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Old 12-13-2020, 01:16 AM   #43
S.Macias
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Originally Posted by Fraxum View Post
OP love your Camaro! Tasteful but interesting makeover. One thing though I thought only the SS and ZL1 had the tow hook reciever. I can't find one on my LT1.
Thank you. The tow hook hole is on the passenger side. You can kind of gauge it from mine to see where it sits.
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Old 01-19-2021, 12:30 PM   #44
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Washed and waxed.
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Old 01-19-2021, 02:32 PM   #45
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Great thread man. Very tasteful mods...
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Old 02-13-2021, 12:51 PM   #46
S.Macias
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Installed a starlight headliner.

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Here's how:

What you need:
  • 16W Bluetooth Twinkle Fiber Optic Star Ceiling Lights Lamp Kit, 335 piece with 13.1' fiber optic cables.
  • 22-18 gauge butt connectors with heat shrink capabilities (two)
  • 16-14 gauge t-taps (two)
  • L bracket
  • Hot glue gun with at least 5 glue sticks
  • Push pin or something similar (to poke holes)
  • Sharpie to dot headliner (if you choose)
  • Small screwdriver
  • 7mm ratchet set
  • 10mm ratchet set
  • Zipties (plenty)
  • Blue painter's tape
  • Pliers
  • Wire cutters or nail clippers

Completion time: About 10 hours
Total Cost: About $175 ($150 for light kit, $10 for t-taps and butt connectors, $5 for glue, $10 zipties); could be more if needing to purchase additional supplies.



Mounting the Light system

Alright, so I decided to go into detail regarding the starlight headliner because I can't seem to find any previous write-ups on the forum. And given the hours of work I put into this non-performance mod, I doubt many would want to copy it. But if someone is feeling adventurous, you too can have a starlight headliner for $175 and about a good weekend of time.

First, I went to amazon and ordered the Amki 16W Bluetooth Twinkle Fiber Optic Star Ceiling Lights Lamp Kit. I opted for the 335 piece set that twinkles, with the 13.1 foot fiber optic cable lengths. I wanted to be sure I had plenty of fiber length to reach the full headliner of the vehicle.


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Next, I determined where I wanted to mount the light unit. I opted for the space in the trunk above the driver side wheel. It seemed the best location since there was plenty of room, and if the light system did go bad, it would be a 30-second job to fix or replace. I took an L bracket I had laying around, undid two screws on the back of the unit, and lined up the bottom. I then undid the 10mm screw for the car's wire harness and put the bracket in and tightened. Pretty straight forward.

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The light system comes with a home wall plug in and a car 12v plug in. For my purposes, I used the home wall plug in. This way if my wiring was bad, I could fall back on the car 12v to plug it directly into the cigarette lighter. Thankfully I know what I'm doing.

But before you begin, plug everything in at home to make sure it works. The system remote isn't the best and doesn't include a battery out the box, so I downloaded the app. Works much better.

Wiring the Unit - from trunk to 12v cigarette lighter - +/- 1 Hour

I knew I wanted my unit to always be on while the car was on, so I determined that wiring directly into the car's 12v adapter was best for me. It turns on and off with the car.

1) I cut the home wall plug in almost towards the start of the wall plug in. This allowed me to have about two feet of cord to play with.

2) I then took some 18 gauge wire I had to extend the wires. I would recommend using seven feet of 18 gauge wire to extend each wire. This way you have about nine to ten feet of total length to use. I striped the wires at both ends and used butt connectors to fasten the wires. The connectors I had were heat shrink. I prefer these to get a tighter seal. I then wrapped the butt connectors and some of the wire in electrical tape. Make sure to note which line is positive and which is negative. I used a piece of blue painter's tape and wrapped it around the end of the positive about two inches above where the t-tap would go.

3) Add the t-tap to the end of the wires. Make sure you have your blue painter's tape so you know where the positive is. I then used some electrical tape to make sure the t-taps were secure. What I found helpful was to ziptie the two wires together to make it one wire. You can also use electrical tape.

4) Undo the driver's side trunk liner. You'll need to lower the back seat to unfasten. Two tabs need to be removed in the trunk and also the back to pull the liner away out the way.

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5) Remove the back seat. I know there are several ways to do this, but the easiest way for me was to pull the back end of the seat up first, then lift the front end. There are two brackets holding the seat in place. Unfortunately I snapped one of mine. Thankfully Amazon has them for one-day shipping for $15 (Genuine GM Retainer Part No. 20823966).

