Well I received this car for my 15th birthday, which was in July 2004, from my father, which he bought for $150 from a dope *****. It is my first car and I have no prior auto experience.

The car is white, with a blue and red interior.

Before I received it, it set in 3 different yards, and in the last one, it stayed for 6 months, so I'd say it's been sitting for quite a bit of time.

There is signifigant damage. The back bumper is probably the most noticable; paint is pealing off, revealing the yellow underneath. There is also a dent on the front of the last side and one on the hood.

I have no idea if the engine is blown or not -- hopefully not, but if so, a new one will definately be needed.

My current plans are to restore it as stock, and then build from there.

What needs to be replaced/done:

1. Top Headliner - I still have the "backbone," I guess you would call it, but the fabric is tore off.
2. Front (stock) wheel and tire - Currently on the spare.
3. Driver and Front Passenger seats - toor up to hell and back but are being covered up quite well with seat covers.
4. Gas Pedal - Looks like someone has just cut it off.
5. Fuel Pump
6. Coil
7. Tubes and Wires - Someone has just tore these things out. I hope to get some with some color -- they just look nice that way

Other things to be replaced/done that aren't required:

1. Exhaust - Duals baby!
2. Better Wheels and Tires - Going to restore it stock, and build from there.
3. Ground Effects - Just Snazzy!
4. Spoiler - I don't think it looks right without one.
5. Paint Job - I was thinking about a do-it-yourself, but I might aswell just get it painted somewhere and get all the dents removed aswell (one on the hood and the bottom of the front bumper is cracked, paint is peeling off on back bumper and around antenna).

What's been added:

1. 2 Speakers - Added 2 speakers from a Wal mart stereo system that my cousin bought. They look pretty good in the back of the car though.
2. Subwoofers - bought off one of my dad's friends ($30 for 2 -- they are NICE..)
3. CD Player - given to by my dad (cheap, I'm going to change into a better one later on, but it'll do for now)
4. New Distributor - The distributor button and plugs and such were ripped off (probably for smoking dope).
5. Seat Covers - Found them in the back of the car -- they look pretty nice too.

Current Problems:[list=1][*]Leeches off battery - Even when I've cut everything off, the battery goes dead after about a day or so. I've been searching for crossed wires that may be doing it...no luck.[*]Radio goes off when brake is pressed - Probably a crossed wire somewhere between the radio and gas pedal - if I find it, it'll prolly fix the battery problem aswell.[/list=1]

 

Get a fuel pump from a vette, more flow!

MSD GM Blaster coil.

Might as well get the good stuff

 

Why don't you think about changing the various fluids and filters. Have you checked the engine oil, trans fluid, etc? How's the air filter?

 

You can't drive it so if I were you, I would tear it apart and put it back together. Changing filters, fluids, ware and tare items and replace them with the good stuff all the way.
Some examples of the good stuff are on my cardomain site in the sig.

 

Don't try to run old gas through it.

 

TomP's Tune up!!!

 

and shampoo the dope ***** stains off the seats


edit: if the stains look like blood. throw it out

 

make sure you get the dope out BEFORE you are able to drive it

 

then sell the dope and get some money for it....hmmm, what else....

 

Well I have changed all the fluids and the coil is coming some time soon from one of my dads friends. He was over last time, but he forgot a box to bring (he brings over a lot of boxes, mainly parts for my dad's 67 Ford F100).

I also have a new distrubutor, and I need to have all the wires and tubes replaced because it looks like someone had got mad at the previous owner or something and pulled every wire that he/she could find.

We're going to put an electronic fuel pump on aswell...less hassle.

 

hey, another 85 F-body bought for $150. imagine that

yeah, TomP tune up (already mentioned), go ahead & inspect all your bushings & engine/tranny mounts. replace as needed. Also good time to super clean up the interior, air it out, do touch up to outside paint if needed. Get this thing ready to pimp when you do start driving. btw, you already have an electic fuel pump.

W/the dope money get some headers

 

Yep I second this suggestion and will add that I do have '89 Vette fuel pumps in both my fuel injection GM vehicles. The Vette fuel pump has all metal internal gears which make it much more reliable and long lasting.

