2000 Camaro SS #867 journey . . . 1st post is a damn novel
09-04-2016, 11:39 PM
#1
2000 Camaro SS #867 journey . . . 1st post is a damn novel So, it all started when I was browsing Autotrader while I was working at Office Max and PSC in May of 2005.
I had a 97 Camaro RS and loved it, but was getting the itch to have another V8 Camaro. I liked the SS for many reasons, the LS1 being obvious. The exterior had me in love. I'll be honest, at the time I didn't know **** about the options of the cars and what I wanted . . . except that I wanted an SS lol
I found 2 Camaro's in Sacramento in my price range; the first was a 2002 Camaro SS, black on black and was fully optioned with only 26k and they wanted almost 30k for it. But it was a manual trans and at the time I wasn't very comfortable with driving a manual. Just up the road literally from that one, was a 2000 Camaro SS. It wasn't fully optioned at all; no T-tops, no traction control, no leather, but it was an automatic. It had 55k and the price online was $14,999. I decided to call on it and the sales person I spoke with had said the car was priced at $19,999. When I pointed out how much it was listed for online, he showed it to his manager and came back to the phone and said if I came down within 24 hours they would honor the price I saw for.
The next morning, I drove my 97 up to Sac to trade it in and purchase the 2000 as it was $15k less than the black SS. I showed up around 9am, checked out the car and knew I wanted it. The car was bone stock, except for the shitty tint on the side windows and rear window which all 3 darkness's were different lol 10 hours later I finally drove home with the SS hahahaha not sure why it took so long, but I didn't care because the car was mine.
The first thing I did to the car, was name her (each Camaro I've had did receive a name) the red body with the black hardtop for some reason made me think of a sexy Latina named Isabella. The next things I did was remove the crappy tint, the stupid pin stripes on both sides and replaced all the speakers in the car as they were blown.
The first performance mod I did to the car was SLP Loudmouth I and SLP Y-pipe to replace the flattened Y-pipe. I noticed a small SOTP difference and the sound was soo much better. Next came the SLP lid, Smooth Bellows and 85mm MAF and a shitty tune from Newtech Performance in Hayward.
Soon after, the stock exterior was needing attention. So, I started where most do . . . I lowered the bitch lol I went with the Eibach ProKit and couldn't have been happier at the time. Also did LCA's and a double adjustable PHB to bring the *** back to center. Of course I wasn't done with the exterior yet. Even though she was a hardtop SS (it wasn't until after I sold her did I find out how rare the car was) I wanted her to stand out more. Stripes were the route I chose and the stripes I chose were the SLP/Berger style stripes from PheonixGraphix. Wow did they make a world of a difference and with the Berger panel with the body color letters, the car turned heads wherever she went. To this day I have never seen another Camaro SS with those stripes in person, let alone with a body color hardtop (I had that painted to further the uniqueness.)
I finally wanted to do something different with the wheels and IMO the only wheels I thought looked best was the competition grey c5 z06 wheels. When I found a set that had tires I had to have them, the seller told me they were GM wheels, so I was very excited. When I got to his house, I looked at the wheels for the GM stampings, no stampings
we were to trade wheels and I was to give him $100 as they were real c5 z06 wheels. His wheels were flawless (other than being OEwheels) with tires worn to the cords literally and my wheels had some curb-rash, but had brand new rubber. I wanted the wheel so bad I said **** it and did the deal. I don't regret it one bit to this day. The wheels made the car look even better than it did and once I got new rubber on them, it was much more fun to drive!
The last thing I put on the car was a dual exhaust valance from 6le and I was so happy with it
the car's exterior was complete in my opinion.
In 2012, I decided the job I had was a dead end and I needed a career as my gf and I were getting serious. I sold the car to a member on here and regretted it ever since
I had kept in contact with him ever since I sold it to check on the car, I had even told my gf that if the car ever were to go up or sale I want to buy it back.
