The Stig's Phantom Black Metallic SS [COTW 1/16/12]

[The Stig]

Attention: All right reserved. Any and all photos/videos found within this thread may not be copied, edited, reproduced, linked, or displayed in any form or by any means; electronic, mechanical, optical, or otherwise, without prior written permission from myself. If you wish to use any of the photos/videos found within this thread please send me a PM

I picked Kaylee up from the dealer October 9, 2010. Great day really, one day after my birthday too. So what kind of present did I get myself? A great one.


How Kaylee got her name


Features/Write Ups

• Camaro of the Week - 1/16/12
• GM Parts House Camaro of the Month - March 2012
• CNN iReport
• Allegheny College's The Campus
• Feature on Bold Ride
• GM High Tech Performance - August 2012 Issue #2307

Dyno Charts/Videos

• 9/6/2011: Power House Automotive
• 1/17/2012: Back Street Performance

Time Slips

• RDP Reliable Runners Day at Thompson Raceway
• Nov. 5th at Thompson Raceway

Photos/Photo shoots

• Kaylee's First Photoshoot
• Kaylee in the Snow
• HDR Photos
• May 18th Photo Shoot
• Interior Shots
• Kaylee and Her Black Chrome
• Thanksgiving, Grabiak, & Adam's Polishes
• December 2011
• A Fine 50 degree January Day
• Oshawa Build Team Signatures
• Shots of my carbon fiber interior - courtesy of Mindz
• Kaylee's Repaint
• Driving to CF3 #2411 , #2413

Exterior Mods

• Phantom Black Metallic paint (paint code: LZ9Y/LZ9Y)

  #2141 , #2142 , #2183 , #2200 , #2261 , #2273 , #2306 - #2309 , #2401 , #2431 , #2477 , #2478 , #2487 , #2504

• Satin black pace car stripes
• Matte black pace car stripes removed
• "IM NSFW" personalized license plate
• 35% ceramic tint all around
• 35% ceramic tint on the windshield brow removed
• 50% ceramic tint on the whole windshield #218,#223
• Street Scene 3 piece spoiler #71 removed
• Headlight Armor 20% taillight tint removed
• Headlight Armor 30% taillight tint #1795
• BLACK fender badging removed
• RPI stealth mud flaps
• Gloss black 20" OEM wheels - winter set #71
• Plasti Dipped 20" OEM wheels - summer set #85
• Gorilla black locking lug nuts
• Cobalt blue painted calipers #71
• XM antenna (shark fin) relocation #92
• Flush mount plug for XM antenna hole #474
• Sparks Restorations SS emblem #535
• Black T-Rex half billet grille removed
• Black T-Rex bumper grille removed
• Heritage grille #98 #436 #496
• Transformers 3 Lower Grille #2411
• Sparks Restorations SS emblem #530
• GM GFX - rear diffuser #519 #591
• GM GFX side skirts #1293 #1294
• Gloss black GFX exhaust bezels
• Flat black tail light bezels removed
• Defenderworx Locking black fuel door removed
• NAPA locking gas cap
• Carbon fiber

  - RPI side vent inserts #45 removed
  -OEM fuel door removed
  - Tail light bezels
  - DRL bezels #2605
  - Trunk lid drain covers
  - Showstoppers front splitter #45,#46,#50 removed
  - APR Racing front splitter #2487 #2504
  - Anvil Auto's carbon fiber notched spoiler #887 #988 #1045 #1261
  - Carbon fiber rear bowtie #2579

• Black Chrome

  - Front bowtie removed
  - Rear bowtie
  - Front SS emblem removed
  - Rear SS emblem

Interior Mods

• Blue Dyed Stitching #15 DIY
• Sticker free sunvisors #1403 DIY removed
• ACE Customs leather visors removed
• Two-tone leather visors from DSV Customs #298 #311
• Leather E-brake boot from DSV Customs DIY
• ACE Customs leather E-Brake #128
• Lloyd's floor mats
• Sullivan Racing black pedal set
• Gloss black A/C vent trim #23
• FatMat trunk kit #87
• White overlays for the speedo/tach gauges #2435 #2443
• "Black Edition" text on speedo gauge overlay
• White overlays for the Auxiliary gauges #475 #602 #636
• Cup holder delete bezel by Phantom.5SS #641
• Hardwired Valentine One DIY - 25 saves
• CD26: Vehicle Security Driving Recorder Camera removed
• SMARTY BX1500 PLUS 170 HD removed
• Carbon fiber

