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dcairns

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Posts posted by dcairns

  1. Are you looking for the whole mirror assembly or just the glass?   My mirror glass started leaking a few years ago (auto darkening type) and the only viable replacement was a used one off ebay. So far so good.  New ones from a third party company were like $450 if I recall (just the auto darkening glass).  

    If you don't care about the auto darkening feature, then there are plenty of cheap plain mirrors out there.

  2. Yeah... supercharger :D

    Makes a big difference on these trucks. I just love the way it kicks you back in the seat when you floor it :D

     

    I never realized the whipple sat to the side like that.

    My radix sits in the center, replacing the stock intake manifold

     

     

    HPIM0327.jpg

  3. My Radix is pretty low maintenance . Just change the oil at 100,000 miles, which was easy, once you found the specified lubricant.  At some point it may need attention, but it still makes full boost after 160k miles.

    But look up the original info (installation manual), from Whipple, if you can.  

  4. Nice looking truck !    The cowl hood works well on it. 

    The Whipple is a well regarded system.  For the 03 SS, it came out a bit later than the Radix .   If you need any parts on the supercharger, I can recommend

    https://superchargersonline.com/

    They helped me find a replacement idler wheel for my Radix.

    My Radix came with a booster fuel pump and larger injectors.

    The stock transmission is barely adequate for the stock engine, so you are right to not stress it too much.  I put my supercharger on at 2,500 miles and the stock transmission gave up at 70,000 miles (rebuild one).  Later I had a sun gear exploded, so rebuild number two.  And about 3-4 years ago, I managed to snap in input shaft, rebuild number 3.

    IMG_0481.JPG

  5. Congrats on your new toy :D  Amazing low mileage on that. Post some pics when you can.

    I love what a supercharger does to these engines.  The Whipple is somewhat the same performance wise as my Radix.  I got 13.9 @95mph in the 1/4 mile. It feels plenty fun, even after all those miles

    I am an original owner of an 03 Blue SS.  Still my daily driver at 160k miles with a Radix supercharger.  But on my third transmission rebuild. They keep beefing it up, but stuff breaks. Last time it was the input shaft.  Next time it will have to be a 4L80.

    I tried a Magnaflow like 19 years ago. The drone on the highway was awful, and I went back to stock. Perhaps they make better ones now.

    I have kept mine the stock height. It is practical, but many like it  lowered.

    305/50/20 tires fit well on the stock wheels.  The extra rubber is nice on the corners.

  6. I guess Grundy/Hagerty are geared more to much older cars.  Although it is hard to believe my 03 SS is 20 years old now... 

    Another idea, if you have to go with a regular insurance company.  Go to a few body shops and ask which insurance companies they would recommend.  Some companies cheap out on things, and the shop would know about all that.

  7. I have had the Toyo Proxes  STIII in a 305/50/20 size on my 03 SS.  I do prefer the wider width and they clear on my truck (has AWD). americastire.com claims to have them in stock.   

    Currently I am trying some stock size Michelins and they are horrible for grip (bad choice trying to save a few bucks). I am not sure if it is the tire or the stock width or both that makes them grip so poorly.  Waiting for them to wear out so I can get some good tires again.

  8. Congrats on the purchase and welcome :D

     

    I have been researching this same subject a bit here on the site.  I have some Edlebrock shocks, that they don't make any more. So I have been looking in the past posts on what people were using.

    Some GM Part numbers I dug up, probably from GM Parts Direct.

    Front Shock Absorber - Performance Suspension. 2-Wheel Steering. GM 19168458
    19168458    Performance Suspension    03 SS

    Others:
    89040176    Increased Capacity Suspension. Chassis pkg. Silverado, sierra. Without off road pkg. 4wd, 1/2 ton. With crew cab TORSION BAR TYPE
    89038652     Increased Capacity Suspension COIL SPRING TYPE 
    191681792     Increased Capacity Suspension COIL SPRING TYPE 


    Rear Shock Absorber - Performance Suspension GM 15935605
    15935605    Performance Suspension  03 SS

    Others:
    89038596
    89038597    Solid Smooth Ride Suspension
     

     

    I am still researching this, but this is what I have dug up so far:

     

    I have found a lot of people refer to these shocks:

    Belltech
    STREET PERFORMANCE OEM SHOCK (FRONT)   SP310400

    QA1 TS905
    ds905 and the Ts905   or TD905

     

    Some quotes from others on the forum here:

    "Personally I used QA1s in the rear and Bilstiens in the front."

    "Bilstein HD's are a great upgrade!"

    "Had Belltech on mine and loved em"

    "Belltech Street Performance shocks"

    "I'm at stock height and love my Bilstein shocks."

    "QA1 TD905s  some fitment issues.  needs  different sized bolts."
     

     

  9. Just noticed you are from Minnesota. That truck must have been kept indoors during the winter.  I have seen SS's rusted up quite a bit from those salted roads. :(

    Check out this thread where a guy restored a SS (hard to believe they are old enough to need restorations now... :D)

     

     

     

    • Thanks 1
  10. I can feel for you on that.  It is disheartening.  I had something similar happen to me 9 years ago while we were in the grocery store.  They did not as much damage and seemed to be after stealing the whole truck.  Screw driver on the exterior lock, those locks are a plastic joke, and screwdriver on the ignition too.  It looked like they were interrupted before they could get the ignition to turn, otherwise it would have been gone.

    I think most of the badges are available as reproductions, so you should be ok for parts. I am surprised they left the stereo.

    image.jpeg.6e52273a8d1d39f7330e93cf7c89ad81.jpeg

     

    image.jpeg.5a3e0c56b9c5e926b18eb1f01043c87d.jpeg

     

     

     

  11. MagnaFlow used my 03 SS for a test fit of their exhaust back in 04.  I found the drone it made on the highway very annoying and had them remove it back to my stock exhaust. It did sound cool when idling and accelerating, though. I got to keep the Magnaflow exhaust and traded it for somebody else's stock exhaust, which I have hanging in the rafters.  I figured someday my stock system might rot away, but the stock system seems to be pretty rust resistant.  But shipping it to MO would be pretty expensive.

  12. The mirror glass itself can be expensive if you want the auto dimming feature.  My mirror glass started leaking the fluid sandwiched in the glass and I had to get a used replacement from ebay. If you look at ebay, watch out as almost all of the cheap chinese replacement mirror glass omits the dimming feature (obscuring that fact with the usual bad English).   

    I do recall finding one company that made the mirror glass, but it has been a few years.

    • Thanks 1
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