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    Thread: New MN guy here

    1. #1
      Join Date
      Aug 2016
      Location
      Waconia, MN
      Posts
      113
      Country Flag: United States

      New MN guy here

      Greetings PT.com!!
      My name is Rich and I’m a reformed lurker. I figured it was time for an introduction since I have a project that will very likely need the collective brain power of those here for me to pull it off successfully with minimal loss of hair and sanity. Age and family have left me with little of both, so I have to preserve what’s left.

      The project is a ’92 GMC Jimmy, 2 door, 2WD that’s getting the PT treatment. V8, 6-speed, 12-bolt, big brakes, big rubber, modified/custom frame, modified suspension, etc. Pretty standard PT fare but I’ve yet to see it applied the way I envision it on this body style. So, that’s a good thing. More details to come in a project thread. What it looked like before the teardown:
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      Like I mentioned, I’ve lurked here for years, and know a few of the S-series driving guys on here from another forum we’ve frequented.

      So who am I? Just a 50 yr. old guy, married, two kids in college. Decent job, decent house in the suburbs. Relatively comfortable, but FAR from rolling in dough. Oh yeah, and a serious itch to play with cars, trucks, and motorcycles since I was 12 years old. I can trace it to a single event. Who/what brought it on was my brother-in-law who let me drive his 4-speed ’67 Firebird on multiple occasions around the farm property and on back roads. (I think he let me get into third gear once.) I had to have one. My dad let me buy a ’69 Camaro $250 basket case when I was 13 as a first car. 307 and a ’glide. Ended up with a built 396 and TH400. When done, it was still a pile, but it was my pile. Major learning experience, that one. That was my one and only foray into classic muscle unless you count the ’73 Olds Cutlass with the “Rocket” 350 and the ’72 Nova hatchback with a 250-6/’glide. Everything since has been a little “off.” Example: ’76 Malibu Classic Landau that got another BBC, this time a Corvette 427.

      Not long after that car, I got into motorcycles and trucks. This also coincided with my preference for manual transmissions. Every vehicle I’ve owned since that time period (with only two exceptions) has been a stick. I never lost my “thing” for trucks, especially those little S-series trucks and SUV’s; I’ve owned just about every variant except the Typhoon and Syclone. I’ve had countless decent project cars and trucks over the years, but nothing spectacular. I truly love to drive, but I’m not really competitive. I do like to go fast (don’t we all?) but I’m not a racer in the “normal” sense. Did a couple seasons of auto-x in a slightly modded Escort GT and had a lot of fun with it. I guess you could say that sums up my hot-rodding life. I’m in it for the fun and camaraderie, and the satisfaction you get from spinning wrenches and making something out of less-than-something. I’ve always valued the fun-to-drive quotient far ahead of all-out power. Wrenching is also what I consider to be something of an artistic outlet for me, a guy that can’t draw anything without a steel rule. I do straight lines really well.

      Currently in the garage:
      The boring side of the stable: 2 Scion TC’s, a 4-dr. Honda Civic and a Buick Rendezvous. Blarggh.
      The fun part of the garage (the side that doesn’t have any daily drivers in it) currently has the ’92 Jimmy chassis and drive train (body is currently stored elsewhere, project thread coming), an ’87 Porsche 944S on a 4 post lift, a ’03 Aprilia RST1000 Futura and my kid’s bikes, a ’84 Honda Nighthawk “S”, and a ’89 Suzuki SV650. Most of the above are in various stages of being a project. A couple of them actually run and move!


      Ahh…the handle. SonomaZ has been my internet handle since the early days of internet message boards.
      It refers to a previous project, a ’91 GMC Sonoma that was getting infused with Z28 drivetrain bits and pieces.
      The current Jimmy project is really just an evolution of that truck and has quite a few bits from it.

      My project needs a name...I'm currently stuck on "Jimmy GT-R."
      There was a Sonoma GT model, (think Marty M's Syborg before the transformation) but never a GT version of the Jimmy. So I get to make my version.



      So that’s a little about me. My hope is that I can give back/contribute something to the community beyond a droll sense of humor. I’ll give it a shot but don’t hold your breath guys.


    2. #2
      Join Date
      Jul 2013
      Location
      Gilbert, AZ
      Posts
      934
      Country Flag: United States
      Very cool! I am kind of partial to the early square S10's myself. I'm currently slowly working on version 2.0 of my 87 S10 Blazer I got when I was 15 (I'm 30 now). It was a show queen for the first phase of its life, but then other cars came, and it's not as shiny as it once was. Plus I'm about halfway through swapping in a TPI from a Trans Am (4 years so far because... well, other projects, as usual). I'll be paying attention, as I'll be trying to make it handle less like a boat pretty shortly as well!

      Josh Campbell- Pushing the limits of my HOA since 2011
      71 Firebird- 455, Ridetech front suspension. https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...04#post1124504
      67 Camaro RS/SS clone, Speedtech front suspension, coilovers, soon to get LT1/T56.
      82 Z28- cheapie beater, soon to get a 406.
      66 Mustang coupe- 393, T-5, sold. https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...-Coupe-GT393-C

    3. #3
      Join Date
      Aug 2008
      Location
      new braunfels, tx
      Posts
      545
      Country Flag: United States
      Welcome! Looking forward to progress pics.

    4. #4
      Join Date
      Jul 2016
      Location
      Iowa
      Posts
      137
      Country Flag: United States
      Be sure to share some build threads, welcome to the forum

      I had a '93 Sonoma for a few years ... did love that that 4.3 CPI in a short box standard cab configuration, she scooted around pretty well

    5. #5
      Join Date
      Aug 2016
      Location
      Waconia, MN
      Posts
      113
      Country Flag: United States
      Yep, the Jimmy had the 4.3 CPI as well. Only ~200 HP but with the addition of a 3.73 gear it was surprisingly quick.
      I'll get a build thread going in the truck section in the next few days.

      Thanks for the welcome guys!


      So does the Jimmy GT-R or GT/R designation sound too Fast & Furious / ricer?
      Or should I just stick with "GT" ?

    6. #6
      Join Date
      Jul 2016
      Location
      Iowa
      Posts
      137
      Country Flag: United States
      Quote Originally Posted by SonomaZ View Post
      Yep, the Jimmy had the 4.3 CPI as well. Only ~200 HP but with the addition of a 3.73 gear it was surprisingly quick.
      I'll get a build thread going in the truck section in the next few days.

      Thanks for the welcome guys!


      So does the Jimmy GT-R or GT/R designation sound too Fast & Furious / ricer?
      Or should I just stick with "GT" ?
      Given that the GT-R is the model name of a vehicle from Nissan that is by many measures a track ready car I personally think you have to stay away from it ... otherwise it just sounds like your name is Jimmy and you bought yourself a new Nissan ... but that's just my two cents

    7. #7
      Join Date
      May 2015
      Location
      NW Georgia
      Posts
      6
      Country Flag: United States
      Quote Originally Posted by SonomaZ View Post
      Or should I just stick with "GT" ?
      GT baby !

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      Kirk
      "North of Mason, South of Dixon, 2nd star to the right"





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