It's back! Rodgers body shop did a great job. The paint match is very good, the panel fitment is excellent, the new hood wrap is laid on just as good if not better than factory, and the car was very clean when I picked it up. The front splitter and rear spoiler corner pieces actually fit better than when I took delivery, so that's another plus. The ZL1 cat-back exhaust sounds the same, as far as I can remember the stock NPP sounding.
It's back! by
Ryephile, on Flickr
It's back! by
Ryephile, on Flickr
It's back! by
Ryephile, on Flickr
It's back! by
Ryephile, on Flickr
It's back! by
Ryephile, on Flickr
It's back! by
Ryephile, on Flickr
I was starting to get pretty depressed for not having the car for so long, I really was starting to forget what driving it was like. A few more thorns in my side were that I had only driven the car on the summer tires for 120 miles before putting the skinny winter tires on, and then somehow the combination of having the car in the shop for warranty fixes, being out of town, and the crash all colluded with the weather such that yesterday was only the 3rd day since taking delivery where it didn't rain on the car. So of course it's no surprise that the forecast has changed such that my first track weekend with the car is now looking like rain. It feels like I've been kicked in the gut.
I'm not sure if this cars' history can get much more storied. Let me start from the beginning.
*The car was built on Nov 8th, 2016, but then put on "quality hold"
*MatthewAMEL was the original sold order buyer, but when the car wasn't released from the factory after a few weeks, he found another 1LE and bought that one.
*This car was eventually released from the factory on Nov 14th. To make a long story shorter, the best I can deduce is the battery died *with* the keys in the car at the factory [which is not uncommon across all car plants]. The evidence of this was the passenger b-pillar trim and weatherstripping were gouged as if jimmied roughly. I noticed this at delivery and did a conditional acceptance. Becky was awesome and had parts department order the pieces to fix it.
*Ok, but after the car was released from the factory, it was trucked to Florida, for God knows why. Then it had to be trucked back to Rodgers Chevrolet, where it was supposed to go. Upon rolling it off the truck, the front splitter was broken. Now we're in December.
*Front splitter replaced
*I test-drove the car on Jan 16th, just after it was PDI'd and looking pretty in Rodgers performance car garage.
*I took delivery on Jan 19th. It wasn't raining this day.
*I went out of town from Feb 10th to 19th, car sat outside getting rained on.
*Feb 20th, brought car in for the b-pillar fix. Passenger side rear glass, weatherstripping, and interior pillar cover replaced under warranty. 2017 Cruze LT 6AT Convenience Package in Pepperdust Metallic/Dark Atmosphere loaner car for 3 days. I have to admit it's a nice car.
*Crash on March 4th. Incidentally the 2nd day of no rain/snow. Part of a spit-roast sandwich. $13.5k in damage. Dropped off car at Rodgers on March 6th, 2017 Hyundai Elantra SE 6AT Red/Beige rental car for 29 days. 2017 Malibu LT Silver Ice/Dark Atmosphere Convenience And Technology Package for 3 days until the seatbelt inertial reel jammed, then a 2017 Malibu LT Nightfall Gray/Jet Black Convenience And Technology Package. The Elantra was the best of these three cars, and the 2nd Malibu was much better screwed together, even ignoring the seat belt failure.
*April 12th, I finally pick up the Camaro. This was the 3rd day the car didn't get rained on.
So far I either take delivery or get in a crash on no-rain days. Thankfully [?] it's raining today.
Last night I also prepped the car for my Gingerman HPDE on Friday/Saturday.
*Dexos 2 Castrol Edge 0W-40
*Castrol SRF flush with Motive power bleeder and 1108 adapter. Given the factory fluid was a golden color, I could easily see when each line was flushed. Ended up using a bit over 3/4 of a liter for the flush, with exactly half a liter for the rears alone.
*Powerstop Track Day pads installed on washed rotors, then went out and bed them in.
Wish me luck! I'm sure me and the car will need it.