jaygt

iTrader: (4)

I bought my 85 trans am in 88. I had it for my last year of high school.
in 93 I decided to park it. just to keep it safe and get something cheaper on gas and not so low and loud lol.

well its 2014 and I think its time to get it back on the road. its been 20 years of it just sitting. im honestly glad I kept it but it does suck to see the condition it is in now. when I parked it the car was literally mint condition. now 30 years old the original paint has lost the fight.

I have bought a gm 350 crate engine and will try my best to get it back on the road. I don't have a lot of money and my skills are basic.
im going to keep this car for life so thought it would be nice to have a restoration post for it. any comments or ideas would be appreciated


this is the way I saw it yesterday when I decided to start work on it


I sold the gta wheels long time ago


i just noticed i sold the control arms and panhard bar :/


i had a spare rear end with the panhard and control arms on it so decided to use it for now. i dragged out the old one with the tracker lol.


mel helped with the pics and getting me tools thanks


found a old picture of me from high school lol

80's lol

jaygt

iTrader: (4)

i used a Suzuki tracker to pull it out. the trans am is missing some engine parts.
to get it out my father had to cut down some small trees


i have 2003 corvette magnesium wheels with new tires for it. i think they are a good match

ssj2link

iTrader: (15)

looks pretty good, what motor is in it now?

jaygt

iTrader: (4)

thanks for the reply. it has the lg4 305. it has no air pump or computer from the factory. its a Canadian car. no plug of wires going into the carb or anything. this will make it easyer to put the 350 in i figure.

my plans are
instal 350
new brakes
exhaust
eibach sportline springs
rsx jdm type R real recaro front seats
new carpet
new window seals
new t-top seals door seals
91 wing or original style if i can somehow find one
ss brake lines.
founders adjustable lower control arms and panhard
new black headliner

Linson

1. after sitting in a field somewhere in Canada for 20 years with vegetation growing all around it, and being parted out like some cheap hooker, this car seems remarkably salvageable and rot-free.

2. the wheels look pretty good. 17"s, 18"s? the car appears to already have some sort of lowering springs on it (or the shocks and springs are just shot). anyway, if you do replace the springs, you'll have to replace your shocks with ones that are compatable with lowering springs. after 20 years, you would have to replace those anyway, i'm sure.

3. whether you go with the '91 or factory '85-'90 rear wing, i definitely concur with going with some sort of factory wrap around spoiler. i would stay away from going with the base model two post rear wing. Hawks makes replacement spoilers that are fiberglass (as opposed to the factory foam rubber - which will in time crack and rot again) they are $400, plus a ****-load more for shipping, but they really are the way to go IMO. some guys like to run wings from 4th gen TAs. just my opinion, i think they stick out too far in the back, but they definitely look better than a cheaper two post wing on a car that originally had a wrap around wing.

4. personally, i would strive to fuel that particular car with some kind of electronic fuel injection, but thats just me - i always find that carbs are somewhat of a mismatch for the essence of a Third Gen.

5. if your car is an '85 then its not a GTA. were the GTA badges added as an afterthought? i would remove those.

jaygt

iTrader: (4)

thanks for the reply linson

yes as a kid i was constantly spraying it with rust proofing oil. it was driven in the winter for a couple years there in the late 8o's early 90's. probably another reason i got a different car and parked it. its hard to remember.

the rear wheels are 18 front 17. they are made out of magnesium and from Italy. i like that they don't stand out.

again when i was a teen i cut the springs lol. so ya im sure the shocks are toast lol. i have the sportline springs to go in. im guesing kyb silvers as they are cheap and i think ok quality front what i have read.

i have a 91 wing but does not line up with the holes. so im not sure what to do as the hawks wing is expensive

im going to get a new edelbrock carb. to be honest im not very good at car stuff so i think im just going to bolt the 350 in and slap the carb on and see what happens.
fuel injection would be awesome but would cost a lot more.

yes as a teen back in 89 i put the gta emblems on it and the gta wheels. i luved the gta but it was a lot of money back then. so yes i will be taking those off

i have a tight budget . but after 20 years i have to get it on the road so if anything in life changes it can be moved and used. i would hate to loose it.
i can still remember the first day i got it and i still feel the same way about the car.

Linson

hmmm...i know there's a guy on this site, user name: TTOP350 who has an 89 car with a 91-92 rear wing. you can PM him and ask what was involved with retro-fitting that wing. its probably just a matter of drilling a couple of holes somewhere.

i have black KYB shocks on my car, which are compatible with lowering springs, and not too expensive.

you can always look into a fuel injection transition at some point down the road once everything else is established.

