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CTSv Appearance Upgrades


caseyctsv

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Well now that the CTSv is fully sorted out with the couple of issues I wanted to handle out of the way (motor mounts, diff bushing, new belly pan and front lip, tires) I started the first round of appearance upgrades just in time for Spring. Here is a before:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v96/casey02ws6/d6ea83e5-fb34-4630-89ac-5935f3ac63d5_zps67d33710.jpg

 

Had the wheels and the stainless steel grills powdercoated by IPS. It was great working with Jeff and his team. I am happy with the results but I think I would go a shade lighter on the wheels if I had to do it over again -

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v96/casey02ws6/CaddySide_zpse91c24ad.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v96/casey02ws6/CaddyAngle_zps19911d3a.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v96/casey02ws6/CaddyFront_zps441b8adf.jpg

 

It needs a good Spring clean up but it seems to have weathered the winter pretty well. I am considering lowering it 1" all the way around but no more than that. The car still makes me smile every day.

 

Thanks for the pics Wagner.

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Looks great, and I personally like the wheel color in person!

 

Only thing I'd add, is match the front grill surrounds to the wheel color. It seems misplaced now that the wheels aren't silver.

 

I also support a slight lowering as well.

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Only thing I'd add, is match the front grill surrounds to the wheel color. It seems misplaced now that the wheels aren't silver.

 

 

I have been kicking around what to do with the surrounds...it is cheap plastic so no powdercoat. Most just black them out along with the grills. I actually almost did the grills in the same color as the wheels but chickened out and went gloss black.

 

I am going to throw some laminix tint on the headlights / driving lights to see what i think of the look and, assuming I like it, then will have Kevin Clifford paint them in black / clearcoat like he did my T/A along with all of the other lights. When I do that I will take another look at the grill surrounds.

 

Thanks for the compliments and ideas.

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Casey -- Thanks for the post and glad you are happy with everything :)

 

I personally loved the wheels (The metallic in the color you chose really makes them "Pop" in the sunlight) and the grill / fresh emblem really improved the look a lot as well.

 

I took some "In process" pics that I will post up tomorrow,

Jeff

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Looks great! I need Andy to detail mine as well. Cam and head work have taken priority.

 

There is a used set of H&R springs at a decent price on ls1tech if your looking to save a few bucks. You'll need the Mighty Mouse spacers as well though.

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Looks great! I need Andy to detail mine as well. Cam and head work have taken priority.

 

There is a used set of H&R springs at a decent price on ls1tech if your looking to save a few bucks. You'll need the Mighty Mouse spacers as well though.

 

I saw them but they are only 40-50 less than new. I think you only need the MM spacers if you want to go really low. I just want a 1" drop and was told the nivomat shocks won't prevent the 1" drop. I could be wrong.

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I've read threads that say you need them and some that say you don't.

 

I bought a new set of the spacers in-case I decided to buy springs. I'll likely buy coilovers I the next few months if you decide you want them.

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I've read threads that say you need them and some that say you don't.

 

I bought a new set of the spacers in-case I decided to buy springs. I'll likely buy coilovers I the next few months if you decide you want them.

 

I may be interested...the H & R springs are next in the list but we are having a ton of things done to the house this year and I need to get my daughter's truck fully operational so it may be a winter mod.

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I like the way the grille is done, only thing that sticks out to me is the centercaps. I'm guessing they're plastic and couldn't be coated, but painting them a similar color or black would help to me. Car looks fantastic regardless, I almost traded the Mustang for a Stealth Gray '05, but it fell through unfortunately.
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I like the way the grille is done, only thing that sticks out to me is the centercaps. I'm guessing they're plastic and couldn't be coated, but painting them a similar color or black would help to me. Car looks fantastic regardless, I almost traded the Mustang for a Stealth Gray '05, but it fell through unfortunately.

 

Yeah they are plastic but certain years they were black so I may look into those.

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Wheels look great on the black, I think you made a fine choice! Of course, a little drop would never hurt ;)

 

I was adamant it was low enough stock, but hanging around with you guys makes me notice it could use a little drop. It is coming I just don't know if I will get that done this year.

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Car looks good.

 

Did you do the mounts and diff bushings yourself? How much of a differecne did the bushings make with wheel hop?

 

I chickened out on the motor mounts and had IPS do them. I did the differential bushing myself and it is not bad, especially if you rent the tool that creative steel offers (I would not want to try to sawzall that bushing out of the aluminum carrier. Both made huge improvements in the car's overall feel but I didn't notice any difference in wheel hop though, in theory, the diff bushing should help some.

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I chickened out on the motor mounts and had IPS do them. I did the differential bushing myself and it is not bad, especially if you rent the tool that creative steel offers (I would not want to try to sawzall that bushing out of the aluminum carrier. Both made huge improvements in the car's overall feel but I didn't notice any difference in wheel hop though, in theory, the diff bushing should help some.

 

Yeah, I did the mounts myself. What a pain!

 

Mallett motorsports used to sell an anti-hop kit that worked great! It was pretty simple too. I think I will be getting in touch with him to see how he did it. Think similar to a traction bar set up on a FWD car.

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