Picked up a new KA9 platform (Acura 3.5RL)
Well, the Nighthawk Black Pearl '96 3.5RL got quiet a bit of hail damage and I got the insurance check to fix it or pretty mcuh as the insurance guy said, "do whatever you want with it"...
I'm sitting there looking at it with the damage on the black car with the dark green front bumper, the door dings, and a few other things that bug me about the car... and the 270,xxx miles on the whole package and wonder "Is it worth fixing?!"
So I decided to go shopping and to see what i could find... And I came across this...
2004 Carbon Gray Pearl 3.5RL. 114,xxx miles, Navigation, and pretty much near mint condition except a small dent on the hood. So, now I have 2 Acuras to look at.
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Well, the Nighthawk Black Pearl '96 3.5RL got quiet a bit of hail damage and I got the insurance check to fix it or pretty mcuh as the insurance guy said, "do whatever you want with it"...
I'm sitting there looking at it with the damage on the black car with the dark green front bumper, the door dings, and a few other things that bug me about the car... and the 270,xxx miles on the whole package and wonder "[COLOR="DarkRed"]Is it worth fixing?![/COLOR]"
So I decided to go shopping and to see what i could find... And I came across this...
2004 Carbon Gray Pearl 3.5RL. 114,xxx miles, Navigation, and pretty much near mint condition except a small dent on the hood. So, now I have 2 Acuras to look at.
[IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/IMAG0519.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/IMAG0520.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/IMAG0521.jpg[/IMG]
This weekend i put the entire black car back onto stock suspension and the stock headlights and swapped over the JDM headlights to the new car and rewired them to work on the USDM chassis.
Just need to wire up the city lights on the new car and take it from there. Soon Tommy will completely detail the exterior of the Phantom KA9 and I'll be getting the tint done soon as well... hoping N2HiFI will also help me upgrade and swap over the system into the new RL as well.
Suspension swapping it up in the air, not sure when i plan to do it and swap over the TL wheels for now until I uopgrade to something MUCH better.
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This weekend i put the entire black car back onto stock suspension and the stock headlights and swapped over the JDM headlights to the new car and rewired them to work on the USDM chassis.
Just need to wire up the city lights on the new car and take it from there. Soon Tommy will completely detail the exterior of the Phantom KA9 and I'll be getting the tint done soon as well... hoping N2HiFI will also help me upgrade and swap over the system into the new RL as well.
Suspension swapping it up in the air, not sure when i plan to do it and swap over the TL wheels for now until I uopgrade to something MUCH better.
Instead of paying for a retint what about swapping over the door glass then just paying for the back window?
Just a thought cause i have no idea how difficult that might or might not be..?
Tapa'Talkin on my Galaxy Note
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Instead of paying for a retint what about swapping over the door glass then just paying for the back window?
Just a thought cause i have no idea how difficult that might or might not be..?
Tapa'Talkin on my Galaxy Note
4 hours of swapping window glass and hoping that i get the windows on track so they open and close correctly... or $150 for tint!?
I think I know the obvious answer. :)
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4 hours of swapping window glass and hoping that i get the windows on track so they open and close correctly... or $150 for tint!?
I think I know the obvious answer. :)
Suspension and wheels swapped over. the ride height on it, honestly, turned out just right. the rear are roller or anything and the car sits perfectly where it needs to be so nothing gets torn up.
same on the fronts, i have the car sitting just right to where i can keep the front inner fender lining and not get it torn up as well as the painted mud flaps.
Very pleased. and the fronts have the spacers, didn't want to push my luck on the rear and glad I didn't.
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Suspension and wheels swapped over. the ride height on it, honestly, turned out just right. the rear are roller or anything and the car sits perfectly where it needs to be so nothing gets torn up.
same on the fronts, i have the car sitting just right to where i can keep the front inner fender lining and not get it torn up as well as the painted mud flaps.
Very pleased. and the fronts have the spacers, didn't want to push my luck on the rear and glad I didn't.
[IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/LoweedRL.jpg[/IMG]
Took a better side shot of the car the other day as well since I had some free time after working on the house...
I also had a chance to test fit the Mustang wheels from a friend, 18x8.5 (+38) with paint matched centers... I'm kind of digging them.
Some work would need to be taken care of though. A little pulling and rolling would need to be done...
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Took a better side shot of the car the other day as well since I had some free time after working on the house...
[IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/IMAG0530.jpg[/IMG]
I also had a chance to test fit the Mustang wheels from a friend, 18x8.5 (+38) with paint matched centers... I'm kind of digging them.
[IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/IMAG0532.jpg[/IMG]
Some work would need to be taken care of though. A little pulling and rolling would need to be done...
[IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/IMAG0534.jpg[/IMG]
nice drop!
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nice drop!
I like the current drop it has so far, but it's a lot higher than what it used to be on the old setup, but i also care about this car A LOT more too and want to keep it clean and not remove the inner fenders and have the doors and fenders collect dirt, mud, and gravel from normal daily driving.
I do miss being lower so much though. We'll see what happens after winter time though. :)
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I like the current drop it has so far, but it's a lot higher than what it used to be on the old setup, but i also care about this car A LOT more too and want to keep it clean and not remove the inner fenders and have the doors and fenders collect dirt, mud, and gravel from normal daily driving.
I do miss being lower so much though. We'll see what happens after winter time though. :)
nice! ka9's are a great vip style car to do up.
I love the classic luxury look of the ka9.
why not put on some nice proper jdm wheels ? the ka9 doesn't need too low of a offset to pull off a very nice aggressive fit.
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nice! ka9's are a great vip style car to do up.
I love the classic luxury look of the ka9.
why not put on some nice proper jdm wheels ? the ka9 doesn't need too low of a offset to pull off a very nice aggressive fit.
wonderful looking car. That's the color I wanted!
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wonderful looking car. That's the color I wanted!
MinimalMaximal;471054 wrote:nice! ka9's are a great vip style car to do up.
I love the classic luxury look of the ka9.
why not put on some nice proper jdm wheels ? the ka9 doesn't need too low of a offset to pull off a very nice aggressive fit.
Agreed. I need to have the rears pulled and rolled a bit, but the last set of wheels i had were 19 x 8 (+35) and they fit fine with the roll and pull i had, but too much camber for me to enjoy and the tires were destroyed too quickly. I understand, gotta pay to play, but i wasn't a fan of the 19's on the car after a while and i think I'd prefer an 18" wheel for now.
I'm shopping and looking, but still up in the air.
but The TL wheels I roll on for daily driving are (+45) and those fit great with the current set up, but i want to lower it more and I'm sure i will in the spring so i don't "snow plow" this winter time. But (+35) is as far as I'd like to push the car for now.
my other problem is, i spend more money on the house than i do on the car now... which isn't a bad thing, but i need to play with the car more. I'm getting bored with the current setup. :)
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[QUOTE=MinimalMaximal;471054]nice! ka9's are a great vip style car to do up.
I love the classic luxury look of the ka9.
why not put on some nice proper jdm wheels ? the ka9 doesn't need too low of a offset to pull off a very nice aggressive fit.[/QUOTE]
Agreed. I need to have the rears pulled and rolled a bit, but the last set of wheels i had were 19 x 8 (+35) and they fit fine with the roll and pull i had, but too much camber for me to enjoy and the tires were destroyed too quickly. I understand, gotta pay to play, but i wasn't a fan of the 19's on the car after a while and i think I'd prefer an 18" wheel for now.
