89 GTA refresh
#1
89 GTA refresh
My first post of my car other than looking for parts. I picked up my GTA August of 2021. Immediately I tore into the car to make it they way I want it. The first thing I found was a massive no no for me. A previous owner had butchered the trunk floor to get to the fuel pump. That is were my idea of keeping the car original went out the window.
I have fixed the hole, upgraded suspension, went with c5 brakes and a 02 Camaro ss brake booster and master cylinder, auto to manual swap, new carpet, refreshed the interior, and now working on the engine and transmission. Unfortunately I have had to put the car in storage for now as I’m trying to sell my house.
What I found under the carpet😡
I have fixed the hole, upgraded suspension, went with c5 brakes and a 02 Camaro ss brake booster and master cylinder, auto to manual swap, new carpet, refreshed the interior, and now working on the engine and transmission. Unfortunately I have had to put the car in storage for now as I’m trying to sell my house.
What I found under the carpet😡
Last edited by Drgnbld; 12-24-2022 at 02:37 AM.
#6
Re: 89 GTA refresh
Test fitting dyno dons headers. I also have his custom y pipes that wil flow into a 3” cat back exhaust.
Getting ready to pull the motor. Going with afr 195 heads, super l98 cam, 1.6 rocker arms, ASM runners, and accel high flow intake. Slp cold air intake will also be installed.
Astro steering shaft installed
Headliner from a 92 firebird. I’m going to reinforce it with fiber glass then recover it.
Nasty looking clutch pedals 🤮
Cleaned up, painted, and new pads
Clutch master cylinder hole drilled
Reinforcement plate
Pedals some what installed.
Plate welded to the firewall
#7
Re: 89 GTA refresh
New t-top bag I found from a 88 Camaro. The owner of the Camaro removed it when he bought the car new. It had been stored away all these years
New floor mats
Taking the car to storage last month. I’m trying to sell my house before getting married in march.
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#8
Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Mint Hill, NC
Posts: 249
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Car: '90 Formula '88 GTA
Engine: 305 TPI 350 TPI
Transmission: T5 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.42 10 Bolt 3.27 9 bolt
Re: 89 GTA refresh
Excellent work and attention to detail! love the refreshed painted parts, thanks for posting!
#9
Junior Member
Re: 89 GTA refresh
Nice work! Great build. I'd love to do the auto to manual swap myself. Any pics of how you cut the hole in the tunnel for the shifter?
#11
Re: 89 GTA refresh
I have not done that yet. I have a section of the tunnel from a manual car that I will use as template to cut out my tunnel. I will also use the piece that I cut out of the firewall for the clutch master cylinder to plug the hole where the automatic shift cable went trough the floor. I hope to get back to work on the car this summer. It all depends on how fast my house sells.
#12
Re: 89 GTA refresh
I sold my house and moved into the new one! Car is still in storage for now. In the meantime I’ve managed to get the k-member powder coated and I personally rebuilt the WC T5.
Back from powder coat
How it looked
New cluster gear, syncros, bearings, races, 2nd gear, reverse idler gear, shift fork pads, 1-2 and 3-4 selector. Also replaced the stamped steel cluster gear bearing race retainer with a solid steel retainer from 5speed.com.
After
Back from powder coat
How it looked
New cluster gear, syncros, bearings, races, 2nd gear, reverse idler gear, shift fork pads, 1-2 and 3-4 selector. Also replaced the stamped steel cluster gear bearing race retainer with a solid steel retainer from 5speed.com.
After
Last edited by Drgnbld; 02-19-2023 at 11:44 PM.
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dmccain (04-03-2023)
#17
Re: 89 GTA refresh
After a year of being in the new house I am finally able to start working on the car again. I’ve gotten all the pieces together for the uq7 stereo upgrade I want to do. New speakers came from a fiero website, wiring, switches, and amps from two different optioned uq7 cars. The boxes I got from Brett Thomas.
