Alright, I never thought I would actually do this, but I feel like I owe it to my car, myself, and all of you out there who have been in my situation before.
I will start from the beginning...
My name is Faye, and I am 27 years old, and.... a car freak who is totally new to cars. Took me a while to get over stereotypes and actually pick up a wrench and start doing what I have wanted to do for so long but was scared to.... and now I am catching up with the rest of all of you. I bought my first set of tools at the Sears Father's Day tool sale in 2010, when the motor blew up in my 1980 VW Rabbit. Now I work at Broadway Toyota doing tires and changing oil - not glamorous, but I get a discount on genuine Toyota parts.
Annnyyyyyway, I had been wanting a Supra for years.... YEARS! I actively began my search over 2 years ago. I test drove over 2 dozen Supras. Turbo, na, auto, 5 speed, targa, etc., EVERYTHING, and I kept an open mind. I found the perfect one for me last December, test drove it twice, and bought it.... it barely made it home. Spent a while tinkering, blindly throwing parts, resealing, tuning up.... and eventually turned her into a daily driver. She was ugly.... fading paint, peeling clear coat, a fender in primer, bumper a different color, and a front lip zip tied in place, and interior mostly gone minus 2 front seats and some dash .... but I loved her.
I hadn't driven her 18 days when I got a little out of control on an offramp and ended up flying over a median and into another lane of traffic.... then into the breakdown lane. My heart was racing..... and I couldn't believe that I managed to save it and not wreck into something... Until then I was hit from behind by a 2013 Ford SUV... in an attempt to avoid from hitting me (I guess) or maybe he was just freaked out, the driver swerved and ended up right behind me and smashed into me.... Augh.....
I spent the entire summer ENTIRE SUMMER.... rebuilding the damage that had been done. My insurance company looked at my car, thought "1989 Toyota... yeah right, crazy girl" Barely got $1000 for it, and had a branded title. Bought it back of course, and spent a bit of the money on the parts car. I stripped the whole thing down to bare metal in places, cut, welded, cute welded, seam sealed, prepped, primed, body work... Body work is so not my thing, or what I ever imagined myself doing, but I put everything that I had into that car. Ended up spending more than I got from the wreck, but saved a ton by doing the work myself, aside from the final final spray. I found a painted to do it after hours, and he barely made a thing on the deal after renting the booth off the clock. I don't like other people getting involved in my projects, I always end up disappointed when someone other than myself touches any of my cars....
(If my mother only saw how I spent my money.... like on this piece of junk... she'd wonder if I listened to all that financial advice she gave me when I was young haha)
Thanks, donor Supra...
(good look at the original paint right there....)
Basically just cut out the spot welds and followed the natural body lines of the car. Filled in some dings and dents, the scratch down the side where someone had keyed my car, etc., etc.
After paint:
Reassembling all those stupid little trim pieces, trying not to brake anything... resealing Targa top
I did all of the work right here, in this gravel driveway. Not even mine, I live in a tiny apartment. My shit is spread out all over the place.
Well, anyways after that ordeal, I had her up and back on the road just in time to head up to Import Face off and take an epic Supra cruise, and meet some awesome people. I was really proud to have one of the cleanest mk3s on the road...
Look at that lovely engine bay!!
How can I not be proud as shit of that!!!!
Just got the car clear bra'ed at work... The Toyota detail department is amazing, btw. I actually trusted one of the guys to put his hands on my car (though I wouldn't let him drive it haha)
Now, here comes the painful part....
So, a couple weeks ago, I was doing some spirited driving... I have a favorite drift hill that I will drive 2-3 times a week. Mostly on an as-needed basis to blow off some steam, feel a rush, you know, stupid kid stuff... anyhow, this particular day, everyone was scraping ice off of their windows, and yet I thought it was a good idea to drive my drift hill on my sticky summer tires.
Hit a patch of ice on the second corner....
And into a wall I went...
There goes $800 worth of wheel right there... D': My beautiful 3 piece Panasport G7s...
Not a single body panel was left in tact... I hit the wall on the pass front, spun around and hit the rear, and went into a ditch. I managed to drive her out, but barely. Steam blowing up from the damaged radiator, pieces of fan wedged up into weird places in the engine bay, inner fender well touching the engine, bye-bye nice intercooler and piping on that side too.... my brand new adjustable trailing arms dragging on the ground behind me..... Ohhhhh I was beside myself...
(before, duh.)
Took the next day off of school and work, and laid on my floor just feeling sorry for myself, hating my stupidity, and coming up with solutions. I didn't sleep that night, just searched craigslist, supra forums, and everything looking for a new shell. Had to be ice blue pearl, had to be like mine.... had to be a post 89 so I could have my favorite tail lights and I could swap the front bumper over again...
I was carless for a couple weeks. I got rides to school and work, then from work to my friends shop where I worked on finishing the engine swap on my other car.... (I have 4, and none currently can move under their own power....) I would walk home at 2 in the morning from the shop, cold and tired as fuck, and had to wake up at 5am to get to school on time. I don't think I have slept much since that day.
Found a few good shells, but despite my best efforts, couldn't seem to give up any part of the car.... I have the VIN tattooed on my wrist for fucks sake, this is MY CAR and I have to rebuild it... again.... only this time major damage to the frame....
So, now I realize that I will probably have a bunch of you telling me that it would be better to get a new shell, but I am stubborn as shit, and I have made up my mind.... I realize that this route to getting a Supra back on the road is going to take more time, more money, and a shit ton more work than if I were to just swap my good parts into someone else's car... but I am a female, so I am not rational. And this is MY car, and I wrecked it, so I have to fix what I have broken.
