Hey, I'm eric. I'm pretty much.. Your average 18 year old kid who's into cars. My ride? It's a 2000 Impala LS in chevy's Bright White.
When I bought the car, the previous owner's lack of care for the vehicle was evident. The front bumper shell was cracked along the perimeter of the foglamp, the lamp itself was also shattered.. AND RE-ATTACHED TO THE BUMPER WITH A SCREW? LOL
Well, I ordered two new foglamps.. Figured I could install them and be on my way, and do a bumper cover later on. Wasn't the fact. So, in august, I ordered a new front bumper cover.. Next day, I'm on my way to a junkyard to try to find some stuff for it.. Few interior pieces, and small stuff like that. Mainly a 2000+ bonneville SSEi Shift knob (They're trimmed in leather, so that's what i was looking for) and I went into a parking lot to make a call since I don't like driving, on the phone together.. and it was a small lot, like two car wide..There was a pole I thought I cleared when I was backing out.. didn't clear it. Racked the rear bumper cover just right to where it also folded the rear right lower quarter panel like a piece of paper. Two days later, new bumper cover arrives.. took it to shop that body work was being done by on the back, told them i'd pay them out of pocket for prime/paint/clear/install of the new cover, and brought them the two new foglights.. I didn't think that the aftermarket unit would not have trim already molded in as the factory one did since I've never done anything like this before, so I got the car back.. no front trim. Still need to order it , a month later on monday. I've also done a few small things to the car..
de-badge, SLP LSx Grille added, decals of the Impala owners association (I guess that's cosmetic .. sorta. ) and painted the underhood crash braces as well as the strut tower brace. There's more coming sooner or later whenever I get more money on the side to throw at the projects I want to do.
1. wheels/tires.
2. top to bottom of body.
3. door jambs.
4. re-soak car.
5. pull into garage to dry.
that's my process, but I'm interested in learning all of the other stuff there is.. Or at least what I can easily do without being scared I'm going to mess up my car.
Here's a few shots which were assorted in timed order before and after the fix. I'm pretty good at washing cars, actually very thorough, but there's alot of stuff that I'm new and inexperienced with.. Never glazed/polished a car. Only clay/wax/wash/etc. I have the proper process.;
Anyhow, I'll throw up these pics for you guys to check out. The finish appears to be pretty good on this car so far for being a 2000 with 118, almost 119 thousand miles! There's room for improvement for sure, though.
How it looked two days after I picked her up, July 4th.
And here's between then and now.
.
Gotta represent.
And the happy owner, (myself.)
Anyhow, yea.. I look forward to talking with all of you guys. I've been lurking the forum for a few months on and off, decided it was finally time to join up, since it's getting nearer to the date I can throw a layer of wax on the fresh paint..
Oh yeah. I've been driving with my own lisense since June of '05.. And i've had so far:
1998 Chevy Suburban K1500 Onyx Black - sold
1995 Found on road dead Escort luxury crap edition - totalled two days after initial purchase.
1995 Pontiac bonneville - where i started wanting to learn to detail cars at.. Brought this car's paint back from horrible condition it was in when I got it to what it's at now - trying to sell
2000 Impala - replacement of the bonneville. I chose the bonneville because I remember seeing the commercials on TV when i was a little kid, and I've always liked how they sat/look/sounded, so I asked my parents if I could get a little bit bigger of a car since the small car didn't feel safe when the accident happened.. They asked me what I wanted, I suggested an impala but we couldn't touch any pricewise, then I remembered the bonneville..Found a '95 SLE in adriatic blue pearl, broke down a few times but ran pretty nice.. Decided now I was 18, I needed a "more responsible" type of car.. when I was 11, when the w-body impalas came out, I liked them.. We were in the showroom at the local chevy dealer when we were looking for a new car for my stepdad in '00 and I sat in one and i wanted one since.. so I've had two of my dream cars so far. They might not be exotics and may be average, but there's not alot of 18 year olds that like these cars.. I'm into exotics too.. LOVE porsches. Sooner or later, I'm going to *try* to get myself a '50-'55 Porsche 356A Coupe.
