2017 LaCrosse Build thread (GS tribute)

[richardnewton]

I get the logic now!

 

[Ghosthawk]

Checked in with the body shop today and the door glass still has not arrived. This is totally maddening and crazy. I could've bought the glass 3 times over on eBay.

In other news, the bumper cover is re-assembled and I hung it temporarily today and plugged in the harness. The new LED fog/driving lights look great and are enormously brighter than the stock units. I left the car running for a few minutes and never noticed any flicker so hopefully we're all good. The painted rear spoiler and hood scoop should be here soon.

Still no word back from the guy in NC about the steering wheel wiring.

 

[Ghosthawk]

With Caliber indefinitely delaying things I switched body shops to a local business that's been here 40+ years. I honestly don't know why I didn't go to them first but such is life. I think they will be much better to work with. That said, appt date is now March 6th, and after my discussion with them I went ahead and re-installed the front bumper. I really love the result. After the repair all that will remain is blacking out the window moldings and installing the deck spoiler, hood scoop and stripes. Although I must say, I'm really liking the look right now sans stripes, but we'll see.

 

[richardnewton]

Buick's well thought out chrome looks great but your blackout treatment looks mean! Buick should have launched a blackout sports version.

You could try some temp stripes of paper and painter's tape to see if you like the look / adjust. Looking at the photoshop, the top stripes flow with the car whilst the bottom stripe does not, so there's an idea.

Will the hood scoop be functional?

 

[Ghosthawk]

Tape stripes are easy to remove if the look isn't there, so I'll experiment when the time comes. As far as the scoop functioning, the answer is no. I had a so-called "functional" fiberglass ram-air hood on a 2001 Grand Prix GT and all it did was was let water get all over everything...no thanks. Ideally, what I wanted was the hood bulge like on the Grand National, which I could get but bonding/install on the aluminum hood is a tricky thing to get right and very expensive to boot. There have been a great many factory hood treatments that were just for show, so I don't worry much about that. Shucks, even my factory shaker hood scoop on my 79 T/A was blocked off, as was the Turbo T/A hood that followed in 1980. The scoop I'm having painted is a reverse design but I'm trying to emulate the GN bulge.

I totally agree GM should've offered a GS trim of this car...all the proper bits are already there!

 

[richardnewton]

We had a buddy in college that built up some old 60s mustang with an outrageous engine. It was not perfect but sounded incredible and was a lot of fun.

He put on a hood intake. From the front passenger seat, it was fun watching the intake slat open and close when we were driving around town. Maybe he had the intake linked to the carburetor or the accelerator pedal or some vacuum line. Probably the moving flap was more for show even if he thought it helped. He was a very good mechanic so I am not dismissing his skills or intent.

He had at least one gauge on that hood scoop but I don't remember what was indicated; didn't matter it was fun to watch. At one point he might of had LED indicators on the hood scoop too but I can't remember for sure.

 

[Ghosthawk]

I've always loved the old hood tach like found on early GTOs but that would be pointless with the factory one in dash. I also recall the 1980 Z28 having a factory actuated scoop flap, and I agree, it was a cool piece of entertainment. I actually looked at one of those factory pieces but they get a sky-high price these days and the unit is too long for my hood, so double fail on that. But if I could fabricate making a vacuum flap work, that would be cool as all hell...even if it wasn't functional at all! LOL

 

[richardnewton]

"In the '60's they pretty well figured out there were four kinds of hood scoops. Ones at the leading edge of the hood/car which got some ram effect. Those positioned WAY above the hood that got ram effect. Ones that weren't really scoops but were actually placed to allow room for a taller engine. And the rest that might vent a little warm air or something, maybe, but were really just for looks.
The one on my '69 is there solely to please my eye."

Thoughts on making my hood scoop functional

Hello, my 69 coupe has a standard hood scoop which is non-functional and while I'm going through my current resto-rod restoration I'm seriously considering cutting and opening on the hood to allow air flow to the motor. There seems to be a lot of pros and cons to doing this, and as many...

www.vintage-mustang.com

I suppose a hood scoop could interfere with the aerodynamics of a modern car. And an active one might impact engine cooling airflow too. If your LaCrosse came with a factory cold air intake, the hood scoop won't help much. And you need to worry about rain and water ingress.

