1985 Pontiac Firebird

Yeahhhhh.. As the marines in Starcraft I would say, "Ahh, yeah, that's the stuff." Or another quote that's not appropriate for the situation is "You wanna piece of me, boy?"

Oh, right- it's worth mentioning that you can critique me on my writing style, the photos, what you want to see more of, what you HATE WITH A PASSION THAT BLAZES WITH THE FURY OF A THOUSAND MILKDUDS. Yep.

Alright, anyway- this Firebird.. it was a Sarah Palin Car. You see, it was stuck eternally winking.. ;_; poor guy.. must be so embarassed..

Left, Center, Right. What? Anyways, it's 1985, got a V6 engine- though I'm pretty sure it was put in at a later date- AWFULLY SHINY IN THERE, MAN. Yeah, they wanted 1,000 for it- went down to 700 for me though. :) I wanted to buy it, but.. well, I'll get to that later. XD The motor on the one headllight broke and wouldn't stop running, so the guy disconnected it and just left that one up all the time. I guess because of the fuel crisis in the 70s, they'd lowered all the speed limits in America during the 80s- this thing's speedometer only goes up to 80 mph. It's american-made, so it's not surprising- my brother's civic's goes up to 120 I think. Ironically, it only reaches about 90 at top speed, I think.. great gas mileage though. NOT LIKE THE FIREBIRD. But it's not made for mileage- it's made for COOLNESS. WHICH IT IS. A firebird would be my dream car, so I'm waiting on that day where I find the one for cheap cheap cheap. It'd be fun.. <:

Here's another picture- of the interior. I'll get better photos in future blogs- I only took these photos- the peace bus and the bird here at the last minute when I decided tos tart a blog. I went in toward the end of the day and photographed.. I shot them with my veil of secrecy.. SECRECY.

Unfortunately, there were a few things about this that WEREN'T in the ad on Craigslist- it said the MAP sensor was broken.. it failed to mention a cracked windshield, broken turning signals, new master brake cylinder needed, and to top it all off, it had a bit of rust. It DID mention all the spots on it because of primer. Thank goodness that I'm in DRY WYOMING, that means rust usually isn't a problem. Lots of car bodies sitting on ranches that wouldn't exist anymore if they were in Florida or somewhere. Winters are hard out here.. but it is dry. Yeahhhh.. dryyyyyyyyyy.... I remember when I first moved here I KEPT washing my hands OVER AND OVER AND EFFING OVERRJAFD;KJDAS;LFKJASD;LF JA IT WAS HORRIBLE, I COULDN'T GET THEM MOIST LIKE THEY WERE WHEN I LIVED IN FLORIDA. And I didn't like the creamy, greasy feel of lotion.. it was gross. D: My lips were pretty dry too and I got some nosebleeds.. and the altitude change got to me pretty badly- I got a lot of headaches- still do when I drive to lower elevations.. ;_; Oh, right, the car- I drove it like a madman. Nahhhhhhhh.. X3~ I DID look it over though. It had a giant Gas tank.. ate up gas- 12-15 miles per gallon or something? Not deadly, but.. really not very good. No oil leaks though! Headlights worked.. taillights.. breaklights.. turning signals, no. D:

Alright, anyway! D: PHOTOGRAPH TIME.

Anyway, I went in expecting everything.. left expecting a fair bit less, but still a lot. I drove up with my mom in what I will now refer to as Odysseus- The Honda Odyssey. Which I will, you know, dedicate a blog entry to sometime. BECAUSE EVERYONE KNOWS MINIVANS ARE COOL, RIGHTTTTTT?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??????!???!!!!?!? rIGHT. oops. Right* Anyway, we drove up- my heart stopped a moment when I saw it.. it was beautiful. There were angels surrounding it, all with big ol' armpit hairs flowing forth- beckoning me to get in.. I tried to steal it, but damn- the doors were locked. Well, I didn't really try to- there were angels right nearby. Anyway, my Mom and I pulled in next to it- the guy's son I had communicated with came down to talk to me about it. After a few moments of talking, telling me the turn signals were broken and that I'd have to use those all-important hand signals my mom taught me. Yup. Never really thought those would come in handy with a car, actually.. pretty funny, really- I'd only used them on bikes before. At any rate, we got in.. I started it, and WHAT THE FUCK, IT CHOKED DOWN. BASTARDS. HOW CAN AN AUTOMATIC CHOKE DOWN, HMMMM? I GUESS I JUST SUCK THAT MUCH AT DRIVING- STICKS CHOKE DOWN, AUTOMATICS CHOKE DOWN, DAMMIT. I restarted, and it worked fine. Must have been the MAP sensor being mean. Everything in the engine sounded fine. at Idling speed, we took off down the parking lot.. My mom in the seat next to me. This time, the owner let us go at it alone. Strange, huh? Anyway, I drove around the block using those hand signals.. Drove back to the lot- I wasn't sure he'd enjoy me taking his car on the freeway without asking. Actually, he told me that it was kind of hard to test drive it without going onto it. So I let my Mom drive it- she's 53, and she really took off with it.. running stop signs, smashing into houses, running bicycles over.. well, not really.

