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As the photos in preceding posts showed, the power antenna repair evolved into a slightly larger project than I had expected. Aside from installed the repaired power antenna assembly, I will also be:
- Cleaning the backside of the RF wheel while it's off. Does not appear that it's ever been done, and needs it.
- Clean the RF inner wheel well. Looks pretty good for the most part, just dirty.
- Clean the plastic fender liner. What should be clean, smooth plastic is covered with little bumps of tar and road debris.
- Address the areas on the fender edge where the plastic liner rubs against the painted surface of the wheel arch when fastened in place. It's certainly dirty, and the paint is rubbed through in a spot or two. Those will need some love for sure.
- Seal (POR15) the surface rust in the area under the ECM harness pass-through. Then reseal the reinstalled harness pass-through.
- Repair cracks in radio pod. This would be a logical time to change out the radio too...Tape for CD. But there are some harness changes required, and I think I will limit the number of systems I touch at one time. If the worst should happen and the rebuilt antenna won't work properly, I want to know that I'm using all the same components as when the unit left for rebuild. Besides, the radio trim plate, and radio R&R are so easy on this car, it's not a lot of wasted motion to re-install the cassette, then change it later.
- While I may forgo the CD player for now, I think I will take this opportunity to remove the dash pad, and change the front speakers.
- With the cluster trim off, now is the time to clean/polish the lens over the gauges. Per a recommendation here on TGO, I'll be picking up some "Brillianize" from a local supplier on Thursday. http://www.brillianize.com/
That just leaves the I/P trim, and one of the few obvious modifications that I plan to make to this car. From the time I joined TGO, and started following Luis' build thread for his TTA, I fell in love with the look of the aluminum trim rings he had made for the Firebird instrument cluster. When an opportunity came up to buy a trim plate with these rings already epoxied in from a forum member here, I could not resist. Picked this up last fall. Unfortunately, I discovered that his trim was different than mine (his may be a 91-92 piece for an airbag car). So I've been working on popping those trim rings off the trim without bending them. I was a little nervous at a few points, but I got them to come off.
I'm trying to get a little something done each day. So tonight, while listening to the last couple of innings of the Tigers baseball game on the radio, I made the first repair (of several steps) to the pod. Nothing fancy, just some quick setting JB Weld.
It's amazing how long 10 minutes is when you have to stand in one spot and hold something together while the epoxy sets up.
After it set up, I tied it in place, and left it to cure overnight. Then on to the second of those trim rings. I cleaned one up previously, just to see what it was going to be like. Now that my need for them is a little more immediate, I wanted to get another one finished. It takes a lot of hand-cramping effort to hold those little rings and scrape that epoxy off, while not bending the ring. But it's nice mindless work to do while the ball game is on. Besides, the Tigers won.
Last edited by DynoDave43; 04-14-2015 at 10:22 PM.
Yay, the rings
I can't get them to properly stick to my trim piece.
They keep breaking loose after a while, due to the veeeery slight curvature of the trim.
Will be interesting to see how your results are going to be.
Yes, I love the way those rings look. I have a few photos of your dash saved, because I liked these so much. I still need to get a parrot though.
Adhesive....they were not going to fall out of the trim I bought. The guy who installed them used an epoxy of some sort. Interesting you say yours keep breaking loose....I had thought of trying to find an adhesive a little less strong, in case I ever have to R&R them again. I was thinking black silicone. Will stay somewhat flexible, easy to remove in the future if needed, and it will fill the gap, not allowing light through.
Thinking about this today, I may try and find another cluster trim plate to attach these to, and save my original, in case I ever want to go back.
Arr! Me m8ie be needin' his own parrot! Me be sendin' ya one via rum-bottle post
The issue with the rings is that the bezel is slightly curved and I use large vise grips to hold them in place over night after glueing them in.
That holds for about a month or two. Then they come loose at the top.
So your idea with the silicone might be the way to go. You can position them however you want that way.
I see. So you were trying to glue them flat...so there would be no gap. I can see how that tension would stress the adhesive, and perhaps cause it to fail.
Like Luis and these rings previous owner, I was just going to either split the difference, or put all of the gap at the bottom, and live with it.
