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04Imp38 Mod Thread

17K views 134 replies 14 participants last post by  VladThe 
#1 ·
Hey all-
So this has been a long time coming after joining the forum last year. I have decided that it is finally time to let everyone know what has happened with my ride, what I've done to my ride, and what I plan on doing in the years ahead.
First a little about me. I am a born again Christian, and thankful to God to be where I am and the family and friends I have. I also don't post anything on Sunday, because I am in church a good part of the day. I am 21 years old and in my 2nd year as an electrician apprentice, while also learning the HVAC trade. I'm with an awesome company and learning a ton about both trades. I play several musical instruments and play in 2 orchestras and some chamber groups. I play string bass, violin, and mandolin occasionally :)
I absolutely love driving my car. I am hard pressed to find anything I like better. My trip to work is 74 miles round trip 5 days a week, so I put on a fair amount of miles over time.
I have owned my car since October 19 2014. Paid $2700 cash for it. Had 137,000 miles on it. Have 188,000 now.
The very first thing I had done was replace the solenoids in the trans. A couple weeks after buying it, it started slamming into gear from a stop and 1-2 shift was strange. A local guy did them for $500 and it hasn't missed a beat.
Next I had a terrible rear-end kickout when going over bumps. I had some decent used tires installed, but that didn't fix much (btw, always get new tires unless getting a wheel set), then replaced the rear shocks and sway bar links. That helped some.
Auto part Suspension part Suspension Coil spring Brake

Eventually figured out it was an alignment issue, so I had it aligned and problem solved. Definitely worth $70!
Next post I will cover my top end job. Stay Tuned...Stay Strong
 
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#2 ·
So I had never really done any serious engine work before, and I wasn't necessarily planning to on this car, but when I started throwing a constant misfire code and overheating all at once, I knew I had big problems. I made it home and replaced the plugs and wires, hoping that would fix it; course it didn't. Then I did a compression test and found cylinder #3 was low.
I called around and $1200 was the going rate for a head job; more if there was something else involved. Too much for me at 19 years old. So I decided to do it myself.
Everything went fairly easy considering. Had to buy some tools like a torque wrench and stuff. Broke a couple exhaust bolts but that was expected.
Once I got the heads off I checked them out and sure enough, it was cracked between a couple of the valve seats. So I went off to the junkyard and got some heads off a 3.8 Grand Prix that looked good.
Next got gaskets, exhaust bolts, head bolts, aluminum coolant elbows, water pump, and a head job done. Man I love those fresh heads!
Put everything in, torqued everything down, and good to go!
Had a coolant leak at the water pump gasket, so I replaced the gasket with the felpro plastic one, no leaky :)
Took me just over a week and about $1,000. I'm really glad I did it and wouldn't trade the experience for anything! Now about 50,000 miles later, it runs like an absolute clock. Stronger than ever!
Engine Auto part Vehicle Car Automotive engine part


Metal Circle


Auto part


Architecture


Vehicle Car Hood Automobile repair shop Vehicle door


Auto part Machine Machine tool Engine Vehicle brake


Auto part Fuel line Engine Automotive tire Vehicle
 
#8 ·
Oops just saw this Lol. I had the haynes manual.
 
#5 ·
Attempting it yourself is a great way to learn. I'd like to do some engine work to mine such as a cam and possibly a LS2 intake. But it's a daily and I can't really afford down time right now. Plus I'm still paying on it. But it will come with time. I have no plans of getting rid of it.


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#6 ·
Now thats love for ya car! Good to see one kept on the road instead of tossed /props. Ya obviously put heart in ya car, looking forward to what's next.
I feel the work commute (daily round trip for me is 184 mi through seattle free/highways)


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#9 · (Edited)
3,000 miles after the rebuild, I put on 2 rear hub bearings. Then proceeded to spin out on I-75 at 70 MPH into a ditch. Thankfully, my car was surprisingly unscathed. I had popped a bead off a tire, bent a rear trailing arm, and a rear hub bearing was loose. I'm so glad nothing worse happened. A couple hundred feet closer or farther, and I would have a different car.
After that ordeal, I replaced the radiator, the loose rear bearing, the passenger front bearing, both trailing arms replaced, tie rod ends, trans lines, rack boot, and an alignment. It sure handled a lot better and no more leaking trans lines!
Auto part Bumper Automotive exterior Radiator Vehicle

Auto part
 
#16 ·
3,000 miles after the rebuild, I put on 2 rear hub bearings. Then proceeded to spin out on I-75 at 70 MPH into a ditch. Thankfully, my car was surprisingly unscathed. I had popped a bead off a tire, bent a rear trailing arm, and a rear hub bearing was loose. I'm so glad nothing worse happened. A couple hundred feet closer or farther, and I would have a different car.
After that ordeal, I replaced the radiator, the loose rear bearing, the passenger front bearing, both trailing arms replaced, tie rod ends, trans lines, rack boot, and an alignment. It sure handled a lot better and no more leaking trans lines!
View attachment 133946
View attachment 133954
:eek:

Geez man, good to hear your alright! sorry to hear about what happened to your car!

it's also good to hear about the handling and the trans line improvements as well!
 
