GSlink's 03 Vibe Base

[GSlink86]

Well been roaming around the site for awhile now and finally decided to get more active so here's my baby...

So far:
Flat Black Focal F05 18's wrapped in Kuhmo All Season Rubbers
Tinted Windows, Tail lights and Front Corners
Straight Pipe Exhaust
Removed roof rack cross bars and painted rack Flat Black
8k HID Headlights w/ DRL mod
Painted grill inserts Flat Black and Brake Cal's Red
AG Suspension 2" Drop Springs
KYB GR-2 Struts
White LED Fog Lights
LED Tag Lights


Interior so far:
Temp. Single Din Sony head unit
Front doors 2 way Sony 6 1/2s
Back doors 3 way Pioneer 6 1/2s
1000w Sony Amp Pushing Kicker Comp 12' Sub
Red Vinyl Trim Overlay
Red LED Dome lights and White LED Map light


*I know that's a ridiculous combo for sound but if you heard it, you'd understand!!


More to Come Very Soon!!

[Vaggeto]

Awesome! How'd you tint the lights? Any issues with cops? Any more pics?

[KITT222]

Nice! It looks good.

[GSlink86]

Vaggeto- To tint the lights I wet sanded with 1500 followed by 2000 grit paper. Cleaned then I taped off the two oblong square reflectors the tails have each. Sprayed a coat of VHT NightShades, and let dry. Next pulled the tape and did a second coat of the NightShades over entire light. I did this just for a different look! After that dryed I followed up with a Basic Krylon Clear Coat, Did about 3 coats. Lastly applied Meguiar's Compound Wax followed by Polishing Wax. The front corners I did the same way after taping of each side to the look I desired. I havent had any issues with cops at all, the lights themselves still shine through really well.
I will snap some more pics an post as soon as I can.

KITT222- Thanks

[thebarber]

I like theblack roof rack a lot...I've been thinking about doing that myself. How did you go about it?

[GSlink86]

Honestly the hardest part of the rack was pulling it off the car without breaking all the clips! But once I got it off the car I completely disassembled it so all I had was the silver rails. Cleaned rails with simple green and scotchbrite pad, rinsed then cleaned again with denatured alcohol(isopropyl alcohol works too) After it dried completely I did I good coat of Rustoleum Flat Black Primer then a coat of Rustoleum Flat Black. Lastly carefully reassemble and put back on car. Getting inside the tracks is a pain in the (removed), what I did was with primer do light coats from a farther distance away then normal at random angles to fill in all the inside corners. Because the primer and paint I used matched rather well when I painted I just hit it normally to hit all visible large area's and it turned out exceptionally well! Also I didn't use one but before primer and paint you can use adhesion promoter which would help with wear and tear if you plan on using rack or putting cross rails back on!

Hope this helps, lemme know if you have any other questions!

[mac99d]

Nice ride man!

[Doug14]

Looks great! I want to do my rails and taillights as well, going to check back here when I do.

[GSlink86]

Alright finally found time to do my drop, here's some before and after pics! Loving the new stance!

[GSlink86]

Other side..

[GSlink86]

Doug14 - Appreciate it!

Some better after shots:

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[MrHatchWagon]

Very nice with the drop, and I just noticed your calipers are painted. How big a job was it getting them cleaned and prepped for painting? That's on my to-do list for the near future, keep up the good work!

[GSlink86]

Very nice with the drop, and I just noticed your calipers are painted. How big a job was it getting them cleaned and prepped for painting? That's on my to-do list for the near future, keep up the good work!

Thanks, Painting the calipers was fairly simple. I just picked up one of the Dupli-Color Brake Caliper Paint kits from my local auto store, which comes with caliper cleaner and paint. Washed the car, wheels and brake area well first, then removed wheels and used Caliper cleaner acouple times each side to ensure they were clean. Just sprayed generously and wiped down a few times each side. After that I painted each side 2 coats with a Nylon Brissle Paint Brush, I got acouple different sizes so I could get a clean paint job. I prefer this method over the spray cause it can be done with less prep work and no disassembly.

[Doug14]

Looks great lowered, what springs did you use? I might go for the brush as well when if i do my calipers, good call!

[GSlink86]

Looks great lowered, what springs did you use? I might go for the brush as well when if i do my calipers, good call!

I ended up picking up some springs made by AG Suspension from a vendor at a Car Show. They are rated for a 2" Drop but I ended up getting about 3" because they are a softer spring, but thats definitely ok with me cause I like em' low!! I paired the springs up in the front with KYB GR-2 Struts, since stocks had seen much better days. Backs are on stock shocks.

[GSlink86]

A slighty older pic but its always good to see what she looked like before! Plus I like this pic with my boys Grand Am Gt layed out..

[Doug14]

3"! Wow, looks so nice. Good find, let me know how they ride and how they hold up, I have long winters with deep snow where I'm from so I wouldn't be able to go that low.

[GSlink86]

3"! Wow, looks so nice. Good find, let me know how they ride and how they hold up, I have long winters with deep snow where I'm from so I wouldn't be able to go that low.

Thanks alot man, I was definitely surprised and pleased with the drop I got! Snow would be interesting with it sitting like it is now but luckily we dont get to much here..

[GSlink86]

So I got bored last night after work and decided to do some Test Vinyl Wrapping on my interior.. Went with a reflective red, what do you all think? In normal light it actually looks more like it was fiberglassed, then with a darkness and certain lights gives a different effect! (Apologize for having to do attachments all the time for pics, work computer wont let me do it any other way.)

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And with a flash!!

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[GSlink86]

Liked these pics!

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[cagarcia16]

Push those wheels out at once!!! lol very nice vibe, I like the blacked out look.

[GSlink86]

Alrighty, LED upgrade's moving along!

LED Fog Lights with my 8k HIDs

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Red LED Dome lights

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White LED Map light

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[GSlink86]

LED Tag Lights

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[cagarcia16]

Alrighty, LED upgrade's moving along!

LED Fog Lights with my 8k HIDs

Fog.JPG

Red LED Dome lights

Dome.JPG

White LED Map light

Map.JPG

I have the same hids and dome lights and I'm going to be doing the map lights soon. Very nice vibe, keep it up!

[GSlink86]

Alrighty, LED upgrade's moving along!

LED Fog Lights with my 8k HIDs

Fog.JPG

Red LED Dome lights

Dome.JPG

White LED Map light

Map.JPG

I have the same hids and dome lights and I'm going to be doing the map lights soon. Very nice vibe, keep it up!

Thanks alot! Im definitely loving the new LEDs! Makes a world of difference!

[lannvouivre]

Are you going to restore your headlights? It's super fun...!

...Ok, I lied, but the results are awesome.

[MrHatchWagon]

I used the Meguiars headlight restoration kit, it comes with a microfiber buffing pad, some Plastx polish and a microfiber cloth. Cost like 20$ and was good to do a whole bunch of cars with, with great results. It didn't bring them back to 100% but the difference was noticeable. I think I might get one of those kits that have wet sanding gear and some UV protectant coating though, as they're clouding up again..

[GSlink86]

I had done a restore once before already, the reason they clouded up again was after I prep'd the headlights for the Corner Tint. Cleaned them up so good it pulled the Polish off. Im going to do another good restore soon once I get around to adding a coat of tint to my corners, Do it all at once! The Mothers headlight restore kits work wonders too, the small power ball is awesome. Do the wet sand then use the power ball and polish with a drill and stuff looks like glass!!