sorry if this is long and hard to understand but i am so damn excited.... i really feel like a little kid before xmas.

she is a 1987 Formula 350 that i bought in 1994 with 44k miles and in great condition (other than faded out red paint) that i just LOVED. I was 19 at the time and this was my first FBODY... what a way to start off! she was a monster off the line! i really didn't do too much to her other than a nice paint job and american racing 5 star wheels...

in early 1997 i bought my 1995 Formula M6 and took the 87 off the road. back then i didn't have the cash to keep both running so for 7 or 8 months the 87 sat. in early fall i found myself very short of cash so i sold the car to a guy that made many offers in the past. 3 years ago i sold my 1995 because i THOUGHT i was done with sports cars (i found i NEVER will be!) so i have been looking now and then for a 3rd gen to fix up and yesterday out of the blue the guy calls me up from a dealership telling me that he is going to trade the car in unless i want to buy it back. OF COURSE I DO!!! so, in a few days she will be back home and now that i have 100 times more knowlege and lots more cash...oh, the things i can do to her!


she now has 107k miles and needs a bit of TLC but she is almost has nice as when i left her. the list of mods has started

here is a pic i took maybe 10 years ago of her:

 

congrats man!!! good to here your getting it back, make sure to snap some pics of it when you get it back

 

Thats cool he called you up, most people wouldnt have cared that much.

 

Your very lucky to get a second chance at the car, most times they are gone forever. Goodluck with it.

Conrad

 

that is outstanding! did he know you were in the market for a car or did he just call you because he bought the car from you? regardless, that is awsome! he actualy kept your number after all those years. i can't even remember the city in which i bought my 1986 firebird. but i am still in contact with the prior owner of my GTA.

 

he is a friend of a friend kind of thing... after i sold my 95 i did ask him if he was interested in selling the 87 back to me and he said no at the time. he knows me well enough to know i would have been very pissed if he had not given me the chance to buy it back. i told him when i sold it to him that it was sort of a bad idea because i would hear if anything bad happened to it and i knew where to find him

anyway, he just called me out of the blue because he prolly felt bad not giving me the chance.. it was very nice of him. i got an upclose look at her today and saw no rust at all, a few dings here and there but nothing some love can't fix. he took good care of it but he is not as crazy about cars as i am.

i already have a long list of stuff to do starting with some good tires and suspension work.. he put on a dynomax muffler that sounds good so that will do till i start motor work. i will post pics this week when i get her. thanks for all your intrest guys!

BTW, i'm getting it for $2,000.... not a bad deal

 

right on, congrats on the re-aquisition.

 

well... it took a week longer than expected but she came home tonight... i'm a bit sad because she is not in as good of shape as i first thought. no accidents but i can really tell she has over 100k on her. the guy i sold her to really didn't do much to keep her up as i think the only thing he did was a tune up last year (plugs, wires ect)

so far i can really see she needs a new wing, shocks, struts, springs, and bushings. stearing is really loose, not sure what is going on there yet. the voltage seems to be a bit low (i remember she always sat just over 14v and she now sits a bit under 14v and saw it dip a few times) she also had some kind of miss (felt like tranny) when i dropped the hammer at around 20mph.... she threw me in to the seat and then sorta missed. there is a tick noise from the left front tire when it rolls, it's got to be a loose balance weight falling around in the tire when it rolls. brake travels very far and i have to really push it in hard so i know it needs at least pads, prolly rotors also.

the inside is ok but the headliner is falling apart.. i gotta order a new one. i saw a lot of other things that pissed me off but i'm just being picky about them because i owned the car before and wouldn't have let the little stuff happen....

i really feel bad for the car as this guy just didn't take care of her... she was sooo good to me and was in such nice shape when i sold it... i wish i would have kept her and put her away (she only had around 60k)

oh well.. i know i'm rambling... i'm just sad for her and i really wish i could get her all fixed up now but i know it's going to be a long road.

i will take pics tomorrow as he didn't drop her off till dark.

 

took a few pics this morning before i went to work. it was a bit cold last night so there is a lot of condensation on the car (that is why the paint may look dull in a few of the pics)

this pic came out like crap cause i was in a hurry





this one looks kinda cool, you can see the exhaust in the air cause it's cold




this one shows SOME of the issues with the wing (the condensation covers up most of the cracking in the pic)


here is the only really bad issue with the body... the fender does not line up with the door






and this last pic is of one of the american racing 5 stars i put on... it's very dull. i plan to spend this winter working on them but i'm not sure if they will come back or not.

 

well, i have started on the restoration..

seats gone


i put the seats on the front porch and i lost them.. it only took a few mins for the cats to claim them so i guess i will just have to go ahead and buy 4th gen leather seats





i washed down all the metal inside with simple green as EVERYTHING was covered with dirt (and some water got under the carpet and didn't smell too good).. i am going to get new carpet, console, seats,seat belts and headliner. all of the interior parts are in my basement to be cleaned and fixed up this winter. i'm not sure if i want to change colors (i would like a black/gray theme) or not but either way i'm going to clean everything up.

i am of course going to order as much of the suspension stuffs as possible and clean up the wheels this winter (i put the factory wheels back on and put the american racing wheels in the basement to be cleaned) but all that is left to do now is to cover the formula and let her sleep.

oh, i also found a few leaks under her(next pic)... transmission gasket is leaking, differential and oil pan gaskets are shot. so i will have to also fix that stuff this spring.

 

Lookin good
I would of never gotten rid of her in the first place

 

awesome car. good luck on the restoration.

 

The fender issue should be an easy fix. Check the flange that the fender bolts to under the car. I ca guarantee that it's bent. Straighten that flange back to perpendicular with the ground and watch the fender/door reallign.

 

lookin good man and thats amazing that you where able to buy her back good luck

 

nice looking car

if the panel for the headliner is still good you can get it recovered for less than what a new one will cost, & if they do it right it will look better too.

a few days before you put the new padding & carpet in, get some Lysol & spray the floor pan down with it. that will stop any mildew that may still be there.

 

That is a very solid starting point. Should be an "easy" resto. Good luck

 

scottmoyer: thanks for the tip! i did read that in another thread also so i feel a lot better that it should be an easy fix.

denn_shah: i wish it was that easy but the headliner panel is shot so i'll need the whole thing. i will be sure to spray the lysol on the floor pan a few days before the carpet goes in.. that is a very good idea!

thanks all for the good words on the car! i have learned a ton over the years about cars but i still wouldn't know where to start with out TGO!! thanks again all!


on to a small update:

my red LEDs came in from superbright LEDs so i threw them in and they look good. i'm not sure if i like the red better than the pontiac orange but it goes well with the red paint and i'm sure it will grow on me.. i took a quick pic but it does not really look as good as in person..

i got the 5 LED 194s as they are bright and they emit light from the sides like a real bulb. i'm going to need a few more as i only got 10(9 for gauges and i think at least 4 more for heater, shifter plate and the little light over the headlight switch)

 

wow, you are realy doing a number. i can't wait to start seeing results.

also, i don't know what it is about cats and thirdgen seats....