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New Impala SS Owner

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Old May 23, 2006 | 09:43 AM
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Default New Impala SS Owner

Hi All,

Just dropped by to say hello - I will be picking up my new Impala SS tomorrow or Thursday. Found one loaded with everything in Silverstone with black leather. I'm so glad to have found you all!

I'm the kind of guy who likes to continually tinker and the aftermarket will catch up with these cars pretty soon. I already ordered a dask kit to dress up the door panels (www.wooddashexperts.com), some SS emblem overlays (www.grafxwerks.com.) and - best of all - pedal covers off the Pontiac Bonneville GXP. They bolt right on and I'll cover the little "GXP" on the brake pedal with black rubber foam.

Did you know the chrome door handles from the Buick LaCross or Lucerne will fit the Impala perfectly? My dealer tells me so. Not for me, but some of you might like more chrome.

Has anyone here considered performance shocks and brakes off the Grand Prix GXP? These too will fit I'm told.

Anyway, nice to meet you all!

Charles -
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Old May 24, 2006 | 01:30 AM
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Originally Posted by Indianapolis SS
Hi All,

Has anyone here considered performance shocks and brakes off the Grand Prix GXP? These too will fit I'm told.

Charles -
Welcome... humm you would think that they would fit... one way to find out.
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Old May 24, 2006 | 08:23 AM
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Welcome again Indy - i just welcomed you at NAIOA too

Someone at NAIOA alreadly did the Lucerne handle swap, but i'm no fan of chrome so i won't be going there.

What color overlays did you get? I went with the reflective black on black and they look real nice...they add to the "stealth" look i'm going for. I was going to suggest that you get overlays before you said that, b/c i saw a silver SS today and could barely see the "pearl white" emblems even at a short distance.

Hope you like her!
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Old May 24, 2006 | 08:41 AM
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Hi Guys,

Thanks for the welcome!

I got the dark red overlays which I think will add just a little color to the sides and back of the car. I may also paint the calipers to match red. I'm not a big chrome fan myself, but some are. The very first thing I'm going do is to de-badge the car except for the SS and the Impala logos. I may also move the badges around a bit...

Was just told the car will be in today or tomorrow - I can't wait to get her!

Charles -
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Old May 24, 2006 | 09:36 AM
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I eliminated the bowtie on the trunk and painted the front bowtie silver. The gold is just ugly. I was going to remove "IMPALA" from the trunk, but i'm still not sure about that. Lastly, i think i'm going to replace the rear "SS" with the larger door emblem.

Oh, yeah...i put the GP GXP "v8" emblem (from their trunk) in the spots where the GM "Mark of Excellence" is (just behind the front wheelwells). I'm still not sure if i like this, but i've been without my car for a week so i can't remember what my last thought of it was (as it was being towed to the dealer )
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Old May 24, 2006 | 01:36 PM
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Chris,

Beautiful pics - gorgeous car! I just love it in black. Kind of like the V8 without the plastic cover, no? Here's my re-badging plan:

Remove the Impala on the trunk.
Remove the trunk gold bowtie.
Move the trunk SS to the left side, below where the Impala was, even with the white backup light.
Remove the GM badges
Dark red overlays on all the SS badges.
Paint the front bowtie silver.

I've also ordered a couple of stylized V8 chrome badges off of eBay, but I'll see where they look best, if anywhere. Maybe one on the console and one beside the rear SS.

I may also order two more Impala circle logos and try them on the rear seatbacks. I did that with a Thunderbird I have and it looks awsome.

Anyway, I'll post pics when I can and thanks again for the greetings Chris.

Charles -
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Old Jun 2, 2006 | 02:32 PM
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Default Performance Upgrades Braking

[QUOTE=BuffaloSS]I eliminated the bowtie on the trunk and painted the front bowtie silver. The gold is just ugly. I was going to remove "IMPALA" from the trunk, but i'm still not sure about that. Lastly, i think i'm going to replace the rear "SS" with the larger door emblem.

Oh, yeah...i put the GP GXP "v8" emblem (from their trunk) in the spots where the GM "Mark of Excellence" is (just behind the front wheelwells). I'm still not sure if i like this, but i've been without my car for a week so i can't remember what my last thought of it was (as it was being towed to the dealer )[/QUOTE

New to this forum and looking for upgrades to my 06 SS. Are there any sites that I can go to that have aftermarket products for the beast?
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Old Jun 2, 2006 | 02:34 PM
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Very new to this forum and I am looking for aftermarket products for my new SS. Any sites would be a great help.

Thanks,

Doug
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Old Jun 3, 2006 | 07:13 AM
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Originally Posted by BuffaloSS
Welcome again Indy - i just welcomed you at NAIOA too

Someone at NAIOA alreadly did the Lucerne handle swap, but i'm no fan of chrome so i won't be going there.

What color overlays did you get? I went with the reflective black on black and they look real nice...they add to the "stealth" look i'm going for. I was going to suggest that you get overlays before you said that, b/c i saw a silver SS today and could barely see the "pearl white" emblems even at a short distance.

Hope you like her!
Car looks great. How did you remove the rear bowtie? Did you have to paint?
How much time did it take?

Thanks for the help!
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Old Jun 3, 2006 | 09:10 PM
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Hi and welcome 2006BlackSS,

It's easy to de-emblem your car and I think it looks so much better. I removed the GM badges from the front fenders, the rear bowtie, the two impala logos and the word "Impala" on the rear deck. All come off with a hair dryer heating it up then pry them off and wipe. Easy.

The car looks so clean and sleek with only 3 badges now. Two SS on the sides and one on the trunk, very discreet.
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Old Jun 5, 2006 | 03:22 PM
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Welcome, 2006BlackSS.

Regarding the bowtie removal, yeah, what Indy said! No need to paint, either. I used a hairdryer on the rear bowtie (it was mid winter) and pryed (sp?) it off using the tip of a screwdriver (just to get it started) and then my hand. Only problem i had was that while i pried up firmly on the left side, as i was watching the adhesive pad stretch and pull off, the opposite corner of the emblem dug into the right side a bit, leaving a small indent. It's not noticeable (unless you're really looking for it). On the opposite side of where you pry, you should wedge something (thin cardboard) between the emblem and the paint to absorb the impact of the point. After being parked in the sunlight. i was able to pull off the "GM" emblems with just my fingernail (about 65* heat).

As far as the aftermarket goes, there's really nothing yet. If you want to change the color of the "SS," you can check out the www.NAIOA.com store or www.grafxwerks.com. I went with reflective black (charcoal in color during the day, reflects shiny silver at angles and when headlights hit it). I also just purchased a 3rd brakelight overlay with the impala logo in the middle, and got two, but when i applied it i noticed the "DOT...blahblahblah" raised lettering and it stuck out like a sore thumb.

Window ventshades are available from GM (on eBay for $60, $72 at dealer). Not much else.
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