Wiring sitting on the back glass. Also I found two original headliners. I’m going to use the one that is in the best shape and reinforce it with fiberglass before recovering it. I was not a fan of the plastic aftermarket headliner I got from hawks.
Wiring sitting on the back glass. Also I found two original headliners. I’m going to use the one that is in the best shape and reinforce it with fiberglass before recovering it. I was not a fan of the plastic aftermarket headliner I got from hawks.
The following 2 users liked this post by Drgnbld:
DynoDave43 (03-18-2024), ughmas (03-15-2024)
#18
Re: 89 GTA refresh
I also tore down the 350 in preparation to have it bored to a 355. I’ll be running the little chubbs cam from tpis, afr 195 heads, accel intake, AS&M runners, 52mm tb, and 0411 ecm upgrade with harness from efi connections.
Here are a few pics of the intake setup. I’m going with the first tpi fuel rails as it will be easier to run rear feed and return lines with a remote mounted fpr.
Had to clearance the front of the fuel rails to fit the plenum.
Also had to clearance the rail for the pcv tube to fit without rubbing.
Had to make .4” spaces under the fuel rails as recommended by first tpi.
The 355 Jim Hall built last October
Hoping to get similar results as I’m basically building this exact motor.
Here are a few pics of the intake setup. I’m going with the first tpi fuel rails as it will be easier to run rear feed and return lines with a remote mounted fpr.
Had to clearance the front of the fuel rails to fit the plenum.
Also had to clearance the rail for the pcv tube to fit without rubbing.
Had to make .4” spaces under the fuel rails as recommended by first tpi.
The 355 Jim Hall built last October
Hoping to get similar results as I’m basically building this exact motor.
The following users liked this post:
dmccain (03-18-2024)
#19
Re: 89 GTA refresh
I didn’t die today from flying springs! Got the k-member and a-arms out. Have some cleaning up of the engine bay before the powder coated k-member goes in.
I also got a set of 3:45 gears out of an 87 GTA at the local junk yard to replace my 3:27 gears.
Out with the old rusty stuff
Don’t mind my kiddie pool I use to catch the dirty water when I clean the underside and engine bay. Had to call it a day as we got over 14 inches of snow in two days.
Shiny refreshed k-member ready to go in.
3:45’s
I also got a set of 3:45 gears out of an 87 GTA at the local junk yard to replace my 3:27 gears.
Out with the old rusty stuff
Don’t mind my kiddie pool I use to catch the dirty water when I clean the underside and engine bay. Had to call it a day as we got over 14 inches of snow in two days.
Shiny refreshed k-member ready to go in.
3:45’s
#20
Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Mint Hill, NC
Posts: 249
Received 56 Likes
on
46 Posts
Car: '90 Formula '88 GTA
Engine: 305 TPI 350 TPI
Transmission: T5 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.42 10 Bolt 3.27 9 bolt
Re: 89 GTA refresh
Very nice progress, that kmember looks incredible, I am assuming they media blasted it? what did you roughly pay for that job if you dont mind me asking? I am currently debating if I want to paint mine with chassis paint or take it to get it powder coated
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ughmas (03-19-2024)
#27
Re: 89 GTA refresh
I forgot to post this back in sep of 22. I rebuilt my automatic steering column to a manual column using a few parts from an 85 f-body. No modifications were needed to put the key release lever, push rod, and plastic collar on my column. I did however have to slightly grind down a plastic tab on the inside of the automatic collar to get it to fit on the 85 column that I later sold.
On a side note a piece of pool noodle from the dollar tree works great for the foam spacer that disintegrates at the bottom of the steering shaft just before the bearing.
I’ll have to get a pic of the functioning key release when I put the column back in the car.
On a side note a piece of pool noodle from the dollar tree works great for the foam spacer that disintegrates at the bottom of the steering shaft just before the bearing.
I’ll have to get a pic of the functioning key release when I put the column back in the car.
The following users liked this post:
ughmas (03-29-2024)
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