I mostly lurk here but I thought I may as well start a thread. I have a few fbodys, a 90 firebird, 86 firebird se, 86 firebird, 2000 trans am, and this 88 GTA. and two camaro parts cars and a 87 trans am parts car.

Ok I have sold a few cars and have some play money. SO I have been looking for a nice drivable project for cheap for the past few weeks. I have came up with nothing.. SO I have decided to just fix something I had. I started to do my 81 z28 but I decided to do this 88 GTA instead. ONLY because I got a great deal on a complete TPI motor off of craigslist. So the z28 went back agian and the GTA got pulled out. FIRST the history on this car... A guy i know had this car while I was in high school. I ALWAYS wanted it. I just really liked it.. It had 305 TPI and a 5 speed. WELL the motor went to knocking and it sat. He wouldnt sell it for nothing. Then he decided to work on it some and pulled the motor and later threw it away and then used the trans in his 86 camaro. Leaving this car an incomplete roller. So I bought it to keep it out of the junk yard. I have had it about 6 years or so. I have been keeping an eye out for a wrecked tpi car for a while now but no luck until I found this engine. SO I dug it out the back TODAY, cleaned the crap out of the interior and pressure washed everything and set the new engine in. I have a wrecked 87 trans am 305 tbi with a 5speed out in the country where I store junk cars. I am going to go get it and grab all the rest of the missing parts including the transmission. When I bought the wrecked 87 it ran great and the a/c blew cold. HOPEFULLY it still does. Its been out there about a year. ANYWAYS here are todays progress from where its been sitting for years. The pressure washer pulled alot of the paint off down to the primer lol.

 

more

 

more pics

 

and some more

 

pics pics pics

 

The plans for the car is to fix it back up mostly stock with maybe just exhuast for a nice daily driver... I am NOT restoring this car... I repeat..... I am not.. You dont know how hard it was to not strip under the hood and repaint everything.. I am gonna clean it up as best as I can. Use mostly parts that I have. The only thing I am worried about is that I didnt take it apart and most of the parts were gone. SO I am not sure what everything is or where it goes or what I am missing. SO stay tuned I hope to have more progress next weekend.

 

If I were you, I'd sell all of the other ones to maximize the amount of money you have for this one.

1 nice car >>>> numerous cars in rough shape

Looks like it could be a nice car, with the proper treatment and funds.

 

Depends on what you want... some people love Projects and don't even really care that much about the finished project. There are lots of people that will sell a completed car just to buy more projects.

*edit* Forgot to add, this was brought up in a Editorial recently in either Car Craft, High Performance Pontiac or Hot Rod... I can't remember which, but it was talking about what type of car person are one. One of them was the "Project" person, so I am not just making this stuff up.

 

True, but what good is a project that never gets finished?

Not saying the OP won't finish it (I hope he does), just that I see lots of guys with many cars in rough shape (not just thirdgen guys, any car guys) that aggregate could make for one really nice ride.

Looking forward to seeing more progress, OP. Amazing how much better it looks with just a pressure wash!

 

I am a car horder project guy. I got about 20 of em and 50 or so junk cars. I'm not going to sell all my fbodys. What would I get? 2 or 3K for all of them? no thanks. I'm not that poor yet.

 

BTW I am a ase master tech and work at a chevy dealership and my best friend is a painter...... so.... all the work will be in house as is on all my projects.

 

Like I said, it isn't about finishing the project. You may not understand it, but just accept that it is true

 

I finish a few, and it took me along time to admit.....but I am this way... I prolly finish 25% of my projects, the rest I loose interest in and sell. TO me its all about finding a deal. Dont get me wrong I like driving them too but I know what you mean. Thats why I say I dont need to try and RESTORE this one.. Just clean it up, repaint, drivetrain, interior and drive. Because if I try to make it perfect.. I will loose interest and sell..

 

Decided to do a little work on it when I got home from work before it got dark. I started drilling out the spot welds holding the drivers side battery tray in. This is the only place in the whole car where there is any rust. I did as much as I could with my drill and spot weld cutter. I got about 75% of it cut out but I cant get to the front edge without a angle drill. I will bring my angle drill home tomorrow and finish removing it. BTW.....this kind of work sucks. Once I get it out I have a few small patches then I can weld in a new tray.

 

I suppose I never will understand it. *shrug*

Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

 

I finished cutting out the battery tray, now I need to clean up the rust and patch a few spots. THEN I actually have to FIND a new tray! ALSO, In the last pic of the front of the intake... I know two sensors go in the bottom big holes and a pipe outlet goes in the upper big hole. BUT what goes in the two small threaded holes???

 

ect and cold start switch

 

Thanks but I knew that... I am talking about the two smallest threaded bolt holes.

 

Busy weekend. sadly none of it I spent working on the GTA. Went to Eloree trial "horse races" saturday, then spent all day sunday getting my bro in law out of jail and atending a funeral. I am going to tow the GTA to a friend of mines body shop and he is going to sand blast the rusty area where the battery tray was.

 

For me I like the projects, always have one going on....

Kind of a sickness really and it becomes a lifestyle...

Of course I have a nice garage with "an awesome set of tools".

FWI GTAs have more value to third gen fans if you decide to sell.

 

I call the sickness "automotive A.D.D."

 

On my 1991 350 TPI Formula, one of the bolt holes mentioned is used to attach a brace for the A/C compressor. The other is empty.

 

THANKS!!!

 

Dug it back out... Gonna start back on it.. I bought another LS1 trans am an a 86 z28, and been working on my 84 buick t-type so I got side tracked JUST a little.. I wanna get back on this soon!

 

That's how it goes, at least for me....
I changed the cam in my 69 and it took me all summer to get it tuned again. I have started on the 86 again....

Thanks for the update. For me, if I don't have the interest they do not get done.
Sometimes they have to sit for a while but that is better than giving up!