  - Door kick panels
  - Door panels, with ABL, and Dash Trim #846 #1500 #1506 #1521 #1995
  - Door Pulls #1897 #1916
  - A pillars
  - CarID real carbon fiber overhead console kit

• Black Chrome

  - Steering wheel bezel
  - Speedo/tach bezel
  - Four gauge pack
  - Cup holder bezel removed
  - Door panels removed
  - Gas cap cover STOLEN

Engine Bay Dress-Up

• Underhood bowtie #230,#250
• 2012 heater hose relocation #846
• Polished Water Vapor Line #1342 removed
• Gloss black strut covers by CFD #497 #516 removed
• Black anodized fuel rails from Wegner Automotive #2620 #2628
• Custom made fuel lines, by Nathan #2620 #2628
• Custom made water vapor line, by Nathan #2620 #2628
• Carbon fiber

  - Carbon fiber engine cover removed
  - Fuse box cover removed
  - Radiator shroud
  - Radiator cover removed
  - Showstoppers Premium Underhood Package #712

• Black Chrome

  - Radiator cap STOLEN
  - Oil cap removed
  - Power steering fluid cap STOLEN
  - Engine cover #1773 #1892 removed

Lighting Mods

• Fieldgoal00's wireless DRL harness
• Glove box light DIY
• Rear dome light
• SJMAutoProd cup holder lighting #1479
• Underhood LED lighting #1943
  
  
• Advanced Automotive Customs

  - White/blue dual halos #32,#43 DIY WIRING removed
  - White/blue dual fog halos removed
  - P13W LED bulbs removed
  - P13W Plasma bulbs removed
  - 22" RGB scanner light
  - ABL interior LED conversion kit
  - ABL front & rear footwell lighting DIY
  - (5) chip license plate LEDs
  - CCFL afterburners #15 #43 removed
  - LED concept side markers removed
  - Ghosted LED concept side markers #881 #892
  - High power LED reverse lights #356 #360
  - Chromed turn signal bulbs #894
  - Concept side mirrors #2186 #2376 #2424 #2432

• Gen5 DIY (2SSRS)

  - Dash ABL DIY #220 #343
  - Concept afterburner tail lights #619 #621 #661
  - RGB halos; using OEM halo ring #652
  - Rearview mirror backup camera #1905
  - 60 watt P13W bulbs #2633
  

Performance Mods

• Bassani 1 7/8" LT Headers#325 #386 #391 #428 DIY
• Bassani 2.5" off-road pipes removed
• Bassani 2.5" high flow cats
• Bassani Power-X Crossover
• Bassani 2.5" catback exhaust
• JBA 2.5" high flow cats removed
• JBA 3" catback exhaust removed
• Polished Injen CAI removed
• Black CAI intake #781
• ADM race scoop
• Apex W/W relocation
• Billet Prototypes oil catch can removed
• RX oil catch can #82 #528
• RX oil breather #1088
• Hurst short throw shifter (OEM)
• Separate clutch fluid reservoir DIY
• JRE custom tune
• VMax ported throttle body #598
• "Strong" GM MAF sensor Info
• Vararam Super Wedge #2545

Suspension/Braking Mods

• Pedders replacement rear cradle bushings #1350
• Pedders radius rod bushings #1348
• BMR rear cradle bushing inserts #91 #463 removed
• BMR rear differential bushings #91 #463
• BMR steering rack mount bushing #91 #463
• Pedders XA Coilovers #1197
• BMR 1.4" lowering springs - front #463 #472 removed
• BMR 1" lowering springs - rear #463 #472 removed
• Racing Brake 2-piece slotted rotors #2664
• Goodridge stainless steel brake lines #2664
• Hawk HPS brake pads #2664