When I bought the car, the previous owner's lack of care for the vehicle was evident. The front bumper shell was cracked along the perimeter of the foglamp, the lamp itself was also shattered.. AND RE-ATTACHED TO THE BUMPER WITH A SCREW? LOL
Well, I ordered two new foglamps.. Figured I could install them and be on my way, and do a bumper cover later on. Wasn't the fact. So, in august, I ordered a new front bumper cover.. Next day, I'm on my way to a junkyard to try to find some stuff for it.. Few interior pieces, and small stuff like that. Mainly a 2000+ bonneville SSEi Shift knob (They're trimmed in leather, so that's what i was looking for) and I went into a parking lot to make a call since I don't like driving, on the phone together.. and it was a small lot, like two car wide..There was a pole I thought I cleared when I was backing out.. didn't clear it. Racked the rear bumper cover just right to where it also folded the rear right lower quarter panel like a piece of paper. Two days later, new bumper cover arrives.. took it to shop that body work was being done by on the back, told them i'd pay them out of pocket for prime/paint/clear/install of the new cover, and brought them the two new foglights.. I didn't think that the aftermarket unit would not have trim already molded in as the factory one did since I've never done anything like this before, so I got the car back.. no front trim. Still need to order it , a month later on monday. I've also done a few small things to the car..
de-badge, SLP LSx Grille added, decals of the Impala owners association (I guess that's cosmetic .. sorta. ) and painted the underhood crash braces as well as the strut tower brace. There's more coming sooner or later whenever I get more money on the side to throw at the projects I want to do.
1. wheels/tires.
2. top to bottom of body.
3. door jambs.
4. re-soak car.
5. pull into garage to dry.
that's my process, but I'm interested in learning all of the other stuff there is.. Or at least what I can easily do without being scared I'm going to mess up my car.
Here's a few shots which were assorted in timed order before and after the fix. I'm pretty good at washing cars, actually very thorough, but there's alot of stuff that I'm new and inexperienced with.. Never glazed/polished a car. Only clay/wax/wash/etc. I have the proper process.;
Anyhow, I'll throw up these pics for you guys to check out. The finish appears to be pretty good on this car so far for being a 2000 with 118, almost 119 thousand miles! There's room for improvement for sure, though.
How it looked two days after I picked her up, July 4th.
And here's between then and now.
Gotta represent.
And the happy owner, (myself.)
Anyhow, yea.. I look forward to talking with all of you guys. I've been lurking the forum for a few months on and off, decided it was finally time to join up, since it's getting nearer to the date I can throw a layer of wax on the fresh paint..
Oh yeah. I've been driving with my own lisense since June of '05.. And i've had so far:
1998 Chevy Suburban K1500 Onyx Black - sold
1995 Found on road dead Escort luxury crap edition - totalled two days after initial purchase.
1995 Pontiac bonneville - where i started wanting to learn to detail cars at.. Brought this car's paint back from horrible condition it was in when I got it to what it's at now - trying to sell
2000 Impala - replacement of the bonneville. I chose the bonneville because I remember seeing the commercials on TV when i was a little kid, and I've always liked how they sat/look/sounded, so I asked my parents if I could get a little bit bigger of a car since the small car didn't feel safe when the accident happened.. They asked me what I wanted, I suggested an impala but we couldn't touch any pricewise, then I remembered the bonneville..Found a '95 SLE in adriatic blue pearl, broke down a few times but ran pretty nice.. Decided now I was 18, I needed a "more responsible" type of car.. when I was 11, when the w-body impalas came out, I liked them.. We were in the showroom at the local chevy dealer when we were looking for a new car for my stepdad in '00 and I sat in one and i wanted one since.. so I've had two of my dream cars so far. They might not be exotics and may be average, but there's not alot of 18 year olds that like these cars.. I'm into exotics too.. LOVE porsches. Sooner or later, I'm going to *try* to get myself a '50-'55 Porsche 356A Coupe.