Hey, I`m eric. I`m pretty much.. Your average 18 year old kid who`s into cars. My ride? It`s a 2000 Impala LS in chevy`s Bright White.



When I bought the car, the previous owner`s lack of care for the vehicle was evident. The front bumper shell was cracked along the perimeter of the foglamp, the lamp itself was also shattered.. AND RE-ATTACHED TO THE BUMPER WITH A SCREW? LOL



Well, I ordered two new foglamps.. Figured I could install them and be on my way, and do a bumper cover later on. Wasn`t the fact. So, in august, I ordered a new front bumper cover.. Next day, I`m on my way to a junkyard to try to find some stuff for it.. Few interior pieces, and small stuff like that. Mainly a 2000+ bonneville SSEi Shift knob (They`re trimmed in leather, so that`s what i was looking for) and I went into a parking lot to make a call since I don`t like driving, on the phone together.. and it was a small lot, like two car wide..There was a pole I thought I cleared when I was backing out.. didn`t clear it. Racked the rear bumper cover just right to where it also folded the rear right lower quarter panel like a piece of paper. Two days later, new bumper cover arrives.. took it to shop that body work was being done by on the back, told them i`d pay them out of pocket for prime/paint/clear/install of the new cover, and brought them the two new foglights.. I didn`t think that the aftermarket unit would not have trim already molded in as the factory one did since I`ve never done anything like this before, so I got the car back.. no front trim. Still need to order it , a month later on monday. I`ve also done a few small things to the car..



de-badge, SLP LSx Grille added, decals of the Impala owners association (I guess that`s cosmetic .. sorta. ) and painted the underhood crash braces as well as the strut tower brace. There`s more coming sooner or later whenever I get more money on the side to throw at the projects I want to do.



1. wheels/tires.

2. top to bottom of body.

3. door jambs.

4. re-soak car.

5. pull into garage to dry.



that`s my process, but I`m interested in learning all of the other stuff there is.. Or at least what I can easily do without being scared I`m going to mess up my car.



Here`s a few shots which were assorted in timed order before and after the fix. I`m pretty good at washing cars, actually very thorough, but there`s alot of stuff that I`m new and inexperienced with.. Never glazed/polished a car. Only clay/wax/wash/etc. I have the proper process.;







Anyhow, I`ll throw up these pics for you guys to check out. The finish appears to be pretty good on this car so far for being a 2000 with 118, almost 119 thousand miles! There`s room for improvement for sure, though.





How it looked two days after I picked her up, July 4th.







And here`s between then and now.









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Gotta represent.







And the happy owner, (myself.)





Anyhow, yea.. I look forward to talking with all of you guys. I`ve been lurking the forum for a few months on and off, decided it was finally time to join up, since it`s getting nearer to the date I can throw a layer of wax on the fresh paint..



Oh yeah. I`ve been driving with my own lisense since June of `05.. And i`ve had so far:



1998 Chevy Suburban K1500 Onyx Black - sold

1995 Found on road dead Escort luxury crap edition - totalled two days after initial purchase.

1995 Pontiac bonneville - where i started wanting to learn to detail cars at.. Brought this car`s paint back from horrible condition it was in when I got it to what it`s at now - trying to sell

2000 Impala - replacement of the bonneville. I chose the bonneville because I remember seeing the commercials on TV when i was a little kid, and I`ve always liked how they sat/look/sounded, so I asked my parents if I could get a little bit bigger of a car since the small car didn`t feel safe when the accident happened.. They asked me what I wanted, I suggested an impala but we couldn`t touch any pricewise, then I remembered the bonneville..Found a `95 SLE in adriatic blue pearl, broke down a few times but ran pretty nice.. Decided now I was 18, I needed a "more responsible" type of car.. when I was 11, when the w-body impalas came out, I liked them.. We were in the showroom at the local chevy dealer when we were looking for a new car for my stepdad in `00 and I sat in one and i wanted one since.. so I`ve had two of my dream cars so far. They might not be exotics and may be average, but there`s not alot of 18 year olds that like these cars.. I`m into exotics too.. LOVE porsches. Sooner or later, I`m going to *try* to get myself a `50-`55 Porsche 356A Coupe.