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Nice looking 84! What ever you do, DONT stop. I did, blinked, farted and 7 years flew buy. LOL. Pics Pics Pics. I wish I took more. Did you find the build sheet? Maybe stuck to the carpet? Excited to see more. Keep up the good work.
Rich,
The car looks great. Wish I could've bought the blue IROC-Z years ago. I think a repaint will make the car look brand new. Are you doing any interior work, like carpet or upholstery? I'm thinking about replacing my carpet this next fall, in the '82.
Repaint is necessary because right quarter got pushed in from door to bumper. Don't know for certain if it can be straightened, but have NOS GM quarter if necessary. Hopefully not because that is a lot of steel to cut and reattach. Best to keep original seams and steel if possible.
Carpet has fading, but otherwise in good condition. Thinking of replacing vs. dyeing because fresh clean high quality modern would be nice. Just concerned about getting it to fit as well as original. I expect it is a lot of work.
Car doesn't smell inside. Seats are in very good condition. The left rear interior hatch compartment plastic could use topcoat of charcoal paint. Has the same fade as the carpeting.
Planning to add sound deadener (Dynomat) throughout to try to get the noise down. Heavy, but I'll prefer many years of quiet vs many years of racing around with 190 HP. Even the stock style Walker quiet flow system is loud. Wish it had the original dual muffler system that I think was probably somewhat tuned for sound.
Car is all single stage, combination of factory original and partial repaint. Has all about the same fade, a goodly amount. Too much to match with partial repair/repaint with dissimilar basecoat clearcoat.
Including purchase price of $5,100 I'll have more into the car than I can ever expect to get back. But no intention to sell, so becomes cost of entertainment for years to come. I like attending car shows, not so much to show, but to drive in and see the other cars.
The better alternative would be to find a better one. But I'm already in deep with this one.
What do you think of white? I haven't actually mentioned this to the shop or got a price, but I do love the white with orange interior and red orange stripe.
I don't think you will like it without changing under hood. It would bug me every time I open the hood. Ours bugs me with the white under the hood not as bright and dull looking. Even worse if you don't do jams.
I do like white with the orange/red interior but I would keep it red if it was mine (I like red).
Yeah. You are correct. I'd probably never get around to doing the underhood. That would probably make the current body project pale in comparison. And I like how the doors fit now. Ditto for hatch. Too much piecemeal work short of doing a complete disassembly. Either do it right or not at all. Thanks.
I'll assume coarse thread is factory original, because found a second course thread under a rear seat. Most likely the seat base was removed and bolt misplaced. Replacement was finer threaded bolt. Seems something a dealer would do, or body shop back in the day. Maybe was around early '90s when some paint work was done? Or more likely mid-'90s. Second owner's boyfriend put a cig burn in the passenger back seat. Perhaps seat came out to assess a repair that never happened. I do know she wasn't happy, because when I first contacted her in 2017 she included the story of the cig burn.
Hi Saxon,
Really nice documentation. I just did the same thing. I replaced the carpet in my 87 Formula with one from ACC. It was basically just a drop in. Minor trimming was all that was necessary. Fits like the original.
Learned yesterday the shop wants to start Friday. I'll need to scramble to finish disassembly.
Won't have time to post photos for next couple days. Want to post areas we don't take apart often, and I guess even those we do. Maybe others can learn from my experiences. I've photographed most every screw, nut and clip since the start, so if anyone wants info on what the Van Nuys plant used on June 18th, 1984, I can probably find a photo.
Tonight after work need to remove:
passenger window sweep
door lock
door handle
door gfx
door mirror
power lock actuator
power lock wiring from door
hatch lock
license plate bracket
wipers
hood decorations
hood firewall seal
driver door window seal
metal seal channels
roof drip rail
parking lights
headlights
visors
headliner
dome light
rear view mirror (getting new windshield since it's coming out anyway for paint)
Doesn't sound like a lot, but going to be a late night in the garage after hard day at work.
power lock delete for simplicity (but saving parts and harnesses stay rolled up under dash)
factory option body side moldings not getting replaced/installed
may not put the three 5.0 Liter HO stickers on sides and tail
Got most of that work done last night. Drive it to shop today. Side glass is also out. May never get it back in again, but will help the shop get it painted. Doors may come off.
More photos will follow eventually. Maybe this weekend.
if anyone wants info on what the Van Nuys plant used on June 18th, 1984, I can probably find a photo.
Holy smokes, that sounds almost dead-on to the day when my Trans Am was manufactured. Now I need to scramble to find where I put that window sticker...
(edit) Okay, it turns out mine was manufactured on June 8th. (/edit)
Nice photos of a VERY nice car, by the way!
Last edited by ws6transam; 05-05-2017 at 09:03 AM.
Going with the NOS quarter panel. They preferred to keep original sheetmetal and seams, but was turning out best option is the quarter.
The original damage photos I've posted don't look too bad, but that quarter was originally pushed in much deeper over the wheel. I crudely pounded it out to get home.
It looks exciting - and brings back memories of when I did that with my Trans Am. Back in '05, total amount on the check to pay for paint and bodywork (of similar scale to what you are doing) came to $4998. It will be interesting to see what the cost is in 2017 when you are all done.
X2 on memories. Looks like a good shop too. Nice and clean. I HATE the dust tho that is left behind. **** keeps coming from somewhere.
The rear quarter damage hurts to look at. Man I feel for you...I bet he felt terrible. On a note change, Very Exciting. Cant wait to see the results.
Great documentation. I will def use some of the pics for remembering what goes where.
Before I start to assemble, I need to go through every screw and clip and identify it. Make sure everything is accounted for. Glad I hit up yards and know I have plenty.
Pretty neat our cars were build days apart, sent to different poles in America and will soon meet again! Thanks again for helping me find my build sheet!!
Both our cars are within 30 miles in Minnesota. One started life in Houston, one in Green Bay. His rolled off the assembly line 9 calendar days before mine, on June 9, 1984 Van Nuys. Both started life as L69 T5 373 cars. His is loaded. Mine lower optioned but with Lear Siegler interior. Small world. Thanks for posting.
04-25-2017, 06:09 AM
