Deke736's AGM ZL1 Journal [COTW 12/3/12]

[Deke736]

So, I have really been slacking on keeping my thread updated! I have done a bunch of mods since I last updated this!

Here are is a list of what's been done lately (and I have more on the way):

Norma- I did install the Noweeds diverters! I love them! I am going to be adding headers soon, so I cannot wait to hear them after!

Installed Pedders drop springs. I love the new stance. Here is a pic I took in November while out on a cruise.



Installed Victory Red painted steering wheel & speedometer bezels, and e-brake handle w/ leather boot:





As you can see from the interior photos above, I have also added dual Aeroforce Interceptor gauges on the A-pillar with red lighting and ZL1 faces.

Wrapping up exterior mods, I recently installed a full carbon fiber ZL1 spoiler from G3 Composites/ Big Top GT. It was a long time coming, but I think it looks great!







Moving on to some performance upgrades, while at Camaro5Fest last August, I had Jannettey install their 75RWHP Tune kit on the car. It runs like a beast and has trouble keeping traction! I think I'm about due for some new tires!

Jannettey's kit included:
10% crank pulley
longer belt
Roto-Fab CAI (already had installed)
SCT Tuner with custom JRE tune

I have a few new mods in the works as well, including some additional HP! I will be sure to keep this thread updated!

[Cool AirZ28]

Everything is looking good. One of my favorite builds. Keep us updated..

[Normagene]

Love It! That interior looks amazing, and the new CF Spoiler, well it's seriously badass. You do great work. Like to see what your next 1/4 mile time runs. Headers and Noweeds, probably see flames underneath! How cool is that, keep us posted, oh and what is it now, like four inches off the ground? Best looking Ashen Gray! It looks fast parked!!!......

[pierre777]

love the new spoiler , looks fantastic

[Behic2320]

Simple, yet extremely Elegant nice job!!! I have always loved your ride

[bee1100]

Originally Posted by Deke736

So, in the spirit of tracking my my progress while building "Deke II" my 2012 Ashen Gray ZL1 #218, I thought I would start this build thread to document my journey!

Here is Deke II today:



And here is a list of current mods:

Exterior:

Gen5DIY.com H11 50 watt Plasma LED fog lights (5000K)
Gen5DIY.com PSX26W Plasma LED DRL bulbs (4300K)
AAC concept side markers painted AGM with tinted lenses
AAC high-powered reverse LED’s (tinted)
AAC Dual grill mounted RGB LED Scanners
G3 Composites full Carbon Fiber spoiler
JDP Motorsports color-shifting halo kit with NightOwl controller (Wi-Fi controlled)
NightOwl RGB LED Grill Strip (Wi-Fi Controlled)
Underhood RGB LED Strip lighting- NightOwl Wi-Fi controlled
Undercarriage RGB LED Strip lighting- NightOwl Wi-Fi controlled
NightOwl ZL1 DRL & Fog Light Harness (Wi-Fi Controlled)
JWMotoring LED license plate bulbs
Technostalgia taillights with rapid fire brake lights and sequential turn signals
Night Shades NS-1 matte black stripes
Window Tint- 30% ceramic by Night Shades
Emblem Pros custom ZL1 badges
TJK_ART Carbon Fiber bowties with flat black border
River City Creations custom painted Victory Red engine cover
River City Creations custom painted Victory Red fuse box cover
River City Creations custom painted Ashen Gray & Victory Red strut tower brace & bolts
River City Creations custom painted Victory Red Radiator Support
River City Creations custom painted Victory Red Engine Bay Caps
RPI Designs custom painted Victory Red brake reservoir cover
RPI Designs custom painted Victory Red engine oil dipstick
RevXtreme powdercoated Victory Red catch can
Customs by Mike (mike@thepowdercoater.com) powdercoated Victory Red brake calipers
Sunset Orange Creations ZL1 Exhaust Commander
Drake Muscle Cars strut tower caps painted Victory Red by River City Creations
Gorilla black locking lugnuts from Apex Motorsports
Matte black taillight bezels
Custom painted Victory Red remote battery terminal cover
Chrome turn signal bulbs
Showstopper ZL1 rock guards
Removed CAMARO badges from fenders
Removed ZL1 badges from hood



Interior:
Red LED footwell lighting
JWMotoring RGB LED light pod in the interior
JWMotoring RGB LED light pod in the trunk
CFD Custom pistol grip shifter- Victory Red with carbon fiber grips and integrated line-lock switch
River City Creations custom painted speedometer bezel
River City Creations custom painted steering wheel bezel
Dual Aeroforce digital gauges with red illumination mounted in an Autometer dual A-pillar pod
ZL1 floor mats from Maureen at Rodgers Chevrolet (everyday use)
ZL1 embroidered console lid
Lloyd's ZL1 floor mats (show only)
Lloyd’s ZL1 trunk mat
JL Audio XD700/5 amp installed with ******** FARK harness & mounting panel
JL Audio 12w3v3-2 Sub installed in a ******** Stealth Box
JarheadBobandMax Custom trunk liner


Performance:
Roto-Fab cold air intake powdercoated red with red hose couplers and custom black hose clamps
Roto-Fab W/W reservoir relocation tank
Roto-Fab Big Gulp
10% larger crank pulley
Jannetty Racing custom tune for 75RWHP package
Nitto NT05R drag radials mounted on 18x9.5 Corvette Grandsport replica wheels

My journey with Deke II started on December 16, 2011 when I placed my order with my Chevy dealer for my 2012 AGM ZL1. We previously had a Victory Red 2011 2SS/RS (Deke) that we purchased in August of 2011, but after seeing the ZL1 at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals auto show in November, I decided that I had to have one.

