Newbie to board, signing on...

[traumadog]

Just wanted to drop a line in here... figured I'd peek in here to see how things go.

Anyhow, my house is pretty much a GM house, with products from three decades and four divisions.

My main car is my 2004 Pontiac GTO in silver, now almost completed with the process of a LHD Holden Monaro conversion (only missing some seat covers).

Some pics:

The exterior:

Underhood - I tried my hand at airbrushing some Corvette fuel rail covers:

List of mods:

Engine:

* K&N AirCharger short-ram intake & baffle

* Hand ported/polished throttle-body w/ coolant bypass

* NGK TR55IX Iridium Spark Plugs (gap to 0.055 inch)

* Taylor "409" 10.4mm wires

* EFILive street tune in progress...

Transmission:

* B&M Ripper short-shifter kit

* Royal Purple Synchromax (transmission fluid)

* =! CAGS via EFILive

Exhaust:

* DynaTech long-tube headers w/ cats

* SLP Power-Flo stainless cat-back

Suspension/Brakes/Wheels:

* Hotchkis front/rear adjustable swaybars

* Pedders heavy-duty front end-links

* Pedders front "radius rod" bushings

* Delco Durastop front pads (Corvette C5 size)

* Front PowerSlot rotors w/ painted calipers

* Stock 18x8 & 235/40/18 Bridgestone RE040s

* (winter) Stock 17x8 wheels & 225/50/17 Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50

Body:

* 2005 Monaro VZ front bumper and fender side markers

* Gravana Tuning Type-W ("Woodward") hood

* Monaro/Commodore SS molded splash guards (painted Silver)

* Deleted spoiler, filled/painted stock holes

* Replaced Pontiac badging with Holden emblems front, rear, door sills, wheel centers and dash

* Vauxhall Monaro instrument cluster gauge faces, in black

Interior/Electronics:

* Installed homemade dead pedal

* Hard-wired Valentine One radar detector w/ mount next to interior rear-view mirror

Pending install:

* 2005 OEM calipers w/ Monaro decals & Russell braided SS brake lines (320mm vs 296 mm diameter rotors, now just sitting in my garage)

* ATE Super Blue Racing (brake fluid for the caliper swap)

* port/polish LS1 heads (OEM 241 casting)

* PFYC/Banshee "split-dual exhaust" rear bumper inserts

The net-net - last dyno 8/13/06, untuned:

And for those that might be interested, I've done some autocrossing in it, too.

It's been an Autoblog Reader's Ride of the Day

Autoblog link:

And I even got a mini-magazine write-up in GMHTP, too.

[traumadog]

As for my other cars, I also have a "garage queen"...

My pimp-tastic 1981 Cadillac Eldorado 5.7L Diesel

This is my rolling monument to GM stupidity... It is currently unrestored, but has had repairs from being stolen... it does have its original Burgundy Metallic paint on the doors, though the hood, trunk and fenders were repainted.

Even unmodded, it made AutoBlog's Reader Ride of the Day too.

And, the saga that goes with this car made it on Cadillac's site MyCadillacStory...

A listing of my big changes:

Exterior: Stock

Interior: Stock

Electronics: Wired for CB, Sony 3x10 rear deck, 4x6 front speakers w/OEM head unit (old speakers were stolen)

"Performance": Touring Package tires (225/70R15 tires), Performance Friction pads on stock 4-rotor brakes, K&N Air Filter.

And as it sits, it's probably the last Diesel Cadillac in NY.

Edited March 31, 2008 by traumadog

[traumadog]

I also have a "project car" for my son. Mind you - this car isn't meant to be a big-boost project or anything - it's really meant as a "car care 101" for my 14-year-old.

That being said, we've done quite a few things...

Here's where it was when we bought it (at 160k miles) - it was owned by a girl not long out of college, who owned it since high school:

First, some basic maintenance was done - change oil/trans fluid & new filters, as well as recharged the A/C. We also replaced a worn upper-engine mount, and since it also seemed to be "overheating", we replaced the engine coolant temp sensor as well (apparently a common problem).

Then came the somewhat harder stuff.

First, new brakes all around. The originals were worn well into the backing plates and were grinding badly.

Did some bodywork - including fixing the headlights... it's amazing how much these things can rust:

And next, the exhaust... many parts on it were rusted, and the flex-pipe was even gone:

Here's a shot of the entire cat-back, rusted out in several places

We also added some electric door locks to the SC2 - got the actuators and wiring from an old SL that was being junked. We wired the actuators into the remote start that came with the car.

