SupahRich

iTrader: (14)

SO for the first time in nearly 10 years of membership here on this lovely board... I've finally started my first 'build' thread! This '98 T/A is my 5th F-body since joining this forum and will definitely be the most modded. I'll update this thread with pics as I progress with the appearance portion of the build.

This past Wednesday I picked up the Smoothie Q hood that I ordered from VFN last month. I have to say that I've been very happy with the communication from Jeanie and the product is great! Below are some pics from the install of the hood. As you can see, it pretty much has just been placed on the hinges and adjusted to allow for it to be closed. Still have a bit of work with lining up the fenders/headlight covers/front bumper. I'm sure a lot of the adjustments that are needed have to do with the car having near 250,000 miles... lots of time for things to get out of alignment .

Still in the box:




A few pics during the install of the hood... excuse the mess, the car has only been driven approx 30 miles in about a year and a half





As you can see, it still needs quite a bit of adjustment to make it look perfect but I'm very pleased with the quality of the hood. Both sides are smooth and should look great once it's in paint.


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A preview pic of the wheels I have waiting to go on the car. They're 18X9.5 and 18X10.5 Black C6 Z06 Wheels with Machined Spokes, made by Factory Reproductions. I have a pair of 275/35/18 GS-D3 RoF's for the front and 305/35/18 M/T drag radials for the back. Pics of this combo will be posted once I've had them mounted/balanced. The CTS-V brake upgrade that I have waiting to be installed should look awesome behind these wheels!

spikester7878

iTrader: (1)

seems like a very good start to me if i ever buy a LS bird i want a hood like that

JACornell

love the look if that hood, I just missed out on a 6" ram air hood yesterday.

SupahRich

iTrader: (14)

It really is a nice looking hood! I had a Raptor hood on my '99 and loved it. The Smoothie Q has a similar design only much taller and with the Firehawk style heat extractors, something I wished the Raptor had. I look forward to getting it in to paint before AutoFair rolls around at the end of April.


This first set of pics were taken with my phone for some quick reference, I promise to get some pics with my dSLR! I have a couple of HID kits from DDM on the way and the M/T's for the rear wheels showed up Saturday. This thread will be updated slowly as I get to each mod

FastRidesOnly

love the hood

98z8uup

iTrader: (7)

Looks like your off to a good start.

ZexGX

iTrader: (28)

Any pics of the old shaker setup?

IROCSS

iTrader: (2)

At 250,000 miles it's a good candidate. Either you had the car for a while or got it for a steal. Mod the **** out of that thing. It will be just the way you like it.

Looks good, great start!

SupahRich

iTrader: (14)

Here are some pics from the previous owners photo album (Raleigh T/A here on LS1Tech).



Here's a pic on the day that we switched the title and all at the DMV. I'm a big dude but I fit in F-bodies just fine with the seat all the way back. One idea I'm kicking around is to design a new bracket to slightly lower and bring back the entire seat. This way I can have some adjust ability to take the seat back even further or move the seat forward. It would be nice to have more than the one setting that fits me. I've already removed the sun visors to give me more 'room' looking out the windshield.



I picked the car up at a great price ($2500), it has a salvage title as the rear quarters were folded slightly. I had the frame pulled back in to place and am in the process now of straightening out the quarters the rest of the way, a majority of the damage popped out while on the frame machine. Anyone in my local car club that's been in/around the car will tell you that it's an amazing vehicle for having nearly 250K miles on it. The engine runs as smooth as any lower mileage LS1. I do have the LQ9 that I bought last year to go in but I'm working more toward the appearance at the moment.

Tonight I've been working on installing an LT1 radiator and new 186* Stant t-stat. This weekend I plan on fiddling some with the sail panel/side mirrors to prep them for paint, I'll be painting them black. If the HID's arrive in time, I'll probably throw them on as well.

beyonddisturbed

iTrader: (5)

sweet ride man. lookin forward to seein her all done

SupahRich

iTrader: (14)

Here's a brief update on what's been going on with the car. I've been trying to work on the thing like a mad man in between 70+ hour work weeks to get it ready for AutoFair this coming weekend in Charlotte. A quick run down of the pics I have so far....


I purchased some 1" billet adapters, 5X4.75" hubcentric for the rears and 1/4" billet spacers for the front.

I have the DDM 35w 5K HID's in the fogs, the same will be going in low beam's ASAP.

The bottom side of the hood has been painted, the top is going to be completed tonight.

A couple side shots at stock ride height of the new wheel/tire combo with 275/35/18 GSD3's up front and 305/35/18 M/T ET Street II's out back... it'll be lowered within the next day or two and I have an appointment on Friday to have the windows tinted.

Preview shot of the 6LE overlay... it was a quick pic I took after putting it on to see how the back lighting looked. I've since installed red gauge needles and will get some daytime and nighttime pics of the setup. I used the 6 LED replacement bulbs that were recommended by Sommer86.

I painted the side view mirrors and sail panel black... I think it turned out pretty nice! The last couple of pics posted are reflection shots of the paint after a fresh buff.

I have a lot more to do to the car over the next couple of days! I plan on giving Plasti-Dip a try for the CETA mod and still have the 6LE Diffuser to put on after I detail the car. More pics will be added as available. A friend of mine has volunteered to take some nice high res pics of the car for me once everything is complete in case anyone is interested!

my bandit

iTrader: (10)

its about time VFN had the hood secured by cardboard and not tape like mine was haha thats what drove me nuts but the car looks good!

bad_408_vert

iTrader: (6)

Nice!

sokr915

iTrader: (3)

Where did you get the wheel spacers?

SupahRich

iTrader: (14)

I bought them on E-bay, there were two different vendors from what I recall that carried the billet 5 X 4.75" 1/4" spacers.

SupahRich

iTrader: (14)

A few preview pics of the car at AutoFair this past weekend in Charlotte, NC. The hood still needs to be fitted properly. I pulled an all nighter Friday night just to get the thing buffed out and other misc. odd's and end's completed in time to drive it down for the show. Professional photo's will be put up after I find time to have them taken.

CETA mod, new Corsa clone tips, windows tinted, hood installed/buffed, rear spring isolaters removed, and 6LE front diffuser were all installed on Friday/Saturday morning. More pics to come in case anyone is interested!

Camaroking1996

Looks clean. Black front bird and black pontiac inserts would finish it off. And fix the passenger side head light

SupahRich

iTrader: (14)

A few more shots that a friend snapped at the hotel and on the ride home.









Vinyl overlays look great on these cars, I'm just trying stick with solid black and red items. May notice that the badges were removed from the doors. Headlight covers and fenders/hood will all be lined up when I get another free day. Makes the pics look a bit off but it'll be an easy fix

Polished up pretty well to have almost 250K miles on it!

Camaroking1996

GOD DAM!!! 250K!! That looks awesome for that many miles

1quickTransAm

iTrader: (4)

Both good ideas! I removed by sun visors too and made new brackets to mount the seat. I basically used bar stock to get rid of the portion what controls the tilt but kept the forward/back adjustability. I also removed a little foam from the seat bottom to give a little more headroom. I set the tilt angle I like with washers (not easily adjustable but doesn't need to be), and I got probably 1 to 1.5" of headroom. WELL worth the time!