Hey first off my name is Tim and I wanna give my respect to the ppl involved making this site happen and of course to all the jbody enthusiasts. I have been a member for a few years now and have learnt alot and have enjoyed seeing all your rides so I wanna share my love with my build. Red RaiN. it's been a slow project due to funds and ALOT of repairs but it's my baby and I plan on keeping it for a while. All the work has been done myself, just a self taught backyard mechanic, so let's start this journey. Any thoughts, questions or comments are welcome


ReD RaiN

99' Chev cavalier base.
2.2l engine
Approx 180 k when purchased

Heres a stock pic to get started. Keep watching, there's more to follow. The day I bought it. Paid $380.00. All it needed was a muffler, windshield and brake lines. Cost bout $400.00 to safety/etest

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ReD RaiN

If you want build this. I would suggest starting from the ground up. Good wheels, tires, suspension. Makes for a fun dd. If you want to make any power with an ln2 don't bother with bolt on's. Save up and do a simple turbo kit. I had an 01 ln2 car and I'm just suggesting ideas based off what I learned. If you search for "Tiny update" thread has my old ln2 car in it with pics.

Thanks I'll have to check that out as I eventually do wanna go turbo. I have a spare 2.2l from a 00' cavi I wouldn't mind modding in the future


ReD RaiN

First mod done was added a fart-can w/4.5" black tip.. (Thanks to my fiances mom r.I.p.) the black is what made me decide to go with a red and black theme. Next came off the badges

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ReD RaiN

Nice keep it up.




On the inside my car looks like a fighter jet.

Picked up a 4 door parts car for 250. Grabbed rotors temporary for safety, newer winter tires, exhaust and spare alternator. Solid to wrecker for 250 lol. Next had to replace 3 steel brake lines, e-brake equalizer as well as rear brake hardware. The car had been parked for 2 years so needed some TLC, more like a major tune up. This is just the beginning of repairs. Least by this point everything was road worthy. Had a system in my old ride so couldn't not have one. Good deal on that too. It's a single alpine 12" type r which a buddy gave me. Said it didn't work but he just didn't kno what he was doing. So anyways just had to build a box. Figured id match the trunk and car color. Picked up a boss 1500 watt amp online for 115 new shipped. Finally have a Kenwood deck my bro gave and alpine rear speakers from a buddy. So whole system cost me bout 225 installed and sounds great for a single 12"

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ReD RaiN

Interesting story bout my rims. These are srt-4 rims from a dodge neon srt. I had bought these from a guy on kijiji after selling him my neon 3 years prior with those same rims which he had painted flat black, then i decided to paint a red ring around the edge to compliment my theme

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ReD RaiN

Here's just a preview shot after a bath, cleaned up, shoes on and front rain deflector shaved to give it that gt spec look. Also decided to add eye lids. I had left over paint so i decided why not make my own. There's a reason I designed them this way, but ull have to wait for that

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ReD RaiN

Not bad!


http://www.autorentalandsales.com/images/2004Cavalier005.JPG

Not a bad start. If it was me I'd source an LS Sport lip kit or WW lip kit, some drop springs and lose the eyelids.(but that's me). Looking good though keep up the work


R.I.P darknstrangecavie

darknstrange cavie wrote:Not a bad start. If it was me I'd source an LS Sport lip kit or WW lip kit, some drop springs and lose the eyelids.(but that's me). Looking good though keep up the work

X2, except that I'd go with Z front bumper, 03+ LSS side skirts, and 02 LSS rear.

I would focus on upgrading the suspension first, though. It will be more fun to drive, and I hate wheel gap.

darknstrange cavie wrote:Not a bad start. If it was me I'd source an LS Sport lip kit or WW lip kit, some drop springs and lose the eyelids.(but that's me). Looking good though keep up the work

for now im thinking bout rounding the point out of the center of the bumper. I have also painted the grill flat black which I'll include pics after the 3 feet of snow is gone. However i do have an eye on some body parts in the future :-)


ReD RaiN

Mr. Quick wrote:

darknstrange cavie wrote:Not a bad start. If it was me I'd source an LS Sport lip kit or WW lip kit, some drop springs and lose the eyelids.(but that's me). Looking good though keep up the work

X2, except that I'd go with Z front bumper, 03+ LSS side skirts, and 02 LSS rear.

I would focus on upgrading the suspension first, though. It will be more fun to drive, and I hate wheel gap.