That's interesting NCC-2569. If you look at the last photo I have in post 142, of the assembly out of the car, you can see my grommet. Looks a little different than yours maybe, and was actually very easy to remove. Still not sure why that hood pad style retainer is there (first photo in post 130).
Thank you 2Much79.
Thank you RTGTA. It has it's little battle scares here and there, like any 25+ year old car will. I'd like it to be perfect, but of course, it's not. Just have to keep after it.
The antenna assembly hit the mail this morning. Should arrive at re-builder this week. Called Hawks and ordered some of those push-in retainers for the plastic inner fender. Interestingly (mantaguy), the one's they list are like the ones you linked to...threaded, with a philips head. He went and checked them on the shelf for me. He did have some that he said were just slightly larger, and were like my originals. I ordered those. If they are too big for the holes in the fender, I'll get the other ones. They should arrive this week.
In the mean time, lots of other chores to do.
Hey Dave
I got some more info for ya on these antennas that a lot of us have.
Check this link out. I posted this over at "the other site" in Dec.
I bought 2 of these listed, and with a cable adapter, they're a plug and play unit!
So when mine totally go , motors that is, I'll have a replacement...or two!
I actually have that one "subscribed" Bob. Can't beat that price for a new piece. I'm in the same boat as you...when my current unit fails, I'll go that route for sure. Thanks.
I wanted to add a second and third layer of reinforcement to that broken plate on the top of the radio pod (a ridiculously thin area for a fastening point that's carrying the weight of the pod, radio, HVAC controls, etc.).
With the first layer of JB cured up, I wanted to add a little reinforcement over just another layer of JB. So I picked up a package of aluminum screen patches, and cut and shaped it to fit the pocket behind the cracked/repaired area.
Then I trimmed it, laid down a layer of JB to the whole pocket, added the screen, and another layer of JB on top of that. I'll go over it one more time after this cures for 24 hours.
I have no idea if this will be a "good" repair, but I had to try something. Still more to do.
Got another gauge trim ring cleaned up while listening to the Tigers win another ball game (8-1 !), and even made time to clean up an aluminum knuckle and the wheel bearing mounting bolts for an Olds I working on. Not of ton of time spent, but some steady progress. Don't know if I'll be able to work in the shop tomorrow...the Tigers have the night off.
I also heard from the gentlemen repairing the power antenna assembly. It arrived in good condition today. He already has it apart, and aside from some dirt and old grease to clean up, the only part needing replacement is the cable. He hoped to have it back in the mail to me by Friday. Very fast service, and it will probably be here and ready to go back in before I'm ready for it.
You can also still get the complete mast assembly at Classic Industries pn# G4825 for $105.99. I done this also due to my mast was bent, so I replaced it.
Welcome NCC.
Last edited by Bob88GTA; 04-16-2015 at 07:04 AM.
Reason: more info
Yep, another week of great cruising weather here in Michigan. Hard to make out in the photo, but it's snowing. At least I'm not missing much with the car out of service for the moment.
Parts have been arriving this week. First were the clips from Hawks on Monday. I have not done a side by side photo, but I will. A quick glance at both, and I'd say these are at least a reasonable facsimile of the originals.
(Note: When ordering from Hawks, their default fastener is the threaded version of the same type of fastener as described in by mantaguy in posts 127-129 in this thread. The ones I ordered were "on the shelf right next to them", and were sent to me by request. They may be slightly larger...time will tell if these work.)
Then the power antenna assembly came back. Nicely packaged, with some instructions on testing before installation. I may clean it up a little cosmetically before re-installing. No one will ever see it, but I'll know. I won't waste a lot of time on it; perhaps just enough to slow the corrosion.
Lastly, the trim plate I bought from mantaguy (Thanks Franny!)
Had a few moments today to begin addressing the crack on the other side of the radio pod. I took a slightly different approach on this one, electing to use a plastic specific version of super glue first. I thought its very liquid nature would better penetrate the portions here that are cracked, but not broken into two pieces like the other side was. Later I'll give it the same JB Weld/wire screen/JB Weld reinforcement the other side got.
In the today's installment of the on-going restoration of the radio pod...I saw an NOS one with a couple of trim plates on ebay for $300+, so I'm good with investing some time and epoxy into this one.
