History / RestorationGot a question about Third Gen (1982-1992) Camaro or Firebird history? Where can I find these original parts? What is this option or RPO code? Those questions, answers, and more!
Welcome to ThirdGen.org!
Welcome to ThirdGen.org.
You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, at no cost, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, join the ThirdGen.org community today!
I had a DEVIL of a time getting the rubber trim out from around the windshield... I think the last guy to install a windshield in this car must have glued the trim in place...
We are taking out the door window sweepers as well. They are totally shot, and we'll get a better paint job with them off anyway.
Hey Tim! Glad to hear you guys got the car out the other day! I'll be keeping an eye on this thread... and if you decide you want that T5 at some point just let me know. ]
And Justin89 - Of course there's other guys local! Where in the Lynchburg area are you?? Everyone knows this area is the place to be
I'm in Moneta now. I lived in forest for about 3 years then moved here a year ago. Theres about as much going on in Moneta as Lynchburg lol
As an FYI with the windshield, when the company replaced mine, the trim went around the full edge of it sort of like C channel. May be your case too. Looks great! I hope there are still cars to do this with my lil guys in 14 years.
looks like everything turned out great man congrats!!! im getting some decals made if you and your son woul be interested! they will say "Blue ridge F-body" hope to do some cruises with some locals up on the parkway once the weather gets a lil cooler!
__________________ 86 Trans Am: sitting
82 Trans Am 305 (0.030over) sum-1103 cam with 1.6 rockers edelbrock intake 600carb hedman LT's 3.5in I pipe th350 3.73's 28 spline axles
03 Yukon Xl (DD): cai, debadge, tb bypass,tint, tint tails, magnaflow,tune,vette servo,hd2 shiftkit
86 k10 Silverado: 83k orig. miles headers 2800 stall 5.3 swap project
2-stage urethane, base coat/clear coat. I'm an old-timer, so it was a little bit of a challenge, as I am accustomed to painting with lacquer, using a single spray gun.
I would suggest to anyone who wants to tackle this:
Use a separate gun for primer and topcoat. This is especially true if you spray a urethane primer, which is a better choice than lacquer. The reason I say this is because the viscosity of the primer is much higher than the topcoat and clearcoat. Also, it is a chore to clean the gun between priming and topcoat.
Although the difference in viscosity between topcoat and clearcoat is within reason, the clearcoat is thinner, and you'll probably want to change your gun settings before applying the clear.
Use lots of light all around the car, or have someone follow you around the car with a bright droplight. It's very important to see the 'gloss' if you want to avoid orange peel and/or runs.
Remove as much as possible in order to get a good result. Nothing looks worse than overspray on lights and door handles.
The cost of the paint for this type of job (including primer and reducers) is about $400. Lacquer is cheaper, but the result you see on this car is straight out of the gun, with no sanding or polishing. We will probably do some of that, as I did manage to run the paint in a couple of spots.
looks like everything turned out great man congrats!!! im getting some decals made if you and your son woul be interested! they will say "Blue ridge F-body" hope to do some cruises with some locals up on the parkway once the weather gets a lil cooler!
Are we talking window decals? You got a pic of them?
Yes they are windown decals! The company im using is a friend of the familys parents so...its taking a lil longer comunicating but it will be cheaper! They have a design ready for me but have to send samples first! Anyway...hopefully we will be painting my 82 soon and my truck so i guess ill need to be checking out what to do and not to do lol.
Got her lookin' great! How does she run? A little polishing on the wheels and some tire shine on the rubber, and that thing would really turn heads!
__________________ F-bodies I own:
1992 Firebird 3.1 V6 (Used to have 75 HP nitrous shot)
1984 15th anniversary Trans Am (2 cars, future project to take both cars and make one good one)
1969 Firebird 400 4 speed. Actually has a 455 in it. Almost done with the complete restoration.
Amen, pontiacguy. She runs beautifully. In fact, at idle, you'd swear it was a V8... a nice, throaty rumble... and the trans shifts smoothly and the car handles great. All in all, it was a success.
All that is really left is some interior beautification, which we are doing gradually.
On his way to school yesterday, Alex called to inform me that his car had quit on him on a busy road into town. Fortunately, at that point he was just a short walk from school. With the help of a couple of guys who stopped, they pushed it into a parking lot.