Since I sold it, I have had a 2006 Pontiac GTO M6. I took it from stock to suspension was fixed and handled soo much better, removed the mufflers and added in a short-through with a new clutch kit. It never turned heads lik the SS did and i never once walked away from it and turned back to look at her beauty. Plus each GTO gtg I went to, there would be 3 or 4 other GTO's very similar to mine and I didn't like that. Wel sold the GTO in February and bought our 15 Durango SXT for my wife and decided at some point I'd have my fun car again.
I had a 97 Camaro RS and loved it, but was getting the itch to have another V8 Camaro. I liked the SS for many reasons, the LS1 being obvious. The exterior had me in love. I'll be honest, at the time I didn't know **** about the options of the cars and what I wanted . . . except that I wanted an SS lol
I found 2 Camaro's in Sacramento in my price range; the first was a 2002 Camaro SS, black on black and was fully optioned with only 26k and they wanted almost 30k for it. But it was a manual trans and at the time I wasn't very comfortable with driving a manual. Just up the road literally from that one, was a 2000 Camaro SS. It wasn't fully optioned at all; no T-tops, no traction control, no leather, but it was an automatic. It had 55k and the price online was $14,999. I decided to call on it and the sales person I spoke with had said the car was priced at $19,999. When I pointed out how much it was listed for online, he showed it to his manager and came back to the phone and said if I came down within 24 hours they would honor the price I saw for.
The next morning, I drove my 97 up to Sac to trade it in and purchase the 2000 as it was $15k less than the black SS. I showed up around 9am, checked out the car and knew I wanted it. The car was bone stock, except for the shitty tint on the side windows and rear window which all 3 darkness's were different lol 10 hours later I finally drove home with the SS hahahaha not sure why it took so long, but I didn't care because the car was mine.
The first thing I did to the car, was name her (each Camaro I've had did receive a name) the red body with the black hardtop for some reason made me think of a sexy Latina named Isabella. The next things I did was remove the crappy tint, the stupid pin stripes on both sides and replaced all the speakers in the car as they were blown.
The first performance mod I did to the car was SLP Loudmouth I and SLP Y-pipe to replace the flattened Y-pipe. I noticed a small SOTP difference and the sound was soo much better. Next came the SLP lid, Smooth Bellows and 85mm MAF and a shitty tune from Newtech Performance in Hayward.
Soon after, the stock exterior was needing attention. So, I started where most do . . . I lowered the bitch lol I went with the Eibach ProKit and couldn't have been happier at the time. Also did LCA's and a double adjustable PHB to bring the *** back to center. Of course I wasn't done with the exterior yet. Even though she was a hardtop SS (it wasn't until after I sold her did I find out how rare the car was) I wanted her to stand out more. Stripes were the route I chose and the stripes I chose were the SLP/Berger style stripes from PheonixGraphix. Wow did they make a world of a difference and with the Berger panel with the body color letters, the car turned heads wherever she went. To this day I have never seen another Camaro SS with those stripes in person, let alone with a body color hardtop (I had that painted to further the uniqueness.)
I finally wanted to do something different with the wheels and IMO the only wheels I thought looked best was the competition grey c5 z06 wheels. When I found a set that had tires I had to have them, the seller told me they were GM wheels, so I was very excited. When I got to his house, I looked at the wheels for the GM stampings, no stampings
we were to trade wheels and I was to give him $100 as they were real c5 z06 wheels. His wheels were flawless (other than being OEwheels) with tires worn to the cords literally and my wheels had some curb-rash, but had brand new rubber. I wanted the wheel so bad I said **** it and did the deal. I don't regret it one bit to this day. The wheels made the car look even better than it did and once I got new rubber on them, it was much more fun to drive!The last thing I put on the car was a dual exhaust valance from 6le and I was so happy with it
the car's exterior was complete in my opinion.In 2012, I decided the job I had was a dead end and I needed a career as my gf and I were getting serious. I sold the car to a member on here and regretted it ever since
I had kept in contact with him ever since I sold it to check on the car, I had even told my gf that if the car ever were to go up or sale I want to buy it back. Since I sold it, I have had a 2006 Pontiac GTO M6. I took it from stock to suspension was fixed and handled soo much better, removed the mufflers and added in a short-through with a new clutch kit. It never turned heads lik the SS did and i never once walked away from it and turned back to look at her beauty. Plus each GTO gtg I went to, there would be 3 or 4 other GTO's very similar to mine and I didn't like that. Wel sold the GTO in February and bought our 15 Durango SXT for my wife and decided at some point I'd have my fun car again.
