RDUNick's 03 GT

[RDUNick]

Well I found exactly what I was hoping to. A black Gen1 GT.

I had been search for a few weeks and one popped up on Craigslist overnight. The owner had bought it to, in his words "drive it till it stopped" which is what happened. The clutch went out on him and he didn't want to deal with getting it towed and having a shop replace the clutch after he was given a quote of $950 to do it. So he put it up on Craigslist for $1000. By the time I sent him a message someone else and already made an offer to him for $650 but had backed out on him. A couple hours later I show up with a tow dolly and pay him $750 for it.

I started a through cleaning of it today and noticed a musty, damp smell to it. Found the source in the spare tire storage compartment. It appeared that the previous owner had spilled a litre of soda and had not cleaned it up. So I pulled the drain plugs and liberally applied water and elbow grease. No more musty, damp smell. I have left the doors, all five, open to give a complete cleaning.

I also went online and ordered the parts for the clutch replacement.

EXEDY KTY14 OEM Replacement Clutch Kit - http://goo.gl/xkb0nu
LuK LFW287 Flywheel - http://goo.gl/0fMNnx
Red Line (50304) MT-90 75W-90 GL-4 (3 quarts) - http://goo.gl/1jYUaI
ARP 203-2802 flywheel bolts (Thanks trb!) - http://goo.gl/1jHOCc
LOCTITE 37421 271 Red Heavy Duty Threadlocker - 6 ml Tube - http://goo.gl/dzHdrP
2003-2008 Pontiac Vibe 1.8L 2WD Engine Motor & Trans. Mount Set 4PCS for Manual - http://goo.gl/hql1Wj

As well as some new spark plugs and anti-sieze.
4 New NGK Iridium IX Spark Plugs BKR6EIX-11 # 3764 - http://goo.gl/IAUYjT
Permatex 81343 Anti-Seize Lubricant, 1 oz. Tube - http://goo.gl/OgOmO5

The seats are going to require some serious cleaning. I applied some foaming fabric cleaner on them, and it made a huge improvement but I would not be surprised if they have been cleaned in the past decade.

I definitely want to color match the cladding and take care of the roof. I'm leaning towards a vinyl wrap but am undecided as of yet.

Without further ado here's some pictures of her.

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[vibenvy]

Sounds like you got a darn good deal, especially since it seems like you're able to do all the necessary repairs to get it up and running yourself. I look forward to seeing the progress !

[RDUNick]

Thanks Carrie.

I grew up working on cars and like tinkering on them. Especially when I have other means of transportation.

My son will start driving in a couple of years (dear lord did I just say that?) and this might be the car that gets passed along to him. I want him to know how to work on vehicles as well as how to drive a manual so this will be a good father/son project.

I appreciate all the information that has been passed along here in the forums and welcome any advise, suggestions or good natured teasing.

[vibrologist]

Pictures! I was waiting for them! Thanks, RDUNick.
This was an excellent deal! I will hang on CL to see if I can beat this.

I purchased a Mazda Protege for the same reasons that you were buying the GT: have the boys involved with maintenance and teaching them (to love) shifting with the stick. I just sold the the Protege with rust and all.
The Vibe might be the wrong vehicle for teaching maintenance. You should have looked for a Lancia Biturbo instead. Well at least your GT has some cataracts in the eyes. You can let your son put some elbow grease to that.

Click on the link in my signature. You might find some useful bits there.

Glad to have you on board!

[liquorboxracing]

Great Score!! How many miles on her?

[trb]

Wow, it looks really good. You got a steal for $750 that's for sure. Hopefully the clutch replacement goes smoothly and you get it back on the road quickly.

[RDUNick]

I know what you mean vibrologist!

I had my son help me move the car back into the garage today. He asked me what the third pedal was for.

I'll keep an eye out on CL as well and let you know if I see anything, especially a Lancia!

[RDUNick]

Great Score!! How many miles on her?

Thanks! She has 199,919 miles. I'm hoping I can get a good 100k more out of her.

[RDUNick]

Wow, it looks really good. You got a steal for $750 that's for sure. Hopefully the clutch replacement goes smoothly and you get it back on the road quickly.

I think so too Thomas. I'm hoping it goes smooth as well. I plan on bribing my neighbor, who is a mechanic, to give me a hand with some of the process that would be easier with two hands.

Your threads have already helped get me well on the way.

[RDUNick]

Well everything but the Redline fluid and Loctite have arrived. Seems like something with those items were damaged while in transit, so I should have them sometime this coming week.

I also received the LED lights for the interior and have started putting them in. Definitely can tell a difference and for the price ($6ish) you can't beat it.

I think I will take care of the headlights tomorrow.

Can anyone point me to a How-To on removing the cladding? My searches have not been able to turn up one.

Have a great weekend everyone!

[vibrologist]

I have done the passenger side door molding. I suppose the other parts are similar.
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=44681#p507900

[RDUNick]

I have done the passenger side door molding. I suppose the other parts are similar.
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=44681#p507900

Outstanding! Very much appreciate the link!

