Hey guys, as you might notice from my post count I'm pretty new here. I'm going to start fixing my 1991 GTA Trans Am and need some direction. First off, what are some good places to get all the parts I'll ever need? It seems like parts for the GTA's are hard to find.

Parts I need
I need (I have posted a thread in the parts wanted area here, looked on ebay, and looked on hawks third generation)...

-black GTA door panels. I think these are only for the GTA because I haven't seen these panels in other Trans Am's and Firebirds.

-screws to attach arms rests to door

-some door tabs

-weatherstripping for the t-tops/body, t-top outer (the annoying little piece that always gets caught in the window), doors, and probably rear hatch

-black floor mats

-possibly a driver side hood cowl plate thing

-driver side headlight mount/housing

Problems I'm having
Here are some of the little things that bug me...

-there is a bit of rust on the edges of the rear quarter panels. There is no rust on the face of the quarter panels, but there is some on the edge. Will the shop take care of this with ease?

-there is a leak behind the driver's seat coming from where the hatch meats the body. Do I need new weatherstripping or is there a rust hole that I can't see? If I take the weatherstripping up to look for rust, can I put it back down? Where is a good place to get good cheap weatherstripping?

-I have a 305TPI and the idle jumps around. It will go from 500-700RPM and jump to 1300 for a few seconds and then go back down. The car does this constantly at a constant pace. It is not random. How do I fix it to idle steadily.

-When braking the front passenger side break grabs hard and almost rips me off the road. How do I fix this?

RIMZ

Yes, I know I spelled "rims" incorrectly ha. I want to put 19-20" Bullitt rims on my car. A friend suggested putting 20" in the back and 19" in the front to give the car a "mean stance." I don't know what I thought about that though because it seems like the cars I do see like that are all rusted out ******* RS camaros coincidentally. Here is a picture of the rims I want. They are on a member's GTA Trans AM...

http://www.vettemod.com/forum/imageh...9050ae79d1.jpg

I believe the post said he has the AMERICAN TORQ THRUST M ANTHRACITE W/MACHINED LIP rims but they look just like the Bullitt rims and are more expensive.

-What are the differences between the two rims?

-What do rim measurements mean? Such as "20x10" or "20x8.5"? I'm guessing the 20 refers to the overal diameter, but I don't get the second part. How do I know what size and fit to get for my Trans Am?

-What do you suggest are good tires for the rims?

Project Sequence

Now I prefer to complete the interior first, but I thought I can get those parts as they come since they really don't affect my vehicle's performance. I do think it would be best to check the weatherstripping before paint correct. The paint shop will take the weatherstripping off correct? So it would make sense to put that on after I get the car painted. What order should I do this in? Here is what I'm thinking...

1.) Weatherstripping check, and removal if thought to be the cause of leak.

2.) Take car in to paint. Leave weatherstripping off if I rip it off.

3.) Get rimZ and tires.

Thanks a lot in advance for your help and for reading this EXTREMELY long post!

 

Weel I dont know about OEM floor mats but you can get a whole set of black ones from autozone or walmart for about $15. As for the engine, run codes on it so that we can figure out what is wrong with it.
You need:
check engine light needs to be functional
paperclip
notebook
pencil

After you have made sure that the engine light is functional you need to find the little 12 pic connector thats underneath the dash just below the check engine light. You then need to take your paperclip an form it so that you can fit the 2 ends on the paperclip into the 2 upper right holes on the connector. Once you have it put in you need to turn the ignition on without turning the engine on (turn to the point to just before it starts) I repeat DONT START THE ENGINE. Once you do that you should hear the fans kick on (I think thats what the sound is) and the check engine light will start flashing. It will flash a code 12 which will be a flash with a long pause and then two more flashes with short pauses between (also known as a long flash and two short flashes). After it flashes this code 3 times it will then start flashing your other codes (if there are none it will flash the code 12 again). Write down each code that flashes, once again it will flash each code 3 times before moving on to the next code. So, if you have a code 32 it will do 3 long flashes and 2 short ones.