MrWig, You'll have to drop the fuel tank to get the bad fuel pump out even if you plan to try and run a remote aftermarket one. Might as well drop the tank and replace the one in there correcty with a Vette pump.

Also, you may find more dope in the fuel tank that was smuggled into the area maybe?

 

Ah yes, I have been cleaning my car to hell and back. I polished it too, but I live on a dirt road so that shiney look only lasted about a day (need to get a car cover).

How much are vette fuel pumps (used or new)?

One problem I've been having is that it's leeching alot of battery power, when I believe everything is off? I have checked the wires -- can't find anything. Any suggestions?

I'll work on getting some pictures up as soon as I get some film or a digicam.

 

For the cosmetic things you've mentioned above, i'd say hit up the yards......

For your headliner, (t-top or hardtop?) there's a tech article on the board about recovering your headliner, and it works like a champ, it'll really hold long, and will be stronger than the old board that you removed...find that tech article and do it per-se'.

Stock doesn't mean stock for your year infact, it'd be pretty easy to look around and find some "upgrades" that'll help the appearance of your maro w/o you having to spend true "upgrade" money....One of those areas is in wheels, look for Z's in the yards that had 16 inchers on there. They'll have the look of your ole' 5 spoke, but with the thicker wheel, it'll give you a much more aggressive stance to the car....finding them shouldn't be hard, and in a last resort, check out ebay.....

For those seats, there isn't a yard around that'd charge you more than 200 bux for a nice set of 4th gen seats....there are a set from an 02' Bird Convt. here for 200 bux, had a set of those red/black maro seats, for 220, etc....the reason is, those cars get wrecked all the time, they're not worth what they were when they were new, and people are parting them trying to make some money off their investment.....and, everyone wants leather, so if you're only looking for a mroe supportive seat, then grab those cloth 4th gens, they'll feel better, and really help the look of your car.

Exhaust, how's the rest of your piping look? I thought that mine was in "ok." condition while it was on the car, it simply looked a little rusty, no biggie....got the car on the lift, and the I-Pipe was just about destroyed, aka, non-existant. Needless to say, it came off when the flowmaster was put on. A nice catback would help your performance a tad, along with giving you a better sound etc. Dynomax is the users choice around here, although some love the flowmasters also...i'm in the latter camp.

Oh, on the wheels and tires side of things...like i said b4, the 16x8 wheel/tire combo will have a better look than the 15x7. Also, it's difficult to get a nice looking tread pattern on a 15x7. They all look like "van tires" lol. With 16x8's you'll be able to get a 245 that looks 5 feet wider than a nice 235 tire.

Ground fX, hit the yards, and you'll find some, most likely they won't be all that expensive...be sure to cover them in dirt though b4 u bring them too the front, and more likely than not they'll all be different colors, as most cars in the yards are hit and not simply an engine blew, etc. So, you'll be jumping from car to car to pull all the pieces and mounting hardware needed, but, it's no biggie. Something that might be nicer to grab would be a later model front clip also.....If you grab that one from one of the cars w/ gfx on it, you'll get a slightly mroe "modern" front end, along w/ the ground fx...of course the most desireable are 91+ but any will do, they just don't have that extra little "notch" in the front of them. All will give your car a more aggressive stance.

Spoiler should be an easy and really quick find, i could probably go to a yard tomorrow and find six or seven of them in good condition, they're everywhere, and most maros came iwth them (minus some of those early model cars)

When all's said and done, and you've slapped a nice coat of paint on ur car, i'm sure you'll be more than happy with the results. Also, if you have the ability to primer the car yourself, it'd be nice to do. A car in primer although not exactly classy, is still somewhat more attractive than a car wearing 30 different body panel colors. IMHO. GOOD LUCK.

 

Ah yes, I've been meaning to "hit the yards" after I've gathered a couple hundred dollars. I'd imagine they'd have most of the items I need.

Never thought of covering them in dirt before I come up, thanks for the tip -- I'll also look into those wheels & tires.

