When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Will be updating this thread from time to time whenever I do something to the car.
I got the car about 5 years ago. Paid $4000 for it. I realize I may have over paid after seeing some of the smoking deals you guys get, but what's done is done.
Had 74k miles on it when I got it. Currently has 77k. the T-tops don't leak a drop, the motor runs terrific, and the tranny shifts nice and smooth. No rot at all, just some slight surface rust on the inside of the quarter flares. Only thing that is unoriginal about the car is the Magnaflow muffler and a Dynomax high flo cat.
Since I got it, I've fixed the power antennae (made a write up on it), the headlight motors, put in a new headliner, and put on new tires.
Don't really have any pictures of the car from when I bought it, only this crappy interior shot. You can see the stupid chapman lock and the train tickets propping up the radio pod, along with the center console splitting, the shifter without a button, and the chalky seat belt buttons.
Last edited by NowhereFast; 10-24-2013 at 09:26 PM.
Some recent pictures of the exterior and interior.
Seat belt buttons have been replaced with the rebuild kit from TDS, new center console lid, new shifter, machined aluminum gauge bezels (thanks Luis), and Lloyd custom embroidered floormats. Also got a new Kenwood KDC-X997 for it, and replaced all the bulbs in the interior with LEDs from superbrightleds.com. Got rid of that chapman lock and the old alarm system too.
Last edited by NowhereFast; 10-24-2013 at 09:37 PM.
Overpaid ? If you find one that nice for 4000$ ring my bell I'll grab it in a heart beat
I loved that car still happy it's around the block so I can see it everyday
Overpaid ? If you find one that nice for 4000$ ring my bell I'll grab it in a heart beat
You're right though, for our area, finding one is good shape for that money is nearly impossible. That was more of a comparison to some of the purchases on this board.
Great looking T/A! From what I can see in the photos, $4000 wasn't a bad price for it with only 74K miles, I think it would bring closer to $5000 in my part of the country now.
Nice looking TA very clean! and yeah i third that it was a good deal, down south there plentiful but a clean one with that mileage would easily bring 6k
I have had new carpet for the car for about 3 years now, and I picked up a set of UMI SFCs at Carlisle this year ($200 shipped to my front door!) , so I stripped the interior out. I'm wasn't really worried about the carpet catching fire, but better be safe than sorry. I figured why not kill 2 birds with one stone; I took the carpet out, had the SFCs welded in, and the new carpet will be going in soon.
Here is the old carpet. As you can see it is dirty, faded and discolored all over. It's even got a big purple stain from leaving a leaky bottle of Formula 113 spray detailer in the back. Someone must've spilled coffee or soda behind the back seat at one point too. That was a nice surprise. Any ideas on how to go about cleaning the seat belt? As that has been noticeably stained too.
Last edited by NowhereFast; 10-24-2013 at 09:35 PM.
Found some slight surface rust in the trunk, probably from me throwing the damp car cover back there occasionally. Grinded the spots down, sprayed rust converter over it, sealed with Seymour MRO and then laid Dupli-Color Bed Armor on top of it.
Also, never buy that specific bed liner. It's awful to work with. The tip clogs after and during every spray, leaving you with a splotchy effect and major inconsistencies. Maybe because it's water based, IDK. I only used it because I had a can. I was able to use it with some success and it looks nice, but only because I wiped off the tip after every. single. spray.
Last edited by NowhereFast; 11-16-2014 at 12:19 AM.
Since I last posted in this thread I put in a Corvette Servo, 3.42 gears (from 2.73), and an aluminum driveshaft. I was extremely happy with the results of the gears and servo. The stock tranny shifted like granny's caprice, now it has a nice firm shift 1-2, and 3-4. The gears made a huge difference too, it's as if the car dropped a couple hundred pounds.
Unfortunately, shortly after the gears were put in my radiator blew. I took the car out for a drive, and when I parked it, I was greeted with a loud hissing and a large amount smoke pouring out of the hood vents. Nice little crack right down the plastic tank.
So I dropped in a new radiator, and as I was filling the radiator with coolant, I received a swift kick right in the gonads. The bubbles never stopped, even with the thermostat open. Head gasket time! Woo!
Figured I'd update the thread in case anyone is interested. I took the motor out of the car a couple years ago. I'm realizing now that there wasn't a damn thing wrong with the old motor and it was just me looking for problems, but it is what it is. Here we are 4 years later, the car is still without an engine and it's been sitting since shortly after I last posted in this thread. It's been deteriorating, and I finally decided to get moving on this project of mine before it gets any worse.
Even though that 305 ran like a champ, it wasn't worth putting back in. The car was a slug. Working at a dealership, you get to drive the latest and greatest. The new Yukons with the 6.2 haul some serious *** for a 6000lb+ truck. Having a "performance car" slower than a truck is not acceptable to me. I decided to build a 350 from the shortblock up for the car.
I got a ZZ4 short block from Jegs a couple months ago. Like the idea of an engine put together by GM instead of local builders, as they seem hit and miss. I'm also of the mind that nothing has longevity like a factory put together bottom end. I've got AFR 180s sitting on top of it. Since it'll have the TPI on it for a little, I've used the Crane 2032 cam I bought a few years ago before I knew what I was doing. It's very mild, but should work well with the intake and the smaller runner heads.
A lot odds and ends to take care of. Been powder coating everything I can fit into my toaster oven with a gun from Eastwood. All the pulleys, the assortment of accessory brackets on a V-belt setup, motor mounts, and other tidbits as well.The finish is unbelievable, so much better than rattle cans. Almost as if I'm getting the stuff brand new from GM. Retains all the stampings perfectly. Gotta find a full size oven around here to do the valve covers, runners, and plenum, as those will not fit in my little setup.
All the bolts for the usual things are from ARP, but a lot of the hardware for the accessory drive will be re-used, as some of them aren't exactly a hardware store item. Stripped, and electroless nickel plated with a kit from Caswell. They certainly don't look brand new, lots of pitting from the rust that was on them. I am happy with the finish though, they do look rather nice. Especially considering it's hardware from 20+ years ago, on a car that has been used.
Last edited by NowhereFast; 09-03-2018 at 11:17 PM.
Looks good! As for the previous problems, I can relate on looking for problems when in reality the car is probably fine or it’s something a lot less labor intensive. Glad to see you are back on track! Good luck!
Few more progress pics. Coating those hard lines on the rail is a bitch to say the least. Stripping them was even harder. I don't know what that gray paint they used is, but that fought like hell.
This is about 1.5 hours worth of work just on the one runner tube. That's only a hand polish to see how it will turn out, should get better with a machine. Only the tubes will be polished. The upper flange will be coated gloss black to mate with the plenum. Slow going, but I'm stubborn when it comes to doing everything myself.
I'll keep updating in case anyone is interested. I know these boards aren't nearly as active as they were years ago. Got the motor together enough and popped it in memorial day weekend of this year, tired of looking at it on a stand. Was a freaking project hauling the car out of the resting place it's been in for 5+ years. Between getting the thing to roll down the driveway and flat towing it a few blocks with my brother it was a scary experience.
Got quite a ways to go still but it moves around under it's own power now. That was the biggest step.
10-20-2013, 07:01 PM
