Just bought Tony's 2001 VX!

[Roody650i]

Hey everyone, introduced myself on the Facebook page earlier but figured I'd do so here as well...

Name's Ross, I bought Tony's 2001 VehiCross last Thursday. It's in good shape with only ~92k miles on it, and it runs great. Long story short, I had always liked the VX but never had the opportunity to own one. A couple winters ago I came across one in my hometown that was for sale, but it ended up needing a substantial amount of work to be even remotely worthy of buying, so it turned out to be not worth it. Then as I was perusing this forum one day a few months ago I came across Gill's black VX for sale and almost pulled the trigger on it, but as I've come to find out over and over again through the last few years, sometimes timing is everything and life can get in the way of your hobbies and extraneous doings. My grandfather was falling very, very ill as Gill and I were talking, and ultimately (and regrettably) I had to back out of buying it. My grandfather passed away mid-week, just before the weekend I had been hoping to fly out and drive Gill's VX back home. I still think about how I could have made it work, but that's over and done with; being home with my family proved to be the important thing here, and it would eventually lead me to Tony's 2001 VX. Sorry if that's too much info./too detailed for an introduction...but it is relevant to how I came to own this particular truck.

I was browsing the Facebook page one day when I stumbled upon Tony's posting that he had a VX he was willing to sell. At the time I wasn't even seriously looking for one, but it all fell into place, and now it's mine. I don't have any major plans for it but would like to add a bit of off-road protection and recovery points, some good all-terrain tires, and smaller wheels. Other than that I just want to clean it up a bit (underbody needs the rust remedied), fix the windows, and drive the hell out of it. I'm not new to the 4WD world, having grown up around off-roading, riding ATVs for the last ten years, and owning a 4WD Avalanche for 7 years, but the VX is my first time owning a passenger vehicle that I intend to do a little wheeling with. The other vehicles in my stable are a 2014 Challenger R/T and a not-so-functional 1991 MR2 that will (hopefully) someday become a track car.

Without further ado, here's a few pictures of the VX!








Cheers,
Ross

[Y33TREKker]

Welcome Ross. My condolences for your grandfather. Nice choice on your ultimate VX purchase. The Kaiser Silvers have ways been one of my personal favorites.

[ipd]

Welcome to the addiction. Guarantee it's night & day different from the Avalanche, regarding off-road ability.

-Looks like you need a hood insert--this is a great place to try and find one.

-Same for wheels. Usually a few people selling some. I sold my 16" stockers a couple months ago--and those are never a bad option for anyone (rattle-can them black for looks). Alternately, find some aftermarket wheels that you like--but they'll probably cost a bit more. Stockers are a bit narrow though. Keep that in mind.

-Trim looks great overall, just a few blemishes in some areas. There's a few products that can help with the staining/streaking. Mother's Back-to-Black is great--but will need to be regularly re-applied. Or you can go full-bore and Line-X the cladding (or the entire thing, like Jo has).

-Oil up the leather interior about once per month. That should keep it looking great & stop it from drying/cracking over time. Shift-boot & steering-wheel too. Seat covers is always an option--if you want to keep the seats minty.

-Tint will also help with interior longevity.

-Stock sound in a VX is a bit lacking. Mine had an 8" bass-tube installed, and the difference is substantial. There's a few good write-ups on here that will help you with replacing the other speakers, if you choose to do so. The head-unit in mine was already replaced, and the USB input works fantastic with the Cruzer Ultra Fit 128 GB drive I have; you can barely even tell there's anything plugged into it.

-There is no cup-holder. The center-console is a drink LAUNCHER, not a holder. I'm going to be installing a single-din cupholder in my dash as a fix for this.

I'll let some of the off-road vets weigh in on mods for that stuff.

[Roody650i]

Welcome Ross. My condolences for your grandfather. Nice choice on your ultimate VX purchase. The Kaiser Silvers have ways been one of my personal favorites.

Thanks for the condolences, and the welcome! I hadn't been specifically looking for a Kaiser VX but really do like the color.

Welcome to the addiction. Guarantee it's night & day different from the Avalanche, regarding off-road ability.

-Looks like you need a hood insert--this is a great place to try and find one.

-Same for wheels. Usually a few people selling some. I sold my 16" stockers a couple months ago--and those are never a bad option for anyone (rattle-can them black for looks). Alternately, find some aftermarket wheels that you like--but they'll probably cost a bit more. Stockers are a bit narrow though. Keep that in mind.

-Trim looks great overall, just a few blemishes in some areas. There's a few products that can help with the staining/streaking. Mother's Back-to-Black is great--but will need to be regularly re-applied. Or you can go full-bore and Line-X the cladding (or the entire thing, like Jo has).

-Oil up the leather interior about once per month. That should keep it looking great & stop it from drying/cracking over time. Shift-boot & steering-wheel too. Seat covers is always an option--if you want to keep the seats minty.

-Tint will also help with interior longevity.

-Stock sound in a VX is a bit lacking. Mine had an 8" bass-tube installed, and the difference is substantial. There's a few good write-ups on here that will help you with replacing the other speakers, if you choose to do so. The head-unit in mine was already replaced, and the USB input works fantastic with the Cruzer Ultra Fit 128 GB drive I have; you can barely even tell there's anything plugged into it.

-There is no cup-holder. The center-console is a drink LAUNCHER, not a holder. I'm going to be installing a single-din cupholder in my dash as a fix for this.

I'll let some of the off-road vets weigh in on mods for that stuff.

Thanks for the welcome! I didn't do much off-roading with the Avalanche, but it was an absolutely amazing vehicle to drive in the snow; unstoppable, even in 2+ feet. I may have a hood insert from the previous owner (will find out tomorrow), otherwise I may try and make one myself. Definitely on the hunt for wheels, would like to go 16" or 17" for the added sidewall's protection off-road. That, and they tend to be less expensive to buy tires for than the 18" and larger size wheels. Any recommendations for oil for the interior? Never done that myself, though probably should have on the truck. Tint is a possibility down the road, need to get other stuff taken care of first. The stereo in mine seems decent, but may upgrade it down the road. Just bought a cassette with the AUX wire to get me by in the meantime, until I upgrade it. No cupholder isn't a problem for me, but I may add one/two sometime later on. Thanks again!

[ipd]

Whatever autozone/etc has for leather conditioning should work fine. Keep in mind that you'll want several hours set aside for it to dry before you use the seats.