------2005 Happenings (and a dab of 2004)------

12/26/05
Had to replace my battery after it finally went out. 26 cranking amps! Wheeee! I had upgraded my measly 95 amp alternator to a 180 amp beauty and noticed a slight flicker to my lights after the install. I feared it was a funky regulator in the alternator but found out after my battery croaked, that it was the battery's inability to regulate the voltage spikes! No more flicker! Yay! My Silverstars do seem a bit brighter now. Oh yeah, I picked up a new switch for my gauges...much purdier than the generic one they came with. I got a new digital camera too, so pictures to follow.

09/09/05
Today I present you with a blurry camera phone picture of the exhaust.....

Nifty? Eh, need better pictures. I gotta get myself a new digital camera soon. I finally installed my tweeters properly and relocated the switch for the white face gauges. I also threw in a new dash center trim peice. I'll update with new pics soon. If all goes well, I'll be throwing on a new coat of paint in a few months to finally be liberated from the multicoloredness that is my red and gold Saturn. =D

For an update on the CAI upgrade.....VERY nice. I'm loving it. You can hear it sucking in air while driving. It took me a couple days to get used to the sound, but now it just puts a smile on my face. Torque above 4k is more noticable.

08/31/05
Alrighty, put the intake in this morning about 1am. That is a pain in the ass in a cramped garage. Haha. I did find out I'm going to have to replace the driver side driveshaft. Fun fun. Anyways, CAI performance isn't quite as noticable as I expected, but then again it's a bit warm here and I didn't get to drive it much yet today.

08/24/05
*WHEW* Been a while. Since my last update, I've wired up the gauges, got sideswipped and repaired, and put a new catback exhaust on my Saturn...including the catalytic converter. I've posted a couple blurry pics of the damage below.

The Saturn's back to normal now and the exhaust is a nice addition. Bought a CAI to compliment the exhaust and once that arrives, I'll get around to putting the '91-'92 header on.

06/04/05
Put the new instrument cluster in with the white face gauges the other day. Also, installed the new front speakers. Just have to wire up the gauges and add some tweeters.

Also, had to superglue my driver side mirror back on cause it somehow fell off. Been parked in the driveway at my house and just fell off. Oh well.

05/20/05
Got a few things to expect now. I ordered a new instrument cluster so I can have a working odometer, white face gauges, 5.25" antenna, and am awaiting my front speakers. I got the antenna today before I left for work and will install it later. EAUTOWORKS.COM has blown me away with their service. I ordered it yesterday and got it today!

05/07/05
Got resourceful today. Yep. Colored my instrument panel needles orange.

04/24/05
Began installing the new springs, struts, and strut brace yesterday. Had a 'lack-of-right-tool' problem so I only finished one corner before I had to go to work. I ended up finishing when I got home. I also installed the 6.5" Pyramid woofers in the rear deck. They actually sound pretty damn good. Good thing too, they were only $10 on ebay. ;) Needless to say, I'm quite happy with the new springs and strut brace. I did notice an immediate handling difference. The car doesn't feel like it wants to fly off to the side when cornering like it used to. Oh yeah, I removed the pinstripe too.

04/12/05
Alrighty, well it looks like I won't be getting my Sprint strut brace from SPS. They were waiting for a shipment from February and no longer list the Sprint strut brace on their site. I'm just going to throw a generic SPS strut brace on for now and get the Sprint one later, if possible. I should be receiving it next week, so I'll be installing the springs, struts, strut brace, and new speakers next weekend I hope.

04/06/05
Today I received my MOS short shifter and installed it while at work. It feels WAY better and is a bit lower than my previously cut shifter.

03/30/05
I finished installing the new bumper and headlight yesterday. It is a definite improvement over the original. I just have to replace the trunk lid with my '96 style and throw in the springs, struts, brace, short shifter and get a paint job. ;) Here's a before and after shot:

03/29/05
Good news: I have some visual and performance modifications in progress. Just received my KYB struts and awaiting my Sprint springs, Sprint strut brace and MOS short shifter.

