The Sky is falling! My car is FINALLY getting paint! - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

Thirdgen89GTA · 09-10-2009, 11:09 PM

Yep, you read it right. After years and years of fixing things as they go wrong, and looking down on the paint of my car, I've decided that now that I have the means to really fix the car the right way I'm going to.

I'm looking for the missing parts I need currently.

Got a new nose, its in decent shape phsyically. Paint is shot, but its solid so it can be painted without much issue.

Still need the following though.

front bumper support (my pass. fog light mount is busted.
fog lights
DS front GFX
2 fenders
GTA Nose Emblem, + DS fender badge
DS Door

If anyone has any hits or sees these things in a JY please let me know. My goal is to have the car painted for the MFBA Oct 31st rental.

I am also going to have the car dyno tuned to see what can be eeked out of the stock system before the track. Getting the Spohn SFC's welded on finally, and will be rebuilding the front suspension/steering components as time allows over this winter.

I am stoked. For so long I never thought I'd see the day when I'd finally arrive at what amounts to a finished product.

I may soon have a car I can proudly show off and not feel like a red neck driving around in a ratty thirdgen (no matter how good the underpinnings of the car. The entire rear suspension has been rebuilt, I have only the front to rebuild now.

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novadk13 · 09-13-2009, 08:34 PM

I might have at least one fog light, I'll have to take a look

87cmroiroc305ho · 09-19-2009, 01:18 PM

i have a good pair of fenders, as long as your running side skirts, cuz the passenger side has some dents where the side skirt mounts, but thats it, nothing visable, no rust. pm me if interested, there off a bird btw.

DuronClocker · 09-20-2009, 03:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 87cmroiroc305ho

there off a bird btw.

Well gee, I would hope so.

nape · 09-22-2009, 03:28 AM

I think I saw fenders for $15 on Craigslist tonight. I believe they were in Fox Lake or somewhere up north. Actually, CL for all the body parts, I've seen some good deals lately.

Let me take a look around the garage for the GTA badges, I think I have some from my '91 that fell off. Quality is not guarenteed though.

Thirdgen89GTA · 09-22-2009, 08:56 AM

I'm sure I have the fender badge somewhere. But I may end up buying a new one anyways, the chrome in it was pitted if my memory is right.

And the Nose badge is only $29 from gtaemblems.com so I'll just be buying that one new.

87cmroiroc305ho · 09-22-2009, 09:14 PM

i meant they were off a firebird, meaning they dont have the trans am louver inserts.
pm me if your interested.

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-02-2009, 11:38 PM

Well its time. The car is being ripped apart as we speak. We started today, hood, bumper, bumper support, fenders, doors, and ground effects are off the car. Essentially down to nothing but the interior and 1/4 panels.

Monday is the paint booth.

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-02-2009, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thirdgen89GTA

Well its time. The car is being ripped apart as we speak. We started today, hood, bumper, bumper support, fenders, doors, and ground effects are off the car. Essentially down to nothing but the interior and 1/4 panels.

Monday is the paint booth.

Here's a pic off my iphone, i'll get better ones tomorrow with a real camera.

3.8TransAM · 10-03-2009, 12:41 AM

Awesome Bill.

Its nice to see some people who finish what they started every now and then around here.

Been a long time in the making but I'm sure you;ll love it.

Who's doing the paint?

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-03-2009, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3.8TransAM

Awesome Bill.

Its nice to see some people who finish what they started every now and then around here.

Been a long time in the making but I'm sure you;ll love it.

Who's doing the paint?

Don't have alot of money for paint. Doing the Maaco polyeurothane with a clear on top of it. It won't be a super nice paint job, but I saw 3 cars they had done and besides the orange peel they did a good job on them. 4year warranty for gloss and shine, which honestly may be less than I plan to keep the car. We shall see as time goes by.

I wanted to keep the paint under $1000 cause that was my budget for paint. Having to buy doors, rockers, fenders, nose, and a hood were a slight drain on the paint budget. However, doing the body work on the doors and fenders would probably cost me as much as buying the new stuff.

BTW, certifit no longer sells firebird fenders for 3rd gens. They list them in the catalog, but they are loong gone.

By the end of today the car will be red, white, blue, black, and gray. God its going to be fugly until it gets to be one color again.

burnout88 · 10-03-2009, 10:02 AM

If you can DA sand the car before you give it to Maaco the paint will come out much better. The reason there paint jobs are questionable is because of the prep work or lack of that they do. The more prep work you can ahead of time the better the paint will look.

Good luck!! Post pics when she is looking good.

