CadillacMatt

Hopefully I'll make it to the meet that is if I don't push my car into a ditch or off a cliff by then. Second flat tire in under a week plus my parking brakes didn't release on the way home so I think my back brakes are toast. Can't get any better than this!

Alex & Hugo you guys wanna meet up before we go?

I don't follow.

You know I was thinkin bout gettin some 84s but they are WAAAAAYYYYY over priced. For a set of 15" 83's from TWW (Texan Wire Wheel) it's almost $1500, W/O tires. If you talkin 17" and up 84's especially the Super Pokes I would be looking at over $2000, just on wheels. And if you gonna get those high dollar wheels you can't roll on tire shop tires, you gotta throw some Vogues on there which are at the cheapest $200 a tire... so pretty much come out to 3 grand just in wheels & tires. PLUS the website says "for FWD cars only" which even though I've seen them all RWD cars too I'd rather not take the risk... dunno why they recommend against it?? OR, I could scoop a set of 24" blades WITH tires for about 2 grand shipped.... the downside is my fear of potholes will only be greater and the ride quality is going to suck. This is what I had in mind: 84's: or 24's:

Went ahead and had my homeboy do the tattoo on my arm... cleaned it up a little in photoshop came out great. One of a kind. Going to get all the linework done on my arm and then color.

Great idea if one of the mods/admins can help me edit the first post that would be great... Jon, do you know the address where we are meeting up at? We should post that up along with the time and date

Noooiiice Those rims are awful small though they don't suit you

Hmm... Caddy with a Chevy motor... PHOTOSHOP TIME!! lol

Found some different images on DeviantArt, played around in Photoshop for a little while and this is what I came up with (eventually will be full color): Writing means "Strength of Spirit"..... from About.com so I hope that's reliable lol!!

Stay strong man!! Take that ship trick it out with some candy paint and 4 15's brother! lol!

Just had my homeboy hook me up with this: Going to get it shaded and probably leave it like that, I want to sleeve out my leg and right arm in Japanese-inspired tattoo design... tired of people telling me that it's "bad luck" to have a koi fish swimming downstream, I did my research it can also represent the season of Fall (in which I was born) or the overcoming of struggles in one's life, in fact any tattoo can mean anything to anyone so blah Actually I was hoping to get advice on my next piece(s)... want to do a tiger/dragon motif maybe on on my arm and one on my other leg, but I can't decide on the style of tattoo I want to get... There is the more stylized artwork like these two: Or these guys that are a little more intricate somehow different in a way: What do you guys think? Thanks

Okay... So after doing shit-tons of more research, and talking to knowledgeable car guys, I think I'm gonna go ahead and spring for a Coupe, assuming I can find one. However... I found out that these cars have the two worst GM engines in history... the flopped variable V8-6-4 engine from 80-82, and the infamous aluminum-block/cast-iron head HT4100 engine in 83-84. Both started off as good ideas, but the technology back then just wasn't sufficient enough to make them reliable engines. Plus, the HT4100 has a screaming 135hp Sooo... as I visit my buddy's garage and stare at the 350 Chevy race motor he's building from the ground up for his El Camino, we come up with an idea. Assuming everything goes to plan and I get the car we are going to swap the motor for a rebuilt 350... something hopped up and street-saavy... nothing too much that'll suck gas like a Hummer and run 9's in the quarter mile, but something with enough cajones to break the tires loose and have plenty of fun with... from what I've read all it should need is some new motor mounts and possibly an adapter plate for the tranny depending on what year model it is... but nothing too difficult or unheard of. Man... ya know I was checking out my other Caddy options... I absolutely LOVE the styling of the '68-'70 El Dorados... but alas, they are FRONT WHEEL DRIVE!! :( 1968 El Dorado

All beautiful cars man... that drop top Deville is tits for 10k that about what I'm seeing those years go for too... I am most definitely going to get one in the future, but as sort of as a reward once I put myself through school and get my career goin and all that. And the other two would just be a dream to own! That being said, for right now, cash-wise most I would be able to throw on a car is 3 grand or so... simply due to the fact that I can't sell my current vehicle until I find and purchase a suitable replacement that's in good running order to cart me back and forth to work for a while... I have a few months to decide on things, my buddy's getting all his affairs in order to buy my car in the event that it happens like that... I actually did see a stock Coupe DeVille a lot like that black one on the road today so I know they are out there CrownVic you are probably right about the distance thing, I would be willing to go as far east as H-Town and as far north as Dallas if I wanted to pick one up. I would do a Vic or TC but alas my heart belongs to GM

Nice truck man I guess those engines run for quite a while huh?

