Check out my $600 weapon against the gas price wars.

[Charger_Fan]

2.5 non-turbo (initially, I thought it was a 2.2) & 5-speed...I'm hoping for 32-35 mpg.
My gold Crown Vic in the back was usually around 18.5 to 19.5 mpg, so this little Shadow will be a big difference.



The reason it was that cheap is a little more evident here...dead clearcoat & it looks like someone got a little too close with the pressure washer one day. The paint's peeled off right to the primer.
But it sure runs great & the interior is flawless.
I've gotta snag some clear headlight lenses, these are all clouded.





Yes, I'm a cheap car buyer & NO, I don't have any car payments! I hate car payments almost as much as I hate winter.

[Plumcrazy]

Throw a new headgasket and timing belt on that thing every 80 ~ 100k miles and it'll run forever. 

[Shakey]

You should do a full frame off restoration on that puppy - she'd be worth something someday!  

I thought you were going to show us a picture of your new motorcycle.  

[Charger_Fan]

The previous owner put a timing belt on it about 10 thou ago.
It may have had a head gasket sometime in the past too, I saw evidence that the a/c compressor had been unbolted. Yesterday I had to fix a couple dried up vacuum lines & a breather hose coming from the valve cover that had split & was spewing oil...otherwise, it looks good to go.

It does have a half-throttle bog that I've got to figure out, I'm hoping the vaccuum lines were some of the culprit.

I thought you were going to show us a picture of your new motorcycle.   

Nope, actually I came this > < close to buying another bike, but I thought I'd better go with a car since winter's knocking on our door soon.

[Drache]

You should do a full frame off restoration on that puppy - she'd be worth something someday!  

If the gas prices keep rising that will be true lol!

[bull]

If it's a mid-90s a pressure washer probably had little to do with the paint peeling off. Chrysler tried a lousy chemical etching process back then than made the paint on lots of cars and trucks just fall off.

[Dennis K]

My son's LeBaron with 2.5 gets about 30 on the highway, which isn't bad, but 32-35 might be just a little out of reach. I hope I'm wrong, though. Your favorite local parts store will have a plastic polish that will clear up your headlight lenses easily, just go ask them what they have.

[greenpigs]

I thought they were sealed units, anyways for the work a new set might be better. Most times old turn signals and original headlights are buffed with the cleaner because of cost of replacement. The new cracker box he has should be cheap to replace.

[Silver R/T]

hey on those headlights try gs-27, you'll be amazed how clear those headlights will be

[chrisII]

ive seen people just take a buffer to the headlights, clears them up for a while..Im a cheap car buyer also. and may be looking into another shadow soon if i get a job where i  have to commute. a shadow would be my first choice. neon would be a distant second choice. the 2.2 and 2.5 are pretty much indestructable. even if you pop a timing belt they dont bend the valves. those engines are simple to work on and parts cost next to nothing! the neons can be snappyer, and get a tad better mileage but there is alot to be said for the design of chryslers 80s-90s fwd cars

[Wakko]

You gonna put 22"s on it?

[Orange_Crush]

If it's a mid-90s a pressure washer probably had little to do with the paint peeling off. Chrysler tried a lousy chemical etching process back then than made the paint on lots of cars and trucks just fall off.

Not just Chrysler....no such thing as a mid-ninteies Ford that can keep its paint either.  I believe it was EPA regs that made them change the etching process and it took them a couple of years to get it scienced out.

[bull]

If it's a mid-90s a pressure washer probably had little to do with the paint peeling off. Chrysler tried a lousy chemical etching process back then than made the paint on lots of cars and trucks just fall off.

Not just Chrysler....no such thing as a mid-ninteies Ford that can keep its paint either.  I believe it was EPA regs that made them change the etching process and it took them a couple of years to get it scienced out.

Now that you mention it I recall seeing more than one GM product of that vintage doing the same.

[Charger_Fan]

If it's a mid-90s a pressure washer probably had little to do with the paint peeling off. Chrysler tried a lousy chemical etching process back then than made the paint on lots of cars and trucks just fall off.

Not just Chrysler....no such thing as a mid-ninteies Ford that can keep its paint either.  I believe it was EPA regs that made them change the etching process and it took them a couple of years to get it scienced out.

Now that you mention it I recall seeing more than one GM product of that vintage doing the same.

That's true, my 89 Suburban has that problem. It's like the paint dried out & lifted from the primer by itself. I can flake it away with my finger...then two weeks later, there's more that's lifted & that flakes away too.
After looking closer at the spots on the Shadow, it looks like the same scenario...great.

You gonna put 22"s on it?

Ummm...no.

I thought they were sealed units, anyways for the work a new set might be better. Most times old turn signals and original headlights are buffed with the cleaner because of cost of replacement. The new cracker box he has should be cheap to replace.

I've tried buffing the ones on my daughter's 91 Mustang before. They do clear up a bit, but it only lasts a couple months.
I found an eGouge seller who has them for $25 per side, I think that's a decent price for clear headlights.

[4402tuff4u]

Are you going to paint it orange and paint and "01" on the door? 

jst kidding.........good weapon against the oil cartels! Looks good to me - as mentioned above, polishing might do the trick on the lenses!

[Lowprofile]

Cool Ride CF!  Congrats!  You need to get you a set of these for your "Bulge" Hood..............

[BigBlackDodge]

On the headlights................sand'em.

Get some thousand grit paper and wet them till they're clear, shouldn't take more than 10 minutes........then use some plastic polish to tidy them up. I did this on my 2000 Intrepid.........what a difference!


BBD

[Supercharged Riot]

yeah hahahahah... way to go dude!! 30+ MPG!

[Charger_Fan]

On the headlights................sand'em.

Get some thousand grit paper and wet them till they're clear, shouldn't take more than 10 minutes........then use some plastic polish to tidy them up. I did this on my 2000 Intrepid.........what a difference!

Really? Now that's something I haven't thought of before, I'll give it a shot on a spot tonight.



Lowpro, if I stuck those HEMI emblems on my hood, they probably wouldn't last the week at my work parking spot. There's always employees getting stuff swiped from their cars there.
One of these days, they'll learn to drive POS cars like me, then nobody will touch them.