Here is Deke I:



Deke II was ordered as an automatic with a sunroof, standard black wheels, and the exposed carbon fiber hood insert.



It was built on February 14, 2012, and it was the perfect Valentine's Day present! After waiting 6 agonizing weeks during the QC hold, Deke II was shipped to the dealer on March 30, 2012. It turned out to be the first ZL1 delivered to St. Louis, and it arrived off the train on April 5. On the morning of April 6 I got the call from my salesman that the car had been delivered to their lot!!

Here are the first pics I received via text from my salesman (pre PDI):





Here is a pic of the first time I saw Deke II:



First time in the drivers seat:



Here I am taking delivery:





The mods started right away. I switched the DRL's to AAC plasma P13W's the day after pick up.



Fast forward a few weeks and I got the windows tinted with 30% ceramic tint all around with a 6" sunstrip on the windshield. I also had NS-1 stripes installed courtesy of Night Shades and SSTG. While they were at it, the blacked out my bowties to match the flat black stripes.

At Night Shades getting tint and stripes:







After getting the stripes and tint done, I decided that a full detail with paint protection was in order. Luckily, Seth (SSTG) is an excellent detailer and allowed me to assist and to learn a few pointers while he worked his magic. Here are a few pics of the results:









The following day I decided to get out the ladder and take a few pics of Deke freshly detailed in the sun:













My next mods moved under the hood, where I had Lupe (overhaulengines) custom paint a strut brace and my engine cover. The strut brace is painted Ashen Gray with Victory Red ends with a flat black ZL1 badge mounted in the middle. The engine cover is also Victory Red with a flat black ZL1 badge mounted in the original LSA spot. Here is a before and after:





Eventually I added a painted fuse box cover from Lupe as well. Here is the engine bay today:



After the engine bay, I moved back outside the car and removed the CAMARO badges from the fenders and added flat black tail light bezels and bowties. I added AAC's painted and tinted concept side markers, which really cleaned up the look of the car:

[IMG]http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k102/vettevert00/3f97****.jpg[/IMG]



Finally, I added the Technostalgia tail lights (which are awesome) and attempted to add AAC's tinted LED tail lights but had to send them back due to a warranty issue. The bumper removal wasn't as bad as I thought:







At the same time I switched out the chrome lug nuts to black Gorilla lug nuts from Apex. My goal is to remove all the chrome from the car to give it a mean, blacked out look. So far I have succeeded, with only the ZL1 badges on the hood, trunk, and grill remaining. I will be ordering some custom badges soon.

On the interior, I haven't done a whole lot, but I have done a few things. I added the suede ZL1 shifter from GMpartshouse, ZL1 embroidered floor mats from Maureen at Rodgers Chevrolet, and I have added the color changing map LED pod from JW Motoring to the map light and the trunk.

Here are a few pics I took yesterday after getting Deke all cleaned up after the Fest last weekend.















I haven't had any performance modifications done yet, mainly because I want to preserve the warranty. I finally had a chance to see what this car could do at Camaro5Fest last weekend on the AutoX course. Man, all I can say is that I want to do it again, SOON! This car is an absolute blast to drive! I really wanted to get it down the dragstrip too, but I ran out of time. Luckily, our local dragstrip is having a Midnight Madness event in a few weeks and I'll be going with a group of coworkers! I cannot wait!

Thanks for stopping by to check out my thread. I have many more changes in store that I am working on, so feel free to stop by an check them out. I appreciate any feedback you all have.

the cat

[mlee]

Love that spoiler...

[vroomapunk]

Originally Posted by bee1100

the cat

Haha, he quoted the whole first page of your thread to say "the cat"

[Deke736]

Originally Posted by mlee

Love that spoiler...

Thanks Mike! The pics don't do it justice either. In person and in the sun it looks great!

Originally Posted by vroomapunk

Haha, he quoted the whole first page of your thread to say "the cat"

Longest post of the thread for a 2 word quote! It was funny though. The cat was doing it's best to help me but I kept catching it laying around!

[Disturbed1LE]

Looks great man! We seem to have similar taste. I think you have a better budget lol. Sweet ride

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

[mlee]

Originally Posted by Deke736

Longest post of the thread for a 2 word quote! It was funny though. The cat was doing it's best to help me but I kept catching it laying around!

LOL, I was thinking the same thing and can fix that if you want...

[Deke736]

Originally Posted by Disturbed1LE

Looks great man! We seem to have similar taste. I think you have a better budget lol. Sweet ride

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

Thanks man! I appreciate it!

[Deke736]

My new Mickey Thompson ET Street II's are here! New drag wheels are out for delivery! They would have been here yesterday, but my wife didn't feel like answering the door!

[Modern07]

Nice! When Will you be getting them mounted and put on the car?

You'll have to let us know the improvement in traction you see.

I'll be getting mine put on after the latest round of mods in a couple of weeks