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I've got more pics. I'll post em up tonite. Can't get any thing as of today as its been raining today and it's supposed to continue through Friday here in wisconsin.
why cant I vote?
I can see the poll results but it says I cant vote...any idea why?
Also, based on your "join date" there is a strong possibility that you are not yet able to vote in polls. I think you have to be a member for a certain amount of time (two weeks or a month maybe).
Also, based on your "join date" there is a strong possibility that you are not yet able to vote in polls. I think you have to be a member for a certain amount of time (two weeks or a month maybe).
It's a great honor just to be nominated!
I am very proud of the fact that I am an original owner, and I drive it. I bought it with the idea that I would modify it to always being driven on the road and some road racing HPDE's. Much time and money has gone-is going into the suspension to reach this goal.
Interior: Corbeau TRS seats; console lid, door panels, and backs re-upholstered to match; BT deck and Kicker speakers in stock locations; Raamat sound proofing w/new carpet.
Body: Re-painted in stock red with three coats of clear; 4th Gen wing (only visual difference).
Drivetrain: LS2 and 4L65e (34,000 miles on at takeout, 06 GTO); BMR trak pak TA, Mark Williams 12 bolt w/3.42 and Truetrac diff; Stainless Works exhaust - 2" headers, 3" y-pipe, and 3.5" outlet; 3.5" alum DS; 4th Gen plastic tank; CAI.
Suspension: WW FSL 6pot and 4 pot rears; Racecraft 2" Roadrace drop spindles; 2 pc rotors; alum hubs; swivel cup weight jacks; Koni Yellows; Spohn adj tubular A-arms; GW SFC & Wonderbar; Kenny Brown 3pt STB, Spohn Strut Mounts; Spohn Bump Steer kit; Ridetech Coilovers in rear; LCARB's, Kenny Brown LCA's ; Adj. PHB; Jegster PHB lowering bracket; Poly on chassis side- Del-Sphere on axle side; #850 fr/#250 r; 36mm fr sway and 19 mm rear sway; Turn One 12:1 Steering box and matching LS2 pump.
On track with supsension and interior mods (no LS or paint, yet):
First and foremost thank you for the nomination and for those that already voted. This month the cars are all beautiul, and there is a little something for all Formula lovers!
I bought the car in November 2013, as an impulse BD present to myself. I saw the car advertised, looked at it a few hours later, and in a few more hours, I drove it home and it was in my driveway. I am usually more thorough with my purchases but this one was a very good opportunity.
The car has 67,200 miles on it now, 65, xxx when I got it. It is all original for the most part, has a Flowmaster exhaust with chrome tips, the rear spoiler has been replaced with the fiberglass one, and the usual mechanical things are not original (plugs, wires, hoses, some clamps, starter, etc)
Everything functions as is should, the A/C has been converted to 134a, power antennae, rear hatch pull down, windows, locks, etc all work. It still has the original radio and the cassette deck works, although I dont play tapes in it.
Paint is 90% original, when I got the car I had the front bumper repainted, minor rust around the t top repaired and opted for wrinkle paint on the rockers. I replaced the steering wheel, shifter and E brake handle with leather components to dress up the interior a bit.
I drive the car to about a dozen or so local cruise ins/shows a season, and have driven it to the Pontiac Nationals in Norwalk, OH for the last 3 years. It has placed in its class every time.
It is not a perfect car, it has a few small scratches, chips and the WS6 rims could be better. I picked up another set of rims from a 350 that was being scrapped, so my winter project is to wet sand and polish them for use next driving season.
I am very happy to own the car and be its keeper. I will continue to maintain and drive it, hopefully for many more years.
Just to let you all know, I pulled it out of the garage this morning and shot some new pictures, so most of the ones I am posting are what she looks like today!
my formula is a restored from bare metal car. it started life as a 1989 formula 350 black in color.
when i obtained the car it had 36,000 miles im around 50k now.
the paint was not in good shape being that cheap water based california stuff.
ive restored it to original. no mods other than adding in a period specific ac delco cd changer.
paint was redone stripping down to bare metal. the decals are from phoenix graphics and are identical size color and font to the originals and placed on the car according to correct gm spacing. they were put on under the clear coat.