I'm shopping and looking, but still up in the air.
but The TL wheels I roll on for daily driving are (+45) and those fit great with the current set up, but i want to lower it more and I'm sure i will in the spring so i don't "snow plow" this winter time. But (+35) is as far as I'd like to push the car for now.
my other problem is, i spend more money on the house than i do on the car now... which isn't a bad thing, but i need to play with the car more. I'm getting bored with the current setup. :)
Almost Spring time update:
I will be removing the yellow fog light tint today, but here is a better picture of the front lip installed...
next will be wheels and tinted windows
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[U][B]Almost Spring time update:[/B][/U]
I will be removing the yellow fog light tint today, but here is a better picture of the front lip installed...
[IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/43ea1633-1930-41fc-8969-70dae400efcd.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/80e79aaa-4a87-4a98-9956-3f847e4b0d45.jpg[/IMG]
next will be wheels and tinted windows
Re: Picked up a new KA9 platform (Acura 3.5RL)
Beautiful car! Im looking for the newer front clip now :)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
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Beautiful car! Im looking for the newer front clip now :)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
Thank you...
the newer front clip, unpainted from Acura... look to spend close to $2,000 for the whole set up. If you can luck out and find a clip in the junkyard like i did with my old '96 build, you'll be a lot better off.
but the most expensive pieces for that will be the headlights and the grill and bumper... unless you can find those in the junkyard as well, but doubtful.
The JDM headlights alone were $600+ shipped. and those were for used one with the HID ballast and everything. Just a heads up.
or keep the the old front end and build it up as well like i also did. :)
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Thank you...
the newer front clip, unpainted from Acura... look to spend close to $2,000 for the whole set up. If you can luck out and find a clip in the junkyard like i did with my old '96 build, you'll be a lot better off.
but the most expensive pieces for that will be the headlights and the grill and bumper... unless you can find those in the junkyard as well, but doubtful.
The JDM headlights alone were $600+ shipped. and those were for used one with the HID ballast and everything. Just a heads up.
or keep the the old front end and build it up as well like i also did. :)
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v481/Grasshopper04/Cars/hondameet/IMG_1334.jpg[/img]
Re: Picked up a new KA9 platform (Acura 3.5RL)
I picked up a set of 2002 rear tailights, bumper, one headlight, mirrors, gauge cluster, steering wheel with airbag, nav system, and a few other pieces this last weekend for $341. I have a set of oem hid bulbs and ballasts that my dumbass pulled from a car with a mint front clip THREE WEEKS before i got my rl.. I, of course left the rest the clip there.. Not knowing i would ever need it:o anyhow, i hope to flip the factory nav system, and some other pieces to use for money towards my swap.. Im scouring junkyards every weekend looking!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
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I picked up a set of 2002 rear tailights, bumper, one headlight, mirrors, gauge cluster, steering wheel with airbag, nav system, and a few other pieces this last weekend for $341. I have a set of oem hid bulbs and ballasts that my dumbass pulled from a car with a mint front clip THREE WEEKS before i got my rl.. I, of course left the rest the clip there.. Not knowing i would ever need it:o anyhow, i hope to flip the factory nav system, and some other pieces to use for money towards my swap.. Im scouring junkyards every weekend looking!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
Re: Picked up a new KA9 platform (Acura 3.5RL)
I should note.. My old hood and fenders are damaged anyhow, so they need replaced regardless.
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I should note.. My old hood and fenders are damaged anyhow, so they need replaced regardless.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
I understand that story... i bought my old '96 with a wrecked front end. replaced it all with new parts and JDM headlights as well.
then my parents backed into it when i was still living at home... time to replace a hood, headlight, and fender. came across the '04 front end at the junkyard and got the parts. Dad wanted to repair the damage rather than turn it into insurance of course... worked out better in the long run for both of us.
keep us updated on your build as well sir.
if you don't mind, if you have a thread... link me to it please.
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I understand that story... i bought my old '96 with a wrecked front end. replaced it all with new parts and JDM headlights as well.
then my parents backed into it when i was still living at home... time to replace a hood, headlight, and fender. came across the '04 front end at the junkyard and got the parts. Dad wanted to repair the damage rather than turn it into insurance of course... worked out better in the long run for both of us.
keep us updated on your build as well sir.
if you don't mind, if you have a thread... link me to it please.
