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Im rebuilding my Trans Am i just bought. Thought id start a thread to show you guys the progress and what im doing. Im trying to restore everything and make it look completely factory but immaculate. Im also gonna drop a 350 Crate motor with carb and 355 HP in it.
The day i bought it.
First day of tearing **** out.
Garage floor after ripping out passenger side seat and passenger side rear seat.
Passenger side gone.
Entire Backseat gone.
Crappy pics becasue my mom decieded to leave her camera at my grandparents today. Hopefully gonna take the seats into the upolstery shop and get them redone this week. Carpets good just gotta be shampooed. Getting some little things done hopefully tommorrow. Fixing the e-brake, getting the key unstuck (its stuck in the on position), flowmaster installed, and fixing an electrical problem, my lights surge at times and my head unit isnt getting enough power. Im taking it to the shop for all that stuff but everything else im doing myself. Im 16 almost 17 and i know somewhat what im doing ive got a huge *** book im reading that shows how to tear everything apart. I could use any imput/advice due to the fact im the only one in my family that enjoys working on cars.
More pics soon to come as things are completed.
Works going to be done like this.
Interior.
Exterior.(basically just paint, theres no rust or dings or anything)
Motor.
Hoping to have it completely done, or atleast interior and exterior before spring but me being 16 moneys a big factor on time of completion but i know i will have everything done atleast except for the motor by august 09.
If this is in the wrong spot, i apologize.
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Sweet car to start with, man! I bought my '85 Trans Am when I was 16 and I still have it. Good luck with your project. If you need any help or have any questions then feel free to ask here on thirdgen.org
Nice base to start a restoration with. I bought my 86' 3 years ago when I was 15. Youll learn alot on this site about these cars from the engine bay to the interior and body. Your in the best place for knowledge about these cars.
Good luck on the resto, Ill keep checking back for updates. If you ever have any questions PM me, if I cant help you Ill find someone who can.
Alright guys, it seems to me that a lot has been done, but its really not all that much. For starters i took it to the shop to get the tumbler replaced becase the key was stuck in the on positions, also to fix the ebrake, the guy had to order parts for the ebrake but it should be fixed really soon. i ripped out all the seats getting ready for apulstry but thats on the back burner, the girlfriends bday is in 3 weeks, and im really really low on cash becasue of this project. The electrical problem was fixed, it was a bad alternator. Ive pulled out most of the interior pieces to clean them up. I used a whole bottle of resolve on the carpet and got a lot of the stains out, now it just needs shampooed. That saves me money on buying carpet. I tore out the headliner and redid that, and if i have to do it again soon i will need a new board because i had to use duck tape to help it stay stable. I still need to buy hood and hatch lifts. I redid the weather stripping on the doors because the drivers side window would be loose and catch on the side of the door jam when opening the door and i got tired of it. When i get like 140 bucks im going to re weather strip the entire doors. The sun visors were split and cracked and ripped and falling apart, so i bough fabric, and used cardboard to rebuild the outside of them and reapplied fabric and they look alot better. I had the flowmaster i bought installed, and the sound wasnt as throaty as i wanted it so i had them remove the converter which makes it sound so much better. Ive been taking pictures because my dad recomended taking a lot and putting them in an album for later in life so here they are, let me know what you think and any suggestions you have.
OKay so ive come up with a list of what needs to be done to the interior for it to be finished so i can slap some fresh paint on it.
Seat covers from year one- 500
Center Console(isnt required, mine doesnt look the best but could be better)- NA
Shift Boot- ~30?
Dash pad- 100
After the interiors done which hopfully it will be before spring, im gonna re weather strip everything, and come spring im gonna paint it. With the paint i want some opinions, i was thinking the navy blue with silver ground effects like it is now, or black with silver ground effects, what do you guys think?
Then the long save, saving for the GM Crate motor from summit. 350 SB with 355 HP- $3000
Then im done restoring it, and get to throw some stuff on for fun!