Suspension:
850# Front / 150# Rear Springs
36mm Front / 24mm Rear Sway Bars
Urethane Bushings, ½” Extended Ball Joints
Koni Shocks (double adjustable rear & single in front)
Fays II Competition Watts Link
De-la-lum Delrin/Aluminum Control Arm Bushings
UMI Frame Connectors, Rear Control Arms
Relocation Brackets & Strut Mounts
C4HD Corvette Front / 97 Trans Am Rear Brakes
13.2”Front/12.7”Rear Cross Drilled/Slotted Rotors
Hawk Pads, 1LE modified Hubs/Spindles/Bearings
No rubber bushings remain in the entire car
275/40-17 Nitto555 on American Racing 17x9 Rebel wheels
Body:
Original 50,000mi rust free body
Stripped to bare metal
Epoxy primed, PPG base clear in factory color
All new weatherstrip, upholstery, carpet & headliner
Modified stereo, w/ double DIN Pioneer APP radio, Amps & Alpine component speakers.
Car was done to appear stock, with minor visual mods to complement the engine & suspension upgrades.
Car was a 3 year project which grew out of control very quickly.
What started as a paint job, grew to an engine swap, then a full on restoration.
By the time I was done, everything but the dash wiring was removed from the car.
Overall I'm very happy with the result. I won best modified in the 90-99 class at The Cabelas car show, which had approx 1500 entrants. On the 90mi ride there I got over 20mpg at 75-80mph.
Better than anything is the performance... I now have an 11sec car with incredible handling/stopping power, that I can drive anywhere. It started with 190hp & became a car that now buries the 140mph speedometer in 4th gear. Every bit of the car was built/assembled by myself with the only part being partially farmed out was the paint at my friends shop. I participated in every aspect of this as well, since I had previous experience working at a body shop. I just did not have a spray booth to achieve the quality of paint work that I desired at home, so I had to get some outside help.
It evolved from my summer driver to a complete resto-mod style project over the 12+ years I have owned it.
I went in blind & gained a lot of knowledge with respect to LSx engine swaps & the nuances of the 3rd gen platform.
Thanks to all for the advice & tech help over the course of the project.
First off, let me say that I am honored to be nominated this month. Some of the Formulas I'm running against are absolutely amazing. TGO has contributed immensely to this never ending project!
This Firebird Formula was originally ordered and delivered in the spring of 1991. It was built in Van Nuys in May 1990. I have tracked down all the owners and the dealer it came from. I have kept in touch with the last owner. I bought it in July 2001.
In 2009, after countless hours of research, discussion, measurement, planning and budgeting, the renovation began. The idea was to keep the original look as much as possible. Most importantly, I wanted to keep the spirit behind the Formula idea, a basic looking car with few hints of performance on the outside but a real power and handling package hidden on the inside. It was imperative to keep the 1980’s era in mind. I wanted to push the Formula concept by creating a non pretentious rough and tough, raw powered, no finesse, but very respectful, street performance car. I wanted to keep the all American, loud and proud concept that any “usual car enthusiast” can appreciate.
On the exterior, one can appreciate the lower suspension, stainless steel dual exhaust pipes, black subframe connectors, 245R16 Drag Radial tires, the 6.3 Liter OEM style decal and the added 383 Stroker bumber emblem. The original color and Formula features were restored including OEM restoration decals. The blanked hood cowl plate was replaced by a Trans-Am open type plate. This was indented to enhance the Formula look and to add a piece of history in memoriam of its big sister, the Trans-Am.
Looking at the interior, besides the obvious Corbeau racing seats, one can notice the rear seats were material matched with the front ones. The custom Autometer gauges display some serious performance menace. The center console now displays an illuminated 6 speed indicator and an OEM leather shifter. The floor mats have been enhanced with more luxury embroidered ones. Cool features like an OEM DK6 T-Top console, a dash reading light, blue interior lights and led indicators are now part of the interior.
On the hidden side, the Formula was stripped from its drive train. A brand new 6 speed Tremec transmission was installed along with a dual friction clutch and a 1350 series, 3 inch cast iron drive shaft. A new style tubular adjustable torque arm was put in, attaching to the frame instead of the transmission tail. To complete the package, a 9 inch Moser 31 spline rear end was fitted including a 3.89 Motive gear with a Detroit Truetrac differential.
As far as the suspension goes, the rear lower control arms as well as the panhard bar and the front A-arms are now tubular and adjustable. Every bushing and mounts all around were replaced with polyurethane ones. New Koni adjustable sports series shocks and struts were bolted on in conjunction with Eibach Pro-Kit springs and Spohn steering linkage for better strength.
The Formula is now equipped with a complete Wilwood brake package including 4 piston fixed callipers, 12.2 inch drilled and slotted disc completed with custom braided hoses. I won’t forget to mention the steering and the strut tower braces which brought rigidity to the structure.
Finally, some esthetical changes worth mentioning are the removal of the under hood insulation and the front plastic black guard. The engine bay, under hood and hatchback gutters are now colour match with a clear coat.
