project: 2000 SSEi (light bronzemist v3) @ auction

[harofreak00]

Saw this ad on craigslist.

2000 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi parts. Motor runs but has a rod knock. Transmition has less than 1000 miles on a rebuild. Heads,supercharger p/s pump and alt are all good. interior is clean,leather and all power with heat n lumbar. ball joints and outer tierod ends are new. Will sell whole if price is right. as of 2/26/11 car is whole.glass is good, hood has small spot of corrosion but body all good as well. call Rick for availabity and prices

I called and asked about the car. Only has 110k on it. The guy dumped all this money into the tranny and front end work, and then the engine started knocking on him. He gave up. I asked how much he was looking to get for the whole car. He said he would like $2500, and I was almost ready to hang up. I told him I would offer $1500 unseen. He thought about it for a bit and then agreed. Went to pick it up this morning.

When I got there, the car was absolutely buried in snow. It had been parked for 2 years. It took about an hour with 3 guys to shovel it out. Once I was able to see the car, I was a little disappointed. It has SE wheels, the interior is filthy, has hood herpes, but otherwise looks pretty straight. I told him there is no way I could give $1500. He came right back at me with $1200. I said $1000 tops. He said $1000 and case of beer, I agreed, LOL!

So, 2000 SSEi with 112k. I'll have the hood painted, swap in a low mileage L32, restore the interior, find some correct wheels, and I should have a $5000 car.

I already ordered a 30k mile L32 for $950 shipped from Iowa.

[SSEimatt93]

Wow..I guess two years of sitting really killed that headliner! Yuk!

[wake]

thats some saggy *shoot*!

im intrested to see how this one turns out, never did care for those rims though

[WhiteArrow3800]

Watching another transformation

[00Beast]

Can't wait to see the progress on this one!

[viper8907]

Saw this come up on craigslist as well, was wondering if you were gonna hit it. For $1000 you should be able to come out ok on it.

[harofreak00]

im intrested to see how this one turns out, never did care for those rims though

After doing some research, I found the wheels are actually 04-07 Grand Prix wheels. They will be sold, and I'll find some correct wheels for it.

[Gumball]

I think the wheels look fine, its different. how the tread on the tires?

[wake]

good call..i didnt notice that till you said anything

they look "similar" to these bonne rims

[harofreak00]

About half tread. They scream SE to me. Most people that buy an SSEi want the correct wheels.

[PRD2BDF]

I see dead Bonnevilles

[Ghosthawk]

It is awesome watch these poor neglected cars get some of the attention they deserve. Hopefully the new buyer will be a little more appreciative. Harofreak's Bonneville Rescue Service!

Just a suggestion, if you cant find the sawblade or swooper wheels for the car, the 04&05 GTP Comp G came with a twisted spoke chrome finish wheel in 17in. Those might make a decent substitute if you cant locate the ones you want.

[Ponch 04]

Are the rims painted or the brushed aluminum style? I may be interested in them.

[harofreak00]

Painted. PM if interested.

[laxmangl]

It is awesome watch these poor neglected cars get some of the attention they deserve. Hopefully the new buyer will be a little more appreciative. Harofreak's Bonneville Rescue Service!

Just a suggestion, if you cant find the sawblade or swooper wheels for the car, the 04&05 GTP Comp G came with a twisted spoke chrome finish wheel in 17in. Those might make a decent substitute if you cant locate the ones you want.

I think you might be talking about the ones I've got on my SE.

PIC:




Unfortunately, those were REALLY hard to find in a full set and although I got mine cheap, they have some major corrosion issues.

[gonzo4191]

sexy^^^^


andrew: what would you do if one of these cars came back with a blown trans shortly after purchase? would u help them at all or no cause its a used car?

ps: does the L32 have the supercharger as well?

[harofreak00]

Anyone that has every had an issues with a car I have sold has been taken care of, even though they signed a bill of sale that states very clearly, "SOLD AS-IS". A blown tranny is a pretty severe issue. While I wouldn't cover the entire cost of replacement, but I would definately help chip in.

The L32 that I ordered is complete with the SC. I should be here tomorrow.

Since the engine isn't here yet, I got a head start on the interior. Cleaning the carpets...

Soaping


Rinsing


Much cleaner



3 simple tools


Drying overnight


I didn't think the mats were going to be salvagable, but they turned out better than I expected. I'll show pics after they are dry.


Luckily I was able to determine this car had the same corrosion issues on the serial bus line as the last tan one. I was able to repair it while the carpet was out.



Gutted



The sunroof was broken when I bought it. I had another broken sunroof from a parts car that I held onto. They were broken in different areas, so I was able to make one good sunroof from two bad ones. Works great now.

[Ghosthawk]

I love getting to see all of these pics of these cars pulled apart. its such a great thing to help us mentally know where things are in case we need to get to repair on our own.
Thanks for documenting your work so well.

[harofreak00]

Put everything back together today.

Here is the old headliner


The new headliner, previously in my car. The visors match much better in person, the flash really brings out the difference.


Here is how the orignal mats turned out.


But they aren't nearly good enough for this car, so these are the mats going in it.


Before


After


During

Cleaned out




Done



L32 will be here on Monday. I'll proably pull out the old engine tomorrow, and have the L32 in on Monday. Then, the only thing left is finding some wheels, and gettnig the hood painted, and getting the PDR on the door.

[Gumball]

*dang*, you make me want to do a complete interior cleaning when I see your pics.