The Car Thread

[Joose]

Trailblazer SS would tow it with ease.

I don't think the old Grand Cherokee SRT-8's are rated to tow that much; even if they were, there are tail pipes in the center....


Also, as usual, LS2 Manual GTO's will be on my watch list.

 

[Joose]

I think I can already narrow it down to 3 cars...

'06-'07 Magnum SRT-8 (they made one with a better hood in '08, but I don't much care for the rest of the front end)
LS2 GTO
'06-'10 Charger SRT-8 Super Bee

The only downsides to the Dodges are:
1. More expensive than the Goats
2. No Manual option
3. I'd have the same interior for the 3rd consecutive time.

Downsides to the Goat:
1. Only 2 doors, but a usable back seat.
2. Trunk space is a shoe box compared to the Dodges
3. Fewer luxuries

Main upsides to the Dodges:
1. Practicality
2. They're SRT-8s... so you get the Brembos and all of that good stuff.
3. More comfortable to drive around town, though not by much with the 245/45/ZR20's and moderately stiff suspension.
4. Appearance, I'm just such a sucker for them.

Main upsides to the Goat:
1. Manual
2. Better in the corners/Faster
3. Best seats ever, though not too far ahead of the SRT's (I have the same ones in my Daytona)
4. Cheaper to mod, should I take that route, not likely that I would though.

 

[troyguitar]

I think I can already narrow it down to 3 cars...

'06-'07 Magnum SRT-8 (they made one with a better hood in '08, but I don't much care for the rest of the front end)
LS2 GTO
'06-'10 Charger SRT-8 Super Bee

The only downsides to the Dodges are:
1. More expensive than the Goats
2. No Manual option
3. I'd have the same interior for the 3rd consecutive time.

Downsides to the Goat:
1. Only 2 doors, but a usable back seat.
2. Trunk space is a shoe box compared to the Dodges
3. Fewer luxuries

Main upsides to the Dodges:
1. Practicality
2. They're SRT-8s... so you get the Brembos and all of that good stuff.
3. More comfortable to drive around town, though not by much with the 245/45/ZR20's and moderately stiff suspension.
4. Appearance, I'm just such a sucker for them.

Main upsides to the Goat:
1. Manual
2. Better in the corners/Faster
3. Best seats ever, though not too far ahead of the SRT's (I have the same ones in my Daytona)
4. Cheaper to mod, should I take that route, not likely that I would though.

I found out that the G8/SS can tow 2100kg with the Holden towbar from Australia, so that is my current favorite. Audi C5 A6 2.7T and BMW E39 540i have similar towing options available in Germany but they're a lot less reliable cars so they're behind the holden stuff.

You should get one of these:

 

[Joose]

Hey now that's not a bad idea. I always forget about the first gen V's. An LS2 model with a 6 speed would be great. I recall reading about lots of reliability issues with them though... unless it was a different car I was looking at. The earlier LS6 models would be fine too I'm sure. Been awhile since I've researched them, but I think the LS2 models had a wider torque band, better diff, etc.

 

[troyguitar]

The LS2 models had the revised rear diff that's supposed to be stronger, but I don't know that the LS6 ones are actually that bad if you aren't drag racing the car or modding it heavily. I think the stories might be a little overblown but I've never actually owned one.

 

[Forrest_H]

Not to interrupt the current discussion, but would it be dumb to buy the goat with a messed up rear main seal? From what I can tell it's a cheap but difficult fix, and I know an LS guy who'll do it for me, but I'm mulling this over because I can't find any other GTO's like the one I showed you guys.

GRRR.

 

[The Griffinator]

I did some digging, I found some decent pics of my whip. 2013 Honda Civic Si. I've got some cruise night pics to sort through as well. Got some stuff You guys will really dig I think.

 

[troyguitar]

Not to interrupt the current discussion, but would it be dumb to buy the goat with a messed up rear main seal? From what I can tell it's a cheap but difficult fix, and I know an LS guy who'll do it for me, but I'm mulling this over because I can't find any other GTO's like the one I showed you guys.