#10 ·
I-75 huh. Noticed you live in Michigan. I probably asked you before but where do you live? I myself am in the South East corner right by Ohio.


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#11 ·
I'm just south of Flint. In the country but only 3 mins from 75. I like it :)
 
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#12 ·
Oh, not terribly far from me. Couple hours or so. I seem to find a lot of impala people in Michigan and a decent amount of LS4 owners in Texas.


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#14 ·
I forget what it's like for you guys up in the Great Lakes region. I grew up on the southern edge of the rust belt in the Louisville area, but after living in Texas for 18 years, I've all but forgotten what stuff looked like after a few winters of road salt, liberally applied, does to metal.



Doug







.


Yup that's some solid Michigan salt on those arms.
Our roads up here are absolutely horrendous, part due to the plows and mostly the freeze/thaw rates, which are probably the most/biggest in the country. Thankfully, their act is finally getting together, so lots of cones for a long time Lol :)
 
#17 · (Edited)
Brief break from posting about things I have done to post what I did today.
I switched over to synthetic 5w-30 5,000 miles ago. I figured since I had 185,000 miles it was sort of a gamble but it couldn't hurt so I did it. I knew I would leak more oil than I was, with the synthetic cleaning stuff out better.
I check the oil about every 500 miles maybe less depending what I'm under the hood for. I noticed in 1-2,000 miles that the oil level was decreasing rather rapidly, so I did some poking around. Sure enough, the engine mount bracket was full of oil; time for a front main.
I couldn't find any videos at all about replacing the front main on a 3800. My Haynes says just take the bolt off and pull the balancer out. Yeah right.
Bro got home with his good impact and the bolt came out no prob. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a puller on the balancer with the oil filter adapter in place. There is a small bolt behind the adapter that I took off and that allowed me to get my puller, affectionately named "Stone Age Puller" due to it looking like it came from that era, in there. It was only making contact on the edge of the balancer bolt, but it came out!! Such a good feeling when that happens :)
Popped the old seal out, didn't look too bad but after 190,000 it can't hurt to replace it. Put a little RTV on the side of the seal, minding not to put any on the bottom because there is an oil drain hole in the front timing cover there, and tapped it in place. Coated both balancer and seal lip with oil and drove the balancer back in. Tightened everything up, filled her up with oil, and we are good to go.
Took me about 2 hours including tire rotation so not bad for not seeing it done before. Now to see if the new seal does the same thing; shouldn't tho :)

Balancer off Auto part Wheel Tire Automotive wheel system Automotive tire

Old seal, new seal Sky Horizon Body of water Sea Ocean

Bolt that I took out Auto part Suspension Pipe

New seal installed Auto part Wheel Automotive wheel system Tire Automotive tire

"Stone Age" and seal puller Auto part
 
#18 · (Edited)
My steering wheel looked like pot as the pictures show. Let's fix it and replace the turn stalk as well :)
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Steering part Steering wheel

Steering part Steering wheel Vehicle Motor vehicle Car

Got it pulled.
Steering part Steering wheel Vehicle Auto part Car

Duplicolor paint from amazon. GM Lt Neutral Gas Machine

Old leather New leather Material property Linens

All finished! Steering wheel Steering part Auto part Circle

Gotta love that clear coat!!
Land vehicle Car Vehicle Steering wheel Steering part

Big thanks to ChrisFix and his vid on this. I used his tips and the products he recommended:
I had to cut and trim the leather which worked pretty good. First time doing this so it's not 100% but looks pretty darn good IMHO. I am really digging the clear coat on the wheel sides, airbag, and plastic covers. Really takes the quality up a notch.
Drove it today and it's so nice. Feels like a better car. I'm going to really like this fix!
 
#21 ·
My steering wheel looked like pot as the pictures show. Let's fix it and replace the turn stalk as well :)


Got it pulled.