These days, I suppose an electronically controlled hood scoop might make sense using some arduino gizmo via the OBD port reading vacuum for example. And provide a manual switch in the cockpit to turn the scoop off in inclement weather or car washes (maybe automated via the rain sensor on the windshield!)

Overall, a hood scoop is probably not a great idea. A nice picture book of famous hood scoops

18 of the coolest factory hood scoops - Hagerty Media

Lots of cars look their best when they’re prepped for racing: lowered, stripped down, and bristling with widgets that cheat and channel the air. Naturally, auto designers love to bring some of those racing accents into the showroom, and one of our favorite styling elements that’s trickled down...

www.hagerty.com

 

[Ghosthawk]

It would take some serious custom work, but the Mopar Air Grabber would look awesome (although not nearly a GM product of any kind) LOL
I had also looked at Camaro ZL1 heat extractor insert, but the unit is way too large to fit the LaCrosse hood.
Here's a pic of the same scoop I'm having painted on the Ford Taurus I used to have. Many told me not to put it on that car too, but I think it turned out nice.

 

[richardnewton]

the Mopar Air Grabber would look awesome

The cartoon is too funny!

I think your Taurus looks great.

 

[Ghosthawk]

I did a little more digging on the Camaro ZL1 heat extractor


You can get this is carbon fiber or fiberglass but after measuring the Buick I'd need to take about 12 inches off the back of this piece to get the length right. Not sure how that would affect the overall look.

I also found this aftermarket piece that is similar to the factory one but made for use on the existing Camaro hood. This one is already shorter and might work right out of the box.


The last one probably fits but still make for huge hole in the hood (which I'm not wild about) but I think it would look good.


I'll see what the painted scoop looks like after it gets here and I'll decided from there.

 

[Ghosthawk]

Sadly, after much research and being educated by more knowledgeable people, the C8 steering wheel is officially a bust. It appears that moving the pins can be possibly catastrophic for the CAN-BUS system the car uses to control functions. One guy did offer to check it out but wanted a waiver in the event the computer was damaged in the process. That was just too much of a risk, so no on that project.
On the upside, during my search for people to handle the wiring, I found a website called exclusivesteering.com that will modify your existing wheel with flat bottom, top, thicker grips, and a plethora of color choices. That may be the best way to go.

The painted scoop and spoiler arrived yesterday and they look fabulous. Hoping to install them Monday when I'm off work. I mock-fitted the scoop last night and I think its gonna look great. It really flows with the existing hood lines.

 

[Ghosthawk]

Big day today as Sgaile takes another couple steps closer to being the complete package. The spoiler and scoop install went well, although it still causes a tinge of pain when I have to drill a hole in a body panel. The last of the carbon fiber look interior trim went on also! 😎
Let the pics begin!












Once she comes back from the body shop I can move ahead with blacking out the window surround moldings. Then I can play with the gold pinstripes and see if I like the look. I LOVE this car! 😍😎

 

[richardnewton]

Looks mean!

That hood scoop is fantastic. Just enough growl but almost blends in; That is a lot of money and irreversible holes so the install must have been nervous times. Looks OEM.

The rear sticker ties in the gold wheels which I didn't notice before.

The Avery carbon fibre interior wrap looks OEM. . .from the Ferarri factory.

The Lloyds ultimats are a nice upgrade. How do they compare to the stock mats (outside of appearance?)

OT - Reminded me of that high school neighbour. Somehow he procured a huge hood scoop for his early 60s mustang which I think was a convertible. It was in flat black primer with maybe a silver rattlecan wide stripe up hood, roof, and ttrunk. Newly installed big engine sounded loud & fast. So he procured a huge hood scoop; that must have been at least a foot tall and had two gauges and a coupe of coloured indicator lights too. Anyways, the hood looked a bit silly outside the car. And blocked most of the view of the road.