A Custom FIRST Fuel Intake was bolted on top of the original LB9 305 as part of a pilot project. The OEM 7730 ECM was tuned after countless hours of testing, trial and errors. The LB9 survived the tests and is now ready to be replaced by a 383 stroker. However, before that, the fuel pump will be upgraded to a Walbro 255lpf no later than the first week of October 2016.
This project has been going on for a while as sometimes life takes us in different directions. Time is not always available and most importantly, expertise can be difficult to find. The idea was to keep a "tune port" look but with an intake that can feed a 383 stroker. Hopefully I could get the 383 in it by 2017. I would like to see the LB9 give up before that... Next year, I will be closer to a track, so maybe a few trip down the track would do it ;-)
These pictures are still accurate of what she looks like
here's what i would do:
imagine that all the nominees want nothing more than to GIVE you their car. But you can only take ONE.
which one would you take? that's the one you vote for.
Great looking Formulas. Voting for just one will be tough; however, I've always loved the Deep Dish Turbo wheels. That narrows it down just a little bit.
Kymee - How did you get your exhaust manifold to look so "new"?
TEDSgrad - Is double bratville Sheboygan? Best bratfests around!! I get there several times a year.
TEDSgrad - Is double bratville Sheboygan? Best bratfests around!! I get there several times a year.
Close, I live in the shadow of Road America. I bought my car August 12, 1989. Several weeks later I was at the track (Danny Sullivan won), and I commented to my friends that one day I would get my new car out on the track. You can check out Midwest F-body for track events at Road America.
That same December, I took the month off and drove out to CA, and drove the entire length of HWY 1. When I returned on Jan. 1, 1990, the car had 33,500 miles on the odometer since August!! I've stored it every winter and every panel is original. I am very lucky as anything/anyone can happen through all the miles/years. Pic of car above Santa Barbara, CA- Christmas '89:
Other bucket lists were to resto-mod (done), and to drive it in all lower 48 states (New England states and MS-LA left). There is 22x,xxx miles on it, and it's better than the day I drove it off the dealer lot.
I have always loved the stripped down yet muscular look of the Formula's - great cars, everyone. The style is enduring.
Yep, the Elkhart Lake area is not far at all. Great story. I'll have to check out those F-Body track dates you mentioned.
Amazing you rack up 33,500 miles in just a few months and now have over 220,000! The car continues to look awesome. After I picked up my 88' Trans Am from the dealership I put 12,000 on the first summer, but not I only have 49,000 total after 28 years. It's so cool you have driven yours across the country but maintained it as you have. Fantastic.
I see you started out as a Minnesotan. Now that you're in Wisconsin I hope you've become part of Packer Nation!
Kymee, Nice car. Again wish I could have seen it. I do have a soft spot for formulas due to their focus. a purpose built no frills fun to drive F body with power. I wish you all the best in the mid-west!
Last edited by IMissMy86TA; 09-29-2016 at 09:55 PM.
Close, I live in the shadow of Road America. I bought my car August 12, 1989. Several weeks later I was at the track (Danny Sullivan won), and I commented to my friends that one day I would get my new car out on the track. You can check out Midwest F-body for track events at Road America.
That same December, I took the month off and drove out to CA, and drove the entire length of HWY 1. When I returned on Jan. 1, 1990, the car had 33,500 miles on the odometer since August!! I've stored it every winter and every panel is original. I am very lucky as anything/anyone can happen through all the miles/years. Pic of car above Santa Barbara, CA- Christmas '89:
Other bucket lists were to resto-mod (done), and to drive it in all lower 48 states (New England states and MS-LA left). There is 22x,xxx miles on it, and it's better than the day I drove it off the dealer lot.
I have always loved the stripped down yet muscular look of the Formula's - great cars, everyone. The style is enduring.
I take it you used to live in MN back then? Now the MN plates are lame... Nice ride man and great story.
Wow guys, I dont know what to say, I am very surprised at the results, with all the custom work that went in to a few of the others! What I can say is that it takes a lot of restraint to keep a car stock, being the dinosaurs that some of them are. I guess in this instance it was rewarded. Thank you!!
Originally Posted by Bob88GTA
Congrat's Kim!
Thanks Bob!
Originally Posted by TTOP350
Well poo, I put off voting because I couldn't decide and now its closed, bummer
anyway, congrats to Kim!
Thanks Tony!
Originally Posted by GASPEDDLER
Congrats Kim!
Thank you Arnold!
Originally Posted by mantaguy
Congrats Kim
Like I said,,I'm prejudice to the Stock,Originals
09-20-2016, 10:40 PM
Dang Kymee that car looks great! You did a great job with it. Cant wait to see it with the polished wheels. 
After seeing all these, I had thought the same!! 
