Anyhow, one day I got really bored, and the money in my wallet was starting to catch fire to my leg. It had to go somewhere, so I bought a new cold air intake system and some MSD 8.5mm spark plug wires.
When they arrived, I got right to work starting with the spark plug wires. It was a very easy replacement, The only thing I found out later was don't plan to remove the spark plug wires again for some time. The MSD wires are great but when I went to remove them to check the spark plugs a little later on down the road, they were so attached to the spark plugs, that I ripped one of the wires right through the boot. The bright red from the wires looked great in the engine bay though.
Next was installing the cold air intake to give the engine bay a little more flare. The old one came off really easy, but it was a trip to get the new one in. The filter wouldn't go through the hole where the stock air box system used to sit. To get the filter where I needed it to go, I actually needed to jack up the car and remove the plastic panel on the bottom. Once I got the filter on, I reattached the panel, and now the new piece is in looking great. It is also a little better since it is now pulling air completely away from the engine bay. It is sucking up nothing but clean and cold air. Here is a shot of the engine bay after these two things were installed.
Click on image for larger view.
One day I got very bored and I was looking through some classified ads. I came across someone selling 3 more pieces of the RS lip kit I have been after. I messaged the person and asked him if he would consider a trade for my smartphone. I wasn't using it anymore since I switched providers anyhow so it was extremely worth it. Luckily, he accepted my offer and I went down to make the trade. Almost as soon as I got back, I painted all the parts flat black to match the lip kit. I installed the side skirts as soon as they were dry to the touch, I figured the paint could cure while it was on the car. The side skirts mount right up to the screw at the bottom in the fender wells, so that wasn't a problem. There are mounting tabs underneath as well, but I didn't have a drill. The side skirts did stay up just fine with just the 2 screws and only sagged about half an inch from where they should sit. I then moved on to the rear lip which was a lot more difficult. I was at this for about an hour and it ended in arms that were jello from holding them up for so long. This lip needed holes made in the bumper to be mounted. I had to hold the lip up to the bumper right where I wanted it, and while not moving it at all, I had to bend over to see where the holes were and mark them with a marker. When I was done, I took one of the self tapping screws from the interior pieces, the appropriate socket for it, and started forcing the screw through the bumper to make the holes. This was a lot more difficult than it might seem considering the bumper would flex. So finally after that painful hour of forcing holes into my bumper, I was able to bolt the lip on. Finally, I had only 1 piece left to go for the RS lip kit.
Click on image for larger view.
Click on image for larger view.
Now onto the main event, allowing this baby to not be suffocated by her own heat. Now like I said before, the main problem with the design of this car is the grill, or lack thereof. This front bumper cover does not allow any air to move through it. The only option that I saw that made sense was to make a hole in it to allow air to travel like a normal grill on just about every other model car. Of course I didn't want to drive around with a chopped up front bumper either. I came across the billet grill insert and figured that would work perfectly. So I ordered that, then went outside and got to work. I figured the perfect way to cut the front bumper was to simply take out the black portion that was made to look like a grill anyhow. However, the fog light housing goes around completely, so I just cut down to the fog light housing on each side. This actually turned out to be a perfect decision later and not because of the fog lights. Next, while the bumper was off, I removed the plastic pieces that you will see stuffed in there. I also removed the windshield wiper fluid container since I use rainx and never use the fluid anyhow. I also removed the actual front bumper and reinforcement. Now most people will frown upon this but the reinforcement is huge and in the way of air flow. Now with everything out of the way, I re-installed the front bumper cover that is now cut.
A couple days later, I ended up getting my billet grill insert. I noticed it had mounts attached to it that usually go on the stock plastic grill on the bumper cover. So apparently these are used completely for show typically. Now I was left with a way to find out how to mount this piece. Luckily, I made the decision not to cut the bumper completely down, but stop at the fog light housing. I easily took a few zip ties, wrapped it around the grill and the fog light housing, and there it sat perfectly to never fall to this day. Speaking of zip ties, I visited my Camaro at the shop the other day where she is sitting currently, and I managed to get a picture of the zip tie rig holding the exhaust pipe for now 2 years like I had explained in a previous post. So here is that picture along with the pictures of the grill.
Click on image for larger view.
Click on image for larger view.
Click on image for larger view.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I welcome your feedback!