After you get all the codes written down (when its done flashing codes it will follow up with the code 12 again at which point you can turn off the car and be done) come and type them on here so that we can decypher what each one is for you. I would also reccomend that you buy a Chilton manual as it lays out how to fix different things on your car.
Good luck!

 

Hey man thanks a lot. I will not be able to try this until this weekend because I am away for work, but I will try that. Someone told me they had the same problem and it was something to do with a chip right underneath the intake? I will check this out though. Maybe it will clue us into something else I don't know is even wrong. I do know one thing, the check engine light works. Every once in awhile it flashes on. Thanks for this bit of help! Keep it coming guys.

 

FYI, All 90-92 Firebird's have the Same Door Panels, Except for Color of Course.

 

really? They are all vinyl and carpet like material? I realize they all fit the same, but I did not know they were all the same design.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Another question I have is, id after market weatherstripping alright or is the best way to go with the more expensive GM weatherstripping? Thanks a lot.

 

Ok im in the process of painting right now so maybe i can help you a bit...I pulled all my weather stripping off the car ..The roof rails , doors, hatch etc, If your shop is not doing the door jambs and all the hatch areas they may not pull all the weather stripping off..Ok with that being said summit sells a weather stripping kit for our cars for like a 150 bucks.. it includes alot ..Check the description of what is included..They have a soffseal kit which is pretty good stuff..No need for The Gm overpriced stuff..This is only my opinion..Some may agree or disagree.. As far as your idle is concerned tpi section has alot of threads on the idle control valve or whatever its called..IAC i believe..If you have no codes clean that dude up and give it a shot... I just re read your post im thinking your t topps may be the reason for your leak..Check your interior for signs of any leaks ..Have a buddy squirt the car down with a hose while you sit in it Look for a leak ..Easiest way i know to find a leak..Gl on your project

 

Thanks a lot for the help jak! I really appreciate it. What do you mean you pulled off the roof rails? You took the doors off? I planned on taking the hatch off. Also, my leak is not in the t-top weatherstripping it is in the hatch liner. Therefore I think that weatherstripping is bad or there is a rust spot there. Is summit a website or a company? Could I have a link? I was hoping to hear something like that because I couldn't see myself spending all that cash on the weatherstripping just because it was from GM.

 

Yes my car is a hardtop so the inside roof rail moldings came off as well as the door moldings..My doors, hood, ground effects, and hatch are all currently off. It is possible that the hatch is leaking.. On mine i found the Previous owner drilled a drill screw threw headliner and into hatch channel..Ok as far as summit..The website is summit racing..Just google it its a very popular company with good shipping and good prices..I think that weather stripping kit they have is for t topps and includes the hatch piece and door pieces for less than 200 bucks.. A good deal

 

Do you suggest the doors, hood, etc be taken off for paint? I will not be doing it myself. I expected to take the hatch off but I didn't expect that with the doors and hood. It's not a problem to do, I'm just asking. Also, as far as ripping out all the interior...is this a good idea for the paint? I thought it would be nice to take the carpet out to check the floor boards and stuff. Will I be able to use the same carpet again though or will it be destroyed in the process of taking it out? I wish I didn't have to worry about the floor boards. I don't take the car out in rain or snow at all, but I can't speak for the previous owners. There is not much rust on it so I don't expect the floor boards to be bad, but while I have stuff apart I was thinking it would be nice to get a full inspection so I don't have to worry about it in the future. Are there any mechanical under pieces that I should worry about maintenance on (unrelated to the body)?

 

You can reuse the carpet providing its in good shape..I am painting everything on my car door jambs hatch jambs..So removing all my stuff was needed..If you are not doing a color change and dont mind cleaning the jambs yourself you could probably get by without removing the doors and stuff..Honestly it depends on what kind of paint job your looking for..A decent driver or a show car...Thats up too you..You should check every rubber or steel line on that car maaintenance wise...broken brake lines wil leave you stranded and so will bad coolant hoses..Basic maintnace items tune up oil change ..stuff like that...Also have someone check the front end out make sure ball joints tie rod ends are in good shape.Those parts do wear....