I filled the crack (in the post above) with Loctite Plastics. After that cured 24 hours, it got a bed of JB Weld, some wire screen, then a top coat of JB Weld. Seems quite solid now.
Now to something more aesthetic. Much of this loose edge is hidden by the radio trim plate, but I figured it wasn't going to get any better with time.
This side was the worst.
A wooden paint stick cut down to spread the clamping load, and a thin little bead of Gorilla Glue, some clamps, and hopefully that will be the end of that problem.
One more detail. I placed the radio in the repaired frame before making today's round of repairs, and noticed there's a little slop between the guide pin on the back of the radio and the mating hole on pod. Not a lot I thought I could do with it, but I decided to try anyway. A quick coat of liquid electric tape might provide a little cushion for that pin. Time will tell.
With all of these repairs, hopefully I've eliminated a few rattles. Still hundreds to go, but you have to start somewhere.
If I hate squeaks and rattles, should I not have bought an '80s uni-body car with t-tops and WS6 suspension?
Talking cars. Well, sort of like an old person who groans going up and down stairs, mine groans going over bumps, in and out of driveway, etc. Lots of Michigan pot holes. No regrets, and I'll chase the one's that I can. Sub-frame connectors and strut tower brace someday. Mostly for the good of the car.
It's a nice touch that our Firebirds have much of their hard plastic trim covered in molded foam and vinyl. But this stuff isn't aging very gracefully.
Last nights repair to the lower lip worked out OK. As you can see in post #164, I was only able to clamp the middle 1/3 of the surface. Looking at it glued and clamped, I could see that the force was not as evenly spread as I would like (100% is what I would have liked). Try as I might, I could not come up with a way to get clamps on the outer ends. The repair came out well, and more importantly, will hopefully stop further decay of that lip. As it's covered by the radio trim plate, long term durability was my largest concern. I believe that has been addressed.
So tonight's plan...tune in the Tigers game (up 4-0 in the 1st inning!), and clean the pod (lots of years of small stains, spills and splashes), and also clean the new cluster trim plate in preparation for setting in the trim rings.
But, I'm not quite done yet. As I'm rolling the part around in my hand, I noticed this. More of the shrinking vinyl around the passenger side vent.
Driver side looks OK, for comparison.
I carefully popped the vent out, and everything looks good, just a little curled at the edge. There's not enough of a lip on the vent to cover this curl, so it will have to be repaired.
A quick test clamping of the area shows that a repair should be pretty easy, but what product to use?
The Gorilla glue seems to have worked well on that lower lip, but I'm a little worried about the thickness of the foam padding in this area versus other areas I have repaired. It's quite think. With Gorilla glue bragging about expanding 2-4x it's original size, I don't want it to puff this area out worse than it is. But I don't know what other product I would use. JB Weld would just sit on the surface, and I'm not sure I trust the super glue type products (synoacrolates)...not sure how they would react with that foam. Could melt it, or?
Also, not actually repairing any "looseness" in the vinyl cover....just trying to re-compress the foam and vinyl.
Perhaps you could remove a bit of the foam and replace it with something solid, which you could glue to the vinyl and the backside.
Doesn't have to be anything thick, just like your paint stick perhaps.
Perhaps you could remove a bit of the foam and replace it with something solid, which you could glue to the vinyl and the backside.
Doesn't have to be anything thick, just like your paint stick perhaps.
I may have to try that. But I decided to try gluing the foam first. I can always cut it away later if that does not work.
A bead of Gorilla glue, used the tip of a screwdriver to work it into the foam, then clamped. We'll see what it looks like tomorrow.
I noticed the inside surface of the trim rings did not have a uniform finish, within each ring, and from ring to ring. I hit them all with a new Scotch-Brite pad to even up the finish.
Just sitting loosely...not in place yet.
I'm going to try installing these using a bead of black silicone. It should be adhesive enough, removable if I ever need them to be, and it should help fill some of the gaps around the ring (they are not a 100% perfect fit to the trim, and light can leak around them from behind). I'll run a bead on the trim, then set the rings into it. To avoid getting it on the trim rings, I tapes them up.
