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Old 01-06-2013, 11:27 AM   #1
BigBlock69RS
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Drives: 2013 AGM Camaro 2SS/RS/1LE
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Location: Seattle, WA
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Cool BigBlock69RS's 2013 1LE AGM Build thread AKA "Grey Ghost"

I know I just joined and just got my 2013 SS2/RS 1LE with NPP and Nav, but I can't resist making many of the great changes I have seen suggested on C5.

Intro Thread:
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5995084


Picking up car:


Confusion:



Decided first thing to do was pull the NPP fuse pull, followed the directions here:
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=268970

Straightforward and pretty easy. Just had one plastic fastener in the trunk on top passenger side that wouldn't let go, kind of got mangled but now it comes out and back in reasonably.

Exhaust note definitely sounds better, now the car sounds like a v8 even when you aren't on it. Doesn't seem too loud, just right, least for me.


2nd on the list, blacken out the rear tail light bezels:

I found these threads very helpful:
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...ight=diy+bezel
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...ight=diy+bezel
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...ight=diy+bezel

I ended up breaking off one tab, I swear I didn't push down very hard must have been a weak one. Fortunately the bezel still holds down good and no others were broken. So be careful and gentle.

My order of operations:
  1. Wet sanded with 400 grit emery cloth to give the paint some bite.
  2. Then taped off all the tabs with blue painters tape.
  3. Rust-oleam universal primer, put down 2 light coats all over
  4. Medium Final Primer coat just on the visible areas. 10minutes between coats
  5. Was going to wet sand again but so far result were very smooth so skipped sanding, let dry for an hour
  6. Applied 2 light coats of Rust-oleam universal Flat black, 1 hour between coats, coverage was very good didn't need a 3rd. Again paint laid down very nice didn't need sanding, let dry for an hour
  7. Applied 2 lights coats (30 minutes between coats) Rust-oleam Painters Touch matte clear. Let dry for an hour.
  8. Threw in the oven at 190* for 20 minutes then turned off oven and let come down to room temp over an hour.
  9. Let dry overnight.
  10. Installed.
Paint I used:


Since it was specifically for plastic didn't use an adhesion promoter just primer.

Results:





It has a bit of texture (hard to tell in the pics) not too much but just right imho.

On the car (excuse the rain):


I like it much better, be so nice once my emblem blackouts arrive this week.

So much for detailing the exterior this weekend (weather isn't cooperating plus neighbor cutting trees spewing stuff all over), but least I got the bezels done and the exhaust is much better.

Last edited by BigBlock69RS; 05-11-2013 at 10:52 PM. Reason: fix grammars
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Old 01-06-2013, 11:29 AM   #2
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Next up blackened out emblems and lug nuts along with AACs ghosted side markers and interior footwell lighting. Just waiting for delivery. Window Tinting as well.

Researching replacing the factory BA sub with a JL Audio XD700/5 amp and adding a JL Audio 12W3v3-4 sub, with ********s

Amp mount:
http://********.com/Chevrolet-GMC-Su...t-clone-1.html

Fark Harness:
http://********.com/Chevrolet-GMC-Su...ement-Kit.html

And large Driver's stealth enclosure:
http://********.com/Chevrolet-GMC-Su...Enclosure.html

Seems like everything should fit and be nice, tried PM'ing Steve, he is a hard guy to get a-hold of.

Last edited by BigBlock69RS; 01-06-2013 at 11:56 AM. Reason: fix grammers
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Old 01-06-2013, 11:46 AM   #3
BrainleSS
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Looks great!
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Old 01-06-2013, 01:43 PM   #4
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We're on the same page. We did the bezels first then pulled every emblem off the car next. I pulled the NPP fuse today. We really wanted a gray car but this one chose us and I still walk out in the garage and pinch myself when I look at it.
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Old 01-06-2013, 04:58 PM   #5
BigBlock69RS
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Firerader View Post
We're on the same page. We did the bezels first then pulled every emblem off the car next. I pulled the NPP fuse today. We really wanted a gray car but this one chose us and I still walk out in the garage and pinch myself when I look at it.
I almost ended up with your color. The ashen grey were almost impossible to find least in SoCal with the NPP exhaust.

Definately the red is beautiful, hard to appreciate fully until you are standing in front of it.
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Old 01-15-2013, 12:05 PM   #6
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Great build ideas. Anxiously waiting my black 1LE, NPP at the end of Feb. Nice car- really nice. Funny, when I showed my wife my car idea, she said the same thing - oh, it's the batmobile.
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Old 01-16-2013, 09:35 AM   #7
BigBlock69RS
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jmwerdoc View Post
Great build ideas. Anxiously waiting my black 1LE, NPP at the end of Feb. Nice car- really nice. Funny, when I showed my wife my car idea, she said the same thing - oh, it's the batmobile.
Yeah it really is funny how many people have mentioned that.
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Old 01-16-2013, 10:02 AM   #8
RED DEMON SS
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Great start and welcome to Camaro5 & the Permagrin Club!!
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Old 01-16-2013, 10:48 AM   #9
Behic2320
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Great start and a badass ride you have there man. Welcome to the most addicting part of these cars the build thread haha
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Old 01-20-2013, 07:36 PM   #10
BigBlock69RS
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Big update, lots done in the last two weekends:

Bought a bunch of blackout vinyl kits. Side Camaro blackouts , Grill and Trunk SS blackouts all in matte black. And gunmetal bowties for the wheel centers This is all from GrafxWerks. Also got front and rear Bowtie blackouts, gill blackouts, mail-slot black out all in matte black from BigWorm.

