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The Cars

Z24 Pictures | Ls Sport Pictures | Jbody.org Registry

Well I use BadZ24 as my screen name and I even used it as the name of my website. So I guess I should talk just a lil bit about the car. Its a 1987 Caviler Z24. Its a black coupe with a 3.1 engine and a 5 speed. I got Badz24 from my brother Mike. He didn't have his license yet and he wanted a Mustang (he later went and got a 4 cyl. Mustang don't ask me why).

    So I bought the car off him I also didn't have a drivers license yet. So the car sat in the back yard for a few months. So for a few months guess were I spent most of my time. Yup you guessed it I sat it the car all the time. Just playing with things and once in a while letting the car warm up and getting it a rev or two. I was already addicted. Well the time came I went got my license and came home. Of curse I went out cruzin for most of the night. The next day I went picked up a few friends to go to school. We went to auto class witch was a 10 min drive from the regular school. Well on the way out I have a funny story. I still being new to the clutch and driving thing didn't press the brakes while costing back and switching from reverse to first. I tapped into a school van. Not very hard, it didn't do anything to the van but the Z didn't get out of it without a scratch. It was minus one tail light and I was a lil scared from hurting my new baby. Well my day could have been better but wouldn't you know it it was going to get worse before it got better. On the way back to school the car developed a slight tick. Well before I made it to school the car died on me on a back street near the school. Me and my friends had to walk to the school to get someone to jump start the car. Once we got it started that tick had turned into a really nice knock. So my friends got a ride to school from someone else and I had to limp my baby home. It wasn't but a half mile drive but it had to of been the longest drive I've ever driven in the few years I've had the car. I got the car home and parked it I didn't know at the time how long it would stay parked. I borrowed my parents 3rd car a 89 Ford (ewwwy ;-) Tempo.

    Well within a week I knew the Z would be down for a while and I had purchased the Tempo from my parents. I drove that car for months still not knowing what had broke on the Z but just knowing that it wasn't going to be cheep. I went on to buy a 1984 Chevy Camaro  from a friend of my brother Jeremy's. This keep me happy enough with power but the Z sitting there only moving from the front to the back of the house was calling my name. One night I had to pull it apart me and a few friends got it started and I drove it with the sound threw over a foot of snow in my back yard all the way to my garage. I spent a few hours pulling the top end apart. Every new part that I pulled off the car I prayed that it was the broken part and I wouldn't have to do any more to the Z. After pulling it half apart I knew then it was more than a problem it was a BIG problem.

    Now I had the knowledge and the willingness to fix my baby. But I had no cash. After a few months of the car sitting in the garage (Sorry mom) I had worked out a way to pay for it with my parents help (I'm sure it being in the garage helped that a lot HEHE). My uncle put an order for a new motor. Not just any motor if my baby was going to get something new it better be better than the old one. It was a 3.1 seeing how the 2.8 and the 3.1 aren't very hard to swap. While waiting I put brakes on the car along with painting things inside the car that my bro had painted (I still don't know why he did that) along with installing a taillight that was given to me by my auto class teacher from a junk car we had (ironic I got the new part from the same place that owned the van I had hit).

    Finally the time came to put the new motor in the car. My uncle came down with his beastie S10 and we pulled my car 60 miles to his house. I still cant believe it pulled it with me him the car and my new motor in it with only that 2.8 it pulled strong. It was going to be a great weekend and I knew it. We started the next morning. It only took 10 hours even with the trip to the parts store. I was the proud new owner or a 3.1 Z24. The only problem with the install was a mix-up with the sparkplug wires. Later that week I also put 4 new Falkin tires 225-60-14's.

    I should have known by then that the car would be nothing but trouble. Not to much longer than a year (long enough for the warranty) I had to replace the head gasket. By then I was getting good at pulling the motor apart on the car. This was right after the J Bash 2001. I had problems during the trip that's how I found out what was wrong with the car. After MANY other parts it got to the point were I couldn't give up on the car because of money that I had into it with the motor and stuff.

    The car has gone threw a few minor changes that I have listed Here. The car has a rust problem part of witch is caused by a very large dent in the passengers side from a previous owner. And now I think it has another head gasket problem probably from me messing up the last install (maybe I didn't clean the surface enough). So as soon as I can I want to pull it apart and put some 3100 head on there so ill be ready for the track this year. So that's the short version of my car I'm sure I will add more to it when I'm not so tired:-).

Now for a update, sense I wrote this I have been busy with a lot more stuff on the car, from a new interior, nitrous, suspension and even wheels. And past that ive started taking it back to stock kindof, and plan on selling this car at some point to make it one less car sitting around. I've got to make room for the new car and what i have planed for it. :)

Sense the last update on this page ive gotten another car, a 2002 silver ls sport. The "badz24" has been just that much more bad by giving me more issues. The motors knocking, oddly enough i didnt have any problems untill i took the nitrous off. Its like the car loved the bottle lol. Anyhow check out the pictures of the new car up top and on its own page