jhawk73

This will be my new baby soon unless I find a super clean GTA. It is a 48k mile cream puff. The only issues I have found are a hazed up back window (can I get a glass one put in?) and if you look close you can see the ground effect molding on both doors is oxidized. That is strange since I cant find any paint work at all. Please give me some advice as to what I should be looking for. Thanks all!

dmccain

iTrader: (2)

Shes a good looker!

yankeecarman

iTrader: (9)

You can get a new top with a glass window but cant replace the vinyl in there now. Btw, the glass window is also smaller but much nicer.

88IROCvertZ

iTrader: (1)

Very Nice!

I found a garage cream puff with 30k miles and the paint was not 100% flawless either.. Its pretty hard to find flawless original paint on a car that old..

Try this stuff on the plastic window. Go over it a bunch of times and you’ll be surprised how clear you can get it.. I’ve heard that the glass windows don’t fold as easy into the tonneau and some people have to put the back seats down..

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Meguiar-s...&wl13=&veh=sem

Part of the reasons plastic windows on convertibles and Jeeps get hazy is because people use the wrong cleaners on them.. and oxidation of course.. you’re not supposed to use glass cleaner and a lot of people do..

That car looks really sweet!

88IROCvertZ

iTrader: (1)

You might be able to improve the oxidation with compound, polish and sealant..

jhawk73

Thanks for the advice guys. I think i can polish out the back window but I would like to tint the windows and that is not possible with the plastic back glass. Yankeecarman, can you send me a link to the top with the glass back window?

yankeecarman

iTrader: (9)

Tops on Line is where I bought mine a few years ago. Good people to deal with. I also bought mine with the stayfast top. I am very happy with it. It is also a good time to replace the weather seals and the top pad. My opinion. Hope it helps.

Big&BadGTA

iTrader: (1)

RareBMX mentioned he might be selling his red 1989 GTA 5.7L, if you are looking for a GTA instead. Either way, welcome.

88IROCvertZ

iTrader: (1)

Well if you want tint I guess glass it is! Figured you could save a few $$ by polishing the plastic window..

As far as the paint.. If both sides are showing oxidation that’s fairly normal on these for moldings, spoilers, etc.. It would look more fishy if it was only one side..

What I look for in paint is

-Check around moldings, spoilers, emblems for drips. Even if you don’t see a drip look close in between the paint and the emblem/molding. If you see tiny bumps or drip marks it’s probably an area where the molding or emblem was taped off and they couldn’t fix drips in tight spaces. Even decent paint jobs sometimes they don’t remove everything that comes off the body. Also check the windshield gasket for overspray and drips. You also might see sanding marks that got buffed over that reflect from certain angles. Usually near a molding, emblem or contour.

-Look at the paint reflection for inconsistent “orange peel”. If the driver side had noticeable orange peel and the passenger side is a perfect mirror, something’s up

-Look for consistent wear. Even a 15k-50k+ mile used car will have chips, a ding or two, maybe fading on a painted non metal surface that heats to a different temperature in the sun. Oxidation is common if the car wasn’t detailed regularly. These cars usually got spider cracks you can see in sunlight on the nose due to the original paint not having flex additive back then. Even a car that never bumped into anything I’ve seen have fine spider cracks from age, temperature changes, etc..

-Make sure all the factory decals are in place. Even good painters will remove them and paint the door jams and under hood removing the decals. Also look for emblems to be correct and in the correct spot.. so many repaints have the “Tuned Port Injection” emblem in the wrong spot..

-Look at reflections and step back maybe 40 feet and walk around the car and see if there’s any unusual waves in the panels from bondo or PDR.. Usually there are areas that show up in the panels from the factory but they should be uniform on each panel. The front fenders on IROCs all have a line straight down in front of the wheel well you can see from certain angle reflections and there’s usually a dip under the mirror. Inconsistent reflections in the rear third of the car are unusual. Doors can have warped reflections around the handles as well but they would be pretty consistent on both sides.

-I always look at the headlight buckets as well. If they are too glossy it may be a repaint. The factory used a specific flat black for the buckets. Some owners polished the paint because they liked the look of glossy buckets, but if it is a mirror gloss like the rest of the paint, it’s probably not original. Obviously an IROC or Z28 with body color headlight buckets is a repaint.

Sometimes you can get a feeling even in photos on an ad.

I’m not super into original paint per-say.. I believe a meticulous restoration paint job can be superior and raise the value. I also think if a seller is claiming paint is original and asking a premium price it better be very well kept and the real deal.

That Z looks like it could be pretty sweet!

yankeecarman

iTrader: (9)

https://www.topsonline.com/?gclid=Cj...8aAuBaEALw_wcB

91z28ss

iTrader: (4)

Topsonline is where I got mine back in 2007 and it still in mint condition except for the vinyl window that started to fade, even if well maintained! Next time I will take the galss window option for sure... But before I changed the entire roof, I did brought the car to my local window shop and they were able to change my faded vinyl window for a new one, all stitched to look like OEM, and was even offered to replace it with a tinted vinyl! Which I did, but the material wasn't as thick as the original vinyl so it ended up warping after couple years of sun exposure.

jhawk73

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

jhawk73

Good idea, I will check for my local shop having a tinted plastic window before I change the entire top.

88IROCvertZ

iTrader: (1)

Ha ha.. thanks for letting me get the crazy out!

All I do is look at paint, body panels, and reflections on every car I see.. it’s a sickness

TPIVette

Not sure what kind of shape the rest of the top is in, but if it's still nice you should be able to find someone to replace the window only. I had an 89 Iroc vert years back that had a nice top, but a clouded window. I had a local upholstery shop replace the widow. It came out perfect and IIRC it cost about $250, but that was probably 20 years ago.