Okay blackened out the front gill bowtie and SS emblems (excuse the dirt, I washed the car yesterday but the damn oak trees are spewing all over):



I gotta give a shout-out to Bigworm the first mailslot vinyl sticker ended up getting some dirt or something under it because as it dried it bubbled up. Worked with Bigworm to try to see if there was a fix and nothing seemed to fix it. I ended up getting another at 1/2 price which Bigworm sent out right away. Top notch service, especially since it was my fault probably for not cleaning enough. Well second one went in without a hitch after I cleaned like a mad man. Plus I think I got a bit better at laying down the vinyl.

Rear blackened out as well:




The best part I think are the gills:


Its really hard to get a good picture of this effect. But with the matte black vinyl in there against the AGM it creates a very subtle but significant 3d effect making the gills appear much deeper. It really looks impressive in person, doesn't really come across in pictures.

I'm wondering if their lower-body accent stripe might have a similar effect on AGM with matte black:


I am going to wait until I get my ZL1 rockers installed then consider if it would be too much.

Bought some Gorilla black locking lug nuts from Apex, great customer service from Paul, had a few questions which he replied very promptly to checked stock and they shipped the next day. They really are a must with the black ZL1 wheels imho. Now I see the fricken chrome valve stems thou, gotta do something about those, lol.

Also ordered a set of AAC ghosted side markers as well along with their footwell and interior light set in aqua blue from Southwest speed. Took advantage of their sale for the free interior footwell kit with purchase of the side markers.
www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=265387

Again prompt shipment.

The side markers really make the car much cleaner:
Side Shot:


Front:


Rear:


The combo of blackened lugs and the gunmetal bowties is a nice touch I think, looked a bit too plain w/o the bowties.

I found these threads invaluable for the install on the sidemarkers:
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98343
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128324

Also installed along with the side-markers Lite-Right's All-In-One Harness that give you front side-marker turn signals along with DRL LED (5000k). I like being able to control when the Halos and DRL are on or off during daytime and night time. The Ghosted AAC markers are a bit dim for turn signals during the day. But its a big safety pickup in my book to have them at all.

Also another shout out to Lisa and Keith at Light-Right. Some of the best customer service I think I have ever received. Very prompt invoicing and shipment, kept me informed during the entire process and even sent me an email saying that my package should be arriving today. I also had some install questions and they responded so fast (went to lunch and came back to three PMs and offers to call them for help) and were immediately there to answer all my questions. Got to say 5 stars all the way.

Light-Right's All-In-One Harness:
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=259419

Also installed the footwells and found a great DIY for the footwells:
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150945

Need to take a pic at night of the footwells and the side-marker turn signals at night.

Also bought a locking gas cap found this thread useful in finding the right part and coding the lock:
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=251581

Bought a blue tooth OBD2 reader an Torque and been playing with that, very cool and fun especially with a dash mounted Pro-clip and android phone. Might to buy a 7" android tablet just for torque.

Next up:

JL 700/5 and 12W3V3-2 along with ********'s Fark 3.0 harness, amp mount and 12" stealth passenger enclosure. ********'s stuff should arrive Monday so should be fun.

After that, need to order my ZL1 Rockers and Heritage grill, thinking of leaving both of them unpainted should look good on an AGM car, what you guys think?

Probably done with the appearance mods then, wish list will be CAI with washer relocate and air scoop, probably a catch can, ported throttle body/intake, headers, pedders rear sub-frame bushings and front radius arm bushes, maybe a rear ZL1 sway.

But want to really know the car before I start on any performance enhancement so I can really appreciate them.
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Old 01-20-2013, 07:37 PM   #11
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Thinking of maybe going badgeless, or at least taking off the rear Bowtie and SS, and with the heritage grill only putting a black SS on it. The side Camaro emblems even with the black overlays probably need to go.

Still considering.
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Old 01-20-2013, 07:39 PM   #12
BigBlock69RS
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I also gotta say C5 seems to be very lucky in having so many great vendors. I have had nothing but good experiences so far, which is a bit different than what I have seen on other sites when I was ordering parts for my 69. It was much more mixed some were very good and others so so, not so far here on C5.
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Old 01-20-2013, 08:17 PM   #13
RED DEMON SS
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Yes there are a many great Vendors on this forum, and very little not so good, which is where i keep my mouth shut, lol
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Old 01-20-2013, 08:19 PM   #14
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Foot-wells and interior lighting at night:
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