CGSmith0524

I hope that everyone had a Great 4th of July!!

So, I've never claimed to be a painter, or a body man, or an engine builder..... However, I know attention to detail, thanks to be in Army Aviation. Occasionally I have good ideas, sometimes great ideas, other times, not so good ideas; and when I get brave, I try to make those ideas come to life.

This past weekend, I took Thursday & Friday off to do some painting on my SS. Very rarely will you have someone just start sanding on a perfect show quality car, but that's what I did. I've always loved the GMMG ZL1 Camaros, but the problem is- they only made 69 of them in 2002. They are by far the rarest 4th Gen Camaro- IMO.

Anyways, they had a unique stripe on the hood and a flat black tail panel for an option. A common thing that most people will do is- have their tail panel section painted black, which really looks good. But, I wanted to do something different, all while maintaining the GMMG integrity. I hope ya'll like what I came up with.

I'll take ALL constructive criticism...... Good or Bad. I did all the prepping, sanding, priming, sealing, painting, wet sanding and buffing myself. I used Water Born/Based PPG products instead of the traditional Lacquer Thinner. After it dried 24 hours in the paint booth, I sanded it with 1500, then 2000, then 3000, and finally finished it with 5000. After that, I did a 2-Stage buff using Adams Polishes.

I hope ya'll enjoy it!!

Next will be installing my Kooks 1 7/8 Long Tube Headers!!

Bandits96ss

Buy up those PPG products 😉 ....lol I work at one of their plants

JDEP162

I was worried the silver on the rear panel wouldn't look good but it does look great. Beautiful car all around. And good choice modding it up as u want, collecting cars and not enjoying them us pointless IMO.

CGSmith0524

I'll be the first to say that I have nothing against PPG. This is the first time I've ever used their products, but I like how it turned out. When I built my 67 RS/SS Camaro I used Sherwin Williams. I'm in the process of doing a full rotisserie on a 69 RS Camaro that is a true X-11 car. That car will also have Sherwin Williams as well.

However, that was the first time I've ever used or sprayed water based paint. I didn't realize how forgiving it was, or the fact that it dries so much quicker. No need to bake it in the paint booth..... All though, humidity will definitely affect the paint!!

Thank you for the feedback!! I won't lie, I was extremely worried about the rear tail panel. Of course the most common color is black.... And I debated for weeks on what to do. But, I thought it'd be different to have it matching the hood stripe. Sometimes it's works out to go against the grain.....

My brother, who is a perfectionist and just as OCD as I am, told me the day I showed it to him, that it looked like I took the tail panel section off of a wrecked Silver Camaro out of a junkyard and put it on my car. He thought it looked completely out of place, and would have rather it been black, or just kept it Navy Blue Metallic..... Ha Ha!!

JDEP162

If it were the tail panel alone, I don't think it would look as good. But with the manta in front matching, I think it works great. Only thing I'd have done different would been removing the badges from the rear to clean it down even more. But very slick as is.also, IMO some tail light blackout covers would work well.

CGSmith0524

Great ideas- Than you!! I'll have to ponder on tail light blackout covers.... Or better yet, get them tinted.

I'm seriously considering removing the Hurst & Heartbeat Emblem. Again, thank you for the positive feedback.

CGSmith0524

Well, at least part of it is in..... I have received the Y-Pipe with the High Flow Cats.

Now I'm just waiting on the LT's to come in!!

2JAWZ

iTrader: (1)

That is a freakin gorgeous car. All I would do personally is have that CME valance blended* Beautiful car sir**

CGSmith0524

Enlighten me on blending the CME Valance Panel?! Do you mean paint it Gray/Silver as well?!

Thank you for the compliments!!

CGSmith0524

I finally got around to installing my LT Headers and Y-Pipe.... Man, what a job and Pain in the ***!! Granted, I did it by myself, so having an extra hand or helper would have been nice....

A Huge Shout-Out to my good friend Seth Wood, owner of Lucky's Restoration in Athens Alabama for allowing me to use his lift & tools. That was a life saver right there!!

I will say that I LOVE how the car sounds. I still need to have it retuned, but man, I honestly did not think it would sound that deep or amazing!! I was completely shocked.

On a good note- The Headers fit Perfect!! I had NO fitment issues or clearance issues. My hands look like I got into a fight with Freddy Kruger or a Lion.... But in the end, I couldn't be happier with the results.

On the bad note- I have to admit, that I'm a little disappointed with my Kooks and here's why. For the amount of money they cost, I honestly expected them to be a tad bit more polished. I realize they are not Ceramic Coated, but I've had Stainless Steel Hooker SuperComp Headers look better out of the box. I was also disappointed that the nameplate wasn't tig-welded all the way around. It was only spot welded. I realize that both of my complaints are small and do not effect the functionality of the Header, but at the same time- one pays quite a bit for these headers.

Here's a few pics of my car going on the lift. I'll be doing a complete write-up and review in the External Bolt-On Section later today......

CGSmith0524

For all those that are interested..... Here is the link to my review and install of the Kooks 1 7/8 Long Tube Headers.

https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...l#post18922627

And a few pictures from Sunday Evening after my test drive!!

Krdiesel08

iTrader: (1)

Beautiful car! love the blue.

Krdiesel08

iTrader: (1)

Think what he ment, was blending the cme valance to the bumper.

CGSmith0524

Gotcha!! Yeah, that's way above my skill set labor. I think I'll keep it factory looking, even though it's not smooth. I'd definitely screw that up.... Ha Ha!!

And thank you for the compliment!!

1hotroc

Looks good. Would have gone with the gloss black rear panel but that's just me. Question for you. I just bought a 99 HOSS. Did Slp paint the hood and rear spoilers on all the SS Camaros at their facility? Instead of GM painting it on the assembly line? It looks like your hood, just like mine is a shade off from the fenders and nose. I read somewhere that this is common for SLP SS Camaros. Just trying to get confirmation from other SS owners out there if this is true?

Krdiesel08

iTrader: (1)

My 2002 ss hood and wing don't seem to look any different.

CGSmith0524

When our cars left the GM Facility to make the short trip to SLP, they were in the form of a Z-28- So, there would have been a normal hood and no spoiler installed.

From my understanding, SLP prepped and painted the Ram-Air Hoods, Spoiler, and Rear Valance Extensions if you had the CME on 01 & 02 Camaro's.

CGSmith0524

Well, I couldn't get my wife's Cannon to work, even though I made a "Steady Cam" for it.....

So, I used my phone. The quality isn't bad, but dang, I was shaking like crazy. Sorry for the rookie camera shooting.


Hope ya'll enjoy it!!

CGSmith0524

I have now decided Not to sell my baby.....

Funny how life changes when the Wife gets involved and makes a command level decision to keep the SS.

Instead, I sold my SS Trailblazer, that was my Daily Driver. I do miss it, but damn, I'm glad she convinced me to keep "Davin".

2JAWZ

iTrader: (1)

I know its shoulda woulda coulda's,, but I do wish I had the spare cash my brother. Its a beautiful car and I love the color. GLWS*