Look what else I bought!!

[bullittandy]

So, you've seen the 97 Q45 I bought off Ebay, well the reason I bought that piece-o-sh*t was to repair the 99 Q45 touring model that I bought from another Nico member, (screen name John Galt I think, goes by Raj).

The 99 touring has got 165K and is beautiful inside and out, save the front end that got crunched from a deer at 65 mph.

So while imagining the Spice Girls, sing "Two become one" and consider that for a grand total investment of $1900, ($1200 for salvage title 97, $700 for 99) I will have a very nice 99 touring and a spare 97 for parts to use or sell (sorry, no foglights- I need 'em). Of course, my labor is free but that's okay because the 99 is going to be a X-mas gift to my mom.

Pics soon.
Modified by bullittandy at 5:36 PM 12/2/2007

[goody90q45]

Congrats. You got a couple of good deals there with lots of duplicate parts to keep you supplied for a long time. Depending on how much you want to sell, I bet there's enough spare parts to pay for the entire purchase of both cars.

[Haitian_King]

Nice effing deal Andy. Two Q's for $1900? I wish I could be that lucky. I want a parts car to work on and increase my knowledge. I have to catch the guy across the street and inquire about his Q. If he doesn't want it, I'd take it off his hands.

[bullittandy]

Hey Wes, could I trouble you to put those pics I sent into this thread.

ThanksAndy

[elwesso]

Realyl sorry Andy, I keep forgetting.. Im about to just give you my password so you can do it yourself...

Heres the pics. I just put up the one since its better and basically the same.

[Haitian_King]

A deer did that? Looks like the work of a John Deere.

Seriously. You're going to swap the hood, bumper, and fenders?

How bad is the front end damaged? Is it just the hood? No chassis damage or alignment issues right?

[bullittandy]

Cop estimated the deer's weight at 150-175 lbs and the car was going 64 mph on cruise-but yeah, its still vicious.

Strangely, the bumper cover is fine, not even a blemish that I can see. The hood, passenger fender, radiator support, headlights are the body issues.

Also the radiator, A/C condensor, both electric fans and engine fan and shroud need to be replaced.

It reminds me of a Car and Driver article where they wrecked their long term BMW 3 series and it cost something like $20,000 to fix! If I had to buy these parts new the price would be close to $5,000, even used its several thousand but the Ebay car has everything. The only downside is that the 99 had Zenon headlights and of course the 97 doesn't. I hate to do it but I have to put the 97 headlights on the 99, I can't justify a $700 expense just for headlights-and thats used.

The only part that nots going to be a simple "remove and replace" is the radiator support, its spot welded into several panels at the top corners. I'm thinking about cutting, splicing and welding the other one in but haven't decided yet.

[Haitian_King]

Will the 97 be brought back to driving status?

[bullittandy]

No, the 97 has got a salvage title and a shady history- at best. Previous owner siad that the guy he bought it from lost the title, in his wallet---in the ocean!

Besides, the car looks good from 10 feet, but is trashed everwhere, grease on every interior surface, , seats cracked, stained, a couple of rust spots, bad power steering, check engine light etc etc etc. But there will be several good parts

[tfvesquire]

Modified by tfvesquire at 7:38 AM 2/14/2008

[bullittandy]

Let me do a little research and I'll get in touch.

[tfvesquire]

Modified by tfvesquire at 7:39 AM 2/14/2008

[owinbush]

i wouldn't mind picking up the tails and trunk from you if they're in decent shape.

[tfvesquire]

Thanks Andy.

Ted

[bullittandy]

Sent e-mails for both trunk lid and door handles.

[tfvesquire]

Hi Andy:

I sent you a response to your email. Let me know what works for you.

Ted

[NightRiderQ45]

I sent e-mail also.

[elwesso]

some more pics for the boys...

[bullittandy]

Thanks Wes, I really appreciate your help with pics.

