QwkTrip

iTrader: (22)

Man, that's a great idea with your mirror! I like it!

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

What about LED strips or EL wire?

I saw a hotrod show once were they put a strip of LEDs behind acrylic, then epoxied it in place.
Once dry, sanded and formed the Acrylic to match the housing, then primed and painted right over it.
The LEDs are right enough to shine thru the primer and paint. It was super cool.
Not servicable in any way, but neat.

Your idea is more OEM looking so that is cool in its own right!

battmann

iTrader: (9)

I bought some LED strips off eBay. They’re pretty cool. They are DRL with switchback sequential turn signals. The LED strip is encased in flexible silicone. Maybe I’ll try mounting the LEDs first and see what happens. I can cut a hole in the mirror housing that will fit both lenses. That way I could go back to my more stock idea if I have to. Not sure which way to go now.
Pic comparing the LED with the cut down stock lens.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

Got ambitious and cut the hole in the mirror housing. I drilled 3/8” diameter holes at each end and then used a Dremel to make the straight cuts between the holes. A cutoff wheel would’ve been quicker but I figured a cutoff disc on the Dremel would help me make straighter cuts. This is turning out awesome so far. I need to shape the lens a little more with the heat gun but it’s pretty darn close

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

This is honestly one of the more refreshingly new unique ideas I have seen done for these cars in a long time. I was skeptical at first, but those latest images look like you nailed it. Very cool.

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

Couldn't agree more! Great to see someone trying something new that actually takes a lot of effort. Those are always the things that pay off the most in the end.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

I created a 3D model of the blinker housing for the inside of the mirror and my buddy printed a test piece for me. There’s a lot of compound curves so I need to cut / sand this thing to fit properly. Once I have the shape figured out, I can revise my 3D model and then print new final pieces.

stuartswede

Man that is outside the box, or inside I guess, really cool.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

So my first housing insert design wasn’t working out very well so I had to revise the shape of this thing. I also had to move where the bulb socket attaches because it interfered with the mirror. I tried modeling the piece so it fit perfect after printing but I still can’t figure out how to correctly model all the compound curves. I had to model the piece oversized and then cut it down to fit. It was tedious but worked out really well. My painter still has my set of power side mirrors so I don’t know if the inside mirror mounting points are different between the power and non-power versions. Worst case I’ll just use a non-powered set I have since I know they will work. The final inserts I print will be a high temp material in white.

QwkTrip

iTrader: (22)

This thread is destined to be legendary for that mirror idea.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

Only small progress today as it’s really cold out in the garage.
Installed a spare hatch release button to function as my electric fuel door release. It’s the button on the left in the picture below. There was an unused hole in the dash and the button fit perfectly. I’ll just have to cut a square hole in the dash trim piece for this added button. I need to get all my dash buttons restored. They look like doo doo.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

Worked with Unleaded Designs to make a radio bezel specific to my double-din install. Turned out great!

soloc4

I had him do my 2D radio bezel and shift plate with cup holders. He does excellent work. Your project is amazing and it looks like you are getting very close to completing it. Very nice work.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

Thanks for kind words soloc4!
There’s a lot of builds on here much nicer / cooler than mine. Happy to see people stopping in to check out my car and leave a comment even though my progress has been slower than death on crutches at times. When I started this build I was younger, thinner, had more hair, less money and no kids. Times sure have changed! Lol

battmann

iTrader: (9)

Got my catch can installed today. While I was working on this I saw my plastic plug wire separators are starting to warp from the heat on the PS of the engine. For added protection I put a heat sleeve over the hose from the catch can to the valve cover. Ordered some replacement aluminum wire separators on Amazon to replace the plastic ones.

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

Is that block all vacuum? Interesting.
Never seen anything like that before.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

yes - this block is all vacuum. there's 1/4" NPT holes at each end and then four 1/8" NPT holes on the top and bottom of the block. the large hose on the right goes to the brake booster. there's a 'T' in this line to the underside of the intake manifold. the large hose on the left goes to the catch can. the small hoses on the bottom are for (from left to right): hobbs switch for second fuel pump in the tank, AEM boost controller gauge, adjustable fuel pressure regulator and blow-off valve.
there were a few NPT holes on the bottom of my intake manifold, but they're really hard to access. figured having this block mounted on the firewall would make things a lot easier.