Bad news: I got into a bit of a fender bender last night that screwed up my driver side headlight and scratched up my front bumper. This lady had her emergency flashers on in the slow lane of a two lane (each way) street, then decided to turn left into the middle turn lane and stop half way in mine...in the rain and a car length away. Idiot. Oh well, gave me an excuse to get my '96 front bumper and trunk lid. I'll be putting the new headlight and front bumper on tomorrow.

So, once I get the springs, struts, strut brace, and 'real' short shifter in, it should much more fun to drive. ;) Can't wait. I'm also planning to get a new factory leather shift knob and boot to retain that 'original' feel. I'll update with pictures as I go.

Oh yeah, since I have an 'extra' headlight, I'm gonna try to figure out how I can do the Miata conversion for it. Nice nice nice.

01/05/05
On into the New Year already huh? Well, 2004 seemed to go by pretty fast. Here are some more recent pictures of my SC2.

Stupid cat wanted to be in the picture above. That's the damn cat that is always walking on my Lincoln Mark VII and getting it's paw prints all over my shiny black beauty. What're you gonna do, huh? =Þ Those are the pictures for now. I'm going to be removing the gold pinstripe, rear bumper sticker and see about getting some springs and struts soon.

12/20/04
Today I decided to be 'adventurous'...if you wanna call it that. I decided that my shifter was uncomfortably tall and decided to chop it. I didn't really feel like paying $150-$200 for a short shifter so I pulled out the air cutter thing-a-ma-jig and grinded away. Ended up cutting about 2"-2.5" off the top. I've seen them cut down a lot more so I'll test height out for a while and see if I want it shorter or not.

I wasn't able to use the original shift knob due to the shape of the shaft after cutting so I ran up to my local Pep Boys and picked up a cheapo Pilot shift knob with boot. Suprisingly this knob looks and feels really nice on my SC2. Not too shabby for $20. Overall, shifting feels MUCH better than before. Seems a little stiffer downshifting into 1st or 2nd, but still easy enough. Sure as hell beats paying $150-$200 for basically the same thing!

12/16/04
Well, today was a freakin' headache. I decided to take a trip down to San Francisco with my SC2 from Sacramento. I had just passed Vacaville and noticed my temp gauge bordering on the red and steam spewing from the rear of the car. A quick exit off the interstate and found that I was now without a water pump. I managed to limp it into town and spend about 4 hours there waiting to get it fixed. Ended up only making it to Emeryville to go to IKEA. Great place. Anyways, that wasn't too fun but atleast my engine's still in one peice. **WHEW**

11/20/04
While visiting my local Best Buy, I decided to pick up a new stereo for my SC2. I bought a Kenwood EZ500 on sale and ran home to install it.

I decided on this stereo because of it's retro/industrial look...and that it plays MP3s. It sounds a whole lot better and fits the car nicely. Next sound step will definitely be speakers, the rear are completely shot and the fronts are going quick.

I'm also thinking about a body kit and carbon fiber hood sometime down the line. Maybe a two toned black/carbon fiber and 'something' paint job? I want to get a few things out of the way first:

AEM CAI (CP CAI )
HKS catback exhaust (custom Magnaflow exhaust )
Sprint one-peice strut brace (SPS generic brace )
'95-'96 style trunk lid (didn't install )
Flush spoiler (Subaru Impreza spoiler )
Sprint 2" springs
KYB struts
Clear corner lenses
Formula 3 carbon fiber mirrors (not yet )

After I get those done, then I'll consider a kit. I prefer function over form, so the SC2's gotta get up and go a little faster before I focus on the visual end of it. Just to clarify...yes, the clear corners are visual but also improve visibility and the Formula 3 mirrors should greatly improve rear visibility because the SC2's hips block a good portion of that view.

Here's something I REALLY want to try and do...modifying the look of the headlights. I have searched and searched, but have not been able to find any sort of 'already made' modifications available for the Saturn pop up headlights. Of course, there's many different variations for other, more popular vehicles like RX-7s, Supras, AE-86s, Probes, Miatas, and Fieros. (Believe it or not) So, what I want to try and do eventually is fabricate a pair of 'lazy eye' style headlights as shown below. (Miata version shown)

I've got all kinds of off the wall, but not stupid, ideas for car mods. So, I guess that's it for right now. I'll update things as I go.

Here's a few crummy pictures of when I first purchased it.