what ive been up to lately with my car (update 121106)

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[LownSlow]

my alternator went out for the 3rd time (original one, then high output, then rebuilt delco) so i put the ho one back in (had to send it out to get fixed).  decided to do the oil pan gasket while i was at it, so i dropped the subframe to make it easier, cleaned it off, and repainted it.  i also put in a solid front motor mount (old one was shot anyway) and energy suspension polyurethane tie rod end boots.  i broke the thing on the alternator that the air duct snaps into, so i had to drill holes and zip tie it together.  also, my damn steering ujoint fell off and when i went to turn the wheel, something happened which tripped my air bag light and made the steering wheel controls inop (havent figured that out yet; i think the connectors just got knocked loose or something).  on top of that, my car wouldnt start but it just knocked the connectors of the icm (i thought i broke it..again). what a nightmare day that was (worked on my car all day till almost midnight).

saturday, i painted my fender flair with the dupli-color touch-up spray i orderd and also painted over the top of the rear bumper where the clear is doing its usual thing and it looks pretty damn good.  

so, yesterday, i got my hid kit and trunk lid mat.  got the mat installed and it looks great (hopefully i'll have pix up tomorrow).  i hooked up my hid kit and  i was just going to run the bulbs in the stock housings for a test to see if they were good enough to get a sealed beam conversion kit or to see if i had to retrofit projectors.  didnt get there, though.  at first, no lights worked, then only one, then i got both to work, then one wasnt working and now neither are working.  decided to give up for the night.  i have no idea wtf is going on.  gonna try again today.

yeah, thats about it.  sorry for the long post.

[DiscoStudd]

When you broke the steering gear, did you spin your steering wheel "wildly?"  Sounds to me like you snapped the wiring inside your clockspring.  What's a clockspring, you ask?



It's the "thing" that houses the wiring to the airbag and steering wheel controls.  There's a ribbon cable spooled up inside (carefully calibrated so as not to be wound too tight or too loose.)  If you spin the wheel more than the usual 2.5 turns lock-to-lock it will snap the ribbon cable...

[Euro]

you car sounds like its gonna be badass man.

[LownSlow]

well, I didnt turn it too much, my dad did      im getting a code 26 and according to the alldata diagnostic chart, the first thing you check is the connection back there (i know you know, but its the connector coming out of the clock spring.  hopefully its the connection and not the clock spring.  i just replaced my turn signal switch twice not too long ago, too.

thanks, euro, but it already is    \/

[LownSlow]

got the hid's working last night.  took em out for a test drive and im satisfied, so im going to order a sealed beam conversion kit and call it good instead of trying to retrofit projectors.

took trunk lid pics but forgot them so ill post up later today.  gonna fix the swc/air bag problem later too.

[AWeb80]

thanks, euro, but it already is    \/

wow, what a pompus ass....lol


Can't wait for pics of the flair.

[LownSlow]

yup, its teh cock spring, lol.  150 bucks dealer cost  :shock:





ill take pics of the flair after i clear it.  i can see a line where i painted the bumper. just a tad darker than the stock color but thats probably because the paint is 10 years old and faded.

[LownSlow]

i got a working cluster for 20 shipped off ebay, took the good plastic cover off and put it on mine and changed the backlight bulbs to red so my needles and stuff match my z-series gauges.   cleared the flair and bumper.  also got a gauge panel off ebay that was in better shape than mine.  gonna get my 97  tips on tuesday hopefully and am going to replace my clock spring tomorrow so my swc's  work again and airbag light goes away.

[LownSlow]

saturday:  got my 97-03 tips on.  i made them a little crooked on purpose to go with the top of the cutout.  not sure if im going to keep them that way or not.  

monday: got my conversion housings and installed them along with my hid bulbs.  HUGE difference

didnt get any pics.  ill try to take some today.

[LownSlow]

new pics here:
http://gmwbody.com/viewtopic.php?p=3281#3281

[Blackbombshell95]

so the euro firebird headlight conversions worked nice? did they come wtih bulbs with the new housings?

[5speedz34]

Looks cool!

Why does it say supercharged in your sig? You know the 1st Gen's aren't SC'ed?

[LownSlow]

you know who youre talking to, right?  do you think im stupid?     what do you think "supercharged old man's coupe" means?  i already mentioned my gp and gp's arent old man cars, theyre grocery-getter family cars.  its my riviera, dumbass.  im just giving you shit.  thanks for the compliment.

yes, corey, those conversion housings worked.  $68 shipped w/o bulbs.  i should have just ordered them with high beam bulbs, though, to use for my highs cuz it was only $10 more for bulbs (the blue bulbs were more though).  i would just use your stock housings and si in the bulbs.  i didnt because my stock housings werent really any good any more and i didnt wanna si in hid bulbs.  im very happy with how the whole setup turned out, although my apc high beam bulbs and driving lights are completely worthless now

[LownSlow]

did a bunch of stuff to my engine bay:


heres a pic of the fender flair after painting

[skiiirt]

/off topic
I am so jealous of your weather!
/off topic

The engine bay looks sweet.  Nice n clean