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

Super interesting. Thanks for taking the time to explain.
I bet future you will be thanking today you when it comes time to troubleshoot any issues!

battmann

iTrader: (9)

So I went for my first drive yesterday after installing the catch can and the breather blew half off! I bought this can used so maybe I need a check valve fitting on one side?? I emailed the can manufacturer for help. I might just buy a whole new kit since this is one of the few used parts on the car.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

My job has been so busy lately that I haven't been able to work on the car very much. A couple weeks ago I was able to get all of my interior wiring wrapped up. I ran all the RCAs, amp turn-on wire and speaker wires back to the hatch well. Also neatened up some routing and added zip ties / loom so the wires would be more secure and protected.







This past weekend my friend came over to help me install all of the t-top and door weatherstripping. I'm really hoping these things don't leak cause the t-top portion was a huge PITA! Not sure why, but my painter removed the t-top pin receivers on the car. Trying to get those installed back in the right spot definitely didn't help. I still have to adjust the tops. The front edge seems to sit up too high. Maybe the weatherstripping will compress some after it sits awhile. This thing is starting to look more like a car again. I need to install the window regulators and tracks in the doors so I can have a shop install the windshield and door glass. Hope to get that done in the next couple weeks. Wanted the windshield in before reassembling the front end.





Bought a new Mightymouse Gen5 catch can and got that installed.





Mounted some remote battery terminals under the rear bumper so I won't have to mess with the hatch or interior when I hook up the trickle charger for the winter.



Last update was I just got the 3D printed center caps I designed back from being painted. The color doesn't look right in the picture, but the paint is the same as the wheel color and the Pontiac logo is filled in with body color paint. Need to get some plastic JB Weld to glue these to the backing clips so I can install them.

NCC-2569

iTrader: (1)

I'm sure there's a very good reason for it, that I missed somewhere, but... why have you bolted that microfibre cloth down?

battmann

iTrader: (9)

I had those in there to try and protect the paint. The caster / camber plates are bolted in just so I could move the car around. There's hardly any weight in the car right now so I can't get the front end aligned yet. Figured the plates might end up in different spots when I get the dialed-in alignment and was trying to avoid having scratches on the fender wells from their current placement. I wish there was a way to have a gasket or something to put under these. Thought about doing something in rubber or cork, but that might allow the plates to shift or flex while driving.

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

Great idea about the battery terminals under the car. I am 100% going to copy you. Thanks for the idea.

What door weather stripping did you end up going with?

I have GM window pieces that were new 15 years ago, but my doors I could never find back then, so they are soft seal and I don't like them.
Can't find anyone that makes good door weather stripping.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

No problem! That's why I post this stuff. It's so hard to think 10 steps ahead and fully plan everything out on a full build. I've ran into lots of things that we've had to address as we go. Some stuff I probably would've done different had I thought about it sooner. Hopefully my posts help people plan out their build better than me.
I got all Fairchild weatherstripping through Rockauto. I'm pretty sure I found a thread on TGO saying that they're the best if you can't find original GM stuff. I used Metro on the other Trans Am I built a couple years ago and didn't really like their products.

soloc4

Not too high jack, but I recently used Steele Rubber kit and it is the closest to OEM that I could find. The fit is great and I don’t have to slam the doors to fully latch them. I know that this has been a hotly debated subject and I haven’t heard of anyone using the Steele Rubber products.

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the heads up. When bored at work in a meeting I would just Google "92 door weatherstripping" and scan results looking for a good option. Avoiding Soffseal. Never ran across this option. Will most likely give them a chance. Thanks again.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

Worked on adjusting the t-tops over the weekend. I ended up removing the plastic edging on the tops as they were cracked and falling apart. Took forever to remove all the glue / caulk from the glass but they look pretty good. I also replaced the weatherstripping on the edge of the t-tops with new ones (where the top of the door glass seals). The kit I bought came with new metal channels for the weatherstripping, but they were too long and the weatherstripping didn't fit very good in them. I ended up just installing the weatherstripping in the factory metal channels. After that I fine tuned the t-top alignment so now they fit a lot better. I think I'm going to have to reglue the weatherstripping down. Doesn't seem like the glue I got worked very well. Still need to paint the edge of the t-tops. I'm painting all of this black trim a metallic gunmetal color.