Last edited by King Nothing; 07-24-2017 at 11:37 PM.
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vince72 (12-11-2021)
09-05-2016, 01:18 PM
#2
This past July, I sent him a text like I did yearly to see how he was and how he car was. To my surprise, he was about to sell the car!!! I said I wanted it and after a few weeks she was on her way back to California to be with me again Under his ownership, work was done by a well known performance shop in So-Cal and interior work by a well known shop in LA.
Under his ownership, work was done by a well known performance shop in So-Cal and interior work by a well known shop in LA. 
09-05-2016, 09:05 PM
#5
Thanks guys, but the story isn't done lol I actually don't have the car yet it's still in the shop . . . whoever did the work at that "well known" shop on the car, shouldn't touch a car at all Wiring was fucked up, when I say fucked up I mean they stripped the casing, braided the wires together to lengthen them and wrapped it with electrical tape. How does a "speed shop" not use heat shrink butt connectors or solder to connect wires?? That shorted out several sensors and it shorted out my ECM
The interior was re-done by a "well known" shop in So-Cal, but it's gone now. The colors did not match and half the screws holding panels in were loose or not there.
Basically there was so much **** fucked up by whoever worked on it while he had the car, I had the car put back to stock. I've never been a fan of of owning someone else's build in the first place. The 383, built trans and built rear were built good, it was the other stuff that wasn't near up to par for me and since I'm not a fan of owing someone else's build a stock power-train is back in it. I'll post up pictures of the interior and exterior of how it looked when it came to me and the slow process it has been going through to fix the work.
it's still in the shop . . . whoever did the work at that "well known" shop on the car, shouldn't touch a car at all Wiring was fucked up, when I say fucked up I mean they stripped the casing, braided the wires together to lengthen them and wrapped it with electrical tape. How does a "speed shop" not use heat shrink butt connectors or solder to connect wires?? That shorted out several sensors and it shorted out my ECM The interior was re-done by a "well known" shop in So-Cal, but it's gone now. The colors did not match and half the screws holding panels in were loose or not there.
Basically there was so much **** fucked up by whoever worked on it while he had the car, I had the car put back to stock. I've never been a fan of of owning someone else's build in the first place. The 383, built trans and built rear were built good, it was the other stuff that wasn't near up to par for me and since I'm not a fan of owing someone else's build a stock power-train is back in it. I'll post up pictures of the interior and exterior of how it looked when it came to me and the slow process it has been going through to fix the work.
Last edited by King Nothing; 09-06-2016 at 01:14 AM.
09-06-2016, 10:25 AM
#6
This is how the car looked for him
I'm picky for numbers being correct on a car, needless to say this bothered me. In 2000 the SS was rated at 320hp, not 325hp
I'm not a fan of the wheels, the body kit I'm unsure if it'll stay on, the side stripes are hideous, the clear markers and headlights look cheap and the tear drop on the hood has crinkles in it from someone who doesn't know how to apply decals properly. Needless to stay the exterior will go back to exactly how it looked when I had it. It'll take time, but it'll go back to how it was.
I'm picky for numbers being correct on a car, needless to say this bothered me. In 2000 the SS was rated at 320hp, not 325hp
I'm not a fan of the wheels, the body kit I'm unsure if it'll stay on, the side stripes are hideous, the clear markers and headlights look cheap and the tear drop on the hood has crinkles in it from someone who doesn't know how to apply decals properly. Needless to stay the exterior will go back to exactly how it looked when I had it. It'll take time, but it'll go back to how it was.
Last edited by King Nothing; 07-24-2017 at 11:34 PM.
