Gaelic Follies: Irish's Automotive Journey

Strut your greasy stuff!
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Irish
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Drives: '12 GIT (190K!)- 2011 Outie A5
Location: Carlisle PA

This was migrated (painstakingly) from the Dead Forum and was mostly written in 2015. I am leaving most of the text for historical :dolphin: (porpoises), but I have added to it (wifes cars, more anecdotes, etc) Anyway, I wanted a place to continue talk about my cars; past present and future.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks for stopping by....If you are not interested in pictures of my previous cars SCROLL DOWN to the pretty Grey dub, half way through the post.....

SHORT BIO: My name is Brian and I'm a younger than WAP father of three, living in Central PA by way of Southeast Florida and Northeast (then west) Jersey. I am an Army Veteran and currently own and manage a Visiting Angels territory that covers Lebanon County PA. My office is in Hershey.

VEHICLE EXPERIENCE: I have always loved cars but life circumstances ( :povertytruck: ) and not having mad wrenching skills have pretty much confined me to transportation rather than performance vehicles.

Vehicles I have owned : (60s 70s, 80s and early 90s cars pictured because these are almost never seen on the road anymore... FWIW I have pored over the intertubes to show exact replicas relative to year, color, features. )

'62 Ford Galaxie 500....Dad got a deal from his boss......it sat for 7 years before I turned 16.......I rolled it @ 17...long story (Had a thread but ...)
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'77 Fiat 128 Rally...not specifically my car but as close as I could find, mine was a 4 door that had one thing going for it, it was unique (I have never, not once, seen another on the road)....maybe that was because it was a veritable piece of crap....things falling off daily and what felt like about 75 hp....
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'75 Chrysler Cordoba ....."Rich Corinthian Leather" was the tv pitch...mine had velour ....good car
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'76 Plymouth Volare....not so good......slant 6 propelling what felt like 10000 lbs
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'71 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu ($600 in 1985)...4 Dr sleeper...Detroit must have had a good day....I loved this car, just a gem....killed by meeting a whitetail at 80mph
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'76 Ford Thunderbird ($200 in 87) Mine was Dark Blue and yes, those are Pneumatic Headlight doors...the hood alone was almost as big as the GTI...it died on the way to work In Clifton NJ, when I tried to start it the next day it caught fire and burned....I put an old plate on it so it wouldn't be towed....Well, that didn't work and I got called in front of Judge Hangman Harry (Real nickname) but he was lenient.....
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'68 Ford Galaxie 500....Practically Mint, Garage kept.....$200 from a coworker in 87....it kept turning distributor rods into drill bits....Grandma (who I was living with at the time) made me get rid of it.........really wish i still had it
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'76 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu ($800 in 87) Strong runner
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'83 Chevrolet Camaro Berlinetta ($6000 in 89) ....prob paid too much but bought it from my girlfriends little brother and he was meticulous......same 305 engine as Chevelle with a factory 4bbl... but the gearing was long.....Chevelle would have smoked it....
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Holy Retro Pics Batman.....this is how :wap: and Irish do........
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{Then I got into a serious relationship, so.....}

'93 Eagle Vision....actually liked this car.....
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she had a '92 Saturn SC
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Then I got Married....conciliatory benefit = my first NEW vehicle

'98 Toyota ForeRunner...loved it. Trading it in on the crotchfruit hauler (below) made me physically ill
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She had a '97 Toyota Camry....hers was silver with a greenish hue :hue: Toyota was known for this in the late 90s i.e. adding other colors to neutral paint
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Then 1st baby came...followed quickly by a second on the way....said I never would, but.....

'00 Toyota Sienna Minivan...hated it.....no pic, I just can't.....

