@Flipster23
you're like me...except you're smart enough NOT to buy every car that comes into your mind.

 

Lasted about 2 years. Looks like ass now, but I'm too lazy (and cheap) to have it redone.

 

because that’s not smart MM. jebus Christ...

 

Flippy be ignoring my texts asshole

 

thanks for the tips man! my tl is my daily so i ran out of time to do the valve covers and i'm still 3 years or so from doing my next valve adjustment/tb/wp job, so i just ended up installing the painted manifold and top plate. but we're all the same now my eye drifts to the unpainted valve covers haha, oh well!

can't wait to see what else you do to the tl to get it back where you want it! i've had my TL now 11.5 years (crazy) and i'm considering doing andy's rotrex kit in 2-3 years if i can find a shop that will turn the other way for smog every two years. that would be the cherry on top and also prevent me from paying a car payment again...

 

Hi all,

One major thing that needed addressing because so ugly was the white calipers...it didn't hold up to heat over time too well.
Anyway, with some encouragement from the Mrs I had opted to do a fluorescent yellow...figured that would pop nicely.

I should have put a fresh white base down first though because this stuff is semi translucent and showed scratch marks and imperfections
through it.


got a little help from my monkey



rears were bad under the covers...actually one of them melted. Found one caliper pin not well lubed and binding...
not sure if the cover caused that or the slide caused the heat that melted the cover.


prepped up...I can probably do a paint swap in under 2 hours now...I'm so used to prep and how to tape and protect
and timing on the paint now.


here's the failed attempt at the neon yellow...
from far it looked okay but up close it looked like hot garbage. I kept adding coats hoping for better coverage but naw...
then the nozzle broke off and I took that as a sign to do another color.


rears look good black for now...i'll either source some new covers or just leave them black...I've never liked accentuating a small
caliper with a bright color.


Since Pink is my favorite color and it's a can I had bought when I originally owned the car because I wanted to do it back then...I said fuck it...
coverage was perfect and it popped nicely. I also took the new "heat"plate I tried out as a sign to give it a shot.



Overall I love how it turned out...
figured while I source some covers I can either keep it and love it or change the color when I do the rears over...
going black and oem could be classy also but...

 

Its different but honestly it looks pretty good. I just took off my calipers and plan to do paint mine the burnt copper color. Nice progress so far

 

all of my favorite things are pink
lol...thanks, @90foxnotch ...I did the burnt copper so many times
I opted to try something different...I thought about gold as well but
I'm really happy with how it pops right now. And again, easy enough
to paint right on the car.

 

Lookin good!

 

Change the PCV, clear EGR, etc

 

yeah I’ve always liked the burnt copper look especially on silver. And definitely it’s easy to do them on the car. I’m changing my pads and rotors because someone put some cheap drilled and slotted guys on it. Yuck

 

LOL...
Austin put slotted but I think they are powerstop or something decent.
I just lubed them back up.

Thanks Kev and yes sir, Maj...cleaned those up

 

Looks marvelous, man.


Great pics.

 

Thanks, Yum...
just over here trying to fight the good fight!

 

Washed this bitch this morning...course it rained right after but at least it's clean.
Also found some of J's old subwoofer hoodrat teenager shit in the attic. It still works
Fills out the sound nicely paired with the jesse amplifier upgrade I had done years ago.
J.

 

haven't been on here in forever - car's still looking good man!!!

 

Thanks, dude!
I have some ktuned upper control arms coming in tomorrow, can't wait to get them in!
Other than that...I think I'm going to put the 3.7 IM back on...

 

Tackled a few things in the last few weeks...
New upper control arms by ktuned what a difference it made in handling/steering...
I'll be listing the skunk2 arms in the BM.

I spent a week tinkering with raising the coilovers up a bit and moving camber in and out.
I think I have it dialed in now...amazing how much better the car rides being raised a half inch.
Honestly, I think it looks better with the tire top not being tucked. I'm getting old.

Other than that...I redid the calipers...the pink was something I wanted to do but it didn't pop as
much as I'd have liked and obviously my daughter asking me why it was a girl car now was hilarious.

