SPIRIT - First 30 Modifications Master Thread

[JohnD]

SPIRIT has just crossed over the 18-months-old line, and I am defnitely closing out the list of "things I want to do" to her. So I figured it was about time to create a master thread listing the first 30 modifications (or at least the ones that I can remember doing) to show the type of work that can be done on a single car.

Many of these modifications have several elements, but I am just classifying them as a single modification. For example, by installing the polished intercooler pipes I was also able to remove a bunch of no-longer needed brackets and other fittings. I am not bothering to detail these very small changes.

I have stated this before, but I will state it again here in case you haven't come across my philosophy for SPIRIT. When I had my Porsche 356 I there was a guy in my local club who told the tale of a guy who showed up at a concours competition with a brand-spanking-new-right-from-the-dealer Porsche 928. He figured we was a LOCK for getting the "most original" award, since he drove the car directly from picking it up to the concours itself. He was knocked lots of points for "excess lube on door hinges" and "misalignment of bolt heads" and all kinds of stuff like that. He protested, and said "Hey! This is absolutely, exactly as the factory built it and as it was delivered!" The officials told him, "We don't judge a car on the condition that it was actually delivered; we judge a car on how Porsche would want to have it delivered."

I took that to heart, and so I have always wanted to make SPIRIT a car as GM would "want to" have built it. I don't think I have done anything too "blingy" at all. The car, as a whole, appears more unified and elegantly executed. I cleaned up things that I thought "looked cheap." I added subtle details here and there to refine a few raw edges. And I coordinated around the "black and red" theme for colors.

I am quite pleased with the results - and I love to share stories of all the work that I have done in getting there. And, in the end, that's all that really matters. Right?

Below are the modifications covered in this thread... Where possible I have provided the cost of the part and indicated its source. On projects that I installed myself I have indicated those with "SELF." I will also post links to the original threads where I describe in detail the process done to make the modification, and also include a few photos where I have them readily available here in this thread for reference.

Here is the list, more or less going from front-to-back:

1. Opel GT Grille - $139.65 (GMPartsDirect.com/SELF)
2. Blue-White Corner and Driving Lights - Cost Unknown (KappaSphere Test)
3. Silver-Coated Turn Signal Lights - Cost Unknown (KappaSphere Test)
4. HID Headlights - $175.00 (KappaSphere)
5. HID Wrappers - $40.00 approx (SELF)
6. Under Hood SKY Logo - Negligible Cost (SELF)
7. Engine Cover Accents - Negligible Cost (SELF)
8. High-Tone Horn - Cost Unknown (SELF)
9. Fujita Intake - $299.99 (KappaSphere)
10. Polished Intercooler Pipes - $299.99 (KappaSphere)
11. Red Turbo Hoses - $36.00 (BoostController.com/SELF)
12. Painted Calipers - $24.99 for kit (SELF)
13. Painted Rotors - $34.99 for kit (SELF)
14. Caliper Decals - $7.50 (eBay/SELF)
15. 19" Blacked-Out Rims - $750.00 (KappaSphere)
16. 245/45 ZR 19 Tires - $1,600.00 (Goodyear)
17. Splash Guards - $120.00 (SaturnAccessories/Self)
18. Blacked-Out Visors - Negligible Cost (SELF)
19. Li'l Chromies - $24.99 (KappaSphere/SELF)
20. Custom Floor Mats - $87.00 (KappaSphere/SELF)
21. Kapparoo Pouch - $50.00 (KappaSphere/SELF)
22. Seat Belt Tag Removal - No Cost (SELF)
23. SKYshield - $95.99 (KappaSphere/SELF)
24. B-Series Antenna - $9.95 (Carcessory.com/SELF)
25. Sill Plate in Trunk - No Cost (SELF)
26. 3.0 inch, Quad-Tip Exhaust - $939.24 (Magnaflow)
27. reBAR stiffening bar - $175.00 (KappaSphere)
28. Eibach Anti-Roll Bar Kit - $360.00 (KappaSphere)
29. License Plate Frame - $6.99 (SELF)
30. Pontiac Brake Light - $42.99 (GMPartsDirect/SELF)

Total for Parts: $5,320.26*

*Some of the parts were comped in exchange for SPIRIT being loaned to the vendor for use as an experimental prototype test bed car.

PHOTOS:

SPIRIT just two days old at a SoCal SKYs event
SPIRIT one day old from the rear (pre-Magnaflow)
SPIRIT in December 06 with Painted Calipers
SPIRIT in December 07 with new Rims and Tires
SPIRIT in March 08 with the Opel Badge

[JohnD]

I added the Opel GT Grille to the front of SPIRIT for two reasons. First, I never liked the look of the stock Saturn badge up front. It looked too much like a Honda to me. And second, I owned two Opel GTs in the 1970s and loved them both dearly. I ordered my SKY long before GM announced that the same style would become the new Opel GT, which is really pretty cool when you think about it. I have come full circle in my two-seat, four-cylinder sports cars. I fell in love with the breed through the original Opel GT, and I am now driving the modern continuation of that heritage.