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09-07-2016, 01:34 AM
#8
If the Reds would've matched better I would've kept it. It's back to a factory cloth interior now, cloth interior is what it had from day 1. Eventually I'll do leather interior, but the colors will be of my choosing and best believe everything you will match. Thank you though lol
09-14-2016, 11:26 AM
#13
Car is finally home as of 1am this morning! I only took 1 pic this morning when I woke up (she's dirty as hell)
And the first mod all over again lol
The SS emblems were replaced at some point and whoever did it must suck at life or just doesn't care how and where the emblems are supposed to go. The side fender emblems are touching each other and the rear SS emblem on the panel is fucked . . . one of the S's was practically falling off So, in addition to removing the side stripes and hood tear drop, the SS emblems will be removed until I purchase new emblems to put in the correct positions.
I'll get her all cleaned up this weekend and post more pics.
And the first mod all over again lol
The SS emblems were replaced at some point and whoever did it must suck at life or just doesn't care how and where the emblems are supposed to go. The side fender emblems are touching each other and the rear SS emblem on the panel is fucked . . . one of the S's was practically falling off
So, in addition to removing the side stripes and hood tear drop, the SS emblems will be removed until I purchase new emblems to put in the correct positions.I'll get her all cleaned up this weekend and post more pics.
Last edited by King Nothing; 07-24-2017 at 11:33 PM.
09-24-2016, 10:23 AM
#14
So far I've removed the SS emblems, I still need to remove the hockey stripes, hood tear drop and clear corners but I'm in no rush since it just sits in the garage the majority of the time lol
Last night I went to a car meet for the first time with this car in almost 5 years. I only took pics before my buddy and I went, next time I'm taking pics when I'm there. There were a few hundred cars there and close to 10 cop cars. There was the usual engine revving every now and then, some burnouts but thankfully no donuts. I was surprised to see the cops didn't come up to anyone, but they were a few hundred yards away.
Here are the only pics I got last night
Last night I went to a car meet for the first time with this car in almost 5 years. I only took pics before my buddy and I went, next time I'm taking pics when I'm there. There were a few hundred cars there and close to 10 cop cars. There was the usual engine revving every now and then, some burnouts but thankfully no donuts. I was surprised to see the cops didn't come up to anyone, but they were a few hundred yards away.
Here are the only pics I got last night
Last edited by King Nothing; 07-24-2017 at 11:33 PM.
09-24-2016, 10:06 PM
#15
Got a little bit of work in tonight, took all of a minute but with a 10 month old walking around and getting in mischief already I can't really do to much when her mom is at work lol
Body kit on and SS emblem removed
Side skirt and SS emblem removed
Both sides are held in by screws and no adhesive at all thank God. I hope the front and rear panels are the same way with no adhesive. The screws they used were small enough that the holes they left were tiny and won't be easily noticeable.
Body kit on and SS emblem removed
Side skirt and SS emblem removed
Both sides are held in by screws and no adhesive at all thank God. I hope the front and rear panels are the same way with no adhesive. The screws they used were small enough that the holes they left were tiny and won't be easily noticeable.
Last edited by King Nothing; 07-24-2017 at 11:33 PM.
09-26-2016, 09:35 PM
#16
Got the driver side and rear valance off. The front is unscrewed, I just need to slowly remove the adhesive and get it off the car . . . it looks so much better without the side skirts and rear valance, I'm much happier with how it's starting to look like my old car. Still have a ways to go to get her back to exactly how she was when she left me.
Last edited by King Nothing; 07-24-2017 at 11:32 PM.
10-01-2016, 09:52 AM
#17
Staging Lane
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Are the side skirts from the RS package? Nice book btw lol very fun read I must say. So cool that you've been able to get your car back. I did like the seats and the ebrake/shift boots. Hard to discern color variances from pics tho. Most of my speakers are blown as well. What did you replace with and do your c5 zo6 rims fit without cutting anything?