Missed the pics of the outer door skin off, but it was a royal pain getting 14-year-old rusted bolts out. Threading the wiring into the passenger compartment was a pain, too.

We also decided against installing the internal door lock switches, as reaching across for a 2-door isn't that hard. And besides, both locks are wired to lock/unlock together.

As for what else, we're waiting for warm weather to install the "new" item - a '92 header...

[caddycruiser]

Awesome cars! Transforming that GTO back to a Monaro makes it really a standout, and should get it some extra attention--I assume it does.

And the diesel Cadillac...another special one :AH-HA_wink:

[traumadog]

My last car is a '02 Trailblazer EXT...

It's the wife's car, and as such, not much is done to it except for lowering springs (~2" drop all around). I've also been tweaking it some with my EFILive, especially since gas is now close to $3.50 a gallon here...

[loki]

are those alpines in the sc2's door? hehe.

good looking fleet, if not the oddest set of cars our members have.

[ZL-1]

Welcome to the boards!

[Intrepidation]

Welcome to C&G and don't be scared of of some of our more eccentric members.

Nice fleet, the Monaro conversion is particularly sweet.

[Drew Dowdell]

OMG?!? That Holden isn't a real coupe! It has a B-pillar!

[SuperSport623]

Hey, welcome to the site! your not from LI are you? your Goat/Monaro looks familair

Edited March 31, 2008 by SuperSport623

[Dsuupr]

Welcome. It's great to see you are teaching your kid automotive mechanics vs handing me money and sending him off.

[traumadog]

Hey, welcome to the site! your not from LI are you? your Goat/Monaro looks familair

No - I'm not. I'm way upstate - though I've heard of that guy (I think he sold it though).

[Oracle of Delphi]

Howdy y'all! Welcome!

[knightfan26917]

WELCOME!!!

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"I wonder if it's too late" ... Nickelback ... 'Photograph'

[ocnblu]

Hello, traumadog.

[Camino LS6]

Welcome to C&G, traumadog.

You'll fit in fine around here. :AH-HA_wink:

Love the Monaro.

[XP715]

Nice fleet; the diesel Cadillac especially scores points with me. There's a '79 diesel Coupe DeVille in a local junkyard that I wish I could have had before it met its fate. Welcome to the boards!

[Sixty8panther]

Welcome to the loonybin.

Careful, it's addictive! Seriously thought, best GM forum on the w/w/web.

[Intrepidation]

Welcome to the loonybin.

Careful, it's addictive! Seriously thought, best GM forum on the w/w/web.

A little late to the party are we?

[Sixty8panther]

I was busy leaving a flaming brown-paper bag of poo on PCS' front porch. :wink:

[traumadog]

Ok - a couple updates...

1) I said buh-bye to the GTO lettering on my seatbacks...

2) I swapped out the front brakes.

New vs. old rotors:

The upsized calipers, with a custom touch...

And added Russell stainless lines

Now waiting on a bleed

I hope to get DBA rotors and Hawk pads soon.

Edited September 30, 2008 by traumadog

[Camino LS6]

You do nice work!

[daves87rs]

You do nice work!

[Sixty8panther]

A true enthusiast. B)

[traumadog]

Another weekend project... a.k.a. "tore my baby a new butt-hole".

I swapped from my one-sided SLP Loudmouth II to a split Magnaflow setup, so it's a bit quieter.

This is where it started...

And where it finished up:

It was a PITA doing it on jackstands, but it looks better to me with the split exhausts... I just have to get the bumper refinished now (have to re-finish the inserts).

[CMG]

I've always liked the Monaro. Great looking car, and for the price it's pretty danged tough to compare.

Nice job, any other projects in mind for it?

[traumadog]

I've always liked the Monaro. Great looking car, and for the price it's pretty danged tough to compare.

Nice job, any other projects in mind for it?

Couple thoughts... not sure between heads/cam vs. adding some pressurization. Depends on what falls in my lap, as it were.

I still have to swap out the stock front rotors I have on now for new DBA slotted ones and Hawk HPS pads.

Edited October 23, 2008 by traumadog

[saturnd00d]

Very nice fleet you got there...and I'm loving this Monaro conversion. Would be intrigued to see more as time goes on. Keep us up to date.