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6) I then plugged in the power to the light system unit. I then ran the wires down the side where other wires currently exist, adding zipties as I went (I like things clean).


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7) I ran the wires under a small gap between the rear seat and trunk.

8) I then ran the wires along the edge of the side trim and under the edge of the carpet to the center console. I used some more zipties to secure the wire.

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9) The center console is easy to lift. First, remove the two screws in the front under the knee pads which pop right off. Do this to both sides. Slide both seats all the way forward so access the last screw. Pop off the plastic trim to reveal. Do this for both sides.

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10) Now disconnect the battery in the trunk.

11) Carefully lift the center console from the back. It may require some force. I was only able to get mine up about a foot, which was just enough to get my hand where I needed. I used the knee pad I took off from the front to keep it raised. You can also slightly tilt it to rest on the seat.

12) The 12v cigarette adapter is held in by a push system. I was able to squeeze mine and pull down and it popped off. Unfortunately you don't have much room to maneuver, but using a mirror or even your cell phone front camera provides you with just enough of a view to see what you're doing. Once disconnected, you can move the 12v adapter a little easier.

13) Remove some of the wire tape around the purple and black wire. It makes it easier to install the t-taps. The purple is positive.

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14) Add your t-tap adapters. Make sure they are secure. They should snap on with the help of a pair of pliers. Make sure you go positive to positive (blue taped wired to the purple)

15) Plug in your wires. Make sure they are secure. I again added some electrical tape to mine to ensure a very snug fit. Plug back in the 12v adapter to the cigarette lighter.

16) Now, turn on your car and make sure your system lights up. Using the remote start to turn it on won't actually turn it on until you press the engine start button. I would do this before securing everything in place to make sure you're wired right.

17) Reverse the install and now your done with wiring.

Make sure to turn your car on and check to make sure the unit actually works. The car needs to be running to be on. Using the remote start does not activate the lights.

Headliner - +/- 1 Hour

I decided early on that if I was going to do this, I was going to drop the headliner and keep it in the car. I don't really want to have the front windshield taken out to pull the headliner out nor remove the seats to try and squeeze it through.

I happen to live near the Chevy dealer where I bought the car and one of the guys working there was kind enough to provide me with a printout on how to drop the headliner.

Below are the instructions so I won't go into detail. Follow them. I did not remove the back seat trim piece.

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I also removed the headrest from the passenger and driver's seats. I pulled up on the handle to drop the seats forward (like you do to sit in the back). Then pull up on the headrest until it reaches its maximum length. Push the foam aside and you'll see a metal loop. Put your small screwdriver in and slide it to the right. Pull up on the headrest at the same time. It will lift once both sides are done. There is a loop on all four post. This allowed the headliner to rest on the seats.

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Stringing lights - +/- 5 Hours

The hard part is now stringing the lights. Hard in a sense that the cars low so your back will hurt, you occasionally must really reach in and maneuver in uncomfortable ways. Easiest way to manage the lights is to ziptie the whole fiber cable length. You can then remove the zipties as you go.

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There are several different ways to begin. Some people plot out the dots. Others try to evenly disperse the lights. Me, I free handed it.

To begin, on the driver side C pilar in the back exist a hole that you string the lights through. It may take a few minutes to find it buts it there. It leads to the space in the trunk where the light unit is. It should be a near perfect fit. Once you have the string through, secure it to the light unit. It's easiest to run the light fibers from the inside the car to the trunk for this.

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Once I had the fiber attached to the unit, I used a ziptie to secure the fiber to the car body.

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For stringing, I began my work on the passenger side. I first laid the fiber to the passenger side and let it hang out the window. I then removed several zipties at the end to free up the fibers. This allowed me to better manage the fibers instead of having them all loose and over the place. Make sure to remove the sound dampening material in the center of the headliner. You can re-glue it later like I did.

What I did next was very basic, I poked holes with the push pin and strung the lights through, one by one. No pre-dotting, just poking holes, and stringing. Occasionally I would look under the headliner to see where some blank spaces were and fill them in. Also, the thick fibers needed a small nail to be used since the push pin hole was too small.

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Once I had about half the fibers on the passenger side done I ziptied the unused end and pushed it to the driver side. I removed the ziptie and let it hang out the driver side window. The ziptie is used to keep the fibers together as you move them. Makes it easier.

I continued to poke holes and did a few constellations.

Once the string was done, I lifted the headliner with my hand and head and pulled the fiber down. The hanging fiber went from six inches to about three feet in loose hanging fiber.

