Over the weekend a buddy of mine told me about a 3rd gen Trans Am for sale, with no engine or transmission. I went to check it out,and it wasn't too bad...at least for what I have in mind! It turns out the car is a black 85 Trans Am, ttop, that had a 305 TPI/auto. The interior is shot (has old Camaro buckets, the ones that say Camaro all down the center), its sitting on its hubs, and it needs a little bodywork...a crease in the drivers door, and another minor one on the passenger side quarter...but the bumper covers and gfx are in good shape. The hood is near perfect, but my buddy is getting it...he's trading me an 84 TA parts car, which I'll part out, for the hood. The guy only wants $300 for the car, has the title and keys, and will sell it for a little less without the seats. By the time I sell the goodies from the 84, I'll have 0 initial investment, and may make some money on the deal.
The plan for the car is: LT1 383 swap (with the Lingenfelter ported heads/intake and GTP6 cam from my SS (now stock),fogger, T56 (Mcleod Street Twin and Pro 5.0 shifter, again from the SS), Moser 9" in a 4th gen width with late 4th Gen rear discs (rotors from Baer), Baer brakes in the front. I'll use a PA tubular K-member with their a-arms and coilovers, and a 4th gen power rack. It'll get a custom built 8 point bar.The rear suspension will be mostly Spohn stuff, incl their torque arm. The car is going to ride on 18s, with 11s in the rear.
Color is undecided, but the body will definitely be modified. I'm planning to build my own Ram Air II style hood that will blend into the bumper cover, and possibly delete the seperate headlight doors. Headlights will be non-popup, similar to Redraifs, but what I'm planning is to incorporate the marker light and all four headlights behind a single clear lens, to make it look completely integrated. If the car stays black, I may even use a lightly smoked lexan. I'm going to use 2nd gen TA rear quarter markers, and possibly 2nd gen fender vents as well (not sure on that part, I'll have to see how it looks). Its going to be a targa (a true targa, not like the ASC concept), and might get a notchback...still unsure about that. The doors will be shaved, and at least suicided. The gas filler will be shaved also, since the car will run a fuel cell. Same on the antenna. it will either get a Mecham wing (if I can find one), or I'm going to modify a Saleen wing and make it resemble the Mecham as closely as possible. Exhaust will be 3", side exit, possibly molded into the ground effects (most likely with oval pipe for better clearance).
Interior...we'll just say its going to be custom! Black leather, carbon fiber, and maybe some brushed aluminum accents.
Most of you probably won't like my ideas, but I thought I'd share them anyway!!!

 

hope you have deep pockets.......

 

Not really...but this isn't going to be an overnight project either. All work other than machining the block will be done by me and friends, so labor cost is zero. I already have a core engine to start with, plus the heads and cam, so costs there will basically be for short block stuff. I have access to several paint booths at work, along with free materials, so there won't even be materials cost there. I'm always selling and swapping parts , so most expenses will be kept to a minimum. Some things, like the rearend, wheels and tires, brakes, wiring, and transmission will be big chunks no matter how you look at it, but still, I'll have maybe $10000 in the whole car by the time its finished. Maybe less than that, since the car will be shown and I will be getting sponsors to defray some of the costs. Its still a decent chunk, but your typical used car lot F-body is only an engine swap away from being in the same territory $$ wise.

If you counted labor, and paying cash for everything, yes, this would be a $40k+ car.

 

You want fries with that?

:lala: :lala: :lala:


Hey man thats awesome. there are a lot of ideas there. Usually my brain only holds a few at a time!

 

sounds cool and all except for the wing and doors, those sound cheesy

hey, set yourself a $10,000 budget and spend not a penny more, you'll be surprised how incomplete the car is

 

good luck, i need a project thirdgen also....

 

How true.....

Have fun....

 

Sounds like a good project! And you cant beat that price for the donor. Just keep your goals in mind and dont stray from the plan. Every time I start a project car the plan usually changes like every week untill I finally decide on something tight. Wastes alot of time!! But the good part is that its easier to save $$. Hehe well anyway, I sold my B4C today so I'm $7,000 closer to my Project Camaro. When you order the rims, gimme a PM I can hook you up with some custom made Boyds pretty cheap.

