Blake Noble

I made a fat-ex joke, haha!

Still makes me lol.

NOSTALGIA! I should have driven my ex-girlfriend as a replacement. She was a truck, after all.

Starting a motion to rename all of the Premium Subscribers "LTZ Members."

I really did stumble across the actual donor car I mentioned earlier this evening, but it's too much time and money. I wasn't being serious about it from the start. I'm too worried about spending $880 bucks to replace an intake gasket to spend $1,900 on a project like that. I have the Cutlass if I need something to tinker with. You don't need the popcorn, btw.

It's been a hell of a show. But wait until you see the ending. [spoiler!](!hoped you liked inception!)[/spoiler!] Anyway, I've been reading this thread: http://www.fullthrottlev6.com/forums/showthread.php?56976-99-L36-V6-to-01-LS1-V8-swap-%28w-PICS!%29 No cake walk by any means whatsoever, but then again, not a total nightmare. The donor car's K-member basically just unbolts, rolls over to the car undergoing surgery, and gets bolted back in. It'll be an ass changing all of the linkage over, though, and I don't know what to do about the damn hole in the floor (lol duct tape?). So, assessing the overall situation here, it's really a lot of time and work if you can get the extra help. There were three guys working over the course of three days putting in about 10 hours each day for the swap I linked to. I can get the help, but this is going to require me hauling not only my Camaro out of town but arranging to get the donor car there as well (I no longer have any local contacts that could help me with this). Basically, do I want to spend $1,900 bucks converting a clapped out Camaro into a Z/28 with a patched up hole in the trans tunnel? Or do I want to take that same amount of cash and use it as boot to trade my clapped out Camaro off to something else? Decisions, decisions ... Did you get extra butter on that popcorn, CaptainFAP?

Breaking news: I have a complete 2001 Z/28 on the line for $1,900 bucks. The car was rear-ended. Everything is there for me to swap the engine, transmission (it's an automatic), ECM, and rear-end over. The engine has 105,000 miles on it. The car also has the Z/28/SS hood (will need to be painted) that I did plan on putting on my car as well as a full leather interior (goodbye cloth). I can dump the old 3.8/5-speed into the Z's body and scrap that for a few hundred bucks and use that money to rid myself of the glitchy old Theftlock/Monsoon stereo. My loan refunds are about here. Maybe if I can get to the Z/28 soon, I'll keep my car. If not, then that's it.

Indeed, it doesn't. That whole fascia (the black section) does pop off, though, so I could cut and tailor it when I install an aftermarket stereo ... the MCE Dakota interior would be easier to do this to, though. I'm sort of jumping the gun here, though. I don't know if I can get the truck yet, lol.

Sounds quite simple then. I'm sure the prep work is the same using contact cement or the 3M adhesive DF mentioned, i.e. making sure the surface is wiped down clean. I guess the main issue is cutting the material correctly and finding a way for it to fit the design of the dash. I wonder how exactly it could work out with this interior ... I guess following the line that breaks the dash horizontally down the middle would be a starting place.

NOS, before I forget, how exactly did you go about upgrading the top of the Neon's dash with that leather material you bought? I've liked that touch since you first posted pics of it and I've been thinking about doing that to whatever I trade the Camaro to if its possible.

It's the return of Dirty Frank. Good to see you back NOS. Good to hear you made it out of that wreck without any major life-long injuries. Being in any accident, no matter what degree it is, is no fun. I still have problems with my neck, back, and right knee from my first wreck.

The Village Bicycle (the Aura) has the 3.5L V6 in it. It's been a pretty solid car over the course the 50,000 miles we've racked up on it in the past 3 years we've had it. We did have in in the shop under warranty a few days to replace a faulty body control module which was preventing the brake lights and brake pedal from syncing up correctly, but other than that, it's been mostly oil changes and brakes. Not much drama here. EDIT: Oh, and the key fobs suck. Forgot that. Then again, every GM car from the pre-bankruptcy era used the same shitty fob. If one isn't working, pop it open and check out the prong on the back of the CB that holds the battery in place. If it just falls out, it's time to break out the soldering iron. Blame it on the cheap solder GM used originally (wonder if their solder supplier was the same group who supplied Microsoft with the solder to use on the 360 CBs?). Sometimes the posts on the bottom of the prong will break off and after that the fob is screwed.

Oh lawdy. Will the teasing ever stop?

Well, if you were curious, forget the blue Dakota. It had 197,000 miles on it. Looking at it and driving it, you couldn't tell it had so many miles on it, but that's way too many for me to want to bother with it. I found another Dakota today, though. Another 3.9L, black. Only 115,000 this time (more than what I want to deal with, but it beats the hell out of 197,000). Truck books less than the Camaro. I'll drive it, see how that goes, see if it's clapped out or good to go, then see if they can give me the title and maybe one of those chintzy 3,000 mile warranties to boot. If not, whatever. So far, the biggest thing I have to worry about with the 3.9 is running into one that pings. Come to think of it, dad's old '98 used to do that, but it would only do it when you ran the truck on 87 octane gas. If you used 89 octane, it would stop. More than likely the choice of spark plugs Chrysler put in the 3.9s stock. Apparently, spark plugs, wires, even the cap and rotor only cost $60 bucks to buy should I need to eventually replace all of that and the 3.9 doesn't look like a complete bitch to work on. Actually, I really like the way the LA Magnum engines were set up. It really reminds me of an older V6 or V8 engine: intake manifold sets on top of the block and the injectors screw into the sides of it and the throttle body sets on top of it like a carb. Nice. And inexpensive bolt-on mods (cold air intake, computer flash, exhaust, '92 exhaust manifolds) can bump power up to around the 200 horsepower mark without much hassle and give the 3.9 a bump in torque too (it has 225 to start with, which is what the Camaro has, so this will be a torquey motor). Very nice. I could live with this for the next two years and keep it around after I'm able to buy something newer/low mileage.