Then, we settled into domestic life

'98 Ford Explorer...bought in 2003, gave it to my sister in law in 05, she gave it back in 2011 (pictured) , became my winter beater ......
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SOLD in 2018....... needed full exhaust, front suspension work and airbag work.....didn't want to pay the freight
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'02 Acura TL ....first car bought after moving to Florida in 2005
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About 6 months in, Got rear-ended by a Dump truck (whose brakes went out)...... car crumpled just like it was supposed to, saving my two sons who were in the backseat.... {sorry for the flip phone pics...}
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next day bought:

'04 Acura TL...great car, powerful and refined
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She had 2002 Lexus RX300
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Then, Minor Mid Life Crisis (Not really.....but a good excuse)

2002 Suzuki Boulevard C50T...Still have
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1995 Chapparal 2000 Sport ....died a watery death last year in Ocean City, MD, I am done with freaking boats!
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Dat :plac: profit :doe:
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Back to age of reason, briefly...

2010 Honda Pilot...pig on gas....
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she traded in Lexus on 2012 Honda CRV (pictured here with wheels that my knucklehead son bought on Ebay for his Eclipse....
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they didnt fit.....even with custom ordered spacers.....
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2012 Honda Civic.....solid dependable boredom.....
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The Honduh put me to sleep.......So I looked at the Dodge Dart, Mazda 3 and the FiST before deciding on.......

My Beloved 2012 Volkswagen GTI

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Bought in August 2014 with 39,000 miles.
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Got them down to $18, 400 :fuckyeah:
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Initial impressions: Car felt really solid, inside and out. Hands down superior quality feel than any of the others. Performance wise, was quick and nimble, but fell short of the FiST. As it was $7000 less and quite a bit more refined, I pulled the trigger. I drove her for a month, found this forum and have been doing (mostly minor) Mods on a budget ever since.

Finding DEAD FORUM

I stumbled onto the forum and immediately (as if it were in bright neon lights) saw "Stage 1 Tuning". Read extensively and within a month had the APR flash. (FWIW This was prior to the RSC debacle and map switching was important to me) WOW, talk about waking a car up! This $600 mod alleviated any lingering question about whether I should have went for the FiST.
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+5hp
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Because racecar...

Greater performance coupled with German refinement....





I was very pleased.......





until......






the dreaded.......





CLUTCH SLIPPAGE.....fuq me.....

It was seemingly intermittent at first. Seemed to hold fine in gears 1-3 but in longer pulls through 4-6 I would sometimes get the dreaded Rev spike. I was in denial for a while but of course it got worse. Ran it stock for a while, which was brutal. Tried the 91 Oct map for a while, which for some crazy reason seemed like it caused even more slip (prob because I was pushing it harder to achieve what I was used to on 93). I then resigned myself to driving it like a (reasonably) sane person and got used to where in the power band it would slip and adjusted my habits to not let it happen....much. ;-) I started obsessing over clutch choices and read the forum profusely.

In the meantime I did some...

low cost aesthetic mods.
  • Soundaktor Delete = Free (15 minutes) big improvement
  • Resonator Delete = $60 Transformative!
    Image
  • Red 3M Footwell Effect Hack = $0.25 / 5 min Best Value!
  • RED/Black Front Emblem = $0.00 Gifted by cool fellow owner = I like but PITA install....
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  • GTI Seat Lever Inserts
  • Smoked Sidemarker = $0.10 subtle improvement
  • Lamin-X Yellow Fog light vinyls = $10.00 I know this :triggered: some but I love 'em... I know real euro look to my eyes....
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  • Plastidipped Rear Emblem and GTI badge Matte Black then Glossed = $5.00 / 2 hours; I like, some hate
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  • Smoked Licence Plate Cover = $15.00 Advance Auto REMOVED by order of PSP :narc:
Then it was time to face reality and address......