CLEAN!! man wanna trade for a y33? LOL
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CLEAN!! man wanna trade for a y33? LOL
Thanks for the support... and as much as i love those Y33's, i'll have to stick to the Acura flagship. :)
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Thanks for the support... and as much as i love those Y33's, i'll have to stick to the Acura flagship. :)
Re: Picked up a new KA9 platform (Acura 3.5RL)
99Blackhatch;486796 wrote:Thanks for the support... and as much as i love those Y33's, i'll have to stick to the Acura flagship. :)
Like. Good choice! Shot ya a pm btw :)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
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[QUOTE=99Blackhatch;486796]Thanks for the support... and as much as i love those Y33's, i'll have to stick to the Acura flagship. :)[/QUOTE]
Like. Good choice! Shot ya a pm btw :)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
Thank you for the PM.
Currently having some Photoshopped pictures made to see how the car will look on some sets of wheels... I'm interested to see how it'll turn out, but not sure how the rest of the country will think about them. It's just a test pic though, rather Photoshop ideas than blow money on something that i won't like.
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Thank you for the PM.
Currently having some Photoshopped pictures made to see how the car will look on some sets of wheels... I'm interested to see how it'll turn out, but not sure how the rest of the country will think about them. It's just a test pic though, rather Photoshop ideas than blow money on something that i won't like.
Re: Picked up a new KA9 platform (Acura 3.5RL)
I learned that the hard way! Good idea
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I learned that the hard way! Good idea
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
As many have been mentioning, many people like the TL wheels... and since i have been rocking them for almost 4 years now, and want something bigger... this is one of the wheels I'm having Photoshopped on the car to see how much i like them.
It'll give me the same look pretty much and with an 18" wheels like I've been wanting as well...
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As many have been mentioning, many people like the TL wheels... and since i have been rocking them for almost 4 years now, and want something bigger... this is one of the wheels I'm having Photoshopped on the car to see how much i like them.
It'll give me the same look pretty much and with an 18" wheels like I've been wanting as well...
[img]http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2012/02/06/9172705/Alloy%20Wheels%20by%20TSW%20-%20the%20Rivage%20in%20hyper%20silver.jpg[/img]
I kind of figured the TSW's wouldn't have a big following on here, but with rehabbing the house, i'm trying to keep on a budget the best i can... Lol
Priorities suck sometimes as well all know, but maybe a better gem will come around that will make things work out better in my favor with this forum. :biggthumpup:
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I kind of figured the TSW's wouldn't have a big following on here, but with rehabbing the house, i'm trying to keep on a budget the best i can... Lol
Priorities suck sometimes as well all know, but maybe a better gem will come around that will make things work out better in my favor with this forum. :biggthumpup:
This is what happens on lunch breaks it seems...
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This is what happens on lunch breaks it seems...
[IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/SolorizedRl.jpg[/IMG]
Grabbed a quick picture from the "No Star Bash" this weekend at the St. Louis drift event and car show.
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Grabbed a quick picture from the "No Star Bash" this weekend at the St. Louis drift event and car show.
[B][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/24531706-f66e-4dee-ab79-10836f625b06.jpg[/IMG][/B]
Well, it's been too long but the car finally got tinted.
sad it took this long, but it was a nice change that needed to happen!
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Well, it's been too long but the car finally got tinted.
sad it took this long, but it was a nice change that needed to happen!
[URL=http://s24.photobucket.com/user/99BlackHatch/media/fullresRL.jpg.html][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/fullresRL.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL=http://s24.photobucket.com/user/99BlackHatch/media/NewRLredaccent.jpg.html][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/NewRLredaccent.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
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Well, here are some recent pictures from a few weeks ago from the No Star Bash drift event at Gateway Motorsports park. Had to leave early to help a friend that had car problems and while waiting for the trailer to come get the car... a group of us waited next to an abandoned school... photoshoot.
