Alright, lots of updates to put on here. Getting Gina into winter mode! I am turning that into a spendy process haha. The undercoating and rust protection are done and I am very pleased so far. The car smelled like varnish fumes for quite awhile but those are finally fading. I took it to Ziebart, they supposedly took some before and after pics like I requested but they haven't returned my email to get them yet. Should have just done it myself. If I don't get them I will take my own after pics but won't have any before ones. I also got around to doing plugs and wires. Dropped a heat range to Autolite 605s and put PRJ Performance Wires on it. Didn't take care of the "surging" in overdrive at freeway speeds like I had hoped so I guess next I will have to test the coils. Anyone care to chime in on how to do that? If that checks out hopefully a shift kit will take care of the problem in the spring. Here are some pics I took of that project:
I wasn't able to utilize the metal "sleeves" that go on the plug boot anymore because my new wire boots were a lot larger and came off at a 45 deg angle instead of going straight into the wire. Hopefully it isn't an issue, I've been keeping an eye on it and they seem to be holding up fine so far.
Crappy phone photo but is this normal for plug wear? Its been so long since I've done a set that I don't remember how a normally worn one should look.
There was no oil on any of them and they all looked like this
Some pics after it was all finished, I think they look pretty good under the hood!
Some nice busted knuckles getting those back 3 done but I managed!
Alright, onto operation winter traction project. The tires on my bent 5s were fine in summer but are showing their lame traction in winter. Front end doesn't hold the road in turns for sh*t and accelerating at stoplight and icy condition performance is pathetic. I picked up a pretty clean set of 16" rims from a '98 Bonneville off Craigslist last week for a nice deal. Was a long drive but the old guy was pretty nice and we BS'ed about cars for a bit. They were dirty but cleaned up nice with a little magic eraser, soap, water, and Windex. (All my car care stuff is back home at the parents so I had to improvise lol) Anyways here they are, glad I didn't sell my old center caps or lugs and lug caps now! They fit the wheels nicely I think.
Here are the original center caps they had. And he gave me 18 lug nuts and 8 plastic chrome lug caps, 4 of which were still good. Not sure how he ended up with such random quantities of stuff
My factory lug nuts from the bent 5s on the right and the ones he gave me on the left. No reason why mine shouldn't work even though they are "taller" right?
Thanks to Matthew (nubuilder) for demonstrating how to fit 4 rims and tires in your car awhile back
One put up next to the car. My baby is covered in salt :( I run it thru the carwash almost everyday but its a lost cause until they finally get the *dang* roads cleared and dry here
It goes into NTB on Thursday to get the snow tires put on the wheels. Going with Bridgestone Blizzak WS-70s. I wanted the WS-60s that were 10 bucks a tire cheaper but that's the older model and nobody has them in stock anymore. I looked online and considered Cooper Weathermaster S/T2s as well. They would have been about 60 bucks cheaper but I would have had to wait for them to ship from CA and then take them to a place to get mounted and balanced. And then I would have had to figure out how to fit 4 more tires without rims into my car lol. Wasn't worth the hassle IMO. 215/65R/16 is the size I decided to go with, Ryan said they will be the same diameter as the size I have now. All of this for less money than it would have cost to get a good set of all seasons on my bent 5s. Made getting new wheels and a dedicated set of snow tires seem like a no brainer. Just goes to show you how much cheaper tires are for 16" rims compared to 17". I will be able to keep the road salt off those this way and hopefully preserve the life of the chrome too. AND everyone tells me you cannot beat snow tires in the winter, we shall find out but I'm sure they are right!
Yet ANOTHER mini update, this is turning into a lengthy post...got these LED bulbs for the plate area to replace both of the burnt out ones I had. They look even better in the dark but you get the idea. Very happy with them so far.
Also got my new GXP shifter installed (thanks Ryan!) Also notice my new winter floor mats, wanted to keep my SSEi carpet ones looking good since they are in amazing shape yet
Car goes in for remote start on the 20th and then I will be officially set for winter! Going with a 2-way Compustar Accustart, I'm sure I won't be disappointed. Getting a good deal on that too, guy who tinted my windows will be doing the install on that. Hoping maybe you can program it to turn on the heated seats too??
Oh and I snapped a couple pics of the downtown Minneapolis skyline on my short walk back from the ramp...enjoy! It looks sweet this time of year since it gets dark out so early and a lot of lights are still on early in the evenings
And my neighbors ridiculous house with Christmas light display