CLUTCH SLIPPAGE (Part Deux)

After literally reading over 1000 posts and agonizing over the choices I sought direct help from a valued forum member. He guided me towards the following list which I had installed on 1/15/15:
  • SouthBend Stage 3 Drop In Disc = $375 holds like a pitbull on a poodle, might be too grippy for some, me likey...
  • F Series TOB = $100-$160 be sure to specify the One piece all metal "F" design
  • NLS Shims = $89 said to reduce a lot of the shift "mess", hard for me to tell with so much newness in the drive train
While they were at it I had them install HPA's
  • Short Shifter (40% reduction setting) = $150....love it
  • 75A Subframe Puck = $110 huge difference in power transfer...actually mind boggling...but does give some added NVH at idle
1st Group Buy
Raceseng Engraved Slammer Shift Knob installed
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Edit 2-14-15 Installed BMS Clutch Stop = $10, 2 minutes....this is how it should have been from the factory
3/2015 Installed "color matched" rear emblem insertfrom Klii.....color is NOT a good match up close but is ok from 10 feet...
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3/2015 Installed Used Injen Intake - Wow, big difference from stock airbox. I can hear turbo noises now and I like the Darth Vader sounds...

Future Plans:
  • Clutch Bleeder Restrictor Removal Hack :nope:
  • DV+ install (3/2019 son actual just bought me spacer and upgraded DV for my birfday, will install soon)
  • Lightweight 17" rims :nope:
  • Have decided against Stage 2....I do not want to lose the low end grunt to gain high-end smoothness....my driving style is 90% sane commuting with burst of speed for shits and giggles and occasional back road hooning....Stage 1 is perfect for now....if I get bored in a year or so I may consider K04 but really don't want to have to do any extensive supporting mods.... Update 3/19 - too many farts (155K) to risk any of this
Special Thanks to:
HYDE16, Lilonespaz, lilspeck, Calkulin, jay745, GTI_likeurmom, zrickety, XGC75, all the Chi guys (EDIT 3/19: I meant OT)
and everyone else who has shown Patience and Kindness to this noob (who is likely old enough to be a Dad to most of you....) Thanks fellers.

PS If you have read all of this, you must really be an enthusiast or really be bored....but thanks! Now dubstep out to Das Auto of yours and get you some
of dat:
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And for some shits and giggles join....DFD

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_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
As many of you know, I have added some vehicles to the fleet:
2016 Tiquan viewtopic.php?f=7&t=151&start=25&hilit=tub
1992 Nissan 300ZX (I had a thread I think but it must have went to data heaven)
2001 Volkswagen GTI VR6
2013 Kia Optima EX GDI

I will postwhore these at a later date.

Sláinte
Last edited by Irish on Wed Apr 03, 2019 4:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Tar
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Amazing how even the most :fancy: gentleman adult male, father, business owner jumps into a :mk6: or :gorf: and instantly gets the itch to mod like a pubescent teenager! No other vehicle short of possibly a :jeep: has this effect on people!

I enjoyed the read, my favorite part was the happy ending after a horrific accident with said dump truck! As a dad I've got a tear in my eye, honestly! The TL is a solid motherfucker, my parents are still driving my 04 and its practically flawless short of a leaky steering rack hose which is on back order.

Thanks for sharing, bruh!
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Irish
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Tarspin wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 4:04 pm Amazing how even the most :fancy: gentleman adult male, father, business owner jumps into a :mk6: or :gorf: and instantly gets the itch to mod like a pubescent teenager! No other vehicle short of possibly a :jeep: has this effect on people!

I enjoyed the read, my favorite part was the happy ending after a horrific accident with said dump truck! As a dad I've got a tear in my eye, honestly! The TL is a solid motherfucker, my parents are still driving my 04 and its practically flawless short of a leaky steering rack hose which is on back order.

Thanks for sharing, bruh!
You are so right..... and while the mods have slowed to a crawl, I am still pretty thrilled with the car..... yeah, they have their faults and shortcomings but all things considered its really the perfect car for me (though an GoRF would be perfect-er) .

Yeah....that accident..... the bumper of that truck ended up literally inches from my kids heads....... we were truly blessed that day....

I made it a point to go to court to testify against the driver but the judge dismissed the case before I got a chance to...... SoFLa was the most corrupt place I ever lived...... I sued, but settled (for $6k ) because I would have had to lie about non existent injuries in order to get more......the lawyer tried to get me to wear a brace and go to his "doctors" but I was not willing to sell my soul for :waxer: payout....... my boys were safe and that is all that mattered.....
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Irish wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 4:34 pm
Tarspin wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 4:04 pm Amazing how even the most :fancy: gentleman adult male, father, business owner jumps into a :mk6: or :gorf: and instantly gets the itch to mod like a pubescent teenager! No other vehicle short of possibly a :jeep: has this effect on people!

