A Bit Of Back Story
I bought this car in 2023 after it basically landed on my lap. If you read my "About Me" you will know I owned a 97 Cavalier z24 in my early 20's. The rear subframe began to rot and it eventually cracked deeming it too much for me to fix as I did not have the tools (big enough welder) or knowledge at the time to fix it - so I parked it at my dads place for many years and I practiced/l;earned alot about welding on it when I had some spare metal. Over the years I would search for another shell in good condition - motor did not matter as I had everything I could ever need for a swap, and I could do it all myself. A year had passed and I found another cavalier in mint shape that had a bunch of motor mods already - but it woudl not run. As I only wanted the shell it was hard to let myself pay $3000 for a car that im just tossing the motor out of because I did not want to waste the money to try and find a performance mechanic to fix it. I probably could have learned myself if I took enough time but that car is obviously not a Sunfire and clearly not how this story goes.
Long story short I passed on the Cavalier purchase and kept searching in hopes to one day find one - and I didnt.
In 2016 I lost a younger brother who was very close to me. We worked on cars together, refinished bathrooms with our dad together, wrote music together, anything brothers would do, we did it. He used to own a late 90s Sunfire and we would stay up late and work on this car and just hang out. As I worked on my cavalier over the years I always felt he was watching over me guiding me to do and be the best I can be - honing my knowledge and working on perfecting my crafts and hobbies.
I was stumbling on the marketplace one day after i seen a gold 4 Door Sunfire for sale for >600$ and as my brother had owned a Gold 2 door Sunfire, I jokingly thought to myself "if I cant find a cavalier soon, ill just buy this sunfire". A day later I opened up Marketplace and there was a White Sunfire GT listed for sale 2 minutes prior and for 200$. I thought "no way this is a joke".
I messaged the guy and we chatted for an hour about the car and sharing car stories. I asked the guy "why he was selling it so cheap?". The pictures showed the car looked imaculate, a few body dents here or there but its already lived for 25+ years. All original panels, even original rockers which need a bit of work at the time of writing this in May 2024. The gentleman selling the car stated that he could not find a transmissin. He joked about how he was looking for a transmission for over 2 years and I joked back about how I was looking for a car shell; for my engine and transmission, for over 3 years.
The stars aligned. I told the guy I would pick it up on the weekend (it was a province over). I checked in with a "brother from another mother" and we packed up the truck for a day trip to go get me a "new to me" car. We picked up a U Haul near where the car was and went to get the car. We arrived the house was dark, no lights on and the car was on blocks (I did bring my own Rims as I knew it did not come with tires). I messaged the seller and he told me the Papers are on the passengers seat, the keys were under the floor man and to leave the $200 on the back deck.
We loaded up the car, I left the money as you see in the picture below and we hit the road to back home quicker than the Wiley Coyote chases the Road Runner.
I felt like I had just stolen someones car - it was almost too good to be true. Thinking back I should have also kept the 6'x10' sign vinyl the car was parked on.
Home Safe & Sound
We made it home safe with no troubles - just a few pit stops for food and washroom breaks.
I waited about a week and the following Monday I went in to my Local DMV to ensure the car was not reported as stolen and that I could infact register it in my name. I remmeber all week I was thinking "I cant start working on it incase the cops show up and take it" or when My shift was over going for a drive to my Dads just to make sure it was still there.
The Good News is the Cops never showed up to take it. I was able to register the car and this allowed me to safely work on it without the risk of someone reporting it as thiers.
I will mention my Favorite Super Hero IS in fact Superman. The Floor Mat came with the car and there was only 1. If I didnt have a universal sign that this was meant to be, I had one as soon as I opened the door.
And Then It Begins
We started pulling things apart the next weekend (since I work an 8 - 5 weekly).
We got the original Motor & Transmission out of the car and begain extraction of the Motor/Tranny from the cavalier; since we knew it will run and been maintained over the years. (currently needs an oil change).
I took this time to clean all the Under Coating out of the engine bay and touch up and spots that were starting to show surface rust. I then coated some of the engine bay areas with white grease to protect them but keep the "light" color.
Some time Later...
I had everything taken out and set aside for the Motor/Transmission drop in but I was not ready just yet. There was a few things I wanted to do visually before putting the motor in. Those Ugly wiper arms had to go or be refinished, I had to replace the Drivers Rear Quarter Window - which was quite hard to find believe it or not. Below you will find some of those things and what they look like now.
Moving On..
I felt this was enough of a visual appeal & increase for me. Now it doesnt look as much like the basic Pontiac Sufire that everyone had. White Rims are in still need of some sneakers but will sort that once its running as expected.
Find some more random pictures of other things below and I will be back shortly with more updates on
"Project Sunfire"
