tunernewb92
15+ Year Contributor
- 341
- 74
- Sep 10, 2008
-
North Canton,
Ohio
Well, I decided to bring another car home to the stable. This will mean the end of my red car. After getting a quote on fixing the body damage / paint / and my labor and time and redoing some other problems I had found underneath (including holes from falling off jack stands from previous owner) I decided that car would never be what I ultimately wanted. I will switch a few parts over to this car and part out the rest including the MINT black interior.
I have always wanted a Monarch Green Spyder since riding in one that a friend owned. I have always loved the color of them and the ability to top down and just cruise. This car was found cruising craigslist late one night. Initially the price was too high and my wife just laughed and walked off shaking her head. Not to be outdone, I decided to go for it and talked the guy down off some of the price. The pictures he sent were almost unbelievable the shape it was in. It was a midwest never driven in the rain / snow / etc. and frankly I believe him. There isn't a spec of rust and most of the nuts and bolts still have the stock zinc coating.
This will NOT be a power build. I will be shooting for around 350-375whp because I feel like that is a good number to be able to save most of my comfort and reliability.
These are some of the pictures he sent me to show the shape. We agreed on the price after about forty pictures and a few videos and I flew out there to pick it up. He met me at the airport and it was exactly as described which made me very happy. I checked a few things and hit the road for a 14 hour non stop trip across the NM and Texas desert back to Houston. Car drove like a dream not one single problem on the way over. Gas mileage in these still sucks even stock at just a hair over 25mpg at 77mph.:
Seriously though have you ever seen an engine bay like that in the last ten years? Holy cow that thing is so much stocky goodness!
Inpromptu photo session with a train in the middle of nowhere one street Texas desert town:
The car was almost in to good shape to even touch. I wanted to leave it as a time capsule. I probably should have. Buuuuuuuuuuuut that just isn't going to happen.
First order of business was to get rid of the 1999 aftermarket stereo they had put in there. It had an Aux Port and thank god for that on the drive back. I just put my Pioneer 4500BT double din in there and for now will retain the factor amp and I believe infinity system.
Second thing this time around was suspension and brakes BEFORE power. I wasn't going to cheap out either. I knew exactly what I wanted and went ahead and ordered it. FIC 441s 10k/6k with CTSV brakes. These brakes are huge on this car. Stop on a dime now!. I will be ordering rear evo calipers and putting on a 3g brake booster in the near future to compliment these fronts. I will probably have the rear evos PC'd silver to match these fronts. Also went ahead and put on some RPF1's that I got for a screaming deal.
These brakes did need a little grinding to clear the wheels. They don't leave much room at all.
This might be the most expensive box I have ever ordered. But I had to have the spherical bearings and there are almost zero other options. After this my wallet started hurting so I will need to sell some parts off red car before I continue building . I have never had a like new unmodified DSM before and it was such a breeze to toss these on the car as everything was so fresh.
Money shot. I need to wash it but it has rained every single day in Houston since I brought her home. Hopefully a quick wash tomorrow. The P/O waxed it for me the day before I landed and did a decent enough job (taped off) but the car will need paint correction at some point to knock some swirls out.
I have always wanted a Monarch Green Spyder since riding in one that a friend owned. I have always loved the color of them and the ability to top down and just cruise. This car was found cruising craigslist late one night. Initially the price was too high and my wife just laughed and walked off shaking her head. Not to be outdone, I decided to go for it and talked the guy down off some of the price. The pictures he sent were almost unbelievable the shape it was in. It was a midwest never driven in the rain / snow / etc. and frankly I believe him. There isn't a spec of rust and most of the nuts and bolts still have the stock zinc coating.
This will NOT be a power build. I will be shooting for around 350-375whp because I feel like that is a good number to be able to save most of my comfort and reliability.
These are some of the pictures he sent me to show the shape. We agreed on the price after about forty pictures and a few videos and I flew out there to pick it up. He met me at the airport and it was exactly as described which made me very happy. I checked a few things and hit the road for a 14 hour non stop trip across the NM and Texas desert back to Houston. Car drove like a dream not one single problem on the way over. Gas mileage in these still sucks even stock at just a hair over 25mpg at 77mph.:
Seriously though have you ever seen an engine bay like that in the last ten years? Holy cow that thing is so much stocky goodness!
Inpromptu photo session with a train in the middle of nowhere one street Texas desert town:
The car was almost in to good shape to even touch. I wanted to leave it as a time capsule. I probably should have. Buuuuuuuuuuuut that just isn't going to happen.
First order of business was to get rid of the 1999 aftermarket stereo they had put in there. It had an Aux Port and thank god for that on the drive back. I just put my Pioneer 4500BT double din in there and for now will retain the factor amp and I believe infinity system.
Second thing this time around was suspension and brakes BEFORE power. I wasn't going to cheap out either. I knew exactly what I wanted and went ahead and ordered it. FIC 441s 10k/6k with CTSV brakes. These brakes are huge on this car. Stop on a dime now!. I will be ordering rear evo calipers and putting on a 3g brake booster in the near future to compliment these fronts. I will probably have the rear evos PC'd silver to match these fronts. Also went ahead and put on some RPF1's that I got for a screaming deal.
These brakes did need a little grinding to clear the wheels. They don't leave much room at all.
This might be the most expensive box I have ever ordered. But I had to have the spherical bearings and there are almost zero other options. After this my wallet started hurting so I will need to sell some parts off red car before I continue building . I have never had a like new unmodified DSM before and it was such a breeze to toss these on the car as everything was so fresh.
Money shot. I need to wash it but it has rained every single day in Houston since I brought her home. Hopefully a quick wash tomorrow. The P/O waxed it for me the day before I landed and did a decent enough job (taped off) but the car will need paint correction at some point to knock some swirls out.
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