I enjoyed the read, my favorite part was the happy ending after a horrific accident with said dump truck! As a dad I've got a tear in my eye, honestly! The TL is a solid motherfucker, my parents are still driving my 04 and its practically flawless short of a leaky steering rack hose which is on back order.

Thanks for sharing, bruh!
You are so right..... and while the mods have slowed to a crawl, I am still pretty thrilled with the car..... yeah, they have their faults and shortcomings but all things considered its really the perfect car for me (though an GoRF would be perfect-er) .

Yeah....that accident..... the bumper of that truck ended up literally inches from my kids heads....... we were truly blessed that day....

I made it a point to go to court to testify against the driver but the judge dismissed the case before I got a chance to...... SoFLa was the most corrupt place I ever lived...... I sued, but settled (for $6k ) because I would have had to lie about non existent injuries in order to get more......the lawyer tried to get me to wear a brace and go to his "doctors" but I was not willing to sell my soul for :waxer: payout....... my boys were safe and that is all that mattered.....
5/7 story Brian, glad you could hold your head up high and the family walked away unhurt!! There's a lot to be proud of, we're lucky to have you back on the forum where a large collective of awesome guys and gals can come together in a world not quite so on par. Keep the stories coming buddy.
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Irish
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Tarspin wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 4:48 pm
Irish wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 4:34 pm
You are so right..... and while the mods have slowed to a crawl, I am still pretty thrilled with the car..... yeah, they have their faults and shortcomings but all things considered its really the perfect car for me (though an GoRF would be perfect-er) .

Yeah....that accident..... the bumper of that truck ended up literally inches from my kids heads....... we were truly blessed that day....

I made it a point to go to court to testify against the driver but the judge dismissed the case before I got a chance to...... SoFLa was the most corrupt place I ever lived...... I sued, but settled (for $6k ) because I would have had to lie about non existent injuries in order to get more......the lawyer tried to get me to wear a brace and go to his "doctors" but I was not willing to sell my soul for :waxer: payout....... my boys were safe and that is all that mattered.....
5/7 story Brian, glad you could hold your head up high and the family walked away unhurt!! There's a lot to be proud of, we're lucky to have you back on the forum where a large collective of awesome guys and gals can come together in a world not quite so on par. Keep the stories coming buddy.
:wub:
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max225
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Very cool background ! How were Carb’ed cars to maintain compared to FI, it was before my time. Also glad kids are safe from that accident :disgust: so close to disaster
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Irish
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max225 wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 4:55 pm Very cool background ! How were Carb’ed cars to maintain compared to FI, it was before my time. Also glad kids are safe from that accident :disgust: so close to disaster
Thanks man..... yeah....I still get chills thinking about that day.......

The older cars were just so much simpler and so much more analog...... there was plenty of room in the engine bays to wrench..... and speaking of wrenches, you could do just about anything with a basic tool kit.....
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Irish wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 5:01 pm
max225 wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 4:55 pm Very cool background ! How were Carb’ed cars to maintain compared to FI, it was before my time. Also glad kids are safe from that accident :disgust: so close to disaster
Thanks man..... yeah....I still get chills thinking about that day.......

The older cars were just so much simpler and so much more analog...... there was plenty of room in the engine bays to wrench..... and speaking of wrenches, you could do just about anything with a basic tool kit.....
Could you get in and go places 100% reliably ? Or did you have to adjust the carb for weather and altitude etc ?
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Irish
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max225 wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 5:04 pm
Irish wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 5:01 pm
Thanks man..... yeah....I still get chills thinking about that day.......