I say leave it the color it is. Of course mine is the same color so that's why I say that. Here's a pic I found. Not my car but mine looks just like it.
Second, I would take the interior out of it when you take it to get it painted. I've had several body shops tell me the same just because there is always risk of overspray, and you'd hate to have your nice, new interior ruined because of paint spotting.
Just a thought....
Nice work so far!
__________________ Bethany, 1988 Pontiac GTA
Click for info on FIREBIRD FEST OF THE CAROLINAS!
1983 Black and Gold Trans Am LG4--GONE, but never forgotten...
Second, I would take the interior out of it when you take it to get it painted. I've had several body shops tell me the same just because there is always risk of overspray, and you'd hate to have your nice, new interior ruined because of paint spotting.
Just a thought....
Nice work so far!
wow your right thanks a lot, i never even thought about that. What ill do is wait to put the new seat covers on until after paint, and just take off the interior trim pieces, headliner, etc... And then just cover the carpet.
Well shes survived what i hope is the worst part of the winter, a month of snow, and a week or so of negative 20 degree temps, and i started her up today and she turned over and fired up the 3rd try. Its so nice the hear the roar of some muscle, i was getting used to the grand am lol.
Okay well as of tonight i talked to my mother, and she agreed to co-sign a loan that will get basically everything done on it except the motor, by may which is prom. It also helped because i wasnt planning on going, but we kinda struck a deal, and any girl will be lucky to step out the passenger side of my baby when shes done lol. So all paint, body work, interior, etc, will all be done by may, just need winter to go away, becasue theres no sense in paying money for winter to mess it up. I was worried, i might have gotten a little in over my head, but this is what i needed, i finally see the light. A lot of updates should start pouring in about a month or so, and so many pictures you guys will never want to see my car again lol. Thanks for all the tips and kind words you guys have given, i really appreciate the generousity.
EDIT: also what do you guys think about tint? ive been tossing the idea around, i think yes, but then i think no, because i dont want it taking away from the car? opinions?
I think tint (MILD tint) would really set off the paint if you do the stock colors you have now.
__________________ Bethany, 1988 Pontiac GTA
Click for info on FIREBIRD FEST OF THE CAROLINAS!
1983 Black and Gold Trans Am LG4--GONE, but never forgotten...
you have a very nice car. i would not rush all this work and money right away. with the economy right now and everyone loosing their jobs. just be happy that you have a trans am. enjoy it. use a mild cleaning polish on paint and spray oil on the underside. as things break replace them. take your time. you never know a set of mint gta seats might fall in your lap. hell i just bought a set of 99 firebird seats for 100 canadian the other day. as everyone becomes unemployed they will be selling off alot of there property.
now is not the time to get in debt. alot of people are loosing their house let alone buy toys to put on their cars. as you save up money reward yourself with a new part. life is hard enough without learning at such a young age to be in debt with huge interest and no way out. watch the news tonight you will see what im talking about.
AS OF 2-15:
okay well today i made a run to summit and spent like 200 bucks just on different weather stripping to finally get it sealed up right and to get my drivers side window to stop rubbing when i open and close the door. Right now the primers drying on the side roofrail holders so i cant so finished pics right now but i will edit as soon as its done. Also, found out some interesting things tonight, looks like i will need two new doors because theres some really nice rust holes in the bottom i never knew about, but that will wait until right before paint because i dont want to drive it around with multicolored doors lol. So when i get it painted i will have them paint them and put them on. Friday when i took a venture to the yard i manged to pick up a pass side knee plate taht was in surprisingly good condition, and then lifts for the hatch, i got one on but the other side was stripped from someone else so im just gonna go back tomorrow and pick up the metal plate that holds the lifts and replace it since i cant get the damn bolt out. Now for some before pics.
Old outside door stripping:
Pass side roof rail stripping
guess you could call it the stripping holder, getting ready for paint.
new stuff from summit (hurst knob was the wrong size gotta exchange)
i love rust! NOT!
some after pics once the painting is done, and everythings on.