These rock back and forth pretty good when not glued in, so I thought I'd set one at a time, rather than trying to handle the part with 4 rings sitting in wet silicone. Wanted to set the first one tonight, but with a few hours of yard work when I got home this evening, my back is killing me.
I know it's slow progress, but I'm happy to just be finding time to get out there some each night.
With luck, I'll set the first trim ring tomorrow, get the side vent back in the pod, and polish the cluster lens.
I wasn't going to mess with this, but who knows when I'll pass this way again. So now's the time to deal with all of the curling. This is actually the most curled of all of the vinyl on the pod. Hard to believe it would ever decay enough to come all the way around the front, but since I'm here...
Glued and clamped.
You may notice the the two photos above are sans the duct work that feeds those side vents. 4 screws (two long below, two short inside) and the duct drops out. Another area to clean. But mostly I dropped it out because I noticed the assembly creaked when you moved it. This was shifting/flexing of the pod exterior against the hard plastic duct. Also, it was flexing of the staped together duct assembly. Since it was out, I decided to epoxy those gaps to try and make it a little more rigid, below on both sides...
..and above on both sides.
I've got an idea to "pad" the interface between the duct and pod without adding a lot of thickness. I'll work on that tomorrow.
Since this took more time than I had planned (!), I'm skipping the lens polishing for tonight, but I did want to get the first of those cluster trim rings set in place. A couple of the thinnest beads of black silicone I could muster applied around the inside of the gauge opening on the trim, and in went ring #1. I had made a couple of dry runs, and had determined a plastic putty knife I have was just the right thickness for setting the gap at the bottom of the ring. Set in place to dry, with a little cleanup to remove excess silicone from the back. I was happy I managed to NOT get any on the trim on the front.
This was a first. This time the Gorilla glue "foamed" a little bit, and expanded out some.
Had to pry the stir stick off of the pod, but no harm. Same good (I hope) repair as in the other spots.
One advantage of using black silicone to set the instrument cluster trim rings is that when there's a film of it left at the very back of the trim ring (plastic trim is deeper than the aluminum ring), it not particularly visible. This was not the case with the white/yellow epoxy glue used before.
I stopped at JoAnn Fabrics yesterday, and picked up this material off the clearance rack. Black, paper thin, soft...and very inexpensive. I used a few pieces of masking tape to help me "think out loud" as it were. Just trying to make sure I understand which surfaces of that duct touch the inside of the pod when installed.
With those surfaces ID'd, I masked the surfaces that were not going to be in contact with the pod.
A coat of spray adhesive.
Cut out a square of material, and coated it as well.
Cloth pressed into place.
After it dried a half hour or so, I removed the paper and tape, and trimmed the excess cloth from the outside...
...then trimmed it from the inside. Hopefully a much less squeak-prone surface.
I pulled the cluster lens. Here you can see the circular "swirls" and scratches from wiping each gauge face clean with a dry towel. I'm hoping this will polish out.
It's getting pretty late up here, but there's time to set one more trim ring before I call it a night.
Silicone bead(s) applied...one shown, I've been doing two...
...ring set in place, and excess silicone removed.
Rings looking good there!
Interesting approach toward the anti-squeak. What made you come up with the idea to use this type of cloth if it's so expensive?
And the swirls will go out of the cluster lens.
Did mine some years back and used Meguiar's PlastX (which I can see on one of the pics above ).
If that doesn't help, wet sand them with high grit sanding paper and clean up with PlastX.
Interesting approach toward the anti-squeak. What made you come up with the idea to use this type of cloth if it's so expensive?
Yeah, it was just an idea. Don't know if ti will work, but we'll find out. And to clarify...it was inexpensive cloth. I was going to buy the minimum amount...1 yard...and that was $8.00 on clearance. When she unrolled the bolt of cloth, there was only about another 2/3 of a yard left after my yard was purchased. They offered me the remaining material for an addition $2.50 or so. So I have $10.50 or there about in material. So if it work, I have lots more material to do future repairs.
Originally Posted by NCC-2569
And the swirls will go out of the cluster lens.
Did mine some years back and used Meguiar's PlastX (which I can see on one of the pics above ).
Yes, that Meguiar's PlastX is what I plan to try on the lens. I'm glad to hear you've had good luck with it.
