The GTA is finally done and HOME! We have some adjustments to make still after having her for the afternoon, but I'm SO happy to have her finished!!!!

PERFECT hood alignment






And my own little details...


And my artsy shot...

 

Looks Great!

 

Just love what you've done with this car - well done, looks great!

The only thing that I think lets it down are the gold GTA's, would look much better with another colour that would suit the colour of the car - gunmetal grey with a polished rim maybe??

Just a thought - I know lots of people like the gold GTA's

 

Looks great,hood lines look good too.

 

Looks awesome!

 

I thought about changing them, but since I'm probably not putting badges back on, the wheels and gold tailbird are about all that's left to tell it's a GTA from the outside. The wheels have that "period" interest. I wanted to keep the car stock, but still make it my own, and I think I've succeeded at that.

The thing the wheels REALLY need is POLISHING! They're clean, but the silver needs to be polished up, and that's where she loses out. If you guys have any suggestions on how to do that without a buffer (now that I'm broke... ), I'd be happy to take them.
for all the compliments!

 

Looks like your car has tan interior, so the gold wheels should stay. Charcoal wheels only look right with gray or black interior, IMO.

 

Can't beat gold crosslace rims on a car with a tan interior IMO.

As for polishing the lips, I have heard that some people simply strip the old clear coat off with paint stripper (be careful to mask off the gold part really good!) and then just hit the aluminum with a Mother's powerball and lots of aluminum polish and it looks great. Some people go so far as to put the car on jack stands, put the car in drive and sand them while the wheels are spinning! I wouldn't recommend that.

If you really want to buff them, it's not a money issue ... it's a time issue. You would want to do it with your drill, and a buffing wheel for a drill and buffing compounds are pretty cheap. Just be careful not to let the drill "slip" and gouge the soft aluminum.

Also, why aren't you putting your badges back on? I am not a fan of stripe kits like what came on the 84-86 T/A's, but I think GTA badges are very tasteful.

 

Thanks for those tips, Chris. I'll have to look into the Mother's stuff...my body shop recommended that, too. I just wanted to see what some other people said.

Anyway, the badges are not a definite decision. I've got some on the way that are cloisonne repros that IF I put on badges, will go on. I'm just really pleased with the clean lines and clean car that I'm not sure I want to disturb those lines with badging. The sail birds will go on for sure (probably... ), but I'll have to see how I feel about the rest.

 

Just make sure you get all the old clear off or all the aluminum polish in the world won't do it any good.

If you are doing the sail birds, then the GTA badges and the nose badge are all that are left. I would definitely do those. I think they add a lot to the car.

See you tomorrow! Remind me to bring that pulldown motor. I think of it all the time, but I know my mind will be elsewhere tomorrow evening when I'm rushing around to get on the road. If I think of it, I will go ahead and put it in the car tonight.

 

Yeah, I'll see how it all looks with a temporary mount and photos.

Are you still planning to come if it rains? I think it's supposed to rain now.

 

Probably not if it's raining .

I don't mind driving the T/A in the rain a little, but with as much detailing as I have done under the hood, I would hate to have it ruined by a drive down interstate.

But then again ... I just might.

 

Looks really really nice, Yea please put the emblems on the car, will make it really stand out!! You tag need a frame and a cover also IMO. The PONTIAC above the tag is that painted gold or is it a stenicl that looks really nice!!

 

Hey, thanks! He actually did all that by hand with pin-striping tape. He happened to have the right color and he installed that in about 15 minutes. I'm not putting a frame on the tag because I have a different tag I'll put on for shows and such.

 

very nice GTA leave the gold wheels on it they look right, this almost makes me want to build a T/A.

 

Looks outstanding! Now ya just have to be careful on those NC country roads lol. I live in VA just north of the NC border and it makes me cringe sometimes when I hear gravel kicking up and hittin the car. It looks sweet though. Goodluck

 

Looks Great!

And i especially love that neon sitting outside!

 

Put the badges on, keep the gold wheels and get that thing down to Auto Fair in September!

 

Yeah, well...that photo has more impact in black and white. It says... "I looked like that a few weeks ago...look at me NOW!" Don't you agree??