2-22
okay guys well ive gotten some solutions and some more problems
First off, a guy that ive known all my life and has worked on cars all his life came to my birthday party today and i was telling him how pissed that i was that i had to buy a new door, he said well let me take a look at it maybe you can repair it. Went out the garage and hes like yeah you should be able to take care of it easily so he told me what to do so that saves me some money.
BUUUUUT!
then i showed him the rust on the car, i thought it was all surface ****, and he looked at the drivers side fender and is like thats gonna be deep and a lot to repair just get a new fender. The rest can be repaired on the car. So now i need a new fender!
Another problem that arose, the weather stripping went on perfect(only got the drivers side done unfortunatley) but i realized my window when up completely on the front part, the back is lower and leaves a gap! Anyone have any solutions to this? I can get pictures if need be.
So as for a recap. Need new front fender, Fix the drivers side door rust, and need help with the drives side window. Whats with all the problems being on the drivers side seriously? there isnt a speck of rust on the pass. side anywhere!
AND TODAY:
Okay well today i went to the junkyard looking for 4th gen seats to put in and couldnt find any, so i got the lift mounting peice off a bad deck, because a bolt on mine is stripped from a previous owner so that needs replaced, and its all rusty so im working on getting the rust off and painting it and its being a bitch. I went inside and was talking to one of the employees how i couldnt find a dash pad locally and they were like 150 bucks on ebay, and another guy was like hey dont we have like 15 of those trans am dashpads in mint condition in storage for the last like 13 years? Hes like take the kid up and pick one out, and im like sweet but how much? hes like ill give it to you for 50. and im like are you KIDDING ME?!?!?!? Sure enough there was like 15 mint of those bastards up there covers with dust. So if anyone needs one lmk and ill get one if you pay me and pay for shipping. Best birthday present ever Started sanding the hatch piece, and installed the dash pad. Heres some pics.
New dirty dashpad
You can tell its been sitting for 13 years lol
Hatch piece yeah its bad
Cleaned up and replaced the speaker guards
Old dash pad
Can anyone help with that window problem, i would hate to have to take it into the shop. Let me hear your opinions on everything guys!
gonna bondo and fix the door as soon as i get the damn hatch piece done
___
Ive decieded also to go with 4th gen seats instead of paying to have mine rebuilt and recovered.
Not sure where you're at, but check and see if he has any 82-84 dash pads with the grooved front edge. If you're close enough, I might be able to help you with the driver's door if you want to replace it.
__________________ Bethany, 1988 Pontiac GTA
Click for info on FIREBIRD FEST OF THE CAROLINAS!
1983 Black and Gold Trans Am LG4--GONE, but never forgotten...
Not sure where you're at, but check and see if he has any 82-84 dash pads with the grooved front edge. If you're close enough, I might be able to help you with the driver's door if you want to replace it.
i am in Northeastern ohio, NC a little far but i know they do have the ones with the grooved edges, i can ship them to you if you want, i dont want any profit or anything just trying to help some people out.
Being in NE Ohio, you get snow, which means they put the salters out on the roads. When they salt, it ususally is dispensed from the drivers side of the salt truck, meaning there is more salt on drivers side of the road then on the passenger side of the road. That leads to those lovely holes you showed there. I hate salt!
okay guys i need some advice on what to do with my center console, im not sure i wanna dro pthe dough on a new one so im gonna attempt to glue it but i need a shift boot for a 5 speed can someone help me out? Ill take some pics of it tonight and lmk what you guys think i should do, ditch it or try and fancy it up.
okay so an update, ive been working on olga all week basically from 3 till like 8 at night and all weekend and heres the progress, im sure more was done and i just didnt get pictures shes really coming together im excited!!!!
