My 96 SSEi project (lots of pics) Update 6/7, pg 3

[zuper8]

Bought it in December for $700. With some help from the kids upstairs, I decided to name it "Sonic".

107K miles



Needs a fender and a bumper cover. The rest of the body is in restorable condition (can't wait to polish it this spring)









Now the interior. You ready?





Ahhh!



The rest is fine though





And here, I believe, is the culprit



So, buying a car in December in Massachusetts means slow progress. But I have gotten quite a bit of work done. Replaced some vac lines and cured an EVAP code, and replaced the 2-6 coil to fix a nasty miss. Also replaced ALL of the brake lines.

I had a lot of parts from my old 96 SSEi so I have hardly had to spend any money. Power antenna, AC compressor (old one was getting ready to seize), some pulleys, vac lines, my ZZP wires, FWI, some other mods from that car, door lights, etc. So here's some progress pics:





All 3 Bonnevilles, before the green one left



My work space





Laying down in the rain to finish the front brake lines. !@$# $*!! brake lines.



Ahhhh first wash! it's still dirty. But it runs and drives GREAT!







Now I will do a bunch of maintenance before getting to the body work and combing junkyards for interior parts.

To-Do List:

Tires

Trans lines and new cooler

LIM gaskets/ coolant elbows

SC coupler/ oil change

Trans filter

Mod To-Do list:

Tips

Stock F-body muffler (sounds the best imo)

3.5 pulley

P-log from the other car

Install the HS rockers from the other car

And that's it! So far not bad for a $700 car. Thankfully the tan leather is very common, but I do not have high hopes for the driver's seat... I'll be happy to just find a headrest and a rear driver door panel. Which shouldn't be hard. More to come next time I get some nice weather!

[crzydmnd72]

Nice score! Did I miss the part about the light up center tail or did it come with that?

[RJolly87]

Nice score! Did I miss the part about the light up center tail or did it come with that?

I bet she moved it from her Teal SSEi.

[94SilverSSEi]

Body looks pretty clean, rust wise. And with the low miles it should last ya a long time. Great find!

[95naSTA]

Good to see progress on this!

[SSEiMan01]

I love it Rachael! I've always loved the center tail...

[motopsyco]

Nice looker!

[ga93sle]

Nice score!!! I'm sure it will be gorgeous by the time you're done with it, I'm excited to see!

[zuper8]

Thanks guys! Going junkyarding this weekend, hope I get lucky with some interior parts.

Nice score! Did I miss the part about the light up center tail or did it come with that?

I bet she moved it from her Teal SSEi.

Yes, the center tail was painstakingly made by Bill Boost with a Dremel!! I am lucky to have it.

It was green What ever happened to that "Majestic Teal is a girly color" smiley?

[RJolly87]

Thanks guys! Going junkyarding this weekend, hope I get lucky with some interior parts.

Nice score! Did I miss the part about the light up center tail or did it come with that?

I bet she moved it from her Teal SSEi.

Yes, the center tail was painstakingly made by Bill Boost with a Dremel!! I am lucky to have it.

It was green What ever happened to that "Majestic Teal is a girly color" smiley?

Rotting in my photobucket, as always!

[crash93ssei]

Good transformation so far and I know it will only get better from here

[SSEiMan01]

Yes, the center tail was painstakingly made by Bill Boost with a Dremel!! I am lucky to have it.

It was green What ever happened to that "Majestic Teal is a girly color" smiley?

Rotting in my photobucket, as always!

I remember this! Lol

[zuper8]

HAHA YES!!

[2000Silverbullet]

Love those 2000 swoops! It's a keeper.

[zuper8]

Stopped by a junkyard today because they had a fender they described as "silver", "beige", and "tan". So I was pretty sure I had found my color.

Not only is it the right color, but it's an SSEi. and it's in decent shape. and it has AL7's that are in better shape than mine. and tan leather. I was practically giggling when I left.

so I see some very fun and satisfying projects in my future! :D

[nos4blood70]

Good find at the yards!

Can't wait to see more progress pics.

[2000Silverbullet]

You were lucky to find that. Salvage as much as you can. It won't last long.

[Ghosthawk]

Awesome find and great work! Its projects like this that can be so rewarding...in another year you can look back and be proud of all youve done!

[1oldman]

WOW!!! Great work! Nothing like restoring a Bonneville back to "like" new. Can't wait to see the finished "product"! - BC

[zuper8]

I will need to swap the cladding from my old fender to the new one. Any tips for removing it without breaking those clips? Or the cladding itself? From the looks of it I undo the phillips screws and then gently wiggle/ pry... I'm scared something's gonna break.