Duplicolor paint from amazon. GM Lt Neutral
Old leather New leather
All finished!
Gotta love that clear coat!!

Big thanks to ChrisFix and his vid on this. I used his tips and the products he recommended:

I had to cut and trim the leather which worked pretty good. First time doing this so it's not 100% but looks pretty darn good IMHO. I am really digging the clear coat on the wheel sides, airbag, and plastic covers. Really takes the quality up a notch.
Drove it today and it's so nice. Feels like a better car. I'm going to really like this fix!
Hoo! Thats Awesome!!! So much better. The wheel looks almost original! Great job.
 
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#20 ·
My radiator never really has had a good top mount situation. I've tried zip tying it but they always broke. Tried metal zip ties but they didn't secure hard enough.
Finally bought some speed nuts and bolts and fixed it right. Auto part Vehicle Engine Measuring instrument
Auto part

Funny now most of my front end noise is gone [emoji848]
 
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#23 · (Edited)
Wash, polish, and wax today. Land vehicle Car Vehicle Full-size car Chevrolet

I love cleaning my car, but the more I clean it the more it needs to be painted Lol :) Check this out: Blue Sky Glass Daytime Windshield

Too many scratches and scrapes to fix without repainting, but it still shines good :)
Also fixed my front door handles. Whoever the dingbat was that put them in didn't make sure the bottom was snapped in before tightening the bolts, leading to this: Vehicle door Vehicle Car Automotive exterior Door handle
I took the handles off and straightened everything out and they line up perfect now. Getting the driver handle out was fun due to the keyed lock getting in the way, but I figured it out.
 
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#24 ·
That hood might could be saved with a good buffing.

If you don't have a good buffer, I recommend this one:
Buffer

Significantly cheaper than repainting the hood, although by the time you buy the pads and compound, you'll be about the cost of a repaint. HOWEVER, you will now have a professional quality buffer and all of the materials needed to buff out anything you want for a LONG time.3M buffing system
 
#25 ·
That hood might could be saved with a good buffing.

If you don't have a good buffer, I recommend this one:
Buffer

Significantly cheaper than repainting the hood, although by the time you buy the pads and compound, you'll be about the cost of a repaint. HOWEVER, you will now have a professional quality buffer and all of the materials needed to buff out anything you want for a LONG time.3M buffing system


Thanks for the info Ryd, I'll check that out for sure.
It's too hard to see in the pictures, but there's a ton of stone chips that are down to bare metal, and what looks like a nice big spot of bird doo doo corrosion that is starting to rust. I don't know how long I have before it's past saving, but I am willing to put a new hood on when it comes time.
 
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#26 ·
Yeah, chips and the like can't be saved with buffing unfortunately. But a buffer is still a great tool to have around!
 
#27 ·
So funny story here. @09_Impala_SS just bought BCRacing coilovers yesterday, and yesterday I had finally saved up enough to buy them. So here it is:

My shocks are doing pretty poor right now, so while I'm at it I might as well replace them with the best. I can't wait!! Will keep everyone updated, I plan to install them as soon as they come then get an alignment shortly thereafter.
 
#28 ·
Lol that is funny. I see you bought them from ZZP. I purchased them directly from BCRacing. Not to be the barer of bad news. But I paid $1,020.00 at the BC site using a $30 off coupon. BC30OFF


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#34 ·
#35 ·
Cool, the $30 off coupon is BC30OFF if you want to order directly from them and save a bit of money.


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#36 ·
Ok. ZZP already processed and shipped my order so...probably not gonna happen. Oh well worse things could happen.
Do you have a wait time on yours? 2-4 weeks I think? They said they were stocked in the US which will make them come faster...hopefully :)
 
#38 ·
Top plates for the rear came today. Now the hard part is waiting for the rest of the goods [emoji41]
 
#39 ·
Dope! How much are you gunna lower it?
 
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#40 ·
ZZP posted this picture to their Facebook a couple months ago: Land vehicle Car Vehicle Automotive lighting Luxury vehicle

That's kinda what I'm after. Well over 2" if not 3".
 
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#42 ·
ZZP posted this picture to their Facebook a couple months ago: View attachment 134930
That's kinda what I'm after. Well over 2" if not 3".

Ooh I like that. I'm slamming mine as low as possible while still being able to make it up the slight incline for work. I might need to do something to the plastic inner fender well. I have 245x19's on my car which are close to rubbing now. If I get it all done in time I might go to the W-body meet in Michigan. It's around a hour away.


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#41 ·
yeah, that'll look nice. It's next on my list of things to address, after tires
 
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