Not having much luck with the things I can't do myself. Called to check on the seats I'm getting upholstered and the guy isn't done and couldn't give me a timeframe when they'll be finished. When I dropped them off, he said they would be done mid-April. Next week will be June! Then I tried calling to schedule a windshield install and they couldn't get me in until June 15th! Ugh. I may try to tackle installing the door glass next. The doors were gutted for paint so it's probably going to suck installing all the tracks and then trying to align the glass. Maybe if I get it close, I can have the windshield place do some final adjustments.
I registered for the Goodguys Show in Columbus OH July 7-9 but I don't know if the car will be done by then. Guess we'll see what happens next month. The car is drivable so maybe I'll still take it. Backup plan will be to take my stock '84 TA.

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

Sorry to hear about the outside guys dragging. Stinks.
I feel like the door windows can't be THAT bad... right?
I plan to gut my doors in the summer to get them ready for paint.
I am mentally compartmentalizing the doors as a mini "project". haha.

Anyways, good luck. T-tops look great.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

My friend printed out a test door striker spacer for me. I bought some billet strikers but I think they might be a little shorter than the stock ones because they needed a lot of washers to space them properly. One big spacer looks way better. Debated making a polished metal spacer but this was a lot easier.

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

Odd that the spacer would be needed.
Have a stock unit to conpare to? I have mine if you want me to caliper some dims from it. Let me know.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

Thanks Dennis - if you could measure the factory striker that would be great. Maybe get a measurement from the tip of the striker to the top face of washer.

So I pulled out the microfiber towels from my strut towers and found some scratches. I’m so bummed! I tried so hard to protect the top of the towers and it still got messed up. Not sure if the scratches happened years ago or when I removed the towels. I was careful and tried to tape everything up. This sucks.
I made gaskets out of cork for now just to remove the mismatched microfiber towels. It looks a lot better (except for the scratches).

battmann

iTrader: (9)

Also ordered a bunch of new hardware for reassembling the front end of the car. Most of the bolts are M6-1.0 but a few are M8-1.25 (I believe). I bought black stainless steel dome head bolts from www.probolt-usa.com
Polished stainless bolts were about 25% cheaper but I think black will look better with the aesthetic of my build.
I get my windshield installed in 2 weeks so trying to get everything I need to install the front end after that.

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

Great idea on the black stainless bolts. Can't wait to see that look. Will strongly consider for mine when the time comes.

Sorry about the scratched works of art that are those strut towers.

I will grab the dimththis weekend.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

Dropped my car off to get the windshield installed today. No more aviator googles!
Hoping to start putting the front end back together this weekend. Then it should start looking like a car again.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

Windshield finally in! Guy ended up making the perimeter molding and not using the replacement molding I provided. He seemed to care about what he was doing which was cool.

NCC-2569

iTrader: (1)

That sure looks nice!
And it appears to be a bit larger than the stock one, so it properly covers the corners.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

been a little couple steps forward, couple steps back lately. starting to get frustrated!
last weekend we attempted to install my MSE rear spoiler and failed miserably. my paint / body guy had to replace the threaded studs because the originals had issues - two were mostly stripped and the other two weren't the same threads. this wasn't noticed when he originally prepped and painted the spoiler. he said the spoiler was fixed but we had to drill new holes in the decklid because the new threaded studs were in different locations. wasn't too happy about that but didn't seem like a huge deal. then we tried to bolt the spoiler down and it was completely racked. the DS spoiler tip was right on the rear fender and the PS side was up like 2"! WTH!! we took a bunch of measurements and the spoiler pedestals are angled in different directions. the DS one slopes to the back of the car and the PS one slopes towards the front. i don't know what the hell happened. this is an original MSE spoiler so it's not like i can just go get another one. we shimmed each stud to figure out how much everything is off. i'm going to have to try and fabricate pedestal mounts / shims to align this thing correctly. i don't have any idea how i'm going to fix this yet.

