I bought the car for 700.00 through CL with the money I saved up from my work trip to Anchorage Alaska (67 bucks a day per diem x 30 days, plus OT, plus travel time made for a very nice check). It was a second owner car, owned by a real estate agent and an attorney, though you would never know it…it was filthy on the inside. The AC compressor went out on it, and instead of sinking any more money into it, they decided to sell it. I bought it for their asking price, provided they would take half as down and good-faith, to buy myself time to come up with a compressor to get it home.
Once I got it home and got it cleaned up, I did some of the normal stuff to it like new plugs, wires, filters, and I also flashed the PCM since I have an HPT. New tires came next, then a Magnaflow muffler, then an intake and new stereo setup. Around that time I also put in a lower mileage interior to help freshen it. In due time, I ended up with this…
But that wasn’t enough. The engine always had a persistent and annoying oil leak, coming from the rear main. Knowing what was involved with such a task, I talked myself into just changing the engine out completely. And it was at this stage where things started to get a little crazy…my local LKQ got in a 3k mileage 2007 L26 from a Buick Lucerne, for the sum of 450 bucks. They also had a 60k transmission from a 2006 Grand Prix for 200 bucks, so I bought the both of them as a package. This meant I needed a new PCM to control the transmission, so in went a 2005 Impala PCM that was loaded with a 2003 Grand Prix operating system. A previous junkyard run with my dad while I was in Tennessee yielded an HD differential and output shaft, so that went into the trans along with a Trans-go shift kit. This meant HD axles had to go in as well, and as an afterthought, a urethane sidepan mount modification to allow usage of the W-body transaxle in an H-body. With everything out of the car, almost everything got replaced…struts, swaybar bushings, blower motor and fan, starter (from the same Grand Prix that the trans was sourced from), battery, cables, and a trans cooler found its way under the hood.
The result was an SSE with a better engine, transmission, and engine management system, with 3.29 gearing, and a solid suspension. It no longer acted like the tired car that it used to be…I found myself liking the car over the Impala SS even! After a few weeks of tweaking I thought I’d wash my hands clean and call it good.
THAT didn’t last too long.
I wanted a paint job, so in it went to Maaco…which I’ll never do again. For the money I spent it SHOULD have been better, but at the time I was out of the area and couldn’t keep an eye on the car while it was in the shop. It’ll get a few years wear, and then I’ll redo it again.
The latest mods to the car have been more evolutionary than for power, but mods none the less. They include an L67 throttle body modified to fit like the L36 throttle body, the fuel system has been totally replaced and modified with a returnless, stainless steel fuel rail, 24 lbs. injectors of EV6 design have replaced the old 19 lbs. Rochester injectors, and a reworked vacuum and EVAP system. A new exhaust was also installed, using a 3-inch downpipe from ZZP, a 3-inch Magnaflow cat, and a 3-inch glasspack from Summit Racing make up the front half of the system.
Before the latest mods were done, the Scan Gauge that’s installed was showing a crank HP reading of 240. I fully expect that to go up to about 250 once it’s all done.
Glad someone picked it up who appreciates it and has put alot of hard work in to it.
LUCAS 
Member # 534.
I love this car,and I too will put a little work into mine as well.
Snow White