Linson

Summit Part Number: KYB-236001 for the front struts ($112.02 for the pair), and
Summit Part Number: KYB-343211 for the rear shocks ($48.06 for the pair.)

mjdavis68

iTrader: (1)

Thanks again Mel for helping him out !

Linson

Who the **** is Mel?

jaygt

iTrader: (4)

Mel is my friend that's helping me save the car lol.
She is in the pics.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

That Pontiac has aged very gracefully. Great to see another one being saved!

mmadden55

I would go Holley if you are buying a carb for it.

visitor

Thanks for the pics, looks like a good project! I agree, for sitting in what appears to be a field for 20+ years, its VERY clean! Look forward to progress

visitor

Btw.. badass hair in the picture, lol

Linson

not trying to start up a debate here, but i would like to point out that for every one (1) person who says [go with a Holley carb] there are 10 who would say to stay away from a Holley carb. having had experience with Rochester, Holley and Edelbrock carbs, the common knowledge holds true that Holleys are by far the most tempermental.

visitor

I agree they are a bit more temperamental. Ive had the best luck with edelbrock, myself.

90camaro355rs

All I run is Holley, never had a bit of trouble out of them. Have 2 on my blower, one on the race car, one on my Camaro, if you build them correctly and run good gas with good filters, holley is imo they way to go.

90camaro355rs

Hey good luck with your build, wheels look great, car does to since it has been sitting for a day or two. hahaha good luck man

kymmee

Did you wash it before you pulled it out of the weeds?? Looks pretty "white" for sitting 20 yrs. Anyway, good that you are interested in it again and willing to get it back on the road. Keep us posted on your progress.

jaygt

iTrader: (4)

im guessing the first 5 years it was in the garage. the next 10 or so years on concrete pad. and last 3 years in the grass. the last sticker on the plate was 1993. so yes it has not been driven since 1993.

my goal is to have it driveable by the end of this year. with the help of this web sight i think it can be done.

no it hasn't been washed in about 3-4 years. im hoping to do that this weekend and pull the old carpets out and figure out how to wash everything inside so smells nice. any ideas.
i will be ordering front and back new carpets from hawks. i have all black panels to be put back in once the carpets are in. even a nos new black drivers seat belt.

its bright white because of settings on the camera. here are two shots that show the condition of the original paint :/

Jay_rich

iTrader: (4)

Im actually amazed in the shape its in from sitting where it was! Still fairly low KM since it was only really driven for 8 years? I would assume so since our winters are terrible.

Jay

Bob88GTA

iTrader: (2)

Nice "field find jaygt!

I have to comment on a couple of quotes that I read and actually made me LMAO. I enjoyed the late 70's and 80's also, probably more than I want to remember, but I would hope to think I would remember why I "parked the car to keep it safe!"
Glad to see you are gonna bring it back to life!


jaygt...."in 93 I decided to park it. just to keep it safe and get something cheaper on gas and not so low and loud lol."

jaygt...."probably another reason i got a different car and parked it. its hard to remember."

Linson...."Who the **** is Mel?"

I think Mel lost a button..........!!!

Good luck on the resto..we're here to help.

WTR388

We can't get wings from Hawks shipped. However, since you're from Toronto you're in luck.
Find paradise alley on the web, they are just north of Toronto and he sells new reproduction fiberglass wrap around spoilers. I bought one and I'm happy!

padak

iTrader: (10)

Not that I am complaining but why are the girls pants un-buttoned LOL!

padak

iTrader: (10)

I am in awww of how well it aged just like everyone else. My TA was last inspected in 2007? Sat for about 6 years till I purchased last summer and it's not bad, but got a decent hole under the drivers seat. Also, not sure how it didn't rust through but when I took the hatch carpet out there was 2 inches of water just sitting in my cargo/spare tire area.

Bob88GTA

iTrader: (2)

That's Mel......She lost a button while helpin!

maks10

agreed!!! good luck with the resto

suscribed

jaygt

iTrader: (4)

got a chance to work on the car again yesterday
I took out the carpets front and back.
took out the seats. have to steam clean them
I used simple green germicide cleaner on entire metal interior. it kills literally everything lol. now smells perfect inside.
im ordering new carpets from rock auto. im getting the optional mass backing to help with noise.
I sprayed the floors with a rust proofing oil called rust check. it will not let any rust happen again.

137 000 kilometers back in 1993 when I stoped driving it.


