I'm kinda bored here after work waiting for Chad to get back from Carlisle so I thought I would take a few pictures and post them.

When I went to Carlisle, I found an owners manual and some other paperwork for the Valiant!

I also found a (the guy said) 80's New Yorker key blank and got it cut to match the Valiant, since I did not have the original key to the car.

Then I took a few pictures of the new head on the Spirit, as well as the new cat that I had to get.

Finally just a few random pictures of the heavy metal mopars and a picture of a hot lime mr-7 rim with a kelly navigator gold tire that is finally on the car.

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my garage. 1994 dodge spirit, 1975 plymouth valiant

So you end up painting those wheels!

yes, I had Chad do them for me. he did them with a spray gun and put 3 coats of flat clear on them. i just didn't like them silver, they didn't go with the paint to me.

i think that because they are the stock size rims (and tires) they aren't too overpowering. i've gotten a lot of complements on them. but of course, i still have my stock rims and grey hubcaps for the wintertime.

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my garage. 1994 dodge spirit, 1975 plymouth valiant

What is the story behind that painted car?

well that spirit has had a long journey to get where it is now, but i will sum it up as best i can :)

i bought the valiant as my first car back in november of 2004. i was in my senior year of high school. i needed it to do no major driving, just to and from school and to and from work at circuit city at the time. but man, those cars have no place in the pennsylvania snowy winters! it got me thru, but it was no picnic. the truth was, i needed a better daily driver.

the summer of 2005 after i graduated, the valiant needed a new rear end. we think it was because of all the times the previous owner probably got stuck in the snow and just decided to floor it until she gave up or somehow got out. i needed a car to drive, and the only thing available was my uncle's totally stock, emerald green pearl coat 1994 dodge spirit sitting down at my dad's garage where i also work.

it was filthy because my cousin had driven it for 4 years and trashed the hell out of it. it finally was parked because truth be told, it was on its way to the junk yard. it needed a new gas tank, pump, and float, new suspension, new exhaust, tires, etc.

so the first day i needed it, i cleaned it all up (i detail cars at my dad's garage). it took me a while, but i got it looking pretty good again. there was nothing i could do about the cig burns in the seats, or the white stone chips all over the car from my cousin taking it fishing all the time on back roads that said "Trucks Only", but at least it was clean.

even though it was just an everyday 2.5 spirit, for some reason, i fell in love with the car. i think a lot had to do with the difference in mpg compared to the valiant lol! so i kept driving it, and in october of that year, my uncle (who is also part owner of the garage and my godfather) decided to give the car to me for christmas.

the fixing began, and my dad and i replaced everything we could on the car. new suspension, new gas tank and reman pump and float, new exhaust, tires, the whole deal. once we got most of the mechanical stuff done, i decided to experiment with my own paint job.

the once beautiful emerald paint was chipped and even got egged at one time, so i knew i wouldn't be ruining a factory paint job. i wanted to do a spray can graffiti scheme, with my favorite heavy metal singers on it. i wanted it to look like a mosh pit car, but upon closer inspection, turn out to be done properly (for example, i masked off everything and painted in the door jambs and under the hood and the trunk. i didn't do it half-assed).

i hand painted the portraits with a paint brush. the driver's side has wayne static from static-x, the hood has corey taylor, and the passenger side, although it went thru many different designs, now has my hero, elizabeth montgomery on it. i know she doesn't quite go with the heavy metal theme, but she is another one of my fav celebs so i put her on there.

the body mods are mine as well, i designed the front and rear bumpers myself, and had a friend of mine cut the metal for me because my dad does not have the proper metal cutting tools. the skirts are for an 2000+ celica, and they fit without a whole lot of modification.

now i am not usually one for body kits, believe me. but you should have seen the car painted without the bumpers. it looked awful! so i stuck with a very simple design, not some big fish mouth on the front, cracked and poorly fitted. it has a really nice 9 inch ground clearance, but still has the apprearance that it is low to the ground. i do not scrape off of anything, and my driveway at home is like this ___/ lol!

now this is my commuter car. i put 18,000 miles on it from last year to this, driving from my house to college and back 4 days a week. i get about 27 mpg which i know isn't the best in the world, but it is good enough for me. my spirit is not a race car, and i don't want it to be. i don't drive around revving my engine and acting like a dick.

i just like my car for what it is, and so do a lot of other people, and i know that it is more than just your every day spirit.

i actually got on this site in the worst way possible. of course, i was in the rice hunt. i think it was chris that found the spirit in the early stages back in may of 2006, and man did i get blasted by this site. it was awful! but i stuck around and explained myself, and all the people on this site have helped me to make it a better, more complete looking car.

if you would like to know any more about it (i have pictures of the painting steps and mechanical work) you can click on my cardomain link below my signature picture.

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my garage. 1994 dodge spirit, 1975 plymouth valiant