And now, the other reason why a lot of work was halted on my SSEi - there was a lot of work needed on my 05 GXP. When I purchased it, I knew it needed some work, but the car was driveable with only minor issues. It wasn't until I was headed home one day in the summer of 2019. Handling at 60mph+ became questionable, and at one point when I was up to 80 to pass, it felt as if the car was going to jump right off the road. So, the goal was to replace worn suspension parts.

After spending a boat load of money, the GXP got an almost new suspension system. I picked up new shocks, struts, strut mounts, outer tie rods, end links, rear lateral links (the solid ones), replaced the non-functioning rear air pump, and put poly bushings on the sway bars. It took me and a friend almost 2 months worth of Saturdays, and it was finished the day before the 2019 Fall Color Tour. And it was all worth it. There were a few times I had to open it up and do some aggressive maneuvering, and I had zero issues handling the boat of a car with the new parts.

Old suspension bits that had to be forcibly removed:


Old and busted control arm:


Shiny and new:


The original FE5 shocks, which were completely dead:




During the 2019 Fall Color Tour, after stopping for the night, it was discovered that there were a few vacuum leaks in the engine, so after multiple trips to town (45 minutes there and back each time) for parts, and working late into the night, the vacuum leaks were fixed.



Then last summer (August 2020), I got the itch to upgrade the head unit, and that was all I wanted to upgrade. I got tired of having a bunch of CD's with me all the time, and I worried about them being stolen. So, I bought a replacement head unit, then speakers, then amps... Yeah, it went downhill fast, but worth it. Went with a touchscreen Pioneer unit, and upgraded all the speakers to NVX, which are all powered by 2 Cerwin-Vega amps. A 4-channel that powers the door speakers, and a 2-channel that powers the rear decks, which are set as subs. The audio is crisp and clear now, and the rear 6x9's put out enough bass that I don't need a separate subwoofer.

The Pioneer head unit:


The amps powering the speakers (and yes, the wiring is bad, but by this point, I was tired and I'm not great at wire management):


And since they weren't being used, I swapped over the custom headlights Carl made for my SSEi:


Finally, to add some performance to the GXP, I built a custom FWI (and managed to keep the emissions system for it), that gave the engine a nice added growl boost:


Had a pair of Magnaflow mufflers installed. They are nice and quiet at cruise and idle, but sound great when the pedal is mashed:


And for a bit of fun, I had an electric cutout installed, which is a joy to use:


Here soon, I will be installing rebuilt calipers with new rotors and pads (the rears are trashed and not working well) for improved stopping power. I will also be getting a package from Canada here soon, that will be waking the car up, and I can't wait to try it out.

But yeah, this was another reason the SSEi's progress was held back. But, I'm happy with where the GXP is at for the moment, so I shouldn't need to mess with it anytime soon.

_________________
- Greg | -- Project Prasinos -- |

1995 LeSabre Custom: 312K Miles | Custom K&N CAI | Edelbrock SDT Muffler | Camaro Tips | 180 T-stat | LED Interior
& Exterior | 20% Tint | PA Grill & Portholes | Limited Trim | GTP Rims | Ported LIM | Plus Many More Mods | Restoration Thread
2001 Bonneville SSEi: 225K Miles | Instense FWI | Intense MPS (3.4") | 180 T-stat | ZZP Plog | Ported Rear Manifold |
ZZP 3" Downpipe | Magnaflow Cat | Retrofitted HIDs | GenV M90 | GXP Brake Upgrade | 35% Tint | Plus Many More Mods |
2005 Bonneville GXP: 101K Miles | Custom FWI
2009 G8 GT: 89K Miles | 35% Tint | Roto-Fab CAI | SOLO Mach Exhaust | BMR Tunnel Brace | BMR Sub Frames | BMR STB |
Kooks Headers | QTP Electric Cutouts | BMR Sway Bars | Elite Engineering Catch Can | Innovative Dual Wideband Kit
1984 Caprice Classic Wagon: 86K Miles | Restoration Project

I can really appreciate someone that really takes pride in their ride, nice work. Can we see some pics of the car?

Yeah, I try to take care of all the vehicles I own, even my daily driver (which I completely gutted and fully cleaned a few weeks ago). Here's a bunch of pictures I took of the GXP right after I got it (I don't have any newer ones at the moment):

http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/forum/your-ride-pics-and-videos/topic50952.html#p470347

_________________
- Greg | -- Project Prasinos -- |

1995 LeSabre Custom: 312K Miles | Custom K&N CAI | Edelbrock SDT Muffler | Camaro Tips | 180 T-stat | LED Interior
& Exterior | 20% Tint | PA Grill & Portholes | Limited Trim | GTP Rims | Ported LIM | Plus Many More Mods | Restoration Thread
2001 Bonneville SSEi: 225K Miles | Instense FWI | Intense MPS (3.4") | 180 T-stat | ZZP Plog | Ported Rear Manifold |
ZZP 3" Downpipe | Magnaflow Cat | Retrofitted HIDs | GenV M90 | GXP Brake Upgrade | 35% Tint | Plus Many More Mods |
2005 Bonneville GXP: 101K Miles | Custom FWI
2009 G8 GT: 89K Miles | 35% Tint | Roto-Fab CAI | SOLO Mach Exhaust | BMR Tunnel Brace | BMR Sub Frames | BMR STB |
Kooks Headers | QTP Electric Cutouts | BMR Sway Bars | Elite Engineering Catch Can | Innovative Dual Wideband Kit
1984 Caprice Classic Wagon: 86K Miles | Restoration Project