Within a few days, Mike sourced a much smaller hood scoop which I think was a used fibreglass model probably not much different from what a 1980 Trans Am had. I can't remember which way it opened. I'm pretty sure he didn't fill in the holes on the hood.

OT2 - For inspiration, this is the 2023 TransAm Outlaw. Beautiful and expensive

 

[Ghosthawk]

Thanks! I love the look myself...she really is coming together 😎

The Lloyds mats are great quality, and the nice part is the options they give you. These are the Ultimat, which is actually a mid-level choice but you can get Berber or a more lush pile if you like. I do wish I'd ordered the tan binding vs the gold...its just a touch too brassy. Extremely happy with them, and they are a heavier quality than stock.

All the carbon fiber wrap is on the outside of the car. The interior pieces came from eBay. A lot of folks say everything from China is junk. Maybe a lot of it is, but as we know, over there a Buick is a prestige symbol so I guess aftermarket parts for them are a step up. The interior pieces, much to my shock, are metal and they're formed to fit the parts they cover. A very pleasant and high quality surprise. I'm just glad the car is still in production over there, other wise I never would've gotten anything.

The holes i had to drill were for the spoiler pedestals in the trunk lid. Thankfully, after pulling the trim liner the holes in the shell made access to the spoiler bolts easy. The hood scoop is strictly 3M tape, but I cleaned and used the adhesion promoter to make sure it got a good grip (plus I warmed it with the heat gun)

Really looking forward to finishing up the exterior trim and playing with the pinstripes.

After that, I want to start looking into ways to bring that gold/tan color into the interior. Buick offered an optional interior called Brandy, which I really like except I'd prefer a tu-tone seat cover design. The dash and door panels I love but I'd keep the ebony color console lid/armrest.

 

[richardnewton]

GM's brandy interiors are beautiful. I have seen similar on newer Cadillacs (in photos and videos). Keep your eye out at local junk yard sites; give them a call or drop by when you see something in stock. When I was at the local junkyard last autumn, I saw a mint 2013 LaCrosse leather and think the clerk wanted $100 per seat (it was shockingly cheap and I thought about making an office chair with one.

For the floormats, I suppose you could have a local tailor cover the binding with a different colour material. Lloyds might even sell you the material.

There are some excellent products out of China and some junk too. You might check Aliexpress too for "CDM" accessories that are not sold in the US or eBay. Aliexpress is huge and the former CFO owns a certain NY basketball team; ebay is probably a bit faster and more reliable.

You could build some "shaking" hood scheme with an Arduino and some transducer(s) from parts express. That would require at least one hole in the hood. That would be an interesting project and take some time to tweak for realistic effect. Bluetooth access to OBD gives limitless options for trial and error. I think this would be a lot of fun.

 

[Ghosthawk]

Thanks @richardnewton for the shot of the Outlaw Trans Am. It was indeed an inspiration, and after looking at more pics of vintage Gran Sport models, I noticed most had the name spelled out on the side panels. With that in mind, I ordered up some new decals to replace the GS badges behind the fender ports on the doors. Here is the decal design and a photochop of what the new decal installed should look like.


While I was at it, I decided to throw in a new steering wheel badge to spice things up while I work on what to do next on the interior. I tried to match the background with the rest of the carbon fiber trim I installed earlier

I still really wish there was a way to make the C8 wheel work because I adored how it looked and felt on the car. Oh well...onward!

 

[Ghosthawk]

Bath Day! Yes, I tempted the Rain Gods! 😎 😆😛

 

[Ghosthawk]

Added the drilled/slotted rotors and ceramic pads to the front today. I will get the rear on soon, and I finally found out how to put the car in service mode. Press the start button without your foot off the brake and hold it for 6-8 seconds. The dash DIC should indicate the car is in service mode.

 

[Ghosthawk]

GREAT NEWS! The body shop had a cancellation and my appointment has been moved up a week! Monday morning the 27th Sgaile rolls into the repair bay at long last! I have no clue how long the repair will take but at least it will be underway. I'm going on vacation to New York and Connecticut in April and I'm looking forward to taking her on a proper road trip. Heck yeah!
I also got an email from the decal guy and my Gran Sport badges are on the way!