BACH's "Mistress"

[BACH]

MBRP Square Exhaust Tips
GFX Exhaust Bezels painted CGM
stock mufflers painted black

These weren't all done at once, but fairly close together. The size and shape of the MBRP tips are perfect for the GFX exhaust openings, but I didn't like the brushed aluminum look on the bezels. I don't mind a little chrome on the car, but this wasn't chrome or paint - it just didn't match. And of course those huge stock mufflers had to be painted so they weren't so visible (albeit with the ground effects and such they can't be seen very easily anyway).

I chose to stay with the stock mufflers for a few reasons:
1. I couldn't decide what aftermarket ones I wanted;
2. they are essentially straight flow-thru, with the pipe wall perforated for sound dampening. Finding an aftermarket like this isn't impossible, but this didn't help with my indecisiveness.

black cans: cheap hi-temp spray paint flat black
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/pictur...ictureid=61104

CGM GFX Exhaust Bezels
I really like how these turned out. I had my dealer paint them since he did the GFX for me (and there were a few of the tabs holding the bezels on that were broken).


MBRP Square Tips to tie it all together
I got the tips from Ivan@Southwest Speed http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118917

pic is during alignment before the welds

[ron10]

you can be proud.very nice car.

[BACH]

V-Max ported throttle body:
no pics since this took all of 5 mins to remove and replace.
I bought the ported TB from Mike Norris, great to deal with.

ADM air intake scoop:
OK so its obvious that the stock air box has a restriction mainly due to the intake opening. Put on an aftermarket CAI and everyone notices a big improvement. The biggest part of installing the ADM scoop is cutting the plastic air dam behind the lower grill - if you do that, you don't really need the scoop. But it looks cool and directs the flow so what the heck. Turns out I need it for a later mod (don't cheat and read ahead). Don't mind the hose across the frame rail, I hadn't routed it yet.

Purchased the ADM scoop from Janetty Racing (JRE).
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/pictur...ictureid=61133

Roto-Fab Intake:
Roto-Fab Windshield Washer Reservoir Relocation Kit:
I installed the Roto-Fab intake at the same time I installed the ADM scoop and the Roto-Fab windshield washer reservoir. Actually the only reason I swapped from the LMR CAI to the Roto-Fab CAI was because the LMR wouldn't fit with the WW reservoir kit (The LMR CAI is too wide, and the original WW reservoir had to go since it interfered with the ADM scoop). This Roto-Fab CAI is a very well designed part. The fit and finish are amazing. no corners cut here. This is the best looking WW reservoir relocation kit on the market, bar none. It appears OEM.
I just wish there was a way to put the pump in the reservoir - or at least near it.

purchased the Roto-Fab CAI and WW kit from Juiced Motorsports http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149119. I think this is a small company just starting out, but they had great customer service and a good price so I was all for giving them a try.
[insert blurry pic disclaimer here]
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/pictur...ictureid=61132



fast forward.........
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Apex Windshield Washer Reservoir Relocation Kit:
I found a great deal on a slightly used Hotchkis strut brace, but I didn't do my homework first and during the test fit I found that the Roto-Fab WW reservoir interfered with the strut brace (see photo).



I haven't installed the Apex WW kit or the Hotchkis brace yet. I'm waiting on the temp to go below 400 degrees outside!!!

[BACH]

Gill Vinyls:
So I had these for about a year before I put them on - got them from Big Worm Graphix the same time I got the blackout tints for the side and tail lights. I couldn't decide if I would like it or not. But after looking at it, they are almost unnoticeable with the CGM and more than anything just accent the gill shapes.



AAC Painted LED Side Markers:
I won these at the 2011 Kemah Camaro show put on by H-town. Actually I won a clear set and paid the difference for the painted ones - easy since AAC had a booth onsite for the show.
I saved a lot (squeeeeeaaak).
The back ones were a bit tricky, carefully popping the bumper off at the seam just barely enough to stick a screwdriver in and suppress the tab to pop the light housing out. But they look amazing, and REALLY BRIGHT.