Need to Install

• "BLACK EDITION" door projectors
• Pedders 27mm adjustable front sway bar
• Pedders 27mm adjustable rear sway bar
• Pedders end-links
• Hurst short throw shifter (aftermarket version)
• QTP oval cut outs
• Transformers 3 upper grille
• Spohn chrome moly trailing arms
• Spohn chrome moly rear toe rods

Coming Soon

• Carbon fiber wrapped AAC concept side mirrors
• Carbon fiber armrest #2558

Wish List

• 5-point harness #630
• Torq tow hook
• Pedders Dual Bearing Camber Plates
• Seibon carbon fiber BBII hood

[The Stig]

A lot has gone into making Kaylee who she is today. Yes, she is a she - she will not be referred to as an "it" or a "what". This is a list of vendors that have gone above and beyond in helping her become who she is today.


Adam's Polishes

- Dylan@Adams

Advanced Automotive Concepts

- AACStyle
- Jonathan@AACstyle.com

Apex Motorsports

- Apex Chase
- Apex Paul

Back Street Performance

- RichJ.
- Rich@BSP

DSV Customs

- Indpowr

D&V Autobody


Emblem Pros

- dragonZ28

G3-Composites

- Big Top Gt

Gen 5 DIY

- 2SSRS

Grabiak Performance Center

- GPC1

Jannetty Racing Enterprises

- JannettyRacing
- NickJRE

Pedders Suspension

- JusticePete
- Info@PeddersUSA.com
- Pedders_Jacie
- Kim@PeddersUSA
- JusticeDeb

RevXtreme

- SC2150

Rodgers Chevrolet

- BeckyD@RodgersChevrolet
- MaureenM@RodgersChevrolet

Southwest Speed

- Ivan@SouthwestSpeed

T and T Performance

- TandTPerformance

Technical Painting of Jacksonville

- 6liter

[The Stig]

Kaylee is the second of my two girls, but we're not their yet. In order to tell you about her I have to tell you how I met Eleanor. Let's jump back to August 8th 2009. I had just finished up my first well paying summer job and at 20 wanted to spend my money on a car (this included my savings account before my job). Aside from Eleanor, I had never really bought anything worth more than a few hundred dollars. I didn't go into the dealership thinking I was getting a new camaro, I actually went in there looking for a used wrangler. Big difference, I know. There was Eleanor a 2SS A6 IOM just sitting in the lot. I was in love, and wasn't leaving the lot without her. Sat down with the salesrep and we got the financing and made it work. I took her home that day.

Before I go on and on about Eleanor, I need to recognize someone who's been with me since day one (literally). My dad. He's the one that got me into cars when I was younger and he's the one I can thank for being who I am today. Not only that, he cosigned for me without even hesitating (19 years old and no line of credit, hence the need for a cosigner). Basically what I'm getting at is this: my dad is awesome and I love him. I'd say that the end of the story but it's not. My dad is basically the only person in my family who actually gets the whole "modding" thing. Everybody else just thinks it's a big waste of money (don't get me wrong here though, modding is an endless money pit). So dad if you ever do read this (or learn how to use the internet in general): thank you, thank you for everything and for always being there.

Eleanor - 8/8/2009



I modded Eleanor a bit (no where near to the extent of Kaylee), but unfortunately I didn't really think to do a Journal when I was doing them. So here is her mod list after the fact

- Rotofab CAI LINK
- IOM engine cover LINK
- IOM fuse box cover LINK
- CarID carbon fiber interior trim kit
- satin black 4 gauge pack removed
- carbon fiber 4 gauge pack (FREE from the Carbon Fiber Specialists)
- blue SS emblems (vinyl)
- blue bowties (vinyl)
- IOM radiator cap
- IOM oil dipstick handle
- IOM radiator cap
- IOM gas cap
- IOM power steering fluid cap
- IOM oil cap
- IOM lock pins
- IOM lock bezels
- IOM cup holder bezel
- black tail light bezels
- black Billet pistol grip shifter
- black Billet racing pedals
- hardwired Valentine 1
- blue AAC footwell lighting
- blue AAC interior LEDs
- DSV Customs leather E-brake boot (won in a giveaway)

That's it. Kind of sad/depressing when you compare her's to Kaylee's. In no way does Eleanor's or Kaylee's mod list depict how much I love(d) them. I did kind of cheat though. All of Eleanor's IOM underhood cap set I had painted black chrome so I could use them on Kaylee.