Okay so this is the painted weather stripping holder:
Hatch piece after 6 hours with sandpaper, grinder and wire wheel:
Drove 2 and a half hours tonight and gave up my whole night just to get those seats, and im so happy i did it changed the look of the interior completely. It looks so good now, or atleast i think so. Other than a drivers seat and one more small piece i need that im picking up at the yard tomorrow. Paid 150 for the seats, front back,and buckets. They looks perfect, just need to be hit with some resolve in some small places. Paint is coming in the next 3 weeks or so, probably a bit sooner. Olga has a date with the shop tomorrow after school, to fix the windows, change the oil, fix the horn, and a few other odds and ends, i cant do myself. Please give me your opinions, they are greatly appreciated, and thanks for all the kind words guys shes almost done.
__________________ -Patrick GTA: Grand Turismo Americano (Grand Touring America) 1988 Pontiac Trans AM GTA...yeah...not stock anymore. 1 of 930 1988 Gunmetal Metallic GTAs produced (87U) See my CarDomain site:Code name: Vaderor myTGO vBGarage Built byZeus Performanceand tuned by Alvin atPCMforLess
The TA is looking great!
Did you grind off all the rust before applying the bondo? If not the bondo wont hold. Im still not sure I would have bondo'd the bottom of the door like that--water gets into the door and could be a problem. If it were me I would probably look at just replacing the door.
Car looks great though and its awesome you are doing alot of the work yourself.
By the way--how much did you pay for it originally? How many miles on it?
bondos cheaper than a door and i know a body guy who said to bondo it so i gave it a shot. All the rust is off i made sure of it, and i drove it to school and to the shop to get stuff fixed and everything and checked it when i got home even after a car wash and its still holding up great.
I paid 1650 for it, and it had 140k and now like 14.5k on it now, all orginal and its also H coded.
Im trying to do as much as i can myself and learn some new stuff along the way.
Even with it's faults it still looks great. You won't find many 85's in that good condition. I also vote to keep the paint color. And keep the ground effects silver, so many people paint over them but I like them, especially with the blue. That's the only part I don't like about my GTA, it's all one solid color. Sometimes I think I'd rather have a regular T/A.
okay so at the dealership tonight, after i was done drooling over the spotless SLP 2000 maro, they told me a huge long list of what needs fixed lol 400 bucks worth, but the window is the clip that busted.
Yeah she deff has her faults and right now is far from perfect, but she will be, and shes mine! lol im attached.
Color is for sure without a dount 100000000000% staying the same, its really really grown on me and it seems to be a rarer color.
okay so i went over the local body shop that my parents are friends with the owners, and with all the repairs and paint, he quoted me $3500, which is i think a good price, all my friends that know a little about body work said i was looking at like 5K. Getting it done middle of next week, and i need two fenders first, i found the year ones to be 155, anybody know of any cheaper? and hows the fit on the year ones?
Nice Car! Its far better to build your first car than just buy one, I did it and man I loved that car..., even it it was a bug hahaha
I need a dash pad also, if your going back there. Would you mind to see what it would take to ship it to 24202
Thanks
dude im there all the time, its like 10 mins away, ill take my old pad to the post office and get a quote for you. Technically it isnt my first car becasue my parents gave me the grand am that was bought new in 03 when i got my liscense and its my DD/quick car for when the ricers pull up, its got some stuff done to it, but its got 182xxx miles
okay guys i need some help, tonight im going to summit to buy guages because mine all keep crapping on me, but i need to know how i need to wire them in, im just going to be buying the same ones that are stock. So if someone could tell me how, or post a diagram id appreciate it.
OKay guys i need some opinions. First of all i couldnt get guages but i am soon ill post up pics when its done.
But i blew my intake valve. I dont want to rip apart my engine so im gonna have the dealership do it, its gonna be 400. But i was thinking instead of paint, maybe i should just go ahead and get the motor, save me 400 plus repairs down the road. And instead of a 350 i am going to go with a 383. Will this bolt up to my tranny?