Forgot to elaborate further on the Camaro: so far, things are looking terminal. To recap: -The oil is just beginning to mix, it takes a discerning eye to tell. -The car will run as hot as 210 in stop-and-go traffic. -Oil pressure wildly fluctuates. Sometimes as high as 80, sometimes as low as 35 - 40, sometimes stays at a healthy 60, and the gauge will sometimes spasm at random intervals. -Car smells like burning oil at times after the car has been shut off. -Check engine light illuminates at random intervals. I don't see dumping my refund dough (thank god some temporary cash is coming in from somewhere) into a high-mileage 3800 V6 engine. At this point, the only way I could see myself keeping the car would be if I could find a low mileage LS1, complete with a six-speed transmission, PCM and other necessary wiring, and a new differential for a transplant. Near impossible for that sort of $$$. I'm going to seek a third opinion before I drive the Dakota I found.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D1cap6yETA Good news: V-6 5-speed Dakota, two-wheel drive, blue. Somewhere in the '97 - '00 model year range in great condition. No idea on price yet. It's on a car lot. We'll see what the week brings. If I get the truck, I'll blow most of my loan refunds on fender flares, a stereo, and a lowering kit. Bad news: Oil pressure gauge likes to spasm a lot now (Camaro). Good news: Found a '69 F-85 for $1,700 bucks with a four-speed. Bad news: It's in worse shape than the '72 Cutlass when I first got it. It runs decent and I could actually drive it home, but it would need: floorpans, right rear quarter panel, paint, a new motor (a Chevy 350 in an Olds? I don't think so), and interior trim. I could blow my loan refunds on that but ... what would be the point?

I know you guys aren't. I was just taking a moment to kick my own ass.

... I overpaid for that POS of mine. Great ... Anyone sent bobo my memo? I'm not against unloading it on a lot, but I am against being the con-artist who sells junk to a private buyer. ... Bobo really needs that memo, guys. ... Bobo. Memo. Send it. I could attempt to, but I'm certain I would only do more harm than good. I popped the hood today, had the steps I linked to earlier printed out, and started walking through everything in my head ... whatever doubts I had before, well, they weren't put to rest. That's for sure.

Damn ... I don't even know how to counter here. You're right, DF. Bottom line, you're right. ... There isn't much point in discussing it further is there? As much as I want to be right on how I'm trying to do this, I'm not. I can't sell the car for the minimum I need and I really can't pay to fix it. I guess I'm stuck driving it until it hits critical mass. Well, I tried. Holy shit ... how did I get in this mess? Oh yeah, I bought a 12 year-old Camaro ... who's previous owner was the youngest church lady out of the crowd ... who didn't know how to properly maintenance it ... from a small used car lot ... with over 100,000 miles ... because I don't like certain cars ... that's how. Ha. What a perfect storm. For Cheers and Jeers in January, tell Bobo to put me under Jeers for "member with worst buying sense" or something.

Again, if there's anything in that post you can criticize, let me hear it. If there is a flaw anywhere in my logic on this, point it out. I may be making this more complicated than what it is.

I see what you did there. Well, I'm going by KBB values here. Click the link in the ad, note each price, and read each description on the various conditions. It's hard to say if the main issue the car has would be classified as a major mechanical problem. It does run and drive ok at the moment, but for how long I don't know. It's hard to make a judgment on that. It's almost like giving someone with cancer so many months to live; that can sometimes be wrong. Worse case scenario, the car is still worth $3,100. At this point, to get this out of my hair for good, I would more than happy to accept that price, what money I've thrown away fixing it be damned. At this moment, the degree as to how pertinent that information could be is debatable as what I'm thinking might be going on is little more than reasonable suspicion and there is no guarantee that's correct. A year of Auto-Tech classes doesn't necessarily make me a mechanic and it's obvious my mechanical skills are somewhat limited at best. I could very well be wrong about that. Although my suspicions are quite strong, I haven't had them confirmed 100 percent. When a mechanic confirms what I think, then I'll put it up in the ad and work with a buyer accordingly. I am currently seeking a second opinion to mine on weather or not the oil is definitely mixing and how fast it's degrading to the point where it becomes whole milk, so don't assume I'm trying to scam someone. As I've said before, my sense of right and wrong is stronger than that. I'm doing this as I go because I don't have the slightest idea in hell how to handle this. I've sold a totaled vehicle, but not one with a problem like this. This is honestly a nightmare. I've disclosed the major issue in the ad. If whoever wants to buy it wants a mechanic to tell them to what degree this has progressed, then I'll gladly drive the car to a shop. Like I said in the ad, I'm trying to be as honest as I can. I'd like for a mechanic to buy it, actually. He'd know what the hell to do and would know what to expect. I know it won't turn out that way, though.

http://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/1922787764.html If you wish to criticize, do it now.

Holy shit. That would make a nice toy.

I'm going to pussy out of the offer. I mean, the guy knows, but still.

Well, I put the Camaro up for sale as-is. Someone wants to trade a 5.2L Dakota Sport to it.