3800 Got a new ride.......well far from new

[Sinister Drag Designs]

i had been looking for a 9c1 impala for a while now, but no one had a shell for cheap. everywhere i looked they wanted top $ for high as mileage and either a blown motor or tranny

i was driving back to my shop from the city and ran across a grey one with a for sale sign
i called the guy and after the strangest conversation ive had in my life i got a price and went the next day to see it.

after driving it for 5 minutes i kind of fell in love. runs great, full GMPP suspension, 12" rotors and new toyo tires on police rims.
THE BAD PART
the car had a very shitty earl shipe(sp?) paint job but that was the least of my worries.
blue interior ....with a brand new 03 tan rear seat .driver seat was trashed, and i can tell the passenger mirror was knocked off at some point. o and the day before i called someone had stolen the wiper blades

it was a cop car and then used as a taxi(still kind of smells like it too).....tho the mans wife gave me a bottle of frebreeze..... :lol:

i got a great deal on it and have already started thinking of ways to make this car a little more fun
it already has a race seat in it.....tho this was because i had few springs poking me in the ass the whole ride home the first day

tho i still have to scan it, i think it has 2.93s instead of 3.29s (very happy about that)
would make a little sense seeing as police do high speed chases on the highway

ill post some pics this weekend. way too dark now.

Click to read more...

 

[Mike K]

You stole my idea damnit.

It's an HD tranny with 3.29s. They were geared for "off the line" performance.

 

[Sinister Drag Designs]

thats what i thought, but ive been driving with 3.29s for the last year and change and it does not feel like that. i drive Vs car every once in a while and it feels alot like more like his 2.93 gearing
i could be wrong but it just doesn feel that way.

mike you might of had the idea first....but i bought one

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

with a brand new 03 tan rear seat [/b]

but V and I are getting the police rear seat (with arm reliefs for handcuffed "passengers"!)

it weighs like 10lbs but the real weight savings is that no-one wil want to sit in back... :lolsign:

oh and we ARE getting the spit shield....


btw bob your a sissy for not going to the junkyard on a snowy day!

 

[Sinister Drag Designs]

im guessing you and V look like snowmen right about now :lolsign:
i would of gone but i have over a 110 people coming to my house tonight

that poor little L36 doesnt even know whats coming....be gentle

 

[PANDA]

So the "value" in these police package is then trans and the suspension, and brakes? Are these components really even good anymore after its been beat to piss all its life?

 

[Mike K]

I think the value is in the cool factor. I'd love to have an ex-cop car running 12's setup to look like a real undercover car.

 

[Sinister Drag Designs]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (vipermike2002 @ Dec 15 2007, 04:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

So the "value" in these police package is then trans and the suspension, and brakes? Are these components really even good anymore after its been beat to piss all its life?[/b]

i had it up on a lift today, everything suspension wise is great. brakes are somthing that get replaced like every other car.
transmissions come and go in 3800fwd cars. with a HD upgrade on the N/A motor i think you might get a little more life out of them.

why 12s when 11s are so much more to brag about :naughty:

honestly its all about the rims and the spit guard, tho mine didnt come with spit guard or side light

 

[UR LOSN]

yeah, but I am sure there are at least one or two wrecked squad cars around that still have the stuff on them. if not wrecked...still running :lolsign:

 

[SaturdaysGS]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Mike K @ Dec 15 2007, 05:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I think the value is in the cool factor. I'd love to have an ex-cop car running 12's setup to look like a real undercover car.[/b]

Agreed! I want to do that to one sooo badly. May have to "downgrade".

 

[SaturdaysGS]

woops.

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (vipermike2002 @ Dec 15 2007, 04:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

So the "value" in these police package is then trans and the suspension, and brakes? Are these components really even good anymore after its been beat to piss all its life?[/b]

here's the deal...the Jyard has an 04 imp squad car....which town owned the squad, you ask? Lake Forest... (luck of the draw folks...lets just say it pays to go Jyard doggin' often!) from the L36 and other features/parts i've investigated i can confidently say this car was ~40-60k miles into it's life before it burned (OE delco iridium plugs in EXcelent shape! orig front and rear rotors with just new (80% remaining) aftermarket pads only on the front. but let me tell you what it was equipped with...(and have already removed )
Gm trans cooler
Gm HD power steering cooler
GM engine oil cooler (ohhhhh yeah! the take off bolts to the OE W body oil filter adaptor and locates the filter 1 inch lower, the lines leave the spacer and go to the large front cooler (5/8ths tube)
cast iron front knuckles (vs alum)
HD sway bars
L36 (it's mine! hahahahahaha! looked like hell with the melted inj cover...i left it on for "dramatic effect" to get a good deal of course! internals are minty, with no buildup on the exhaust valves, you bet yer arse i took it!)
no trans was in it but get this...the flexplate on the L36, well it has only 3 windows like the L7 flex (5 in the normal L36) but not only that it is OE dual converter pattern.... and also unlike the L67 this flex has no other additional holes (ballance holes etc...these may be held to tighter spec? or just another HD part)
the alum subframe looks different...i gotta compare it to our other inventory to know whether i'm sane or not
it also had a smal (and light) geared reduction starter...the motor can was half the size of the older style...