She didn't want to drive it at all, actually- I just made her since I'm not experienced much at driving- I don't really know what to look for- she caught the break sinking to the floor while I didn't. Speaking of which, the thing road pretty smoothly too- another surprise, even on the dirt road, it was still pretty smooth- you know, for being on a dirt road. We stopped there to switch seats- I wanted to take it on the freeway.. I checked the headlights, the tail lights, all that- worked fine. And we got in. Mannn, I tell you.. even though the thing's Air Conditioning didn't work (Not a problem, our house doesn't have A/C up here in Wyoming. No real need, save a few hot days of summer.) and it was a bit musty and dusty, it was still a nice inside- VERY roomy. I took it on the freeway, put the pedal down to the floor and mashed it. WE MUST HAVE HIT 200 BILLION MILES PER HOUR. Nah, I went the speed limit like a LAW-ABIDING CITIZEN SHOULD. Or did I? At any rate, we drove it- I nearly ran into a car turning who didn't recognize my hand signal for turning left, and thought I was going straight, and we drove it back.. Turns out the thing had a few more issues that he told us about, the cylinder, scraping the ground on bumps, and everything else. OH YEAH, RANDOM, I KNOW, BUT I'M GOING TO START MAKING THESE TEST DRIVES MORE INTERESTING, LIKE GOING TO MCDONALDS AND ORDERING FOOD FOR THE OWNER. FUCK YEAH.

PHOTOGRAPH.

Yeah, sexy. Well- it WAS really fun to drive.. I wish I could have bought it- I even made a list of pros and cons and whatnot debating it..

Then, it happened. I thought to myself or god or whoever that if I see a wreck, I shouldn't buy this car.. and.. guess what I saw?

My mom, my older brother, and I were driving to her workplace in Odysseus and just behind us, some teenagers pulled out without looking, or got sick of waiting, or something, and a woman hit them.. I'm certified in CPR, First Aid, and Basic Emergency Care, and we helped comfort her- she was really spooked.. it was her first accident. We made sure she was okay, and gave her a phone to call her husband.. she told us about how she'd had an awful year- her mobile home burnt down earlier.. God, I felt sorry for her.. ;__; Didn't take any photos of the wreck though.. you know. But needless to say, I got the sign I was looking for.. I felt bad, and stuff.. like I'd caused it. Didn't buy the firebird.

But mannnnn.. it was hot. Alas I continue my search- one for a reliable car.. a car that'll get me to and from school.. a car.. WITH A TAILPIPE. Oh, and you may notice in the photos below that the car's spoiler I think it's called is missing? He said he had it upstairs and could give it to me if I bough tit.. haha, typo. Bought it.

More photos:

Still wish I coulda bought it.. Mannn.... :(

1975 Vokswagon Type 2 T2

It's an effing peace bus- what more do I need to say? PICTURES, DAMMIT.

There she is. WHAT, YOU WANT MORE PHOTOS? Fine. X3 Here are some things about it though. 1975, manual transmission, leaking oil heads (I think they're called?) I didn't get a chance to take photos while I was test driving it, but.. That'll come in due time. Due time.. Oh, it's also got a rust hole or two in the back, and they were asking 2,000 dollars. Not a bad deal, considering the inside's all original, but for a highschooler with 200 dollars in hand wanting to buy it? nah. I can't even borrow the other 1800, lol. Ah well- Alas, my search continues. To heat these old things- even the little Volkswagen bugs too, they suck hot air out from around the engine, which is air-cooled. In other words, if I'm not an idiot- these things have no radiators. Whoa. Well, anyway- it was a fun experience. HERES THE BACK OF IT- YOU CAN SEE THE FKLDJASFL RUST.

Yep. That's it.

Anywho, There I was driving down.. whatever street that is. And I see this peace bus enshrouded in light. I'd love a peace bus.. it'd be almost like getting a Les Paul. Almost. Not that good. Of course they both come in around $2,000. D: Anyway! I had to call, so I did. Talked to a guy. Told me to go up to this guy's house. Went up. He came out, told me the specs and everything, my mom was there. So instead of ME test driving it here this time, he did- since you know. I can't drive stick. AT ALL. NEVER HAVE. Anyway, he told me all abou tit. lol, oops. About it* haha, perverted. Sorry. Anyway! He tells me "I can give you a quick crash course in driving stick if you want" And Being the idiot I am, I say something along the lines of "Sure, how hard could it be?"

