Well..I thought a while back I posted a build thread for my car, guess not!
Ive had it logged on the ecotecforum site since day one, which is listed here ----->
My Ecotec forum progress/build
Since Ive done literally SO much to my car since bone stock in late 2011...Ill just bring everyone up to date.
I literally have pictures of every modification and everything Ive done to it, so i have about 700+ pictures, at least. Even pictures of everything purchased that have not been installed (cams, meth, valve springs, lots of other random parts).
I bought her with 160,000 miles (hell of a good cash purchase price from the original owner). highway vehicle driving 500+ miles one way every weekend or two between San Antonio and El Paso.
2004, arrival blue, 2dr (coupe), 5spd, base model, and only mod she had was a 10" bazooka sub (that I removed almost immediately).
Before pics, taken at the registration office where she was legally mine (paid in full!) December of 2011.
Today pics, taken at home where she is still legally mine (and still paid in full! lol) April 2013.
a few of her before the new wheels/hood (but the rear is the same)
04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.
Hate it!!!!!! (OK, not really.)
keep it up!!!
Currently #4 in Ecotec Forced Induction horsepower ratings. 505.8 WHP 414WTQ!!!
Currently 3rd quickest Ecotec on the .org - 10.949 @ 131.50 MPH!!!
Roofy wrote:Hate it!!!!!!
But seriously awesome build man. I paged through your novel on ecotec forums a little as well. I hope you're able to find a viable tuning solution so you can stick with it! Looking forward to more updates..
"In Oldskool we trust"
thanks man...this car gets a lot of respect from the local car communities and clubs. why? because its not really just a cavalier anymore, and its not decked out with body kits for all show no go.
there are some nice cavaliers on these forums, and Id like to think mine is up there in the sense that its been taken care of, has tasteful mods, and is respectfully holding its own against almost anything under 350hp at the wheels that's comes at it (I love having a power to weight advantage lol). This all on a super rich tune.
Vince was very professional about not being able to work on my jbody anymore and I hold nothing against him. So when I find another tune option soon, Ill really see what this sucker can do! I really do envy you guys up north with these skilled tuners. I may start saving up for an engine build by next summer, all depending on a home purchase or not.
the thing I love about Cavaliers is, I keep getting' older and they stay the same age! (haha...lol)
04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.
How did you get the blue to look bitchener in the new photos? Freakin nice.
haha..better camera and lighting I guess!
the car was immaculate when I bought it and has just maintained well. I also wash it usually every Friday after work by hand
04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.
Very tastefully modded. Im digging the sunfire panel on the rear for sure.
Who did your projector bezels? Im thinking of ordering the bezels to finish mine... Thats all I have left for my headlights.
I believe those are pre bought lights....ebay specials.
Check out the retrofit source. They have tons of bezels and they are pretty cheap.
^ that was the plan, just need to figure out what I need.
yup...Philly is right. I bought them fully assembled with bulbs plug n play (removed my HID setup) for $170 shipped. it included some led fog/drl lights too but I wont use them.
heres the ebay link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/140928355037?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
funny thing is, the EXACT set up I bought went up $100..maybe they realized they made a mistake on the price and raised it since last week! LOL
this is how the headlights came to me:
04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.
If i was in your shoes, i would really be looking into picking up a copy of HP Tuners and learning how to tune. But Oldskool spoils me, so i havent.
Tinkles(KGM) wrote:If i was in your shoes, i would really be looking into picking up a copy of HP Tuners and learning how to tune. But Oldskool spoils me, so i havent.
this is most likely whats going to happen, unless I can take a trip up north and pay someone for their time to help me. but knowing HPT will also benefit me in the future as I will always have a GM and something worth tuning. time and money knowing it myself will be saved ten fold im sure.
as stated in another thread, Vince has been very professional with me and took care of not being able to complete my tune. just wish it didnt take so long to get to this point.
im going to start looking into the HPTuner software (pro) and making the call to buy it. Im about to buy a new set of tires so i will break this months budget on car stuff (though thats never really stopped me lol)
04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.
blu04DD wrote:this car gets a lot of respect from the local car communities and clubs. why? because its not really just a cavalier anymore, and its not decked out with body kits for all show no go.
Same exact story with mine. I get lots of respect on the fact that it's not totally riced out but modded tastefully.
blu04DD wrote:unless I can take a trip up north and pay someone for their time to help me.
