thanks everyone for the replies..
I thought i was just posting pics and info and no one even noticed.

 

Yeah I'm following your build thread too.

 

I can understand. That happens these days. Really frustrating when someone asks a question, you reply, and they just disappear w/o any comment at all.

 

Got my hood bird in the mail...
I know 3rd gens didnt come with them, but my car is going to be a dark color, and I'm wanting to 'ghost' the hood bird as a graphic. So it will be seen but not really. Custom paint stuff.

I'll post pics later..

 

way back oct 2016 this hood was in the very same spot getting the same treatment.
Sanded and prepped for new paint..

9 years ago.

Like a snap of the fingers, where does the time go.

.

 

So i had ordered the corvette color posted above, and i sprayed the hood hinges.
The color looks nice, but had a purple look to it.

So i have been looking around and found a custom color that i believe has more of the dark red pearl im lookin for.

So, i got to thinking about the hood bird, i have always wanted one, so i found a decent one i think $57 dollars on amazion..
Then i needed to figure out what color to do the hood bird in. I didnt want bright and stand-outish like the Bandit cars, i wanted the bird to not really be seen unless you were close to the car.

So i had some gold laying around, i added big gold flake to it and then based the hood in it. From there i mixed up some HOK red apple candy and sprayed 4 or 5 coats over the gold. Gold will make a darker red than silver would, and the big gold flakes will add more sparkle to it.

Let it dry, laid out the 3 piece hood bird, with centering the 'head' first. Then the wings. Surprisingly easy. I really figured i was going to have a helluva hard time with it..

Then once the bird was one, i mixed up some black base to cover the hood, and then the new custom red paint to go over the black.
I then mixed up some 'cold weather' clear i had laying around and blasted on 2 quick coats. Why cold weather? It was some left over from another job, and It'll get sanded and recleared in a day or two. Got to remember, this is 'custom' graphics and paint work, so there are now 2 layers (black and then dark red top coat) over the hood bird. This will make hard outline, so the 'cheap' clear if you will, locks down the graphics. This way no harm can happen to them.

Once the hood sits for day or two, ill knock the clear down and add another 2 coats to it. Eventually when i paint the entire car, the hood will get sanded with 600 nice and flat, then the base coat can be blended from the fenders onto the hood to make sure it matches. Then the final clear on the entire car.

I'll get the hood out in the sun tomorrow and post up a few pics..

 

Real dark on the sides, nearly black.
Wanted more red, the orangish tone I'm not sure about.
Spoke with the paint supplier they are going to send me another choice to see if i like it better.
In a few days will sand the hood and apply 3 medium coats, from there will sand and buff.
Maybe it's not the colors, maybe it's the not flat glossy clear that is making me think something is off.
That is the fun with custom colors, you spray them, and then sit a piece in the corner or against the wall, this way you walked by it a few dozen times in all sorts of different lighting and get to actually see the product.
That is how i test a custom panel.

 

I really like that bird. Had never considered using the decal as a mask for paint, but that's really the best way to get a custom color

I had a local decal shop cut out one for my TA. That let me somewhat tweak the colors to my liking

 

thank you, and masks are pretty common in the custom paint world.
I wanted a hood bird, but dont want it to stick out, so i chose the darker colors to help hide it.
A bit of custom without being gawdy

 

sanded the hood with 800 and sprayed 2 medium coats of clear.
Let it sit for a day or tow, and then sanded with 1200, 1500, 2000 then buffed.
The hood will stay like this now until the rest of the car is painted.
When the vehicle is painted, I will sand the hood down with 800 again, and then blend in the color bring sprayed on the complete vehicle onto the edges of the hood so the fenders and bumper cover all match and have no issues.
Then the car will get 1 light coat followed by 2 medium coats. Sit for a few days, then 800 the entire car, and then 4 medium coats of clear.
Then, 1200, 1500, 2000, 3000 then buff.
Then assemble and get to smiling...

 

another quick pic

 

That looks great!

 

Thank you..
I love that black 3rd gen everyone posts pics of. It is soooooo slick i absolutely love it.
So much so, that i am doing a color change on my car because of how bitchen his car looks.
BUT I just can't have a black 3rd gen like so many out there, I have to be a bit standoffish and get some custom in there.
I did a quick buff on the hood and took it outside in the sun. It's not fully buffed so you can see swirl marks and some not so polished areas, but this doesnt matter. The color change, and walk around is what matters and It is nice and dark on the side view, nearly black which is what i wanted.
In a day or two i'll pop off a fender and paint it to see how it looks not laying on the ground like a hood.
I'll post up a couple pics, but, if it looks like the hood does, i see no reason to not go ahead with this custom color.
Here is a video from an hour or so ago.




.

 

pulled off the passenger fender and sprayed it with the custom color.