 

One "be careful" point with primer; if the existing paint is still strong, don't take the car down to bare metal for primer. Scuff-sand the surface with 320 grit (you could put a big 8x10 sheet, cut into a circle, on a low-speed electric "random orbit" polisher) so it looks like a faded paint job. If the paint doesn't get scuffed, but it starts peeling off super-easy and you hit bare metal, then the paint is bad, it won't make a good base, and you'll have to go to bare metal to remove it all. If the paint's that bad tho the 320 will rip it off in no time. And remember, spray-can primers aren't waterproof. Top coat it with something to prevent rust!! You don't want rust. I've got a ton.

Oh and make sure to wash the car first, and then use a prep cleaner (sold at auto parts stores near the spray paint), or even turpentine, to remove all traces of old wax, tar, bug crap, and road slime. If you just start sanding your car (even if you only washed it), youll embedd all that crap into the paint, and it'll ruin any future paint jobs. Just washing a car with soap and water won't get that junk off.

For the latest tuneup post, see here: https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=162251

 

Oh one more thing for the fuel pump. When you remove the pump, there will be a squarish-shaped piece between the pump and the metal fuel line. That's a pulsator. DO NOT REUSE IT! It only connects to the fuel system with o-rings, and when the o-rings get old, they crack and leak. You might wind up with a fuel leak at the pump, inside the tank! So, either buy a NEW pulsator ($40) or install a short piece of high-pressure fuel line between the pump and the metal fuel line- with clamps.

Also since you're not driving the car, this would be a great time to find the short high-pressure-hose that connects between the outside of the tank and the metal fuel lines bolted to the car. It's the only hose up there with high pressure fittings- it's the fuel feed line, and will probably be a special order from the GM dealer (which would take at least a week to come in). The rest (fuel return line, vapor canistor, tank vent) can be replaced with regular fuel line and regular clamps.

 

Thanks TomP. I'll probably be doing everything you've just mentioned and the things included in your TuneUp post.

 

Yes, use a top coat or sealer over primer to prevent rust until you can get it painted.

 

Sweet! Thanks, oldschool! Nobody ever believes me that spray-can primer isn't waterproof. Then I show them the car and all the rust, and that convinces them- but they never believe me from the beginning. It's a pain in the butt.

 

That's a good tip, I will try that next time I get stuck in the sanding room sanding a peace of flight line equipment.
They come back all the time after just sanding & painting them, the paint goes to h3ll real quick. It never lasts.
The paint some times bubbles and you can peal it off with you fingers a month or 2 after the item gets painted.

 

As for the batt. going dead...
Un hook the battery and with the car off do an Ohm's check.
See how much resistance there is between the + and - battery hook ups. If there is less than 500 or 600 ohms then you might have a problem.
That way you will know it's not the battery.

 

I was wondering -- is excess grease usually a sign of a blown engine? Everything under the hood was covered with it when I received the car -- would it be best to just go ahead and rebuild the engine instead of investing time into the things I'm told it needs (by my dad), but after seeing him work on his truck, I dunno whether to trust him.

Oh yeah - I FINALLY took some pictures, so they should be up about monday or so.

 

over time the engine will get greasy and they last owners of the car prolly didnt take care of it... before you go and rebuild that engine first try to get it runing you might be surprised that it will run well ounce you do a realy good tune up on it... for the grease id through a pressure washer at it if you can get your hands on one i have alwase used pressure washers to clean my engines and if you are care ful they work very well... just watch out if you are using a heated pressure washer because they will melt rubber hoses and wires and thing like that if you spray something to long... id clean the engine before you even start working on it so you can look for leaks and things like that.

 

Already ahead of you -- pressure washed second day I had it

 

Oven cleaner and a regular hose works just as good. Just watch what you spray.

 

also aluminum wheel cleaner works bad *** on cleaning efi intakes... another litle helper

 

Besides, I can't STAND working on a messy motor. My dad's old '87 oldsmobile with a 2.8 leaked oil everywhere. Whenever I'd stick my hand near the motor, my arm would be covered in oil and slime. Yick. I hated working on that thing.

 

What should I keep from spraying -- and if I have already sprayed it, what can I do to prevent (further) damage?