 

I figured on the response for the doors...but beleive it or not, they will actually serve a purpose. Ever own a car with a rollbar? Its a PITA climbing over, esp on a car with long doors like an F-body. I have sat in street rods with suicide doors and rollbars before, and they actually make things easier. Plus, no one will know anything has been changed til the doors are open anyway. I won't kid you that my only reason for doing this is practicality...I think it looks cool, and will set the car apart. I plan to show this car in the full custom class, so a mod like that will help a lot.

I'm hoping to run the real Mecham wing, if I can find one. Mecham wants to reproduce the wing, so hopefully they'll find one to make a new mold from. For those of you not familiar with the wing, its the one used on the only Trans Am ever to win the Trans Am title...it provides more downforce than the aerowing, and not everybody with a TA has it. Its different, yet no one can correctly call it "rice".

As far as budget, you would be surprised...I have built several cars over the years, and have made enough good contacts throughout the parts industry and the F-body hobby that I rarely pay anywhere near full price for anything, new or used. All paint and body supplies will be free. I also do all the work myself, so labor costs will be zero. Some parts will be free, too...through helping Redraif build her car, we have learned what it takes to get sponsorship, so some things, like stereo equipment, some performance and restoration items, etc, will be free or less than cost. Plus, I already have a lot of the parts...ported heads, cam ECM, block, rockers, pushrods, clutch, etc, etc. Could the average person build this car for $10,000? No way. The paint and bodywork alone would cost most people $5-7000 alone. If I have misjudged the cost, it isn't by much.

 

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Thanks man, I'll keep that in mind. I'll probably have to go with a company that will make pretty much any width/offset, since I doubt there will be many off the shelf wheels that will fill the wheelwells like I want. Boyds is pretty flexible that way, right?

 

Forgot to post the Mecham wing pic for those who haven't seen it...

 

heh, wing actually looks pretty cool

 

Yeah Boyd will make custom size, width, offset, backspacing, anything. And their prices are freaking awesome too. They are the best wheel manufacturer IMHO. I came across them in my sport trucking days. I called and talked with the owner and like most of us, he is a car/truck modification enthusiast. I think it was $50 for any (and I mean any) custom width past what is listed. So for example, when I order the wheels for my EVO II from Boyd they can make me a set of 19x9's for the front and 19x13's for the rear with correct custom offset/backspacing to bolt right up to the 3rd gen axles and it only costs $50 a wheel to get the rears 13" wide instead of 9.5" wide. If you switch the rearend to a 4th gen, they can do 3rd gen front offset/backspacing and 4th gen rear offset/backspacing. They are very flexible and prices are good.

 

another abortion on the way from the LT1guy & redraif garage

don't bother flaming you post on public message boards expect opinions (even from *******s like me )

 

hey you live in Mass too!

I could come over and kick you ***!

People like you have no lives....literally......

 

hahahahha!!! smurfmobile you punk. see the worst part about flamers like this is, not only does he get to insult someone for no reason (possibly fullfilling his need to feel better about himself and his worthlss project), he also has a good chance of getting this thread locked to prevent a 'flame war.' why does he do it? well he already answered that one (*******). I wish we could get *******s like this off the board and keep it purely TECH. You know ... like if you can help someone with info, then post ... if you can't ... then STFU. There is no need to insult someone for no reason, just move along. I swear you must be like 16. Man I love the appearance section!!

 

LMAO , that's just too funny. talk about having no lives and threatening people on the net :-D

crazyhawaii , I don't even bother to read your posts anymore , they make about as much sense as bush and his war on everything

 

Well in that case I'm going to call Bush on his cellie and tell him to declare war on every blue T/A in Mass.

 

They sure do! Go Bush!

I'll ignore the other comments...our results (see sig)speak for themselves. Have you won more national events than we have this year? Then your opinion is irrelevant .