I'll hang it back on the car in the morning, then sit the hood back on the car as well.

Then i can really see if i like it or not.....

 

Quick buff this morning and put it back on the car.
I am starting to really dig this color.
Like a black cherry with a bit of a twist.
I'll get the hood sat on in a few hours, and get a few more pics.
But it is looking like this will be the color for the complete vehicle..

 

sun is going down so this is the look of the custom paint with no direct sunlight.
The gloss of this clear always amazes me.
And the sand/buff job isnt finished in these pictures...

 

Ok, thats an amazing color. And very unique, so you won't ever see that around much.

 

thank you for the kind words
it is a custom color, nothing factory used
its nearly black, so it checks the dark sexy looks
and it changes with the light

The neighbors cat approved it (ugh)
enjoy

 

so its been over a week and i still get the little fuzzy feeling when i walk by this thing.
This color is on point. It's black as black in dark or low light conditions, and has this great zing of color in the light..
I was concerned at first, but i think I'm alot close on pulling the trigger on this.
There is one more color I'm waiting to arrive to try out, It'll be a toss up between the two.

 

That looks great. Go with it.

 

thanks man, much appreciated

 

got a new intake and test fit it to the car.
has nearly 1.5 clearance from the hood with an after market throttle body..

good to go.

next is new ALT bracket and should be ready to start the engine.

 

Finally got around to order the new hubs and brackets to install the LS1 brakes onto this car.
If i would have known the hawks reproduction mesh wheels wont fit anything else than LS1 brakes i might not have purchased them.

But, I'm not bracket racing/ road racing or anything like that, so I'm sure the LS1 brakes will be more than adequate for me cruising to Vegas now and then..

It's 2026, really need to get this one up and running again...

 

James, all i can say is WOW!!!!
You are killin it.

 

Good thing the neighbor's cat didn't try to "claim" the hood! Not sure how well fresh clear coat wouldn't withstood that.

Posting on the forum has become less and less frequent for the last few years. Looking at the top post on each forum, and many of them are days old. I think most people just browse nowadays, which is kind of good, because it means they've learned how to search lol. But yeah, people are watching.

3rdgen VINs have standard prefixes. Firebirds and Formulas begin 1G2FS, and TAs and GTAs begin with 1G2FW. The rest of yours if fully visible, and the VIN decoder in the Tools at the top of the page recognizes your 1991 GTA.

Looks like you didn't go with Black Rose, but something close. Looks nice. That's been a Corvette color off-and-on for decades, including the C4. Might even be some C4 ZR1s in Black Rose. They tend to only be photographed in the daylight. It's a beautiful color, but the purple-ish tone was always the common criticism. One of those colors you love to see on the road, but it's, "great to see, but not for me."

Are your new gauges for this car?

Edit: I knew I had another question when reading through the thread that I forgot to ask. Was the 4thgen spoiler you had a genuine 4thgen spoiler, or was it the 4thgen-style spoiler Hawk's sells that's made specifically for 3rdgens? And what did you do with it, or is that the one that shattered?

I've been considering one for the future, but it's got to be the Hawk's one that's designed for 3rdgens, where its tips are slender like the 91-92 spoiler. My original spoiler is still pretty good, a 3-footer, but it'll need replacing someday, and I can't deal with the incorrect big fat tips that the many iterations of the 85-90 fiberglass spoilers have always had. Makes no sense that whoever makes it, CAN make the tips correctly (or, at least, more correctly) on the 91-92 spoiler but CAN'T do it on the 85-90 spoiler.

That's why I've been considering the 4thgen-style-for-3rdgens spoiler. Also, I think that taller rear spoiler will be a nice compliment to my ISMA hood. The 85-90 spoiler would be too, but all I'd see when I look at the car are those fat ugly tips lol.

 

much slower than i wanted, but, that is how life works sometimes..

 

lots of browsing. Facebook killed forums, but, in 10 years from now you wont see any old facebook posts, but you will have forums to search..

I'm trying a few colors. The black rose was real pretty, just trying a few ‘custom’ colors first to see which I am going to settle on

not sure what gauges you are referring too? I plan on using some type of aftermarket gauges, just dontknow who yet. Dakota digital makes a real nice reproduction firebird set up, but they want a lot of money for them as well

yes, a real 4th gen, that I fit onto my car after the stock wing disintegrated. It looked real good, I did like it, but, I ended up with the hawks reproduction due to the uniqueness of the gta body. Not many of them out there compared to an iroc style car

 

I really want to get the holley mid mount accessory kit, but im not wanting to spend $3600 on the entire kit.
I think it looks the best out of all the kits on the market, but for this build that is just too much..

But, i do have a certain look i want for this, so I think i am going with the BTR front kit. It is similar in looks with the holley kit, and it's about $1500 cheaper..