Didn't get out to the shop on the 4th, and probably won't tonight. But I was out there for a few minutes last night, and got the last of the glued cloth cut out of the duct, and polished up the lens. Came out nice!
BEFORE
AFTER
It appears to have a slight haze in that photo, that is much more the product of me trying to take a photo of a clear lens under florescent lights than the actual clarity of the lens.
That haze is physically there, due to YEARS of UV exposure through the trim openings.
I guess you could get rid of it by wet sanding and polishing, but why bother?
Thanks guys. I appreciate the encouragement and kind words. I took a few days off because I had one of those "two steps forward, one step back" moments, and needed to set this eggshell of a radio pod down before I got too frustrated with it.
I was continuing my efforts to cushion everything in an attempt to kill squeaks. Both the tips of the ducts and the tabs they interlock with on the pod...
...got a skim coat of brush-on electrical sealer/liquid vinyl.
I added a cloth covering to the spot that the floor bracket bolts to the pod...
...and was working on a piece for the back of the repaired cross-brace, when it broke again. I must admit, I was pressing on it way to hard, so it really is my fault.
I had created a large "support" of JB Weld and screen, and this popped away from the plastic, leaving sort of a ball and socket. Too smooth, I should have roughed the plastic up with some 80 grit first. But also, it called into the question the strength of an all-epoxy repair anyway.
So, cleaned up, roughed up, and glued back together, and allowed to dry for 24 hours.
This time she'll get more epoxy, but also an aluminum plate, and some mechanical fasteners holding in two directions. Roughed up, the top hole drilled. But the side hole required a Dremel with a 90* attachment.
Started shaping a plate...
...and the final shape with hole locations marked.
Pre-tapping the holes with self tapping screws, which not only cut their own threads, but have a very low profile head and washer.
Then a bed of epoxy, aluminum plate, and screws. If this doesn't hold, I'm giving up!
And even better, there was additional damage to the cross-rail. It got Plastic super-glued...
...roughed up with 80 grit, then the epoxy and screen treatment.
I am always impressed with your work. Well done!
Question about the car though. How is it power wise? Enough to have some fun and turn some heads? I ask because I found a 88 T/A with the 305 TBI and auto trans and I haven't even gone and looked at it because of the engine/trans combo.
Thanks chazman. Wish I had a heated shop, and could have gotten some if this done over the winter. But there is a local cruise in September that I want to be ready for, and at the pace this is going, I should make it. (kidding)
Originally Posted by RTGTA
I am always impressed with your work. Well done!
Thank you!
Originally Posted by RTGTA
How is it power wise?
That's a very subjective thing. I had two L03 powered vehicles before this one (a G20 conversion van with 3.42 gears I towed our travel trailer with, and my first new car, a 1991 Camaro RS with 5 speed with 3.08 gears), so I knew what I was getting into. Test drove it, it was what I expected, so I'm satisfied. I've never been the sort that had to have the fastest car, or felt I had anything to prove on the street. It scoots away from a corner nicely, feels quicker than it is around town. It will run with an LB9 in the lower rpm range of each gear, but loses out at the top of each gear as the rpms crest 4000. All I can suggest is that if the car interests you, stop and drive it. What can you lose? Just remember that 3 V8s were offered, this was the entry level one. Two transmissions were offered, the auto is the less performance oriented. Several gear ratios were available, and 2.73s were the most highway oriented.
That's a very subjective thing. I had two L03 powered vehicles before this one (a G20 conversion van with 3.42 gears I towed our travel trailer with, and my first new car, a 1991 Camaro RS with 5 speed with 3.08 gears), so I knew what I was getting into. Test drove it, it was what I expected, so I'm satisfied. I've never been the sort that had to have the fastest car, or felt I had anything to prove on the street. It scoots away from a corner nicely, feels quicker than it is around town. It will run with an LB9 in the lower rpm range of each gear, but loses out at the top of each gear as the rpms crest 4000. All I can suggest is that if the car interests you, stop and drive it. What can you lose? Just remember that 3 V8s were offered, this was the entry level one. Two transmissions were offered, the auto is the less performance oriented. Several gear ratios were available, and 2.73s were the most highway oriented.