The older cars were just so much simpler and so much more analog...... there was plenty of room in the engine bays to wrench..... and speaking of wrenches, you could do just about anything with a basic tool kit.....
Could you get in and go places 100% reliably ? Or did you have to adjust the carb for weather and altitude etc ?
I never lived at high altitudes, but weather was definitely not an issue. In some ways late 60s and 70s cars were more reliable than today's cars because there was next to no electronics to bug out.
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Purpc5z
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carb cars are the way to go! way less headache and less maintenance. plus, a screw driver is all you need for a tune up lol
Great write up!! It's awesome to see all the cars you've owned.
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Irish
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Purpc5z wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 6:16 pm carb cars are the way to go! way less headache and less maintenance. plus, a screw driver is all you need for a tune up lol
Great write up!! It's awesome to see all the cars you've owned.
Thanks for reading mang!
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wap
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Tarspin wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 4:48 pm
Irish wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 4:34 pm
You are so right..... and while the mods have slowed to a crawl, I am still pretty thrilled with the car..... yeah, they have their faults and shortcomings but all things considered its really the perfect car for me (though an GoRF would be perfect-er) .

Yeah....that accident..... the bumper of that truck ended up literally inches from my kids heads....... we were truly blessed that day....

I made it a point to go to court to testify against the driver but the judge dismissed the case before I got a chance to...... SoFLa was the most corrupt place I ever lived...... I sued, but settled (for $6k ) because I would have had to lie about non existent injuries in order to get more......the lawyer tried to get me to wear a brace and go to his "doctors" but I was not willing to sell my soul for :waxer: payout....... my boys were safe and that is all that mattered.....
5/7 story Brian, glad you could hold your head up high and the family walked away unhurt!! There's a lot to be proud of, we're lucky to have you back on the forum where a large collective of awesome guys and gals can come together in a world not quite so on par. Keep the stories coming buddy.
:dat:
:wap: Where are these mangos?
Detroit wrote: Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:19 pm I don't understand anything anymore.
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wap
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Agreed on the simplicity of a decent carburetor. It was so simple to adjust idle speed, fuel/air mixture, etc, all with the turn of a screwdriver. And no seasonal adjustments necessary. Also, they were fine for road trips and were simple and cheap to rebuild if necessary.
:wap: Where are these mangos?
Detroit wrote: Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:19 pm I don't understand anything anymore.
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Irish
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Those harsh Blessed lands wInters :doe:

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Irish
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wap wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2019 1:01 am Agreed on the simplicity of a decent carburetor. It was so simple to adjust idle speed, fuel/air mixture, etc, all with the turn of a screwdriver. And no seasonal adjustments necessary. Also, they were fine for road trips and were simple and cheap to rebuild if necessary.
:dat:
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Irish
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SO, as some of you will remember, a few years back I was in the market for a car for my oldest son. We looked at a bunch, but the standouts were a 92 Nissan 300ZX :manuel: and a 2001 VW VR6 :manuel: .

I ended up buying him the dub because:

a) he has been pointing out GTI's since he was old enough to walk
b) the 2001 Mk4 was the generation he first loved, and
c) it was a one-owner, dealer serviced w/documentation, close to pristine specimen.

But I couldn't get the Z off of my mind. These were head turners for me back in the 90's and this one was fairly well-taken-care-of, garage kept with just over 100k farts. The guy was looking for $3500 but settled for a flat $3000..... So I said fuq it, and pulled the trigger.

Pic while on the test drive
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Pics taken on pick up day

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A few in the subsequent weeks

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Anyway, she is my garage car for the most part. Though I did let the the crotchfruit run it for a few semesters while I decided whether or not to have a timing chain put in the VR6 (I did). It was pulling a little before I put it away for the winter (prob bushings or ball joints).

I play around with the thoughts of having it painted (burgundy or burnt orange) but the pearl white is such a throwback to the 90's that I am afraid I will be sorry.

I also wish it was tubroed but I am way too :scrooge: for that.

It gets alot of attention as is.

