Alright well this is my spring project.

I am currently driving an 85Z28 that i bought for $1550, ive put 30,000 miles on it in the past 1.75 years, its now at 230xxx and its been a great car, almost no problems, just a starter. In that time, i had an idiot in a dodge ram pickup, rearend me and cause $1300 in damage. Then later my dad was driving the car, and a dodge caravan cut him off, and he hit it, and the previous owner of this car converted it ot a t-top, because it used to be a hardtop. Since he did this..improperly i guess, the paint always cracks at all the pillars every year, no matter how i fix it, and the t-tops leak ungodly amounts of water, and the car is pretty rusty. So Ive decided its time to move on with the body of this car.

I just recently purchased a red 83 Z28 t-top with no motor for $400, it was a barn kept car. The paint is realllly rough on it, but the body itself is perfect, straight as an arrow, and completely rust free, and smells like saw dust! So my project is gonna be to make the best of these 2 cars, im gonna get a brand new silver paint job on the new car, and then swap over my interior, drive train, tail lights, etc...

So right now, im in the process of getting it towed to my friends shop, where i can start doing the body work on it, and have it painted by the end of the month. Since im 18, and just got layed off, im on a reallllllly tight budget, im just doing this becuase my friend is offering to paint it for free as long as i buy the paint $250. So im really saving alot of money but yeah, small budget.

These are pics of the Red 83 Z, the silver 85Z is in my sig.

 

whats the mileage on that? it looks really clean other then paint

 

The mileage on the 83 is at 210xxx km's. (130ish miles)

It seems liek it was really cared for in some ways, and other ways not so much. The underbody and wheel wells look NEW. yet i have no idea how the paint got so bad.

 

that ones easy, gm factory standard but man that car is nice for the mileage the carpet looks brand new

 

Which hood are you gonna use? And what are you thinking of doing with the other one?

 

Both hoods are kinda screwed up, when my dad hit the dodge caravan (see pics below) It really bent up the iroc hood and made it useless, i havent been able to find a replacement for it yet.

The hood on the 83, is also kinda screwed in the same corner but is bondo fixable. I want to find another IROC hood and use that, but until then i will be using the hood from the 83.

The 2 pictures are right after the accident, it got hit pretty hard.

the 3rd picture is after i found a replacement bumper, and bent back the hood as much as i can, and how it sits as of now (except i spray painted the bumper)

As far as what im doing with the parts that are left over, im not sure. I will probably try and find a motor, build a car from whats left over onto the old body, and sell the car or give it to my dad.

 

This guy i found on car domain, username onearmedmidget http://www.cardomain.com/ride/136812

has inspired me lol, thats what i want my car to look like when its completed. This is my goal, if it turns out anythign like this im gonna.... i unno ill be so shocked, that car is beautiful.

 

I ask because those IROC hoods are my favorite, and the '83 hood should be fiberglass, both extremely hard to find used around here... I was hoping to make an offer, but the shipping would probably be unreasonably much. I do have a cousin in Canada... please PM me if you would consider selling it cheap. Thanks.

 

yeah, the iroc hoods are my favorite too, and when i find another one, ill give you the old one if your ok with the damage thats done to it.

 

Nice buy for $400. That's what I did with mine. I had an '85 with a terrible floor not even worth fixing but a good driveline and found the 87 for $800 not running and keyed (crazy ex). Did the switcheroo Getting paint and rear quarter at the end of april. Why does it seem that mini van drivers are the worst on the plant? I myself have been nailed twice and I know others all involved with minivans. Seen many threads in here involved with them as well. Whats the deal>???

 

Since this car is quite far from home and everyone with a car trailer or a tow truck is sudenly busy, i have to pay $110 for a towing company to tow it to my friends shop. ughhhhhh, thats more than 1/4 the price of the car lol.

 

Wow, generous offer! Thanks. $110 for a tow really isn't surprising these days. Still sucks. But I'd say you're still money-ahead.

 

Well, im off to the bank to cash my check and to get that car towed to the shop. Today i figure ill try and fill in the parts where the paint has chipped off, then proceed to dismantling her bumpers, spoilers, mirrors, etc...

Tommorow will be a day of wake up at 9am, go there.. sand sand sand sand sand, go home for dinner. come back sand sand sand sand. and leave at 9 lol.

 

those extra, gas-wasting trips home for dinner will end up killing your budget. Take dinner with you.

 

I would but my mother would murder me. Shes already mad, she doesnt understand why i would buy a car with no engine. Like what kind of idiot would do such a thing. She thinks that swapping in a non computer controlled carb'd 305 is like a month long project, when really its liek 12 wires and a few bolts lol.

Anyways, today i got it towed to the shop for $100. and me and my buddy just started taking things off. "If its attached to the car, remove it" that was our motivational phrase we used. and i have to say, every time i look at the car i find something new about it thats just great. i havent really found anything bad about it.

Today, i did verify the hood is indeed fibreglass, **** its light. and i took off the ground effects on the side and unveiiled perfectly clean quarter panels and fenders, no rust at all!!!

I swung underneath it to find that the underbody has been coated and is just staggering beautiful. and the previous owner also put brand new heatshields against the floor pan, and included some in the trunk.

In the trunk i found quite a few items, including a spare set of tail lights, a spare set of t-tops, 3 extra starters, and 1 extra bosch alternator, and 4 extra motor mounts, and hardware for the hitch that was installed on the car, its a class 2 max 3500lbs! No more tow trucks for me :P

Inside the car, its business as usual with being shocked about the condition of things, the turn signal lever, defrost switch, and cig lighter, look like theyve NEVER been touched. I guess in the 210,000kms the guy didnt turn much? lmao. the carpet is brand new, and the headliner is in great shape. Then i noticeed a big 4 gauge stereo wire in the eng. compartment, and i followed it, and it actually goes under the carpet, and the previous owner replaced all speaker wire in the car with real good beefy speaker wire, and it was all neatly connected, to the stock head unit lol. And the amp input, and remote wire were tucked neatly under the carpet and go all the way to the back through the shifter hole in the carpet. So this shows, who ever had the car before me, really cared about it. Then i took off the sail panels, and i found a pair of brand new pioneer 6x9's! this teamed together with my 12" kicker comp sub, is gonna be a blast oh and the hood and hatch shocks both work perfect!, the rear ones are new i think. sooo smooth.

Right now the hood is off, and tommorow the bumpers, fenders, spoiler, tail lights, mirrors, etc.. are all coming off. everything is getting pressure washed. and itll all be good.

None of the picutes i took turned out very well. This one turned out ok, doesnt show anything spectacular. just her in her new home.

 

Just curious.. why does it look like the back sits as high as the front and they both sit way... and i mean way off the ground... is it jacked up and sitting on jack stands or what? i know the front has no motor.. but the rear should still squat down...? i mean it looks like you have a good 2 or 3 inches between the tire and the rear quarter... or is it just the way the picture looks?

 

I thought that too, im not sure. might be because theres no tranny either.

 

I wouldn't think so maybe though... heres how mine sits.. no tranny or engine...



its hard to see the difference since the fenders are not on... but its not really that high... how weird.

 

Sorry guys,

Been a real long time since ive posted some progress on the car, been reallly busy on it lately.

Well here she goes. Basically all the bodywork that was needed on the car got done. and she got painted.

Here are some pictures. We used the cheapest paint availible, and it caused alot of orange peel. so, one of these days im going to have to wet sand it. but for now im very impressed with how it looks, from what it came from.

Currently i have just finished installing the gray interior, and am getting started on engine/drivetrain. I will be making a post later tonight with wiring harness help