catacon's Progression Thread

[catacon]

So this isn't really a build...yet. I'll just detail some of the stuff I have done to the car since I've had it.

My first car was a 1992 Dodge Dakota that I "inherited" from my dad. It was in real nice shape and I kept it running and looking very nice.




I would probably still have it, except this happened:



Lady ran a red light and I T-Boned her going about 45mph. Luckily no one was hurt. And something better came from it.



1998 Pearl White Base Auto with 30K miles. Yes, that's right, 30K. Still smelled brand new. Absolutely nothing wrong with it and the single owner had all of the service records. Definitely a great pick up, except for the fact that it's an autotragic tranmission. But we'll get to that later.

First order of business was to get any scheduled maintenance done. Although it didn't really NEED anything done, I just wanted the peace of mind. So timing belt was changed, oil was changed, and I checked over other stuff like spark plugs, tires, etc. Since it was insanely clean when I got it, I made it my mission to keep it that way. It gets bathed regularly and I've done more in depth detailing such and clay barring and swirl removal from time to time. I try to keep it as fresh as possible.



Shortly after I got it. It remains this clean always.




First major mods were white gauge bezels, clear sidemarkers, turn signals, and the LED conversion. Almost all bulbs on the car are now LEDs.








Next was my alarm install. Super legit with brain hidden well and all the wiring made to match the stock stuff. Installed it in two days and haven't had any issues with it since. One advantage of having an auto is that I can remote start my car without the sketch of a clutch bypass. Starting the car from a 1/4 mile = win.

After that I painted my calipers black. Nothing special, just something to keep them a bit cleaner looking.



Next major mod was HID Retrofits. I was lucky enough to get in on a groupbuy with The Retrofit Source and got legit bi-xenon projectors, ballasts, and bulbs for ~$200. Easily the best mod thus far.





Driving Video

Around that same time came foglights. JDM Replicas (version 2) from eBay. Paired with 3000K HIDs.





Sometime in here I needed new tires. Still had the original ones. Upgraded to Falkens which are quite enjoyable. Also got some (basically) free stock blades.



Sprinkled throughout this adventure are a number of accidents involving people incapable of properly operating motor vehicles.

Episode 1 - Actin' a fool
I took a turn too fast in some snow and hit a mail box. Rear bumper got a little messed up. The picture sort of shows the damage on the passenger side.



Episode 2 - Nice Lady Leaves Note
Lady backed into the driver's side fender while I was at work. She was nice enough to leave a note and paid for everything.



Episode 3 - N00b in a Parking Lot
Guy backing out of spot runs into the rear bumper. Apparently tried to run, but campus police stopped him. He ended up paying for everything. This, luckily, took care of Episode #1.



Episode 4 - Suburban + Woman = New Hood
I was trying to leave a parking lot and was behind a woman in giant Suburban that was looking for a spot. She saw someone leaving the spot and decided to back up to give this person room, completely disregarding me. Her tow hook hit my hood and (luckily) nothing else. She tried to blame it all on me, but finally she admitted it was her fault and paid for it all.



So all in all I have received about $3200 worth of free body work. This is nice and all since there were some spots that did need to be repainted, but unfortunately, not all of the paint matches perfectly. So eventually I will need to repaint the entire car.


There are a few projects in progress that will hopefully be completed soon.

1) Valve Cover - Painted and repainted this multiple times, but it's never turned out quite right. This is basically what I am going for, though.


2) Wheels - Refurbishing and painting some stock blades I got for cheap. Almost done.

Old and poopy.


Fresh and fruity.


3) Turn signal mod. Super secret. Don't tell anyone.


There are many more things I want to do to this car.
1) 5spd swap. It must happen. Hopefully, I will get the money and parts by the end of the year and knock it out. We shall see, though.
2) Suspension + minor power upgrades. Looking to make it handle a little better and maybe squeeze some more horses out of the H22. This will probably include full exhaust, maybe some head work, and a tune.
3) Full repaint + wheels. Definitely gonna need some new paint all around. Gonna keep it white for sure, still undecided on the pearl. And of course some fancy schmancy wheels.
4) Supercharged. Haven't fully decided on this yet, but I think it would be fun.

That's probably as far as I will take the car, but I'm sure I'll change my mind. However, it will always remain super fresh and in good working order.


So in short:

Got a 1998 Pearl White Base in December 2008 after my truck was wrecked. It's been in multiple small accidents, but all has been repaired. Mods are:
1) LED conversion
2) HID Retrofits
3) Clear turn signals and sidemarkers
4) Alarm install
5) JDM Replica Fog lights
6) White gauge bezels
7) Black calipers

It currently has 46K miles on it and I hope to make it a weekend car before it hits 100K. I love this car and it has taught me a lot and introduced me to a lot of cool people. I definitely want to keep this car a long, long time.

catacon (Aaron)

[xxfallacyxx]

Oh shiiiii... our cars are twins!

Oddly enough I picked up another gauge bezel with the intentions of painting the rings white... haha

I'm jealous of how clear the head light lenses are on yours.

[jd]

Nice man!
In for updates

[catacon]

Oh shiiiii... our cars are twins!

Oddly enough I picked up another gauge bezel with the intentions of painting the rings white... haha

I'm jealous of how clear the head light lenses are on yours.

Yeah I have a bunch of clusters that I was considering trying different colors on LOL. People definitely like the white.

The lenses are something I work hard on to keep clean. They were super fresh when I got them and I Plast-X them with every wash to make sure they stay clear.

JD, hopefully I will have updates. A big issue for me right now is money, but I'm trying real hard to fix that. Hopefully I can get a real job this summer/next semester.

[Tim1137]

wow, you have terrible luck with car accidents!!


on another note, I can wrinkle coat valve covers in red if thats what your looking for.

[catacon]

Yeah, no joke LOL. I got a bad case of the Prelude curse.

How much would you charge to do it? And are you good at it? I mean, I can do it too, but apparently I suck at it. :p

[Christian]

so jealous on the price you paid for those retrofits..

[Guest]

Man, looks like you've been through a lot yourself. It sucks bcos I did go through some bad times as well. Glad you held your head up high and still have her around. Looks clean and nice.

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