I have been detailing cars since I was twelve years old. It is more than a job for me. It is a
fantasy slash hobby. When my father forced me into learning the trade, I got a resentment as a
result. Today I see it as a trade. It keeps me out of trouble and also helps me to facilitate
something I call, Project Free Ride. Generally I drive my projects while I work on them and
when I am done, sell them and get most if not all of my money back. Plus when the wife & I don't
see eye to eye I can go down to the garage; break out my chemicals, fire up the buffer, grinder
or whatever and release my frustrations. While I am working I can go away to another land as I
imagine that I am resurrecting a vehicle for some worthy cause. Typically I spend fifteen to
twenty hours transforming a vehicle that in the eyes of most is all used up. I can tell you now that
I already used up that much time on this car and am a far cry from done. Never the less, I have
all winter to get her done. Meet Ciera. When I am done, she will make somebody a real good
"grocery getter". We call them A2B cars where I come from. Stay tuned as I resurrect this '95
Oldsmobile Ciera SL into a usable ride that may even have some eye ball...
This story began October 5th 2008 when Ciera was towed to my house. Actually it began a
few days prior when a friend of a friend called to ask me if I still buy old cars. I said, "Yes." and
set an appointment to go see the old car. When I got there I was kind of let down. She was in
much worse shape than I thought. In fact I almost walked away and would have except the
owner appealed to my emotions and explained she needed the money. It was her husbands
car and he had passed away. Obviously I bought it. They say with every encounter a sale is
made. Either you sell or you get sold.
So I had the car which was then not drivable towed to my house. The first thing I did was to get
her running. It had to be towed because she had sat for so long the brake lines rotted and were
leaking pretty badly. The engine was leaking. The body was rusted. It was all bad. The more I
looked at her the more I began to wonder if she was a lost cause. She had sat for so long in the
weather that cancer developed every where. The next thing I did was to make sure the mounts
& supports were still sturdy enough to hold the car & engine together. I did not want to do the
work and have the engine fall out once I started to drive her. Next I began to grind out all the
rust, patch the holes then rust proofed those not seen. While they set up I removed years of
grease & oil from the engine soI could see where the leaks were...
fantasy slash hobby. When my father forced me into learning the trade, I got a resentment as a
result. Today I see it as a trade. It keeps me out of trouble and also helps me to facilitate
something I call, Project Free Ride. Generally I drive my projects while I work on them and
when I am done, sell them and get most if not all of my money back. Plus when the wife & I don't
see eye to eye I can go down to the garage; break out my chemicals, fire up the buffer, grinder
or whatever and release my frustrations. While I am working I can go away to another land as I
imagine that I am resurrecting a vehicle for some worthy cause. Typically I spend fifteen to
twenty hours transforming a vehicle that in the eyes of most is all used up. I can tell you now that
I already used up that much time on this car and am a far cry from done. Never the less, I have
all winter to get her done. Meet Ciera. When I am done, she will make somebody a real good
"grocery getter". We call them A2B cars where I come from. Stay tuned as I resurrect this '95
Oldsmobile Ciera SL into a usable ride that may even have some eye ball...
This story began October 5th 2008 when Ciera was towed to my house. Actually it began a
few days prior when a friend of a friend called to ask me if I still buy old cars. I said, "Yes." and
set an appointment to go see the old car. When I got there I was kind of let down. She was in
much worse shape than I thought. In fact I almost walked away and would have except the
owner appealed to my emotions and explained she needed the money. It was her husbands
car and he had passed away. Obviously I bought it. They say with every encounter a sale is
made. Either you sell or you get sold.
So I had the car which was then not drivable towed to my house. The first thing I did was to get
her running. It had to be towed because she had sat for so long the brake lines rotted and were
leaking pretty badly. The engine was leaking. The body was rusted. It was all bad. The more I
looked at her the more I began to wonder if she was a lost cause. She had sat for so long in the
weather that cancer developed every where. The next thing I did was to make sure the mounts
& supports were still sturdy enough to hold the car & engine together. I did not want to do the
work and have the engine fall out once I started to drive her. Next I began to grind out all the
rust, patch the holes then rust proofed those not seen. While they set up I removed years of
grease & oil from the engine soI could see where the leaks were...
| Project Free Ride: '95 Oldsmobile Ciera |
10/05/08 BEGIN
0100 base
0012 AAA tow
0080 interior detail
0005 steering cover
0065 register
0080 supplies, rustproof,
bondo, paint, dye
0342
12/12/08 END
0100 base
0012 AAA tow
0080 interior detail
0005 steering cover
0065 register
0080 supplies, rustproof,
bondo, paint, dye
0342
12/12/08 END
| $3100 $0300 $0690 $0970 $0074 $3006 |
| 2004 2007 2008 2008 2008 |
| Cost of Ownership |
| Cost Per Year = $751.50 |
| Purchased |
| Car |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Untouched... |
| Untouched... |
| Untouched... |
| Untouched... |
| Untouched... |
| Steamed... |
| Scrubbed... |
| Dressed... |
| Once I got the engine up to par and the trunk to a point, I returned to the body. The car did not look bad until I began blasting away the loose paint an brittle rust spots. She will never be perfect, but she will look alright when I am done. My plan it to buy, fix on and drive one car a year. When I am done I want to get all of my money back and ride for FREE. So far I am in the hole becasue I got emotionally involved in Peggy |
| Of all the cars I have done in the past few years, I have to say that this one came with the cleanest interior I have ever had to start with. Even though it was pretty clean, I shampoo'd and vac'd it anyway. Once it dried, I dyed the floor carpets. |
| Untouched... |
| Untouched... |
| Shampoo'd... |
| Shampoo'd... |
| Carpets Dyed... |
| Steering Cover... |
| Dressed... |
| Because of the holes in the rockers and fenders; the next stage was a royal work out. The trunk was full of mud, tools and other junk so I just gutted it. I filled it with water then let it drain. Once it was dry I patched the holes and covered them with rust proofing. |
| Untouched... |
| Stripped... |
| Rust... |
| More Rust... |
| Ground & Sealed... |
| More Sealed... |
| Sealed More... |
| Still Sealing... |
| Still Patching.... |
| Dyed & Dried... |
| Almost Done... |
| Finished... |
| 24000 2000 6000 3000 0000 35000 |
| Miles Driven |
| 088,000 108,000 112,000 094,000 147,000 |
| Purchase Miles |
| 112,000 110,000 118,000 097,000 147,000 |
| Sold Miles |
| 2008 2008 2008 2008 |
| SOLD |
| Cost Per Mile = $0.08 per plus fuel & oil |
| As of now it has cost me $62.62 per month to drive for the past four years. Not quite FREE, but I am still working on it. If I sold my current car I would be just about there, but then I would have to walk and I can't do that. |
| It got cold and I got bored. I quit midway through doing this car and sold it on ebay. I could have finished it and gotten a lot more but I am just so dog gone busy doing other things these days. |
