Ode to a Delta 88--update

After a long and drawn-out battle, some of the episodes of which you may have noticed I beleaguered you with here, success!

The fucker RUNS! On all eight! And it's fast! And it doesn't puke anything on my driveway! All right, so the "check engine" light comes on once in a while, but everytime I open the hood and check the engine, it's still there! Woo!

And (hopefully) thus ends the period of blogless darkness in which I have toiled. Gotta tell ya, campers--this thing took up a lot of my available memory. I laid on the floor in my garage a lot--sometimes underneath this miserable shitheap, and sometimes, just on the floor, off to the side, holding my head and fighting off the urge to just put my thumb in my mouth and whimper. It's worth mentioning, I guess, that a) I'm really not a mechanic and b) I've never tried anything like this. And consider what you would do in such a situation, which I will illustrate for you here: you get a car for free and find out it doesn't really run well enough to do anything with. Why in the name of all that's holy wouldn't you just say "fuck it" and call Victory Auto Wreckers to come and get it the hell out of your hair? Why didn't I? There came a point (inconveniently, that point was when the old engine was out and lying on the floor and the new engine was dangling precariously from the engine hoist about three feet over the engine bay while I was reaching underneath it to clear some hoses out of the way. Remember, I've never done an engine swap before, which means I have NO idea how to properly lift an engine. Where do you hook up the chains? I have the engine hoist set on "1/2 ton"; does this engine weigh more than that? I'm using chain from the jungle-gym I tore out of my backyard two summers ago to lift this thing; d'ya think it'll hold?) where I was ready to scrap the whole idea, but what do you say to the tow-truck driver when he comes to pick up the car and there's not one but two expulsed engines he's got to deal with? I like my teeth, thanks. I also like not being shot.

Well, now all that's left is to clean the bastard up and get rid of it. It's still a little loud, though, as you probably could tell from the clip, but I think I'm done lying underneath it for a little while. Although, I've never done an exhaust system swap before, either. Hmm...

Anyway, 1983 Oldsmobile for sale, cheap! Runs great! Expertly maintained (snort)! New (er)(er)(er)(er) engine (hee hee...the car's got 77,000 miles on it and the engine's got like 120,000)! Interior mint (if a little dusty)! Wire wheel(cover)s! Large (3 corpse) trunk! Asking price: get it the hell offa my driveway!