Good explanation. It's just a solid cruiser that is still a good time is what I take from that. I had a 1990 GTA with a 305 TPI with a 5 speed and my brother had a 1991 RS with a 305 TBI and a 5 speed and between the two was night and day difference. It is all subjective though like you had said. I imagine if one were to change the rear ratio that would make a huge difference. Anyways, thanks for the answer!
The weekend is here...finally! Was a busy day with my daughter and wife's dance recital and family dinner. But a snuck out to the garage for a few minutes, removed all of the accessory switches from the old cluster trim plate, cleaned them, and got them install on the new cluster trim plate.
Maybe you might get to take it OUT SOON!!!!! It's been beautiful here in S.Jersey all week except for the threat of a THUNDER STORM Last Night and this evening.Figures, we have a 3rd gen meet tonight and it doesn't look too good right now.
I know. It's just killing me to be doing all this work NOW, while the weather is nice. But working on it over the winter was just not an option.
Not much to show for another days work, but all hours that need to be put into the project one way or another.
I removed all the old silicone sealer from the ECM harness pass-through area (inside and out), and cleaned the areas with Eastwood's PRE. I also cleaner the inner fender lip where the plastic liner attaches to the fender, as the paint is worn away around some of those mounting holes, and a little rust had started on the surface. Then all of those areas got a coat of POR-15.
I'd love to update this thread with all of the great progress I've made in the last few weeks, but with summer coming on, family activities multiplying, other chores, and a looming job change after 26 years at the same place, it's been very tough to get out to the garage.
While the RF wheel was off, it was time for a 26 year cleanup.
Gettin' there.
Done. I'll apply something to protect it a little.
A few nicks on the front...
Thank you Dr. ColorChip.
The fender liner was no better.
Cleaned.
And a little chemical help to look newer / blacker.
I'm sorry some of these photos are a little fuzzy. I guess I had a little too much coffee today.
And the last of the missing fasteners to reattach those liners.
Did you use rim cleaner for the inside or something more aggressive?
Yes, I started with a clear coat safe wheel cleaner, and a wheel cleaning brush (pretty soft, long bristles). That got 75% of it off. A short, stiff bristled hand cleaning brush with the same wheel cleaner knocked off the rest of the dirt and brake dust.
Bug & tar remover on a rag took car of the hardened ball joint grease "blobs".
The remainder was hardened road tar, with little bits of gravel embedded, and some staining from tar and grease. The final pass with with a green scotch bright pad and bug & tar remover.
In other words, it was a lot more work than I thought it was going to be!
There was a bit of r......ru......rust! (that's hard to say) on the tabs of the fender where the plastic fender liner fastens to it. While my car never saw a winter, it was driven, and has seen some rain. I guess chafing plastic and steel with a little water in between leads to rust. I touched up the face of each steel tab with some POR15, then went to order some touch-up.
Started with Autozone online...I didn't really expect to walk into my local store and find them stocking paint for my 26 year old car. But I did expect to be able to order it on line. Lesson for me...WA8774 Bright Red is not longer available in Duplicolor or Plastikote touch-up. Yikes!
Then I remembered someone here had ordered custom blended touch-up in a spray can from APS Tower Paint Co.
Called them up, and it is shipping tomorrow, along with an appropriate clear. While 95% of that tabbed surface is hidden by the plastic liner, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that it's a really good match.
Holy cow...where DOES the time go? With two teens researching college (and road trips to accommodate same), a job change, and some other personal obstacles, I simply had to set the T/A aside for a while. Hated to do it.
Anyway, we're back in full swing with the stereo upgrade, driven by the need to repair the power antenna.
Close to two years ago, I picked up a Pontiac CD player. It was shipped to a forum member for a refresh, including the addition of an MP3 jack. This required the purchase of an adapter, which I spliced into for a 300w amplifier. I also had to create a bypass of this wiring, to keep an original (non-boosted) signal for the factory subwoofer system. Here are a few pics.
Old radio on the left (worn out tape head), new unit on left with working CD player and MP3 jack, and adapter harness sitting on top.
FYI on the adapter...the manufacturer makes these for Fieros, and could not guarantee it would work with the Firebird. The radio on left was installed with this adapter into the factory harness prior to any modifications, and everything worked flawlessly.
Transferring a few brackets from one radio to another.
