Quote: Originally Posted by Twin_Turbo Do not use POR15 for undercoating. It's designed to work on rough or porous surfaces like rusty or sandblasted parts. On bare smooth metal or over paint it will not stock, it'll peel off in no time. It's funny that you are now saying that too because I went to my local paint shop to pick some up and they told me the same thing. I instead got a quart of some SEM black chassis paint which is designed to be applied over painted surfaces or bare metal, and can be put over rust as well. Thanks for the info too!

Im not sure I agree with the Por15 thing... I use that stuff on EVERYTHING that isnt exposed. I coated my floors on the inside, I painted my raw spohn SFCs, my crossmember is painted in it, along with countless brackets.

I also used it on my rock rails on my off-road jeep. I regularily land the jeep on those bars and drag them across rocks. I can honestly say, the Por15 seems to hold up really well even then. yes it gets scraped off, but the surrounding areas have stayed fine. I just slather some more on before it starts to rust.

Perhaps the surfaces weren't prepped good enough those times where it failed or peeled off? That stuff is really tough... I swear by it for just about everything. It seems to chemically bond to metal, rusty or not.

Just my experience/observation/.02 cents about it.

J.

Heres a new update: I decided against POR15 and the SEM rust preventitive in favor of some good ole Herculiner. I heard a lot of people were using it as an undercoat and loved it, including twin turbo on the boards here (thanks for the idea!). I am really happy i did too because it looks awesome and is rock solid. Heres some pics. . .

Old crap chipped out of fenderwell....you DO NOT want to do this...it sucks!!


Nice new herculiner. This is after the second coat.




It gives it such a nice finished look because it meets up with the paint line and you would never know the car was ever white!!


Thats only the pass side for now. Removing the old stuff is very time consuming without a lift, so I will be working on the drivers side and tranny tunnel in the next week.

What projects have you done in the past?

You really did strip everything, the only way to go further is to remove the subframe. Looks good, keep it up!

I've never done any projects like this. I have pulled motors and trannys and done swaps but nothing like this. It will be quite the learning experience for me though, and I'm hoping everything comes out how I want it!

Thanks for the compliment!

Been a while since I've posted progress on here. I've been so lazy because of the cold weather moving in, and I also met a girl! (I know, I know) I don't have new pics yet but I have all the rest of the undercoat scraped off of the drivers side, and the first coat of herculiner is on there. I plan on doing the second coat in the next day or so and I'll be sure to get some new pics up for you!

Abso-frickin-lutely-awesome.

Let me offer some advice re: the engine/trans switch you're planning,
which may not be that insightful given you say you have experience
in that area.

Given that you're switching engine/trans type, some fabrication
will be needed -- duh...
Consider getting the basic install done, before to much more paint
work is done, so as to minimize the effect of alterations on what
you've already accomplished -- like installing the clutch cyl & linkage
in that fabulous looking firewall, shifter in the floor-pan etc.

If that is already in your (apparently very thorough) plan, than
indulge me as a senile old fart.

And keep up the great work.

nice work, cant wait to see it finished!!

Looks great. Just make sure "she" knows about this extensive project and that it was there first :-p

Thanks for the advice! Through my screw ups I made in the past and all the knowledge I learned from that, the tranny tunnel has already been cut for the T56 as well as the hole in the fire wall for the clutch linkage. I will also be getting a new K-member which will allow the 5.3 to "bolt in." I am hoping this time around that I think about my actions 100 times, and then do it once! And thank you very much for the compliments!!

Oh she surely knows LOL and I made it a point to let her know that my funding is currently very dedicated to this car. She does her own brakes, oil, and maintenece on her car and even told me she'd help me whenever I wanted her to on mine. Thats why I like her so much!!

Finally some new pics! Got a chance to strip the drivers side fenderwell and coat it with some Herculiner. Also did under the radiator panel and touched up a few light spots on the pass side. Sorry for the crappy pics...my garage is so dark!

