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gary · 01-20-2007, 01:06 AM

I moved back to PA in December of 2005. I was previously living in Fl for the past 10 years or so. I was driving a 1995 Chevy Lumina I bought from my parent’s just a short time before that. It had its problems but it was a dream to drive back and forth to Florida. Shortly after I got settled in here, the car started to have over heating problems. Actually while I was driving up here for an interview, I got a low coolant light but it went away shortly after coming on. This was the start of the downfall of this car. The poor car went through a lot in the next 2 months. It overheated on me on multiple occasions. Finally I gave up and had someone look at it. Yup as I expected, the head gasket was not only gone, it was pitting the heads. With a very high repair cost in front of me, I decided to put it to rest. Off to the junk yard it went.

I searched for a car for a week or so. I didn’t know what I wanted at all. I went to every car lot in the area and seen nothing I liked. Not a single car. Finally sitting at home one night without a ride, I opened up autotrader.com and searched for a coupe with under 30K miles and for less than $15K. The first car that showed up was:

I went to see it the next night. I arrived at the dealer quite late. So late that they were locking up the dealership. One of the salesmen said hold on I will take you for a test drive since you drove all the way out here, about 50miles.

When I got in the car I knew it was for me. Besides hitting my head while trying to get in, it fit like a glove. The suspension was great. The power was ok but doable. Everything about the car was what I was looking for. Funny thing is, 2 days ago, I never heard of a second generation Tiburon. The only thing I knew of them was the ugly ass first generation. Hell six months before that, if you would have asked me what I thought about Hyundai, I would have told you no way I would ever drive their POS cars. On February 2, 2006, I signed the next 4 years of paychecks away and off I drove.

Just before I bought the car, I signed up on newtiburon.com. I learned a lot about the car in short time. I learned about its good and bad points and what it could and could not do. From there I devised a modding plan that has changed multiple times a week. My ultimate goal for this car is not to be overly fast or out maneuver a track car. My plans are for an all around fun car that can keep up with friends and fellow car enthusiast when going to and from meets and such. I realize the car will never be a 900hp highway pull monster or a 500hp awd mountain road, make me poop my pants car. I just want something I can get in every day and enjoy driving.

My final plans are to have around 200-250 whp along with brakes and suspension to compliment the car. At this point forced induction is not in the plans at all. Or at least till openecu.org gets the factory ecu cracked and squared away. That’s probably years of if it ever gets finished. How I get to this point with the car has changed a couple times but still moving forward slowly. I dedicate some money to the car every month but don’t allow it to get in the way of my ultimate goal. That is to buy a house of my own and be able to eat my cheerios in the nude every morning. Ha Ha just kidding.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy or puke, either way. Yes they suck but I am not photographer.

The Plastic Engine:

Pre Suspension Work:

Post Suspension Work:

My Rare KDM Grill:

Full Mod List can be seen in my garage
http://www.tristatetuners.com/forum/...do=hall&u=1638
Thanks to Ryan at Area1320 for all his help and sometimes wisdom. Also for him bringing up that “I should have bought a Subaru!” every chance he gets.
Your comments or suggestions are definitely encouraged but negative attitudes are not welcome. Thanks.

01-20-2007, 01:06 AM	#1
gary Tri-State Post Whore Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Northampton, PA Member #1638 My Ride: 2004 Hyundai Tiburon iTrader: (1)	gary's 04 Tiburon GT - Awake and almost ready to go... I moved back to PA in December of 2005. I was previously living in Fl for the past 10 years or so. I was driving a 1995 Chevy Lumina I bought from my parent’s just a short time before that. It had its problems but it was a dream to drive back and forth to Florida. Shortly after I got settled in here, the car started to have over heating problems. Actually while I was driving up here for an interview, I got a low coolant light but it went away shortly after coming on. This was the start of the downfall of this car. The poor car went through a lot in the next 2 months. It overheated on me on multiple occasions. Finally I gave up and had someone look at it. Yup as I expected, the head gasket was not only gone, it was pitting the heads. With a very high repair cost in front of me, I decided to put it to rest. Off to the junk yard it went. I searched for a car for a week or so. I didn’t know what I wanted at all. I went to every car lot in the area and seen nothing I liked. Not a single car. Finally sitting at home one night without a ride, I opened up autotrader.com and searched for a coupe with under 30K miles and for less than $15K. The first car that showed up was: I went to see it the next night. I arrived at the dealer quite late. So late that they were locking up the dealership. One of the salesmen said hold on I will take you for a test drive since you drove all the way out here, about 50miles. When I got in the car I knew it was for me. Besides hitting my head while trying to get in, it fit like a glove. The suspension was great. The power was ok but doable. Everything about the car was what I was looking for. Funny thing is, 2 days ago, I never heard of a second generation Tiburon. The only thing I knew of them was the ugly ass first generation. Hell six months before that, if you would have asked me what I thought about Hyundai, I would have told you no way I would ever drive their POS cars. On February 2, 2006, I signed the next 4 years of paychecks away and off I drove. Just before I bought the car, I signed up on newtiburon.com. I learned a lot about the car in short time. I learned about its good and bad points and what it could and could not do. From there I devised a modding plan that has changed multiple times a week. My ultimate goal for this car is not to be overly fast or out maneuver a track car. My plans are for an all around fun car that can keep up with friends and fellow car enthusiast when going to and from meets and such. I realize the car will never be a 900hp highway pull monster or a 500hp awd mountain road, make me poop my pants car. I just want something I can get in every day and enjoy driving. My final plans are to have around 200-250 whp along with brakes and suspension to compliment the car. At this point forced induction is not in the plans at all. Or at least till openecu.org gets the factory ecu cracked and squared away. That’s probably years of if it ever gets finished. How I get to this point with the car has changed a couple times but still moving forward slowly. I dedicate some money to the car every month but don’t allow it to get in the way of my ultimate goal. That is to buy a house of my own and be able to eat my cheerios in the nude every morning. Ha Ha just kidding. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy or puke, either way. Yes they suck but I am not photographer. The Plastic Engine: Pre Suspension Work: Post Suspension Work: My Rare KDM Grill: Full Mod List can be seen in my garage http://www.tristatetuners.com/forum/...do=hall&u=1638 Thanks to Ryan at Area1320 for all his help and sometimes wisdom. Also for him bringing up that “I should have bought a Subaru!” every chance he gets. Your comments or suggestions are definitely encouraged but negative attitudes are not welcome. Thanks. Last edited by gary; 03-31-2010 at 04:21 PM.