Pick 'N Pull

The glorious sight.....of death. 


Yes folks; the pick 'n pull. Acres of former misfortune adding to the glory of owning a car. The potential wealth here is outstanding, with hidden treasures to be found at every heap of twisted metal. Like gulls picking their prey, we swoop in, taking anything we can salvage. A tachometer, a normally-expensive light bulb, an extra anything, things I don't need, things I can no longer live without. It's all here, on dirty, often toxic discarded plots of land strewn about the state. That where I'll be going tomorrow, with a set of tools and everything I need to restore the Danger Wagon to it's former, running glory. And air mass meter my kind folks is what I crave. There are a thousand things I'd like to buy, but I don't have any capital of any kind, although the Danger Wagon could use them dearly. For example, alloy wheels, an unbroken center console, an antenna, air-conditioning parts, taillights, a damned windshield, and most of all seats. God, how I would love the feel of cloth, heated seats under my bum. The 'leather; that Volvo had in the 240's was absolutely terrible. Mine's in pieces. However, I still see cloth specimens in good form.


But, hey; I'll take what I can get.

The List.

This is a post for everything I want. Chiefly concerning cars, because they make me happy.

• BMW 325 E30 (1982-1990) - I'd really like to get me one of these, simply because it would be oodles faster and prettier than the Danger Wagon. It has pretty much the same specifications as the Danger Wagon, but it's lighter, and a bit more high-tech, with things like ABS and 4-wheel drive in some cases. A tighter suspension would also be good, encouraging me to drive much faster than I really should. (0-60 7.5 seconds)

• Ford Police Interceptor (1999-present) - Now this is what I tell all my car friends at school that I'm going to get when they hear I drive a Volvo. It's the beefed up version of the Crown Victoria that the police special order. It has a 4.6 liter V8 rated at 250 hp mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission, which is the same engine-transmission setup as the civilian version. However, the computer is tuned for the engine to idle about 40 RPM higher than the civilian model, and the automatic transmission was also programmed to have more aggressive shift points, and the transmission itself was special built to endure harder, faster shifts. The engine is also equipped with an external oil-to-coolant heat exchanger, allowing the car to idle for extended periods of time. It's only available for fleet purchasing, so I won't be getting one new. The ones available to me are 5+ years old, most with 80,000 miles or more. Still, they're rather cheap, being about $5,000 on average. I don't know if my insurance would spike with such a sporty car, however. I don't have much money to spend, so this might be out of the question.

• Toyota Pickup (1989-1994) - This is another car with similar specs to the Danger Wagon, except it's a truck. It doesn't have many assets, with A/C and power steering as the main options. It's got a bench seat, which is great for a high schooler such as myself, and a 5-speed manual transmission. It's a workhorse, and like my Volvo, they have a tendency to go on forever. They haven't proven to be very safe, though, crumpling like paper in the simplest of wrecks. But, like any driver, I intend to drive it, not to crash it.

• Volkswagen Type I (1954-1966) - While this choice will garner mixed responses from car-lovers and simple broads alike, I still think owning one of these would be a life experience. A windshield 6 inches from my face, a terribly placed battery and boat-like qualities should please anyone. Although with only a 60 hp motor and no more safety than an aluminum soda can, I can't imagine going through life with this as the best thing. My dad owned one, and he has several fond memories from it. I can't imagine owning it for very long, however. I just don't think my reckless driving style would be supported by something that goes from 0-60 in some 20-odd seconds. I guess this wouldn't be a major step up from the Danger Wagon.

What I've Got.

This blog will hereby hold my auto-related pieces, which, basically, is everything that doesn't fit into my other blog, because it isn't poetry. Other than sadness, I only have things to say about cars, anyway; so this blog works.

I am 15 years old. As of today, I have only a California learner's permit, which I will have for exactly 76 more days before I can apply for my probationary license, or whatever the state calls it. I can't have kids in the car, and I can't drive from 11 PM-5 AM. I've been learning in an '02 Toyota minivan, which has and automatic transmission, but quite a bit of oomph. It's not very gracious, it's not very hip, but it doesn't matter. All that it's for is teaching me how to merge, park and not kill people, and so far, I've done a pretty good job. I do get the screaming parent that everybody says they've had, too. They sit in the passenger captain chair, next to me, saying, "you failed" after every minute mistake. It is interesting, though, because it sways around corners and scares me to death of the line. What I will be driving, however, is an automobile of similar demeanor, perhaps possessing one with even less excitement. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you, the Danger Wagon. It is similar to the one pictured, only with a fading silver color and a sagging rear end. A 1990 Volvo 240 DL, with one airbag, 114 horses and enough space in the back to fit literally everything I own. A manual transmission awaits me, with the quickly fading, original clutch, which proves amazing after 141,093 miles. It was the car for almost my entire youth, going to school, Tahoe and even the beach. My mother always let me sit in the front seat, while my older brother had to deal with the huge baby seat my little brother used in the back seat.

The Danger Wagon was retired in 2003, after 8 years of continuous use, to be replaced by the aforementioned minivan. My dad, buying and selling several different trucks for worked, used this every so often between cars. In early 2008, I took an interest in fixing it up for my driving career which would commence in two year's time. Having bringing it back to running condition that February, it abruptly stopped working properly at the end of August of that year. It had been cursed ever since. At first, it seemed that the fuel pump relay was shot. It could be bypassed, running smoothly, however, with a noted rise and fall in RPM's. Upon replacement, the car would only barely start, sputtering and eventually dying. The OBD-1 computer noted a 1-4-4 code, which had something to do with the fuel signal, but has since been cleared with a recharged battery. The in-tank fuel pump was replaced, as was the filter, with no results. I suspect a faulty air mass meter, or mass airflow sensor, but it remains a mystery as of yet. Even so, with a failing clutch, and overdue registration, I don't suspect the battle of wellness to be over anytime soon with the Danger Wagon. Further posts will note my progress, but now, I shall be going.

School sucks, man.