10-01-2016, 10:25 AM
#18
Are the side skirts from the RS package? Nice book btw lol very fun read I must say. So cool that you've been able to get your car back. I did like the seats and the ebrake/shift boots. Hard to discern color variances from pics tho. Most of my speakers are blown as well. What did you replace with and do your c5 zo6 rims fit without cutting anything?
I honestly never thought I'd get the car back and it wasn't until the last year or so that I finally realized how rare the options on the car were.
In the pictures, the interior looks great and matches almost, in person it was very different. I need to wash and clean the car today before I put it away before I slowly start rebuilding the front suspension. He put 30k into the car and the front suspension and steering were left untouched, well except the power steering cooler was unplugged and no aftermarket cooler was put in
so as of now when the pressure builds up and it gets way to hot it just comes out it of the vents in the cap. Surprisingly, I didn't have to cut anything to get the c5 z06 wheels to fit before I sold the car and I was running the correct tire sizes: 265/40/17 front 295/35/18 rear. I did have to beat in my inner rear driver side fender for that wheel and tire to stop rubbing, I was on the Eibach ProKit then. I switched to c5 z06 wheels once I got the car back as the c6 z06 Motorsport wheels looked ugly as sin to me . . . I hate any wheel with those stupid rivets, but I could only find four 17x9.5's, two are replica wheels and two are GM speedline wheels. I need to remove the plasti dip from them and also I want to find two rear 18x10.5 speedline's for the rear. But that will come in time, other stuff need to be taken care of first.
10-02-2016, 11:30 AM
#19
Staging Lane
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I've actually always thought the RS package made the car look more substantial. I'm generally not a fan of GM's body kits and appearance packages especially the circa de 90's rubbish they put out. Pontiac's nightmarish triad of Bonneville/Grand Am/Aztec comes to mind. My personal opinion is the Camaro looks derivative of other cars of the era (Sebring/Daytona twins) and the RS package makes it much less so.
The rear valance in stock form just let the rear exhaust pipes awkwardly sit there with no provisions to house them. The RS package does little to fix it-probably because it was just a V6 but I imagine a good body shop could fix that dilemma. I think pewterSS's Camaro is one of the best looking 4th gen I've seen. Very clean.
Looking forward to following your progress in getting your car back to how you want it.
The rear valance in stock form just let the rear exhaust pipes awkwardly sit there with no provisions to house them. The RS package does little to fix it-probably because it was just a V6 but I imagine a good body shop could fix that dilemma. I think pewterSS's Camaro is one of the best looking 4th gen I've seen. Very clean.
Looking forward to following your progress in getting your car back to how you want it.
10-02-2016, 12:24 PM
#20
That's why I loved the SLP stripes I had as no other car had those at the time, plus I literally never saw another Camaro with the same stripes in person . . . loved having that unique of a car!! The only rear valences I liked on the Camaro is the 01-02 CME which I'm considering or the 6LE dual exhaust valence I had before I sold the car. To me the body kit as a whole looks stupid with 17" wheels, it makes the wheel gap look worse than normal and it makes the body look too big IMO.
It'll be a long journey as I plan to redo the interior, exterior, suspension as I found out over the weekend I need to redo every bushing on the car . . . they are the bushings I put on the car back in 2005 . I finally got to see my welded in subframe connectors that the shop who did all the performance work welded into place . . . the welds look like ******* pigeon ****!!! Once I have it up on jackstands I may have my brother in law bring his welder over and fix those welds . I'm just assuming that shop thinks nobody will ever look at their work so they just halfass the work to get it out of the shop or their mechanics just suck that much either way I'll fix their **** ups.
It'll be a long journey as I plan to redo the interior, exterior, suspension as I found out over the weekend I need to redo every bushing on the car . . . they are the bushings I put on the car back in 2005
. I finally got to see my welded in subframe connectors that the shop who did all the performance work welded into place . . . the welds look like ******* pigeon ****!!! Once I have it up on jackstands I may have my brother in law bring his welder over and fix those welds . I'm just assuming that shop thinks nobody will ever look at their work so they just halfass the work to get it out of the shop or their mechanics just suck that much either way I'll fix their **** ups.