DrGonzo3000 (Greg Dean)
Ride of the Month Submission 3000GT/Stealth International September 2010
Body:
- 216k+ original miles
- All original equipment functional
- All maintenance performed regularly
- Repainted original color 5 years ago
- 358th out of the 3979 that were made that year
- 100 Exactly Identical
Exterior:
- Hella 156mm H4 housings installed
- DDM Slim HID kit w/ 8000k bulbs
- PIAA plasma bulbs for fog lights
- Windows tinted 40%
- Turns blacked out
- Back-up lights blacked out
Interior:
- Ralliart short shifter
- Kenwood Head Unit
- Bazooka 8" Bass Tube
- Stock speakers replaced with Alpine
- Gentex Auto Dim Mirror
Suspension/Brakes:
- Intrax lowering springs
- Maximal Performance front strut bar
- Custom rear strut bar
- 3SX rear control & toe arms
- EBC Red Stuff
Engine:
- Rotella 5w40 Full synthetic
- Penzoil Syncromesh trans fluid
- NGK Coppers gapped .40
- MSD plug wires
- K&N FIPK filter
- 3SX air filter bracket
- 3SX fuel pressure gauge
- OBX silicone radiator hoses
- Ralliart Oil and Radiator cap
- Aluminum intake arm
- XTD Stage 3 ceramic clutch
BRG2010 "Nicest High Miler" Award
My Story:
I have owned this Stealth now for about 8 months. When I bought the car it was really clean on the outside but the inside was an disaster and the car did not want to run. The clutch was gone, it leaked pretty much every fluid and the previous owner had the idle set at 3500 just to keep the engine going. I bought the car for $600.00 so I can't really complain. When I got it home the first thing I did was get the car running right. Luckily the engine idle issue was nothing more than sensors and timing needing adjustment. My next issue was the car did not move. I didn't want to dump a lot of money into a clutch as I knew the car would be just for cruising. I picked up an XTD stage 3 clutch. Dropped the tranny, installed the new clutch and replaced all seals on the tranny. I also had to replace the clutch line and the slave cylinder as they were both leaking. Now after a month of gathering parts and work the car finally moved, but it didn't want to stop! Both front rotors were warped and needed to be replaced. I installed stock blanks and EBC Red Stuff pads.The next big challenge was the interior. I could not tell what color the carpet was due to all of the stains. All of the panels had scuffs and stains all over them. Plus the car really smelled bad! I pulled all of the interior panels, the dash, the carpeting, the seats, ETC. Everything got scrubbed done and treated with an enzyme cleaner to help remove the smell. Carpet was enzyme treated and steam cleaned. To my surprise I was able to remove all of the stains out of the carpet. The cloth seats got the same treatment but unfortunately the passenger seat had a gum spot on the bottom and we could only get about 90% of the stain out. The door panels were note salvageable due to tears and bubbles. I installed a set of TT door panels as I liked the gray inserts better than the tan ones. Both window regulators where also replaced. The interior was completely revamped back to original and all panels cleaned and replaced as needed.While working on getting the ECS system functional I decided to drop in a set of Intrax lowering springs as I wanted to get rid of the wheel gap. The springs would be the start of the "MOD BUG"! I wanted to really get the suspension optimized for running the Road Course at "VIR" but still keep the cars overall stock appearance. 3SX Control/Toe arms were installed in the rear. Also added an MP front strut bar. I couldn't really find a rear one that I liked so I built my own from mild steel and painted it red. Now that the suspension was up to par I now concentrated on getting the car ready for BRG2010. I really wanted to make a good impression as this was the first actual gathering I had been able to attend. I spend three weeks prepping the car. The engine bay was extensively cleaned with rubbing compound and wet sanding as the paint on the firewall and strut towers were really dingy and stained. Upper plenum and front valve cover received a fresh coat of paint. If it was dirty it got cleaned or painted! All of the work paid off as the car won first place for "Nicest High Miler".
Day I bought the car
Running the Dragon BRG2010
Running the Dragon BRG2010
After the storm Blue Ridge Mountains