I also fooled around with putting my buddy's stock jpipe on...no fkng way...lost a ton of ground clearance
and the car felt slow. Funny enough, when I pulled it I looked up into the HFPC and there is no substrate
in there...like, completely gone front and rear...so I guess I'm back to inadvertent PCD now...no wonder
she feels fast.











Finally got around to cleaning up the engine bay for real...and the door jambs...not bad for 200K and multiple owners

 

looks like it just left the show room this morning lol.

 

that's quite a compliment @truonghthe
Thanks, man...
Also, camera trickery

 

It's all about the angles.

 

Lookin’ So Clean J! Damn! I’d never guess that mileage! Luv it!


How are the Ktuned front camber arms? What’s different from the skunk2? Going to look them up now.

 

Looks awesome sir. I really like that intake manifold

 

Thanks boys...
If I opt to keep this thing and daily it, I'll end up flashpro'ing for sure. It's pretty quick for what it is and even beating it up a bit on the revs I get almost 300 miles on a tank.

Hardrace and ktuned are tubular...and have 6 bolts holding the adjustable balljoint...
The skunks are more like the oem shape...I'll end up selling them cheap...the buyer will need to swap over their oem bushings
and buy some adjustable balljoints for $100 from amazon.

If anyone is interested, holler at me.

 

Keep it and daily it.

 

Perfection right there J you do some amazing restoration work! Perfect name for your side business J's Prestige Restoration.

What are you using for your fog lights HID 6000k?

 

Are you using chemical guys?

are you running 6k HID in the fogs? I need to know.

 

I like that name! Thanks dude...
I actually enjoy the process...taking things apart, replacing shit...making it nice again. I have low self esteem so this helps.
Fogs...I want to say they are 5K...might be the editing that caused the really blue look. I have CBI in the low beam IIRC so that's closer to 5K for sure.
I think by the time I had the blue TL I was over the super bluish HID look so I doubt I went 6K.
All sorts of shit...
but I've gone back to basics lately, Kev...
on this thing to refresh I did klasse on orange pad...then just butter better sex wax from chemguys...
this last time was just wash it and put on a coat of hybrid guys spray on sealant that has carnuba in it...
my go to over the counter shit now is megs gold class liquid...back to basics...that was what i used on the black TL in 2009.

dawned on me this morning...from the second I saw the aspec 3G in 2003...I was in love...I always break neck on them...so
it makes sense to just keep it and enjoy it.
I might put some cash in the bank and sell the Audi although that's hard to do as it's a fast car that's a perfect date night ride.

I really need the Jeep to sell asap to rest easy though...we'll see.

 

A projector retrofit on the fog lights would really add a lot to this build



I have a set of Type S fogs already open and a set of Morimoto matchbox projectors ready to go in.. Maybe I will finally finish that project and can throw it in the Black Market for sale

 

S2k is the perfect date night car, no? Living in Florida when the weather is just right.

 

You cocksucker!
Why aren't you putting that in yours!?!? You ain't selling!

It is, dude...you are right.
That's the one thing I don't like...redundancy in the fleet...so having 2 sporty sedans feels unnecessary.
We'll see...you know me and my fleeting emotions and impulsive bullshit...so I want to be SURE with whatever I sell.

 

I am sure J takes the Ody or now the Burban for date nights, S2K is too small.

 

Ody is gone...
date night is usually Audi...
S2000 is for weekend getaways with rollerblades or bikes...
Burban is family time or kayak adventures.

 

I"LL SHOW YOU!

 

great work J! love that you're bringing this car back up to speed and love the updates.
i'm an old man also and i recently raised the bc coilovers to max height so i can stop scraping everywhere. also so i can enjoy that 199whp

mannn you have so many projects sitting in your closet. is that thing full yet?!

 

Nah, I moved to a new house and got a bigger closet

 

Also, you sound like my wife

 

most guys probably sound like your "wife"

 

Confirmed. Only bigger thing Jaw-knee got was a closet...

 

Soooooo...when I visit you...we are in the.......Audi? Or S2000 then?