Found this on craigslist, listed as parting out but no pics, number, prices etc..

I shot out an email asking about price on the whole car, she called me back an hour later and said I could have it for $500 then sent me some pics. Needless to say, I left work early and took a three hour round trip to Lansing and back to look at it and give her a deposit on it until this weekend when my dad could pick it up and bring it up here.

Her story: Sat for about three months with flat junk tires on it, she put some good used ones on it and then it wouldn't start, said something is draining the battery. She talked to a couple mechanics that told her that some power switches are staying on and she would have to take it to a dealership to get the part, when she did try to start it she said that there was a "fireball in the intake line" and "the intake line might need replacing" Right away I pulled the engine cover off expecting to see the intake blown apart from a bad FPR, not the case though, all is well. She also said that sometimes the blinkers work and sometimes they don't, and the sunroof (aftermarket) would sometimes open up on it's own or not work at all. The car has 260,000 miles on it (I haven't checked yet, that's just what she said) and she was in a little accident a few years ago with it so the front and some of the drivers side has been repainted / fixed. ZERO rust at all around the gas door which is very rare around here, especially for one that is only sold for $500! She said the trans was rebuilt four years ago too, also has new front struts.

As of right now I really have no idea if I have a total basket case on my hands or if I have a simple easy fix and a good DD. Either way, for $500 I simply couldn't go wrong! I regret selling my '02 SLE I had last year and have been looking around for the right deal to pop up and this just may be it... time will tell I will need to find a head unit, I will go aftermarket as all the wiring and Pioneer speakers are there, but she took her headunit out.

My dad tried to get it started, I told him to pull the vac line off the FPR before trying it just in case. He said it was backfiring a lot, but only had a few minutes to check it out. I will do some more checking around in the next week a little at a time when I have time to see if it is a quick issue or something major.

Anyway, some pics...

I asked about these seats in another recent topic




Engine is NASTY! Nothing I can't clean up though if it runs good


Exterior






Yea, duals, yea, '92-'99 style She said it sounds good and not too loud, I will see though.



She had some 22" on it a while back too Not really my style, but I have seen worse!

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Ryan
Check out my detailing page on facebook! --> Next Level Detailing

2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD!
2002 Bonneville SE - The Mutt Complete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD
2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH
1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one

Now, with that all said and done....

IF the car turns out like I hope, an easy fix or not a TON of money into it, I have some plans and ideas and maybe dreams

I still have that 2000 SSEi parts car - your-ride-pics-and-videos/topic36180.html

Wheels will be swapped over
Heated seats will be swapped
FE2 will be swapped
SSEi brakes

Things I would like to do, but not sure if some of it is even possible to swap from a 2000 SSEi to a 2002 SE...
SSEi side molding and rear bumper (would need paint)
ELC swap
HUD swap
ELC swap if the SE doesn't have it?
DIC cluster

basically all the SSEi options I would like to put on this car

Dreaming...
Top swap, I believe I have just about everything I would need, probably need intake / exhaust mods though and I am sure a tune, haven't really actually looked into it yet.

_________________
Ryan
Check out my detailing page on facebook! --> Next Level Detailing

2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD!
2002 Bonneville SE - The Mutt Complete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD
2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH
1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one

Had a little time to mess with it this morning, swapped in another battery to fire it up quicker, found it was only firing on one or two cylinders.

Pulled off the wires for the front three cylinders and rolled it over, only heard a couple sparks jump so I swapped the ICM and all three coils with a known good one. Also pulled the front three plugs and they were NASTY! Cleaned them up with my propane torch and put them back in.

All set to go, hit the key and it fired a bit better but still missing and wouldn't actually run. I held it wide open to clear any fuel in the cylinders until it acted like it wasn't firing at all then let off the gas and it took right off! Ran like crap for a bit and made some noise, but eventually smoothed out and ran good. Engine still makes a little noise when giving it a little snap of the throttle from idle, but that could be because it needs an oil change so bad. I am thinking it needs intake gaskets and probably a UIM, it was blowing out some white smoke pretty good, not terrible, but definitely noticeable. No coolant in the oil though.

Drove it around the house, shifted into second gear nice and smooth, won't have it on the road though just yet so no idea how the rest of it is, so far so good though!


