Build thread: Saving a GT500

Mike93SVT

Savior of Junk
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I've been posting randomly and figured it was time to put it all together with some progress coming over the next few weeks.

Short version: someone wrecked this 2010 GT500 a few years and it went to auction. The new owner slapped an ebay front clip on it, spray painted the whole car flat black. It changed hands and that owner wrapped it in vinyl and daily drove it until I picked it up earlier this year. I knew exactly what I was getting into and am now making good progress on resurrecting the car.

the drivetrain and interior are mint on the car. it has 33k miles and will be great when it's done. I'm going to get it painted crystal white because it's brighter than the original performance white and I miss my sn95.

How I bought it:
stock pulley
JLT 127mm CAI
BAMA tune (will be VMP now)
Borla S-type mufflers
Koni struts and shocks
Eibach springs

Parts waiting to install:
BPS Bullet cams
all OEM front clip
2.5 pulley and 90mm idler
off road H pipe
AFCO heat exchanger
MGW shifter
performance pack wheels (19/20)
the new NITTO 555 G2 tires
JLT oil separator
BMR rear suspension
other common small upgrades for these cars

I'm also going to do a wire tuck and shave the engine bay.


Here she is after a thorough cleaning and quick detail. it was a good 25 footer. but the panel gap was awful, you could see the waves in the bare fiberglass panels (no prep done), wheels curb rashed, and it was just nasty dirty in and out.

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here's the stock front panels. it wasn't a terrible wreck. but the hood did bow a tiny bit and rolled the corner of it and the fender. the radiator support got pushed over an inch. you can see how the radiator mounts are slightly angled different. all this is being taken care of

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a small project was a quick vinyl wrap on the center console. had some scratches on it, so a 3m brushed aluminum vinyl made it look great again.

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next step was to get rid of the front clip and take off the vinyl wrap. there I found the many coats of rattle can flat black. they painted the door jambs, trunk, engine bay and all. unfortunately they scuffed up the original paint with 80 grit of something very coarse. those are the scratch marks you see where I removed the spray paint. it took over fifty 180 grit sanding discs to remove 90 percent of the spray paint. I'm still working on that as the car isn't ready to be striped down all the way yet.

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and most recently was grafting the old gt500 vent into the new hood. I live in Hawaii for the next 2 1/2 years and wasn't will to pay $1,000+ in shipping fees for a used hood. so it was time to make my own with a 13/14 v6 hood. here's the full write up on that. wasn't hard at all actually. just took some time and patience

http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128967

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picked up a set of wheels from a buddy. 2011 performance pack 19/20's. going to pick them up from getting the 555 G2 tires on lunch today

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and this morning I put together the new front bumper assembly. the car is at the frame shop right now getting squared up, new radiator support and inner fender apron. It was supposed to be done yesterday, but it's not. hoping to get it back before the weekend and slap it together for a big meet.

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plenty more to come on this one.
 
Last edited:

suicidekings

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When you commented on my thread yesterday I wondered what build was yours. I have been watching this one! Keep it up man I like what youre doing with this one.
 

svtfocus2cobra

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Nice work man! The black paint looks awful in the first pictures. Looks like a Maaco job. I really like the wrap you did on the center console too. I might consider looking into that as well.
 

Mike93SVT

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Thanks guys.

Frame shop is behind and being a pain to get the truth from. So my hopes to work on it this weekend are diminishing. I hate when people say they will do something and then give you excuses

Anyways, picked up my wheels with the new rubber.

Mike

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svtfocus2cobra

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Thanks guys.

Frame shop is behind and being a pain to get the truth from. So my hopes to work on it this weekend are diminishing. I hate when people say they will do something and then give you excuses

Anyways, picked up my wheels with the new rubber.

Mike

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Being that I work in a shop, it's hard to give firm ETAs since my whole day revolves around fixing little problems here and there that arise in order to get the vehicles out on their initially scheduled out dates. They may be behind because a car that takes priority over yours had something come up. Happens all the time and we deal with it the best you can. Best thing you can do is be patient with them, and trust me they will appreciate it. That's if they are being honest. If they are a bunch of shit heads then that's completely different.
 

Mike93SVT

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Being that I work in a shop, it's hard to give firm ETAs since my whole day revolves around fixing little problems here and there that arise in order to get the vehicles out on their initially scheduled out dates. They may be behind because a car that takes priority over yours had something come up. Happens all the time and we deal with it the best you can. Best thing you can do is be patient with them, and trust me they will appreciate it. That's if they are being honest. If they are a bunch of shit heads then that's completely different.

all true and I understand things happen. I just wish he would say that instead of ignoring my text and phone call. I didn't hear from him the day it was to be done so I sent a text. waited 24 hours and tried to call... nothing. so I sent a text this morning just asking for a status and he said he's lost 2 days of work and will let me know. something came up, just wish he would say that he's behind and it may not be ready till next week. then I could relax and plan accordingly. instead he ignored my response of asking if he still thought it would be done this week.

it's no issue to take longer than anticipated, just give me some info and don't ignore my polite request

mike
 

Zemedici

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all true and I understand things happen. I just wish he would say that instead of ignoring my text and phone call. I didn't hear from him the day it was to be done so I sent a text. waited 24 hours and tried to call... nothing. so I sent a text this morning just asking for a status and he said he's lost 2 days of work and will let me know. something came up, just wish he would say that he's behind and it may not be ready till next week. then I could relax and plan accordingly. instead he ignored my response of asking if he still thought it would be done this week.

it's no issue to take longer than anticipated, just give me some info and don't ignore my polite request

mike



Completely understandable. I run a shop and I've found its ALWAYS better if I head the customer off with issues rather than waiting for the customer to contact me. Proactive vs reactive. Ya know? Just stay patient with them, rest assured they want to fix your car as bad as you do.
 

svtfocus2cobra

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all true and I understand things happen. I just wish he would say that instead of ignoring my text and phone call. I didn't hear from him the day it was to be done so I sent a text. waited 24 hours and tried to call... nothing. so I sent a text this morning just asking for a status and he said he's lost 2 days of work and will let me know. something came up, just wish he would say that he's behind and it may not be ready till next week. then I could relax and plan accordingly. instead he ignored my response of asking if he still thought it would be done this week.

it's no issue to take longer than anticipated, just give me some info and don't ignore my polite request

mike

Completely understandable. I try to be as honest and uo front when it comes to delays, but some people you have to kind of withold information sometimes or make an excuse because so many customers will try and get a discount or what-not. A lot of shops operate like that because it is so common. Sounds like this guy needs to communicate better though.
 

Grey03

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Looking Good! Are you going back to the original white/silver?? Its the best combo!!! I'm biased though. Couple pics of mine.
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Zemedici

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Completely understandable. I try to be as honest and uo front when it comes to delays, but some people you have to kind of withold information sometimes or make an excuse because so many customers will try and get a discount or what-not. A lot of shops operate like that because it is so common. Sounds like this guy needs to communicate better though.

Oh I know this situation all too well, however I make sure to explain with my industry (Performance shop), things WILL happen, and to half-expect it. So they're briefed up front about how the deadlines tend to 'revolve', and almost always there's minor quirks that need to be addressed, so that stretches the deadline even further.
 

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