A few pieces that I hope will make it possible to enjoy music at speed with the t-tops out!
No turning back now. Purists and audiophiles look away!
Twisting together two sets of "outputs" from the radio, one for the Clarion amp, the other for the UQ7 subwoofer amp. These all get soldered.
Then a third set which will come back from the Clarion amp to the factory speaker wiring.
All of the soldered connections get a coat of brush-on electrical sealer (liquid tape).
Each soldered and sealed connection gets a wrap of electrical tape for abrasion protection.
Then bundles get wrapped in another layer to stop the first from unraveling, as tape will do. To prevent the outer layer from unraveling, a zip tie holds the bundle in place. Weird? Excessive? Amateur? I don't know, but I've done many an external (exposed to the weather) harness this way for year, and never had a failure. So I know it's durable, and electrically sound. That's all I'm after. I do NOT want to be trying to folding my 50+ y.o. body into the under-dash area of this car again any time soon.
By splicing into the adapter, I can remove the adapter and reinstall the original radio (if I ever want to), and no wires at the radio have been tampered with.
I will, however, have to cut and splice into the factory harness at the UQ7 amplifier. It's already been dropped for this purpose. More on that later.
Last edited by DynoDave43; 03-14-2016 at 11:44 PM.
I did pop a cover off the rear speakers on the passenger side. Just the way Mother Motors bolted them together 28 years ago. Interesting bit of "sealer" applied along the top edge...I suppose to prevent vibrations/rattles.
Using the flash to take a peak through the cloth covering the subwoofer, the root of the distortion in the UQ7 system is clear. Further repairs are in order. I'll try to pull them tomorrow and get new surrounds ordered.
Dave, I must say I came across your thread a little late, but if I'am the Prince of ****, you are the King-CEO-President and WORLD RULER. I bow to you Sir!
I'am only 73 and have had my 1991 Formula 350 that I bought it as a leftover. I had a 1979 Trans Am-1989 TTA and both were show cars, but this one started out as a DD. It was garaged and being that I had my own Detailing Business for 25 years, it was taken care of. The winter we had here in 1995 was really bad and I had to take it off the road. That is when i got another DD and my Formula than became a show car. Back then these cars were a dime a dozen and were called TURD Gens. No respect when it started because nobody thought this was a rare bird, but now 20 years later it is a Survivor with the original paint-interior and motor. I now enter shows where I am the ONLY 3rd Gen and people want to know what an SLP means. EVERY square inch is gone over and when you say IT'S ORIGINAL, they look at you and think no way. Yes our cars have some chips, but overall they are now antiques and STILL look way too good from a styling viewpoint.
Just a couple of quick points, such as, if your undercarriage is showing signs of surface rust, check out to see if anybody is still installing ZBART. I had mine done with a product that went on like black wax and dried a semi gloss. Spray the rear fenderwells with gloss black. Do get the Sub Frame Connectors and the LCA and enjoy your new found handling and tightness. A new exhaust system will give you a few ponies, but it will SOUND faster and the chrome tips are a nice bonus. There is a product that you can paint onto your exhaust manifolds that will give them a nice silver gray look and does not burn off. Sorry if I go on to telling you what to do, I just enjoy seeing you go into such depth with your detailing.
Last edited by edpontiac91; 03-15-2016 at 10:30 PM.
Well thank you sir. I drooled over the photos of your car in the COTM nomination thread, so any compliment coming from you certainly means something!
Yes, there are no end to the projects to try and prevent, or roll back, the ravages of time, even when most of that time was spent in a garage. While I'll never stray too far from stock, I do intend to add sub-frame connectors at some point, and a strut tower brace. I actually consider these to be GOOD for the car in the long run, structurally speaking.
And I do plan to address several more of the things you mentioned, over time. Surface rust on the axle, control arms, etc. will be removed and/or neutralized one way or another. Exhaust improvements (supposedly one of the best things you can do for an L03, if you are inclined to invest in the engine) are in the short term plans (the factory muffler finally rusted through at a seam, and is forcing my hand on the timing of it).
Mines not perfect by any means, but is a very nice old car. It's in better shape at 28 than I am at 51!
04-14-2015, 10:17 PM
At least I'm not missing much with the car out of service for the moment.
