My Poor little FD :)

[David Jerome]

Figured I would start one of these threads to document some of the progress on my fd. It is sad that my old computer went down with all my pictures of the car when I first bought it and the shape it was in then.

Back story:

January-Feb 07: I had searched for a personal fd for some time with my requirements being that it had to be either White, Black or Montego Blue with all black interior. I found this car on Autotrader and by its description is was a Montego Blue Base model with Black interior, Automatic and in overall good condition. I called and spoke to the seller, a man in his mid 50s and explained the situation and that the only thing I care about was the condition of the paint. Nothing else really mattered to me. He said the body was in good shape and judging by the pics on Autotrader I decided to go ahead and buy the car site unseen. I have done this numerous times over the years but wasnt ready for the suprise I found.

The car showed up with the only two panels of the car not needing paint or body work being the two doors. Called the seller and his response was something to the like of "well nothing either of us can really do about it at this point" Oh well life goes on, I cant complain about the luck I have had with fds over the years so I dont get too upset (I wanted to kill him at the time).

I started the car and started to drive it down the road, got about 1 mile before it just randomly cuts off and leaves me stranded. It is the first time ever, a fd has left me stranded(I should have noticed the foreshadowing then) . Tow the car back to the house and start messing with it only to realize this thing had more leaks/issues than our government. I get frustrated with the whole situation as I looked forward to using it as a daily driver for a couple months before beginning the project. I just throw a car cover over it and let it sit a couple months.

April/May 07. I then proceeded to think I was going to build an all out/ no excuse track car. (Little did I know I would get the erge to propose to my girlfriend of two years the following November and boy did that change plans.) I removed the original drivetrain (92k on everything) and decided to sell most of the stock black interior to help fund the project as it is always in high demand. I proceeded to buy a 99 spec front end, Evo-R sleek headlights with HIDs, Big Brake Kit, r-85 single kit, Cermet A Housings, Pettit Fender Flares, Feed Side Skirts, Racing Seats and a ton of other junk that in the end would never get used. Over the summer I was purchasing about 1 fd a month(before the market took a poo on its self) along with working on other fds so it kept me busy most the time and I had no time for my personal car.

July 07. Car gets repainted montego blue with all stock body parts in place.

August-October I stayed busy taking vacations with the girlfriend, attending SpeedForSale.com events and the Nopi Nationals along with attending every UT football game possible. I only really had time to work on the cars that I buy and resell because they are priority.

Early November- I spend about 3-4 days working on the fd not remembering the shambles I had left it in the last time I had worked on it(Interior in pieces and body parts needing reinstalled after paint). Run across typical issues with the car as anyone does putting one back together. Get it mostly completed before driving up to Delaware to buy another fd. Get back home to finish up the project and realize there are some issues I just dont have time to deal with while I have other fds that are a priority. I get frustrated with how much money is wrapped up in the project and just start selling everything off as I am starting to look for engagement rings. I end up proposing in November, and have since learned how damn expensive weddings are and mine is still a year away.


Countless engine rebuilds built and sold, numerous customer cars and cars I have bought and sold have passed thru over this time. Here we are 7 months later and all I have done is continue to steal parts off my personal fd to put on other fds. I sold most of the big performance parts and plan to run on stock twins for a while and just get the damn thing running again. I am still waiting on a couple parts to come in before I build my engine hopefully later this week but likely sometime next week.

Here are a couple pics in its current state. 4 Point Fd specific roll bar installed, 5 speed conversion completed, Missing front bumper, Black hood, and the most balla rims you have ever seen on a fd in history.

[David Jerome]

I have some 3 piece 17x8 and 17x9 wheels to go on the car this week, front bumper in route, new slotted rotors, 3mm atkins seals going into the engine, Power FC and commander, 4 850cc injectors, stock twins in Non-Seq form, No AC, NO Powersteering. No interior behind the front seats, No IC/water meth injection only. Plan to run in at about 14-16lbs on the stock twins and hopefully have the car around 2550lbs or less. We will see how it all turns out over the next month or so.

As usual something always slows down progress on this car, I have a couple more fds coming in right now, plus starting a new job next week. Hopefully it will be finished by the middle of July, if not, everyone look for a really good deal on a fd in the for sale section.

