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Well it only took but 13 years to find another thirdgen and so here we are finally trying to get back at it. Course getting married, finding a home to do my repair work in, and settling down became a priority before looking for another ride.
I still do miss my '89 GTA but I'm very happy on taking on a new challenge with this '91 that I just acquired a few weeks go. It's nowhere near the condition as "Wildfire" but I'm much more confident NOW working on any vehicle then when I was in my 20s and I'm already wasting no time taking things apart on my new ride as we speak with time permitting. I'm literally going to be tearing this right down to the body so it can be repainted. It does need a driver's side floor pan section and a couple of other small sections as well. Which I've been searching around to find a good body guy to do patch work and of course that has been difficult to find around these parts.
Couple of interesting notes about the car: Original paint is indeed Gunmetal Metallic which so far during the present tear down state is still just that with no surprises. It is 1 of 98 painted in that color for that year. Apparently from what I hear during the early 90s there was a parts shortage, therefore my GTA is equipped with the rear drum setup. ((blah))
I'm contemplating whether to keep it stock or turn it into a resto-mod. I'm kinda leaning towards the resto but if I do it, it would be done in a tasteful way to where it would be stock appearing at least. Luckily I have some connections now that I working for a major parts company that deals with GM. I don't plan to go crazy on performance even though the LS route is indeed tempting but I'm sticking with my guns and see what I can make out of the ol L98 engine.
Suspension upgrades will be part of the "WS6 enhance" process I plan to do down the road along with possibly going with the Hawks 17" wheels once the assembly process begins. Of course upgrading the front brakes will be also done and most likely convert the rear drums to disc as well. Right now I'm just tearing the interior out and inspecting what would be reused and what would need to be replaced so I'm making my list as I go. I did however manage to score a near mint dash pad I picked up last weekend! I can't believe how much restoration/ reproduction parts are going for now then when I starting to do the restoration work on my 89 back in '09!
If anyone can help out where to find a NOS or used but in good condition front gray emblem for my ride I would appreciate it (OE part # 10189312)
Also, if it's alright with everyone here I'll post pics periodic on the restoration process (when I can)
I guess I probably should change my user id to RockinGTA91, huh?
Last edited by RockinGTA89; Nov 11, 2023 at 08:05 PM.
Greetings ya'll..,.
So I spent some additional time over the past two weeks tearing into the rest of the interior. Got the seats out, the carpet pile, center console, belts, driver side door card, weather-stripping, etc.
Unfortunately upon further inspection the driver side floor pan is definitely needed. I found someone who has a replacement section. Now all I need is to find someone who can weld it in. Additionally, I scored a great OEM dash pad that's virtually mint! Has no scratches or tears. It took about a 4 hour of driving to pick it up but it was definitely worth it. Plus it's better then paying over $600 for a reproduction one. The center console assembly is in pretty good shape just needed a "DEEP" cleaning. However, I need to replace the console lid and the shifter bezel. I shall be replacing all the switches with new ones even though they work. Found a replacement passenger side ground F/X to replace the broken one on my car. Thanks to Bill, he gave me the missing Air filter housing needed for the car. Upon closer inspection of the inside of the driver side door, I gotta say it's pretty darn near rust free shape with just a little surface rust forming by the lip at the bottom. I also found that I need to get a replacement door roller and pin set. Surprisingly the door closes real nice and easy without scrapping the bottom ground F/X. Passenger side is still in good shape and in intact. That's pretty much for now. Next time I'll around to removing the dash assembly and start making my way and start removing the ground f/x around the outside of the body.
Afternoon ya'll,
Been a minute since I last posted. Actually over a month! I gotta say time sure does fly!
With the holidays and busy work schedule that has been going on over December, my poor GTA has taken a back seat. However, I was able to obtain one more interior part for the ride and it's a brand new front carpet pile piece. Got it for only $50! So that's another good score that I was able to find for this restoration project. Comes with the padding for the carpet and all the precut slits & holes for the seatbelts and bolts. It certainly matches the color tone to the old carpet pile I pulled out. I can't wait to continue on with the project in '24 as I'm still doing a deep search for OEM parts for this ride. The goal by summer is to get all the necessary interior pieces, get a floor pan section cut out, and get the new section welded in. To be continue...!
More tear down photos!
So today I spent some time tearing down some more of the driver side on my project GTA. This included the removal of the lower rocker (driver side ground effect), LF front fender ground effect, & the LF inner wheel well cover. The lower rocker section shows no signs of damage and is worth a clean and a respray. The fender wheel well cover shows no signs of damage and just needs a cleaning & re-install. Unfortunately, the front fender ground effect will need to be replaced. The plastic just literally fell apart as I was unbolting it from the fender and bumper. there was already signs of damage underneath plus the spoiler piece is missing. I'm sure both sides will be needed. There is also a developed rust hole on the rear part of the wheel well. It's a little rearward from the strut tower area so that's going to be patched up before putting the car back together.
Some interesting finds I came across during the tear down though. I found a GM sticker on the inner part of the fender which came up with part #10219021. The left lower spring also looked to be the original spring and the tag is still there with (rpo?) code BZX and part #14029398. I also found a GM stamping along the left side of the fender where the hood closes at.
So that's pretty much it for now. I will be tearing the right side down when I get another open day to work on the car. Slowly but surely...
Wow. Can't believe it's been awhile since I last posted some updates on the project. Well as it turns out with the new job has me traveling way too much from coast to coast and unfortunately leads to having very little time to wrench on anything or even put time into "Project GTA."
However, now that I got some time off, I shall be working on the car as much as possible before returning back to the grind in August. So here are few updates going on:
I just picked up the front replacement seats and they are in much better condition then ones off the GTA. Funny story though, they came out of a 88 Fiero GT. The seller told me this whole story, supposedly he owns this "rare" 88 GT that is one of 4 painted in silver and is equipped with the C&C t-tops. He has a copy of the original logbook that was given to him from the president of C&C for all Fieros that were converted into t-tops. So he's in the midst of restoring his project like I am. It was cool talking to another fellow car enthusiast and he mentions that those seats he found (which I own now) were just more comfortable then the nonstock ones that was with the car when he bought it. However, he has decided he is going to fully restore his ride that he is now chasing the OEM seats . So he has this parts car that's being delivered to him today that is equipped with those seats. Not sure what makes them unique but I wish him well with his project.
So with the seats I have now a few things needed to be swapped out like the seat tracks, the power unit on the driver side, and few other things. Will give them a good scrub down and steam clean them. The only issue I'm concerned about is this crack that is on plastic section on the driver side side bolster. From what I am reading the fabric backrest is part of the plastic section as one piece. 😒
The one off the GTA has a cracked on it too but not as bad but I doubt that I can just remove that piece and install them on the on the replacement seat (?) Well I got time to figure this out but I'm just happy I got them!
Got the dash out of the car and it's a PITA with the way the harness wired in there. I just hope I can put it back together correctly once I come across that point. I'm hoping by next week I will be able to remove the engine and trans and do a complete evaluation of the firewall and undercarriage area with the drivetrain being removed. To be continued....
Last edited by RockinGTA89; Jul 2, 2024 at 12:08 PM.
