First off, just want to say hello, name is Sam. I've been in the market for a new ride for quite some time now. Been looking for a manual, sporty, hot hatch-type vehicle that will be my daily driver and still be cool! Good mileage certainly helps. After looking at GTIs, WRXs, Speed6's, Fiesta, STs, etc. I've settled on an HHR SS as my next vehicle. The community and support around these cars seem SUPER strong and the vehicles themselves seem like they're pretty well made! Anyway, I hope I can have some good news with my potential purchase in the coming months. I'm pretty picky about cars, so it might take a while.

Anyway, from what I've seen, these forums are filled with tons of great info and some really great enthusiasts. Hopefully I can join the crew pretty soon!

That being said, I've been scouring the forums for a short while now and can't seem to find a sort of "potential buyer" thread that details what to look out for and what not. I've already gotten a load of info that's been really helpful, but any suggestions to help me would be great! This would be my first foray into the turbo Ecotec world!

Since everyone likes to know about the cars, I'll tell what I have currently:

2006 Impala LT with the 3500. Total daily driver, gray. Still gets 30 MPG. Good enough power. Just a solid car, have had no problems and it's pretty reasonable to maintain. I'm gonna drive it 'til the wheels fall off or trade it in.

1970 Nova Sedan (yup, it's a four-door): Flat black, lowered 1 1/2 inches with old school Centerline wheels with white lettering on the tires, love that look. It has a 350 long block out of a 1975 c/10 that my dad and I rebuilt:

Keith Black Flat top pistons
Balanced with a forged Eagle Crank
Dart Iron Eagle Platinum heads
2.02/1.60
Comp Cams Extreme cam and lifters, roller rockers
Edelbrock carb and intake, Hedman Headers
Early 700R4 rebuilt with stronger internals and a TCI shift kit <---shifts HARD, although, I think it'll need to be rebuilt soon.
B&M Megashifter (Those things are fun)
And a bunch of other little things I'm missing

It currently has 3.01 gears (because it was my daily drive for a long time!) and gets decent mileage for being a high compression engine with around 400 HP. It's not a show car, but it's kind of mean, kind of a sleeper, and kind of pretty damn fun to drive. I get more comments in that old thing than I have in anything else haha.

Anyway, I hope I can contribute! I'm glad I joined.

 

Welcome to the site.

Good Luck on your search for a SS.

 

to the site, Sam! Bit of advice when looking at SS (or any car) - have a look at the Service Parts Identification tag (attached inside the glovebox). For example, I wanted Limited Slip Differential/Transaxle. In 2008, it was tied to the Performance Driver's seat. Turns out that late in the model year, they became seperated. So all those cars that did not have perf. seat (that I had eliminated) may have had the LSD. Codes can be decoded here https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/gene...options-12674/ Happy hunting!! Randy

 

Welcome to the forum and best of luck with your search for a HHR SS.

 

Thanks! Also, my Nova is for sale. Listed in the Minneapolis Craigslist if anyone is interested!

 

I'd definitely want the LSD. The code is G85, correct?

 

Yes G85 is LSD

 

Last week I completed a pre-delivery trade in of my 2010 HHR SS, 5spd, LSD, Brembo's, GMTU installed with soldered connections. Runs and looks great. The dealer, Cecil Clark in Leesburg, FL has the car. I got $11,000 for the trade in. Not sure if they have sold it yet, but if you or anyone else is still looking for one, you could give them a call to inquire. It had 67K on the clock and good tires when it went in.

By the way, you are correct about this website, the members are a great source of information, support and basically being there to be of help or simply a friend. I'll miss being a part of this forum, however, I will find a forum for the new wheels which are being built at this time. Still a Chevy, but a Camaro SS with the 1LE option and dual mode exhausts. However, I will miss the versatility, economy and excitement of driving the HHR SS, it is truly a great combination of parts for fun and practicality.

 

and aboard and good luck in your search

 

So, it's been almost a year to the day. Life got in the way. But I'm still in the market for an SS. I'm pretty damn picky, but I'm going to test a black '08 SS this weekend. It's a manual with a touch over 60k miles; adult driven with no mods and new tires. It looks clean. I'll update soon. Sorry, I'll be more active!!

Also, anyone doing the Hot Rod Power Tour? I'll look and see if there's any other threads about it, too....