In the pictures, meet Ms. Thing. She's an '86 Berlinetta; 305 V8, of course. The previous owner was the original owner's daughter. Unfortunately, the daughter did not have as much care and love for Ms. Thing as her mother did. (Her mother even begged me to take good care of it and was relieved to hear I plan restoration. )

So, a basic rundown of what's wrong (A caveat: I know just enough about cars to get myself into trouble, so this is my education project. Pardon any nontechnical language.):

- She shifts hard going up and down between 1st and 2nd. Feels like she does it a little bit around 4th-5th, too.
- The pedal has a pretty deep travel. Starts stopping only when pushing the pedal about halfway down. When you have to push hard down to the bottom, it does a kind shudder, like metal rubbing on metal. The brake fluid is full and work was done on the brakes previously (master cylinder or not, I don't remember. Just remember being told it was draining brake fluid as fast as it was being poured in, prior to being fixed).
- It is alleged that the transmission mount is broken. I'm taking it in on tuesday to have that particular problem looked into; between college, job, and pregnant wife, I have little real time to myself.
- Note the rust on the body. I've checked under the body (but not under the carpet, yet) and as far as I can tell, what you see is what I have for rust. Looks superficial and I should be able to sand it out and reprime, right?
- Engine compartment obviously needs serious cleaning. And it looks like various pieces, like the intake to the filter, need replacing due to being loose and broken at the screwholes.
- A few dents and dings but nothing serious, except for that front quarter panel on the driver's side. It feels like it has some give but I don't know if it's worth it to pop it out or if I should simply replace it. Various fittings around things like my headlights need replacing due to being broken.
- Ceiling needs to be replaced. The original cloth was in tatters and pinned up by thumbtacks until I got irritated and finished the job by just ripping it out. The seats could stand to be replaced or reupholstered. Replacing seems cheaper. The dash has a crack on it, too.
- Seems the A/C needs to be fixed. Don't know about the heater, though. I hope not.

Aside from the usual things and a few details, I plan on this largely being a restoration project. Once I'm satisfied that it looks much like it did when it rolled out of the factory, I'll start the mods. At first, just stuff like a touchscreen computer in the dash. Later on, I wanna look into upgrades to the engine. Maybe a 350 and turbo, the works, you know? I fantasize about having a ten second 3rd gen, but realistically, I prolly can only afford 13 to 14, right? :P

Tell me what you think.

 

welocome buddy!!

goodluck 4 the restoration

 

welcome aboard!
Looks like ya got alot of work ahead of ya!!
On your brake prob. sounds like you need to remove and bench bleed the master cyl.
and yes,I believe you posted this in the wrong section.
maybe the history/restoration would be more appropriate?
If a mod. thinks it should be moved then it will be done.
Anyway,good luck,use the search engine, and keep us all posted.

 

Welcome to the boards, that looks like a beaut begging to be restore. Please be smart and document EVERY upgrade or fix as it may be helpful in the future. If your looking for inspiration, go to http://badassiroc.com and its available in fleets.

- Hard shifts - may be the tranny mount if your feeling a hard THUD everytime it shifts. This is common for thirdgens sadly

- Seats - all 4th gen firebird and camaro seats bolt in to thirdgens without ANY modification. (even the electric seats )

just some thoughts. Its got serious potential, and finding a SB350 to trade up is not that difficult now.

 

Looks like it could be a nice car. Good luck! With a really nice tranny and a 350 12's are easily possible.

 

I have a particular way i like to go about my projects. first get it safe, stearing, suspension, brakes, ligts, that kinda thing. then make it more dependable, tune up, change all fluids, clean the engine compartment so you can spot leaks quickly. after it is ready to be driven on the road mechanicaly start looking in to the body, rust, paint, different body kits (91-92), hood. after a fresh coat of paint, start looking into mods; 350, heads, cam, exhaust ....
that is just how i go about my projects, i know some will disagree and say not to worry about the body and just drop in the 383 stroker the first day you get it but every one has different taste. have fun and remember there is just about enough information on this forum that you could rebuild your hole car blind folded.

 

xamien


Your car is a 'Sports Coupe' - Not a Berlinetta,...............

 

John: It has the Berlinetta decal on the dash. So if you're right, then the dash was replaced and/or the decal was glued on. Can you tell me what you're seeing the pics or even what differences I might find in the engine bay or in the electrical that can tell me exactly what has been mix-matched?

Thanks

 

Everything about your car says "Coupe". Berlinetta had Aluminum wheels, different tail lights, park lights, fender badges, sail panel badges, front and rear bumper emblems, the custom cloth Interior ( standard equipment ) & a COMPLETLY digital cockpit in 1986. The front plate bracket says "Coupe" and "Berlinetta" because that's the only nose the plate holder will fit on. (The Z & IROC plate holder says "Z28".)

