Let's Go Get This Thing Already
I woke up felling mostly rested and checked in on Jake, who surprisingly wasn't dead from Hypoxia/Dehydration.
Good. Less paperwork and questions for me. (I Kid, I Kid...)
We got cleaned up, dressed and headed down to check out the wonderful "Continental Breakfast" that the hotel had laid out for us.
It actually wasn't bad. I loaded up on juice, waffles, sausage, eggs, biscuits and gravy and yogurt, to fuel up for the rest of the day. I intended to make the rest of the trip without stopping, until we got to the car. Jake ate pretty light, but considering the whole "spewing on the side of the road" incident, it wasn't unexpected.
Checked out of the hotel, loaded the Sonata up and we were off.
So Close To Utah
Clifton, CO where the car was located in was about 40 miles from the Utah border.
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| 11 Hours...Ugh. |
Once again, I questioned my sanity about going through with this whole sorry affair, but resolved to tell myself to "Shut up and sit down, Stanley." I was getting this stupid car.
The drive down I-70 was as usual, pretty spectacular. We passed through several towns like, Rifle, Silt and Parachute before the signs and GPS told us we were near.
We arrived in Clifton, and proceeded to the owners house.
Nice Setup
The owner, Marc lived in a fairly large, wood framed house, with a huge driveway with what looked like a 5 car shop tucked in the back.
I immediately started thinking about how many project cars I could fit on the property and how I would lay out the shop.
Then I saw the car, in the driveway...
I think I might have been drooling or something, because Jake said: "You alright?"
I mumbled something in the way of an affirmative and we got out, to knock on the door and meet the owner.
There, There, She Is
This is what I saw when we pulled up in the driveway:
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| Yes! |
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| Original Wheels! |
The car was pretty much exactly as described, Good and Bad points included.
Pretty much exactly as described, a well maintained car that was driven and didn't appear to have been modified or mucked around with too much.
The Climate Control worked, along with the windows, power seat, mirrors and other items. Even the Power Antenna.
The usual wear and tear as the car was fairly old, but overall in very good condition considering it wasn't a pampered garage queen.
I did notice the stress marks on top of the Radiator and the Radiator Cap looked to be the original unit, but figured they'd be good enough to make the drive home, since I didn't intend to push it.
Words that would haunt me later.
The Climate Control worked, along with the windows, power seat, mirrors and other items. Even the Power Antenna.
The usual wear and tear as the car was fairly old, but overall in very good condition considering it wasn't a pampered garage queen.
I did notice the stress marks on top of the Radiator and the Radiator Cap looked to be the original unit, but figured they'd be good enough to make the drive home, since I didn't intend to push it.
Words that would haunt me later.
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| Aside From The K&N FIPK, It Looked Bone Stock |
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| Worn Steering Wheel, Should Be Easy To Refinish |
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| Clean Dash, Aside From Cracked Defroster Vents Under The Windshield |
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| Worn Shift Boot. Easy Fix |
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| Sigh..Nothing's Perfect |
Test Drive
The owner wasn't too keen on allowing a test drive without seeing some cash first, which put me off a little bit.
He didn't strike me as the kind of guy who would try to rob us, considering his 6 year old kid was running around the driveway, being a kid and wondering who these new people were. Plus the idyllic country setting of his home and the area didn't strike me as "I'm gonna jack you fool!" type of setup.
I didn't drive over 11 hours to waste his time, but hey...it was his car. His rules.
Jake and I headed to the local branch of my bank, so I could withdraw the money.
We got back, and piled into the car. Myself, along with Marc and his son. The Stealth, while "technically" a 4 Seater, was just a bit tight.
I was nervous driving the car, because
- It wasn't my car...yet.
- I wasn't familiar with the area.
- I was afraid that I had built this car up in my head and was going to be disappointed behind the wheel.
- It wasn't my car.
It definitely wasn't as fast as I thought it would be, but then again I had to remind myself it was bone stock and at a higher altitude.
Driving it I could tell that it was a heavy car, which I kind of liked the feel of after driving smaller cars most of my life. It didn't feel like it was going to get blown off the road, but also didn't feel like I was driving a luxury barge of some kind.
The suspension felt good on the drive along with the steering response. Engine accelerated strongly and I couldn't see exhaust smoke or any other signs of possible issues. The A/C blew cold and overall it seemed like a very solid car aside from some noises under the dash whenever the clutch was pushed in. It didn't sound like anything serious, just a creaking noise I attributed to a linkage that needed to be lubed or adjusted. Clutch felt fine and didn't slip at all.
Definite potential here....I'll Take It!!!
Doing The Deed
We headed back to the house and Marc started pulling out the paperwork, while I counted the money out.
As far as used car transactions go, this was probably the most legitimate one I've ever gone through, besides a real dealership. He had sanitized copies of the Title, multiple copies of the Bill Of Sale and gave me very precise directions to the local DMV, so I could get a Temp Tag for the drive home.
Jack remarked that most of his used car sales involved meeting in a Grocery Store parking lot and throwing money, keys and titles at each other.
He agreed to let us keep the Stealth there while we headed out to get the Temp Tag, and said he had extra parts for the car that he would gather up for me.
This Is...Clifton!
Clifton is a nice little town. I can definitely see the appeal of living there, but I figure the cost of living is going to be astronomical.
Upon arriving at the DMV, I was informed that before I could get a Temp Tag, I needed to have insurance for my new car.
Crap.
This prompted a very hurried telephone call to my insurance agent who emailed me a .PDF copy of my insurance card to my phone, just in time before my number got called to get my tag.
Isn't technology great?
