TEGGSRB18C1's 2013 2SS/RS 6MT life long build

[TEGGSRB18C1]

One last drive before she gets stuffed away for winter. Next post won’t be until after the holidays but work will continue through the season. There’s a few small OEM optional and interior pieces that I would like to pick up.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Parts are coming in boys! The exhaust manifold gaskets and spark plug wire boots are getting stored away for now, I just got a good deal on them at the moment.

The real parts I wanted were the optional SS embroidered center console lid and the ZL1 pedal kit. I’ve had these on my eBay watch list for over a year and I pulled the trigger just in time. As of this posting, the ZL1 pedal kit has been discontinued and the console lid is right behind it. It’s getting to that point where GM is starting to axe parts for our cars, the time to buy is now.

[The_bald_eagle_machine]

Hey man, love the build so far. I look forward to more and more progress pictures on it.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Originally Posted by The_bald_eagle_machine

Hey man, love the build so far. I look forward to more and more progress pictures on it.

Thank you, I appreciate it!

I’ve been working on it here and there, I started at the rear windshield and started cleaning forward. Used Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner for seats etc, I didn’t really feel that it needed anymore than that, the interior was mint when I got it and there hasn’t been that much seat time since.

Those ZL1 pedal covers are a SON OF A BITCH. The gas pedal is on but I have been dicking with the clutch and brake pedals for days. I can only work on them so long before my finger tips start to hurt. This sucks, seriously.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Finally, what a pain in the ass. If I truly have one of the last sets, I did you all a favor. Ended up soaking them in hot water, then hitting them with a hair dryer, then burning the ever loving hell out of my finger tips wrestling them on. Good times.

Just have to pick out new floor mats, definitely going Lloyds, just going back and forth on embroidered logos or just plain black. I change my mind multiple times per week.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

So, a very nice lady in Ohio made the decision on stitching for me when I found these Lloyds BNIB on FB marketplace for $150. These run for $230 on Lloyds site, crazy deal.

So here’s the finished product, again another vision I’ve had in my head for years. Just needed to pull it all together and it came out exactly how I wanted.

[camguynj]

Your affinity for the old school look shows. You might want to consider swapping your 5” shifter with a Hurst 8” shifter like I did. It is more old school, reduces the notchyness of the 5” shifter and provides a more definitive feel to each shift without any noticeable increase in throw length.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Originally Posted by camguynj

Your affinity for the old school look shows. You might want to consider swapping your 5” shifter with a Hurst 8” shifter like I did. It is more old school, reduces the notchyness of the 5” shifter and provides a more definitive feel to each shift without any noticeable increase in throw length.

I’ve seen that before and did consider it at one point. If I ever have to take apart that console again I may revisit that idea but I actually enjoy notchy shifters. That maybe a hot take but my last stick shift car had a B&M Race model with poly bushings in the shifter linkage and I loved it.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

This is part of a larger project (I am the king of projects within projects) but I don’t want to make a large rambling post with too many pics. So, I don’t really plan on keeping the NPP exhaust but in the meantime, I’d like to enjoy what it can do. I picked up the old faithful Mild2Wild switch and put it on last night.

Pretty straightforward minus the fact that the split fuse pushes against the fuse box cover, even though it’s notched for the wires to go through, it still doesn’t close 100% and the ground terminal ring was way too small for the ground bolt. I picked up the correct size, crimped it on and called it done.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

The real reason for being in the trunk in the first place was to replace what I believe to be the original battery. I knew this thing was going to let me sit somewhere, someday. I went with the Napa Legend AGM 94R, which is made by East Penn/Deka. We run their batteries in our fork lifts at work and I’ve been impressed by the beatings they can take for years.

I’ve been doing a ton of research on here in prep for the header install. I see time and time again issues with hot starts, battery voltage and grounding. I want to give myself and the OE stater the best chance and work through all the common fixes.

I started with cleaning the primer and paint off the ground in the trunk, GM kinda went ham there, it’s fairly thick. Next I made a copy (IMO a better version) of the Gen5DIY additional battery ground cable. I had some legit 0 gauge KnuKoncepts ground wire laying around from my last car audio build, got the correct size terminal lugs for the battery and the ground bolt, slid some wire sleeve over it and put it on along with my adapter for my battery tender.

I plan on making 2 more of these ground wires for the engine to chassis when I put the headers on. Oh, I also fully detailed the trunk the best I could. Your boy can stretch out a couple hour job into days just being anal and wiping everything down, even crevices no one will ever see.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Had her out and about trying to diagnose a TPMS reading malfunction and got some decent pics with my new phone. Not 100% sure but 3 of the 4 sensors seem to have stopped talking to the car, oddly enough my OE wheels and tires with the almost 10 year old sensors on the other side of my garage are reading fine. So frustrating.

Will be updating later this month, Jet Hot has my headers as I type this.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

So I took the SLP theme to the next level with this BNIB coil cover set. These were discontinued years ago, took me quite some time of ebay hawking but it paid off. Seller had 5 sets and they were gone in 2 days.

Still looking for a BNIB/mint used SLP Blackwing intake, so if anyone reading this has a lead, please hook your boy up.

^^^ *note to scammers: it's semi rare, I'm going to ask for pics and you're going to have to drum up more than the 2 or 3 that are on Google images...come on guys, a little effort here.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Finally, almost a month later, the headers are coated. This may sound lame but I've always wanted a set of Jet Hot coated headers. Every performance car I've ever "built" I said I was going to do it but never pulled the trigger.

This car was getting them. I might never coat another set again but no excuses for this car, no compromises.

[TEGGSRB18C1]

Putting in some work on a staycation and I wanted to get the exhaust system fully prepped and ready for install. Started with Ospho and 000 steel wool on the catless connection pipes and Torca clamps. I then hand polished everything, including the headers. They look pretty good for all lightly used stuff.

Another missing piece of the puzzle were some O2 extensions, picked these up from ZZP. I need to figure out a hardware solution because this setup is way too nice for my black, rusty OE header bolts.