I found this toy car when I was around 9 years old. it was in a storm drain I think. just put it in the car for good look back in the day lol.


a good look at the C&C style t-top


wish I kept this car in the garage


mell helped get the carpet out. you can see the simple green germicide doin its job


finished for the day


no rust on the car so at least I have a good start on project

carlos64030

iTrader: (1)

Wow... the bare floor is surprisingly in very good shape!

CDN_87IROC

Amazing a car sitting in Canada with season climate changes, the t-tops did not leak and destroy the interior, construction of these thrid gens continue to impress me.

jaygt

iTrader: (4)

The t-tops are c&c
I was able to find a complete new nos weatherstripping kit for them
So will be a huge help in keeping the car sealed up for the future.

I bought a gm crate 350 for it so just have to figure out everything to install it :/
Guess I need an engine hoist

articwhiteZ

iTrader: (56)

This is Ten Years stored inside..


the paint holds up nice
washed..not waxed yet

Stauf

iTrader: (2)

Subscribed

KBD85

make sure Mel keeps helping!!!!!

Bob88GTA

iTrader: (2)

WTR388

Gotta say I'm jealous in the shape your car is in considering where it sat!
Mine has been driven all it's life so I have some rot to repair.

Also, Bravo to you sir. If you finished high school in 88, that puts you in your early 40s... And Mel doesn't look anything close to that... It also looks like she goes commando, so good on ya!

Maybe see you around a meet if my LS1 ever gets in the car!

jaygt

iTrader: (4)

yes to all and mell is for sure fun to hang out with.
she just doesn't like to put the worm on the hooks when we fish lol.

this weekend I got the carpet in. its acc and I got the optional mass backing.
thick and heavy I think it will help a lot with noise.

steam cleaned all the seats. got a lot of the interior put back in.
interior should be completed next time I go up to work on it.

transaero

iTrader: (6)

Wow, awesome car, all the interior trim pieces like the dash, console and steering wheel look pretty pristine!

I have to ask though, on the dash, to the left of the defroster controls, what is the red light for? I always thought people had put them in themselves, but I have seen enough of them now to think otherwise. Is it some kind of light for an alarm system?

rusty vango

with a friend like that ,I wouldn't get much car work done.

jaygt

iTrader: (4)

the small red light is an alarm. i pulled it all out as its so old lol.

this sunday i did a little work on it. and got some more parts together.
any comments or ideas about parts are welcome.

this is a brand new corvette steering wheel i bought for my other car. it looks to fit perfect. its thicker and feels better in the hands. i cant decide if its way to go.


sportlines. im going to try to put them in myself next weekend


founders suspension. all adjustable. seemed to be the best way to go


i installed new struts on hood and trunk. amazing to see them stay up. i don't think they stayed up back in 89 lol.


got a crazy deal in kyb for $100 for all 4


new calipers 89 up style to solve rear brake issues i had back in the day.


this picture best shows the 20 years of sitting this car has done. i know i have a long hard job to get this car back on the road

KBD85

lookin like your moving pretty fast! ......but where the hell is Mel?????

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

I like the steering wheel. Had not seen that done before (may have been done, but I hadn't seen it). So that Firebird center is a direct fit on that wheel?

jaygt

iTrader: (4)

if I am going to use the wheel I will have to use Velcro to hold the horn button on.

last weekend I got the front struts and springs installed. I honestly never thought I could do it. I had to cut the end links so need new ones as well.



I pulled the engine out as well. im hoping to put the new gm crate engine in this sunday. again its something I have not done before so im hoping I can do it. any advice would help

WTR388

If you need an exhaust I have one for ya, won't be able to run it with my swap.
I'm headed through the GTA in a couple weeks for thanksgiving so if you end up wanting it I could drop it off... As long as you bring Mel.

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-other-auto-pa...ationFlag=true

rusty vango

have you noticed ,many members are as jealous of your "lovely assistant" as they are of your car!!!

jaygt

iTrader: (4)

I have front to back exhaust for it but thank you for the offer

And ya starting to notice that lol. Being single I'm actually seeing a couple of them that all look the same.
I admit I did **** mell off the other day lol

rusty vango

NOT recommended! from the looks of ,um, TLA .I would do all I could to hang on to that one.

jaygt

iTrader: (4)

here is my trans am jacket from last night. I have matching ones for the car shows once I get the car finished. steph and sid helped lol.

whats TLA

on my way to try to install the engine today. wish me luck its my first time lol.

rusty vango

holy mother of god,.... and TLA refers to "the lovely assistants". me thinks you may just be workin on more than a car.