(Don't you just love it when all the a-holes find a post???? )

 

I noticed on one of the other boards I frequent that you can "rate" members. If you get enough negative votes from members, you're put on probation, then banned if you don't learn your lesson. Not saying smurfboy should be banned...I could care less what people think, I just hate having threads (even about performance realted stuff) closed because some idiot wants to shoot his mouth off about it.

 

I look forward to seeing your progress LT1guy. Your ideas are tasteful and not overly extreme. I envy your project car.

Right now I'm stuck between A) customizing my GTA or B)Finding a Project Car (88-90 TA) and working on it for years to come. I know that customizing my GTA will be less $$$...but it's a GTA for goodness sake. I'm thinking I should find a POS TA and work on that.

Anybody in the Houston Area got a 88-90 TA (not GTA) for cheapo?

 

That was my thinking, too...why start with a nice running TPI car when I'm going to change everything anyway.The car I'm starting with would probably wind up in the crusher, or just allowed to rust away, if I don't save it. Its too far gone to "restore", at least for what a restored 85 Trans Am would be worth.

I didn't think any of my ideas were too radical either, at least not appearancewise. Most of the things I mentioned have been done on other Pontiacs, some by GM, but I feel that I can improve upon some of them. But ,on this board, stock rules, unfortunately. That, and those with no talent can't relate to mods they can't buy. Mommy's credit card is only good for bolt ons. Makes me wonder why people who have no interest or anything of value to add to a post even bother posting here.

 

I think your ideas sound awesome, and tasteful, ignore the naysayings, knock yourself out and keep us posted on the progress (read: pics).

 

I was starting to envision a real cool ride until I read the part about the doors. I know that you want custom, and I realize that your mod will be practical also. But in most cases no matter how good of a fabricator you are, your work won't last as long or work as good as the factory design.

The rest of it sounds like a winner. If I were in your position I would get a nice paint job, make it a fast, unique car and the rest will fall into place. A wise man once said K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid

 

I'd probably do a practice run on the parts car first, to make sure the door mod was as strong and clean as factory, and worked well. It would have to look clean, ie factory, for me to do it. I love custom bodywork, unusual solutions to problems, etc, but it has to look right and be functional. Same goes for the notchback; I'll probably photoshop it on first, to make sure I like it on this particular car.

Thanks for the compliments, BTW, and for the tactfully worded, constructive criticism.

 

Sounds like a good plan, except for the high price tag......

Keep us posted on progress.......what are you gonna do with the SS once you take the parts from the engine???

 

you know, i really think it could look sharp, except for the suicide doors.

i just can't picture suicide doors on the thirdgen

but if you can get it to work for you, great!

the rest of the appearance mods sound excellent.

i'd at least save the car from the crusher, even if you mod the hell out of it. go for it!

 

I am interested in how your project will turnout. Nice to see you working on your on thirdgen because I am really getting tired of seeing that 4th gen Camaro. I support any project to bring a thirdgen back to life.

 

lt1 guy, if you ever get a hold of a mecham spoiler i'd suggest when you do your hood put those big louvers like in the new mecham hoods that would look trick as hell mixing some old and new. alot of your ideas about the car have alredy raced through my head with the exception of the doors i want a gullwing like the delorean.which would get rid of the t tops that would be cool but would never happen. hope it work out great

 

not trying to be rude, but dont you realize everyone is entitled to their own opinion

he did come off a little rude, but you just cant expect EVERYBODY to praise your creations

everything has a critic

 

evreyone is entitled to their own opinion but that guy didnt make an opinion, ie. nice idea or no i would do this, and even, dam those are some good cheese fries. he just came off talking crap and i've been holding myself back about the bush comment. and i choose to keep this thread going so i will ignore him like everyone else should because if nonoe responds to his comments it will be like he's not here.

