Illustrated History of My Vehicles COMPLETED!

[DarrenDriven]

Check them on on my new project site here:
http://idrewyourcar.com/timeline/darrendriven




#1) 1987 VW Jetta GLi Wolfsburg Edition (APR93-JUN95)


#2) 1981 VW Rabbit Convertible w/ 1.8L 16V swap (AUG95-OCT96)


#3) 1997 Honda Civic CX w/ B18C1 swap & 125-shot NOS (AUG97-NOV01)


#4) 1993 Ford E150 Cargo Van (DEC99-DEC00)


#5) 1981 Honda Civic Wagon "The Slug" (NOV01-APR03)


#6) 1989 Honda Civic Wagon "Mr Cholo" w/ 1.6L D16Z3 swap (DEC01-JUL02)


#7) 1989 Mazda B2200 Extended Cab (MAR02-OCT02)


#8) 1986 Toyota MR2 (OCT02-DEC02)


#9) 1990 Nissan 240SX Hatchback (OCT02-DEC02)


#10) 1979 Lincoln Continental (DEC02-FEB03)


#11) 1989 Chevy Astro (JAN03-MAR03)


#12) 1985 Toyota Camry Sedan (APR03-SEP03)


#13) 1985 Toyota Corolla GT-S Coupe (MAR04-JAN05)


#14) 1987 Toyota Corolla SR5 (APR04-JUL04)


#15) 1986 Toyota Corolla SR5 (APR04-JAN05)


#16) 1992 Nissan 240SX Convertible w/ SR20DET swap (MAY04-NOV05)


#17) 1963 Cadillac Coupe DeVille (JUL04-JUN05)


#18) 1991 Toyota Previa (OCT04-DEC04)


#19) 1995 Lexus LS400 (OCT04-JAN06)


#20) 2002 Lexus SC430 (SEP05-JUL09)


#21) 1994 Toyota T100 (OCT05-AUG06)


#22) 1986 Toyota Cressida Wagon (MAR06-SEP06)


#23) 2001 Toyota Tundra Xtra Cab (AUG06-MAY08)


#24) 2004 Nissan Titan Crewcab (JAN08-OCT10)


#25) 2000 Chevrolet Tracker (AUG09-DEC09)


#26) 2005 Honda S2000 w/ GReddy Turbo (OCT09-AUG10)


#27) 1996 Ford E350 Shuttle Van "Bondo Condo" (MAY10-OCT11)


#28) 2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (FEB11-JUL11)


#29) 2005 Pontiac GTO (JUL11-NOV11)


#30) 2007 Dodge Ram Quadcab (JUL11-JUL14)


#31) 2005 Nissan 350Z Roadster (DEC11-MAY12)


#32) 1999 Isuzu Amigo (MAY12-NOV12)


#33) 2013 Scion FR-S w/ Innovate Supercharger (JUN12-JAN15)


#34) 2001 Isuzu Rodeo Sport (DEC12-)


#35) 2001 Isuzu Rodeo Sport (DEC12-JAN13)


#36) 2006 GMC Savana Cargo Van (JUL14-)


#37) 1962 Chrysler Newport Sedan (MAR15-)






Check them on on my new project site here:
http://idrewyourcar.com/timeline/darrendriven





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[DarrenDriven]

#1) 1987 VW Jetta GLi Wolfsburg Edition (APR93-JUN95)
I was about to turn seventeen and was finishing up my junior year of high school. For my birthday, we went car shopping and I had narrowed down my choices to a VW Jetta, Chevy Beretta or Isuzu Impulse. We found this six-year-old Jetta on a lot in north Seattle. It had a badly dented rear door and during the test drive some smoke actually came out of the empty hole in the dash where the radio should have been. We didn't buy the car that day, but about a week later, on my birthday, my dad tossed me a set of keys and this car was parked out front. (I had to pay for it myself, but he loaned me the money) About a year in I burned out the clutch and spent two weeks in the driveway figuring out how to replace the clutch assembly myself... in the rain, during Winter, at night, with crappy tools. Ugh. I bought my first set of custom wheels (15" Konig Waves) and installed a big bumper kit from the refreshed A2. Took a bodyshop class during the summer at a local college and fixed all the dings and dents... but ran out of time to repaint the car so it wore gray primer squares like badges of honor/shame (depending on who was judging). After two years of ownership the car was stolen, stripped and left smoldering in the countryside. RIP.

[DarrenDriven]

#2) 1981 VW Rabbit Convertible w/ 1.8L 16V Conversion (AUG95-OCT96)
After two months of driving a Dodge Shadow rental car I finally settled on this cute little Rabbit to replace the charred Jetta. It was super clean, ran great and the top goes down! My friends poked fun that I was driving a chick car, but it worked both ways. Girls LOVED this car and always wanted rides. I lowered her a bit, bolted on some 16" Borbet Type-C wheels, swapped in a Cabriolet grill and called it good... until I blasted through a deep puddle and hydrolocked the engine. Crap. For a few months she gathered dust until I could afford a replacement engine. A lightly-used 1.8L 16V GTI motor went in and now she was even more fun to drive! Unfortunately, when I went off to college I couldn't afford (and didn't really need) a car, so the Rabbit went to my step-sister who proceeded to trash it.

