'98 SC Riv

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Fantastic photo - this needs to be included in next year's calendar selection!

You are ahead of the curve! The new 2010 LaCrosse has blue lights throughout the interior.

I agree some very nice photo's and very nice car.
Where did you get the chrome arrowheads you are using for detail on the body of the car, they look good on your car.

hey zep, nice pics, is there any way you could do a write up on those blue LEDs throughout, since the baby bulbs are dying off one by one in my riv, i'd like to switch it up.

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Fantastic photo - this needs to be included in next year's calendar selection!

Hey, that'd be cool with me. I could probably take a better quality one. That one's dark and it's got a damn Toyota in the background

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You are ahead of the curve! The new 2010 LaCrosse has blue lights throughout the interior.

Yeah, I like the new 2010 LaCrosse car (though seeing it did not make me want to get these lights in) and its interior lights look awesome. They are much more "cool" blue than mine tho...

Rickw, I got the arrowheads from AutoZone. I don't like a lot of the trash they have in the accessories section (most of it unnecessary and way too blingy) but I thought they'd look good and I think they do.

Lucas, I could make a detailed write up if I find time. It's pretty easy to do if you have spare time and a flat head screwdriver.

Anyway, I wanted to post pics of my tinted turn signals and running lights so here they are. Honestly, I'm not 100% happy with them but hell, they look alright and they make the front end look cleaner to me. The light on the passenger side IS darker than the driver side, but not much and it isn't noticeable with lights on. Pics were taken about 2 hours after a huge ass rain storm, usually the girl's cleaner.







In this pic, you got the front turn signals and back running lights. Both are damn dark.




I'll be doing the reverse lights with one coat of VHT some time soon. If they look like hell I'll do the whole tail light. Working on the FWI right now. If anybody who reads this has made one, what did you use to enlarge the fenderwell? My dremel takes ages to cut it up even with fiberglass disks.

looks like a dif color of my car lol same grill same chrome stripping between the windows. chrome wheels...portholes.. niiicee

I love your car man. Absolutely gorgeous.

I wish I had the money to do all of that to my car.

Zach,
Thought I would bump this and add you should send in some pics for the calendar if you haven't yet!
That was a good story in the Riview and some great pictures; you should add them for the RivPerformance calendar

You have a beautiful Rivi. I had been wondering how the chrome would look on the pillars. How did you do the grill? I suppose it's on another thread, but I can't find it. I really like that touch.

@ 99Rivman
Thanks for your post back in November. I didn't even realize you had posted. Sorry about the lack of a reply! Regardless, I'll probably try to send those pictures in for the next calendar, or perhaps I'll take some more. I've been busy with school for a while. Hopefully I'll get some time in the summer.

@ ghpcnm
Thanks, I really appreciate it. A few weeks ago when I came home from school (I come home once a month), I replaced the chrome on my driver's side pillar. I took the old stuff off and just stepped back and compared the bare plastic to the chrome. I really feel that the chrome makes it look better, though leaving the black plastic the way it is makes the window-area more linear. I just did what I felt was best for my own vehicle.
Also I assume you found the thread about the grille? Let me know if you still need any help. It's pretty simple. It just requires a good amount of patience.


This is my spring break and I'll try to work on getting new pics up of new stuff.

Thanks Zach...Yes, I did find the thread on the grill mods (with a little help from the admin) and I did mine yesterday. I used 1/4" door edge molding on mine and it came out just beautiful. A very inexpensive, but rich looking mod. Enjoy your break

It's been a while since I've updated w/pics, but I've done a lot since the last time I've updated. As of right now, my 98 has about 148k miles on it. She's been less than perfect but, it's still a head turner even with the relatively subtle things I've done to it. The front bumper has been repainted, and some dings in it were fixed. We just got through a rough patch in our lives, when the HVAC head unit and the windows decided to poop out at the same time, and of course, you can't beat this humid Delaware weather! But, while I'm on break, I figured I'd get some glamour shots of ol' Bessie!

She is now on one of those new teeth whitening programs, but I think she may have gone overboard! (put new chrome on the grille)


Those cliche portholes are gone, and I put chrome stripping over top of the SS fender well trim, removed the front window tint, and just put on new door handle covers. They are made of polished stainless and marketed for 00-05 Impalas.




I took off the original S/C emblem and put a new chrome one on. The tail light is tinted, as are the reverse lights. There are white LEDs above the license plate, and white LEDs for the reverse lights.




War wounds! In the continuing battle with those meddling *other* vehicles in the world, somebody decided to hit the car with their truck's fishing pole mount. Stick to the beach, people! I used a paint pen with the alleged same color as my vehicle to fill in the scratches. The paint is obviously darker than it should be.


Updated interior: I now have a Dual stereo (it is a cheap, very temporary replacement for my former Pioneer HU, which I loved to death). Also notice the S/C emblem on the lighter/ash tray cover. I plan on putting a SoundStream Equalizer underneath of my Head Unit, or maybe where the ash tray / lighter are.




Here is a picture of my subwoofers once again. I put a Riviera R on the trunk lid. We purchased it at the ROA meet in Hershey.


The freshly cleaned and polished engine bay. The Caddy STB is on its way. I have my 3.5" pulley off right now but I will put it on again soon.




Thanks for looking, guys. I'll post again when I get the EQ put in

Very nice indeed...thanks for sharing the pics

Very nice! What did you do to the hood insulation?!

