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Ok everyone I been gone for a great while. I was in the fiero world lol I had a 3800sc 4 speed fiero that went amazing but enough of that im here to get back into the front engine rear wheel drive layout of the Pontiac world. I currently have a 88 gta trans am true Y84 car. I don’t have the original L98 with 700r4 anymore that dinosaur crap is gone. I do have a 4.8 LR4 I think that’s the code for it. I’m looking to do a whole restore on this car. Now I had this car back in 2012 and it’s been sitting in the ghetto garage for 10 years now clean floors, quarters, etc etc and it’s subframed connected already. I’m wondering where do I start from here with the body since it’s 3 different colors. Hood is a 98-02 ram air style hood that is blue, original doors were rotted but got a clean set off a 88 formula those are white power mirrors are hunter green. Where should I start on the body from here. I plan on making post in the LSX SWAP section on where to get that all situated. Thanks for reading and please any info will help
First thing is to give it a goof clean / scrub with some dawn dishwashing liquid to remove al lthe crud / grease / grime...
Then I think it depends what your plans are...
total restore like strip down to metal and reprime / paint? Or just to make it look nice / one color?
You gonna do the work yourself?
well the car is already totally Por 15 I did that when I finished the floors back in 2012. But I do plan on pulling the doors, glass out etc so I can paint the inside of those. I plan on doing all the work myself except paint. I’m going with a Bright high gloss red for this car. I’ll replace all moldings, and seals for the rubbers. Thank god this car is a hardtop so I don’t gotta deal with t tops and leaking.
Start with the anels on the car...i think its easier to do dents . rust / et...
then pull the front first and work your way back. shoot jambs / crevices corners etc.. wit paint that you need to color change as well!
yes sounds like a plan there isn’t any rot on this car since I did that back in 2012 I’ll start with pulling the nose and fenders. I’m doing a 4.8 T56 swap so it will help with the nose off getting the motor and trans in. I’m starting this in the spring time. It’s freezing here in New England im thinking bright gloss red for the exterior the inside of the jambs will be black which is ok with me since the interior is going to be black anyway
yes sounds like a plan there isn’t any rot on this car since I did that back in 2012 I’ll start with pulling the nose and fenders. I’m doing a 4.8 T56 swap so it will help with the nose off getting the motor and trans in. I’m starting this in the spring time. It’s freezing here in New England im thinking bright gloss red for the exterior the inside of the jambs will be black which is ok with me since the interior is going to be black anyway
That doesn't make any sense...If you're pulling parts for the paint, and engine swap, then edge the parts while they're off, and paint the car correctly. Jambs that get left the original color look terrible IMO.
That doesn't make any sense...If you're pulling parts for the paint, and engine swap, then edge the parts while they're off, and paint the car correctly. Jambs that get left the original color look terrible IMO.
so you think it would be better to paint the inside of the Jambs hmmmm I was thinking that too sorry I should just go they route then. Im trying to get out of the mind set of cheeping out on things so just bare with me lol
1. Take the hood off and put it in a shredder so it can't harm the third gen community's reputation any longer.
2. Get those turn signals off and send them to the shredder for the same reason as #1.
All joking aside (although I'm not really joking) I totaly agree with Kevin, you don't want to have different color jambs. That screams backwoods paint job. It's a bit of work but makes a big difference in the end. Ill take it a little further, even though it wasn't mentioned, underhood color but these cars were body color as well so a different color underhood is the same as mismatched jambs. You will be happier and have a higher quality appearance in the end. Remember, it's the details that make the difference.
1. Take the hood off and put it in a shredder so it can't harm the third gen community's reputation any longer.
2. Get those turn signals off and send them to the shredder for the same reason as #1.
All joking aside (although I'm not really joking) I totaly agree with Kevin, you don't want to have different color jambs. That screams backwoods paint job. It's a bit of work but makes a big difference in the end. Ill take it a little further, even though it wasn't mentioned, underhood color but these cars were body color as well so a different color underhood is the same as mismatched jambs. You will be happier and have a higher quality appearance in the end. Remember, it's the details that make the difference.
hmmmmm maybe I should just keep the car black then already since it was a original black gta I por15 all the jambs, wheel wells, engine bay Por 15 but that would have to get color changed too so looks like high gloss BLACK is my color of choice on this. I’m not getting rid of the hood I actually dig it. Yes your opinion is to throw it away cause you don’t like it but I highly do the turn signals I have a extra set of them. I just dig the letting lighting up when signaling tons of people actually dig it too when I actually drove the car back in 2012. But ok I’ll start pulling things come spring I still need to finish my garage getting built which I should have it done by then. That’s when I’ll move the car in there and start down this path
I’m not getting rid of the hood I actually dig it.
