Welcome a new member of the family: Balto!

[MP81]

Hmmm...=D =D

[MP81]

next mod- black out your rear wheel wells!
I removed my liners and sprayed the wheel wells with undercoating

I like that idea! I will definitely do that. It'll look much better than the "two-tone" job it's got from the factory!

And on the couple corners I was able to take semi-quickly around work this morning...the difference is immediately noticeable. Wow. Can't wait to get into a big parking lot and really push it to learn the new behavior pattern (now that it doesn't just want to go straight instead of turn) before Autocross this Saturday.

[bri2203]

next mod- black out your rear wheel wells!
I removed my liners and sprayed the wheel wells with undercoating

[shawnc16]

Couldnt help but notice you used the word SPEEDO. I thought maybe you were referring to me... lol btw, race car shit!

[MP81]

Received my Powell Racing "Hardcore" rear sway bar today, so I threw it on after I got Megan's speedo fixed. It is 1.25" (31.75 mm), and is designed by John Powell, who built the Time Attack Cobalts. They make an even bigger bar called the XXX bar, which is 1.5", but that's too wild for the street. I should get a fair amount of oversteer with this bar, something a FWD generally lacks...and this will compliment my 24mm SS/SC front bar, FE5 struts/shocks and SSC springs. Can't wait to enjoy it on the drive into work tomorrow!

Jacked up.
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Bar, still wrapped up.
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All unwrapped...sure is perrrty...glad I went with red.
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Stickers! +5.7HP mod.
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The bar has a larger diameter than my jack handle.
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Bar all bolted to the torsion beam
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At ride height...definitely pops!
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[MP81]

Rear 1.25" sway bar on the way

[s.reef]

His and her steelies

[MP81]

Yeah, bought it from a kid in Flushing, to boot. We had looked at a '97 Z24 in the ghetto of Flint, which looked good in pictures and turned out to be a complete piece of shit. Texted this kid, as the ad had just gone up a couple hours before going to look at the POS Cavalier. Checked it out, and a few days later bought it.

It does have its issues, as you'd expect anything for $800 to.

It's got about 210,000 miles, and a third cylinder misfire. Needs front tires. Trunk is opened via climbing through the back seat - which is folded down via a screwdriver, since the loop was removed at some point. Glovebox latch is broken and the dumbass that owned it before him used about a roll and a half of duct tape to keep it shut. Needs a muffler too - as it is cut off at the hanger under the trunk

It has the typical rust on the doors, including a rust hole in the drivers' door - however, the underside of the car is extremely clean...hardly any rust at all!

So on Tuesday, we washed it up, and waxed it. The paint isn't good by any means, but it definitely looks better. On Wednesday, we vacuumed out the interior some, wiped down a lot of the surfaces with soapy water, including hitting the duct tape area a bit to try and remove some of the residue - have a ways to go on that though. I did all the door jambs with the soapy water too, just as a pre-clean.

So far, we've bought:

Glovebox latch assembly
Trunk Latch
Spark plugs ($2.45 for the plugs, with a $3 rebate per plug!)
Plug Wires
New front side markers (current ones have a chunk missing in the front)
A new (used) turn signal/light switch/lever (current light switch won't turn the headlights on)
Tuff Stuff upholstery cleaner - the kid smoked, so it smells like a chimney in there. Going to remove the whole interior and clean it all.
Seafoam - will be nice and smokey with the mileage on it.

I'm thinking the 3rd cylinder misfire is ignition related, but I'm not changing the oil until I determine if it's that, or something internal.

Pulling the interior on Saturday to begin the mass cleaning.

Also bought a can of VHT rust converter to take care of the little body rust spots, and the driver door hole.

So yeah - needs a few things, including a pair of tires but it should be a perfect car for her right now.

[bri2203]

seems like a great deal, Girlfriends car?

[MP81]

Where's the IROC in that picture?

It's the anti-theft device.

It turns into an $800 '98 Cavalier sedan.

[meissen]

Where's the IROC in that picture?

[MP81]

Somebody has a new sister! (Pics are from Monday, have done some work to it, including washing it haha)

[MP81]

Well this update might not be super exciting, but it's something

So, after about 2 and a half years of buying my Recaros off Nick and installing them, I finally got around to finding/buying a stock weight sensor and installing it into the passenger seat. The Recaros don't have them from the factory, but my car does, so for the past 2.5 years, every time I start the car I get the "Service Airbag Soon" message that I have to manually press the button to clear. Annoying but I managed .

Installing it wasn't too bad. Consisted of removing the passenger seat, then removing the seat cushion (complete with cushion frame, foam, and seat trim), which was simple, just four 10mm bolts. Then came the fun part. Since I needed to remove the seat frame/pan, I had to unhook the plastic clips holding the trim to the frame. Getting them off wasn't too terribly bad. Getting the frame apart from the foam was a bit tougher, as the foam, from years of use, was quite attached to the frame. . Once removed, the air bladder was pinned to the top part of the frame, as it was on the stock seat. The hard part was reassembling. Getting the foam back onto the frame was kind of tricky, especially since the large bolsters require a bent metal tubing to keep the integrity that far up. But once that was done, the hardest part was getting those god damn clips back on - the front was the worst. Definitely sliced my knuckle, probably on the sharp edge of the seat frame somewhere, but carried on and finally got it. Reassembly was simple.

Now I don't get that stupid message anymore, and if someone isn't in the passenger seat - the airbag actually turns off, like it used to, and is supposed to.

Here's a picture of the underside of the seat cushion, with the weight sensor assembly in place (it uses air to measure the weight).

[MP81]

Swapped the thermostat today and did an oil change.

Thermostat wasn't as easy as like a V8s which is right on top, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Old thermostat. Looks like only a little remains of that black gasket, allowing coolant flow right through the thermostat.
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Old (left) vs. New (right)
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Heats right up to temp, and sticks right around 180+, back to like new.

[MP81]

Thanks guys! It definitely is as enjoyable to upgrade as any car!

Probably looking to swap my thermostat this coming weekend. I looked underhood again and it only reminded me how much I don't want to do that.