She ran like a charm up until January, and then the brakes just started to not work as well, squeak, pedal would have no pressure on it, etc. I started calling dealers, mechanics, Chevrolet; everybody trying to figure out what is going on with her. Eventually, some 7 months later, Chevrolet calls me and tells me that for everything I've been through and my brakes not being up to warranty they want to replace my camaro. Left work early and drove to the dealership that afternoon.

That being said; what I went through wasn't a walk in the park, nor was it enjoyable. At the 5 month point I contacted the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and filed an official complaint. Man did that get the wheels turning. I should have done that from the start. The BBB asked me to fax over everything (*chuckle*) I had regarding my complaint, etc, etc. I kid you not here; I faxed them a total of 47 pages. Most of which was print outs of my email exchanges between Chevrolet and myself. Some of it was work orders and other stuff like that. All I can say is DOCUMENT & KEEP EVERYTHING! That's the only reason I won my case.

Case and Point, Eleanor's work log





At the beginning of July the BBB contacted me saying that they had scheduled an arbitration (mediation for grown-ups basically) for later that month. I was told to prepare a presentation. These are the power point slides I made up. I realize that these slides probably aren't important to you, but they are the end result of a lot of research and effort.








Squealing Brakes Poll - I need at least 100 votes This is the thread I created to get other people's take on the brakes issue. The poll results:


Other miscellaneous threads related to the squealing brake issue:
Do Your Brakes Squeal?
Warranty Dispute......advice?


Adrenaline just pumped through me, and the reality that I had to let Eleanor go sunk in. But, every cloud has a silver lining so I stayed on the positive and started getting things ready for Kaylee. I had always wished Eleanor was a manual, not that I didn't like her being faster, I just feel more one with Kaylee when I'm the one changing her gears. Turn that into an innuendo if you want to, because driving Kaylee is a pretty dirty activity.

Kaylee
7/20/10 (1100) Order placed at Pohanka Chevrolet
7/20/10 (1102)
8/02/10 (2000)
8/03/10 (2500)
8/04/10 (3000)
8/12/10 (3100)
8/12/10 (3300)
8/19/10 (3400)
8/23/10 TPW
8/30/10 (3800)
8/30/10 (4000)
8/30/10 (4150)
8/30/10 (4B00)
8/31/10 (4200)
9/06/10 (4B00)
9/06/10 (4800)
9/20/10 (4200)
9/20/10 (5000) Delivered to dealership
10/9/10 (6000) Drove her home

[AMPM1678]

so when do u get kaylee?

[CaniacFan]

Holy cow, you don't hear that everyday. At least someone owned up to the car having issues and is replacing it. Sorry about your Eleanor though.

Tell us more about Kaylee.. Is she also IOM, is it a special order. please we need more details...

Sorry and Congratulations.. That's kinda weird. Lori

[The Stig]

I ordered Kaylee on July 20th, and with a TPW of 8/23 it's a pretty nice turn around time, she's a 2SS RS (go big or go home right) black on black and she is sexy. Unfortunatly not all dealer's are like Becky or Scotty, and mine definetly falls into the "not" category. Completely useless when it came to updating me with information. So I went to Becky, and I harrassed her at least every other day about my order status. In the end it all payed off. I hit 3000 and got my TPW.

And so the waiting game begins.

Eleanor didn't have a single mod on, well aside from some vinyl bow ties. I'm still a student and can only work part time during the year so money is a tiny bit tight and mods aren't the number one priority. So now that I've paid my 50 hour a week dues and side jobs on the weekend I finally get to have some fun. The mod buying begins.

I started out small with the SLP skip shift eliminator. I've read enough here on C5 to know that the skip shift will annoy the hell out of me pretty quickly. That was taken care of and the pile of soon-to-be-installed car parts started. The skip shift eliminator was quickly followed by some Lloyd matts. I mean come on, after CAI I think lloyd matts are the first mod that everyone does. I can see why, when I opened them out of the box I could easily see the difference in quality between them and OEM. The girlfriend thinks I'm crazy for buying all these things before I even have the keys to Kaylee, but I like to prep for stuff.