My wife and I headed out there later that day, to find that his alternator had quit working. I had noticed previously that, although it was within limits, the voltage at idle had seemed a tad low. As it happened, there was an auto parts store a couple of blocks away, and we got a replacement, and in a few minutes, the car was running and charging nicely, almost a full volt higher than it had been before the failure.
The next thing I noticed was that, like most teenagers, Alex seems to think that the "E" on his fuel gauge stands for "Excellent". So dear old dad had to top off the tank, or I would not have made it home with the car.
Later that evening, after having suffered the ignominy of riding home on the school bus, Alex went to his Tae Kwon Do lesson with the car... and called me at around 9PM to tell me that the headlights wouldn't pop up. I have been smacking the relay whenever that happens, but it's getting worse instead of better.
I'm sure that most of the 'bird owners here have dealt with that one at one time or another... those relays are not easy to find. I have an 88 GTA that I picked up for parts... we'll see if the relay out of that car works any better. If not, I am already planning to get out the wiring diagrams and try to engineer a replacement that you can make from commonly available parts. Stay tuned.
Hey Murphy is my copilot. Send him back, no wait you can keep him. I thought I was the only on that had luck like that. Great project and keep us posted.......
Well, it pays to get a good parts car. The GTA that I picked up has all kinds of goodies... including a headlight door relay that works like new... one less thing to worry about on the project car.
I changed it out today and that was the end of our problems with intermittent headlights.
I also managed to get a piece of steering column (the part where the key switch and turn signal lever mount) to replace one that was damaged... and a new turn signal lever/wiper switch. I wanted to replace the ignition lock switch, because the damage to the column included the 'ears' on the key switch. Also, the turn signal switch was kind of mushy, without that positive 'snap' that happens after the turn signal cancels.
I got all the parts out of the GTA, and since they are all part of a single assembly, I decided to do it all in one shot. I did have to purchase a new key switch, but all the rest of the parts came out of the GTA. I got 'em all swapped out, and now everything is working nicely. The GTA has the pushbutton steering wheel, so the turn signal switches were different... but I was able to salvage the parts I needed off the GTA's switch to restore a proper detent to the old switch.
We're going to try to finish the door panels tomorrow, and maybe try to get the radio working.
Very cool project! I just found this thread yesterday and you've made some incredible progress with this Bird. But (as usual) I skimmed over it and I noticed that you first had an '86 named "Nellie" and then an 87? I'm assuming that the 87 is the one with all the work done to it but what happened to the '86?
Thanks for asking... I am sure that "Nellie" appreciates your concern. She was my son's original car, bought from a family friend. When he banged her up (two deer, run into a ditch, and run up an embankment) I started cruising around for parts & info. That's when I found thirdgen.org and starting reading some resto threads. I thought it would be cool to do our own.
Also in my search, I found a guy with an 87 bird that he said he would take $200 or send it to the crusher. We needed parts, and I figured it would be a cheap way to get the parts we needed.
As soon as my son saw the 87, he noticed how clean and straight she was, and he proposed that we restore that one so he could still have a car while we worked (a wise decision, since it took 7 months). It didn't hurt that this car was a 5-speed, and we figured we could do all the stuff we had planned to do with "Nellie", and he could drive "Nellie" in the meantime.
When we finished the '87, "Nellie's" wheels were swapped over to it, and now she is sitting alongside the garage. She'd be in the garage, but I found another parts car, and right now that one is in the garage. Again, I am faced with the parts car being in terrific shape...
I have been amassing parts for "Nellie", and I had already acquired all the body parts that I need to fix her... including a set of wheels just like the ones she gave up that I did some wheeling and dealing to acquire.
I bought the parts car (an 88 GTA) for the motor (TPI 305) and related parts.
My plan is/was to repair "Nellie's" body, and continue to drive her to see how long the engine and trans will last... she now has 230K on her clock, and no signs of slowing down. When the engine and/or trans goes south, the plan is to swap her over to V8 and WC T5. I have the T5, and a bellhousing and pedals... now the question is, do I scrap the parts car, or do I fix "Nellie" and sell her to finance repairs on the GTA?
Oh, did I mention... my wife is sick and tired of parking her car outside...
How'd you go about paint, Tim? Roll? 2-stage spray? Looks good from the pics! 