I respect your decision, mean no offense and politely encourage you to reconsider just my . Moving on, black is either sinister or elegant depending on the styling. A lot of people have issues with bright red but I love both colors. If you have to keep the hood I think black is the way to go. Plus its a little easier if you are trying to keep a budget. The only thing about black though is, your bodywork has to be spot on or you will see every single imperfection. Did you plan on doing the prep and having a shop spray or have the whole job done by a shop?
I respect your decision, mean no offense and politely encourage you to reconsider just my . Moving on, black is either sinister or elegant depending on the styling. A lot of people have issues with bright red but I love both colors. If you have to keep the hood I think black is the way to go. Plus its a little easier if you are trying to keep a budget. The only thing about black though is, your bodywork has to be spot on or you will see every single imperfection. Did you plan on doing the prep and having a shop spray or have the whole job done by a shop?
exterior prep isn’t my strong point so I would have a shop do all the prep work and do the spraying. I would most likely go with a single stage paint job on this. I do know a few buddies that want to paint the car so maybe start reaching out to them and have them help. If I could get it primed nicely then shot a nice gloss black I would be happy with that
Good call on the black, but I'm a little partial...It does take a bit more prep, but well worth it in the end.
Good luck with the garage, looks like you have a solid plan. You're only POR15 over bare metal, or current rust, correct? It's not going to do you much good over existing paint. I'm not even sure it makes a great replacement for E-coat, if there is no rust to coat. That stuff is like a rock when it hardens. You may be better off with a wash primer/etch or epoxy over good bare steel.
BC/CC is a much better choice and more forgiving than single stage, and it's not that much more expensive in the grand scheme of things. You can make a single stage job look great, and modern urethane's will give you a nice finish for years...but you will still deal with oxidation, and work harder keeping it nice, over a BC/CC finish. (If it's not a daily driver, and will be stored in your new garage, that's much less of a concern, however)
Keep us posted, I'm sure it will turn out great.
Good call on the black, but I'm a little partial...It does take a bit more prep, but well worth it in the end.
Good luck with the garage, looks like you have a solid plan. You're only POR15 over bare metal, or current rust, correct? It's not going to do you much good over existing paint. I'm not even sure it makes a great replacement for E-coat, if there is no rust to coat. That stuff is like a rock when it hardens. You may be better off with a wash primer/etch or epoxy over good bare steel.
BC/CC is a much better choice and more forgiving than single stage, and it's not that much more expensive in the grand scheme of things. You can make a single stage job look great, and modern urethane's will give you a nice finish for years...but you will still deal with oxidation, and work harder keeping it nice, over a BC/CC finish. (If it's not a daily driver, and will be stored in your new garage, that's much less of a concern, however)
Keep us posted, I'm sure it will turn out great.
this car was barely rotted to begin with so yea I got the undercoating paint off as close to bare metal as I could. I did both the top and the bottom of the car with POR15. I plan on doing another layer of herculiner to the top and bottom and as well rubber undercoat the wheel wells and the bottom once all said and done. The garage will be built in the spring time. Just waiting on this crap snow to leave New England and cold to leave once that nice 60-70 degree weather is back I’ll start the garage building the foundation is already laid and we got the permit approved thank god for having neighbors I’ve known forever and working on their cars since houses are so close to each other here where I live. But yea would it be better to pull all the body panels off and spray that way I was going to paint the inside of the jambs and inside of fenders and doors etc then lay the panels back on. Get the body lines nice and close as I could to factory then Ill send the car for prepping, priming, and painting for the body shop to do.
01-26-2022, 10:40 PM
. Moving on, black is either sinister or elegant depending on the styling. A lot of people have issues with bright red but I love both colors. If you have to keep the hood I think black is the way to go. Plus its a little easier if you are trying to keep a budget. The only thing about black though is, your bodywork has to be spot on or you will see every single imperfection. Did you plan on doing the prep and having a shop spray or have the whole job done by a shop? 