Originally Posted by sofakingdom

Nobody is "upset" with him; he's a decent honest guy, I just think he has a different "read" on the situation that some of the rest of us.

People all the time come in here and are about "I want my 2.8 to run with the Pro Stocks but I only have $50 and I'm not willing to [fill in the blank] to get there". In that type of scenario, THE VERY FIRST THING TO DO is, yank that worthless POS and put in SOME KIND of a V8. I'm not seeing that in your vision of your car's future. I think he's looking at it from that perspective. (forgive me if I'm assuming too much)

Too often people forget all about getting from point B to point A, and get all torqued up about whatever is in between. The SIMPLEST thing to do is, focus CLEARLY on point B and point A, wherein one is where you are NOW and the other is where you WANT TO BE, and look at what it takes to get there. People who don't do that end up with "project creep", mismatched parts because when they started out they thought one thing but then halfway through they got bit by "might as well" something that isn't compatible with what went before so they have to start COMPLETELY OVER, and so forth. A CLEAR goal in mind, and a willingness to stay out of the "a little bit more" disease, often helps see a project through to a satisfactory end.

If you were happy with the "performance" of the car the way it was, and aren't looking to focus on that aspect of things, and all you want is for your car to work again, then attack it strictly from that angle. Get it to work. And the quickest eeeeeeeeziest cheeeeeepest path to that is, a 3.1 long block, with your induction system (carb, intake, exhaust, etc.) glommed onto it. It will drop in with the minimum of expense and hassle and risk, give you AT LEAST what you had before as far as "performance" and most likely ALOT more, and will get your car back working again without unnecessary drama.

Get yourself a 3.1 long block, either a good used one, or a reman. It will cost the same OR LESS THAN "fixing" your 2.8, but give you more in an overall general way; as well as, getting rid of the 2.8 POS factor.

Originally Posted by Mr.Gordon

No l havent lost my z yet. I sold that business with the S10 awhile ago. But still in area & see the parts truck(S10) all the time. I just checked rock auto and no 'kit' available. As someone suggested maybe a 3.1 could be you answer. Its a newer engine design and should bolt right in. Parts are still available for it ,too. Thats why a V8 also be good sense, billions of them around for cheap. Sorry bout mispell, fingers too fat.

Originally Posted by OrangeBird

Thank You for the picture , I can't tell on the small screen I'm looking at , is that you standing with your car ?

I don't say this to start a "stripped VS dressed" slugfest , but I've always liked the clean looks of our cars without the plastic dress up pieces as found on the trans am . I had an 87 TA back in the late 80s / early 90s and even then I liked the looks of the base model better . To me it seems the plastics detract from the car's sweet looking curves , but maybe that's just what I want to see .

Clean , curvy , AND pointy all at the same time , our cars are awesome !!!

Originally Posted by ow85

Oh Orange!! That’s the happiest looking Bird I’ve ever seen! She’s amazing! What is her name please?

Yes, that’s me with Old in the pic. Actually, back then we were both doing pretty good, and we were traveling out of state. I tried to post some additional pics, but for some reason they didn’t show up. Maybe it was too big? I also have a short video of her taken about a month ago. You can hear her running, oil pressure and temp were completely normal. She didn’t have a muffler yet, but other than that, just as it should be. I’m guessing that once they actually put her to the road, is when things fell apart. (I might try to see if the video will load. Not sure how to do this.) Hmm. Let’s see...

Originally Posted by Tootie Pang

As usual lots of great advice here, glad we are helping! I will add a different bit of advice. Finding the right shop.

Find and read reviews. In this information age there are a lot of people out there that have already experienced these shops and have been good enough to leave their thoughts to help inform the rest of us.

Similar to Amazon product reviews and eBay seller feedback, look for a higher number of reviews AND more "stars". Few reviews and high "stars" is probably family and friends propping up a new shop.. Lots of reviews (at least 30) over a decent period of time (maybe 2-3 years) for me is the beginning of a trustworthy evaluation of a shop.

I used Google for this as well as Angie's List (which requires a nominal monthly subscription). Angie's List is highly trustworthy.

From the reviews you can likely find a shop that will listen to what you want, advise you straightforwardly, and do good work.

Originally Posted by GeneralDisorder

You should keep looking for a shop that can/will do the 3.1 swap. If you were closer to Oregon I would offer to do it at my shop, but Alabama is quite a long distance. You need a performance shop - preferably one with a Dyno that can re-tune the computer for the larger engine after the swap. While you could do it without tuning, it would be best to do a dyno tune on it just from the standpoint of everything on the car being quite old.

GD

Originally Posted by OrangeBird

It's funny , I never really named cars much beyond outstanding physical traits , and so I've always just called my car Orangebird .

Now if you want to hear a funny car name story , here goes ;

Back when the original Star Wars movies were coming out I was driving a 1970 Plymouth Road Runner , a real road runner with the 440 sixpack air grabber hood 4 on the floor pistol grip stick shift . This car was stupid fast . Thing was , when the gas pedal was REALLY mashed one of two things would happen , either acceleration like a spaceship doing the light speed thing or you'd hear the most horrible banging/crashing/grinding sounds you'd ever heard and it would coast to a stop at the side of the road in silence . So of course , insultingly , the friends took to calling it the Millennium Falcon after the star wars spaceship that would do the same thing . I hated the nickname because the car broke often enough to earn it !

I probably replaced every major mechanical part in it twice , with some parts ( like driveshafts & such) on an all to regular basis .

Now as to videos , I don't know why you can't post any and I hope someone who knows computers can tell us both . I've never tried to upload a video

Originally Posted by OrangeBird

Thank You for the picture , I can't tell on the small screen I'm looking at , is that you standing with your car ?

I don't say this to start a "stripped VS dressed" slugfest , but I've always liked the clean looks of our cars without the plastic dress up pieces as found on the trans am . I had an 87 TA back in the late 80s / early 90s and even then I liked the looks of the base model better . To me it seems the plastics detract from the car's sweet looking curves , but maybe that's just what I want to see .

Clean , curvy , AND pointy all at the same time , our cars are awesome !!!

Originally Posted by ow85

Haha!! I’m loving your Falcon story! I almost condensed the name to MF...but....perhaps I’d better not! Whole new implications there.
My retired mechanic is actually who named Old many years ago and I thought it was funny, and apt!

Originally Posted by NoEmissions84TA

OMG, I have never seen color added to the 20 slot rims. They actually come alive with color. I can't believe I never thought of that.

Originally Posted by OrangeBird

Your retired mechanic sounds like he has a great sense of humor , have you asked him if he knows anyone in your area whose trustworthy to work on your car ?



The rims were painted when the car was , believe it or not that paintjob is over 20 years old and is holding up very well (the picture you see was taken only a few months age) . My best friend who gave me the car was the one who had it painted and I think it was some kind of epoxy type paint that was used rather than whatever paint is normally used on cars .

Originally Posted by ow85

20years!! Holy smokes!! She’s clearly loved!!
My retired mechanic knows all about Old’s situation, and he’s aching to fix her, but his health won’t allow it. He said he wishes he could recommend someone, but he says the only person he trusts is himself. (He’s not being braggy, just honest as always.)
Ive been making phone calls and visits to shops all over town this week, trying to get a feel for who might be the best one for the job. But honestly, it’s soooo hard to have any kind of confidence. After all, I thought I’d found the perfect place before, and you see where that got me!
At this point, maybe I should shake the Magic 8 Ball, or call the Psychic Hotline!
BTW...what year is Little Orange??