looks like special overload wraping on the rear strut springs (on the lower small spacing progressive coils)
tubular trailing arms
nice beefy lateral arms, the bushings dont look like rubber...they look like poly (dark blueish)
it has the HD front brakes of course...
oversize radiator
synth? black rubber floor mat (light as hell!)
comfy black plastic back seat (comfy if your handcuffed lol) also light as hell...we already installed it in V's coupe (fits perfect and looks bad-ass....nifty police rear seatbelts included

someone had already taken the spit-shield/center divider (plexi and alumn)
the rearview mirror has two beefy map lights, dont know if it's special...
alum trunk equipment tray (recording devices etc?)

it also has a rear hitch and the front push-bumper mounting brackets (i think Vtak should do a mad max type front pushbumper on his GTP!)

aufice it to say....pretty damn well optioned...(at least this one is...i mean was :lolsign: )
we did look like snowmen but voytec and I atacked/raped and pilaged that imp for pretty much everything

if you did have that undercover look....youd get people constantly going the speed limit in front of you, that would get annoying, imho...

but now i have an 04 motor to slice and dice and compare to the other years of block/head castings, i have to pull the flex to find the block casting date, but the rear cover was cast in july 03...

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

oh i fergot, the front motor mount...it's solid rubber... no hydraulic

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

ok here's the deal...there was an 01 taxi in the Jyard, it had alum knuckles so i doubt it was an actual taxi/9c1 but i did notice something...
the 04 imp squad car has a much beefier mount for the steering rack on it's aluminum cradle!, the 02 W that was there was just like the 01, wimpy lol
here is the mini (geared reduction?) starter from the 04, these may have even been used on the 03 GP special edition GT's but we may never know....

the rear engine cover had a july of 03 casting date the block reads as cast on the 158th day of 03
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii10/JA...te03casting.jpg
here it is 04 police L36

def a low mile engine it's clean

yup def a burn victom lol

you know i almost dont want to tear it apart and slice it up, but thats what i got it for, i'll find out whether GM changed anything internally...see if the squad motors may be better in any way...
this is interesting...look whats hanging off the back of the 04 L36
on the left is an L67 flex

interesting eh? a FACTORY dual pattern HD flexplate! it has the 3 windows of the L67 but has no unecessary holes and lacks the partially drilled balancing holes...i wonder if these engines may hold tighter specs since the flexplate was so well made...
i cant wait to start cutting up the block!

 

[imported_Ron Vogel]

You know the weight difference of the starters? Wonder if the tooth pattern is the same on the flexplate as earlier models.

How much did they sell you the motor for? I'm looking for a newer 3800, curious to what a meltdown motor costs. I imagine the bottom end is still OK.

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

teeth look to line up, no idea on weight (dont have an older starter handy) but it sure feels lighter...the motor can is just bigger than half of what i can recall
cheeeeep tis the season for great deals...if you pull it lol there's an 02 with a good engine/trans, but the drivers front is touching the dash....bring a battery powered sawzall

 

[smknL67]

James what Junk yard you go to? I just went to pick and pull and came back dry. There was nothing there. Nothing but empty skelletons

 

[bikrboy128]

thats the one they went to then :lolsign:

 

[smknL67]

No kidding. Nothing to scavange there. I am going to back for this mint '88 cutlass 442. there are some goddies left on that thing.

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (smknL67 @ Dec 19 2007, 03:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

James what Junk yard you go to? I just went to pick and pull and came back dry. There was nothing there. Nothing but empty skelletons [/b]

the good one i mention it alot in the Jyard thread (we should revive that...plenty of us Jyard dogs could take down notes...any of them garage people Jyarders?!?)
the big wadsworth/summit/hammond picknpull yards are really only good for their half price weekends around this time of year....same with ABC/circus
i'd give the location of the 04 squad but bob and v-tak would kill me as we havent gotten the synth rubber floor out of it yet...but yeah it's just a shell now lol i'll tell ya this much...there was an honest to god 48 packard sedan in there...suprized the shit outta me....