Well, not dead, but certainly out of commission. The water pump $h! the bed, and so it's leaking antifreeze like crazy. Needs to hoses apparently too.

That ;eaves us down to 1 car, the Prizm. What's wrong with my car? Absolutely nothing, but I can't drive it and neither can anyone else because my car insurance got canceled, which is another rant for another thread. So...sucks ass.

I wonder where teh water pump is on the 2.5...

Well, not dead, but certainly out of commission. The water pump $h! the bed, and so it's leaking antifreeze like crazy. Needs to hoses apparently too.

That ;eaves us down to 1 car, the Prizm. What's wrong with my car? Absolutely nothing, but I can't drive it and neither can anyone else because my car insurance got canceled, which is another rant for another thread. So...sucks ass.

I wonder where teh water pump is on the 2.5...

Bummer!

How many cars are "just hanging around" now at your place?

Counting the Cudas? 6 now. We have 7 total. We normally have 3 in use, and my mom got a car as an Xmas gift, I haven't posted pics of it yet. It's not new or fuel efficient, I can tell you that, but it needs a little work before it can be made road worthy.

Like I said, my car is fine, but I can't drive it or any other car, which means my girlfriend has to come with me to work to do tehd riving until I can scrounge up the $700 f**king dollars to reinsure myself. My mom can't drive stick and no one else can drive my car because it's not insured , so that leaves the Prizm and my girlfriend to do the driving until something can be done to fix this.

Counting the Cudas? 6 now. We have 7 total. We normally have 3 in use, and my mom got a car as an Xmas gift, I haven't posted pics of it yet. It's not new or fuel efficient, I can tell you that, but it needs a little work before it can be made road worthy.

Like I said, my car is fine, but I can't drive it or any other car, which means my girlfriend has to come with me to work to do tehd riving until I can scrounge up the $700 f**king dollars to reinsure myself. My mom can't drive stick and no one else can drive my car because it's not insured , so that leaves the Prizm and my girlfriend to do the driving until something can be done to fix this.

Doesn't sound like much fun to me.

Has anything happened with the Cudas?

And is that Caravan still taking up space?

Yes

No

Yes

Succinct reply.

I thought so too

The Cuda's continue to collect dust, but protected from the elements.

The Caravan is not protected, and I don't know if it'll even start. Last time it was moved it was pushed by a certain big Buick.

And yeah, the situation blows hard, I plan to rant about it at some point so prepare for a good sized and bitchy read

Thanks for the "rant alert"

Maybe you could sell something off for a quick buck?

Yeah, there's a bunch of stereo equipment in the house, I was thinking of trying to sell some of those on craigslist.

What year Cudas? That's a thread all in it's own....

:AH-HA_wink:

What's wrong with the Caravan? What year/drivetrain?

Is it just the waterpump on the Shadow? I am pretty sure they are front passenger side down low, haven't looked for awhile at a 2.2/2.5 but it's where I remember them...

What year Cudas? That's a thread all in it's own....

:AH-HA_wink:

What's wrong with the Caravan? What year/drivetrain?

Is it just the waterpump on the Shadow? I am pretty sure they are front passenger side down low, haven't looked for awhile at a 2.2/2.5 but it's where I remember them...

One is a blue 1969 Barracuda with a 340/manual and some rare features like factory AC and the other is a orange 1970 `Cuda with a 340/column shifter automatic and power steering. The `69 was driven 2 years ago and the `70 has sat awaiting restoration. The cars are in my dad's name, who no longer lives with us (divorce) otherwise I'd be driving the `69 all the time when the weather was good. I posted a thread with photos some time ago. Here's a couple photos.

As for the caravan, it's a 1986 Caravan LE, Mitsubishi (I think) 4-banger (don't remember the displacement) with 3-speed auto. we took it off the road 3 years ago or so and put the Shadow on because it was better on gas, and to do some work to it, I forget what. All I know is the work was done and it sat in the garage for a while, a year and a half or so. I moved it out into the driveway so I could actually get at thing in the garage. It's sat there since. Hasn't been started since I moved it. I want to start it but not sure what I need to do and how to accurately check the fluids while it's sitting uphill.

As for the Shadow, I haven't looked under the hood yet, but my mom took it to the mechanic who said the water pump and hoses need to be replaced.

Love the Cudas. Great stuff!

I've owned quite a few 68 Barracudas, I just sold one awhile back- 340 4 speed.

I've only owned one 1970 Barracuda in my travels, buying them nowadays is crazy, the prices have shot up like crazy since the 80's.

