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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 12:35 pm 
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Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 11:38 pm
Posts: 1700
Location: Cambridge, OH
Year and Trim: 95 LeSabre Custom
01 Bonneville SSEi
09 G8 GT
One of the reasons I don't have the SSEi done, is because over the last 2 years, I've gotten side tracked by projects on two other cars that I own. One being the '05 GXP (there will be another post for that), and a 2003 Buick LeSabre that I purchased in Oct. 2019 to be my winter and replacement daily driver. I picked up the LeSabre for cheap. It's got rust in all the common spots, but it still looks good. I picked it up with 216K miles, and only 3 gears in the trans.

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Drove it for one winter, so I needed snow tires. Swapped on the tires I had used for the SSEi:
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But, I stopped driving it in the summer because the transmission kept getting too hot, and I ran into some other maintenance issues. Knowing it had a busted trans, in Jan. of 2020 I picked up an 02 LeSabre for dirt cheap that was almost completely rusted out in the back. However, there was at least $1000 worth of new parts on it, plus new tires, and the engine and trans only had 96K on them, with zero issues.

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So, in early fall, the swap started.

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The project went smooth, but took awhile, mostly because the cold set in quick. During the swap, the 03 got a bunch of new parts like control arms, tie rods, end links, struts, trans mount, brake lines, and a new caliper and wheel bearing on the driver's side. The subframe got cleaned up, and installed new mounts and bushings, and replaced the front engine mount with the boat roller. The engine had new gaskets and seals installed. Swapped the exhaust with new hangers. I even put in the FE2 swaybars from the SSEi (since it now has FE5), with new bushings, and it's amazing how much better the car handles. In the future, it's probably getting other hand-me-downs from the SSEi, mainly because I won't have any other uses for the parts, and they'll be free upgrades.

To finish things up, I've added a few extras to the car.

The Aeroforce from the SSEi (only because it's not being used right now, and it's a good way to monitor things, it'll go back once the SSEi is near completion):
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Upgraded the audio (on the cheap) because the stock speakers were crackling and the CD player died:
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Swapped in the FWI kit from the SSEi (as it's being upgraded and no longer useful for that car):
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And because the winter season has me doing a lot of night driving, and the headlights suck, I decided to add some LED driving lights:
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The last major thing I have left to do is swap the interior from the parts car into the 03. It's pristine, and everything in the 03 is a sugary mess. That should be done soon.

So, this was one reason work on the SSEi got pushed back, so I kind of wanted to share that. I'll post up what has been done to the GXP a little later.

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- Greg | -- Project Prasinos -- |
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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


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 3:14 pm 
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Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 11:47 pm
Posts: 6871
Location: Philadelphia
Year and Trim: 95 SLE
Nice work. I'm sure it's nice having similar platforms to swap spare parts from etc.

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95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 10:12 pm 
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Posts like a Northstar
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Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 11:38 pm
Posts: 1700
Location: Cambridge, OH
Year and Trim: 95 LeSabre Custom
01 Bonneville SSEi
09 G8 GT
Yeah, I was originally looking at an older Civic or Corolla, but I saw this car, and was like "a platform I already know how to work on!". So, it became an easy choice.

_________________
- Greg | -- Project Prasinos -- |
Image
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


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