 

I'm thinking show care appearance. What I mean by that is, I want all rust eliminated, and if you are standing a foot away the thing sparkles. However on the insides of the doors and stuff if it is not exactly brilliant paint I'm fine with that. By NO means do I want to half @$$ it. So do you suggest I tear it all apart or will a "decent" driver paint job do?

Speaking of tune ups...I was planning on doing that . I was going to put an aftermarket cold air intake filter in it because they're only like $20-$30 on ebay. I was going to get new plugs and wires as well. Do you recommend certain wires and/or plugs? I was thinking a tune up might be helpful because I do not believe it has been done in some time and it also starts hard. If I add a little starting fluid to the intake she'll start up, but getting it going is proving to be hard this year.

 

The passenger side break problem sounds like uneven brake pressure, or you might have a caliper that isn't properly floating and has worn down ALOT more on the passenger side.

 

Decent driver paintjob is fine if you can live with the jambs..That is a decision you will have to make..If they are in good shape and no rust is there then personally i would prob leave them be..The tune up is up too you there are so many aftermarket wire sets and plugs its hard to choose..The hard start could be your fuel pump acting up..Although a tune up is surely needed..See how it fires after the tune up and go drom there

 

I'm wondering how you know it's not your T-tops that are leaking? I have a 91 GTA - and had a little water coming in the same place, so I thought the same thing. But after spraying a lot of water into my hatch seam etc - I realized the water was coming in through the tops, running through the roof (and soaking the headliner etc) and falling in near the hatch seam line. I found the silicone packing t top reseal strategy on here, followed it, and am now completely leak free.
https://www.thirdgen.org/ttopleakfix

I had the same concern about my floorboards etc - so I pulled the carpet. Luckily almost no rust - so I scrubbed it, used some rust coat, and then put a gallon of bedliner in it. Now it's sealed and much quieter

Yes, I believe all of the door panels are the same for 90-92. A lot of people on here (including me) have switched them out for the 'deluxe' GTA door panels from the older cars. http://www.flickr.com/photos/optilevers/5606069805/
They have nice a 'sculpted' form under the handle. You can find them fairly easily - though you have to get/make different brackets.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/inte...oor-panel.html

FYI - I have a complete white driver's side headlight mount, motor, housing, etc. I bought a pair as 'spares.' I'd take $60 plus shipping for the driver's if you're interested.

Good luck with everything.

 

Thanks for the help guys! I'm glad to be getting some good help and advice here now. First off let's address the brakes...

I haven't ever dealt with improper floating on brakes. I'm unsure how to deal with this. I'm also unfamiliar with uneven brake pressure. How do you resolve this? Just bleed the lines and make sure there is no air in them?

As far as the door jamb goes, is that where the door latches on the body or on the door? Is it the whole area where the door seats in the body? Guess I'm lacking on my terminology here!

The fuel pump could be the cause of my hard start I suppose. I am also experiencing stalls when I hit the breaks too hard. Maybe my engine is indeed being starved of gasoline. I had not thought of that yet. Are there any recommendations on what fuel pump I should get or do general ones from autozone or ebay serve the same purpose as any other?

PhilRenato, is new drilling required if that bracket is inserted into the door? Or are there places in the door to mount the bracket? I do like those door panels and am getting sick of trying to find my special black GTA door panels. It's frustrating. If I could find those in black I would be satisfied. Sorry, I got a new motor and assembly already. Thanks a lot though.

 

The holes are already there, you grind off the rivets on your current ones and rivet the new ones on. They are rarer than the standard 90-92 though, so I'm not sure I'd consider it settling Also, no cupholders. Though if you recover the door I think you could mod the 91-92 holders on. If you ever figure out what you are looking for I'd love to see it - I've seen a lot of 91 GTAs and they all had the same panels, give or take some perforated leather etc.

NP on the light, I like having the spare motor etc.

 

To check if you have improper float issues, Take off the passenger side brake pads and see if one side of the pads(I.e. Inner pad) is more worn down than the other(IE Outer pad.)
And I'm not sure about brake pressure.

 

Is there any recommended fuel pumps out there? I think mine is going out and is causing the stalling.

 

**bump**

Anyone? Ideas? Particularly with the fuel pump and such?