This is the 99 with the radiator support replaced. I drilled out the spot welds on the passenger side and rewelded that corner and then sliced through the radiator support on the driver's side directly under the driver's radiator top mount (look for the color change and slight bump in the support in the pic above). I did it like this to save taking off the driver's fender as well as well as the fact that the driver's headlight area was decently straight.

I'm painting the fender and hood this weekend and am a little scared about the pearl paint as it is notoriously hard to match and I'm cutting a corner by only spraying the fender and hood and not blending them into the next panel. Pray for me.

The other pic is the interior and it is very clean, I like black interiors and love white cars so this car is almost ideal. However, its hard to know how nice to make it, considering I bought it for $700 and it has a salvage title-can't make it too nice and waste money-but don't want it to be a frankenstein car either.

[Haitian_King]

Andy, you're spraying yourself?

I'd love to do that. But I hear it's really complicated. I'd totally love to do it. I want to redo my black paint, but I'm afraid to take it to Maaco. I don't have any idea on what sort of shop to look for. Would the guys that do ricers do a good job on the Q?

[qship96]

A good way to find a local expert to get a high quality paint job is to attend a few car shows in your area,especially classic and hot-rod shows,and talk to the owners of the cars on display that look excellent to you.Most show car owners are very open to discuss every aspect of their restorations,and many use local shops to do the restorations.

[Haitian_King]

Thanks for the info. I guess the car shows will come back in the spring. That's when I want to focus on cosmetics anyway.

[VJ1]

Someone reversed into my front bumper of my 94 an left an impression from his trailer hitch. I took it to the dealer and they matched the paint and finish perfectly. $711.00 including a new chrome strip and clips. The guy who hit it paid for it out of pocket, and was not to thrilled about price but, hey, with that and a rental for three days, it was still less than hs deductible.

[bullittandy]

Andy, you're spraying yourself?

I'd love to do that. But I hear it's really complicated. I'd totally love to do it. I want to redo my black paint, but I'm afraid to take it to Maaco. I don't have any idea on what sort of shop to look for. Would the guys that do ricers do a good job on the Q?

I've painted a couple of cars before and it does take some practice but its not too complicated. It really takes the right equipment to do it right but with some luck you can get a pretty decent result yourself.

For example, I sprayed the hood and fender (and bumper cover while I was at it) and even though pearl is supposedlydifficult to spray it went on juts like a basecoat. Now, my first two coats of clear were thin and course prompting an emergency spray gun teardown and clean and the it sprayed nice and smooth. The hood got a ton of dust in it (parent's garage) but all panels are shiny.

Now, the paint almost matched. It's not too bad and I can probably live with it as the most noticable difference is between the passenger fender and door. I may blend the door if I get the urge.

I reassembled the front end and have managed to get pretty good body lines on the fenders and hood, as well as the bumper cover. The headlights require some tweaking but nothing too too bad. The wiring has got me stumped though.

You'll notice that I've used the words, "almost, pretty good" and I'm being torn by the worth of the car and my "free" labor. I've got a weird mix of impulsivity and fastidiousness.

[Haitian_King]

I see.

It be easier to do a black car right? Whenever you get the time, you think you could do a write up on Q body painting? You have to strip the car down to it's primer base right?

[elwesso]

I dont really think theres much to writing about spraying body panels. Most of the work is in the prep, as with ANYTHING.. Getting that primer all set before you spray on the base and clear is going to be key, and of course keeping dust out of the area.

[Haitian_King]

I'm interested in doing the entire car. Is there a special spray gun I need? Or can I just buy that one that's on TV that shows the guy painting a house with it?

I take it this needs to be done indoors. Could I use a tent? I've been told not to trust Maaco, so I'm looking into doing it myself. Not ready to do it yet, but just checking out the options.

[Jesda]

Damn it. Now the Spice Girls are stuck in my head.

[Haitian_King]

Why?

[bullittandy]

"[QUOTE=Jesda]Damn it. Now the Spice Girls are stuck in my head.[/QUOTE

"And two become one...."