I could always sort out any electrical problems, might be complicated but much less so than the '95... my main concern is going to be, first and foremost, finding one and secondarily finding one with at least a decent engine and good working transmission. Don't want to stat looking for one until I get the scratch though, can't imagine finding one for a steal and not being able to do anything about it

Most likely at first, until I can get a beater truck or something reliable and easy to work on. Before I considered getting a new Caddy I had my sights set on buying a truck for work anyways... to save any more wear and tear

Congrats and best wishes!

Okay... so I've had my '95 for a few years now... love her to death, and before that was my '88 Brougham my first baby... absolutely loved that car so reliable... she got taken down by engine damage when my oil light failed to come on soon enough after a major oil leak developed... in a scrapyard now (she had barely hit 100k original miles) But now I find myself tempted to make the change back to an old school car... in particular a 1980-1984 Cadillac Coupe DeVille like this: or that I mean there's truly nothing like a nicely kept classic car, even a newer car with more gadgets and such. What do you guys think? Stick with the new or go back to the classics? My car now has about 112k miles, had 85k when I got her in '07, runs very well with the only problems being electrical but that's with any computer-driven car like that. Recently replaced is the alternator (high output), water pump (couple years ago), power steering pump, tensioner...I have a buddy that is willing to buy it, and with that sale I should have more than enough to score a good condition Coupe of those years (finding one is a different story though. They seem to pop up here and there and 90% of them are tied up over in Cali with 12" Daytons and naked women painted on the hood) And yes I like to come here with help making decisions because you guys always have good ideas thanks guys And sorry for my ellipsis abuse but such is the nature of my thought process; it's just how it comes out on screen lol

Good Lord man! My air shocks are out in the back so I know how that must have felt lol

Got under the car today... back lip of rim definitely bent. Wondering if it's safe to drive like this... got a slight wobble but no air leaks. Gonna fill out a claim form on the city's website.

Ok sorry thanks for clearing that up it makes sense now! I used to letting TurboTax handle all the details

Thanks for the insights, all. And Impious - I believe I will definitely put aside some scratch to cover my tail, I pulled out the calc and figured my tax bracket, so I will start setting a certain amount aside every week. Hell, if anything, I'll have extra money at the end of the year! One thing I'm trying to understand... when you save receipts for purchases and whatnot, when you file your taxes you are given a choice to either itemize or accept the Standard Deduction. If the Standard Deduction for my tax bracket is say $7500, and my itemized total is anything less than that, is there any point to itemizing in the first place? Or do I just not understand this right? I am going to find a tax person to ask, but I figured some of you guys probably have experience with it

Hey all Reported a few days ago that I was doing contracting work for a remodeling/furniture company, well since I'm kind of a green horn to all this, I found out that even though I'm working for a company, it's considered self-employment. When I got paid yesterday, there were no taxes taken out... so I was a little worried, I asked one of the guys if I would end up having to pay in a massive amount at the end of the year... and he told me to save all of my receipts for food, gas, tools... he says he even counts beer. Apparently he takes everything to a tax lady he knows at the end of the year and pays her about $250 for her services, and comes out scott-free without paying taxes. Is this a good example to follow? I mean, I know it's good to save your receipts and all but would it be safer to put aside a percentage of my paychecks every week? Thanks

Hmm... been doing a little reading on the internets, it seems people have had mixed success with painting them... like simply roughing up the chrome surface and applying a heavy build urethane primer, then spraying over it.

That ain't too bad dude road trips are the shit. The only part I hate about the Texas-Arizona trip is the sprawling hell of a desert they call New Mexico. lol