New owner of an 8G looking for some suggestions..

[deathmog]

Hey everybody - i'm Doug. I'd like to apologize if this is in the wrong section/not needed for a thread, and the mods can feel free to move it/delete as they see fit.

On that note, I picked up a '99 Galant ES for $1700 with 123k on it after totalling my 03 Mazda 6. It's got no rust and all seems to be well (my brother works for and I personally know the mechanic who has worked on it since it was purchased, good to go in their POV).

The only problem is, it's green. I've seen some of you guys with them and i've seen you guys make them look good and I was wondering if some of you could pass some suggestions on to me.
I was going to get it painted black (I know a guy who will give me a pretty deep discount, i've known him forever.) in a month or so, but i'm unsure how long Galants usually last with the usual maintenance and i'm not sure if it would be a wise investment.

Here's a few pictures (I've got to take much better pictures sometime.)





I'm thinking about doing a black/tan interior and getting it painted black (If you guys think that's a good idea), or I might try to make green look good (I hate getting the "granny car" comments after people see the exterior and interior.)

So far, my list is:
- Car wash! :v
- Removing hubcaps and touching up the steelies until I find enough money laying around for new rims.
- Leather black and tan seat covers (Far far far too poor at the moment for a complete redoing of the seats) [Already done]
- Black/Tan refinishing of the dash and interior and the door upholstery. Maybe black ceiling cloth?
- Maybe getting one of those brushed aluminum kits to cover the fake wood
- I need to find a new grille for cheap, I blacked this one out so it didn't look horribly broken from the first owner.
Going to leave the "pillar" pieces, chrome, cut out the gills and do the black mesh mod on the next one.
- Tasteful red/black gauge faces/red LEDs?
- As odd as it sounds, I like the look of the stock spoilers on the 8G's, but I don't have one. Is it unnecessarily difficult to install one?

Most of this is cosmetics as I was honestly spoiled from the Mazda (black leather interior, fully loaded), and I do have a K&N cold air filter from the 6, but I haven't done my research or even tried to see if it will fit.
So, this all being said I humbly ask, do you think you guys could help a newbie out? I'm new to the world of Galants and i'm more than willing to learn.

I really appreciate ANY comments.
Thanks!

[2002BlackDragon]

Honestly, its gonna come down to what you like. If you want to change it to black over the green then feel free to do so. I can't think of anyone on here that has a modded green G though. I could be wrong. Food for thought.

As for the spoiler, that's a pretty easy job if you have a drill. My first Galant didn't have one and I bought one from someone on here and it was pretty easy install.

Be open to criticism...

Sent from my Z796C using Tapatalk

[wetamup2k3g]

Well, I know one guy who had the green and sprayed it black with bed liner, but he's turned that creation into some otherworldly beast that eats cars alive lol...

But seriously, with proper maintenance these cars will keep going, they're actually well made the problem is they're cheap and broke people buy them and just drive them without maintaining them then complain when they break. Keep up the maintenance and she'll give you 300,000 miles or better, ask Keith6110. And many other members.

So then you have to decide if you like the car enough to go the distance with her. She's older now, and newer cars drive nicer, they're quieter, and have more features. If you don't want the hassle of maintaining an older car you might not want to invest too much in it.

I find the Galant to be an organic drivers car, the steering is the best I've driven in an affordable family sedan ever, hands down. The throttle is responsive, the brakes (when maintained properly) are great. Nothing I've driven under $40k has such a direct on-center feel. For me it'd be worth it to paint it and make it yours, but you have to make that decision yourself. I think the fresh black paint with the beige interior will look nice.

Hope this bit of advice helps, good luck either way!

[2002BlackDragon]

I forgot that his car was green before he bed lined it. Lol. Been away for a while and I can't remember who all had done what. Lol

Honestly, I think if the green is still in good condition keep it. Why waste money painting over a good paint job? Unless you really don't like the green. Then go for it.

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[Ivory8g]

Lmfao Greg! ^_^
Honestly the green is not bad at all once you spend a little with it it grew on me. Too bad it had tree sap that sat for years on it. If the paint is in good condition I'd say keep it. It's actually quite rare with the tan interior. Most of the green ones are grey inside.
Reliability wise we've all grown so attached to these cars because of it. We have been through a lot, have great memories associated with the car because they drive through winters, outlast relationships, and cart kids around.

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[deathmog]

I'm not the biggest fan of the green, so I might end up painting it after I receive my income tax returns.
I really appreciate the feedback.

[kylecanthurdle]

heres a route that i have been pondering for my mazda for a while. vinyl wrapping is becoming more and more popular around by me. you can pick just about any color you want and if youre handy enough you can prob just do the wrap yourself and change the color of your car entirely for around $600.

[Black8GV6]

you have 123k miles, do you know when the last timing belt was done? Mitsu says every 60k miles. I wouldn't buy a kit to put over the fake wood grain, I would just sand it and paint it.

pr8gg has a green G

[oakrdrs187]

they're actually well made the problem is they're cheap and broke people buy them and just drive them without maintaining them then complain when they break.

This all day!

Its funny but true, I have a part-time job at An auto part store and the way I see it, we hardly sell 8G parts, they're in stock but they just don't sell as fast as other makes/models. Either these cars just last and don't require mechanical attention as often as others or as Greg said, they are often neglected and go untouched until they suffer a "hard down" [I.E Timing Belt Snaps.] IMO, a little of both. The car will go for thousands upon thousands of miles with little to no maintenance, but beware of that "hard down" if the car isn't kept happy.

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[keith6110]

Well said guys! Greg - *Insert pic of 300k mile daily* =)

The stock spoiler is not hard to install at all. In fact, I've added a spoiler to my first galant by drilling out the holes in the trunk and running the power wires to the rear 3rd brake light (the one in the rear window). Worked great!

[oddball]

you have 123k miles, do you know when the last timing belt was done? Mitsu says every 60k miles. I wouldn't buy a kit to put over the fake wood grain, I would just sand it and paint it.

pr8gg has a green G

^Ditto on the sanding. And I never liked the green 8G til I came here.
The problems with the stock rendition to me are the same as wetamup said but in a different respect. The green Gs seem to come more prevalently on the cheaper editions, so they go to those people who don't maintain them and get flaky. Add that to the fact that the stock feature colors (i.e. turn signal, wheel, grill) clash with that dark of a green and you kind of have eminent neglect.

You really have to see the potential in it, but if you do, you got a great base model. If you wax that boy like in the picture it looks really luxurious, like the emerald city of paints. And I'd suggest gold. Once I have the time/supplies to do it, I'm going with a mostly gold feature set (my G's dover pearl). It looks really good cuz of the metallic flakes in the base coat for me, but green and gold is just a classic luxurious color scheme.

Anyway that's my 2c, I hope you decide to put some love into it.


PS post #50 son. Only took 4 years.

[deathmog]

Wow, that's a beautiful green. I guess i'll have to give mine a wash and a polish soon!
I've also considered just sanding and painting the wood grain, it's certainly cheaper :v
I have to take it for an oil change in a few hundred miles, i'll definitely get it checked out. I'm lucky in that I know the mechanic that's done any work to this car over the years.
I do plan on getting headlights similar to his as I LOVE how they look with the galants, but that's further down the road.
I'm definitely going to put some time and money into this one, as I feel that it's going to last me a while.