When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
In an effort to become more involved in the forum, I decided to start a thread to track my 'build' as well as have a base I can always come back to. My name is Steve and I am a full time student in NJ. I own a 2005 ABP AT TL. I bought the car in July 2014 with 80k after owning a 2000 Taurus for four years.
This was my Taurus, nicknamed the CliTaurus. My biology teacher really liked that one. Aside from purely visual mods and maintenance, the only thing I did was remove the intake silencer. Modding the Taurus didn't interest me nor did I see any sense in spending more money on it.
This is my TL the day I brought it home. I really like taking pictures from this angle if you couldn't tell. The first thing to be done was maintenance, including new Cooper CS5 tires all around, an oil change and other minor things. After that, I bought a roof rack from a friend to hold my snowboard in the winter.
I can always appreciate a good rack. I also took off the fron plate because I liked the look without it. (Still haven't been hassled for it in NJ ) The only downside is the screw hole the dealer put there. It's on my to-do list. When the weather got cold, it revealed squeaky power steering rings. I decided to undertake the the ordeal myself.
Like I said, "ordeal." Still being rather new to maintenance in general, and that none of my friends wanted to help. I spilled power steering fluid freaking everywhere. In order to get all the fluid out I decided to remove the front bumper. While I was in there I removed the vibration softener and intake silencer. For better or worse, at least I taught myself how to remove the bumper.
When the holidays came around I decided to have a little fun.
For just a power inverter and string of lights, I got a lot of laughs and thumbs up. Since then, all has been rather quiet while I'm focusing on schoolwork. I do have a set of STech springs that I am waiting to install over spring break. Hopefully more mods are to follow after tax returns and I sell my overpriced textbooks back.
That seems like a long enough first post. I really want to thank H23Accord for answering what seems like an endless stream of questions since I came to the forum. There really is a lot of knowledge on here and I can't wait to continue learning. Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions or any input really.
Bonus Taurus Video (there is sound so turn down/off your volume): http://bit.ly/1wO98Wx
Looks great. Get the ASPEC kit if you can. From my understanding, only the front and rears are still available in ABP. You'll have to get different color side skirts and have them painted.
Looks great. Get the ASPEC kit if you can. From my understanding, only the front and rears are still available in ABP. You'll have to get different color side skirts and have them painted.
EndlessRPM still has the whole kit listed unless he hasn't gotten around to updating it.
Thanks for the first couple responses guys, I know there isn't much to go on.
Last edited by Steven Bell; Mar 4, 2015 at 09:41 PM.
Reason: Merge Posts
He doesn't unfortunately Steve! He's only got ABP front and back (I literally ordered through Bruce about 2-3 weeks ago), I had to get NBP sides. However, it shouldn't be too much to get it painted, ask around here, some folks have gotten a quality job done for as little as 200 bucks
He doesn't unfortunately Steve! He's only got ABP front and back (I literally ordered through Bruce about 2-3 weeks ago), I had to get NBP sides. However, it shouldn't be too much to get it painted, ask around here, some folks have gotten a quality job done for as little as 200 bucks
I had 04-06 front aspec done for $100 locally. Like N1h1l1ty said, just gotta ask around
He doesn't unfortunately Steve! He's only got ABP front and back (I literally ordered through Bruce about 2-3 weeks ago), I had to get NBP sides. However, it shouldn't be too much to get it painted, ask around here, some folks have gotten a quality job done for as little as 200 bucks
Damn. Still saving up for the full kit, but did you go with the base Aspec or TypeS to fit quads?
Went with base A Spec, would have had to paint the Type S (additional PITA) and honestly, I actually really dig the base A-Spec. Jeremy's (rockstar's) TL is pretty much my biggest inspiration, so I'm trying to source a set of tips that looks a little like his
Went with base A Spec, would have had to paint the Type S (additional PITA) and honestly, I actually really dig the base A-Spec. Jeremy's (rockstar's) TL is pretty much my biggest inspiration, so I'm trying to source a set of tips that looks a little like his
Let me know if you have any luck, I've been looking forever.
^ I know I remember him saying that they guy he got them from said they were a set of Benz tips, so I'm probably going to go through some MB catalogs and see if I can find em. Closest thing I've found that would probably satisfy me was a set of Range Rover sport tips, and some tips that look like our stockies but with a larger overall size on ebay.
One of the cool things about vc's ride is he doesn't even have particularly aggressive wheel specs - a mere 18x8.5 +32 in front which is pretty conservative compared to what you see on here - and it comes out looking fantastic! So its not a particularly difficult look to achieve either
Nah, its just rare for me to see an ABP / RBP thread so I went through his to make sure I got the specs down as an idea of what to look for when I was deciding on mine. The white wheels really make the color pop - although so does the stock hyper-silver!
I'm probably going with 530s myself, its the wheel that catches my eye the most on these cars and the fitment is pretty much perfect. You can get a set for 580$ US shipped right now, which is pretty sweet.
Not a bad deal from what I've seen on here, but chances are he hasn't done the 105k service and that's why its getting sold. So budget another grand or so for that, and its not a half bad deal
I absolutely LOVE your city. I've visited once-spent an entire day at the Hockey Hall of Fame-by myself! (I'm the Public Address Announcer for the ECHL team here in Kansas City).
So I've been getting a lot of steering wheel vibration at idle. I think it may be the engine mounts, but I'm not sure. Is there anyway to visually inspect them without taking them out?
Steve's 2005 ABP AT 'Build'
) The only downside is the screw hole the dealer put there. It's on my to-do list. When the weather got cold, it revealed squeaky power steering rings. I decided to undertake the the ordeal myself.
nice upgrade on rides for sure
I remember him saying that they guy he got them from said they were a set of Benz tips, so I'm probably going to go through some MB catalogs and see if I can find em. Closest thing I've found that would probably satisfy me was a set of Range Rover sport tips, and some tips that look like our stockies but with a larger overall size on ebay.
Forget saving for a catback, Aspec and freshening up the paint is a must.