[DarrenDriven]

#3) 1997 Honda Civic CX w/ B18C1 swap & 125-shot NOS (AUG97-NOV01)
A little money in my pocket from a decent job at a performance shop, I bought the first of only two brand new cars I have ever owned. The cheapest Honda for sale on the lot was this Civic CX and $10,900 didn't even buy me a radio or hubcaps. I didn't care. Of course I lowered her the moment I brought her home and was the first in the Seattle area to get some of Enkei's new 18" wheels that fit the 4x100 bolt pattern. People FLIPPED over 18's on a Civic. It seems silly now. Over the next few years she got a GS-R swap with a stealth-installed 125-shot of NOS and a fresh coat of Anthracite Metallic, a Toyota Supra color. By the time "Sparkle Poop" was finished I was running low 13's on street tires (with stock exhaust for stealth) and had turned every nut and bolt on the car. Ultimately got in trouble for having a motor that was stolen and had to sell her off to pay restitution and court fees. Learned a HUGE lesson, both about integrity and also about dumping thousands of dollars into an economy car.

[SnipeD]

Seems like a story how you got caught for a stolen motor, but I guess they check during emissions.

[DarrenDriven]

A friend of a friend in Tacoma was dealing in stolen Hondas and I blew my stock engine up... so was in a bind. He came through with a GS-R engine on the cheap and I just didn't ask too many questions. It seemed like everyone in the scene had a stolen engine at that time, so nobody really cared.

I moved down to Portland and got involved in the car scene... and so was the Auto Theft Task Force. I guess Hondas were getting stolen even worse in Portland. They got the VIN from my engine either from seeing it at one of the various import car shows where I had the hood popped, or by a kid that I had to boot from our car club for being a jerk. A rumor passed around that he thought that I had thrown a brick through his windshield (I didn't) so he ratted me out as revenge. I will never know.

I paid $10,000 in restitution to the kid that had owned the Integra that the engine came from, spent almost two weeks in jail (most at The Farm, next to McMenamin's Edgefield in Troutdale OR -- that jail was closed weeks after my stay and now it is owned by McMenamins and I can go walk around it) and had to jump through a lot of legal hoops. Ultimately my felony charges were reduced to misdemeanor possession of stolen property, and then completely expunged.

I walked away from that whole mess with a clearer head and a strong sense of integrity. I am glad that it happened!



My car being impounded.... and then sitting in Gresham PD impound lot for about six months

[SnipeD]

WOW! That's harsh. So that is a story.

[DarrenDriven]

#4 ) 1993 Ford E150 Cargo Van (DEC99-DEC00)
My site NWStreetRacing.com was one of the strongest street racing websites in the US, but the police were using it to track illegal racing and I also wanted a more legitimate site through which I might be able to earn some money. I then launched Draglab.com which was focused more on track events and car shows. This van was used to promote the new site and also be my rolling support rig for local track events. Sold the van after I sold off the site in search of more profits.

[swarb]

YASS! So great that you have pics of all of them. Stuff showing what was hot back then too.
Borbet wheels(?), clear tails, nawwwz, 18's!!, stolen motors, all period correct lol.

[15limited]

I mean, for a van, that's kinda cool!Reminds me of that gas guzzling Dodge flavored van those guys used for testing the Cannonball.

15' BRZ Limited 6MT Ice Silver Metalic

[carma143]

Wow. That's one hell of a car history! By the time I'm old and gray I bet I will have had only the BRZ for all my life. Blessed to have a family willing to buy me a used BRZ with a manual transmission at the age of 17, I hope to keep this car till the frame falls apart Who knows. Maybe I just don't know any better.
But maybe I'll end up being the cool dad on the block with his "classic" car and cool attitude.

[DarrenDriven]

Originally Posted by 15limited

I mean, for a van, that's kinda cool!Reminds me of that gas guzzling Dodge flavored van those guys used for testing the Cannonball.

I drove a delivery van in high school and really enjoyed it... and I really liked my Draglab van. One of my vehicles right now is actually a GMC van... Sons of Anarchy style, haha!

[e1_griego]

Oh lol @ NWSR.

Haven't heard that name in years.

[DarrenDriven]

#5) 1981 Honda Civic Wagon "The Slug" (NOV01-APR03)
Getting in trouble over the stolen engine in my previous Civic was expensive and I was forced to accept the charity of family to continue driving. My step-dad had owned this Civic wagon for fourteen years and after two engine rebuilds he bought a newer car. He sold me this car for $200 and I daily drove it for about three months before I upgraded to yet another Civic Wagon -- and even after that I still drove it occasionally. Nicknamed "The Slug" because of it's faded copper coating, it's infuriatingly slow acceleration and also because of the slimy oil residue that was left behind it. The engine finally gave out one day while I was in the Jack in the Box drive-thru. Pushed The Slug a few blocks home, listed it on eBay and sold it to a Honda collector in North Carolina. This sorry carcass was loaded on a flatbed trailer and transported across the entire country.


Bolted old chrome wheels on as a joke, they were stolen from the car that very night. Haha!