Hi all, I will let the dumb questions commence. I've been a car guy for a long time but was always a Fox Mustang guy until recently. I have always wanted a 3rd gen and have a deal worked for a 1992 Z28 but this one popped up so I figured "Why not have 2"

So here she is as I pulled it out of her slumber. It's a 1 owner car from here in Central, TX. It was bought new at Capitol Chevrolet and has been here its whole life. It's a well optioned car and I think has all of them except overhead console?

Best I can tell, its a G92 car with a manual trans and 3.45 posi. It has the full Bose system in it. The stock 305 is blown and the car has 70K on it. The paint is BURNT from the sun. My plan so far is a stock 305 replacement or a mild cam or I have access to a low mileage 1992 GTA 350 engine as well. Not real sure on what to do. I also have a fresh cammed 5.3L LS and a T56 trans so that is an option.

Right now I am removing all of the tan interior to assess the floors and such. I have most of the carpet out, removed the trashed headliner and pulled the nasty dash pad. The drivers window was smashed by a rock many years ago and it sat outside so I was worried about floor pans. The drivers side has surface rust but nothing course or aggressive. The passenger side pans and the whole trunk floor are super solid and are clean smooth shiny paint. Woohoo.

Mods on the car are:

Front and rear splrings
Belltech lowering spindles
Front and rear solid larger sway bars
Hooker (I think) headers with what appears to be a 3.5" cat back exhaust. The cat converter seems to sit real low so I will get it all removed and see whats going on there.

 

Nice find! Looks pretty solid, major plus on these cars. Appears to be somewhat unmolested from the previous owner too..

 

Yes sir. I found and talked to the original owner and he told me all about the car. There is 1 ding the size of a dime on it

 

That is a near perfect starting place to build from. Engine is down, but low miles. Paint is thin, but not rusted. Interior is worn, but not ruined. Only way to go is up, and no worrying about originality. Great Find!

 

I f you don't mind me asking, Who makes those rims and what size are they.. I like'em.

 

They are old school 3rd gen specific SLP wheels and are 17x8 all around.

 

Well this is going to suck. Someone removed the GM Goodwrench security system and left this mess under the dash. I need to find wiring diagrams for an 88 I guess.

 

I've heard Austin ThirdGen thrown around as a good source for wiring diagrams... Good lord that is a hack job...

 

Congrats! Saw you on my ThirdGen Expo page on FB.

 

I don't know that you will find wire diagrams for that in the typical service manual because I believe that's a GM over the counter accessory alarm. I'm guessing there's a part number/model number on the back that might help you with a Google search for the pin outs, plus the service manual to tie into the vehicle side. Or just keep it removed since it was not original to the car. Some used a keypad that was installed under the dash. I don't see it in your pictures, so missing that could be an issue.

 

My vote would be to leave the security system out. Digital copies of diagrams are nice, but there's no replacement for the factory service manual. Reproductions are available on ebay and rockauto.

 

Nothing says “Leave me stranded on the side of the road” quite like a (poorly) dealer installed 35 year old security system. And that’s before it was partially hacked out…

Standard wiring diagrams will show you how to return the harness to factory, which is the only direction worth traveling in IMHO.

 

Oh I am definitely going to remove it. It has some sort of hood lock contraption as well. This will be a headache but worth it to get it removed. I don't mind doing some wiring but this has me nervous. I just need to know what connectors were spliced into I guess since I am not familiar with them at all. I'm assuming:

Power locks
Horn
Hood lock?
Starter

 

the good news is that returning it back to stock should be mostly a matter of connecting cut wires of the same color that end up around the same spot. Anywhere there is a splice should be evaluated to see that the wires going in and coming out are factory, not hacked in to add length.

Also, get rid of all of that electric tape… buy yourself a nice kit of 4:1 heat shrink, and a $30 heat gun, a nice pair of snips, a nice wire stripper, and some variety color STRANDED wire. Then just put on the hits and crank it out

 

Yes sir I've got tons of heat shrink, crimper, soldering iron, and cloth tape. I enjoy wiring but hate undoing crappy wiring from someone else haha

 

Got most of it cleared out. I still need to mess with the starter wire (Yellow) that is high up under the dash. I'm a big dude and can't really get up in there to solder/fix it. I might just try a barrel crimp and heat shrink. Does anyone know if those wires (Purple and a yellow) are clipped anywhere? It would be easier to remove it and repair it if so

 

Service manual for mine has PPL is starter - stabs into the C100 block that runs to through the firewall. Yellow comes from the ignition switch itself. Not that I can see where this harness can be unhooked and removed for ease of repair.

 

Ok so I am down to this connector. I reached way up and was able to pull it down from whatever box it was attached to. These are both thick wires. A purple one and a yellow one. When they installed the alarm, they cut it and bypassed the connector for some reason. Should I be able to cut the crimp out and solder or crimp the red circles together and the blue circles together to complete the circuit like OEM? I want to be sure.

 

Your theory is sound to me. The cut yellow is from to the Ignition switch gear select circuit. A interruption in this path would cause the vehicle not to start.

 

My recommendation is to go on ebay and buy a set of factory service manuals for it. There were 2 manuals and I think I paid about 35 bucks for the ones for my 88. They will be very valuable to you as you make repairs on the car.

 

Pro-tip, take out the driver's seat, its super easy and quick and gives you more room. Make sure to put something over the seat studs so they don't stab you in the back when you lay down.

When I removed my CODE alarm I ended up using crimpers to bring the YELLOW back together, while I was there I ran another wire to a distro box so that I could hard wire my dash cam and radar.

As for people telling you to go buy a manual, no need, my signature will take you to free wiring diagrams.

 

He is going to need a manual for much more than just wiring diagrams if he is going to rebuild the car so I wouldnt consider that sound advice.

 

All of the discussion, help, and excitement in this thread makes me optimistic and excited to get my Firebird back next month. It is also scratching the itch until I get to scratch it myself!