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That's another failure story, After spending two years to a car that left from 1996, I said to myself: Okay. What's next?
Fiat Coupe was a relatively cheap, good-looking, unique sports car but even if you able to hit 200 km/h with it you can't drive it on rocky mountains. The reasons are obvious, it's not very comfortable and a minor bump can kill your aluminum rims. btw, entire build story available in my
instagram and
youtube channel also mentioned in
this entry
With confidence of building an engine from scratch, decided to build also an 4x4 for weekends. Initially i was set the bar so low and intended to buy a Lada Niva and implement a custom ECU to it. Used car market in middle east is so crazy, while looking for a cheap niva, i found
Chevrolet Blazer with very similar price and went to see it.
I assumed it's a giant truck from photos but seemed like a lifted sedan car. It have an 4000cc v6 engine with continuous four wheel drivetrain but interior was so small. Retailer said "if you're looking something big, i can offer something else if you make a little bit extra payment" we went to see it and it was love in first sight, i was standing next to a green 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 5.2 liter v8 engine.
The paint was worn out, door locks was constantly turning on off itself and crucial wires are cracked. ready to caught on fire anytime. those were solvable problems by myself, took a loan from bank and purchased it.
The First Days
I replaced the stock air filter with a sports one and rewired everything from scratch. Then i painted the worn out sides without any extra polishing. It given a look like a military vehicle. Meanwhile already forgot about the fiat coupe and just given to someone with so low price instead of just rusting it around. I don't have any regret on this, maybe i can sell for a little bit extra if i wait but the $5 in your pocket is better than $50 that might arrive next month.
Overheating problems
I replaced almost every sensor and did a maintenance on major parts but it was still overheating on 40c mediterranean summer. There was no rev limit to maintain engine temperature which is a standard stuff in modern cars. I replaced the entire coolant system including radiator but no luck. it's still overheating after one hour of drive. Even sometimes stalling when i stopped on red light.
Upgrades & Enhancements
I installed the same digital temp monitoring system from the coupe, plus installed an automatic steam release valve. In that case at least i can drain all those hot vapor and bubbles remotely, refill cold water and continue to road. That didn't helped either.
Conclusion
So, i sold it ofcourse. It was an endless money pit. Bought with loan, sucked in all my savings, plus pumped my monthly income to it and still doesn't work when i want. The final issue was it's ECU, previous owner installed a 5.9 pcm at a 5.2 engine and it's flooding the cylinders while cranking. So it'S leaving you on middle of nowhere when you try to start it.
Long story short, I said okay, it's time to stop loss and given it to another retailer with half price of the expenses i made.
Lesson is learned. Not going to buy anything cheap anymore, that includes food, shelter, people, women. The right things with wrong motivations can lead to catastrophe if you don't have time, resources or at least a plan to do it.