Most likely scenario is that I will eventually trade it for something else that I find cool.
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Desertbreh
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Great stuff here bro. Such content.
Detroit wrote:Buy 911s instead of diamonds.
Johnny_P wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:21 pm Earn it and burn it, Val.
max225 wrote: Mon May 01, 2023 5:35 pm Yes it's a cool car. But prepare the lube/sawdust.
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Irish
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Desertbreh wrote: Thu Apr 11, 2019 7:20 pm Great stuff here bro. Such content.
:wub: Thanks for stopping by
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Irish
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Here are some pics of the VR6 (also pictured above with the z) Both cars were bought within a week of each other. :waxer: :knot:

Stock, as purchased

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I bought him coilovers on sale when I did my last tune update, and he bought the :ramz: and the roof rack

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He traded a guy, straight up, for different :ramz:

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So far it's been a good runner for him...... I had to go up to help him change a thermostat and some coolant tubing a few years ago, and we had the timing chain replaced last year.

Then he did a stupid thing and embarrassingly, his stupid dear old Dad let him.....

He bought a "tuned" ECU from some dude on his FB Group....

We put it in this past Saturday.....and after "two stepping" he was stranded on the side of the road within a few miles...... Sigh

I had him limp it back home, we swapped the original ECU back in....but we could hear a whooshing noise while revving.... we got a CEL (MAF Sensor) and replaced that.......the connector has seen its better days and the red interior clip is brittle and damaged but Autozone didn't have a replacement......

While we were at it we took off his cold air intake and replaced it with the factory box and the combination seemed to solve it.

After a few on/off cycles the car seemed mostly back to normal.....although it was bucking just a little between gears.

He insisted on taking it back to school (80 miles) and got there without incident.

Now he is getting a P1151 Fault Bank 1 Long Term Fuel Trim Range 1 Lean Lower Limit Exceeded

Possible causes
Low fuel pressure or volume
Check engine for vacuum leaks
Blocked or failed fuel injector(s)
Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor failure

I think there is a vacuum leak somewhere and I am praying that he didn't :crang: the fuel pump.....

Name of the FB tunebro = LowLyfe Tunes...... name says it all

but I fucked up.....
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Desertbreh
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I liked the first ramz better.
Detroit wrote:Buy 911s instead of diamonds.
Johnny_P wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:21 pm Earn it and burn it, Val.
max225 wrote: Mon May 01, 2023 5:35 pm Yes it's a cool car. But prepare the lube/sawdust.
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Irish
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Desertbreh wrote: Fri Apr 12, 2019 9:16 pm I liked the first ramz better.
Me too actually.... but he loves the new ones like only a 22 y.o. can....
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wap
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Irish wrote: Fri Apr 12, 2019 9:23 pm
Desertbreh wrote: Fri Apr 12, 2019 9:16 pm I liked the first ramz better.
Me too actually.... but he loves the new ones like only a 22 y.o. can....
I think I remember what being 22 was like, but I'm :notsure: except that I was 22 when I bought my Scirocco.
:wap: Where are these mangos?
Detroit wrote: Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:19 pm I don't understand anything anymore.
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Irish
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wap wrote: Fri Apr 12, 2019 9:56 pm
Irish wrote: Fri Apr 12, 2019 9:23 pm

Me too actually.... but he loves the new ones like only a 22 y.o. can....
I think I remember what being 22 was like, but I'm :notsure: except that I was 22 when I bought my Scirocco.
:nice: I think I was rocking the '76 Chevelle
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D Griff
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Great thread, I remember much of your story from way back in the Dead Days, awesome stuff! Cool history that is pretty unique here at DFD.
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Desertbreh
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wap wrote: Fri Apr 12, 2019 9:56 pm
Irish wrote: Fri Apr 12, 2019 9:23 pm

Me too actually.... but he loves the new ones like only a 22 y.o. can....
I think I remember what being 22 was like, but I'm :notsure: except that I was 22 when I bought my Scirocco.
Simply remove all reason and accountability from your current state, and there you are.
Detroit wrote:Buy 911s instead of diamonds.
Johnny_P wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:21 pm Earn it and burn it, Val.
max225 wrote: Mon May 01, 2023 5:35 pm Yes it's a cool car. But prepare the lube/sawdust.
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