VX day!

well for the first time in about a month i had a day where i had nothing to do, so naturally.. the VX got the royal treatment, thought id share some of my modding/opinions with everyone

mods done today:
tinted front turn signals

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...s/100_0361.jpg
probably my favorite mod so far, i think it looks much better than the stock orange. theres really no difference in how much light comes through either, i checked them in the dark, in overcast and in bright sun, all with good results. very easy to do as well. just bought a roll of window tint from walmart (20% light emission) pulled the lenses off, cut a piece the right size, put the lens back in and then put the tinting over the lens once it was in place, even went through the car wash with them on and they didnt come off

GTS Tailblazer tail light covers
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...s/100_0366.jpg
i dont like these as much as i thought i would... i figure ill give them a day or two to see how i feel about them.. if not, anyone up for a set of basically new tail light covers? make me an offer

Moncha's front/side turn signal converison
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...s/100_0355.jpg
very cool, not all that complicated either, the hardest part was pulling off the front cladding, which wasnt nearly as bad as i thought.. one of the neighbors saw the vx with no cladding on the front and thought id wrecked it and came over in a fit til i told him the cladding was ok, just sitting up on the porch. definately love the way it looks when the front and side markers alternate.. so two safety issues solved with one mod! people beside me know im turning.. and i always have my headlights on now so they always alternate.. haha :p

Tone's rear/side turn signal conversion

basically identical to the front, except easier because no cladding removal required! took about 15 minutes for each side and that included prettying it up so the wiring looked stockish, love the way it looks when they alternate

widened window tracks on pass. side

pulled off the door panel and was looking at why the window was binding and quickly realized i had no clue what i was doing, so i looked up old posts and found what looked to be the least difficult/most reversable window fix and found where someone said they just opened the window channel towards the hinge, worked very very well, also sprayed some WD40 in the track to make sure, so far so good... anyone trying to do this, i would highly recommend getting the tool that pops the christmas tree fastners off, made my life much easier, the door was suprisingly easy to take apart!

replaced stock alarm LED with a blue one

simple, subtle, easy. just pulled the old one (which is much larger than i thought) and replaced it with a blue one from radio shack of the same style, goes better with all the rest of my blue LEDs (horn lights, dome light and soon to be under the dash when the doors are open) it also makes it look a little more like theres an aftermarket alarm. id recommend while youre in there, extend the wires and put in connectors that are easier to connect and disconnect, itll make the next dashboard removal much easier

and of course i also washed/waxed/slaved over the cladding... my vx is sittin pretty :bgwo:

Yep, that's a busy day. I am so lazy on the weekends I can't believe you got so much done in one day! The tinted signal lights look great - I hope they hold up to the weather and pebbles being kicked up at them. Keep us posted; if they hold up I might give that a shot... if I ever get off my arse that is! :p

Free time on the weekend? What is that?
Saturday...12 mile run in the morning...swim workout at noon...3 mile run in the PM
Sunday...65 mile bike/3 mile run in AM...swim workout in after noon.
Squeeze in some time with the family and IF time permits try and go wheeling (that probably won't happen 'til November when I gt a few weeks off after the race season is done).
Looks like you put thetime to good use though :thumbup:

more vxing today! got some of the dashboard trimmed in aluminum (no pics yet, will post tomorrow evening probably) and got the rear side markers tinted too, they didnt turn out quite as well as the fronts because there is raised lettering on them, but unless you are looking at them up close from an angle you cant even tell
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...s/100_0369.jpg
i started working on the front side marker, but it got frustrating trying to get the coutours right without bubbling, leaving seams, so i think i might try some glass stain... if that turns out nice i may do them all that way.. will let everyone know

trimmed the console with aluminum
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da.../100_03852.jpg

hey for all of you who are interested in the tinting of the markers and tail lights and such...order a can of Niteshadez from VHL paint company (i think thats the company)...its a rattlecan designed to tint headlights and tail lights and still be transparent. i did it on my turn markers the side markers on the front and back and made the tail lights look a lot more aggressive. if there are any doubts you can ask the guys who saw my ride in Moab. looks great and i think it makes the cladding fit better with the rest of the vehicle.
jack

i found niteshadez.. item #VHT-SP999 looks like its back ordered in most places, including summit racing..

when i was looking it up, i saw a few people talked about needing to sand after spraying? and if i wanted to go back to stock look, would the paint be able to be removed like some glass stains can be peeled?

oh im not sure. i know i tried to order some more a little while ago and they told me that they couldnt sell me any just because they have had some fire problems in one of their factories and they lost a lot of material. mine looks great with no sanding thou. granted im sure it would look more stock if sanded. but most people cant tell that it was rattle canned. everyone thinks that i bought aftermarket lights for it when they see it. im not sure about the removal of the product either because i havent had any need to remove it myself. i was just throwing in my 2 cents about the best product to tint lights in my opinion. ive used it on my car and my friends have too and they are all happy with it.

did the center caps in diamond plate-look vinyl bought from ebay..
http://cgi.ebay.com/Black-Diamond-Pl...QQcmdZViewItem
looks pretty good imho took about 5 min to do all 4

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...s/100_0396.jpg