My $500 Alero

[GBodyFreak]

I just picked this one up today. It has a blown up 3.4 in it due to a mechanic not putting in a sensor right. It's had a pretty hard life. I got it to replace some hail damage parts on my 4 door and beyond that I'm not really sure what to do with it. Either scrap it, part it out or autocross it.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn2/protozoan4/IMG_1892.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn2/protozoan4/IMG_1891.jpg

[sleepyalero]

she is a little rough, but we have the parts to revive it! but no if you part it out im sure quite a few people would want things out of it.

looks like the driver window is at an angle.

[nicothehut]

Looks like its rolling on 1 Alero rim and 3 chevy rims.
Bit of Mutt. But for 500$, worth it in parts.

[GBodyFreak]

Both window regulators are totally shot. The 3 matching rims have oldsmobile emblems on a carbon fiber background. The oddball one matches my other car so I might have myself an aluminum spare.

[Rexter9x]

The matching 3 are Alero rims

[tw0123]

the single rim is the 99 style gls, the other 3 are the 02 style gls rims... i have a set of both :)

[happyisthealero]

if you deliver it to michigan I will give you 500 for it:P

[GBodyFreak]

I can deliver it to the bottom of the driveway. See you there in about a day or so depending if you're on the UP or LP,lol.

[Papa Rad17]

get the parts you need, part it out, sell back to junk yard/keep for parts/build it into a monster. some options... personally I like those 02gls rims better though, but having the one as a spare will be nice. headlights still look good, they would be a nice set to paint.

[happyisthealero]

LP

[kwhauck]

Damn why can't something like that pop up here locally!! It is even the right color!! I need everything behind the doors of a coupe. DAMNIT!!

[happyisthealero]

seriously can you deliver it?

[Papa Rad17]

shipping might now be super bad... you shoulda got one of mine from my part out!

[kwhauck]

Too bad yours is a sedan....

[Papa Rad17]

Too bad yours is a sedan....

its also no longer.

[kwhauck]

Eh, its all the same, I wouldn't travel that far anyways. Gas is too expensive to haul a junker car. I'm looking for something within about 300miles MAX.

[GBodyFreak]

seriously can you deliver it?

I could deliver it, but that sucker would eat you up in gas, you'd be best off looking for something local. Now, if you lived out in Tulsa, I'd be a whole lot more eager, there's a 66 delta 88 out there I'd love to have.

[zzyzzx]

So it's definitely a 1999? The OP never stated a year specifically.

[GBodyFreak]

The junker is a 2001 and the daily driver is a 2000. I am not a fan of riveted on trunk locks, that's a very stupid design. Found out why the windows went all off track... the regulators are in the trunk.

[03glgold]

i need to find a parts car...my interior is trash, my bumpers are trash, i have a decent dent in one of my front quarter panels,cracked drivers side outer tail...etc

[[ion] C2]

seriously can you deliver it?

You coming to ASS or what? For the huge amount of Michigan members recently registered, hardly any (if any) are registered to show up...

[SouthDakotAlero]

Damn why can't something like that pop up here locally!! It is even the right color!! I need everything behind the doors of a coupe. DAMNIT!!

Just bought a running silver coupe a couple weeks ago for $800. I only needed the front end, however I'm pretty sure I have a buyer for both cars now.

[GBodyFreak]

got the trunk lid and hood switched over. Didn't realize there was a change between the two years where they did away with the hood struts and put in a prop rod. No problem though, just drilled out the spot welds holding the strut brackets on the hail hood and welded them onto the new hood. Since the front of the hood has a little surface rust, I'll dress the whole mess up later.

[kwhauck]

Just bought a running silver coupe a couple weeks ago for $800. I only needed the front end, however I'm pretty sure I have a buyer for both cars now.

You son of a *$&%)($&)*($!!!! Here local? or over by you in Omaha.....

[rocketfast321]

got the trunk lid and hood switched over. Didn't realize there was a change between the two years where they did away with the hood struts and put in a prop rod.

Gm started to get cheap around 2001. Like they did away with foot lights in 01.

[SouthDakotAlero]

You son of a *$&%)($&)*($!!!! Here local? or over by you in Omaha.....

Close to Omaha. 204k miles on the ticker.

[happyisthealero]

Gm started to get cheap around 2001. Like they did away with foot lights in 01.

foot lights?!? on the door?

[GBodyFreak]

Gm started to get cheap around 2001. Like they did away with foot lights in 01.

Did they do the same thing with the Grand Ams? Figured it might've been right after the phase-out announcement and was an Olds only thing.

[kwhauck]

Close to Omaha. 204k miles on the ticker.

eh that doesn't make me feel bad then, I got a gagt with 86k on the ticker with minimal front end damage for $600......

[GBodyFreak]

Small update: One of my little brothers needs a more fuel efficient car so another brother is going to swap in a better 3.4L and fix up the rough parts. Looks like it's going to be back on the road! It managed to get up on the trailer yesterday under it's own power, knock and all.

[rocketfast321]

Did they do the same thing with the Grand Ams? Figured it might've been right after the phase-out announcement and was an Olds only thing.

Yep. It was small things too.

Like my 01 had a removable cup holder in the center consul. Later ones had a non removable one.

The 02+ or 03+ did not say Grand Am Se on the side.

Traction control was not standard in like 03.

Ribs went away in 02.

03 had mickey mouse mirrors

I did not know that later alero's did not have fog lights.

[GBodyFreak]

UPDATE: The little coupe lives on to run another day! My little bro found a 3.4L short block out of a Buick Rendezvous for $200, swapped all the parts to it from the bad engine and got it up and running again. It turns out that the original engine had a bunch of new parts on it, most likely from misdiagnosing problems. So with new window regulators, a general decontamination of the interior (yes, there were maggots and cat poop found) it's running like new!