All said and done, I am VERY happy for $500!

_________________
Ryan
Check out my detailing page on facebook! --> Next Level Detailing

2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD!
2002 Bonneville SE - The Mutt Complete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD
2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH
1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one

That is a great score in my opinion. Wish I could find something like it around here as a beater/flip.

For some reason I recognize that picture of the car when it had the rimzzz on it.

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Will
92 Bonneville SSE | L67/4T60E | 70K mi | Med Slate Grey w/ Two-Tone Grey Int. | Low Miles Time Capsule
92 Lumina Z34 | LQ1/4T60E | 175k mi | Torch Red w/Grey Int. | Summer Daily Driver and Future Turbo Racekar
98 Eighty-Eight Royale LS | L36/4T65 | 207k mi | Majestic Teal Metallic w/Grey Int. | Daily Beater, Future Cammed L67 Swap
99 Tahoe LT | L31/4L65E | 234k mi | Spiral Grey Metallic w/Grey Int. | Daily Winter Rig and Portable Concert Hall

Looks like a *dang* good deal! If you do swap over everything, it would a funny car. SEi. XD

For a top swap, I wouldn't do it without headers right off the bat.

Also, I have a good UIM with ~200 miles on it I will give to you for DIRT cheap. My parents are making me clean up the garage of all my "Bonneville crap." Hahaha

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-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 173k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 53k miles

You want a good recepie for a nice, quick running L36?

*Doorman upper
*Ported Lower
*L67 TB blended to L36 intake
*L26 fuel rail, 26lbs. injectors and '00 Corvette fuel filter (has it's own FPR)
*HPT
*CAI
*3.29 gear ratio
*Lots of tuning time

Trust me when I say I found some horsepower and torque when I did my '97 using those mods. Scangage II showed a consistent 245 hp/255 lbs-ft of torque.

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2005 GXP - White Gold Pearl, no mods...yet.
2000 SSEi - Resurrection in progress. Built L67 w/L32 fuel rail, ported heads, and cam. Camaro front brake system, GXP cluster, and much more in planning.

before dumping any money into a 1/4 million mile engine . check the compression . make sure the bottom end is gona last say another 50-150 k .

before u spent all that money on new upper end and parts to make it run perfect .

IMO if it running decent . do the minor maintenance items and go from there . ( IE oil change and SEAFOAM the fuel system ! Change Spark Plugs & Wires !!!!!!) Since u got a good ICM and Coils now .

When it does it boging or stumble before u smash the gas . does the rpm gauge flutter with the engine noise ?

if it does its a ingition promblem . if the rpm says the same but it starts runing ruff . its a gas promblem or air

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2001 BONNEVILLE SLE (Galaxy Silver)
2002 BONNEVILLE SE (Galaxy Silver) (DD)
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Looks like u got a big front valve cover leak , where is all that sludge coming from ? Vavle cover or UIM ? Hopefully not the Head gasket ( very rare )

LOL a aftermarket alarm , I betcha there ur problem for the battery drain .

some one could of did it wrong and hooked it up drawing power over time .

take it out u dont need it lol it has a factory alarm . did u get any key fobs ?

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2001 BONNEVILLE SLE (Galaxy Silver)
2002 BONNEVILLE SE (Galaxy Silver) (DD)
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Nice buy Ryan!!! Bet that paint will be pretty shiny really soon.

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1989 Pontiac Firebird Formula 350
2004 Saturn Ion 3 Quad Coupe

Yeah...I did all that on a 4k mile L26 I picked up

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2005 GXP - White Gold Pearl, no mods...yet.
2000 SSEi - Resurrection in progress. Built L67 w/L32 fuel rail, ported heads, and cam. Camaro front brake system, GXP cluster, and much more in planning.

The current car doesn't have heated seats, does it? If it doesn't, you're pretty much going to have to swap over the entire body harness to get them to work...

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Bye Bye:

RIP sandrock

What color code is this 2002 se ?

a good days worth of cleaning you have there . But it will look good after you clean and buff them rims . and wash that thing inside and out .

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2001 BONNEVILLE SLE (Galaxy Silver)
2002 BONNEVILLE SE (Galaxy Silver) (DD)
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That's an exact clone of my 00 SE.

