greathuskie
20+ Year Contributor
- 2,666
- 4
- Sep 10, 2002
-
Hollywood,
Florida
My car has been worked on for I believe 7 years now. Initially bought it completely stock with little dreams to upgrade to anything too crazy too soon. Then it walked. So I had a car with a blown motor, and instead of doing the logical thing, I decided to build the entire damn car. And so it began.
Here is my car as it sits:
As most will notice, it has an entirely molded body kit. The kit is a Buddy Club 2, I originally chose it because it is the cleanest kit available for the DSM, the body lines flow great and it is not "extreme" or anything like that. The door moldings have been removed, the holes welded shut and smoothed over. The car also had the original thumbnail wing removed and has an Eclipse high rise wing. The body kit was molded for 2 reasons:
1. It looks better
2. The original kit was about an inch too long on each side, it would take as long to mold it as it would to fix the kit. So I did, and its held pretty strong for about 5-6 years since I initially molded it.
The final prep of the car is being performed, including a final 600 grit wetsand, then paint, then one last wetsand. No clear. Hopefully this turns out to be one of the more impressive DSMs the public has seen, and I think I can make that happen. Paint should be this week.
In retrospect, I wish I had not done the body work, simply because its STILL holding me back from having a fully functional car, after all these years. I have attended and graduated with my bachelors degree since I started working on this car, for an example of how long I have worked on it for (and had I been more dedicated during that time, car would be done, but what can you do?). Now that I am only a few weeks away from finally getting the final pieces done, I am happy with the car, how it looks and the pieces it has.
The car has a few things left to be road ready: paint and tuning. The mod list includes:
Crower/Wiseco built 9:1 Motor
SBR Race Head/ 1mm Oversized valves/Crower retainers and springs
PTE 50 Trim
ETS Race FMIC
DSMLINK
As well as all supporting mods to go with it. Certain pieces on the car are still in transition. I added black carpet, and want to move to a black/tan interior and seats. I also want to get some real speakers for the car, but clearly not a priority. Long term goal is to move the 50 trim and buy something much larger, something that makes the engine purchase worth it. Ideally, I want over 600awhp with this car long term, not bad for a "ricer" huh? (Go check the forums, people see a body kit on this car and automatically assume its junk, I love it). There is currently no suspension work done, I dont know if I will EVER lower the car more than 1", the body kit sits really low as it is, but I will stop 4x4ing at some point.
I will dig out some old photos of the car prior to this, if I can get them off my old hard drive. My next project is to reinstall A/C to the car, for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to remove it, however I now know, since I will be moving to South Florida, that was a horrible idea. That project will begin sometime next week, preferably after the paint has been done.
If I could give some advice to anyone reading this and trying to decide what they want to do with their car:
-If its not a race car, dont treat it like one, unless you are fully willing to live with the consequences. Cruise control, a/c, etc are great things for daily drivers.
-Don't do body work unless you intend on getting it all done right away. If you are getting a body kit, wing, or any sort of body addition, get it installed and painted at same time or don't get it at all, it will prevent you from enjoying your car or make you look like an idiot.
-Remember the key with these cars is to have fun, not be parked in the garage for years on end while constantly upgrading it. On that same note, don't let others dictate to you what you should and shouldn't do to your car. It's your car, do what you want to it, just be aware of what your car is and isnt: a 420a with a body kit is not a race car, dont act like it is.
-NEVER spend beyond your means to build your car! I did and regret every single penny of it!
Here is my car as it sits:
As most will notice, it has an entirely molded body kit. The kit is a Buddy Club 2, I originally chose it because it is the cleanest kit available for the DSM, the body lines flow great and it is not "extreme" or anything like that. The door moldings have been removed, the holes welded shut and smoothed over. The car also had the original thumbnail wing removed and has an Eclipse high rise wing. The body kit was molded for 2 reasons:
1. It looks better
2. The original kit was about an inch too long on each side, it would take as long to mold it as it would to fix the kit. So I did, and its held pretty strong for about 5-6 years since I initially molded it.
The final prep of the car is being performed, including a final 600 grit wetsand, then paint, then one last wetsand. No clear. Hopefully this turns out to be one of the more impressive DSMs the public has seen, and I think I can make that happen. Paint should be this week.
In retrospect, I wish I had not done the body work, simply because its STILL holding me back from having a fully functional car, after all these years. I have attended and graduated with my bachelors degree since I started working on this car, for an example of how long I have worked on it for (and had I been more dedicated during that time, car would be done, but what can you do?). Now that I am only a few weeks away from finally getting the final pieces done, I am happy with the car, how it looks and the pieces it has.
The car has a few things left to be road ready: paint and tuning. The mod list includes:
Crower/Wiseco built 9:1 Motor
SBR Race Head/ 1mm Oversized valves/Crower retainers and springs
PTE 50 Trim
ETS Race FMIC
DSMLINK
As well as all supporting mods to go with it. Certain pieces on the car are still in transition. I added black carpet, and want to move to a black/tan interior and seats. I also want to get some real speakers for the car, but clearly not a priority. Long term goal is to move the 50 trim and buy something much larger, something that makes the engine purchase worth it. Ideally, I want over 600awhp with this car long term, not bad for a "ricer" huh? (Go check the forums, people see a body kit on this car and automatically assume its junk, I love it). There is currently no suspension work done, I dont know if I will EVER lower the car more than 1", the body kit sits really low as it is, but I will stop 4x4ing at some point.
I will dig out some old photos of the car prior to this, if I can get them off my old hard drive. My next project is to reinstall A/C to the car, for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to remove it, however I now know, since I will be moving to South Florida, that was a horrible idea. That project will begin sometime next week, preferably after the paint has been done.
If I could give some advice to anyone reading this and trying to decide what they want to do with their car:
-If its not a race car, dont treat it like one, unless you are fully willing to live with the consequences. Cruise control, a/c, etc are great things for daily drivers.
-Don't do body work unless you intend on getting it all done right away. If you are getting a body kit, wing, or any sort of body addition, get it installed and painted at same time or don't get it at all, it will prevent you from enjoying your car or make you look like an idiot.
-Remember the key with these cars is to have fun, not be parked in the garage for years on end while constantly upgrading it. On that same note, don't let others dictate to you what you should and shouldn't do to your car. It's your car, do what you want to it, just be aware of what your car is and isnt: a 420a with a body kit is not a race car, dont act like it is.
-NEVER spend beyond your means to build your car! I did and regret every single penny of it!
saw your thread last week about painting it finally, wow what a time consuming project
