Wagon BRAH!

Discussion in 'The Welcome Wagon' started by Dawson, May 15, 2012.

  1. Dawson

    Dawson Shufflin'

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    YES! I didn't even know a wagon forum existed! People just don't understand, and I can't explain it, something about a wagon just gets me going. Favorite wagon by far is the Volvo 240 GL, there is not a single Volvo wagon I would think twice about owning, or even a sedan. A P1800ES would just be amazing. :O


    About myself, my name is Dawson, I'm 24, I live in South Dakota, I work at an ice rink and get to drive the Zamboni, and I spend nearly all my free time doing something with cars, whether it's driving them, working on them, reading about them, watching videos about them, looking at pictures of them, or just sitting around in my car because I'm kind of that lame. That's pretty much me, now here's my wagon experience.



    Anyways, I never really cared for wagons that much, other than the 200 series, until I got my first one just a few years ago. Since then I've had 3 and have loved all of them, currently daily driving my '95 Escort.




    My first wagon, a 1983 Toyota Tercel 4wd, was a rust bucket I found in a junk yard and resurrected.


    This is how it looked when I got it.

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    A few days later when I got some MR2 wheels on it and cleaned it up a bit.

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    And this is how it looked when I got rid of it, added some fog lights from a Supra, a mirror I had laying around, and removed the moldings.


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    Then we have my second wagon that I just got rid of a couple months ago.


    1993 Ford Escort LX in Mocha Frost Metallic. It was pretty rough when my dad bought it a few years ago.


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    Then after a little work. This is when my mom was driving it.

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    And then when I owned it.

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    Then I wrecked it.

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    So I fixed it, and wrecked it again.

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    Then a week later, I hit another car when traffic came to a sudden stop during the .02 seconds I was distracted.

    Believe it or not, this is after I fixed it, headlights were demolished, and even the bra couldn't cover the destroyed front bumper.

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    So after the hood latch failed and the hood flew into the windshield I parked it and dug this out of the weeds at my friends junk yard.



    1995 Ford Escort LX in Silver Frost Metallic.

    This car had hit a deer, was fixed, then hit another deer. The guy didn't want to fix it so he sold it to another guy who took the motor and transmission for his '94, and my friend got the rest of the car for doing the work. He gave it to me, and I fixed it because it's a 100% rust free car, and had 30k less miles than my brown one.



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    The two cars side by side getting ready to swap my motor and 5spd into the new body.


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    Also, ZX2 front end swap!

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    And just 2 short days after pulling them into the garage, I had a wagon again!

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    And this is what it looks like now. It's still a work in progress, and it's my daily driver, and I don't have a lot of spare money to throw at it right now so it is what it is. I love driving it though, even if it is lacking power, but I've got a little something up my sleeve for that. :p


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  2. wagonmaster

    wagonmaster Administrator Staff Member Moderator

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    Welcome to the forums. That was a great intro and the ZX2 front end looks sharp. First one I ever see on a wagon!
     
  3. MotoMike

    MotoMike Well-Known Member

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    Welcome to the madness Dawson! :Welcome:
     
  4. straycat12

    straycat12 Well-Known Member

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    :Welcome: to the madness ! You LL FIT IN HERE JUST FINE :dance:
     
  5. 1tireman

    1tireman Well-Known Member

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    Welcome Dawson.
     
  6. fannie

    fannie Well-Known Member

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    :rofl2: good thing they're build Ford tough, as for the extra power maybe you should leave well enough alone...:D just kidding. You sound like the kind of wagon lover that should be on a forum like this.
    Very impressive work on bring your car back...again and again. Wagonmaster doesn't often chime in on the intros so considered yourself privileged.