If your minivan is a Mitsu engine it will most likely be a 2.6, which has a silent shaft.

Is your 70 an original 340 car?

Did you ever hear a 74 Duster style hood would fit a 1969 Barracuda, as crazy as it sounds...? I've never tried it, but I've been told many a time it was supposedly true!

Love the Cudas. Great stuff!

I've owned quite a few 68 Barracudas, I just sold one awhile back- 340 4 speed.

I've only owned one 1970 Barracuda in my travels, buying them nowadays is crazy, the prices have shot up like crazy since the 80's.

If your minivan is a Mitsu engine it will most likely be a 2.6, which has a silent shaft.

Is your 70 an original 340 car?

Did you ever hear a 74 Duster style hood would fit a 1969 Barracuda, as crazy as it sounds...? I've never tried it, but I've been told many a time it was supposedly true!

The 340 in the `70 is not original. It's had several engines, at one point it had a 426 Hemi (not from teh factory), the 340 it had before ended up in the `69 for reasons I don't know.

In other news, it seems the outlook for the Shadow is not good. When my mom brought it to the mechanic they said it was basically gone, because of all of the rot underneath. They said they were afraid to put it on the lift (although I don't know if that was an exaggeration or not). Poor little car

Nice Cudas!

I like the 70....

I'd probably toast the Carvan....I doubt it will run again. Once those things sit, it tends to ruin the engine...I've seen a few go that way..

That sucks about the shadow....it really tends to suck when you don't get the choice to do what you want with her....

And I know how you feel...just be glad you don't live in Michigan.....

The 340 in the `70 is not original. It's had several engines, at one point it had a 426 Hemi (not from teh factory), the 340 it had before ended up in the `69 for reasons I don't know.

In other news, it seems the outlook for the Shadow is not good. When my mom brought it to the mechanic they said it was basically gone, because of all of the rot underneath. They said they were afraid to put it on the lift (although I don't know if that was an exaggeration or not). Poor little car

Sorry to hear that,DF. Sometimes it's just time.

One of these days you and I may have to have a chat about those 'Cudas. :AH-HA_wink:

Hope you get your car situation worked out soon.

Damn fine pics, DF! Believe it or not, I almost bought the sister to your B5 blue 69 when I bought my 66 Mustang Fastback.

The 69 was blue like yours and it was a rare factory 383 4 speed car. I didn't buy the Cuda because with the big block you could only get manual steering and I knew my wife would hate driving it.

I could have bought that car back in 93-94 for $4500, which is what I paid for the Mustang. Also turned down a 69 Camaro SS to buy the mustang that was (cha-ching) also $4500.

What the three of them would be worth today boggles the mind. Hindsight is always 20-20.

The orange 70 reminds me of a friends 70 AAR that he keeps waiting to restore.

Chris

Oh, yeah, and my sympathy on the shadow. It is a shame to loose any car that you love. At lest you still have the Prisom.

Chris

Sorry to hear that,DF. Sometimes it's just time.

One of these days you and I may have to have a chat about those 'Cudas. :AH-HA_wink:

Hope you get your car situation worked out soon.

I have msn, so if you've got that I've always got hours of nothing to do at night I GUESS I can settle for AIM if I have to, even though AIM sucks IMO

Oh, things look a little better. Through some careful borrow techniques I managed to scrounge up the money to keep my insurance. Yay!

Damn fine pics, DF! Believe it or not, I almost bought the sister to your B5 blue 69 when I bought my 66 Mustang Fastback.

The 69 was blue like yours and it was a rare factory 383 4 speed car. I didn't buy the Cuda because with the big block you could only get manual steering and I knew my wife would hate driving it.

I could have bought that car back in 93-94 for $4500, which is what I paid for the Mustang. Also turned down a 69 Camaro SS to buy the mustang that was (cha-ching) also $4500.

What the three of them would be worth today boggles the mind. Hindsight is always 20-20.

The orange 70 reminds me of a friends 70 AAR that he keeps waiting to restore.

Chris

The `69 wasn't always blue, it was originally red, but was repainted blue. The hood is not original. The original hood is sitting on the rafters in the garage, with it's original red paint on it.

Oh, yeah, and my sympathy on the shadow. It is a shame to loose any car that you love. At lest you still have the Prisom.

Chris

Yeah, the Prizm will probably last for a long time since it's rust free. Need to put rust proofing on both it and my car.