 

I don't expect praise from anyone; I'm here for the exchange of ideas, not praise. I have no problem with criticism, and don't expect everyone to like my ideas. In fact, I know that on a conservative board like this one there will be several who will disapprove, and say so. That's fine. Say you don't like an idea, or that you would do X differently, or thats a little too much, not for you, or whatever... no problem. My problem is with the rudeness itself. Its not necessary. If you don't like something,just say so. I welcome it actually,esp if its backed up with some rationale...hell, you may have an idea I like better, or think of a reason that something wouldn't work. Don't just say "I don't like X", or "That's hideous", etc...back up your statements. Say what you don't like about it. That is even better than getting a thumbs up from everyone. Boards like this are meant for the exchange of IDEAS, not insults. Those who insult should fully expect those they insult to fight back.

BTW the remark about rating members wasn't a suggestion, it was an observation. There's no way a system like that could work effectively on this board. Redraif, IROC2NV, Crazy Hawaiian, and myself would probably be the first to be "banned" !!!

 

Third post on the page: https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...=suicide+doors

 

Nice ideas man. I too like comin up with new ways to solve problems. If you are like me, most of your fun comes from tryin different ideas, not really sure if they will work at all. If no, back to the drawing board. I love doin that. Mainly why im in engineering. Lets me have fun, and get paid Good luck with your project. Take LOTS of pics and keep us updated.
Justin

 

They would probably ban me too.

Not everyone likes the Search ****.
It's a love hate relationship.
Yuo either love me, or hate me....

I say go for it. I would like to see suicide doors.
I saw them on the barbie dream car.

 

The mecham spoiler looks out of place on any thirdgen that is not a mecham, although it would be very different from the usual.

 

If there were lots of Mechams running around, and everybody knew what they were and what they looked like, I might agree, but the Mecham is so obscure everybody would probably assume the spoiler is a regular aftermarket piece. I have only ever seen one in person (not on a Mecham), and like it, so if I can find one thats what I'll use. Aerowings are nice, and the 4th gen style GT Auto spoilers are ok too, but when I go to a show I don't want to see 5 other cars with the same wing as mine. There aren't many wings for these cars anyway, so thats tough to do.

 

i wish i could find one of those wings i think they look sweet but if i found one i would probably work out a deal and donate it to get some produced so i can put them on any other 3rd gen project.

 

Mecham is interested in doing just that, making a mold off of an original and reproducing them. I don't know what they would do for you, but I would think at least give you one of the new ones.

 

I would be interested in a reproduction Mecham spoiler, as long as it cost $300 or less.

 

Wow, I envy you guys for having the time, effort and cojones to tackle the projects you do. Also, Kudos to LT1Guy for saving an otherwise junked Thirdgen.

Here's my $.02: I am not a big fan of suicide doors on long cars. Something about a long door, hinged at the back, doesn't sit right.
You could go with the 'Evo' style butterfly doors.

OR............Is the car a hard top? Wanna really go nuts?

Gullwing doors . If you could make them work, it would blow minds. The proportions of a Thirdgen work really well with that door shape. It would also help show off your snazzy custom interior....

 

The car is a t-top (will be targa when its finished), so gullwings are out. I like the look of the Evo doors, but when I talked to the guy from Euroworks (EVO US distributor) at the TA nats, he didn't recommend the doors even on an Evo, and said that they wouldn't work with a regular thirdgen without massive modification. I think we have a picture of it somewhere, not developed yet. There is a slit in the fender for the mechanism, whcih is hidden by the bodywork on the EVO door, that wouldn't look right on a thirdgen. You'd have this visible slit that would look awful (it didn't look great on the Evo up close). He said they required lots of maintenance to keep them adjusted properly.

If I could make the doors go out slightly, then pivot up at the front, I'd do it, but I'll need some good pics of this on another car (not necessarily a third gen) to make it work. Again, I'll practice on the parts car.

 

for my targa design i though i would make it out of fiberglass and attached to the t top sides to lock it in place kinda hard to explain but hopefully you get the idea

 

That's essentially what I'm going to do; use the existing t-top end pieces and have a piece of tinted polycarbonate made to link the two together. It will have the look of a t-top car, without the center divider, when the top is in.

 

you know what else would be cool if you kept it a t-top but replaced the glass with a fiber glass piece so it would kinda be like the t top vettes