Once upon a time I was all about the car I drove. If I was not in a fine ride, I did not feel
good about myself. I still like to drive a nice car but it no longer defines who I am. Today I
would rather my family be happy living in a nice home. For now that means me driving a
so so car. Yes, I use to be that guy who lived in the hood and had a thirty thousand dollar
car parked out front with three thousand dollar rims and a two thousand dollar stereo. He
died. Seriously, one day I looked in the mirror and he was gone. When or how I became
the man I am today, I am not really sure. Being him is not so bad. My wife likes him,
most of the time. Heck, my ex wife even likes him. She has said on more than one
occasion that if I were then who I am now, we would still be together. I take that as a huge
compliment even though the man I am today probably could not live with the woman she
is today. Such is life. Anyway, in spite of all I have invested in her from both a financial
as well as a physical standpoint, I will no longer be her pilot. Her is Peggy, my former
rider.
From now until, I will be cruising to and from in a true family car. It’s about time right?
Meet Patrice da Caprice. Patrice was born in 1995. Because of the pampered life she
has lead being owned by an elderly couple, she has spent most of her time in a garage
or on long trips so she hides her age well. As of right now she is completely stock and
perhaps will remain that way, or NOT!
Just in case NOT; I am finally taking my wife's advice. She has been telling me for years
to take pictures of my projects before I begin. For the first time, I have decided to do so.
The first pictures below were taken before I ever even brought Patrice home...
good about myself. I still like to drive a nice car but it no longer defines who I am. Today I
would rather my family be happy living in a nice home. For now that means me driving a
so so car. Yes, I use to be that guy who lived in the hood and had a thirty thousand dollar
car parked out front with three thousand dollar rims and a two thousand dollar stereo. He
died. Seriously, one day I looked in the mirror and he was gone. When or how I became
the man I am today, I am not really sure. Being him is not so bad. My wife likes him,
most of the time. Heck, my ex wife even likes him. She has said on more than one
occasion that if I were then who I am now, we would still be together. I take that as a huge
compliment even though the man I am today probably could not live with the woman she
is today. Such is life. Anyway, in spite of all I have invested in her from both a financial
as well as a physical standpoint, I will no longer be her pilot. Her is Peggy, my former
rider.
From now until, I will be cruising to and from in a true family car. It’s about time right?
Meet Patrice da Caprice. Patrice was born in 1995. Because of the pampered life she
has lead being owned by an elderly couple, she has spent most of her time in a garage
or on long trips so she hides her age well. As of right now she is completely stock and
perhaps will remain that way, or NOT!
Just in case NOT; I am finally taking my wife's advice. She has been telling me for years
to take pictures of my projects before I begin. For the first time, I have decided to do so.
The first pictures below were taken before I ever even brought Patrice home...
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| Rider: Patrice da Caprice |
April 22nd 2008... I purchased Patrice.
April 24th 2008... I brought Patrice home to meet the family. After some
brief introductions, I went in the house to put on some old clothes and
immediately began cleaning her from the inside out. This adventure began
with lots of soap and even more water. The previous owners were elderly
making them big on mechanical upkeep while neglecting the cosmetic
details. That is fine with me though, I'd rather buy a mechanically sound car
in need of paint work than a pretty car that won't run any day. By the way,
this was the least exciting car I have brought home in years. When I said
brief introductions, I meant it. Nobody in the family gave Patrice a 2nd look.
To them she was just a car. I understand, Peggy is a tough act to follow.
May 2nd 2008... I was off from work. I took the day to scrub the trunk and
steamed the motor. Afterwards I plugged in my buffer and leaned on the
paint for a few hours. I was not in search of any shine on this day, I just
wanted to remove the bugs, the tar and the oxidation. I'll bet there was ten
years of oxidation; so much that the paint almost looked like primer.
May 4th 2008... By this time I began to notice a ton of Caprice on the road.
Until this point I had no idea how many there were. Every turn I made I saw
another so this meant it was time to personalizing Patrice. I wanted to
tactfully set her apart from all the rest. I started with a chrome cobra hood
ornament I found at the parts store somewhere along the line. The factory
stripes were in pretty bad shape so I removed what I could and replaced
them with some leftover 3M stripes I had hanging in the garage from
previous jobs. Then I put on some chrome door edge guard moldings to
keep the kids from chipping them up in the parking lots...
May 6th 2008... I sprung an oil leak. Patrice had been spotting since day
one but then she began gushing. Off to the shop. I was not about to invest
another minute or dollar in her in case the techs were to tell me she had a
bad a main seal or something tragic. There was no way I was going to put
that kind of labor into the old car. I'd just cut bait and start fresh. To my
surprise the verdict was a bad oil filter. An oil change was on my list anyway
so that was now out of the way...
May 12th 2008... I took a stab at tinting my own windows. I use to be good
at it back in the day. For some reason it is not as easy as I once remember.
May 14th 2008... I was in the parts store getting an air cleaner and trying to
buy vent shades when I noticed an exhaust tip on sale. It is now on Patrice.
May 16th 2008... I installed some things to make my cockpit more
comfortable for me. I bolted in a floor cup holder console laying around the
garage from a previous car, a thermometer for effect, a compass I found
somewhere and a visor organizer from some where else. It might have
even been laying around since the eighties.
May 21st 2008... I took the car to my trusted mechanic for an oil leak which
to my luck turned out to be a faulty oil filter. What the heck, I was planning to
change the oil anyway. While he had her I had him to put on rotors and pads.
May 23rd 2008... I had the snow tires taken off the back and the whitewalls
from the front turned outside in.
May 28th 2008... I went to the parts store and bought V8 emblems, mag
wheels covers, convex mirrors which I planned to used as center caps and a
cherry bomb muffler.