I want to see how bad it is for myself, I haven't really looked under the car in over a year. I know the dog legs are rusted and there's a small rust hole on the driver's side footwell, but I don't know how bad it is these days. For now I'm gonna park it in the garage and leave it, if worse comes to worse I would pull the engine and tranny out and stick them in a Shadow with a better body and bad motor...I've seen plenty in the junkyard. Then my brother would have a cheap car to drive once he gets his license. Either that or part the car out since I'd get more out of it than $175 for the junkyard. F-that.

Edited February 1, 200817 yr by Dodgefan

hey what are your rust proofing plans? cause ive used this paint called POR15... works very good and is rust proof.. goes on like regular brush on

hey what are your rust proofing plans? cause ive used this paint called POR15... works very good and is rust proof.. goes on like regular brush on

No idea, I've never tried anything before, so I'm open to recommendations...also how do you apply it under the car? Jack it up on stands, is the enough lift?

POR 15 is the E-ticket for the shadow. BTW, around here scrap prices are about $250-$300 for a car that size. At the scrap yard the other day they paid out $245 for an Escourt.

Chris

That stuff sounds pretty good. Has anyone used it?

I was gonna take a look under the car today but it's a wintry mix out there so I just put it in the garage for now.

The vintage Mustang guys swear by it. And as everyone knows, the 60's mustangs could have been built out of stainless steel by Ford and kept in a climate controlled garage in Arizona...and they still would have rusted.

Seriously, I doubt the Shadow is gone. Find someone who can weld and you probably can be back on the road pretty easily. Shadow is a tough car, even in salt. Brother-Sister in law live in Buffalo and theirs went forever with only minor rust issues so unless your parking yours out in the Atlantic I doubt very seriously if it is "gone."

Chris

I may pull it out today and have a look. There's some pretty nasty visible rust, we'll see what it looks like under there.

Here's some photos I took today while it's sitting in the garage. You may note the antifreeze on the floor. This is what 19 years of New England winters do to a car.

Looks like nothing that a little bondo and duct tape can't fix..

So....could I in theory have the rusted parts (dog legs), cut off another Shadow and welded onto this one? Aren't those the points where they put the lifts to raise the car?

You ever see the episode of Pimp My Ride with the guy who had an Escort that was two Escorts welded together?

You ever see the episode of Pimp My Ride with the guy who had an Escort that was two Escorts welded together?

Heard of it but didn't watch the show much because they do horrible things to cars.

The guy ended up with a new Scion, is that how you want to wind up?

The guy ended up with a new Scion, is that how you want to wind up?

Probably not, although I'm not quite making the connection.

They couldn't pimp the Escort because it was too unsafe to be driven being that it was at least two Escorts Frankensteined together, so they got the guy a Scion. I'm not sure that it would be really safe to drive the Shadow even with patchwork, the pics posted dont instill confidence. In the long run, you would probably be better off whoring yourself out to a few fat chicks then taking $500 and buying an '87 Delta 88.

They couldn't pimp the Escort because it was too unsafe to be driven being that it was at least two Escorts Frankensteined together, so they got the guy a Scion. I'm not sure that it would be really safe to drive the Shadow even with patchwork, the pics posted dont instill confidence. In the long run, you would probably be better off whoring yourself out to a few fat chicks then taking $500 and buying an '87 Delta 88.

Well, I've got a girlfriend so that's not gonna happen, plus I've got my car so I'm not exactly hurtin' for a ride.

Didn't they try fusing a Civic withs something else too?

Saveable, but not worth the effort - retire this one.

Find someone with a welder and have them weld an old lawn mower blade over any holes in the structural areas. I did it with my old Celebrity and kept it on the road for 20,000 more mile before the transmission went out. All I see in the pics are rusted body seams and sheetmetal, which don't mean anything. If you can get it running well mechanically, it doesn't matter what the body looks like.

Well it runs fine, besides needing a water pump. It'll be in the garage for now. No point in taking unnecessary risks with a bad water pump, I know a certain someone whose Buick aught fire because of it.

Find someone who can weld-it doesn't need to be pretty. I wouldn't drive the car long distance, however.

Chris

Not bad..

Might need a new door though....doors are pretty hard to save....

Not bad..

Might need a new door though....doors are pretty hard to save....

The doors I don't care about, They're easy to replace.

The doors I don't care about, They're easy to replace.

True...

So what gives? Started on the shadow yet?

Chris

So what gives? Started on the shadow yet?

Chris

It's snowing so..no not yet. Nothing will happen before the weather improves. Especially since we're not in need of it right now. For now I just start it up and keep it protected.

Edited February 7, 200817 yr by Dodgefan

Sounds good to me. Maybe it can lead a second life as a roundy-round car when your done with it. Our local track has a class for small cars like that.

Chris