so after spending half a day on that we decided to try and assemble some of my front end. i've had the fenders in my garage attic since they were painted maybe 4-5 years ago. they were still wrapped with protective paper. when we unwrapped them, i noticed they both had cracks where we glued the fender vents in. i guess material shrunk since the vents are plastic and the fender is metal. PS is worse than DS but both will need to be fixed. yippie! we only installed the PS fender before running out of time. i used the factory bolts for now with nylon washers so hopefully the paint doesn't get scratched before final alignment (that plan didn't really work on my strut towers though...). i'll swap out these bolts for the black stainless ones that i ordered. anyway, gap to door looks good but the gap above the wheel to fender lip is way high. looks awful. i'm thinking the Eibach pro springs aren't seated correctly. i started a thread asking for some input and i'm just going to install front weight jacks on this thing. these will allow me to dial everything in better. i only ordered front ones for now since the rear of the car looks alight.







i put the headlight assemblies back together since we completely disassembled them to lube and repaint all the pieces. good thing i had a reference headlight assembly because they were a little complicated to put back together. it took over an hour and a half for me to try and line up just the PS headlight with the fender. looks sweet but then i remembered i'll probably have to adjust everything again when we go to install the hood. i'm gonna have to get a couple friends over to help with the hood.





also dealing with these issues / setbacks:

• ordered all new black stainless bolts for front end reassembly on 5/29/23. looks like they just shipped yesterday 6/22/23.
• called to check on the progress of my seat reupholstery. dropped them off on 2/22/23. yesterday was 4 months and the guy has only taken my seats apart and ordered the leather. he *hopes* to start patterning them next week - although every time i check in he always hopes to start something next week.
• it doesn't seem like my transmission is getting into overdrive. the ECU says it is, but rpm's never drop. car turns over 3,000rpm going 45mph. multiple online calculators say i should be around 2,400rpm at 60mph with my setup. seems like everything is hooked up / installed correctly so i feel like it's got to be settings in the ECU. i emailed FITech for help but so far that hasn't been very productive.
• my painter finished my front bumper inserts but when he brought them out the paint looked way better than the rest of the car. i asked what happened and he said he used a different clear. i was like "why the hell did you do that!" don't get me wrong, the car looks awesome, but these pieces actually look way better - like they're more vibrant. now i'm debating having him re-clear the whole car. he already has to fix the rear bumper and both fenders so now would be the time to do this. everyone thinks i'm crazy. we've already come this far on the car so why stop now. below is a picture. not the best one, but all i have right now. i need to get a picture of the car and this piece together out in the sun.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

Installed some front UMI weight jacks and the fender gap is now way better. I’m not sure what the issue was with the Eibach pro springs but something in there wasn’t working. I have the front fender lip set at 27” off the ground. Still have the Eibach pro springs in the back and rear fender lip is 28-3/8” off the ground. I may buy rear weight jacks eventually to even everything out but setup looks good for now. While I was under the car I noticed a slight leak from the return line fitting on the steering box. Pulled that out and replaced the o-ring. Seems fixed. I’ll have to keep an eye on that.





Next got the DS fender and headlight assembly aligned. Looks good. I didn’t install the headlights in the buckets yet so there’s more room to access the bumper bolts when I go to put that on. Also decided I better modify my radiator cover panel before I get any further. We made it so you wouldn’t see the bolts on top but if anything happened down the road to my radiator, I’d have a really hard time removing this panel. I cut the threaded studs off the bottom and drilled holes for typical bolts. Doesn’t look as clean as before but this will save “future me” some major headaches.





With the DS headlight now installed I was able to finish my fan relay closure panel. The fan relay is mounted to the back of this metal panel on threaded studs. Once installed, it hides all the wiring and connections. I can’t take full credit for this idea: member customblackbird did something similar in his car.

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

Fantastic update. Thanks for sharing all the details. Makes me feel like my 2 month issue of cleaning out my Moser 12 bolt threaded breather hole fix isn't so bad. Haha.

Keep up the good work!

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

The car is coming along nicely. What diameter intake tube is that? Also, what size air filter did you put on the bottom? I only ask because I have mine routed the exact same way with 4" tubing and a smaller style spectra air filter, but I was pulling vacuum above 5500 rpm. I had to go to a very large K&N unit which almost sticks below the front fender. Its only visible if you get low enough to the ground. You may have similar issues, especially since you'll likely be making more power than me (503 + rwhp). So have a couple filter options on hand when it comes dyno time.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

i'm pretty sure the intake tube is 3" diameter. the intake tube connects to the intercooler for the turbo. the air filter is a Spectre HPR9615K and is on the front of the turbo which is in the passenger side battery tray area. it's the biggest cone air filter that would fit in the space allowed, but it's still fairly small. flange is 4" diameter and it's only about 5-1/4" tall. i bought it on Amazon in 2020 and it looks like Spectre has since discontinued this part.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