    :Welcome: and awesome intro, loved all the pics. (y)
     
  7. silverfox

    silverfox New Member

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    WOW...:Welcome:to the wagon train, Dawson. Great story and pictorial history of your wagon escapades!:D If ever there was a true car guy, I think you are IT.:yup: Nice idea with that ZX2 clip! It really DOES look great on the wagon.(y) Glad you found us and I have a hunch we are going to be glad you did! Oh.....and quit running into things.:D
     
  8. occupant

    occupant Occupantius

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    This is madness. I love it. I personally would have used the last year front clip for a ZX2 (03, I think its one year only)...

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    Just has better placement for large driving lights...

    ...and with your track record of reliably hitting anything that crosses your path, it might help shed some light on the situation...:biglaugh::rofl::rofl:
     
  9. Dewey Satellite

    Dewey Satellite New Member

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    Welcome Dawson! This is the best forum for wagon lovers, hands down.
     
  10. ModelT1

    ModelT1 Still Lost in the 50's

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    :Welcome:Dawson Glad you finally found us. I suggest you do spend more time just sitting in your wagon and not running around hitting things.
    But look at all the body work and mechanical experience you've gained! Nice intro!:yahoo:
     
  11. Jim 68cuda

    Jim 68cuda Well-Known Member

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    Didn't know that front end would fit the wagon. Nice job and welcome aboard. If you keep to driving the Zamboni on the ice and the wagon on dry pavement, maybe it will last longer this time.
     
  12. Krash Kadillak

    Krash Kadillak Well-Known Member

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    Welcome to the forum, Dawson.

    I like a guy who turns nothing into something. I also never knew the ZX2 front end would fit the Escort wagon - but I guess it makes sense, since they are both Escorts.

    Very nice intro, BTW......

    Marshall
     
  13. 1982caprice station wagon

    1982caprice station wagon Racecar Driver

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    Welcome to the forums!!:Welcome: Sharp little wagon!;):p
     
  14. the Rev

    the Rev senior junior Charter Member

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    nice pictorial BRAH...(y)

    :Welcome: to all thangs wagoon !
     
  15. Dawson

    Dawson Shufflin'

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    Thanks everybody! This place seems awesome, glad I finally found a place to share my love of wagons with others!







    No doubt, this is what I want to do, but it's not exactly easy, or cheap to get an '03 front bumper cover. Anybody who has one used wants $200-$300 for it, and shipping is about that much again, and new they're around $400-$500! :oops:




    My eventual plan is to make it a 2dr, Zetec swap from a ZX2 pushing somewhere around 200-250hp to the wheels, possibly boosted, '03 front bumper, GT side skirts, GT rear bumper molded to the wagons bumper, and hubs from a Protege5 so I can run RX8 wheels.


    I've already got the ZX2 front end, Eibach lowering springs, Tociko struts, rear disc brakes, custom short throw shifter, Borla exhaust, MR2 front seats, bigger injectors to run E85 ($2.79 a gallon FTMFW! :yahoo: ) larger MAF, tinted tail lights, blacked out headlights with FX-R projectors and DDM Tuning 55W slim ballast 5000k D2S HIDs, and the all important racing stripe! :1st:


    Oh yeah, and a custom headliner just to make people go ooooooo. :D








    And before anybody asks, yes a 2dr conversion is completely doable, and in fact, has been done, along with the Zetec swap, 5 lug swap, and even a KL-ZE (JDM MX-6 2.5 V6).



    Here's that 2dr. :49:

    Simply cut off the B-pillar.

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    Bolt on the doors, and weld in the B-pillar and quarter panel from a coupe.

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    Ad some windows from a 323.

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    And voila! An Escort wagon coupe. This is also where I got the idea for the molded in GT rear bumper.

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    And one of my favorite Escort wagons. Owned by the same guy.

    Protege mirrors, chopped and painted Tracer grille, GT bumpers, side skirts, some big ol' rims, and the cleanest dual exhaust I've ever seen.

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    And a ZX2 motor. :) Nearly double stock HP. :dance:

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    Oh and I almost forgot to mention, the background on my computer is a white slammed 240 wagon on stretched white steelies, and the background on the open tab on my browser is a Volvo V70. :D
     

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