Let me put it this way. I FAILED. MISERABLY. FUCK. He pulled over to the side of the road, we slid over to switch seats and I put it in first gear- off we went! To the stop sign! I switch to 2nd without a problem which surprised him, while he's telling me to push the clutch in then shove the stick.. Before we can even take off from the stop sign, I choke down. WHAT. I start it again, off we go! CHOKE DOWN. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After a few minutes of this "I'll just let your mom teach you." And we switch seats again. Dammit. It was actually a pretty smooth ride inside, surprisingly- I always imagined these things as being bumpy, rough, hard to steer.. it was pretty pleasent, really- though a little bit loud. OH, BY THE WAY- I DON'T KNOW IF BLOGGER HAS AN E-MAIL BUTTON, BUT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, E-MAIL ME IF THERE IS OR LEAVE A COMMENT. Yeah. Anyways, in this particular one, since the oil heads leaked- it ate up oil a little and you could smell it kind of burning. It's a cheap fix- roughly 50 dollars, even with mechanic labour. But it's not a happy fix. I'm sure with something this old, something else would go wrong- the air filter also needed cleaning in it. SAD FACE.

Oh well, when we went around the block a few times, my mom was waiting for us and we got out, looked t the engine, did everything.. and I got back in the minivan and we rode home- wiser..

Wish I could have bought it- it's still sitting there in the street, price raised to 2,500. I DO wish that it'd sell to some Wyotech student who'll fix it up. Ah well.... Maybe someday. Pretty colour too.

Here are some more pictures. FUCK, IT MAKES ME WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH IT. FUCKINGHELLDAMMIT.

Ah well, my search continues for a useful vehicle to transport me to and from school, get me through the deep snow, and provide me warmth and shelter on those cold, lonely nights where I sit alone at home and cry because I missed the toilet.

Wut. Oh, and I may use this blog a bit for random other stuff other than car driving. Like. Umm. To rant about bad teachers? Yeahhhhhhhhhh.... OR DATING TEACHERS? HMMM?!?!??! No. X3

EDIT: OHSHIT, I FORGOT A PHOTO..

 Taken through a window- sorry, guys. Oh, and I don't remember the mileage on this thing D:

First Entry!

Hey, this is the first entry into my blog!!

Anyways, I figured I'd just tell you about me, the blog, EVERYTHING.FDSA;LKDFJA;

Alright, I'm starting this blog- it's going to be about me test driving random used cars I find on Craigslist here in Wyoming in my search for the perfect first car. Once I DO find my first car, I'll continue to randomly test drive people's used cars and write about it- the specs, the model, EVERYTHING, YOU. OR WILL IIIIIII?!!?!?!?!

Nah, I will. I'll test drive trucks, vans, busses, anything I can find that'll carry me around. I've got two I've test driven already that I'll go ahead and write about tonight or tomorrow- a 1975 Volkswagon peace bus and a 1985 Pontiac Firebird. :) YAY. Both I had every intention to buy, but both didn't work out for various reasons.

Alright- pointless blog, I know- but I hope to meet some interesting folk and drive some cool cars. Have some funny stories- Hell, maybe my blog here will even work up to being famous enough to have car companies ask me to test drive their new cars. :) That'd be pretty sick, AMIRIGHT?!

Anyway- I'll tell you a bit about me and stop wasting your time- Since I know EVERYBODY ON THE FDSL;AKJF;LASJF PLANET IS GOING TO READ THIS RIGHT OFF THE BAT. :3

The name's jku. Well, it's actually Owen, but call me jku- I KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT CARS. But I'm hoping to fix that through this blog and just.. you know. stuff. yeah. stuff. stufffffffffjfjfj..... Right, blogging- back on track here. I live here in the empty state of Wyoming, home of Wyotech and a lot of used car turnover for such an empty state. My parents own a 1993 toyota camry and I think a 2001 Honda Odyssey Mini-Van? Older brother's got a 1989 Honda civic with LOW MILEAGEDUNNDUNNDUNNNNNN. Oh,  yeah. and upgraded CD player/speakers/whatever.

Right. Yeah. I think that's about all you need to know. OH WAIT I'M IN HIGHSCHOOL!! AND 17!! So yes. interesting stuff here.

Alright though, peace bus time. NEXT ENTRY: JKU DRIVES A STICKSHIFT FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. Fuck yeah.