I also yanked out the exhaust, rear axle assy, and gas tank in preparation for the herculiner and the LS1 F-body gas tank. I recently had a change of heart on the engine set up and while I'm still going with the 5.3 and T56, I need the LS1 tank with some dual 255 LPH pumps for the new idea.........





And theres where she sits now.....sad and waiting for the day I can driver her again!

looks good. As far as I can tell the stuff that I have been using Chassis Saver is just like Por 15. I had almost the whole bottom of my car coated before I figured out that it peels off bare steel. It all started when I tryed to put some seam seal on it. The seam seal does not stick to the Chassis Saver so I started grinding it out of the seams and it started to just flake off where I painted over bare steel, that had not been sanded. Now I have a big mess. I wish i would have just epoxyed the bottom of the car and I would probably be done with the bottom of the car by now.

Did you put any type of seam seal back in the wheel wells?

That's too bad! And especially being under the car! As far as the seam sealer, I did not replace what was in the fenderwells but I didn't scrape it completely out of the seams before the herculiner. The herculiner is also thick, and designed to seal up smaller seams by itself so it works really well for the application. I also don't ever plan on driving the car in the rain after this so I figured it would be ok! Best of luck with yours too!

incredible work youre doing there. I used to work in a body shop sometimes shooting cars but not too often. I have my dad's 86 firebird i inherited from him id like to re paint it but dont have the facilities. I am subscribing to this thread. Lots i can learn from it.

Its bad....but the car is in a rotisserie so its easily accessible

Got some new toys in the mail today, and figured I'd test out my new digital camera!


Nice shiny T56!!




And some nice 6K mile 317 heads off a 6.0....these plus a 5.3 engine make for a good combo for something.......

Looks good Any updates?

GREAT LOOKING CAR. I only wish I could do all of that work in my garage. Maybe in 5 years when i'm 23 I can finally move out and park my gta in a garage. And work on her during the winter. . . Great work man. I definitely agree with that herculiner!

Not yet. I am on hold due to a dumb decision to run from the cops in my mustang....and it was on the day I was putting it away for winter!!! So now I am saving up for a lawyer. But I have a clean record and the lawyer assured me I would be ok with maybe just a fine to pay after hes done in court. Progress has been slow due to that and it's just mother frigin cold here!!!!! I have to get some motivation to bring the propane heater out and fill the tank. But I've had the itch real bad lately so work will definately start up again soon. Once the herculiner is done in the rear, it will pick up quite a bit, because I can start re-assembly.

I'll be doing a plastic LS1 tank as well as dual 255 LPH in tank pumps next on the list, so I will try my best to get some updates on here with pics soon! Stay watching.

Well you were getting chased in a mustang.... that's why you got caught.

JK

Hahaha prob true. My friend said the same thing to me....he said, well the bandit doesn't drive a mustang, he drives a damn TA! lol

Hahahaha yep!

Heres one pic from a few weeks ago. I had started stripping some of the undercoat out of the gas tank well. Needs a little fine cleaning but this areas almost done. Just need to get it off the rear subframes and fender wells and I can start coating the back.



More coming soon, I promise!

subscribe ....yes i know if i uses the tools i can do it that way with out saying anything but hey... i wana type somthign so this **** looks awsome good job!

Ever since I seen that Prowler Orange color, i've dreamed about putting it on a third gen... It's awesome you decided to go with it... Needless to say, can't wait to see the finished project... Things gonna be bad a$$!!

Been a LOOOOONG time since I posted on here. Just wanted to let you all know, I HAVE NOT given up, haha. Just been very lazy, and COLD. We had a warm streak for a few days here in New England so I got the passenger side fenderwell in the rear all stripped of the original undercoat, as well as basically all of the underneath in the gas tank area. I'm trying to wait for another warm streak of days to do the actual herculiner since It takes a while to dry in the cold, plus it's very runny. Moneys been slow as my winter car needs some exhaust work and a battery, but I have been trying as hard as I can to work on the TA, so bear with me guys, and hopefully I'll have some updates for ya soon!