GRRR.

Cheap (parts wise) but difficult fix ($$ in labor) is pretty accurate. How much money can you save buying that one vs. one that doesn't have that problem?

I'm a cheapass so I would probably do it and replace the seal myself but it's a lot of work to pull the trans and clutch/flywheel (and I'd probably replace the clutch/flywheel while I'm in there, adding more cost). Don't forget to use new bolts when you put the clutch/flywheel back, AFAIK the factory bolts are 1-time use.

I'd guess it would be around 10 hours shop labor, and probably more like 24 hours to do it myself in my garage.

 

[Joose]

Not to interrupt the current discussion, but would it be dumb to buy the goat with a messed up rear main seal? From what I can tell it's a cheap but difficult fix, and I know an LS guy who'll do it for me, but I'm mulling this over because I can't find any other GTO's like the one I showed you guys.

GRRR.

For me, that would be entirely dependent on price. Chew that dealership down to the last cent and do the repair, I say. That color, dude... you have to get it. And who knows, I may not be far behind you with an '06 Impulse Blue. I'm finding them under $15k... so much want. I don't mind buying a relatively high mileage one either. It's an LS... much cheaper parts than my Hemi.

 

[Forrest_H]

Cheap (parts wise) but difficult fix ($$ in labor) is pretty accurate. How much money can you save buying that one vs. one that doesn't have that problem?

I'm a cheapass so I would probably do it and replace the seal myself but it's a lot of work to pull the trans and clutch/flywheel (and I'd probably replace the clutch/flywheel while I'm in there, adding more cost). Don't forget to use new bolts when you put the clutch/flywheel back, AFAIK the factory bolts are 1-time use.

I'd guess it would be around 10 hours shop labor, and probably more like 24 hours to do it myself in my garage.

The issue is quantity haha. This (So far) has been the only GTO without a crap ton of miles on it, 6 speed MT, and has the LS2.

I would honestly already say yes and do it myself, but my garage is completely full of sh-t so my workspace is my driveway.

For me, that would be entirely dependent on price. Chew that dealership down to the last cent and do the repair, I say. That color, dude... you have to get it. And who knows, I may not be far behind you with an '06 Impulse Blue. I'm finding them under $15k... so much want. I don't mind buying a relatively high mileage one either. It's an LS... much cheaper parts than my Hemi.

I want it beyond words, but after doing more digging, it's had really weird history. It was imported to Germany and then back after awhile by the first owner (Military reserves or something, who knows), but then the 2nd owner (Which I wasn't told about) only had it for around 3000 miles before trading it in and it was auctioned off. Even worse, the owner of the dealership the car is at now supposedly knew nothing about the oil leak I had previously asked one of the higher up salesman several times about.

There's just a lot of uncertainty around this car that is making even me go "bluhhhh?"

 

[Joose]

Oh, yeah all of that new information has me questioning it as well. I guess just wait for another to pop up? Never know what will be listed tomorrow.

 

[Forrest_H]

Well, weirdly enough, a Z06 popped up for sale for $15k, the dealer is going out of business. 67,xxx , Borla Exhaust (Hit or miss, I don't dig the single tips per side but I love the sound), and it's close. Might just go swing by there

 

[Joose]

Nice!

I decided to go test drive an '05 GTO this morning; dealership was only about 5 minutes away. Anyway, they're even better than I remember. This one had a Flowmaster American Thunder catback on it and it sounded so glorious. And it was so nice to clutch... I need that back in my life, stat. Ugh and those seats, man! They get me every time, they're so perfect. I believe Jeremy Clarkson can be quoted as saying, "they're the best seats in the world".

They really can take a corner nicely. It's been raining on and off for the past couple of days, and since the test drive was on back roads, I may have decided to kick the tail out a little bit. Sales guy wasn't happy, but my excuse in that situation is always, "hey man, this is how i drive, I need to know the suspension is good" It takes no effort whatsoever in that car, both kicking the tail out AND recovering. Was also nice to have a smaller steering wheel again; that's one of my main gripes with my Charger, freakin' bus steering wheel.

