Kev's '98 Protege Thread

[irishkev90]

Well, my dad got a call from Susie of Stateway and Jeff from Ground Force One this morning. The car might be here today and there will be a discount. I wish he said how much I owed so I could get the money out of the bank, but it's too late now because I have to leave for work. If Jeff can guarantee with 100% certainty that the car will be here tonight, I will leave work early to oversee the delivery. I've already taken time off from work for this last week when they said it was going to be here and it wasn't, so I don't want to take more time off if the promised delivery doesn't happen. This company is so unorganized. Why can UPS or FedEx guarantee delivery for millions of packages down to the exact day, but Ground Force One doesn't even know if they'll have the car delivered or not? This whole cluster**** of a situation has put my stress levels through the roof and I'm sick of it.

[bomdoutscort]

hopefully it comes in unharmed and your blood pressure and stress levels can go back to normal. Obviously, this is a confirmed negative review, so once you get your car, people can look up these criminals and see not to use them.

[irishkev90]

Both Stateway and Ground Force One are getting negative reviews. Also, Jeff never called and my dad was too busy with his own work to call Susie. So needless to say, it won't be here tonight. Let's hope Jeff's promise of "no later than Tuesday" holds true.

HTC Droid DNA

[irishkev90]

Still no call from Jeff. Dad left a message for Susie and just waiting for her to call back. My dad said we can use his friend's car trailer if we need to pick the car up ourselves tomorrow.

I'm sure Jeff is just trying to come up with some other excuse of not having a driver or another breakdown. Bull****.

Edit: Jeff called back and said the car hasn't left New Jersey yet, but they found the problem with the truck and it should be fixed and back on the road today and the car delivered tonight. Hmm, where have I heard this before? He also said, because truck breakdowns are a part of the transport business, that he can't give us a discount on the delivery. My dad just left Susie a message saying Jeff isn't cooperating and he doesn't believe the car will be here tonight (neither do I), and if there is anything she can do about it because I contracted with Stateway and she should be the one to fix this, not me or my father.

[irishkev90]

Susie is apparently pissed and taking our complaint to management and making sure we get a discount. Peter also texted me saying he'll be here tonight with the car. We'll see and I'll keep you guys posted.

HTC Droid DNA

[irishkev90]

My dad got a voicemail from Peter saying he'll be here around 8:30. He then called the house saying he'd be here between 7-8 depending on traffic and I also got a text asking if anyone would be home between 8-9.

Looks like he gave himself a pretty big window and will probably chicken out due to the weather.

HTC Droid DNA

[irishkev90]

My dad on the left and I'm assuming Peter on the right and my car in front. Wish I was there for the delivery, but at least it's here. Apparently it sounds real nice and my parents actually like it, they hate my current car Expect more pictures in a dedicated thread tomorrow morning. Lot's of running around tomorrow to get this on the road and in my name.

[Foofighter8008]

*cue dramatic aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh

[Boosted Escort]

glad to see it made it to your place. Looking forward to the pics.

[irishkev90]

New thread can be found here: http://www.wihandyman.com/forum/show...M-1997-Protege

[irishkev90]

As soon as I can get the '97 on the road, this one will be going under the knife to replace the rotted out rocker and quarter panels. This weekend I need to find and fix another exhaust leak, as well.

I haven't welded or anything like that before, but my dad works for Verifacts Automotive and I guess they have an online welding class that he wants me to be the guinea pig for to see if it'll work as a training tool for them. He is also going to get some sort of practice welding toy box or something to try out, too. I guess it's basically a welding gun that can tell you if you're holding it at the right angle and all that stuff. It sounds pretty cool and I'm actually looking forward to trying this stuff out.

[irishkev90]

Fixed the exhaust leak. I think there's another smaller one as well. Ugh, I just need a new exhaust for this thing.

HTC Droid DNA

[FE3-323]

drive it to me. i'll fix it for free

[irishkev90]

I wish I had the time. I'd love to get out of here and meet some of the members here and see what they're up to and get some opinions on my cars and ideas in person. There's no room for vacation at work, though, until September. But I bet you'd have a good laugh at how I've had to try and hold the exhaust together over the years, I should have taken a few photos while I had it on the stands, hahaha.

[irishkev90]

Finally going under the knife for quarter panel and rocker panel surgery. Photos to come later tonight. Stay tuned.

HTC Droid DNA

Edit: Photos, as promised.

Got the old quarter and rocker cut out and the new quarter trimmed to fit. Cleaned up the old spot welds and had to straighten the flange around the rear door with a hammer and dolly. Only broke two or three bolts taking everything off, too. Much better than I expected, but trim clips in trunk didn't fair so well.

Pulled it in, put it on stands and took the rear half of the car apart.



Also had to remove the front fender to get to the front of the rocker panel.



Doors removed.



Rough cut of the quarter.



Rear view, nothing special.



My dad. Not trying to mess with the B-pillar, just using it to help himself up.



Test fit.



Cutting the quarter to fit.



Me using the air chisel to remove the spot welded flange.



I may be short, but that last photo makes me look about two feet tall, haha. All in all, it was a good first day. Really wish I could have done this sooner so the rust wouldn't have gotten so bad, but I guess I've learned my lesson about girlfriends. Don't have girlfriend if you have a hobby you enjoy. Won't be making that mistake again, and I can promise I won't be on the dating scene for quite some time.