Kind of at a crossroads

[Edmond]

with my 'Vette. There are options that I can take with it.

I'm going to Bloomington tomorrow to hook up with Dave and the Junkie. I'm also going to gauge any interest in selling the '88 so I can get something newer. The car needs to be repainted, new weatherstripping and a new drivers seat cover. It runs good but not as hot as I'd like it to.

I've had it listed for weeks now and there hasn't been much interest. I'm not going to give the car away. I figure that the worse case scenario would be for me to keep the car and build it up. That would mean a new cam, ported/polished heads, a new intake, long tube headers, new chip, large tube runners, a ported plenum, the works. I would take my time doing the project.

And then I would learn about stripping the car and then having it repainted by someone else. I'll replace the weatherstrip.

I'll go through the car and see what other odds and ends need to be done.

This is a "worse" case scenario, which really isn't a bad scenario. If I sold the '88 to get something newer, that may mean I would have to borrow money. A car note isn't something I really look forward to right now. If I kept the '88, that means I could upgrade my work car. Right now, it's a V6 Camry but I was thinking something along the lines of a GTO. I need something more powerful for surveillances. I would finance the GTO, but that would be easier than financing two cars. Actually, financing two cars is totally out of the question, I don't make Patrick like money.

The car won't pass emissions. It's running too rich and I think the injectors have had it. With Mad Mic passing emissions on a finely tuned machine with no smog gear, I'm confident that I can pass emissions with a proper tune, long tube headers and keeping a main cat. Not comparing myself to Mad Mic because he's the man!!!

Any thoughts or opinions will be appreciated.

[JonM]

You're going to hook up with Junkie????...Bring bail money.

[BarryK]

my personal opinion is that since your car is paid for and you don't want to go into debt for a "new" toy, keep it and build it the way you want it. You already mentioned yourself that would also give you the advantage of upgrading your daily driver.
You can build it up as money allows and keep yourself out of debt. Doing one or maybe two improvements a year and in just a couple of years you have an incrediable improvement in your car that you will be thrilled with. You mentioned a lot of items you wanted to improve on the motor, but if you are going to do all that don't forget to make similar improvements to tires, brakes and suspension. Always think safety first and if you want to go fast, be sure the car can stop just as quickly and the suspension is up to controlling all that extra power.
just my $.02

[Edmond]

Yes, suspension and brakes were a couple of things I failed to mention. Those will definitely be overhauled.

I don't have enough money for bail so he'll be SOL.

[Edmond]

GM Junkie just came over. He looked at the car and in his opinion, he thinks that the cosmetic issues I have aren't too bad. I think that I'm 99% sure that I'll keep the car and fix those issues gradually.

That's why I kept asking the questions about the paint job.

But what I would like to really do is get a more powerful surveillance vehicle such as a 400hp GTO.

[Moonunit 451]

I think that's a good decision Edmond. Take your time, and with an 88 you're in so much af a better position than us guys who have gone for power and handling with earlier years, it makes sense if the rest of the car is nice and you like it

[Edmond]

The car has sat all year because I couldn't buy a registration sticker because I couldn't pass emissions. Looks like the first problem I'll tackle is the fuel injection because the car is running extremely rich. The injectors are the original injectors and I can smell the very rich exhaust fumes all the way across the street.

Honestly, I'm in no rush to drive the car because I'm saving a lot of money by not having to insure and maintain the car. Looks like I have a big challenge ahead of me.

Part of this decision also has to do with seeing Mad Mic pass emissions with the equipment that he has. If he can do it, I can do it too.