Thanks guys. Very mild mods, I know, but it's my daily driver. I pretty much just removed the insulation, deek. I have it in the shed still, but I can hear everything going on in the engine bay much better, plus I like to think it helps reduce under-hood temps. Think is the key word though I wonder what possessed GM engineers to put all of those cone-shaped indentations under the hood...

the cone shaped indentations are for stiffening. If you paint the underside to match the exterior of the hood the underside looks a whole bunch better

Yep, that's what I thought, I just haven't seen cones on other cars before. Maybe that's b/c most of them still have insulation! I plan on painting the hood down the road so we'll make sure to do the whole thing.

they have a whole different engineering criteria for aluminium in regards to strength.
I love aluminium

Just came in... I'll be busy this weekend



See anything you recognize?? I'll be doing the following:

- Putting on new struts - KYB GR-2 (KYB-335037) and new KYB boots (took a while to find the right ones)
- In the cardboard box is an ABS module to replace mine, which will get done tomorrow. Old one will probably get sold for scrap metal!
- See the pulley on top of the cardboard box? It's my shredded S/C idler pulley. So, new pulley and new Gates belt are getting strapped on.
- Putting on new rotors all around (back ones have *never* been replaced... Jesus! )
- New ceramic Delco brake pads to be tossed on
- Motor mounts and transmission mounts replaced, as well as oil pan gasket
- Fuel filter will get replaced
- Might paint my calipers black if I get bored

All of this is getting done because it's all loooooong overdue. My front struts are stock (over 150k miles - a ton of creaks and a very bumpy / loose ride), as are the back brake rotors, brakes are squealing, fuel filter hasn't been done in a long, long time, ABS / TC needs fixed... S/C doesn't work Can't wait!

After all this, I'll be painting some interior pieces gloss black (shifter trim if I can't find another one for cheap), then probably re-do the front bumper. It has a massive hole in it from an accident. An sqrivi bumper would be welcomed...

yo, ZEP. How'd the upgrades turn out?

charlieRobinson wrote:

yo, ZEP. How'd the upgrades turn out?

....he's recovering from all the wrenching as we speak

Lol, well, all I have to say is... I lovez mah pneumatic wrench. My arms don't feel like limp noodles, which is a win in and of itself

Everything went great though. I didn't take pics, as I was too intent on getting things done before passing out, but my dad and I installed new rotors and pads & rebuilt all the caliper pistons. I'm the second owner of this car, but I'm pretty positive the rear rotors were original before this past weekend... they still had the stock retainer clips on them

I put the ABS module in and both the TC and ABS lights (which have been on for *months*) went away instantly. Thanks for the wake up call, albert (if you're reading)!... I'll make sure to replace brake fluid every 2 years instead of replacing modules We also got the new struts in, but I'm now getting a clunking noise from the front driver's side whenever I brake or turn. I'm thinking one of the control arm bushings may have cracked when working on the suspension. I'm actually going to troubleshoot that tomorrow. This stuff can make somebody

Put new Gates belts on and new supercharger idler and tensioner pulleys & did everything else I listed in my last post, except replace the motor and tranny mounts. I was too pooped to do them. But, this weekend, I painted my center console shifter trim, which had a nice big crack in the wood grain, and fixed my bumper up (put black ducktape on the bumper to look like racing stripes... I'll upload pics tomorrow) as well as painted the seat adjustment control covers. The whole car needs new paint, so I figure I'll do it all at once when I actually have a garage to park in. Hoping everything will be good to go after I get this clunk figured out.

ZEP wrote:

Lol, well, all I have to say is... I lovez mah pneumatic wrench. My arms don't feel like limp noodles, which is a win in and of itself

Everything went great though. I didn't take pics, as I was too intent on getting things done before passing out, but my dad and I installed new rotors and pads & rebuilt all the caliper pistons. I'm the second owner of this car, but I'm pretty positive the rear rotors were original before this past weekend... they still had the stock retainer clips on them

I put the ABS module in and both the TC and ABS lights (which have been on for *months*) went away instantly. Thanks for the wake up call, albert (if you're reading)!... I'll make sure to replace brake fluid every 2 years instead of replacing modules We also got the new struts in, but I'm now getting a clunking noise from the front driver's side whenever I brake or turn. I'm thinking one of the control arm bushings may have cracked when working on the suspension. I'm actually going to troubleshoot that tomorrow. This stuff can make somebody

Put new Gates belts on and new supercharger idler and tensioner pulleys & did everything else I listed in my last post, except replace the motor and tranny mounts. I was too pooped to do them. But, this weekend, I painted my center console shifter trim, which had a nice big crack in the wood grain, and fixed my bumper up (put black ducktape on the bumper to look like racing stripes... I'll upload pics tomorrow) as well as painted the seat adjustment control covers. The whole car needs new paint, so I figure I'll do it all at once when I actually have a garage to park in. Hoping everything will be good to go after I get this clunk figured out.

At your first convenience, suggest you inspect the clunking wheel to determine if maybe a caliper bolt worked loose. You did use threadlocker on those suckers, right? Also if your sway bar end links are original it may be that one finally broke. The originals are plastic cans with little metal internal shafts that rust away and break off inside the can -- and you'll never see it. Look for a link with a missing bushing on the bottom where it's supposed to be in the control arm; push up on the bar end to see if it can be moved up while car is sitting (will take some oomph, wear a glove so you get good grip).

You know what *sucks?* Having a car problem going on for a whole week, only to have it go away the day that you schedule to troubleshoot it. I drove all around town, on rough roads, highways and with hard stops and couldn't reproduce the clunking sound at all today.

I've got a lot of steering wheel / front end vibration at highway speeds though, so the car is now getting an alignment done as well as getting new tie rods... there's a lot of vertical movement in the joint when shaking the wheel. This is probably due to getting in that accident a little while back (??)

Vertical wheel movement suggests a bad hub (bearing), or a bad lower ball joint.