[03Sleepr]

congrats, glad to hear you were able to salvage it.

[billytheman1188]

yes, there were maggots and cat poop found!

ewwwwwwww......lol.....glad to hear its all good now! How many miles on the new engine?

[GBodyFreak]

ewwwwwwww......lol.....glad to hear its all good now! How many miles on the new engine?

It was a very gross person I got the car from. My little bro claimed he could back track the guy's work history from all the paperwork and pay stubs (SSN numbers all over it!) he found in there. It's a wonder he cleaned it up without gagging. I want to say it was less than 50K on the engine.

[billytheman1188]

Nice! Get some pics up

[GBodyFreak]

More updates if you can believe it! They're trying to patch up the hail damaged hood and trunk on the car. It's got new bodywork in the front and the sideswipe is getting repaired too:

http://s18.postimage.org/3q8yp0h61/alero3.jpg
The new engine

http://s18.postimage.org/yunq631ex/alero1.jpg
smoothing the hood acne

http://s18.postimage.org/lubz9neuh/alero4.jpg
Sideswipe

http://s18.postimage.org/p2ggmp149/alero5.jpg
trunk

[Papa Rad17]

project car? nice!

[GBodyFreak]

I guess so, it's still a DD. They're taking the repairs much farther than I figured they would. It was supposed to be just a cheap car to run around in. It's going rustoleum red when they respray it. That should be interesting to see.

[GBodyFreak]

More stuff: Rustoleum paint job 1.5:1 cut down and 25-30 lbs of pressure

http://s8.postimage.org/dpjii1jn9/alerojam1.jpg

http://s8.postimage.org/tqc3v0hit/alerojam2.jpg

http://s8.postimage.org/9x002b451/alerojam3.jpg

http://s8.postimage.org/6esljnsmt/alerojam4.jpg

http://s8.postimage.org/4cs45eunp/alerojam5.jpg

[Papa Rad17]

looking good :thumb:

[DRM Racing]

very nice work. cant wait to see it completed

[GBodyFreak]

I doubt it'll ever be totally "finished" but it's definitely getting there! They're putting my little DD to shame:

http://s16.postimage.org/7plu6l2wl/alerored2.jpg

http://s16.postimage.org/5atym5mnp/alerored3.jpg

http://s12.postimage.org/6qtpkfb99/alerored1.jpg

And the technical stuff: It took 5 coats to get it completely sprayed out. Unfortunately, it had some very heavy orange peal especially in sunlight due to using a primer gun. He wet sanded it with 1500 grit. It was finished off with a compound polisher to bring the texture under control. This was total overkill for a rustoleum paintjob, but it's still really impressive what can be done with such inexpensive paint. If you don't have access to a gun or compressor, you can get pretty good results using a tight nap roller. It's just all in the prepwork.

[GBodyFreak]

That was short-lived. Some clueless girl rear ended him and it got totalled out. The real kicker was her family's and the insurance company's reaction when he filed his claim. "Oh... we thought you wouldn't care since it's just an old junker anyway." Anyway, we're now looking for something else to drop that built 3.4L into. hard to find another deal like that though.

[jawa]

rear end her car with a semi. and say the same damn thing

[zzyzzx]

Wreck pics please.

[Nas Escobar]

If it was rear ended, couldn't you just pull the frame out and put a new bumper and trunk on it? I was rear ended and I just put a new bumper on it, can't tell it was rear ended. I just gotta have the frame pulled out.

[GBodyFreak]

It supposedly did some structural damage and it was cheaper for the insurance company to total it and pay out. Insurance companies won't cover cars after they've been totalled... don't know how accurate that is, but that was what they were told. There are lots of good parts from it, of course the engine/ tranny is staying but everything else is open for offers.

[Papa Rad17]

If there is ANY structural damage almost any insurance company will total it on the spot. nothing else matters. @Nas, the severity of the rear ending makes a huge difference. if it was with a semi like he said, well, I see little hope for it. and I hope yours isnt to bad. a compromised frame is not really that good to drive on.

[Nas Escobar]

I think someone was joking around about the semi. I doubt the "clueless girl" would be behind an 18 wheeler.

It's really not. They COULD have fixed it but because some dumbass vandalized my fender, they decided it would be cheaper to total it. I'm having the frame pulled soon though.

[Papa Rad17]

I think someone was joking around about the semi. I doubt the "clueless girl" would be behind an 18 wheeler.

It's really not. They COULD have fixed it but because some dumbass vandalized my fender, they decided it would be cheaper to total it. I'm having the frame pulled soon though.

Get that taken care of. it cause other problems then the clearly obvious ones.

[GBodyFreak]

http://images.craigslist.org/3K33F13Jc5Ic5N75Gacbf2093c19d3af3112a.jpg

That doesn't show much, but the frame is bent underneath and it's got a tweak in the quarter

[Papa Rad17]

Get some some zip ties to hold up that bumper there! :lol:

[GBodyFreak]

The alero has now donated it's mechanicals to a slightly crusty Grand Am, hopefully some idiot girl won't rear end this one.

[the1lyden]

Awww man.... all that work into bringing it back.... only to have a stupid accident total it..... Its a shame, it doesn't look like much... totally fixable if not for the bent frame.... it was a great comeback story to read though.... until the accident part!

[Nas Escobar]

I went through the same thing.... You know, the funny part is that pulling a frame isn't as expensive as one would think. $300 and you get your frame pulled in my area, and I live in an expensive area.

Anyways, post pics up of the GA!