Alaskan SS's Build
 

A year ago today, I brought my car home from the docks, as I had it shipped to AK from Seattle. I was the first owner, but the dealership had put 536 miles on her prior to me buying her. This lowered the price quite a bit for me.

Here are a few pics I took a couple of weeks after I brought her home...

Alaskan SS's Build
 

Over the last 4-6 weeks, I was finally ready to start modding. I ordered a Kooks cat-back from Jason at Phastek. It showed up on 15 April. Install went pretty good. I am having a vibration or rattling issue when taking off. It's mainly at low RPMs in first and second gear. I think it's the right rear pipe (the one between the X-Pipe section and the muffler section). There's no clearance between it and the rear differential. There's at least an inch and a half on the left side. I asked Jason about it. He's looking into it for me. But any ideas are welcome. I'm wondering if I installed the X-Pipe upside down, but I'm not sure if it matters. Maybe I just need to tweak it a bit more. I'll post pics at a later date.

Looking like its gonna be a fun summer!

Sent from my EVO shift using Tapatalk pro

Alaskan SS's Build
 

My last mods as of yet, are some lighting and cosmetic mods. I had my tail lights and side markers smoked. I also had my tail light and DRL bezels painted IBM to match. Sorry the pics aren't great. Also, sorry the car is dirty. Been really dusty up here...

You get snow up there too?:sm0:

On the pipe rattle, are you sure it is comin from the back side of teh car? If these pipes are larger than the stock you may find they are not clearing the tunnel brace as well unless you spaced it out.

I ordered CCFL Afterburners from Jonathan at AAC, but when I got them, I realized the install was a bit more involved than I anticipated, so I sent them back and ordered the Chevy lighted dual phase bow tie. I'm going to paint them IBM and install them hopefully in the next few weeks. (BTW - I've seen a little bashing on AAC these last few days. I can't speak to those situations, but Jonathan has been VERY helpful with me). I also ordered the plasma DRLs. And finally, I ordered the Heritage Grill today from GM Parts House. These items should be here in the next few weeks, hopefully.

Yeah, we get our share, I'm sure. Car was stored ALL winter. It was horrible... :cry:

I'm not 100% sure it's coming from the back. I need to lift it up on stands and engage 1st gear. I'll need help for that. But I do know when it happens (taking off and 2nd gear, low RPMs), and I do know that right side is touching the rear diff. So that's the conclusion I've come to so far. I do need to do more investigating. When you say tunnel brace, do you mean the flat bar that bolts across the bottom of the car and supports the X-Pipe? I believe the diameter is larger than stock. It's a 3" set up...

3" will most likely have the pipes rubbing on the tunnal brace. Yes - it is the item you are describing. You might find this post interesting when it comes to this subject.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105015

I have JBA 3" and am using the stock tunnel brace. No rubbing.

Thank you, Steve!!! That's VERY interesting reading. I'm going to have to look into this. Much Appreciated!!!

:thumbsup:

I was in Alaska a few years ago, my son was playing summer league baseball with the Bucs... I love that area. We stayed in Wasilla, but toured all over, up into some high mountain pass to the north of Wasilla, and out to Kenai, and so many places in between...

Great people, amazing scenery, and I want to go back so bad...

I'll be following the mods as you progress...

I love my home. I've been around the US. I used to live in a small town in Louisiana called Greensburg. Your part of the country isn't bad at all, but I always end up back here. My folks live in Wasilla. Nice quiet place.

LOL!!! I appreciate you following my mods. :bow: I'll be nowhere near your numbers when I'm done (Very Impressive, BTW :thumbsup:). I'm going to do a CAI this summer (either Roto-Fab or Vararam) and possibly a Razzi Body Kit. That'll probably be all this year. My budget isn't very big, and I don't want to spoil my warranty. Once the warranty is up, I think I'm going to do the E-Force and Long Tubes.

If you ever get back up this way, look me up.

:thumbup:

The numbers are only that, the care that goes into the car is more important, and whether it's an LT, LS, SS or the upcoming Z, doesn't matter. The fest showed me that in spades...

If I do make it up that way I sure will...

Alaskan SS's Build
 

So I got my lighted bowtie from AAC. I figured I'd save some bucks and paint it myself. It didn't go too great, but I think I can fix the problem, or at least cover it up with some vinyl. First, I scuffed off the whole bowtie with some 200 grit, then I taped off the chrome. Then I sprayed on the adhesive promoter. and I tried painting the gold bowtie part a gloss black. The paint went on ok, but not great. I figured it would be ok. I added 2 or 3 coats, then the clear coat. After letting it dry over night, I removed the tape and taped off the bowtie part. Then I repeated the steps on the chrome outline, painting it IBM. After letting it dry, I removed the tape, and applied one last clearcoat to cover the whole unit. The lighting isn't the best in the pic, but I think the IBM went on great. But the last pic shows that the black bowtie part isn't smooth, almost like it's textured, and it puddled in a few spots. I think I used too much paint, or I was too close. Oh well, like I said, this is nothing some vinyl won't cover up...

Next up is to actually install it on the car. That'll be a couple weeks, though, as I am back at work (I work remote, 2 weeks on/ 2 weks off).