Firstly, you might want to try to figure out WHY those gauges are crapping out on you. I very rarely have seen any factory style gauges stop working due to a defective gauge...usually it is a bad wire or sensor sending the signal or a bad ground for the gauge. You can buy the most expensive gauges in the world, and if you have broken sensors, they still won't work. Which gauges are dying on you?
As far as 350 vs 383, both will bolt up, as they are both standard small-blocks. A 383 is a 350 with an overbore and a longer stroke. You will have some issue going from a 305 to 350, but it is well documented on the boards how to do it correctly. If you are going to replace the 305, you might as well yank the trans too, because with some 'spirited' driving, the torque of a decent 350 and most definitely a 383 is going to destroy a stock trans in short order. Just enjoy it for the summer, plan your driveline, and then do the swap in the winter... and if you are going to put some power in there, consider some frame connectors as well. But that's just my two cents.
Edit: I noticed its a stick transmission. Some guys have managed to keep the sticks alive with 350's, so perhaps a mild 350 would be a good upgrade if you can find one cheap enough. But if you have the dealership do the engine swap, that will get WAY more expensive than the $400 to fix your valve.
Last edited by 89junkyardgta; 03-11-2009 at 02:14 PM.
Reason: edit, can't spell, or read
i was gonna do the swap myself, and yeah im deff doing SFC no matter waht ive seen what it can do if you dont put those things on and i dont want it to end up like that. The trans could i possibly rebuild it instead of looking for a new one, that way it will save me some cash?
awhile ago when i took it in for service, the dealership said the guages were bad and that i needed new guages, but they didnt say what was wrong. If someone could tell me what wire to splice that would be great because i really would like to avoid running new wires.
"okay so i went over the local body shop that my parents are friends with the owners, and with all the repairs and paint, he quoted me $3500"
dude 3500 would get you a mint rust free 5.7 gta. just drive that thing you got into the ground and save up for a mint gta. learn lots of stuff on the one you have now without spending alot of money. it will be worth nothing when your done anyway you do it.
i just bought a 87 trans am in great shape for around 300 us dollars. better than yours. my 91 mint rust free trans am was around 2200 us dollars.
if your making 25 dollars an hour at your full time job then ya blow lots of cash on that bucket. if any of the money you want to spend on it is borrowed than dude what are you thinking.
enjoy it. make it reliable. drive it .
sorry i have always found it strange how guys have 300 dollars rust buckets and throw thousands at them and in the end still have 300 dollar buckets when they could take the thousands and by mint quality cars.
"okay so i went over the local body shop that my parents are friends with the owners, and with all the repairs and paint, he quoted me $3500"
dude 3500 would get you a mint rust free 5.7 gta. just drive that thing you got into the ground and save up for a mint gta. learn lots of stuff on the one you have now without spending alot of money. it will be worth nothing when your done anyway you do it.
i just bought a 87 trans am in great shape for around 300 us dollars. better than yours. my 91 mint rust free trans am was around 2200 us dollars.
if your making 25 dollars an hour at your full time job then ya blow lots of cash on that bucket. if any of the money you want to spend on it is borrowed than dude what are you thinking.
enjoy it. make it reliable. drive it .
sorry i have always found it strange how guys have 300 dollars rust buckets and throw thousands at them and in the end still have 300 dollar buckets when they could take the thousands and by mint quality cars.
because i dont plan on selling it, and its because its what i want. I dont want to buy the car mint, i want to be able to work on it, and see if go from **** to shiney, and be able to look at it and go yeah i did that. This is what it looked like and now look at it. Its in the satisfaction of doing something most others dont. It may be a money pit, but its my pit, and honestly im attached to this car. If it was easy everyone would do it, especially if it was cheap.
your money pit? dude your 16 you dont have any money.
a rust bucket is always a rust bucket. a high milage car and a guy that cant fix it dont go well together. everyone on this board has learned these lessons and now you will.
its funny in 5 minutes you could bolt a junk yard cluster in there for 20 bucks and fix your problem or at least troubleshoot.
at least you bought a trans am and not a neon.
