caseyctsv Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Jones Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Very nice Casey! Glad it's still checking those boxes everyday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mowgli1647545497 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 god yours is so much cleaner than mine its sick. i really need to take mine in to get detailed. black here too btw its CTS-V not CTSv Wear that V proud ma brutha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyctsv Posted March 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Andy got mine back in line last Fall :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyctsv Posted March 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbotrio Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90G60 Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyctsv Posted March 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90G60 Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versluis Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 good work. I would match the color on the rest of the chrome on the front end though. +1 on a little bit of lowering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsey Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 looks great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littleguy Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Looking awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyctsv Posted March 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Alex- Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Brian Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 geez, the grill should have come like that stock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyctsv Posted March 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 geez, the grill should have come like that stock Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyctsv Posted March 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robochan Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 Very cool. Awesome how some relatively small things can change the look so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGU Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 Looks great. Now that I work earlier I don't get to see this car every morning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farkas Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 Wheels look great on the black, I think you made a fine choice! Of course, a little drop would never hurt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyctsv Posted March 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coltboostin Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 Car looks good. Did you do the mounts and diff bushings yourself? How much of a differecne did the bushings make with wheel hop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyctsv Posted March 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coltboostin Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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