Haha oh yeah we've been having some weird weather up here in CT lately... perfect timing though. My Jimmy (DD) broke a leaf spring so my replacement car for the past week was my 91 Trans Am. Fortunately the weather was decent and most of the salt rinsed off the roads so I was able to drive it guilt free.

Been a LOOOONG time since I had an update. Mostly because I have been LAZY. But I just got my BMR tubular K-member with LS1 mounts so I had a little motivation to put that in. I also painted up the brake booster and installed that in the process and while I had the paint out I did the steering gear box too. Makes the engine bay look much cleaner now.

I am also trying to figure out what I want to do with the brakes. I have corvette C5 brakes up front but I am thinking about putting in an LS1 master cylinder and 1LE proportioning valve too. If I go that route, I'll replace all the brake lines with new ones too. At this point, I may as well!

Warm weather is on the way along with motivation haha.









The BMR K member is an AWESOME piece. I highly rcommend it for some room in the bay!

And a shot of my humble garage with my brothers roushcharged GT in the background. He hasn't lost a race yet but when the TA is on the road, he will!





And a few of the booster and gearbox painted. It really gives the engine bay a much more finished look.

Dude I wish u lived by me I'd help ya finish it, I just gave up on mine today I stripped the fly wheel teeth with the wrong starter, I dont want to be bothered with taking everything out so come monday its goin to the shop

Wow that thing is a work of art. We gotta go cruising with some other CT TGO memgers once you get your car on the road. Do you have any dates you'd like to have the car ready by?

id LOVE to go cruising when its done since its been so long since ive driven it. im really hoping to get it mostly done by the end of summer but it depends on my funds haha! im keeping my fingers crossed! and thanks for the compliments.

Fantastic work, so far - it's good to see such effort and preparation on a bare shell. Looking forward to seeing your ongoing progress.

A lot of people will make the car look "nice" with new paint, wheels, engine, etc. Many people don't take the time to really restore/fix the shell. This is the structural part of the car though so I wanted to make 100% sure that I fixed it and did any preventative maintenece I could to ensure it lasts a long time. I'm sinking a ton of money into this build, but my cars are drivers. I will drive this all summer long and plan on racking up about 7-9k miles a summer. I just want to feel safe that if I drive in rain or what not I don't have to worry about rust or other issues.

And thanks for the compliments!

How did you apply the Herculiner. Did you spray or brush it on?

Brushed it on. If i had a lift i would definately spray it but laying on my back and trying to spray would be MESSY! and for an update, rear is all undercoated! ill get pics ASAP.

Nice! We CT folks have been having great weather lately so get off your butt and work on it!! I have! hahaha

I just cant get over how great that orange looks. So killer!

Heres some pics of the rear undercoated with the herculiner. Still have to do the drivers side spring perch area and the drivers wheel well but it's ready for the LS1 tank, if I can find one! Also sprayed my heater box orange to match the firewall and did my front calipers while I was at it.

I ordered an LS1 brake master cylinder and will be ordering a 1LE proportioning valve and caster camber plates soon as well.

Pic makes the wheel well look miscolored but it's perfect in person






Got a few drips on the caliper. I may try to wet sand them off but i'm sure you'll never notice being on the brakes.


Ripped all the old fuel and brake lines out too. Those will be getting replaced since my gas was brown when I emptied it! Rusty lines anyone?

like the progress

Calipers look too sick man.

Thanks for the compliments! I plan on sanding the corvette letters to bare metal again to give them a finished look. Those drips are gonna drive me crazy so ill prob end up sanding and buffing them. I just hate half assing things! Lol.

Subscribed

If you twin turbo the car id sand the calipers and leave the "tt" there. Haha just me though, adding some style

Doesn't that Iwata gun make everything so much easier? I gotta say, I haven't seen a bad paint job the whole time I've been looking at this topic, nice work!

Looking awesome! That's going to be one nice ride when it's done. Jealous of the T56

That Iwata gun is probably one of the best purchases I've made for this build. The spray pattern is awesome and the gun is very high quality. Just goes to show you don't need to go out and drop 300-400$ on a gun for a good job.

What model Iwata and how big is your compressor?