[My5ABaby]

Damn David, want to put a little more work into that?

Nice work so far. Looks like it will (or is) come around nicely.

[David Jerome]

Originally Posted by My5ABaby

Damn David, want to put a little more work into that?

Nice work so far. Looks like it will (or is) come around nicely.

I have never had a fd be this much of a pain in the ass, and I have owned a whole lot of them. It is fitting that it is my personal car, just going to make the finished product that much sweeter in the end. Or that much more pleasurable when I roll it off a cliff

[My5ABaby]

Originally Posted by David Jerome

I have never had a fd be this much of a pain in the ass, and I have owned a whole lot of them. It is fitting that it is my personal car, just going to make the finished product that much sweeter in the end. Or that much more pleasurable when I roll it off a cliff

Just make sure you have full coverage that includes accidental 100ft drops.

[FirstRotaryExp]

Hey David, just think had this been an FC like Kevin and I suggested, hell I know you got offered first dibs on a vert, you woulda already had a DD, and whats this....one that wouldnt be so...."needy" like a marriage and women and...stuff

[David Jerome]

Originally Posted by FirstRotaryExp

Hey David, just think had this been an FC like Kevin and I suggested, hell I know you got offered first dibs on a vert, you woulda already had a DD, and whats this....one that wouldnt be so...."needy" like a marriage and women and...stuff

Problem is if I get an fc I wont be happy until it looks like Kevin's. I have tried buying his wheels about 50 times but he has no part of it. I imagine I will own an fc by the end of the year.

[Brent]

You know those wheels are ballin... you can't get rid of them David! I hope you get it finished man, I really do. I know I had my fair share of struggle with mine and you helped me out alot there at the end. You putting the 99spec front on it?

[David Jerome]

Originally Posted by Brent

You know those wheels are ballin... you can't get rid of them David! I hope you get it finished man, I really do. I know I had my fair share of struggle with mine and you helped me out alot there at the end. You putting the 99spec front on it?

Glad to see you are still alive and well, I havent seen you post much lately on either forum.

I bought a 93 front end a couple weeks back and right afterwards bought another fd that came with a 99 front end. I am undecided on what I will go with to be honest, probably the 93 as I want the car to look basically stock except for the wheels. Hopefully will have some more updates by next weekend.

Stay safe over there.

[Eatmyclutch]

I smell a battery relocation coming along. Nice starter.

[David Jerome]

Yea, I will be mounting it right next to the pass side strut tower. I want the engine bay as simple as possible. I considered going with an electric water pump but I think I will drive the car too often to deal with the headache those can bring.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by David Jerome

Glad to see you are still alive and well, I havent seen you post much lately on either forum.

I bought a 93 front end a couple weeks back and right afterwards bought another fd that came with a 99 front end. I am undecided on what I will go with to be honest, probably the 93 as I want the car to look basically stock except for the wheels. Hopefully will have some more updates by next weekend.

Stay safe over there.

Yeah, they keep me pretty busy over here. My vote is still going for the 99spec front end... it's just a more updated, stock look . I almost called you the other day to see if you wanted to go in on an FD I ended up buying. As much as I hate to say it, I'm prob. going to end up parting it out... which I have never done to a good running FD. The market sucks these days... I know I don't have to tell you though.

[David Jerome]

Originally Posted by Brent

Yeah, they keep me pretty busy over here. My vote is still going for the 99spec front end... it's just a more updated, stock look . I almost called you the other day to see if you wanted to go in on an FD I ended up buying. As much as I hate to say it, I'm prob. going to end up parting it out... which I have never done to a good running FD. The market sucks these days... I know I don't have to tell you though.

Shoot me the details on it I might need some parts. Also are you parting it all the way to the chassis, I am considering buying an fd that I am going to be doing the same to, it is sad really.

David

[afterburn27]

Looks good David.

Our stories are eerily similar, except that I haven't given up on the track car theme yet. Everything else though, lol bodywork, previous owners, PITA FD, engagement ring, etc., etc.

Oh yeah, nice salad shooters

[My5ABaby]

So it's got a fresh paint job on it? As an Autopian I demand close ups!