 

I have a Wegner kit in our C Prepared Firebird. Got it because I thought staying carbed with a distributor would save money. Hahahahahahaha!! Anyway, the kit is pretty nice, and I've been using it since 2013.

 

i checked out their website, some nice looking stuff.
i really like how they stress the most contact of belt on pulley on their kits.
My car isnt a race car, more of a nice driver that i can take to shows, vegas, LA houston ect..
I dont like the up and over type of relocation kits, and the holley mid mount, or the btr posted above has them nice and tight to the engine.
Thats what i want for mine, im more looks than function on this build.

 

ive got a rotisserie on order..
going to do some more fun on my car here in the near future.

 

Its about to get extra!!!!!

 

i sent a lot of parts out for 'clear zinc' coating..
my Big Brake Upgrade brackets look purty now.

 

This past weekend took a scout weve been building up to a local IH show and wont the Best of Show.
With that, we got invited to the nationals in Ohio to compete with all the others..

All of this while my poor 3rd gen looks at me from the corner of the shop...

 

The Binder is sharp! Congrats on the win.

 

thank you, much appreciated

 

Well as luck would have it, I compared the Holley mid mount kit and the BTR kit and summit has a sale going on, and with military discount the Holley was actually cheaper than the BTR kit.

So I ordered the Holley, and it'll be here in a few days.

With this piece of the puzzle I will be able to get my engine running.



I still need to order the LS1 calipers and rotors, but, I'm much closer to having a running car again, instead of a pusher. I really want it to run, as I can be much more motivated instead of the money pit it has been getting it to this point…


​​​​​​​

 

Big white box arrived, and even though i have been fighting a cold and have no energy, i was determined to put some pieces together to see how it'll look and fit...

 

Your mild resto looks great and it’s awesome to hear how you’re bringing a second‑owner car back with respect for its history. Taking your time with paint, trim, and mechanicals usually pays off in how it feels and drives once it’s finished. It’s a good reminder that restos don’t have to be wild show cars to be rewarding — just solid, thoughtful work that brings the car back to its best.

 

Came across this picture, and man what a killer 3rd gen...

 

Man this accessory drive looks awesome! Is that Corvette or F-Body spacing?

 

the made it special so it's inbetween those and you can only buy their parts. Gotta make money..


AI OverviewThe Holley Mid-Mount accessory drive system is designed with a unique, compact spacing specifically for GM LS engines, bringing accessories closer to the engine block than stock F-body or truck drives. The alternator uses a
5.46” bolt spacing. It generally uses a dedicated, tight-fitting bracket setup designed to fit within a compact envelope.

 

Ugh. I just hate when things are proprietary like that. Still a beautiful setup.

 

yea it sucks, but buy once, cry once..

its one of the most compact full accessory kits on the market.

 

getting a hoist free today, finally can get this up in the air.
need to replace the fuel tank/pump with the new parts and run the new fuel lines.

rolling/starting/running is right around the corner....

 

The other night I couldn’t sleep, was thinking about my own projects and what I need to focus on to get them running. The two projects being Aliceson and my Trans Am.

I absolutely hate pushing vehicles that should be running. Especially after dumping thousands of dollars into them… ugh.

So late night thinking I could pull out ‘Alice’s 5.3 from the TA and put it into the Scout. It’s a stout little engine and it can easily take the boost. The only issue is id have to pull the pistons and gap the rings bigger. Not a real Debbie Downer as I would need to remove the ‘big’ cam that’s in it and replace it with the turbo cam spec’d for the twin turbos.

Now with that, since the TA will be NA, I have a 6.0 that’s been sitting in the corner with nothing going on with it. I could pull the heads from the 5.3 and put them on the 6.0 because theyre rebuilt, good springs and pretty much a bolt on and go.

A 6.0 will inherently be stronger than the 5.3 due to the CI increase. Not looking to race it, but it’ll just make more power. It has stock pistons, and gen 3 rods, but that’s not a problem as it’s not getting boost or nitrous.

The 5.3 also has gen 3 rods, which I have a set of gen 4s with ARP bolts ready to go. So, if order new pistons to keep the compression down for boost, I would need to have the rotating assembly balanced. The block needs zero machining, so that’s a money saver.

So, I'm pretty sure that’s the plan I'm going to take. It’ll save me about $2500 doing this parts swapping of engines instead of building an entire ‘new’ LS for the scout.

A ‘re-ringed’ 6.0 for the Trans Am, and new pistons/rods for the boosted 5.3 for Aliceson, the scout.

 

After a few hours of cleaning, flex honing, and some elbow grease, The short block is assembled.
I was able to use old parts sitting on the shelf, so, I have about $9 in engine cleaner for the rebuild.

New cam bearings, new rings, new rod/crank bearings, few coats of black paint