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2012 Ford Fusion SEL, 2012 Chrysler Town & Country, 2007 Chevy Silverado LT, 1999 Pontiac Firehawk, 1979 Pontiac Trans Am

Looks like a helluva car for $500, especially with relatively little work to get it running! Nice score! I'm looking forward too seeing your amazing detail work on it!

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*Chris*

15 Impreza 2.0i Premium/97 F-150 XLT 4.6L 4x4
Previous, 07 GP SE, 06 GP GXP, 97 SSE 40th, 96 LeSabre Custom, 93 SLE, 90 LeSabre Custom

No mods would be done on this engine until it is proven to be solid. Even then, modding it as far as adding much power is more thinking out loud then anything, it will be more likely to remain stock, but time will tell.

Once I get it on the road I will see about the plugs and wires. If it runs good and gets good mileage then the plugs / wires will stay, no need to fix what isn't broken

No bogging or stumbling anymore, runs very smooth I can just tell it is getting coolant in the combustion chambers as it puffs some white smoke and starts to spit and miss a bit after it idles for a minute or so.






It has much more then a valve cover gasket leak LOL The whole engine is just covered in sludge. It will be cleaned spotless in time though, no worries there

The alarm will certainly be removed and eliminated as the source of the power drain, hoping it isn't though as it is a nice Viper 2 way remote start as well. I will just disable the alarm part if it works ok.

No key fobs, not worried there though.





No heated seats in the SE. This is one of the things I figured would be some work but wasn't exactly sure how much. I know I have a TON of research to do with all that I want to swap out anyway so might as well do it all if it is possible. If the entire body harness can be swapped in to make the stuff I want work then that is what will be done.



No idea what the paint code is, definitely a couple days cleaning with this one and those rims are DEFINITELY NOT staying on Those will be winter wheels for winter tires, but it will get the extra set of bent 5s I have

_________________
Ryan
Check out my detailing page on facebook! --> Next Level Detailing

2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD!
2002 Bonneville SE - The Mutt Complete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD
2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH
1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one

If the plugs were that nasty, then the electrodes are probably eroded pretty bad. They are so cheap, it's not worth trying to make them last...

_________________
Bye Bye:

RIP sandrock

The plugs looked nasty because of crap on them, cheap or not they won't be replaced unless they are bad and either misfire or I have bad gas mileage. I am not going to fix what ain't broke.... that's like wiping before you poop, it just don't make sense.

_________________
Ryan
Check out my detailing page on facebook! --> Next Level Detailing

2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD!
2002 Bonneville SE - The Mutt Complete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD
2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH
1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one

No, I understand getting the car running and making sure it's worth putting money into, but if you're actually going to drive it as-is, a tune-up should be first on the list, especially if you do the UIM and Intake gaskets. They are a wear item, just like tires, and you need to replace them when their useful life is up. You don't drive around on bald tires, at least not for long...

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Bye Bye:

RIP sandrock

Exactly, but if the tires have good tread, balance out well, no flat spots in them and no broken belts you wouldn't replace them now would you.

If there is no issue with the plugs there is no reason to waste my time and money changing them. When I get the gaskets done and engine cleaned up, I will drive it and then determine if the plugs need replaced. If there is no miss and good mileage than they will stay in there until they become an issue.

_________________
Ryan
Check out my detailing page on facebook! --> Next Level Detailing

2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD!
2002 Bonneville SE - The Mutt Complete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD
2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH
1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one

Title transfer, insurance, and plate today. Also oil change and front valve cover gasket.

Drives really nice! A few issues need to be addressed, front control arm bushings are shot and it definitely has an odd electrical issue with the drivers window switch - left rear window up is down and down is up (haven't tried from it's own door switch) right rear window switch on drivers door switch actually moves the mirrors to the left and nothing on that window, however that window does operate on it's own switch.

All said and done, I am VERY happy with what I have so far for $500

At the car wash




Quick powerwash to the engine... needs a TON more cleaning, but still an improvement.

_________________
Ryan
Check out my detailing page on facebook! --> Next Level Detailing

2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD!
2002 Bonneville SE - The Mutt Complete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD
2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH
1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one