mike_c

iTrader: (13)

I cleaned up the GTA today and took it out for some pictures. I think she still looks pretty good for being nearly 20 years old

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

Beautiful car, I love the color, what is it?

lonman89

looks good

speed88

Nice!!

I love that color on GTA's, I will own one myself one day.

Mongoose

iTrader: (2)

That's Flame Red Metallic isn't it? Very sharp car.

Spitzfiya

Veeerrrrrryyy nice clean GTA

I always thought that color looked more a rusty/burgandy then anything.

350 and T-tops for the win, did it come stock like that?

ezysk

Very nice looking car.

TAdan

Looks great

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

Thanks guys!
Yep, 74U Flame Red Metallic

It really depends on the lighting. In direct sunlight like that, it has that kind of orangy rust color to it. If it's overcast, or at night, it has an almost purplish tint to it. It's a really cool color.

It came with the L98 and T-tops from the factory too.

I took some pics of the interior and engine bay today too: I need some new floor mats, and the engine could probably use a bit of detailing, but here they are anyway:

Spitzfiya

Ah man engine bay looks good, gota detail mine soon too

What did you use to detail it at first? With all the grease and **** in there...

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

Simple Green, some different sized brushes, a hose, and a good part of an afternoon. It's an easy job, just very tedious. But now I REALLY need to give my engine a good cleaning because my radiator sprung a leak last night and spewed coolant everywhere. Damn plastic end tanks

Shift06

Looks very nice, I love your clean cross lace GTA wheels :P Mine are plagued with brake dust, damaged clear coat and unshininess :P

Cadillac

That car is in excellent condition.

9 of 10!

I want your interior. The engine would be nice too.

Camas_Camaros

that is exactly how i want my t/a to look when im done, its already the same color, just need some gta's (which im working on), and to get rid of the horrible red interior(cant stand it!)

Bird666

Very nice man! Love the color and it looks very clean and original!

Schultzy89GTA

Very clean Mike. Nice job!

-Schultzy

Brennan

that car is spotless

chevyguy1969

iTrader: (7)

Beautiful car inside and out, great job on it. I assume it is not your daily driver. If it is, you get extra kudos from me.

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

Actually, it's been my daily driver for nearly two years now. Hopefully I'll make enough money this summer to be able to buy a beater car by winter.

305redbird

nice ride man
i really like that color

yrs is in better shape then mine is


how much miles is on it

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

Just turned 73,000 a few days ago.

CharcoalBird

iTrader: (4)

You've got over 100,000miles less than mine. I hope to have as clean of a car as you do when i'm done building mine.

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

Since this thread is over 3 years old now, I figured I'd update with a few current pictures. Besides, I haven't whored it out in a while lol. The car now has 98,000 miles on it and I think it still looks pretty good for the most part. It's since been retired from daily driver status, but I still drive it every chance I get.

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

Tranny swap i see, what type of upper strut bar is that? Nice simple mods...niiice

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

Thanks! It's a Kenny Brown strut bar

maks10

clean gta!!! Like the strut bar too

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

Is that a summit hide away front plate?

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

It sure is. Good eye!

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

Do you have the part #? I cant seem to find it?

86T/A_Ram_Air

i also spy SLP exhaust?

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

Was the trans swap easy?

88FormulaKiller

iTrader: (8)

Nice car man.

SystemX

iTrader: (2)

Beautiful car! I have the same car - same year - same color. Although, I'm hoping to be going gunmetal grey later this summer.

hairysox33

iTrader: (4)

Thats one clean bird! Nice!

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/APR-400EU/
Oh yeah! not many people are a fan of the two on the left setup, but I really like it. And with full-length headers it sounds amazing.
It wasn't too bad. Took me a few weeks, but I would only fool with it an hour or two here and there after school/work. Cramming those headers in there was harder then the trans swap lol.
Can't go wrong with gunmetal man, that's an awesome color on these.

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

Thanx for the link, as for the trans swap is it a T56?