Specifically I'm prepping for an entire weekend where Kaylee is up on jacks and I don't leave the garage except to eat, or sleep. Ever so slowly the pile of mods is growing.

- GM installed Hurst short throw shifter
- Lloyd's mats
- black chrome bowties, speedo/tach bezel, steering wheel bezel courtesy of 6liter
- Injen cold air intake from ECSMotorsports
- Billet prototypes oil catch can
- cables to do a hard install of my V1
- blue footwell lighting from AAC


It's just a waiting game at this point. I'm a little kid at Christmas and I don't care who knows it.

[The Stig]

According to my "not-that-much-like-Becky" dealer her build week is 8/23 which translates into me getting her VIN sometime around September 3rd and then the delivery process takes 4 -6 weeks. Honestly.... I call BS on my dealer and that he is just over shooting the times to play it safe. Well I hope so anyway. It gets harder and harder to look at all the shiny mods that don't have a car to go in.

Yea it is kind of a crazy story that doesn't happen everyday, but it's my story. As corny as it sounds I'm the tiniest bit proud that I stuck with it and didn't give in to my dealer that "nothing was wrong" with her. That said I hate that something was wrong with Eleanor, but if your kid is sick you take them to the doctor right? You don't just let them suffer. In the end I think I've had quite an adventure in my first new car purchase. Definetly will be something that I tell to the kids down the road when teaching them about why working and paying for something yourself feels so much better than mommy and daddy buying it for you.

[ViperTomcat]

So..can we maybe get to see a full pic of your signature?

[The Stig]

Ha no unfortunatly not sorry. But I can post pics of Kaylee, well I intend to post pics of Kaylee the second I can. Then I'll be doing a massive photo DIY for all of her mods.

[The Stig]

3300

I know the move from 3000 to 3300 isn't that big in the whole scheme of things, but it made me happy. These next few weeks are going to take forever to get by, and no matter how impatient I get or bitch and moan she won't get here any sooner. Definitely a lesson to be learned somewhere in there right? Found out from the dealer when I got the 3300 update that if I hadn't had the KAE shifter on my order list then she would have been in the 8/9 TPW week instead of 8/23. That hurt quite a bit, but just kept telling myself it's only an extra two weeks you'll make it. Needless to say I'll be picking Kaylee up Friday night after work on whatever week she gets here. Then spend the next 60 ish hours (yes I'll be working on her Friday night) until I have to go back to work Monday at 8.

The goal for that whole weekend is to accomplish my entire list of planned mods. I know it's a lot and probably won't get there but that's the goal. Saying I learned a long while ago "You've got to risk it to get the biscuit," and that's exactly what I'm going to do.

[The Stig]

So I requested to have my build thread combined with Kaylee's journal from this past summer. Thank you to Milk for helping me with that This doesn't really add anything new to my build thread, but it gives you the back story to Kaylee and my time with Eleanor. Hope you enjoy

[The Stig]

With the telling of any good story come pictures: So here we go.

[The Stig]

Now that I've at least started her build thread, it's going to be one hell of a fun ride the rest of the way. I'll most likely be updating and playing catch up with her build over the next few days. So if I'm lucky enough to have any readers, just bear with me for a little bit.

[cyberLS]

Looking great like all the black chrome and hydro carbon together on the car.

[The Stig]

Yesterday and today I have been on the phone quite a bit with GM customer service in regards to the paint chip spoiler problem. Kaylee has quite a few nasty chips all around the edges of the spoiler and around the screw holes the paint is almost completely gone. These chips occurred while I had the OEM spoiler on (just to clarify). Well I currently have (or rather had now) the street scene spoiler on. I just spent the past hour taking it off and putting the OEM spoiler back on. My dealer would not repair the trunk lid because they are saying that the damage was done by the aftermarket spoiler. Which isn't possible as the street scene spoiler is installed via 3M tape.