Someone stuck that emblem on there........ The car should have an 'S' in the 5th digit of the VIN if it's a Berlinetta. It's a lot easier to simply stick an emblem on the dash rather than swapping over all the parts that I mentioned above - & The VIN doesn't lie !

 

I totally agree with irockid on this.I'm chipping away at my 92RS.Four things are needed here:time, talent, money and motivation.And also an understanding wife which is VITAL, and may be a bit of a challenge with a little one on the way (no offense intended).Oh,and if you lack one or more of the first 4 things I mentioned,you can make that up by just having more of the others.I'm no mechanic by any means, just a certified parts changer.More of a hobbyist than anything else.One thing that you can do to get yourself in a good headset is to just start cleaning stuff.Get some simple green,some Tarminator and some scrubee sponges and go to town.People may make fun of you or whatever, but don't let them steal your joy! You'll feel better knowing that at least you're going in the right direction.SERIOUS UP-get your brake situation taken care of, even if it costs you.Then tires and lights and blinkers.The 502,the wheel tubs and rollcage can wait until your son or daughter is old enough to give you a hand.Thanks for letting me ramble here, friend, and welcome to TGF!! Before you know it,you'll be driving in style on your way to pick up formula!! Good luck and keep us posted!

 

I am restoring my 85 camaro berlinetta . Now I got lucky with myne and it was my friends parents car that sat in the garage for 11 years and i have it with the original 70,000 miles and flawless interior for only 3 grand. Now it went through a tornado. So i have had to start over and this is how i did it. First i get all windshields repaired. Second playing it safe is good and check your shocks and suspension. Next i put new rims and tires on and re did my tail lights black. I just made it decent looking until i save up and can rebuild the engine if i was you i would drop a big 350 400hp engine in there. If you need any help or any questions feel free to message me... and i thought i was the only one with a berlinetta in the world..

(ps. get a B&M Short Shifter First makes the car faster and funner)

 

Welcome to TGO, I haven't been registered here long, but I have lurked here for a bit, and can tell you with out a doubt that this place is a wealth of knowlege. As previously listed the first thing you want to do is make the vehicle safe to drive on the roads, brakes, tires, suspension, lights, mirrors, and glass should be the first order of the day for inspection, replacement. Your car appears to have about as much work ahead of it as mine, and I look forward to seeing it come along.

 

welcome aboard looks like you have some work ahead of you if you need any help there's more than enough people on here that are willing to help out good luck with ms. thing

 

Welcome! Looks like a fun project.

 

I think that we all missed his lead in to the tranny area: job, college, pregnant wife. If I were you, I'd pass the project to someone else.
Theres a whole lot of work to be done there.

As soon as the wife sees your feet sticking out from under the car where you have been for the last two hours while she was keeping JR occupied, you are in trouble.

I had to wait until my kids were old enough to catch the school bus by themselves and the wife had a job before I could even start a serious project.

Okay, the kids are driving now and the wife and I are divorced. So I get all the car time I need now. Trade the car for something in a little better condition. Your gonna need the time elsewhere. Just my experience.

 

While this is somewhat sound advice, with out knowing a bit more about his wife I feel it may be a bit premature. She could be the understanding type like mine (but then she's 1 in a 1000 I'm sure) When I was building my supercharged v6 mustang I spent lots of time w/the car, my wife was pregnant with my first child. She did not mind overly much as long as I rubbed her belly and feet at the end of the day (after a much needed shower mind you) when she was pregnant w/my son a year later and I was completing the project she was just as excited as I was. I've since sold the nearly completed project to pay off a few bills and buy my current project (third gen 91 rs, what can I say the guy offeered me almost 3 times what I had in the car) and while she doesn't like the chebby as much as she liked the ford (what can I say she's a blue oval fan) she hasn't really given me much hassle over any of it. She does insist that the bills get paid before I splurge on car stuff though... lol

To the OP, while the car is going to need ALOT of work, its not an insurmountable task. It all depends on how much time, effort, and desire you put in it, and a bit of pocket money too of course. Don't get discouraged, start w/the small stuff and save for the big stuff. I isn't impossible to build project cars on a budget... it just takes longer is all.

 

Don't feel a darned bit discouraged,Xamien. I've been working on my orphan make project on and off for about 9 years now.And to think I added a third-gen to my stable.This one will probably get done a lot quicker due to the fact that the wife likes it.She thinks the other car is a POS and she won't ride in it.But that's okay bro.Don't let anybody steal your joy!!