philyphreak2127
Back in the Game
Alright so I bought my first car before I even had my license and still haven't driven it more than a mile. I know weird kid I was. Well sort of. I bought myself a 1980 Trans Am. I was into muscle cars way more then than I am now but I still love the car none the less. I didn't know much about cars then so really I bought myself a project car with absolutely no knowledge of how to start my project. Stupid choice at the time but it is starting to pan out now.
Here is a little background on the car. I am only the third owner. It has 78696 all original miles. The original owner bought it brand new back in 1980 and drove it like that for 14 years. Obviously very lightly if he only put 78696 miles on it in that time. Then one day he smacks a pole head on. Dents up the front bumper reinforcement, trashes the front bumper cover but has it checked out and absolutely no frame damage. He parks it in his garage, so begins another story of a restoration that never happened. It sat in this guy's garage for around 11 years under a car cover and was started every once in a while. He decides finally after 11 years he is going to sell it. So he sells it to the head mechanic at a dodge dealership in Littleton, Colorado. The mechanic buys it with the idea of restoring it for his wife to drive daily. When he buys the car the interior has been trashed, both passenger seats are torn, carpet has stains, and the back seat has a minor tear. So he guts the interior with the intention of putting a new interior into it. Leaves the seats in the car. He takes off all of the bumpers, lights, and spoilers, and the brake louvers. Sends it to the body shop to get reshot in the original color. After that it sits like this for a little while as he decides to open his own shop so he is busy spending time getting that ready, and his wife decides she doesn't want the car anymore so he sells it......to me. I get the car in pieces as it was and look at it and imagine how beautiful it will be when I am done with it. Needless to say I was a 16 year old kid working fast food, who didn't have a clue about working on cars so the car hardly got touched. I started it every once in a while, had it on jackstands to take off the rotted exhaust (which never ended up getting pulled off). It sits in my garage untouched for about a year until my dad decides he needs his garage back so I am forced to move it in the backyard next to my house. There it sat in the rain and sunshine being pretty much beaten by the weather. I start getting more into mechanics and take a few classes. I finally start to learn stuff actually applicable to the car. (Like the fact that the 301 non turbo motor my Trans Am has is a complete turd power wise but has a pretty big aftermarket base.) That is when the project took a slow start. First i took off the dented bumper reinforcement, second I replaced the battery, and leaking power steering pump. I quit my job and the project stalls. I have to buy a new car. I buy the civic and immediately turn my focus on that car neglecting the trans am for a couple months. Lately I have gotten the itch and the perfect job to give my project the spark it needed to get finished. Finally after around 2 years of owning the car.
Here is a little background on the car. I am only the third owner. It has 78696 all original miles. The original owner bought it brand new back in 1980 and drove it like that for 14 years. Obviously very lightly if he only put 78696 miles on it in that time. Then one day he smacks a pole head on. Dents up the front bumper reinforcement, trashes the front bumper cover but has it checked out and absolutely no frame damage. He parks it in his garage, so begins another story of a restoration that never happened. It sat in this guy's garage for around 11 years under a car cover and was started every once in a while. He decides finally after 11 years he is going to sell it. So he sells it to the head mechanic at a dodge dealership in Littleton, Colorado. The mechanic buys it with the idea of restoring it for his wife to drive daily. When he buys the car the interior has been trashed, both passenger seats are torn, carpet has stains, and the back seat has a minor tear. So he guts the interior with the intention of putting a new interior into it. Leaves the seats in the car. He takes off all of the bumpers, lights, and spoilers, and the brake louvers. Sends it to the body shop to get reshot in the original color. After that it sits like this for a little while as he decides to open his own shop so he is busy spending time getting that ready, and his wife decides she doesn't want the car anymore so he sells it......to me. I get the car in pieces as it was and look at it and imagine how beautiful it will be when I am done with it. Needless to say I was a 16 year old kid working fast food, who didn't have a clue about working on cars so the car hardly got touched. I started it every once in a while, had it on jackstands to take off the rotted exhaust (which never ended up getting pulled off). It sits in my garage untouched for about a year until my dad decides he needs his garage back so I am forced to move it in the backyard next to my house. There it sat in the rain and sunshine being pretty much beaten by the weather. I start getting more into mechanics and take a few classes. I finally start to learn stuff actually applicable to the car. (Like the fact that the 301 non turbo motor my Trans Am has is a complete turd power wise but has a pretty big aftermarket base.) That is when the project took a slow start. First i took off the dented bumper reinforcement, second I replaced the battery, and leaking power steering pump. I quit my job and the project stalls. I have to buy a new car. I buy the civic and immediately turn my focus on that car neglecting the trans am for a couple months. Lately I have gotten the itch and the perfect job to give my project the spark it needed to get finished. Finally after around 2 years of owning the car.
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Nice insert. 