So, the plan now is that I am taking her into the dealer tomorrow at 1 o'clock. They are going to look at the damage and inform me of what the game plan is going to be. Hopefully they will admit that the damage is from the OEM spoiler and repaint the trunk lid. I will be updating tomorrow once I hear from them, on the upside they do have a pretty nice waiting room.

[guiLT]

This is one nice Black Camaro.

[The Stig]

*Merged this post from another thread so I would pictures and documents, blah blah I'm really sentimental about Kaylee don't judge. Original post is HERE*

I did this yesterday afternoon. I'm pretty meticulous so took about 2 hours and change.

[The Stig]

I've been getting parts from AAC for some time now and have always been amazed by the quality of their work and the great customer service. I recently purchased a set used, and remember that for later, of CCFL afterburners from member x7productions. Who by the way was great to work with, I bought my spoiler from too.

These are some un-photo-shopped iPhone pictures. I want to also mention that x7 got these tail lights through AACs new core swap program and they still look this good.

[Americanmadecargirl]

Very nice!!! I love the carbon fiber under the hood

[The Stig]

So the dealer was helpful but at the same time really. They were nice enough to realign my exhaust tips, but the body shop was too backed up to look at my spoiler. :( what are you going to do right?

On the upside I have planned out my week off. From the 19-26 I have ZERO responsibilities. The girlfriend will be gone and no classes nor work. During this week I will be installing one of fieldgoal00's wireless DRL harnesses, adding a diffuser to my halos to get rid of the LED look, painting my wheels gloss black, and my calipers cobalt blue. It'll be a busy week but I am so excited, and don't worry I'll be taking pictures.

[The Stig]

Picked up a couple packages today. One was my replacement tail light from AAC. My far right tail light has water inside of it. So Jonathan thinks that most likely it was not sealed correctly. He was really helpful in the situation, as AAC does not normally send you a part under warranty until after you have sent it in first. But it being a tail light I couldn't really do that.

Pic of my tail light



My other package was fieldgoal's wireless DRL harness. I have been using AAC's harness but wanted to be able to switch between only DRLs, halos as DRLs, both on, etc. Instructions are really easy as well so shouldn't take more than a half hour.

Only 2 more days until mod weekend. I honestly can't decide what I'm going to do first. I have some commitments Saturday morning, so starting late morning. I'm really leaning towards painting my door panels and dash trim first. Going for a nice gloss black. I wanted to do carbon fiber but I'd lose the ABL and not ready to give that up just yet.

[2010 SSRS]

looks really good

[Reaper1a]

2 questions:
1-are you painting your wheels yourself? If so, how? I've been looking for a DIY on here and can't seem to find it. If not, how much does it cost?
2-Did you install the CCFL afterburners or did AAC do it for you? If you did, what's the install like?
Thanks

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by Reaper1a

2 questions:
1-are you painting your wheels yourself? If so, how? I've been looking for a DIY on here and can't seem to find it. If not, how much does it cost?
2-Did you install the CCFL afterburners or did AAC do it for you? If you did, what's the install like?
Thanks

1) yes I plan on doing them myself. There are a few threads that are DIY/instructions on how to go about painting your wheels. Its not too hard of a process, just time consuming putting the car up on jack stands.

2) no I did not install the afterburners. AAC has an exchange program where you buy a set of afterburners (CCFL or SMD) and put a deposit down. Then once you send them back your tail lights they refund your deposit. You can shoot Jonathan an email/PM at Jonathan@aacstyle.com

[Reaper1a]

Originally Posted by stieger

1) yes I plan on doing them myself. There are a few threads that are DIY/instructions on how to go about painting your wheels. Its not too hard of a process, just time consuming putting the car up on jack stands.

2) no I did not install the afterburners. AAC has an exchange program where you buy a set of afterburners (CCFL or SMD) and put a deposit down. Then once you send them back your tail lights they refund your deposit. You can shoot Jonathan an email/PM at Jonathan@aacstyle.com

Sweet...thanks
Any chance you have a link to the DIY? I must not be labeling my search correctly b/c I just keep getting results showing how guys wheels turned out. Not the actual process.

Edit: disregard. I stumbled across a couple of DIY's. Thanks for the info!