The Red Dragon

[battlekat]

I've been a member for a while now but haven't gotten around to starting a build thread until now so heeeeere we go...
I was bored and randomly decided to go on autotrader and look at cars. I came across this listing and had the window open on my computer for literally two weeks before i finally drove an hour away to go check it out. The best part about everything was that on top of it having low miles it looked exactly as I wanted (vr with black stripes) and even had some mods done that I would've done to it myself (powder coated black wheels and lowering springs). So not only did the previous owner take the hit on the initial depreciation but he also took care of some mods for me



I let them know i was stopping by to check it out and they happened to be taking it into the garage to wash it down before I took it off for a test drive.
When I first saw it I just...



I was real happy with the test drive and we started talking about the price and getting me approved for a loan so i sat around for a while and just admired the car from inside the offices.



After a while the sales guy came up to me and shook my hand and said "congratulations, you own a camaro." and I had to stop for a second just to make sure I heard that correctly before doing one of these in my mind. After signing all the paper work he asked me to move MY camaro and after parking it I took a picture of MY camaro.



So as of St. Patrick's Day, 2011 I became the proud owner of a VR 2SS/RS

[SUX2BU]

Feels great don't it?

[battlekat]

Originally Posted by SUX2BU

Feels great don't it?

yessir!

i'm trying to find the picture my friend took of me when she first saw it.

[RED DEMON SS]

Welcome to team Victory Red FTW!

[battlekat]

Originally Posted by farthestnorth

Welcome to team Victory Red FTW!

thanks!

[battlekat]

i had my girlfriend install it for me (under my very close supervision) so she could not be as jealous of the red dragon getting all my attention.

[battlekat]

i'm not a fan of the factory grill because i don't like the license plate sized bowtie in it pluss the grill itself reminds me of an ice cube tray so i got the heritage grill and first decided to throw it on unpainted but then decided to have it painted flat black to match the stripes and my wheels.

[battlekat]

after actually doing a search in the forum for the hurst short throw shifter i came across a comparison of the hurst as well as the mgw short throw shifter and i wound up getting the mgw. i planned on taking it with me to a meet that some of us were having in the south bay but the shifter didn't arrive until the middle of the day and i didn't feel like waiting for it to show up in the afternoon and missing out on everything going on throughout the day.



i got home late and just fell asleep and the next day i was busy with 2 different parties for my friends' kids so after i got home i decided to do the install, at midnight...















i chose the 8-ball because i actually like to shoot pool and being that my birthday is 8/8 it's a no brainer. plus the size feels perfect although i might order the adapter to put the factory knob onto the mgw assembly.

[battlekat]

i got bored and continued my quest to rid the car of chrome by painting the tail light bezels black







the hardest part was waiting for them to dry before putting them back on the car.

[battlekat]

i had gotten some ceramic coated bbk shorties from a fellow c5 member but decided that i wanted to put LTs so i made them my birthday present to myself



comparison shot of the shorties w/ oem cats and the LTs



and a comparison shot of all three manifolds



here's a couple shots of how clean the ports are, especially compared to the oem manifolds







and of course here are the high flow cats for the LTs

[battlekat]

like with all my other projects i like to go for a factory look so with the camera i mounted it from inside the bumper so it tucks in very nicely and is hardly noticeable but still has excellent visibility.

[AngelSpeedFreak]

looking really good... Nice mods so far..

[Camaro21]

Wow !! Very nice Car Bro !! Nice upgrades so far..

[battlekat]

Originally Posted by AngelSpeedFreak

looking really good... Nice mods so far..

Originally Posted by Camaro21

Wow !! Very nice Car Bro !! Nice upgrades so far..

thanks. there will be plenty more to come.