[URL="http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/Cars/99BlackHatch/RLbackend.jpg"][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/Cars/99BlackHatch/RLbackend.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL="http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/Cars/99BlackHatch/damnpole.jpg"][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/Cars/99BlackHatch/damnpole.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL="http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/Cars/99BlackHatch/RLschool.jpg"][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/Cars/99BlackHatch/RLschool.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL="http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/Cars/99BlackHatch/oldschool.jpg"][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/Cars/99BlackHatch/oldschool.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
This weekend I should have my wheels finally. After a lot of searching and a lot of debate and maintaining my budget on the house, i decided to pick up something finally. Time to roll and pull
So, i got the wheels and test fitted them. Car will be rolled and pulled this upcoming weekend and the front needs to go down a little bit more. and also thinking about removing the fog light tint.
Klutch SL-14
18x8.5 (+30)
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So, i got the wheels and test fitted them. Car will be rolled and pulled this upcoming weekend and the front needs to go down a little bit more. and also thinking about removing the fog light tint.
Klutch SL-14
18x8.5 (+30)
[IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/RLnewsetup2.jpg[/IMG]
Looks good. What did you make the front lip out of?
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Looks good. What did you make the front lip out of?
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Honestly... it is extremely hard to find a lip for this car and with rehabbing the house, i went ahead and built one from scratch. i like how it turned out and it was only $20 instead of finding a lip and getting it shipped to me from Memory Fab for a little over $800...
As of last night and a quick photo shoot... this is how she currently sits.
Taken at the St. Charles Main Street's foundry...
[URL=http://s24.photobucket.com/user/99BlackHatch/media/e8bc97d2-8fd1-47b6-aece-77e1c1fd3a04.jpg.html][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/e8bc97d2-8fd1-47b6-aece-77e1c1fd3a04.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL=http://s24.photobucket.com/user/99BlackHatch/media/49f60dc2-2b7c-42b3-8631-523dc2a1495a.jpg.html][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/49f60dc2-2b7c-42b3-8631-523dc2a1495a.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL=http://s24.photobucket.com/user/99BlackHatch/media/495a7d98-da14-4faf-a519-a82bf5f7a5c8.jpg.html][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/495a7d98-da14-4faf-a519-a82bf5f7a5c8.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL=http://s24.photobucket.com/user/99BlackHatch/media/de8498ef-8106-4b0a-a27a-47ffe9f6e5b6.jpg.html][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/de8498ef-8106-4b0a-a27a-47ffe9f6e5b6.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL=http://s24.photobucket.com/user/99BlackHatch/media/b3495078-933a-4502-8537-83ee22a95bfa.jpg.html][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/b3495078-933a-4502-8537-83ee22a95bfa.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL=http://s24.photobucket.com/user/99BlackHatch/media/8088cfbc-6f15-4589-b12d-1048db880428.jpg.html][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/8088cfbc-6f15-4589-b12d-1048db880428.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
car looks good, every time i see a RL it makes me want one more and more lol. hopefully my next project will be a RL
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car looks good, every time i see a RL it makes me want one more and more lol. hopefully my next project will be a RL
Thank you. I'm doing a lot of research into other things to upgrade.
New rotors and calipers are in the works along with some new seats and other things that aren't normal for an RL.
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Thank you. I'm doing a lot of research into other things to upgrade.
New rotors and calipers are in the works along with some new seats and other things that aren't normal for an RL.
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Figured i'd throw these in here as well...
[URL="http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/Defectivecloseup.jpg"][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/Defectivecloseup.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL="http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/RLriver.jpg"][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/RLriver.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL="http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/perfection-1.jpg"][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/perfection-1.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL="http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/faraway.jpg"][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/faraway.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL="http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/distantRL.jpg"][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/distantRL.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL="http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/upcloseRL.jpg"][IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/99BlackHatch/upcloseRL.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