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-03-2009, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burnout88

If you can DA sand the car before you give it to Maaco the paint will come out much better. The reason there paint jobs are questionable is because of the prep work or lack of that they do. The more prep work you can ahead of time the better the paint will look.

Good luck!! Post pics when she is looking good.

We were planning on doing that. I was looking at DA's this afternoon. I know that most paint issues are not simply laying the paint down, its prepping beforehand.

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-04-2009, 03:11 PM

Well, I ended up with a blue fender, a black fender, 2 black doors, 1 red rocker panel, a white bumper, a black rocker panel.

Its fugly right now, I forgot the cable for my camera so I'll post pics later.

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-05-2009, 12:01 AM

Well, my car is REALLY ugly now.

We'll fix that in a few days.

3.8TransAM · 10-05-2009, 08:24 PM

Just please tell me that u shot the backside of all the replaced panels white?

So it looks a heck of a lot better when the rest is painted lol

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-05-2009, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3.8TransAM

Just please tell me that u shot the backside of all the replaced panels white?

So it looks a heck of a lot better when the rest is painted lol

Nope. Doing the engine bay and jams as well in a few months. Didn't have time to do all of that.

Had 3 days to fight with busted/mangled fenders. With 3 days meaning while we started friday, if the car wasn't out by sunday night and the garage cleaned there would be trouble.

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-15-2009, 01:51 PM

Body work is done. Dropped it off at the shop today. I'll get the pics up later.

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-15-2009, 04:46 PM

sorry, the pics were taken with my iphone and the garage wasn't the best lighting for this kind of work (or the camera in the phone).

but here is the dirty work from yesterday.

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-15-2009, 04:46 PM

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-15-2009, 04:47 PM

As of now, its at the shop for paint. And it'll be done in time for the track rental. Hopefully the weather will be nice for the next two weeks so that once I get the car back I can tear the interior out, do the carpets/seats/panels, and get it all back together looking like a new car.

RockinGTA89 · 10-15-2009, 09:19 PM

wtg bill

can't wait for the final product!

You are inspiring me to get my car done ! However i'm just collecting parts as we speak...

Looking forward to track rental...keep posting up pics!

Bullydawg · 10-16-2009, 12:10 AM

Looking good! I too like seeing projects getting painting. I want to get my car painted soon as well. My car is almost done, it seem every time I fix one thing, another thing goes wrong.

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-25-2009, 03:03 PM

Click on the image for a full size, uncompressed image. 2mb each

Before Paint

Painted, but unassembled.

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-25-2009, 03:03 PM

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-25-2009, 03:04 PM

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-25-2009, 03:05 PM

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-25-2009, 03:05 PM

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-25-2009, 03:06 PM

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-25-2009, 03:07 PM

The car is slightly dirty, as it was rainy saturday. And I didn't have any way to clean it off.

However, its painted. And now I just need to put the GFX back on the car, and reassemble the interior.

Time is getting short, I don't know if it will be completely reassembled by track time, however it should be close.

novadk13 · 10-25-2009, 08:56 PM

Looking good

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-25-2009, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thirdgen89GTA

I'm thinking of getting black inserts for the Pontiac Lettering. Anyone care to comment on that?

I like the way it looks when 4th gens have the inserts. But I've never seen a TA with the inserts.

Trans Am#5 · 10-26-2009, 08:00 AM

Congrats Bill....IMO, I don't like how inserts look in those letters.

DuronClocker · 10-26-2009, 12:20 PM

Now your exhaust tips look like ****, time to polish them up

... do NOT use steel wool on them..

gearhead0384 · 10-26-2009, 01:36 PM

Looks good Bill, now get the Ground Effects on for Saturday.

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-26-2009, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gearhead0384

Looks good Bill, now get the Ground Effects on for Saturday.

Indeed.

And for the tips, a little steel wool does wonders on stainless steel.

I won't have the badges in time. The only badges I have right now are the sail panel badges (in excellent condition), and one fender badge in average condition. Missing the nose and other fender. So I may just leave it badgless for now till I can afford two new fender badges, and a nose.

Trans Am#5 · 10-26-2009, 05:54 PM

Polish the tailights if you can....I did mine way back when and they looked like new. Wasn't very hard at all.

Thirdgen89GTA · 10-27-2009, 02:03 PM

Assembled.

anthony714 · 10-27-2009, 08:27 PM

****ing a dude. now get it to gld and lets run some quarter times and enjoy whats left of the year b4 the white **** hits. see you there tomorrow?

Orr89RocZ · 10-27-2009, 08:33 PM

CLEAN!! very nice