Hey guys and gals!

I am not new to the site, but just newly active.

I am a GM guy through and through! My first car was a 1974 Type LT with a 327; then a 68 RS/SS, then a 1992 B4C 1LE 305 T5 that I bought from the state of Texas. I have also had a 1959 Apache, 1996 Diesel Burban, 2006 S10 5sp, 99 Malibu and currently have a 2007 Trailblazer, a 1984 Dodge Rampage a 1985
2 1/2 ton(Rockwells) 4x4 454, 203/205 Suburban rolling on 54s(hence the name) hopefully sooner than later AND a Rental.

Long story longer, an idiot on I10 in Houston caused a 4 car pileup and my 2003 CTS was officially totaled yesterday, so I am in the market for a used V.

I think I have a deal worked out and just waiting on the powers at be to take care of the money, payoffs, etc.

I have a small engineering background(dropped out the summer before my senior year), a degree in HRM fro UH in Houston. 1 wife, 2 kids and a dog and I live in the burbs.

I love fab work, and have tons of tools; Quincy Air Compressor, Media/Soda blast cabinets, Hobart 187 to name a few and I just painted my first vehicle last month.....

I work at a Hotel downtown in Event Planning.

Beer and Whiskey are my favorite Christmas presents.

I eat beef and my right leg is a tad shorter than my right, if you know what I mean.

I have already met a ton of great folks on here and look forward to hanging out with a few.

I am a member to a ton of websites; thirdgen.org for about 15 years it seems like and 5thgen.org for quite a few; actually mod over there.

If you ever need another mod, just let me know.

Cheers!

 

I test drove the V, that I am buying, today and really liked it. It ran like a top, no whine, a slight shutter, no chatter and all of the windows rolled down.

I have permagrin.

 

Well I bought it and spent most of today driving it around.

I brought it home and did another once over and this is what I found:

The rear spoiler is not mounted well, so I will need to get another; probably has broken clips.

The AC bezel is not even on both sides, so it probably has a broken clip.

All of the buttons are flaking.

The seat is not bolted all the way down.

The trunk lift struts are shot.

The hood is missing one lift strut.(Is this common?)

The PO had installed a iPod aux connection; THANKS YOU!

The PO had installed a Fusion amp and 2 12" MTX speakers in an old School sealed box.
AGAIN, thank YOU! No offense to the PO, but the Amp was not tuned or setup properly. The Bass filter was on the wrong setting and the gain was up WAY to high. I usually don't go past 3/4, and most of the time keep it around 1/2, just to overprotect the amp.

To me it sounds cleaner and more even. Again, nothing against the PO, as everyone likes their music different.

The rear seats fold down; WTF? That is AWESOME!

It drives so much better than my 2003 CTS.

There was about $7 worth of change underneath the seats. Yeah!!!!

The inside trunk studs are beat to hell and I guess someone had something large rolling around back there as most of them are bent. I am going to pull everything out and get a hammer and dolley after them one of these days.

All of the mats are terribly faded.

The muffler/resonator delete is too much and I think the mpg is suffering a tad; ya think?

Got a perfect pair of flowmasters to get it back to sanity.

Don't get me wrong it sounds good and intimidating, but it sounds like exhaust, not a modified car; know what I mean?

Well, these are just small things that are going to happen to car with this many miles.

No worries as I love the car and I will get it whipped into shape here shortly.

 

Well it has been over 2 months now and I still love it, but we are now at 99, 800 and needs some maintenance.

The slave cylinder and clutch are going out.

It already has UUC motor mounts, so while I am in there replacing the clutch and flywheel with an LS7 unit, I am going to get the Kooks and at least one rear axle.

I also want to a tune up and then get a tune as I am sure I am going to rock it like this for a long time......

Any suggestions?

 

Oh and a new shifter......

 

Change tranny fluid too....

 

Well, I decided to wait on the Kooks as I had other "responsibilities", lol!

But, I will be installing the LS7 clutch kit from Scoggin Dickey, new shifter from azn2dmax, bushings from 07CTS-V and Creative steel, CAGS from hamrhead and a x-pipe from redhotwheel98!

For those that have done it, anything else I shoudl buy in the next 5 days while I am taking out the driveshaft, etc.....

 

Well in the last 3 weeks, I have:

Put on new tires
Installed the LS7 Clutch, flywheel & slave, with remote bleeder
AZ shifter
CS shifter bushings
Delrin shifter bushings/bearings
Changed tranny fluid
Washed
Clay barred
Waxed
Fixed rear sail panel
Installed x-pipe
Installed bullet mufflers.

Time to enjoy a beer and a beast.