I bought this car 2 years ago for my then 15 year old son and I to to restore back to it's original glory days. I chose this car because it was a numbers matching un-molested 5.7 with absolutely no rust. The car was not driveable, the trans. had been pulled out to replace the flexplate and that was as far as the p/o got before he lost his job.
So the car sat for 7 years before I picked it up. I wish I had taken more pictures as we went along but you get involved in working on the car and forget to get the camera and then it's too late. So here are some pic's to get this thread started and I will try to add more in a couple days.

 

Looks to be a easy resto project from the two pics just needs a nice paint job.

 

The one thing that the pictures can't show is the smell, I didn't think I would ever get it out.I will get some more pic's up soon. She is getting a paint job as I type.

 

What was the smell,I had one T/A that was bad like a nasty mold locker room kinda thing.I will just say febreze+vanilla air freshener and cologne did not help any

 

My 86 T/A smelled like someone died in it... I tore all the interior panels out and found a mummified mouse next to one of the rear seat belt retractors. Once that was out and I pressure washed the carpet, recovered the headliner, and let everything air out, it didn't smell that bad. The worst is mouse urine, it's really hard to get rid of.

That looks like a good one to restore, but then I'm a sucker for blue Irocs.

 

The smell was just from the car sitting outside and leaking water, I tore out all the carpet, removed the seat covers and cleaned the seats before recovering them. The guy that re-covered the seats reccomended I put some dryer sheets under the new covers and carpet,so I stole a box of my wifes dryer sheets and It seemed to help.

 

And a few more.

 

Best to you!!

I will NEVER forget my oldest daughter sitting on the rad of my Ventura II, asking questions & handing me tools...
She was 4 at the time....

ENJOY ... this is PRICELESS!!!!!

 

Here are some before paint pic's

 

And some of the body work. I was a little nervous when it was sand blasted, you never know what you'll find underneath. I did a pretty lengthy inspection of the car when I bought it checking for previous body work, and I was pretty sure there was none.

 

sweet pics and build! cant wait for more pics. solid car

 

Here is a few in the paint booth, We had it repainted factory bright blue metallic, paint code #98 for that year.

 

Ah... nothing like new paint! Keep those pix a'comin'

 

Any tips on what you used to shine/clean up the TPI assembly? That engine bay turned out beautiful...any tips on what materials are good to clean one up is appreciated. My TA looks about the same as yours did underhood.

 

Depends on what you want to do honestly. If you are looking for a clean stock look, Eagle One makes a mag cleaner for cast aluminim wheels that works great. It has a slight acidic content to it, so be careful. I did mine when I replaced the injectors/intake gaskets and it came out great.


Car looks awesome by the way!

 

When I bought the car it didn't run so I went through the the whole engine bay connecting wires that had been cut or disconnected.The distributor cap was off and the distributor was rusted solid. The injectors needed to be replaced so I tore the whole top end off and bead blasted all the parts including the serpahtine brackets,water pump, plenum,runners etc...

 

Starting to go back together.

 

Looks real nice man. One of my favorite colors

 

Installed new t-top center bar & weatherstripping, Bumper covers and lights. Hope to have it finished up this weekend.

 

Well here is the finished product, We have a few small details to take care of but for the most part it's done. That's one happy & proud 17 yr old kid, He couldn't wait to take it out to Woodward Ave Fri. night

 

Awesome car, turned out beautiful! So nice to see a car done right for a change amidst a sea of hackjobs.

Now just:

1) Lower it a bit
2) Ditch the mudflaps
3) Get that kid a beater so some douchenozzle in the high school parking lot doesn't mess it up!

If you don't mind my asking, how much do you have into the paint and body, and how much into recovering the seats and recarpeting?

 

Thank's for the compliments guy's, it was a great learning experience for my son. Well the paint and body work was $6000 and was done by a local shop(Pennington collision) that specialized in custom corvettes for the Detroit autorama car show. I went around and got a few estimates and they were all about the same. The seats I had to buy a passenger side seat and remove the cover and re install it on the drivers side seat. You can't find a drivers seat around that isn't all torn up, but you can usually find the pass. seat in good condition. I found a local upholstery shop that cleaned the seats and swapped the covers plus a few other minor repairs for $250.So I just threw some cheap covers over them to protect the "new" seats. I don't remeber what I paid for the carpet, but it's the same stuff you buy anywhere online. I think it's made by acc.

 

When I bought that car I knew it was solid! What a great job you guys did restoring that IROC! I remember the day your picked that car up, what a snow fall we had that day! Again, Great car and take care of it! Jeff

 

Absolutely beautiful!
I've been getting the itch for an 89-90 IROC for my son and I to restore, but I have plenty of time to look since he's only 2yrs old
I regret selling mine a few years ago.

Again, that's a gorgeous car!

 

awesome car. turned out good. looks like you did all that is just a couple months too! way 2 go!

 

Thank's Jeff, yea that was quite a snow storm. To make matters worse I broke a piston and threw a rod in my truck towing the car home and broke down shortly after I got on the turnpike. I ended up rebuilding the whole motor in the following weeks. My son loves the car and says he will keep it forever.

 

Your car looks awesome!!!