Last week I added some adhesive backed heat shield in the engine bay. The turbo and piping is so hot that it was cracking the bondo on the PS fender well. I got black as I thought it went better with the theme of my engine bay. The stuff is DEI part number 50552. I made a template out of taped together sheets of paper. This process was not easy due to all the curves of the fender well. Once I had something close I then made a more rigid template out of chipboard. That was transferred to the heat shield material and then cut out with some good tin snips. Installing this turned out to be harder than making the template. I knew I only had one shot to place the piece on the fender since it has adhesive backing. What I did was pulled up a corner of the back paper and then lined up the heat shield where I wanted it. I positioned the heat shield as I went and then pulled the back paper out while I pressed it into place. I had to use a sound deadening roller and some plastic prybars to work the shield down and contour it to the fender well. Turned out pretty good. I'm going to try and cover the white edge with some DEI heat seam tape. We'll see how that works. Kinda hard to take pictures of this with all the other stuff in the way.







Was able to resolve a couple issues this week which I'm super happy about!
On short drives my wheels were getting really hot and they were just covered in brake dust. I emailed Scott at bigbrakeupgrade for troubleshooting tips and found I had a couple things going on. The PS rear and DS front calipers weren't centered on the rotors. The front rotor actually had a slight drag on the caliper. Not sure how I missed that during install. That was like five years ago so who knows. I added some washer shims to the rear and a spindle bushing to the front to get everything aligned properly. This was the before picture on the front.



Next I found out my booster pushrod was about 1/8" too long and the brakes weren't fully disengaging. I bought this $17 tool on Amazon to measure the pushrod to find this out.


The Wilwood master cylinder has an aluminum spacer for power boosters so I'm going to mill that down to the correct size. For testing purposes, I put washers between the booster and master cylinder first to make sure I had the correct measurement before cutting down the spacer.



The car seemed like it wasn't getting into overdrive and had high RPMs so I had some back and forth email correspondence with FITech. I set up a brand new tune on the handheld and now have overdrive. I must have missed a step or messed something up when I first did it. RPMs are lower now with the brake fix, but they're still a little high - probably cause the rear has 4:11s in it. I drove the car for about 20-30 minutes yesterday with no issues. When I got back home the wheels weren't hot at all. This was the longest I've driven the car so far. Really happy that I can maybe start getting some miles on this thing to dial in the tune.

stuartswede

Great detective work!

battmann

iTrader: (9)

Took the TA to a local cars & coffee event today. Was the first time I went on the thruway. Was about a 30 mile round trip. Car ran pretty good. Still have a couple minor items to sort out but happy with the progress lately.

stuartswede

Looking nice Man! Love the tie wraps

battmann

iTrader: (9)

Lol - that makes everyone laugh. Was trying to be as legal as possible.
Ended up getting the front bumper back on yesterday. Also started swapping out the bolts with the black anodized stainless ones I bought. I miscounted when I ordered and need to buy a few more. I like how they look.

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

Those bolts look great. Where did you get them again? It's really hard to find an aesthetically pleasing bolt. Your car is incredible. Definitely in the top 5 of all the builds happening on TGO right now.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

Thanks for the compliments Shifty! I really appreciate it. I’ve been working on this car for so long and I’m just happy to finally have the car almost mechanically finished. Being able to drive the car makes all the effort feel worth it now. Lots of frustrating days when the car was just a garage statue.
I got the bolts at ProBolt-usa. They make bolts for motorcycles. I wasn’t able to replace all the bolts in my engine bay since they don’t have any coarse thread and very limited SAE sizes. Most bolts in the engine bay are M6 x 1.00 and 25mm long. For bolts that have large washers (like fender bolts), I had to add M6 x 25mm O/D flat washers. The hood latch pieces use M8 x 1.25, 25mm long bolts. I got dome head black stainless steel bolts but they have other style and color options. I installed everything with the factory hardware first so I could make adjustments and get the fit / gaps where I wanted them. Once everything looked good I swapped out one bolt at a time with these better ones.

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

Awesome! I may steal your idea.

Buddy

You better hurry and finish this up before the end of August when your bringing it to Ohio right.........