[Derf]

That is a good deal, look forward to following details of the build up on your bargain Vibe.

[RDUNick]

That is a good deal, look forward to following details of the build up on your bargain Vibe.

Thanks for taking the time to record those videos Derf. I have subscribed to your channel and watched several already.

[RDUNick]

All the parts are in to replace the flywheel and clutch so I cleaned out the garage and gave the GT a bath. I don't think it has been washed in years.

Washing it gave me a better idea of the state the paint was in. No surprises for a car nearly 13 years old that hasn't been taken good care of. I am definitely going to need to repaint her at some point. Probably in the spring next year.

After washing her I pulled the hood off then cleaned the engine compartment up bit as well. I didn't notice any indications of oil leaks and all the wires, hoses, filters and belts appear in good condition.

I did some research and found out the local pull a part yard has an 04 Vibe and that they are having a 50% off event this Friday through Sunday. I plan on taking a ride out to see what I can pull off of it. I plan on grabbing the engine hoist hook if it's there so I can put it on the front of my engine (temporarily). Any suggestions on typical hard to get items I should keep an eye out for?

[ImUrOBGYN]

Umm, rear cargo cover and those sliding rail ties for the cargo area. If you have any plans to dress up your interior, you can always snag equivalent parts to work on without ruining your current ones or having to drive around missing exterior/interior pieces. You could always pull the header to port at your leisure if it's a 2zz Vibe. Good condition mats or good condition high wear interior plastics (almost an oxymoron there)... Hmm... What else, what else... (removed), I dunno offhand!

[RDUNick]

Umm, rear cargo cover and those sliding rail ties for the cargo area. If you have any plans to dress up your interior, you can always snag equivalent parts to work on without ruining your current ones or having to drive around missing exterior/interior pieces. You could always pull the header to port at your leisure if it's a 2zz Vibe. Good condition mats or good condition high wear interior plastics (almost an oxymoron there)... Hmm... What else, what else... (removed), I dunno offhand!

Thanks for the suggestions.

It's a 1zz car from what I can see in the picture.

My car has the rear cover and rail ties which have never been used.

Today I also cleaned up the headlights. Makes quite a bit of difference in my opinion.

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[vibrologist]

That looks like a successful cataract surgery!
Vibenvy keeps waxing the lenses and it helps, she reports.

[thebarber]

id do a compression test before spending too much time/money

[RDUNick]

id do a compression test before spending too much time/money

Excellent point. I have completed a test and each cylinder was indicating approximately 225 psi each. Lowest being 220 psi.

[thebarber]

id do a compression test before spending too much time/money

Excellent point. I have completed a test and each cylinder was indicating approximately 225 psi each. Lowest being 220 psi.

As long as they're over 200, you're good

[lannvouivre]

Maximum "acceptable" difference of PSI between highest and lowest cylinders is either 15 or 10. Spread is basically spot-on.

[RDUNick]

Replaced the stock Nav head unit today with an Android based Eonon GA2114 today.

Initial impressions are positive. The radio app reception is poor but I don't listen to the radio much anyway. Preferring to listen to my own playlists, podcasts are audiobooks.

There wasn't much spare room to get it installed and I had to use my Dremel tool to alter the installation kit so that the bezel would go back in place.

I also bought a wiring harness and heat shrink tubing to cover the connections after soldering them.

I have to say that removal and installation in this car is the easiest I have ever done.

Eonon GA2114

[treesleavedents]

Should've searched Eonon posts in the forum. They sell a head unit that should fit perfectly into our dash bezel. I almost bought it but didn't have the cash at the time. Let me know how you like the unit, I'm still debating on swapping my current unit for the Eonon eventually.

[RDUNick]

Should've searched Eonon posts in the forum. They sell a head unit that should fit perfectly into our dash bezel. I almost bought it but didn't have the cash at the time. Let me know how you like the unit, I'm still debating on swapping my current unit for the Eonon eventually.

I appreciate the feedback treesleavedents. I did a bit of reading through the forums about the Eonons. The reading I did pointed to some older units and the one I picked was on sale for $225. I am going to play around with the installation kit I picked up as well to see if I can fill the sides in a bit better.

So far my thoughts on the unit would be in the positive category. The positives
1. Fast shipping and great communication via email.
2. Having access to all the apps on the stereo. Waze, Torque Pro, Yelp and Google maps alone make it great.
3. Configuration and customization options.

The things that stand out that I don't like right now are minor.
They are as follows:
1. The unit feels cheap. Extremely light in weight. I haven't felt any other Android based head units to do a comparison though so this may be normal.
2. Lack of documentation. The only installation instructions that came with the unit was the wiring diagram stick on the top of it. There is a very basic users guide installed on the head unit itself.
3. Customer support is very responsive to emails and seem to genuinely want to help but English is not their native language and the dialog can be a bit confusing.
4. Radio app reception is subpar.

All in all, I would buy it again and would recommend putting them on your list for consideration if you are in the market for a new head unit.