyards. Technically, it's a network of 400 or so junkyards, all owned by the same company, with integrated inventory. We also own Keystone, which is a huge supplier of aftermarket parts. Due to my job, I have lots of contacts with body shops and such.
I took my baby to Maaco in Irving, where Dave Sharp (the manager) did me a solid. I sold him (myself) the fender and header panel at employee price (ridiculously cheap), and I found a brand spanking new LT bumper cover on craigslist for $70. Maaco did the body work, painted everything, and now it's better than new. They also gave me $300 back from my insurance check, which almost perfectly covered the Rental for the time Jessie was down.
I got her back this afternoon, and I couldn't be happier. I had brand new Keystone Fog lights that I couldn't wait to install. So even though it was raining outside, and freezing cold, I spent all evening installing my DRL killer, fixing my headlights (body shop forgot to replace my zip ties for my ballasts, so stuff worked loose), and installing my Fog Lights on an independent switch, so they can be on with or without the headlights.
Crappy pictures, but it's dark out there.
Just Headlights;
Just Fogs;
OHDEARJESUSICAN'TSEEANYTHING!!!;
Switch mount inside. Looks pretty good. I left myself room to add another switch, should I choose to add other things to the truck.
Switch in "On" position. I'm going to have to throw some nightshade coats on it or something, because it really is that bright;
So that's where we stand right now. At first, I didn't care much for Jessie, but now I don't know what I'd do without her. I have lots of plans for her going forward. There's a lot of easy stuff (antenna delete, resonator delete, etc) and a lot of harder stuff (finishing my interior conversion), so I should be busy for awhile yet.
Primary on my list of things to do is getting the correct size tires on these bad boys, and putting them back on to stay (yes, I bought tires before I did research. Yes, my steering knuckles ate 2 of the tires). Right now they're sitting in my shed, and breaking my heart each and every time i walk out there.
I'll be adding pics as the mods come along, although I have a feeling it's going to be a slow winter.
I want to thank all of you guys. Without the info from all of the helpful people on Trailv0y (most of which are now here), I would still be driving a stock LS with bad motor mounts and Idle problems. You guys are a wealth of knowledge, and y'all are the reason I was able to see this girl's potential, and nudge her towards it a little at a time. Jessie and I thank You.
As always, comments, criticisms, and suggestions are welcome.
looks good bro
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