Waking the Dead...2000 SSEi

[sandrock]

Well, after this:
http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... 38404.html

And this:
http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... 38461.html

I finally was able to get out to where the car is at yesterday. Despite it being sitting out in the elements for 3 years not doing anything, it's in much better shape than I would have thought. With that in mind, plus the fact that I can't do a freakin' thing with my '01, this one is gonna get reanimated.

















This is a second-owner car who bought it in '03 and kept up with maintenance until the motor went south. Has new struts up front, new supercharger, supposedly had the front mount replaced. Known issues (aside from engine) are stabilitrak inop, trunk leaks, damaged wiring from a squirrel nomming (its the wiring at the ABS module. Not a big deal since that's getting swapped out), worn hood struts (again, a non-issue), and needs one helluva cleanup.

Plan of attack: 1) Swap my powertrain from the '01 into this one. 2) Register and drive the thing. 3) Work on that nastiness that is the interior. 4) The planned brake upgrade I had for the '01. 5) Paint and body during the winter when I'll be driving the Tahoe.

We need a smilie that says "Here we go again"

[vogie01]

Those seats are covered in red dirt/clay!!!! I wonder if it will come out.

Makes me miss home!!

[sandrock]

I'm hoping that dirt will come out. I already plan on swapping the dark gray carpet and a few dark gray interior bits and pieces to this one, and do a tu-tone interior like the Malibus and Impalas. Combo has to be right though in order for it to look factory.

[nubuilder]

Can't wait to see this one done!

Hopefully there's a title this time....

[sandrock]

Yup, it does. First thing I asked the guy!

I really like the color, it's different.

[nos4blood70]

Looks like it will clean up alright! Good luck!

[bobgto65]

NVM on my request in the last thread as I see your pictiures here. This is going to look super nice when you are done. Good luck!

[sandrock]

Wife told me:

1) I can't buy this car until I can come up with the cash that won't affect our monthly budget. Fair enough.

2) I can't bring the car home until the '01 is disposed of. Again, fair enough.

That being said, I'm starting to throw some stuff on ebay, craigslist, basically anything I don't need, car related or not, is trying to find new homes. Once I get this one mobile again, the Tahoe is being sold. I've decided I'd rather have money in my bank account, than money in my fuel tank.

[bobgto65]

I feel your pain. Well at my house, I'm the boss, as long as my wife isn't home. But I'll have to admit, I haven't bought a car since 2002 and she got (ugh) a new Merceded C300 so she let me get the '09 G8 GXP and '04 Bonneville GXP.

[dz09x]

Same color as my car. I will tell you, when it cleans up and you wax it. The color just straight up looks gorgeous. It is a very subtle blue. Not dark, but not light. Kind of just right. I personally love it.

[sandrock]

Nose will have to refinished later on.


Windshield will need replacing


Swap out the door sweeps


Most of the paint will clean up okay


No OnStar. That saves me some time and effort when it comes time for audio upgrade


Brakes need some redoing too


On the whole it isn't terrible, just a mess. Engine still runs but it's bad, going to wait until the relocation is done until I get to that (Looks at Don ) For now it's nothing but cleaning it insdie and out.

And the interior color is....Medium Neutral.

[bobjones003]

Looks like a nice project car

[nos4blood70]

Glad she's at least safe in your hands now.

[sandrock]

Finally got the '01 out of here. Stripped it of everything I could need (except the front seats and carpets...forgot the things need power in order to move them!) and more. All that was left was the structure, the rear suspension, and rear bumper, and fuel tank. That being said, I have plenty of body parts up for grabs!

The '00 is in the garage now, along with the GXP. I had Brandon do an interior cleanup (just vac and clean all the garbage out of it), and last night I cleaned up the passenger front inside door panel and half of the HVAC vents. TONS of red crap came out. The inside color of this thing is strange, it's "medium neutral", which is supposed to be the same color as the inside of my Tahoe. It's like a gray but with a bit of brown mixed in, meaning the dark gray stuff that came out of the '01 won't quite work for it.

[sandrock]

Started the engine/trans swap. With the '01 I pulled the whole thing with the subframe which made things a little easier. On this one though, I've decided to separate the powertrain from the subframe. I'll pull the power steering rack and swap it with the '01 rack once the trans is in place and mounted. The subframe from the '01 will then become the basis of my next engine swap...doing some research now on fitment and other things, if I can mount what I have planning without much difficulty I'll have to research the electronics aspect next, but that's another topic. For now, I have to put my ADD aside and finish this project up.



POs dog made a mess of the wiring. Good thing I have everything I need from the '01!



Old and busted should be out in a few days. Might save the whole thing and rebuild it, might just get the topend off of it. Since I'm moving in 24 days I might just be rid of the whole thing, less for me to worry about.

[sandrock]

Old and busted...


And new hotness!


Yes, I swapped the whole thing over, subframe and all. It was a total PITA doing it this way, but I know the '01's transmission shifts good and the steering rack is tight. A pleasant surprise on the old drivetrain...the axles had been replaced sometime in its life, so that saves me a few bucks. Friday I have to get the new wheel bearings, rotors, and outer tie rods, and pads.

[sandrock]

Am I talkin' to myself here??

Anyways, engine's been test fired, starts up just fine Now on to other things...

Got my rush order from Summit. In it was a new boost gauge. As much as I like Scangauges, I like the classic look of analog gauges better.



Also included were braided brake lines and AN 3 to M10 adapters. Mostly finished with the passenger side...







Yeah, I added Energy Suspension links, they needed replacing anyways

[MattStrike]

I like the look of the braided stainless. Is that an electric gauge or does it use tubing?

[sandrock]

It's tubing. I haven't run it yet, it's not high on my list o'sheet of must-dos. I leave in a week, the car is still on jackstands

I've only been able to do a little bit each night. Aside from patching in new hardline for the rear brakes (a section got smashed accidentally) the passenger side is done. Just swapped in a control arm for the driver side, hopefully it'll be completed tonight. Swap steering columns, new brake fluid and bleeding, fill up the trans with Dex6, and *hopefully* it'll move and stop on its own power.

Then once it gets to Florida, Don'll get to look at it for a while

[sandrock]

A little more than a month has gone by, and nothing's been done to it. Aside from adding a few more rock chips from the move from Oklahoma that is. Don's been gracious enough to allow the car to stay at his house until our rental home is ready (which should be this week), then I can really start work on the other things.

Went to the Daytona junk yard yesterday because on CL they actually post what they put out each day, and a few posts included a few 2k Bonnevilles, one of which was an '04...GXP. Couldn't believe it! Half of the good stuff is gone, but the more important half...suspension bits, exhaust (tips), all cladding aside from the front bumper (which is an SE bumper for some odd reason) is all there. Hopefully all those bits will still be there by the time I am ready to go back. Since I'm low on fundage, I settled for the GXP spoiler and the AC control unit, and the center console vent (the piece everyone forgets about when they get the CF trim) for 40 bucks