TEGGSRB18C1's 2013 2SS/RS 6MT life long build

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Got the damaged wheel repaired, it was just a small chip in the powder coat. Had it put on the balancer as well just to make sure it wasn’t bent and it spun perfectly. If anyone in the central PA area needs any wheel repair, I highly recommend them, Wheel Worx in Mechanicsburg. Here’s the before and after:

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Dear lord, this paint correction just keeps going on and on. I’ve seen so many videos where people knock this out in a weekend and I’m over here like “yeah, just did the hood this weekend” it is almost done though. The entire car is cut with compound, now it’s just polishing out the haze that cutting leaves behind.

I tell people all the time, I don’t think there is a more tedious job than paint correction, especially on a black car. But the reward, watching the paint come to life right in front of you...

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Front end lighting upgrades. We all received Amazon gift cards for Christmas at the company I work for, I was going to purchase new TPMS sensors for the MRR’s but the reviews on there were all over the place, most stating that they weren’t even refurbished AC Delco’s but Chinese clones....not interested in dismounting those big ass Nitto’s and potentially scratching the wheels if they fail.

So instead I picked up the Muzzys DRL harness with LED bulbs (same manufacturer as my LED side markers) and GP Thunder chrome/amber bulbs for the turn signals. To be honest, I’m not sure if these are going to make the final cut on the car, they might get replaced by another brand but we’ll see how they look in the housing.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Everything for the wheels and tires. Picked up those black stick on wheel weights from my work, I think they’ll blend into the barrels seamlessly. On the flip side I wanted chrome lug nuts to break up the black on black, I picked up these McGard lug nuts off eBay brand new for $50.

The TPMS sensors are OEM AC Delco’s....but I’m 90% sure they’re remans, also off eBay for about $50 and of course the hub centric rings as well.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Ok, so whatever valve stems came with those sensors do not jive with the MRR wheels. Absolutely destroyed the one shown below, thank god I didn’t scratch the wheel trying to pull this through. So I went a different direction, these Dill multi piece valve stems aren’t designed for GM TPMS sensors but bolt up just fine and as you can see below, gives the whole setup a clean look.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

I guess after 37 years of working on cars I’ve abruptly forgotten how to lift one without destroying rocker panels and bending fenders so I picked up a Quick Jack with the extension arms as a birthday gift to myself.

Promptly got to work, got the rear LED marker lights installed, ZL1 addons rear rock guards, fully cleaned and detailed the fender wells as well as test fitting one of the MRR’s. Unfortunately they and the car need a little more attention before they all go on for good.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Finally finished the paint correction process and needed to wash the car to clean out compound/polish dust from the panel crevasses. I didn’t want to touch the car at all, so I picked up a cheap foam cannon and proceeded to rinse/soak/rinse, then blew the car off with my electric leaf blower. Again, I tried to touch it the least amount as possible with no protection on the paint.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Next was to wipe down the car with Carpro Eraser and applied first the Jescar Powerlock sealant, then two coats of the Collinite 845. To be honest the two together are slippery, even though you’re buffing off the haze, under the correct lighting you can see streaks where it’s almost oily. After a few days it seems to “harden” for lack of a better term and I wiped it down again.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

So at this point I was ready to start putting the car back together. Picked up a complete set of license plate hardware as the OEM was only two off white ones that had oversized screws rammed through them. Also picked up a set of Diode Dynamics rear license plate LED’s to match the new DRL LED’s.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Finally, after almost a year (and almost zero miles) of having the front Sparks SS emblem on the heritage grille, the rear SS emblem is on as well. Also got the DARE plate on for good. This is an image I’ve had in my head for years...

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Now that the car itself was done, it was time to focus on the wheels. First step was to clean off the tire mold oil and mounting grease off the tires, I used this tire patch prep called KEX, great stuff. I also went overboard and cut all the nibbs off the sidewalls because I hated how far they stuck out.

After that I took them out and washed them with the same method as the car, touchless. After drying I applied a single coat of Collinte 845 for protection.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

On the car...sort of. The rears went on no problem, the fronts I ran into a problem with. The locking lug nut key hits the recession for the lug nut and I scratched one of them, bad enough that I took it off and is sitting in the corner of my garage waiting for the wheel repair shop to open back up so I can have it fixed. Nobody else would notice, I will though. It would drive me nuts.

I contacted McGard and they hooked me up with 4 standard lug nuts that match my spline key so I ditched the locking lugs.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Got my wheel back from Wheel Worx and I will have to retract my previous endorsement because I basically paid them $50 to ruin the finish on my wheel. One of my winter projects will be having the tire dismounted and getting the wheel re powder coated.

Extremely irritating but honestly most people wouldn’t even notice what they did. Here’s a few good shots of it all back together and road worthy since last fall.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

As before, this car needs a splitter so bad. Really wanted the OE ‘13 1LE but the a availability is just non existent. So the next obvious choice is the SLP and because I have the SLP ZL spoiler I guess I have a little theme going now.