The Ultimate Opel GT Grille Installation Thread

The new Opel GT badge is shown at left; a photo of the original Opel GT badge is shown at right...

[JohnD]

I asked KappaSphere to see if they could come up with some alternate lights to better match the HIDs. They did a special project for me and came up with these bulbs. To date, they have not released them in a kit form.

HID & Color Matched Headlights

In the photos below you can really see the blue cast of the lights. When they are lit they look very bright white from the front...

[JohnD]

As part of the lighting project, I asked KappaSphere to research into finding bulbs that would eliminate the egg yolk look from the front turn signal markers. This eliminates the yellow from the front of the car and brings the color theme together.

HID & Color Matched Headlights

Notice that the pictures of SPIRIT show no yellow color in the side marker lights when unlit, compared to the KappaSphere SKY with stock bulbs...

[JohnD]

I love the look of HID (High-Intensity Diode) lights versus the standard Halogen lamps. These required the installation of special cabling and ballasts - but they look so nice at night. I also have a relay cable installed to use the HID lights in full intensity as driving lights during the day.

HID & Color Matched Headlights

[JohnD]

When the HID headlights were installed, I was not pleased with the look of the wiring. It did not look like it was "from the factory." I did a little bit of fiddling to come up with a set of treatments to greatly improve the appearance of the add-on wiring necessary to support the HIDs.

HID Wiring Improvements

You can read all the details in the above link, but the four photos below give a quick view of the difference. Compare the two "before" photos at left to the two "after" photos at right...

[JohnD]

I noticed right away that the hood liner had the SKY logo impressed into it. I thought that it would look better with some sort of color treatment to really bring it out. Sticking with the "black and red theme" the color choice was obvious.

Under Hood Details

[JohnD]

I also wanted to add a bit of color pop to the engine itself. The easiest way to do this was to just fill in the stripes on the engine cover...

Under Hood Details

[JohnD]

I wanted to improve the horn, which I thought was weak. I added a FIAMM high-tone horn to compliment the factory low-tone horn. I am pleased with the results. I do not know the costs of the FIAMM high tone horn because it was a gift from a fellow SKY owner who was experimenting with horns and decided he didn't need this one.

While I like the current sound, I do have a set of Opel horns on order. If they sound radically different (and extremely cool) I will be replacing the FIAMM horns with the factory Opel variants. Stay tuned for details on that one...

Dual Horn Photos

[JohnD]

SPIRIT was loaned to KappaSphere for a semi-extended period of time and served as the engineering test bed for Fujita to develop their CAI offering for the SKY Red Line and Solstice GXP. I have done this "loan out" program several times. While it does put SPIRIT somewhat at risk, (yes, at times SPIRIT has come back damaged, or with parts re-installed improperly) I find that the experience is fascinating and rewarding overall, and well worth the nuisance of the downsides...

KappaSphere RED LINE Intake

Notice how crappy the aluminum of the intercooler pipe looks compared to the new polished intake pipe on the photo at right...

[JohnD]

As soon as I got the CAI intake installed I took a look and immediately said, "Man! That polished intake makes those intercooler pipes look like crap!" I asked KappaSphere to investigate offering matching intercooler pipes.

As it turns out, Fujita was already working on that project. I am not sure if they used SPIRIT for that at the same time that they were developing the intake or if they used another car. But pretty soon after I got the intake word came out that intercooler pipes were available from Fujita, too, and so I had to add those to the mix...

KappaSphere Intercooler Pipes - Photos!

[JohnD]

Once I had the intake and intercooler pipes installed, I started looking around at other options for turbocharger systems. I found BoostController.com and saw that they offered all kinds of fancy colored hoses and such. I thought that this would be a good way to add a little bit of color pop to the engine compartment. I am very pleased with the results here, too. A subtle touch that makes a dramatic difference.

Polished Pipes and Red Hoses

[JohnD]

High-end cars all have painted calipers. And the SKY, with such wide-open rims really looks sad with just plain old metal calipers on the rotors. I knew right off the bat that I wanted red calipers, so I did it myself using a commonly available kit. It worked really well.

Painted Calipers

[JohnD]

I also did not like seeing the rust on my rotors. After doing a bit of research I found a different type of caliper paint (expoxy based) that was listed as being suitable for rotors, too. I went with a gloss black here, and it looks a ton better than having just the gray primer and rust showing through the rims. (See the photo on "#14. Caliper Decals" for a view of the ugly, rusty rotors; you get a good view of the rotors showing through the black rims on "#16. 245/45 ZR 19 Tires")

http://www.skyroadster.com/forums/f2...-project-21595