[BACH]

OK so last night I go the Apex windshield washer kit on. The pump sits perfectly in the slot on the side of the reservoir. It 'clicks' in solidly and gives you confidence that it's held there. That's one of the very minor things I didn't like as much about the Roto-Fab unit, the mounting of the pump - more of a . But that said, it did the job well and worked just fine. And no one can deny the Roto-Fab quality and good looks! It looked like it belonged under the hood from the factory.

Of course I had to take the ADM scoop off to drill the reservoir mounting holes. I put masking tape on the scoop so I could mark it up and keep the pilot bit in one spot (I don't have a center punch). This worked great, and the tape helped keep the hole edges smooth.

I didn't mount the remote filler and hose for the Apex ww reservoir kit. I put the remote fill cap on the reservoir and plugged the tube inlet (5/8" port) with a perfect rubber cap I had left over from something else. I figure I'll get a long skinny funnel to fill the reservoir. I hardly ever use the windshield washer anyway, I don't think I've refilled it but maybe once if at all.

I didn't take any photos since it was late in my garage, but I'll take one from the top looking down and post it up.

[BACH]

can't wait to get home and back to tinkering with the car in the garage. I'm soooo going to enjoy days off.

My wife got me a SLP underdrive pulley for Christmas, so I plan to put that and the strut brace on during March. we'll see how much time I have after all the other honey-do's

[aquablueL99]

I like CGM! It looks mean no matter what is done...nice build. Keep up the stories..

[BACH]

OK so thanks to Nine Ball for posting the great write-up on the DIY for the underdrive pulley.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...erdrive+pulley

Here's a photo of the size difference between the pulleys. This is a great mod to do. I'm not sure why so many people are worried about belt driven accessory performance. Design safety factor people.,



The stinking pulley install kit from the local convenient auto parts store wasnt'e long enough for this job, and it took me 2 days of searching every hardware store and specialty bolt place in northwest Houston before I finally found the threaded rod. But alas, I finally found a place that had the rod and even cut it for me.

Just for anyone doing this, the rod needs to be about 7-8", any longer and you need a LOT of washers to keep the nut where the deep socket would go. I had to do some trig to find the angle and mark it - can't believe I remembered anything from college since it was sooo long ago.

anyway, if anyone needs one, I have a few rods and nuts/washers left. Just PM me and we'll work out a deal. I don't want to make any money, just a few bucks for parts and shipping as long as it helps someone else out of the same jam I found myself in.

one of these days I'll get back to the shop for a dyno run to see if all these little things have helped any...

[BACH]

Finally got around to installing the personalized dash emblem.

Big Thanks to Roger Neace at Emblem Pros for the great customer service.
http://www.emblempros.com/



The weather has been crap the last few days, and more to come.....keeping me from getting that strut brace installed.

[MIT'13]

beast

[pierre777]

Great build bro

[BACH]

Originally Posted by MIT'13

beast

Originally Posted by pierre777

Great build bro

Thanks, guys. It's definitely a labor of love.

[BACH]

Well I finally just put my head down and got 'er done. I was dreading the brace install a little because I was worried about having to get it realigned if I needed to remove the struts completely.

For anyone else attempting this, you don't need to unbolt the struts from the spindle as instructed on the Hotchkis installation procedure. I just took the top nut off, the sway bar link and brake lines, then moved the strut down and to the side while I drilled the back holes. Actually, you could probably leave the brake and ABS lines attached - there is probably enough flex in them.

I also took the CAI off to allow me to drill straight on for the front driver's side hole. Other than that, the Hotchkis instructions on their site are spot on. And the engineering is great, the holes lined up perfectly. The hardest part of this whole job was drilling the holes, and that's more me because I'm always leery about drilling new holes because you can't put them back to original.

I know the photo is blurry, but it shows that you can move the strut brace down and over far enough to drill the back hole for the strut brace - instead of having to remove the strut altogether.


I could always use a little help from this guy. I look over and he has the hood bumper off. Turns out the Handy Manny wrench is the same size as the hood bumpers. Kept him busy and hanging out with Dad. I love that QT.


... and finally here is the finished photo (well almost. I forgot to plug the MAF back in. Very obvious when you start it because it just dies right away).

[BACH]

just picked up a set of 3.91 LPE gears... oh yeah!!!!

just gotta get more allowance money to buy the JRE posi mod and billet main caps, and the LPW pro differential cover so that I do this right the first time.