Here she is, as of this morning.... Snow covered, waiting for me to start taking her apart again....
So, watch me start over, and build her up again if you'd like.....
I will start from the beginning...
My name is Faye, and I am 27 years old, and.... a car freak who is totally new to cars. Took me a while to get over stereotypes and actually pick up a wrench and start doing what I have wanted to do for so long but was scared to.... and now I am catching up with the rest of all of you. I bought my first set of tools at the Sears Father's Day tool sale in 2010, when the motor blew up in my 1980 VW Rabbit. Now I work at Broadway Toyota doing tires and changing oil - not glamorous, but I get a discount on genuine Toyota parts.
Annnyyyyyway, I had been wanting a Supra for years.... YEARS! I actively began my search over 2 years ago. I test drove over 2 dozen Supras. Turbo, na, auto, 5 speed, targa, etc., EVERYTHING, and I kept an open mind. I found the perfect one for me last December, test drove it twice, and bought it.... it barely made it home. Spent a while tinkering, blindly throwing parts, resealing, tuning up.... and eventually turned her into a daily driver. She was ugly.... fading paint, peeling clear coat, a fender in primer, bumper a different color, and a front lip zip tied in place, and interior mostly gone minus 2 front seats and some dash .... but I loved her.
I hadn't driven her 18 days when I got a little out of control on an offramp and ended up flying over a median and into another lane of traffic.... then into the breakdown lane. My heart was racing..... and I couldn't believe that I managed to save it and not wreck into something... Until then I was hit from behind by a 2013 Ford SUV... in an attempt to avoid from hitting me (I guess) or maybe he was just freaked out, the driver swerved and ended up right behind me and smashed into me.... Augh.....
I spent the entire summer ENTIRE SUMMER.... rebuilding the damage that had been done. My insurance company looked at my car, thought "1989 Toyota... yeah right, crazy girl" Barely got $1000 for it, and had a branded title. Bought it back of course, and spent a bit of the money on the parts car. I stripped the whole thing down to bare metal in places, cut, welded, cute welded, seam sealed, prepped, primed, body work... Body work is so not my thing, or what I ever imagined myself doing, but I put everything that I had into that car. Ended up spending more than I got from the wreck, but saved a ton by doing the work myself, aside from the final final spray. I found a painted to do it after hours, and he barely made a thing on the deal after renting the booth off the clock. I don't like other people getting involved in my projects, I always end up disappointed when someone other than myself touches any of my cars....
Thanks, donor Supra...
(good look at the original paint right there....)
Basically just cut out the spot welds and followed the natural body lines of the car. Filled in some dings and dents, the scratch down the side where someone had keyed my car, etc., etc.
After paint:
Reassembling all those stupid little trim pieces, trying not to brake anything... resealing Targa top
I did all of the work right here, in this gravel driveway. Not even mine, I live in a tiny apartment. My shit is spread out all over the place.
Well, anyways after that ordeal, I had her up and back on the road just in time to head up to Import Face off and take an epic Supra cruise, and meet some awesome people. I was really proud to have one of the cleanest mk3s on the road...
Look at that lovely engine bay!!
How can I not be proud as shit of that!!!!
Just got the car clear bra'ed at work... The Toyota detail department is amazing, btw. I actually trusted one of the guys to put his hands on my car (though I wouldn't let him drive it haha)
Now, here comes the painful part....
So, a couple weeks ago, I was doing some spirited driving... I have a favorite drift hill that I will drive 2-3 times a week. Mostly on an as-needed basis to blow off some steam, feel a rush, you know, stupid kid stuff... anyhow, this particular day, everyone was scraping ice off of their windows, and yet I thought it was a good idea to drive my drift hill on my sticky summer tires.
Hit a patch of ice on the second corner....
And into a wall I went...
There goes $800 worth of wheel right there... D': My beautiful 3 piece Panasport G7s...
Not a single body panel was left in tact... I hit the wall on the pass front, spun around and hit the rear, and went into a ditch. I managed to drive her out, but barely. Steam blowing up from the damaged radiator, pieces of fan wedged up into weird places in the engine bay, inner fender well touching the engine, bye-bye nice intercooler and piping on that side too.... my brand new adjustable trailing arms dragging on the ground behind me..... Ohhhhh I was beside myself...
(before, duh.)
Took the next day off of school and work, and laid on my floor just feeling sorry for myself, hating my stupidity, and coming up with solutions. I didn't sleep that night, just searched craigslist, supra forums, and everything looking for a new shell. Had to be ice blue pearl, had to be like mine.... had to be a post 89 so I could have my favorite tail lights and I could swap the front bumper over again...
I was carless for a couple weeks. I got rides to school and work, then from work to my friends shop where I worked on finishing the engine swap on my other car.... (I have 4, and none currently can move under their own power....) I would walk home at 2 in the morning from the shop, cold and tired as fuck, and had to wake up at 5am to get to school on time. I don't think I have slept much since that day.
Found a few good shells, but despite my best efforts, couldn't seem to give up any part of the car.... I have the VIN tattooed on my wrist for fucks sake, this is MY CAR and I have to rebuild it... again.... only this time major damage to the frame....
So, now I realize that I will probably have a bunch of you telling me that it would be better to get a new shell, but I am stubborn as shit, and I have made up my mind.... I realize that this route to getting a Supra back on the road is going to take more time, more money, and a shit ton more work than if I were to just swap my good parts into someone else's car... but I am a female, so I am not rational. And this is MY car, and I wrecked it, so I have to fix what I have broken.
Here she is, as of this morning.... Snow covered, waiting for me to start taking her apart again....
So, watch me start over, and build her up again if you'd like.....
sad to see a nice car so banged up