I then used some zipties to bundle the fiber cables together as best possible. It's a bit of a mess, but it makes it easier to glue.

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Hot Glue Gun - +/- 30 Minutes

Now, get the glue gun ready and glue. Make sure you use a fair amount. Glue and let dry for a few minutes. Take a break. You earned it. The hot glue nor the hot glue gun tip did not damage the fibers.

Headliner Reinstall - +/- 1.5 Hours

Once the glue has dried you need to reattach the headliner. Make sure you glue back (or lay) the sound material found in the middle. Reinstall the headliner with the fibers hanging. It's not easy. But it does makes it easier to cut the fibers.

Cut Fibers - +/- 30 minutes

Once the headliner is back, cut each fiber. You can cut almost up to the headliner. I left mine down just a millimeter or two. If you cut too short, it may go back into the headliner. At times I would run my finger over the fiber so that I could feel it but not get stuck on it. Just keep it semi-flush but not fully.

Now, clean up your mess, plug the battery in and turn the car on and enjoy. I installed the wiring one day and did the headliner/fiber install on another just to break it up. Feel free to comment if you have any questions.

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Old 02-16-2021, 05:24 PM   #47
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Quote:
Originally Posted by S.Macias View Post
Installed a starlight headliner.
This is such an insanely well-done, incredible project! I would have never thought to do something like that, but WOW!

Awesome job!
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Old 02-17-2021, 11:34 AM   #48
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Quote:
Originally Posted by silverscreamo View Post
This is such an insanely well-done, incredible project! I would have never thought to do something like that, but WOW!

Awesome job!

Thank you. I think I'm one of a few to actually have it done.
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Old 03-01-2021, 11:26 AM   #49
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Added a big black wing. Install was fairly straight forward. Took maybe 15 minutes tops. Old SS wing I installed unscrewed and came off. I then laid this in it's place and screwed the supplied nuts in place. Added some silicone around the nuts inside the trunk to give it a waterproof seal.



Gives it a more complete look.
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Old 03-22-2021, 11:23 AM   #50
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I have absolutely no upholstery talent but was somehow able to put together two seat belt stalk covers with black leather vinyl I had laying around. Cost nothing but an hour of time compared to the $75 RedlineGoods wanted.

Before and after.


If interested, you need two pieces of cloth/leather/vinyl or whatever that measure 5 1/2 inches by 9 3/4 inches. Then fold the top over just slightly, like maybe a quarter inch, and sew together (hamburger style). Then, fold the long ways in half hot dog style and as close to the edge as possible sew the pieces together.

I added some velcro to the inside of the cover and added the matching velcro to the spot on the seat belt stalk where it would connect. Just slide the piece over, it'll be tight, and your done.
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Old 03-22-2021, 04:56 PM   #51
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Quote:
Originally Posted by S.Macias View Post
I have absolutely no upholstery talent but was somehow able to put together two seat belt stalk covers with black leather vinyl I had laying around. Cost nothing but an hour of time compared to the $75 RedlineGoods wanted.

Before and after.


If interested, you need two pieces of cloth/leather/vinyl or whatever that measure 5 1/2 inches by 9 3/4 inches. Then fold the top over just slightly, like maybe a quarter inch, and sew together (hamburger style). Then, fold the long ways in half hot dog style and as close to the edge as possible sew the pieces together.

I added some velcro to the inside of the cover and added the matching velcro to the spot on the seat belt stalk where it would connect. Just slide the piece over, it'll be tight, and your done.
You're too hard on yourself, this is a very nice job, congrats
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Old 04-07-2021, 04:39 PM   #52
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Someone sent me some photos from a few weeks ago.
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Old 04-09-2021, 10:14 AM   #53
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[QUOTE=S.Macias;10955113]Installed a starlight headliner.

That looks awesome! Looks like a real RR now . I would be curious to see what is looks like in daylight, however.
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Old 04-09-2021, 02:00 PM   #54
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[QUOTE=zaimer;10989467]
Quote:
Originally Posted by S.Macias View Post
Installed a starlight headliner.

That looks awesome! Looks like a real RR now . I would be curious to see what is looks like in daylight, however.

Photos are from the middle of the afternoon under a carport open on all sides except top. I'll try and get a photo tonight which looks way better than the day.
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Old 08-27-2021, 01:56 PM   #55
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Had the hood, mirrors, top of the wing, gas cover and wheel center caps wrapped in dead matte black. Better photo to come soon.
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Old 11-09-2021, 12:05 PM   #56
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Had the hood, top of the wing, gas cap and center caps wrapped in dead matte black
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