Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Aesthetics The "My Ideas" list

Alright gents, here's my story.


I am 16, going to be 17 in May. Sometime in June my dad will be helping me to buy an SVT Contour. Then sometime shortly after that I'll be getting at least a part-time job to cover gas and mods, maybe to pay back my dad too.

So, here are some Ideas I've been having, not in any particular order unless noted.



#1: I am a guy who likes moving needles, lights and displays with a healthy mix of switches and buttons thrown in (I loved K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider to death). So first mod for me, depending on convenience, would probably be the A-pillar guages. For more guages latter on, I'd probly hang three more below the sterio slot, right in front of the shifter there. I've seen it done on some pics floating around here, so I'm not worried.


#2: This one might be tricky; an airplane altimeter guage. Useless, maybe, but still pretty neat. I imagen I would have the first, or nearly the first, car to have one in it. Biggest thing I think would be finding one that's 2 1/16 and would fit a pod of that size and match the SVT gauges fairly well. I've been looking, but not much luck so far.


#3: Another tricky one, I thought "Wouldn't it be cool to have a HUD in the Contour?" So I'm thinking about how much work it would be to take the HUD from a wrecked Grand Prix or Corvette and fab it into the Contour. Probably a lot, but again this would be a unique mod and that's what I'm all about.


#4: Second moon-roof over the back seat. I hope someone with structural knowledge of the Contour's roof will chime in on this one. In all likely hood I would end up taking the front factory moonroof out(If it had one, I understand some SVT's came without/were ordered without them) and putting in two after-market moonies. They would only lift spoiler-style and probably be power.


#5: Two interior lighting systems. One would be the stock domes (if they'll fit with the double moonroof, if that happens to work), while the other would be foot-well neon lighting. And I would want to switch between the two, completely overiding one system while the one in use functions as it should (i.e. comes on when the doors open, etc.). So for that I was thinking a second interior dome control box. Box 1 would be stock domes, box 2 would be the neons. Turn dome overide ON box 1, turn it OFF on box 2 and you'd have neons, reverse it and you'd have stockers, and turn them both ON and you'd have no domes.


#6: Upgraded speakers, maybe a sub or two.


#7: Radar/laser detector integrated into the dash (somewhere). I know it's not really nessasary since they are legal in Ohio still, but I like the idea of it "being part of the car", sort of like standard equipment y'know? Perhaps in the dash-clock area would be good.


#8: Viper alarm system. This would probably be around number two or three on my list, for security plus remote start.


#9: Convert stock guages to red backlighting, same goes for all added guages.


#10: Now we get into performance stuffs. It's not a big priority for me, but this is stuff I may do down the road. So first up we have a short shifter kit.

#11: Improved exhuast with an eye towards future mods.

#12: 3.0 (or 3.5 with resent reading I've done) swap.

#13: Turbo said 3.0 or 3.5. Maybe turbo the 2.5 if I didn't do the swap.




And that's about all I can think of right now, other than some pure aesthetic stuff like rims, headlight covers, etc.

So feel free to put in a comment, just no negative stuff towards me or my plans. I know it'll cost money, I know it'll take work, And I know it'll take time. So don't talk to me like I'm 8, okay? Thank you. If, however, you don't think an idea would work, I would be happy to hear what you have to say.

And before the Nazis' come after me, I have been doing searches on most or all of what I listed. All of the performance stuff I know what I'm doing, I only listed it here so that you guys would see the whole picture.


Sorry for being so long winded!! Thanks for your input.

You are a lucky individual. Its great to see that you have a plan for you car. But I would recomend the first thing to do IS PAY YOUR Dad back!

Good luck with the car and post progress pics. From the sounds of it. Your car can really be unique!

So if we have something bad to say, we shouldn't say it?

To be honest, you're going to want to try and enjoy the car for what it is. I think some of your ideas are valid, but some are just, well, odd? What is the purpose of having two moonroofs? You realize that if the first one opens up "spoiler style", that will block any and all air from entering the rear moonroof?

I really don't know what you're talking about with the neons, and needing separate boxes. In my opinion, and yes I'm saying OPINION, neons are adolescent mods that show no real character or thought. To me, it just says that the owner couldn't afford anything but a $20 mod, and they chose the worst option that they could.

Built in radar detector? I could be wrong, but I believe they need to have 360 degrees of "vision" to detect radar?

HUD - This has been asked before. It'll be a LOT of work and a LOT of money. One person states that you'll need to buy a whole different windshield, as there is a special coating that they put on the inside of the GP/Vettes for the HUD to reflect. Not to mention, getting the HUD unit to match the Contours RPM/Speed.

All in all, your best bet is to go with an a-pillar gauge pod and some nice gauges. Do any/all of your interior lighting in the color of your choice(red in your case). Do the short shifter, and any other little interior mods that you like, and save for maintenance issues that will probably arise.

Not to tell you how to spend your money, but you'd be better off learning the value of a dollar by paying your Father back for the car. You'll thank yourself down the road.

Good luck with the car!

Mark

Well, nobody is perfect. I forgot about the windshield thing though. That probably sinks that idea, unless the special flim can be aplied on the inside or something.

And sorry about all the defensive words in my first post, but I've had my nads ripped off for posting weird ideas (coupled with my age, no doubt) on other boards in the past. Guess I was just worried. And I DO plan on paying him back.


Thanks for your opinion.


Edit: Ahh, and also the neons would be on the interior. I dunno if you missed that. But I do not like neons on the exterior of the car one bit.

your best bet for an HUD is to get an LCD screen and have a program custom written for the car. That would be the coolest idea. better yet, replace all your guages with one big LCD.

you do know a Full turbo kit with a 3L is going to run you about 10 grand, and thats given you can install anything by yourself (ie, taking out the engine and working on it) you better make a lot of money with your "part time" job. Sounds like adolecent dreams to me, stop watching Pimp my ride.

an average part time job will net you 3000-4500 dollars a year. Thats not even enough to turbo a 2.5....