My offer still stands if you decide to make the outrageous road trip.
"In Oldskool we trust"
I just found out there may be a good HPTuner here in San Antonio. He used to live in Houston or something but works at a Chevy Dealership near me. Another member knows him and he and I are going to sit down and talk about it.
so...I may be able to get HPTuner on my car soon! not counting my chickens before they hatch, but its a good start!
04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.
Awesome news dude, hoping it works out for you!
"In Oldskool we trust"
yeah he seems pretty confident in tuning me. he's apparently tuned quite a few ecotecs and he tuned his own fully built Grand Am GT.
it'll happen very soon, because he's local and he really wants to do my car after hearing about it
on another note.....I went on about an 8 hour cruise today driving the back country roads outside San Antonio. I was playing with a modded C5 and mazdaspeed3 as well as an SLK55 AMG were all in our group. lets just say even as is, my car is not having any troubles out handling much more expensive cars with a lot more power
though I can give most of my credit today to my brand new tires BFGoodrich g-Force Sport Comp-2's (225/45/17). they hold VERY well once broken in and with all my suspension upgrades, it handled like a dream. I didn't even get my CA's and new linkage in up front due to not having a place to align last minute. I have vids that ill eventually upload, gotta go through them and see how they look on something larger than my Freestyle lol
so the bad news after I got home driving it very hard all day....I notice my coolant tank for the h/e was empty. it must have leaked somewhere between yesterday and this morning. so I check the pump, and sure enough its pretty warm and seized up. im guessing it burned up from running dry.
so I removed the pump and still had about a gallon of water/waterwetter in the lines. so maybe the pump just burned up on its own since it was used and ive had it on since the s/c install last March (2012). I know they're notorious for going out. I even tried banging it a little and still wouldn't work.
so it ran all day on no coolant in the manifold cooling the air...that's not good....but everything seems okay and im just going to buy a new one that's got a warranty so I don't have to keep buying used ones.
04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.
Ive been very proud to see all the mods you have done to this Cavy. What you have to your advantage is you have a base model so it should be lighter than my Z24. Thus allowing you to accelarate at a faster rate.
I have yet to see any rice on your car. I am impressed Derek. You have upgraded suspension, understand you need a tune.....not like one of those other guys who add mods and dont car to tune the car.....LOL
GMR has got nothing on this
thanks Raf! Ive been wondering how your build has been coming along. Your Z24 was always a favorite of mine. I just dont see you in a new Turbo Cobalt and having as much fun and appreciation for the car...i see you driving around in the z24 because it just suits you. I like oldschool over new stuff.
the suspension has surprisingly held up quite well for being old springs. its super stiff, has no give and holds like a dream. after my control arms, tie rods, end links, kbrace all go in maybe this weekend, it should be complete as far as suspension goes. next will be the front brakes. and if this guy can get me tuned, i can get the rest of my parts in that have been on standby for a long time now and she'll scream. 204k miles on her and still running strong. 35k boosted!
04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.
got tuned yesterday. woke up A LOT. day and night.
wot driving though I noticed a rattling noise..so until I was able to get it to the tuner again today I drove it easy and about 20mi from the house, I had an odd misfire and lost power.
I pull over and its missing BAD. throws the P0300 code (random misfire) and theres nothing I can do.
I get home, take another car to class, and after class I come tear it apart. first thing I inspected...plugs. theres an obvious problem lol.....
204500 miles it was inevitable with the new tune pushing more power out.
180/180/180/0 <---- those look like healthy compression numbers to you guys?
valve cover taken off, no apparent damage. I wasn't able to do a leak down yet to verify whether its exhaust or intake/piston, but for now she's out of the game for a few weeks.
time to look at ported head options and this will be a perfect excuse to finally toss in my cams and supertech valve springs.
good news is, when its done the tuner will be readily available immediately following the completed install.
but on another note...I did get this in today...
04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.
sounds like some form of a bent valve :/ That is never good. At least you have options. Different head... complete motor swap... in the end you get to freshen the motor up.
love the look. beauty for sure. only thing i dont like is the front plate.
M45/OS crank/2.4 snout. It's nice to be injected but I love being blown!
Reading that last update was like having a sex dream and waking up before the end with blue balls ! So glad you found a tuning option but now you can't even enjoy it
Anyway, hope it's at least top end related.
"In Oldskool we trust"
