Okay long breath before beginning...

My Bonne and I have come a long way from the beginning, but still have a lengthy road ahead of us. I will post some pics of my Blue Devil soon, but for the moment, here is what the story is so far...

- Bought off an independent dealership for $2200.

Known Issues When Purchased:
- Busted motor mount
- Rear seat belts missing
- Strange engine noise coming from around belt area (turned out to be crankshaft pulley)
- A/C worked about as well as a desk fan
- crack in front left fender
- 1 side body moulding was riveted on while the driver door was off another Bonne
- Console hinges and latch busted
- Driver'* side rear window does not work
- Driver'* side rear door will lock electrically, but not unlock. (works manually)
- Hood lifters are weak (my misshapen head is proof of this, haha)
- Only the right front speaker operational
- Radio trashed

Issues Since Purchase:
- Coil Pack went out (replaced)
- Spark Plugs bad (replaced)
- Headliner fell (imagine that on a GM)
- Right fog light fixture broke, but lamp still working
- A/C Compressor clutch fell off (LOL)
- Bad crankshaft pulley (replaced)
- Driver'* side moulding flew off somewhere along Interstate-30 between Arlington and Fort Worth (crazy)

So from the beginning, there was a lot of work to be done. Of course, the guy I bought it from told me about all the issues he thought there was and that he was just trying to make a little off what he got it for without investing a whole lot. Fine by me, I got a Bonne for under blue book, lol.

Anyways, it'* been about 1.5 years, and now I'm finally able to invest a bit into him, so here'* what I've done so far (not in any particular order):

Temporary:
- Removed console and crammed in a minivan clutter-catcher for the time being. (I can't stand not resting my arm, lol)
- Taped the foglamp in place
- Tacked up the headliner
- Screwed the door handle on the passenger door in place cause it'* coming off.

Fixes:
- Replaced the belt so I could bypass the compressor pulley (A/C doesn't work anyway)
- Got seatbelts from dealer (no charge)
- Replaced crankshaft pulley

Upgrades/Installs:
- Installed a Pioneer DEH-1700 (45 watts x 4) and Pioneer 2-ways in front and 3-ways in rear

Other than all this, I make it a point to get a full oil change service (JiffyLube) every 3-4,000 miles.

Now I'm just sitting and waiting to receive a new intake (getting rid of the box), a 180 t-stat (intense-racing.com), NGK V-Power Sparks, AutoLite Prof Series spark wires, and Sylvania Xtra-Vision lo-beam bulbs. They're all in transit as I type this. I'm rather anxious to feel the difference any of these improvements will make. The car was in rather rough shape when I bought it, the previous owners had a tow hitch attached and had blown the speakers already, not to mention it was from out-of-state, so right off the bat I was worried about the tranny and the actual condition of the interior. Right now some of the car is literally rigged together, but I would really like to restore it to excellent condition, as well as possibly improve it a little.

The End.


So... any suggestions? lol

Get to know your local junkyard owner REALLY well so you may get a call when they get something good. Bribe them, give them junk cars, anything - but get in their good graces. I literally gave a junkyard in my home town in NY a car and they would GIVE me anything I wanted. And I stripped the car I gave them! Do you have "Pull A Part" down there? We have it in Charlotte NC and I loved it for my older cars. Junk yards that you go in and pull your own stuff are fun and a great resource. You must really love this car, cause for that $ you paid, it would get you a great car in NC. It just sounds like such a task list! What year, trim, etc again? Is this your 92?

Post back and let us know.

Doug

It'* my 92, yeah. It'* an SE, pretty basic package when it was bought new it appears. The door mouldings are those giant 12-inch pieces of plastic, although the rest of the ones I've seen (minus a precious few on cars the exact same color as mine driving down the highway that I just wanted to smash into so I could rip off the pieces, lmao) have those little 6-8 inch plastic mouldings.

I've got a pick-a-part here, as well as a few junkyards, but so far, nothing good. I did find a guy that has a paint & body shop that my dad'* been doing business with for years who could probably get me new side panels and install them. Just worried about the cost of that!

I'm thinkin about revisiting the part yard again, just to see if there'* any new additions. Already stripped a few things from there. I may have sounded a little melodramatic, but for the most part, the list of items is a lot of little things. If it wasn't my daily driver I would just be using it as a project in my spare time. I'm gonna get you guys some pics up hopefully in the next day or so. This way you can really see how ghetto it appears, lol.

All in all though, it'* a really nice car, and frankly now that I've done some under the hood work on it, it runs better than a lot of newer cars that I've ridden in. I'm hoping to luck out and find an SSE/SSEi for sale in the future. I had one once and that was all it took to hook me. lol

I know the price sounds a little high, but keep in mind that was almost 2 years ago, and I honestly bought it for that 3800 engine. You don't hear a whole lot of stories about that engine failing you. Thanks for your input!

Yes, you can't beat that 3800! My 89 SSE had 318k miles and stil ran when I sold it. Ran pretty good as a matter of fact. I hope you will get those pics for us. Ghetto fabulous is the new shabby sheik!! It may be all the rage!

Doug

Alright, I fixed a lot of the vacuum tubes, and I just took pictures of the whole car, inside and out. I'll have to post them tonight, cause they're on my girlfriend'* camera, and she doestn' have the USB adapter with her lol

we are wainting... I want to see your car!

See ya soon...

Doug

You can now see her. Just check out the following thread under "Your Ride" section...

http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...ic.php?t=75345