 

[Joose]

Oh dear, something is not right with my car, guys...

Alright so, a few weeks ago, I made a drive down to Florida. During that drive, my engine temp shot up to like 260°F... pulled into one of those Love's truck stops, waited for it to cool down, noticed the coolant was pretty much gone. This stop did not have the coolant I need, so i just bought some distilled water, filled it up, made the rest of the drive with no issues whatsoever. Got coolant while in FL, made the drive back up to Charlotte, all fine. Now about a week ago, I was coming home from work at about 4am and noticed the temp climbing and some odd knocking type noises that almost sounded like they were seriously in my dash. Got home, popped the hood, lots of steam, fluid on the ground, coolant tank empty.

I had just made all kinds of bill and past debt payments, so I was sitting pretty much broke. (In that process of rebuilding my life, after some very personal negatives went down these past couple of years) So I put distilled water in again, because I saw that the low temp for the day was like 45°, no worry of it freezing. However, those meteorologists were very, very wrong. It dropped down to about 18° and I'm assuming some of that water froze and because I drove, something went very wrong.

Is it the t-stat? Water pump? Radiator? A hose? I have no idea, but this is bad. No white smoke coming from my exhaust, so not a head gasket, not yet at least...

One step forward, ten steps back.

 

[Konfyouzd]

Do you always have to have white smoke for it to be a head gasket? I hear that sometimes head gasket issues can manifest themselves in other ways. It certainly does sound like a head gasket though. You can rent those tester kits from Advance Auto Parts for like $60 right? Might be worth it for the peace of mind. The only other situation that I've encountered where something like this went down was in my dad's Intrepid. The head cracked somewhere and was actually leaking coolant. Perhaps yours is a simple leak somewhere (a cracked head obviously isn't "simple" ), but you might be right about it just being a worn hose or something.

I'm sure you already said it, but what car is it again?

EDIT: I see... It's a Charger

 

[Chickenhawk]

Check your oil. If it's milky, then coolant is getting into your oil via a blown head gasket (probably).

Check lower radiator hose, and along the head gaskets.

And get some anti-freeze. Seriously, you'll do more damage when that water freezes. I've seen blocks split wide open because of that. I understand money is tight, but anti-freeze is cheaper than a new short block.

 

[Joose]

Blah, still no idea where the hell it's leaking from. All coolant/antifreeze now, car SOUNDS much better because of it. Runs great when filled. But that coolant goes away in just a 10 minute drive guys. My oil looks okay, to my eyes.

I'm being flown out to Denver (first time in First Class!) at the end of the month to solidify a new job as a CAD Tech in the gas/oil industry. I've already told the company that I likely won't be able to fix the car beforehand, so I'd have to ship it. Luckily, they've offered to pay for that! And I get a company car (Volvo XC90, I believe) to drive, so I suppose the Daytona will just sit in the garage of my new place until I get a couple of paychecks.

Until then, I guess I'll just keep spending money on coolant for necessary drives.

 

[Joose]

On another note, but somewhat related, with the money I'll soon be making, look for this guy to be buying a new car this year. If I were to be stuck with my current job, yes I'd be looking at the GTO's... but with the new job, I'm thinking Challenger R/T 392 Scat Pack Shaker with a manual. I'd say Charger Hellcat, because I wouldn't give a damn about not having a manual, in fact I'd rather have the auto/paddles even in a Challenger Hellcat; but I think I'd be wise to go for a nearly 500bhp (485, definitely 500 with a couple small mods) car for awhile before jumping up to 707bhp.

Although, Hellcats can be turned down to 500 with the black key... hmmmm. I want a Scat Pack Shaker just as badly though, and they're considerably cheaper.

 

[troyguitar]

Buy a manual while you still can, they will be extinct soon.

 

[StevenC]

New Ford GT:

Beautiful!