On the way back we had lunch at Qdoba's and stopped off at a Autozone to pick up some "Oh Shit" supplies. Oil, Coolant, and a tube of Steel Stik because I didn't like the way that top Radiator tank looked. I figured between that stuff and my tools, we were ready to tackle the trip home.
Headed Home
We transferred some stuff from the Sonata to the Stealth, loaded up the parts Marc had found and had Jake lead in the Sonata, since he had spotted a route that took us through some mountain passes.
He's a photographer, and wanted some shots of the area and figured some mountain driving would give me time to get acquainted with my new car by some "spirited" driving.
I agreed, as we were in Colorado and it would be criminal to not take in some of the sights. Besides, I did want to stretch the legs on the car a little bit.
We took off and hit the mountain road, with me chasing him in the Stealth. I was being very cautious as I was still unfamiliar with the car, and definitely worried about doing something stupid with it. We were about 20 minutes into the trip and I was having a good time, driving and taking in the sights, until I looked at the temp gauge.
"That looks a little high."
"Shit. It is a little high!"
We pulled over to the first Scenic Turn Off on the pass, and I relayed the bad news. The car hadn't overheated, but it had definitely given it the "Old Junior College Try" and was making gurgling noises, but hadn't boiled over yet.
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| Not A Good Start |
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| Old Reliable And The New Money Pit |
No leaks and the Radiator Tank hadn't cracked...yet. Hoses looked OK, then I remembered the Radiator Cap.
"Oh Shit. I should have bought one at Autozone, but spaced out on it."
We pulled the cap after it stopped gurgling, and looked the cap over. It was definitely tired.
It hadn't started to get hot until we started hotdogging it through the mountain. We topped it off and decided to take it easy for a bit and replace it at the first parts store we found.
Managed to get some shots of the car, while it was trying to strand me on top of the mountain though.
About an hour later, we found a NAPA parts store that had a cap, We gassed up and replaced the cap after it cooled off a bit. It hadn't overheated the rest of the way, and I was keeping a CLOSE eye on the temp gauge.
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| That's Right...Don't Move |
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| Like An Oasis...In The Mountains |
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| Thirsty Girl |
Eurobeat Intensifies
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| Rest Stops In Colorado, Definitely Do Impress |
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| McDonald's Stop |
The rest of the trip went pretty well.
Jake was trying unleash his inner "Takumi Fujiwara" the whole way home on I-70 in the Sonata.
I was enjoying the very different driving through the passes, but after about 6 Hours of Uphill and Downhill "Togue" driving, I was pretty done with it.
Once we got past Denver, it was pretty wide open, but I was TIRED. I kept losing sight of Jake as I did "Touch and Go's" with my head in the car.
Eventually we crossed the border (Kansas. Yay.) and pulled into then hotel I had reserved.
Since I had originally planned to make the trip solo, and the hotel was booked solid for some reason, I gave Jake the bed and crashed on the floor in my sleeping bag.
I was out, pretty much immediately.
I woke up, wondering where I was and why I was on the floor. I haven't gotten good and drunk in years, so I was confused slightly.I was enjoying the very different driving through the passes, but after about 6 Hours of Uphill and Downhill "Togue" driving, I was pretty done with it.
Once we got past Denver, it was pretty wide open, but I was TIRED. I kept losing sight of Jake as I did "Touch and Go's" with my head in the car.
Eventually we crossed the border (Kansas. Yay.) and pulled into then hotel I had reserved.
Since I had originally planned to make the trip solo, and the hotel was booked solid for some reason, I gave Jake the bed and crashed on the floor in my sleeping bag.
I was out, pretty much immediately.
I'm Going To Wichita
"Oh yeah. The Stealth".
Got up and proceeded to get ready for the trip home.
We hit McDonald's again, me for the "Big Breakfast with Pancakes" and Jake for a "Sausage McGriddle." He was fascinated that they somehow managed to infuse the muffin with Maple Syrup flavor. I was too busy stuffing my face to add too much to the conversation.
We had things to do!
Miles to go! And all that stuff....
About 4 hours later we were back in Wichita in I-135 and I immediately missed the lack of traffic on I-70. Lunatics!
We stopped off at his buddy's place to have the Stealth checked out, as he's pretty much the local 3/S Guru in the area. His family also owns a used car lot and they had a shop with a lift, so I was happy to have a chance to check out the underside of the car and have someone who knew about them, look it over.
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| Looks Good For The Most Part |
He also tracked down a vacuum leak using a smoke machine, and plugged the offending hose up.
All in all, he thought I had gotten a pretty good deal and pronounced that it felt fairly healthy for a pretty much stock car after he test drove it around the block.
The Nope Train, To Fuckthatville
He then tried to talk me into adding fuel mods, cranking the stock turbos up to max and then installing a methane kit, telling me that it would be..."fine". "It's got a really rich fuel map from the factory."
Yeah, I already have one "Garage Queen" that I do stupid things to. This is going to be a driver, not a first place contender in the "Jackstand Racing League".
Home
I thanked him for the work, and promised that if I needed any used 3/S parts I would hit him up. We headed back to my apartment and parked the car in the carport spot I have reserved.
I hadn't gotten rid of my 98 Talon project yet, so it was going to have to cool it's heels outside for awhile.
Drove Jake home, and thanked him for going along with this little bit of insanity and all the help with everything. He said he was gonna go inside and pass out, and if I needed something like this again, make it at least a few months from now and provide more notice next time.
Drove back home, and passed the Stealth sitting in its temporary spot...and took it all in. As I drove off towards my apartment, I mumbled..."finally".
Mission Complete
Alpha, Mike, Foxtrot...
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