Back in High School auto shop we were detailing a class mates parents SSEI for a group project in class. LOVED the car, and how it drove and how much power it had, which was a LOT compared to my Cavalier I was driving at the time LOL.
He was telling me while we worked on it in class about it, and went out on his own and got a dealers brochure on it, and other models were in there and gave it to me to read up on it. That's when I was reading about the GTP, I knew I had to have one. I knew one day I would have one, it just wasn't going to happen any time soon since the used price was around $11K.
Many years later, I was getting tired of my '94 Cavalier and wanted something newer and a little bigger. My dad was showing me the Dodge Avenger...ya...better not, so I started looking for a GTP, but in the only place I knew where I could find one cheep, and fix it up, the Insurance Pool, where you can buy cars Insurance companies total out. Ya they all have bad titles, and are either wrecked, floods, or theft recoveries.
There were two we were bidding on, a Green 2dr. '97 GTP that had a engine fire and burned the front to the ground, front tires were gone even. I wasn't "thrilled" about the car because it was green with camel colored interior. YUK! The other car was a red 2dr. '97 GTP with graphite interior, 66K miles on the clock, and it was listed as having "engine problems". Well, missed the green one by $100.00 and wasn't even in the ball park on the red one.
Few months later, the red one shows up at a guys farm for sale, $6,000.00 he didn't fix it, he was selling it as is to turn a small profit. I think he got it for $4K at auction. I went and looked at it, and started it and it was knocking loud, and had no coolant in it. We worked out a deal, and I bought it from him for $5k. Been in the the Grand Prix scene since 2001, and don't plan on selling my car ever. Going to drive it till the wheels fall off, and out them on again, and drive it some more.
Bought me a used engine from a totaled GTP that was damaged on route to the dealer, it had 7 miles on the '99 engine, bought that, and installed it. I made a car out of it, and drove it. The yard only wanted my supercharger as a engine core since I knew this engine was trashed, (or I thought). So I got to keep my original engine out of the deal.
Only had the car for 1 year, and I got rear ended and it was totaled, again. It already had a salvage title, insurance wasn't giving me what it was worth to replace it, so I bought it back, and fixed it again, I gave her a second chance at life again. Few mods, and a few thousand later, that's what I am still rolling today.
Some years later I rebuilt that old original engine into the beast we know today, turns out the water pump failed, and was pouring water out of it, and he, the P.O. kept driving it. Burned it up. Not a bid deal...only thing that I kept, and still use on this engine I have was the block, and crank. That 7 mile engine I ran for a year, and only had 11k miles on it when I removed it when I put in my built engine, it is sitting on a stand in the garage. Plan on keeping that engine for sure.
~F~