I 2nd that. I hate wheel gap too. Suspension started to go so figured why not lower it too! More pics and info to come when nicer weather comes. oh btw, Im not a big fan of eye lids either, but wanted something other then stock till I get some projections. However as mentioned I had a reason for the eye lids. Just wanna keep it a surprise for now:-)


ReD RaiN

Havnt posted in a while, weather starting to get nice so I snapped a few pics as promised. Blacked out tails, corner/bumper lenses, painted grill and wiper arms

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ReD RaiN

I would have keep the wipper arms black, but that is me...




PRND321 Till I DIE
Old Motor: 160whp & 152ft/lbs, 1/4 Mile 15.4 @88.2
M45 + LD9 + 4T40-E, GO GO GO

I know we all start somewhere, but this thing is going down the wrong path. I hate to be brutally honest but that's all I know. This car looks pure rice. Eye lids were awesome in 2003. Drop it, throw a nice lip kit, get rid of the painted wiper arms and eye lids, maybe toss a set of black projectors on it, fix the muffler hanging down and you have a good base to start with.

Nice, keep up the work.




On the inside my car looks like a fighter jet.

Yes we do all have to start somewhere, I'm also on a very tight budget and its also a dd (only vehicle) so progress isn't as fast as I'd like. I have fixed that muffler a few times. Keeps braking on me but waiting to put after market downpipe with header. I appreciate the input but as previously stated in the future looking into a kit and projections.. Eventho that's "rice" I do have some performance parts installed as well that I'm getting to in later posts.


ReD RaiN

Nice weather finally here. Snapped a quick pic of my engine bay, nothing to special. Bosch platinum plugs, Taylor race wires, Vibrant strut brace painted anodized red, K&N intake with filter to match. I run Royal purple throughout as well. Hoping by July I'll have my Pacesetter header and downpipe installed too. Note on my strut mounts, dunno why they're bulging the way they are... New kyb mounts so not sure why but no other concerns other then cosmetic. Any thoughts?

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ReD RaiN

Just a lil update, things not looking so well for my cavi. Got my flex lines changed then end up having to replace a caliper and a steel line too. Havnt had the chance to see if the brake issue is fixed or not that I was talking bout in my post on brakes. Found some other bad news.. Rear impact bar has gone to sh*t, flex pipe broke on the exhaust and clearcoat is deteriorating, body is rusting out so the build is gonna be on hold for a while. However I'm in the process of sanding some parts down to be painted. Hopefully get to bodywork next month as well as a few other mods I have planned. Stay tuned to see my progress


ReD RaiN

Possible big update. Might be getting a different CAV!! Looked at one today. Originally was buying it for parts but if the undercarriage if in decent shape then I may consider swapping everything and start a new build with existing mods. I also have a lot of other work done that I don't have pictures up of my interior that's going to be swapped too if all goes well. Basically going to be the same car but different exterior color. Also this one comes with a sunroof, leather/fabric interior and tach. As mentioned it does need a tone of work including engine/tranny swap from my car. Shouldn't be too complex. Won't be ready for a while if I decide to keep it but deff looking forward to it. Stay tuned!


ReD RaiN

PURCHASED! $200.00. 97' cav base. Next step to look it over and get buyers package before any work begins. Also, I have a thread started in 3rd gen I may need assistant with..


ReD RaiN

So I picked up the cav today, got a look around and bad news. Half the frame rails and both rockers completely destroyed. I'm guessing it was parked in some grass cuz most of the rest of the body is mint. Decided not to do the entire swap but not a complete loss. It was just a donar car to begin with. Gonna swap out some exterior panels, seats, tinted windows, possible sunroof if decided as well as some other stuff. Tach was mechanical so still looking for a digital. I'm A lil disappointed cuz its charcoal grey in color. Maybe I'll swap all the exterior panels and paint the rest grey, or custom two tone red/grey paint. Havnt decided yet. Starting to rip donar apart tomorrow and take it from there. Talk to u all soon


ReD RaiN

Finally got a nice day on the weekend to work on the cars. Donar car is completely ripped apart. Still need to remove windows but looking like it might not be as easy as I had hoped. Might just be easier to get my windows tinted instead of swapping them. Still debating on the sunroof. Just have to figure out how to remove the drain tubes. Got lots of parts but was disappointed the lower portion of the dash was cracked to sh*t cuz the top window trim is mint. Anyone know how to remove/apply the door inserts? Also any tips for removing the glass? Scored a alarm system as well! Gonna be a task installing it. Well that's it for now.


ReD RaiN

Update.. Sadly red rain is retiring. After many, many hrs I've got into it and money lost, I've decided to lay it to rest. The car needs too much money to get what it needs so i figured why not buy a diff one. So i did. Purchased an 04 ls sport. Came across a good deal that i didnt wanna pass up. It needs some work and i plan on doing some mods. Thanks for watching and hope ull follow my new thread.



ReD RaiN