Hello from WI. I have a habit of seeking out quality forums when I make new substantial purchases, and the wealth of knowledge always brings a smile to my face. I've already gathered tons of information on this forum, have bookmarked several threads and products, as well as started a few lists of things I'd like to do to Tagzor in the future.

I stumbled across the build sub-forum and thought it'd be cool to have a thread dedicated to my new ride so that when I feel like posting something up I can do so in an organized manner instead of starting threads in various sub-forums.

So, lets get to it, shall we?

'00 Chevy Blazer LS 4x4 4 Door

• 96k Miles
• Carfax showed 3 previous owners with 7,600mi/year average, no accidents/damage reported
• 4 New tires
• New wheel bearings up front
• New exhaust
• 17" (brand uknown) wheels

Sticker price was $4,900. I drove it off the lot for $4350 (including tax (5%), title, license). @ 6.24% it translated to $91.17/mos for 5 years, but it will definitely be paid off early. I just wanted some wiggle room in case anything major comes up financially. I purchased this to replace my tired old Pontiac Grand Am coupe, which I hated anyways. Especially since my wife and I had our first baby 5 months ago! Ever try dragging a car seat in and out of a coupe on a day to day basis and not be irritated???

Here is one picture from the used dealer lot that I snagged from the Autotrader listing before it was taken down.


More pics as promised 3/8/2013






Not a huge fan of the wheels (z28's are on that ever growing list)


Can see my temporary vice grips recliner lever mod until I order a new one. Oh, and the goofy looking white lines through the passenger window is one of those light up deer that goes in the front yard.

 

Now that the intro thread is out of the way, we can start to talk about mods. The list of WANT which I usually try to translate into NEED is already huge, and growing every time I log on to the site!

I've decided to start out with LEDs. It'll be done in stages, with update pics as I go along. I am starting with the interior and when that is done will be moving on to LED tails, LED bumper lights, and CCFL projector headlights with 6000k HID kit.

I made my first LED purchase last night, after posting up a thread over in Lighting and Electrical and PMing a fellow forum goer a question.

Green LEDs purchased 3/6/2013 - superbrightleds.com

• x6 of these for gauge cluster backlighting
• x4 of these for HVAC backlighting

Once those are in and done I'll be moving on to a couple more interior lights. Eventually I will have them all switched out to include:

• Gauge Cluster (possibly including warning lights)
• HVAC
• 4x4 Buttons
• Rear Hatch/Wiper Button
• Windows, Locks, Window Lock
• Headlight Switch
• Dome
• Cargo
• Footwells
• Map Lights
• Ash Tray
• Glovebox

 

the ones that you bought for the HVAC might not work. i had the same problem and i just havent addressed it. i bought mine to back light the gauge face. where the temp **** and fan speed **** are. and mine are all soldered in, and waaaaay smaller. when you change those out, please take pictures. im curious as to where they are suppose to go.

 

I was a little bit concerned about that as well. From what I've found here on the forum the HVAC should have x4 #74 bulbs in the same type of twist lock sockets. Here's the DIY thread for reference. I'm hoping I can make them work, if not I'll order up x4 of these instead as they should plug and play. I will be sure to update you as to what ends up working, I got the ship notice today so I think they should be here on Monday.

 

My audio plans are likely to start taking shape during the LED swap in the form of new speakers.

For now I pulled the stock tweeters from the dash because they sounded like sh*t with any kind of increased volume. I cut them off below the "bass blocker" so that if I do decide to replace them I can just put 3 way 4x6's up there.


Tentative Pioneer Audio Plans
*Will likely start slow/cheap on this, by just replacing the door speakers and running them off the stock HU for starters*

• DEH-x9500BHS
  
  
• TS-A4675R 4x6 in dash
  
  
• TS-A1675R 6 1/2 (2 pair for front/rear doors)
  
  
• GM-6500F 4 Channel Amp (to run door speakers)
  
  This will be mounted to the outside of the jack compartment in the cargo area.

 

I actually like the stripe graphic..not a fan of the stick on scoops though..Good luck on switching all over to leds...I`am about to order my gauge cluster ones in the next few days..I got ones from china from ebay a few months ago and already going out and flashing...so also ordering from superbright as al my other leds are from them...When you get the the window lock switch let me know what you go with..The recommended bulb on superbrirghts site is to long for the switch housing..I tried another alternate but doesnt cast enough light to be noticeable..Also let us know what you do with the mirror switch..I alreay fried one switch...Good luck..

 

I also like that stripe graphic. I was looking do put something similar on my Silverado truck in chrome decal material. You should take those goofy fako hood scoops off though, or turn em around at least. I think they look cooler mounted the other way like cowls instead of scoops.

 

Yea, I'm not a big fan of the stick on scoops either. I am planning to debadge the sides and rear next week so was going to see about popping them off at that time. Just a little worried about messing up the stripes underneath, or worried that there won't be any stripe underneath haha. I actually really like the induction style hoods, but there are a lot of other things I'd rather do before buying a new hood.

And while I like the general look/idea of the stripes, up close they don't look so great. They are like vinyl stick on deals and have peeled/chipped away in places and instead of being just black they have little specks all over that sparkle in the sunshine and I don't care for that. So they may just have to go as well, we'll see...

 

According to the tracking, my first set of LEDS from superbrightleds is "out for delivery" today. So that's exciting.

And in other lighting news...
Headlights have jumped the line in lighting mods. My driver side headlight is aimed high and outside so I get flashed pretty much every time I drive at night. But when I went to adjust the height I noticed the adjustments for both headlights were broken off to little nubs, apparently the PO had a little trouble with them or something. So I figured since they are on the list anyways, might as well get them out of the way.

So last night I ordered up headlights and bumper lights so that I can finish up the front all at once.

Spyder CCFL Halo Projectors w/ 6000k Xenon HID Kit - Black


Spyder LED Amber Bumper Lights - Black


Will update with before and after pics after they get here and I can put them on.

 

Alright, so yesterday afternoon before I left for work I got a box from superbrightleds so I was all jazzed up but I had to go to work. Worked for 12 hours overnight (but we'll go ahead and call it 13 - SCREW DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME!) So this morning I figured I would pop everything apart, slap in the gauge LEDs and head to bed. I'm not sure what my issue is but maybe it's because I'm too tired to think now. The bulb/socket combos that I bought didn't come put together, they just sent 6 bulbs and 6 sockets in a bag together. So I'm thinking maybe they need to be soldered...? I put all 6 in and plugged the cluster back in, and only 2 LEDs lit up. In the process of trying to get the rest to come on the first 2 went out. I messed with them for an hour and half or so and finally said screw it, set them all in place and screwed the cluster back down figuring I'd just have no gauge lights until I fix them. Popped the HVAC face off to quick check if the bulbs I got for those were going to work or not (and they are not unless I can get the stock bulbs out of the sockets and put those bulbs in there). As I was doing that 1 of the gauge LEDs randomly turned on and is working. Coincidentally it is the most important one so I can see how fast I'm going!

My only guess for now is that they aren't getting good connections because they need to be soldered into the sockets. So here's a quick pic I snapped with my GS3 of the 1 lonely LED lit up.

/end rant