June 8th 2008... I spent the whole day putting stuff I had collected from
here, there, and everywhere in and on the car. I blacked the grill, the
moldings, painted my console grey (which was black) to match my interior. I
spent 12 hours working with Patrice and at the end of the day I was still not
done but she was beginning to look like the vision I had in my head. What
do I mean? When I got her, she looked like some elderly couples car. I
looked at her on day one and saw a potential to be something completely
different. At the end of the day, I looked at her and she was becoming just
that.
April 24th 2008... I brought Patrice home to meet the family. After some
brief introductions, I went in the house to put on some old clothes and
immediately began cleaning her from the inside out. This adventure began
with lots of soap and even more water. The previous owners were elderly
making them big on mechanical upkeep while neglecting the cosmetic
details. That is fine with me though, I'd rather buy a mechanically sound car
in need of paint work than a pretty car that won't run any day. By the way,
this was the least exciting car I have brought home in years. When I said
brief introductions, I meant it. Nobody in the family gave Patrice a 2nd look.
To them she was just a car. I understand, Peggy is a tough act to follow.
May 2nd 2008... I was off from work. I took the day to scrub the trunk and
steamed the motor. Afterwards I plugged in my buffer and leaned on the
paint for a few hours. I was not in search of any shine on this day, I just
wanted to remove the bugs, the tar and the oxidation. I'll bet there was ten
years of oxidation; so much that the paint almost looked like primer.
May 4th 2008... By this time I began to notice a ton of Caprice on the road.
Until this point I had no idea how many there were. Every turn I made I saw
another so this meant it was time to personalizing Patrice. I wanted to
tactfully set her apart from all the rest. I started with a chrome cobra hood
ornament I found at the parts store somewhere along the line. The factory
stripes were in pretty bad shape so I removed what I could and replaced
them with some leftover 3M stripes I had hanging in the garage from
previous jobs. Then I put on some chrome door edge guard moldings to
keep the kids from chipping them up in the parking lots...
May 6th 2008... I sprung an oil leak. Patrice had been spotting since day
one but then she began gushing. Off to the shop. I was not about to invest
another minute or dollar in her in case the techs were to tell me she had a
bad a main seal or something tragic. There was no way I was going to put
that kind of labor into the old car. I'd just cut bait and start fresh. To my
surprise the verdict was a bad oil filter. An oil change was on my list anyway
so that was now out of the way...
May 12th 2008... I took a stab at tinting my own windows. I use to be good
at it back in the day. For some reason it is not as easy as I once remember.
May 14th 2008... I was in the parts store getting an air cleaner and trying to
buy vent shades when I noticed an exhaust tip on sale. It is now on Patrice.
May 16th 2008... I installed some things to make my cockpit more
comfortable for me. I bolted in a floor cup holder console laying around the
garage from a previous car, a thermometer for effect, a compass I found
somewhere and a visor organizer from some where else. It might have
even been laying around since the eighties.
May 21st 2008... I took the car to my trusted mechanic for an oil leak which
to my luck turned out to be a faulty oil filter. What the heck, I was planning to
change the oil anyway. While he had her I had him to put on rotors and pads.
May 23rd 2008... I had the snow tires taken off the back and the whitewalls
from the front turned outside in.
May 28th 2008... I went to the parts store and bought V8 emblems, mag
wheels covers, convex mirrors which I planned to used as center caps and a
cherry bomb muffler.
June 8th 2008... I spent the whole day putting stuff I had collected from
here, there, and everywhere in and on the car. I blacked the grill, the
moldings, painted my console grey (which was black) to match my interior. I
spent 12 hours working with Patrice and at the end of the day I was still not
done but she was beginning to look like the vision I had in my head. What
do I mean? When I got her, she looked like some elderly couples car. I
looked at her on day one and saw a potential to be something completely
different. At the end of the day, I looked at her and she was becoming just
that.
August 1st 2008... After putting some miles on Patrice and appreciating
her for what she is; a car, I decided to put some more time into her. Friday
August 1st, I spent a whole 'nother day with her. I detailed the engine...
Added Chrome rocker moldings... Repainted the grill and the moldings...
Blacked out the taillight & wheel opening moldings... Put on and then
removed several different stripes and vinyl packages; I just could not put
together one I liked. At the end of the day, I think I like her best naked.
her for what she is; a car, I decided to put some more time into her. Friday
August 1st, I spent a whole 'nother day with her. I detailed the engine...
Added Chrome rocker moldings... Repainted the grill and the moldings...
Blacked out the taillight & wheel opening moldings... Put on and then
removed several different stripes and vinyl packages; I just could not put
together one I liked. At the end of the day, I think I like her best naked.
| BEFORE |
| AFTER |
August 18th 2008... Recap...
September 3rd 2008... The air was getting cooler. The morning dew was getting heavier
& my concerns for having a RWD vehicle for the winter increased soooo I decided to say
so long to Patrice . ENTER BUCK.
& my concerns for having a RWD vehicle for the winter increased soooo I decided to say
so long to Patrice . ENTER BUCK.
0400 base
0150 muffler
0150 tires
0565 misc repairs
0150 shocks
0080 wheel covers
0050 tint
0050 mirror
0040 chrome rockers
0085 vent shades
0025 auto quall
0045 center console
0020 thermo
0100 xprmntng
1910 sub total
2600 sold
0690 labor
0150 muffler
0150 tires
0565 misc repairs
0150 shocks
0080 wheel covers
0050 tint
0050 mirror
0040 chrome rockers
0085 vent shades
0025 auto quall
0045 center console
0020 thermo
0100 xprmntng
1910 sub total
2600 sold
0690 labor
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