Post PICS of your latest purchase

[deevergote]

That's pretty awesome. I didn't even know a Coach edition existed! Hell, back in 97, I didn't even know Coach existed!
I love that the emblems are a slightly different color. Those are the subtle things that set enthusiast cars apart. When you know that sort of thing, you're part of the "in crowd".

[hiptech]

Too bad u lack the space this would make a great donor car to keep around... nice find BTW!

[Fleetw00d]

I needed a few parts - so I bought the whole thing: 93 LX 5 speed.


Already swapped the door seals and some trim over the to the SE. Keeping the hood for the wagon. May have a buyer for the engine already (not sure how soon I can get it out).

[Jarrett]

I'd like to chat up one of your neighbors some day. Just to see what they think of the goings-on of that driveway of yours.

[Fleetw00d]

We have a homeowners' association; the rules say you're not supposed to have a disabled vehicle on the lot for more than 10 days (if I remember correctly). I've never had them contact me (which I think means that no one has complained). The SE sat for while, but at least looked intact. When I was slicing and dicing Ruby, I kept it under a cover, but technically it was driveable the whole time. Any that I've parted out I've done so mostly in the garage.
Standard question from the neighbor I interact with most "What are you working on now?"

[Jarrett]

That's funny. And no judgement on my part. I think I've done much worse.

[Fleetw00d]

No offense taken. They really look askance though when you start beating on one with a sledge hammer before hauling it to the scrap yard. When you're trying to collapse a C pillar with a sledge, it sounds like a gunshot.

[verothacamaro]

This isn't CB7 related, but I'm slowly doing some cosmetic things to my 97' LS400.

I found a pretty mint 97' Coach Edition LS400 in the JY the other day and grabbed as much as I could off it: Shift knob, console lid, steering wheel, rear bench seats, rubber intake coupler, new Toyota air filter, and RF knuckle since I had a bad bearing on mine. Unfortunately someone beat me to the mint condition fronts. It was a Minnesota car w/ less than 95k miles on it. It even had a new PS pump and Alternator, but when I went back the next day, the PS pump was gone. I might go back for the driveshaft rubber bushings this weekend since they were also good and mine are cracking.

But anyway, the cool part I found out are that the emblems are actually different as well. They're this Champagne silver color for the front grill and rear trunk, along with the Coach emblem being unique instead of a chrome or the definitely 90s gold chrome.

Luckily there was an old guy across the row taking apart a Jaguar XK8 who had a ton of trim tools and I was able to delicately remove them from the trunk lid without damage. Be careful when removing since all the emblems have two pegs behind them for locating and positioning on the trunk lid.

Here are some pics of the install on my LS:

Wrecked near mint Coach Ed. LS:






Emblems off the car


Armrest in PERFECT shape




Birch wood and leather shift knob...also found in 98-00 LS400s


Also the rear perforated Coach leather seat bottom


Grabbed the 6 disc CD sleeve and cassette with 4 religious CDs in it lol






Getting ready to put them on


Chrome on left, Coach Edition Champagne silver on right, kinda cracked my LEXUS badge upon removal


This residue took about an hour to remove for all the emblems





Getting ready to remove the 3M molding tape I painstakingly cut the night before


New center emblem




Tried it without the Coach Emblem first








Accidentally applied too much heat towards the glue to make it tacky....ugh I'm leaving it on


To give you an idea of how pristine this car was, here is the carpet I almost bought, the driver floorwell area UNDER the mat was completely spot free

Super cool. I've always preferred the design of these LS.

[GTRON]

I want to do Lamin-X on my CTS-V's headlights. After I polish them, of course.

Anyway, I just got these in the mail:

Did you get LED Bulbs? That's really nice and bright, I'd like to get some!

[cp[mike]]

so this is a big one... but I pretty much just bought a HOUSE!





actually, kind of two houses? it's a Duplex.

not too much to look at from the outside, but the inside and base structure are solid, and I believe the location is primo for increasing in value.

i'm really friggin excited, I will be renting out half to a couple friends of mine, while I live in the other half and continue fixing up the building and yard.

Just finished wire transferring the closing costs, but the actual closing is scheduled for next Friday. this is going to be the start of a new adventure

[CyborgGT]

Wow . I'd love to take on a project like that one day. It seems values are going up in every corner of Colorado, too. Good luck with it.

[deevergote]

That's awesome. Congrats, Mike!

You should give your friends a discount, and keep both garages for your own use

[cp[mike]]

Wow . I'd love to take on a project like that one day. It seems values are going up in every corner of Colorado, too. Good luck with it.

thanks! i'll admit that this sort of venture has been a dream of mine for years, and I feel fortunate that it seems to actually be starting! This is in an area that hasn't quite "popped" yet, but they just opened a brand new light rail station a few months ago within walking distance (less than 1/3 of a mile) so I hope that will continue to grow this spot.

That's awesome. Congrats, Mike!

You should give your friends a discount, and keep both garages for your own use

thank youuuu. Actually, that's been strongly considered. The duplex arrangement leaves the options VERY open-ended. I do have the option of including the garage, or not. The plan is to someday move out and rent both sides out - if that happens and I land in a spot where I can't fit my Accord, I plan on reserving one of these garages as my own personal storage, and renting out that side of the house at a discount

[hiptech]

Ahh the joys of home ownership... welcome to the front lines!

It's sort of like car ownership but without the wheels, engine & tranny. Instead the costs are higher but hopefully the return is more lucrative when (if) you sell. Best part is you get to buy all new tools and learn new skills

Congratulations!

[deevergote]

I've been a homeowner for 14 years now. Bought my place when I was 23. My town has gone downhill, though. Country club closed, old Victorian homes converted to multi-family rental properties, downtown is slowly and painfully dying... it's sad. I'm going to refresh a few things myself (re-tiling the bathroom, restoring my cast iron tub, laying down laminate flooring), listing for 20% more than I paid, and hoping to at least break even on my original purchase price. Preparing to bite the bullet and take a 20% loss if it comes to it!
Still, I'm glad to have a house to call my own. I've never rented. Went from my mom's house to my own. In some ways, it's restrictive... but in others, it's fantastic. I do kinda wish I rented when I was younger, so I could have more freedom to do stuff, rather than being tied to a mortgage (and the responsibilities that go along with home ownership!)


Anyway, I just got a thing. Not as impressive as a house... but I snagged a base CTS CD/info unit to use in my CTS-V. The OEM nav unit in my CTS-V is absolute garbage. I want to replace it, but I don't want to lose the cool information that is displayed on it (outside temperature, MPG, etc...) Base models use a simple orange digital display to show this info, rather than the fancy nav screen. Therefore, with a little creativity, I get to keep that info (albeit in an uglier display) while giving myself the ability to upgrade to a fancy nav/media unit! Only $32 at the junkyard (didn't expect to find it... just went junkyarding with the wife for the first time. She's good luck!)

This isn't mine, but it's what I got... I'll be cutting the CD part out, and keeping the upper screen.