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

Nah, I wish it was a T56...it's just a T5 in there. I got a deal on it that I couldn't pass on at the time. Swapping in a T56 shouldn't be any more difficult than a T5 though.

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

Do you have a soundclip of the exhaust?

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

I don't unfortunately. I need to borrow a camera so I can take a video if it. It definitely has a unique sound to it.

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

Refinished the lips on my wheels not too long ago. I think they turned out pretty nice.

Mike92Firebird

iTrader: (3)

How'd you go about refinishing the lip? Amazing looking GTA by the way! So clean. How hard were the headers to install? I saw you said difficult, did you lift the motor at all?

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

Thanks! I used 200 grit sandpaper to strip the clear, then proceeded to uses 400, then 1000, then I wet sanded with 2000. Then I polished the hell out of it with Mother's aluminum polish. I didn't re-clearcoat them so they have to be polished about every other time I wash the car. Not too bad of a job though.

As for the headers, I just undid the engine mount on the side I was working on and jacked up the engine. I replaced the mounts at the same time, so it wasn't that big of a deal. If you're doing headers and still have the original mounts, this is a VERY good idea. The worst part of the install was re-routing a lot of wiring and protecting it from the heat of the headers. I thought I had everything tucked away and protected, only to start the car and smell burning plastic within a few seconds. This must have happened about 3 times lol.

morganrush1974

Mike I'm about to do the T5 swap on a L98 on my 92 convertible t/a have you had any problems with it? Btw nice gta!

Mike92Firebird

iTrader: (3)

The wheels really turned out amazing! I was thinking of doing the same to my wheels but two of the rims are extremly pitted, I wonder if sandpaper could fix it. Either way, I suppose it couldn't hurt to try.

The reason I ask about headers is because it's the next step on my GTA. Looking for a good type to go with. What kind are yours and would you reccomend them?
Lmfao @ the burning wiring. That's a quick sign that something is wrong. lol.
I also noticed you deleted the smog pump when you got the headers. Did you completley remove all of the equipment? How did you get to the AIR line bolt that runs to the cat and shares a bolt with the ground on the back of the pass side cylinder head? Also, do you remember the part # of the belt you went with to compensate for the smog delete? Sorry for all the questions, they're all things I want to do to mine and I figured it'd be best to ask someone who's already done it.

Amazing looking car man!

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

The only issue that I ran into was the flexplate to crankshaft bolts were beyond seized. They wouldn't budge with hand tools and only 3 of them came out with an impact. The other 3 became rounded so I had to cut a new head into them using an angle grinder. Not fun. They went from a 14mm head to a 12 or 13. I don't really remember. Either way, it worked like a charm.

Cutting the hole in the firewall for the slave and in the trans tunnel for the shifter also require a lot of patience and precision. Measure twice, cut once certainly applies here! Besides that, no real issues. It's a pretty straightforward swap. Good luck with yours!

I'm running Doug's Longtubes. They're pretty much a copy of Hooker 2210 headers for a lot less. I'd recommend them for sure. All the smog equipment on my car is gone. And I don't remember how exactly I got to the AIR line bolt your talking about. I guess it didn't really give me any trouble since I don't remember much about it. I don't remember the # of the belt off the top of my head either, but next time I see the car, I'll let you know. (I'm out of town at the moment)

Saper

looks great!!! What size tires are on? And it's stock or lowered?

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

I'm running 255/50/16 all around. It's lowered a little bit. The pictures at the top from 2008 are before it was lowered and the more recent pics from this year are after. It's not a huge drop and I'd love to go lower, but my collectors are kinda close to the ground as it is.

morganrush1974

Hey Mike I did it now my 92 base model firebird convertible V6 is now a 92 "GTA" L98 w/ a WC T5 convertible I'll post pics soon

mike_c

iTrader: (13)

Very cool! I'd definitely like to see that.

96v6bird

My 1st car was an '87 GTA. Same color but with flame red interior to match. God that was a beautiful car. I tear up when I see a flame red GTA cause I really miss it.

I vowed to own another GTA someday. Though I ended up getting a formula. Maybe someday I'll get one, lol. Nice ride.