 

i power wash the whole thing all the time and it hasnt hurt it yet

 

*notices name*

How can I tell if I've got a berlinetta? I've read somewhere that stock regular sport coupes don't have stripes on the bottom, but berlinetta's do for that year model -- and mine have stripes.

 

well you posted on the v6 forum, and you said you had an 85. so.... unles you didnt notice the 2.8 in my name we have the same engine... and all the same other junk under the hood.

 

oh opps. thought you were starting somthing.

yeah berlinettas had the different stripes, painted headlight buckets the same colour as the lower tutone colour, they had the gold stripe along the tailights, and usually came loaded. rims were 14" turbine style, says berlinetta on the front facia, horn button, and above rear quarters. digital guages are a dead give away

 

http://berlinetta.info/85media.htm

 

In that case, I don't believe mine is one -- just a regular sport coupe, as I figured...

 

You shouldn't spray the alternator; I killed one that way. (Ton of corrosion on the voltage regulator). You should also "avoid" spraying the distributor cap. I put tinfoil over the dist cap, and a plastic bag over the alternator. You shouldn't use tinfoil on the alternator b/c you don't want to ground out the +12 terminal with the red wire on the back of the alternator! Remember the motor has to be cool; this prevents the garbage bag from melting, and the engine cleaner from steaming up and evaporating before it has a chance to work. A warm motor is okay (and is probably best) though... just not HOT to the touch.

"Proper way" is to cover any electrical connectors; but all our underhood connectors are GM weatherpack connectors which are waterproof. Still, it can't hurt. Just grab some tin foil and bunch it around any connector you feel like... maybe wrap some around the throttle body's IAC and TPS sensor connections (basically wrapping around the sensors themselves), the fuel injector rail connector above the thermostat housing... etc.

After you clean the motor, and rinse it off with water, remove ALL the foil and the alternator's garbage bag. Lower the hood all the way but Don't latch it! Then start the motor and let it idle for a bit to create heat to dry the motor. Try not to start the motor with the hood open- any engine cleaner/oven cleaner/etc that puddled in your pullies will get Thrown out of the engine bay and onto your paint! (And those cleaners aren't paint friendly.)

ForWhatItsWorth, I haven't used engine cleaner since probably about 1997. I've got no leaks; the motor is just dusty from the road- no oil or grease or slime! When I do clean the motor again, I'll just be using soap and water.

 

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id go junkyard diving for body panels and rear bumper, lip spoiler then prime the whole thing with an all fluid change, tomp tunup and then just clean inside and drive it
oh and if you see somthing at the junkyard like a tps sensor or maf sensor or even new looking spark plug wires grab them they may come in handy as spare parts when your car dies in the driveway! in the last month i saved 250$ just by having a spare tps and maf i got for 20$ from the boneyard

 

Good news. This saturday I'm getting and putting the fuel pump in (vette, as you guys recommended -- the guy had to order it), so I expect it to run! Woo!

Edit: When I got home my mom had me the restoration kit I ordered from GM and a Hayne's third gen book!

My dad also sent me the key to his 1963 Ford F100 Ranger, which has a new, rebuilt motor and redone interior. He has moved to Florida

 

I'm about done with my tuneup. I can't wait to hear how it sounds.

I pulled off the stock headers (quite corroded) and quite a bit of water was in there from washing the engine -- I think alot of it might have got down into the engine; what should I do?! Should I get some kind of special equipment to suck it all out? Just start it and let it go out of the exhaust?

 

Drain the oil. Put in fresh oil.

You may want to check all the other fluids to make sure they aren't contaminated.

 

Oh good. I just changed all the fluids.

Thanks alot man -- you couldn't believe how worried I was about this.

I think I have found the solution to the battery problem -- bad alternator. Will I have to replace that aswell for it to run?

 

no, but u will have to replace it to have the car drive. An alternator failure will allow everything to run on the battery, so, if you've just put a new battery on there, then don't go out running the car w/o an operating alt. IF you do, you'll drain the battery dead. You can start it and make sure it runs however, just make sure to turn it off before the ole' 12v bat. drains dead.

 

Alright. I thought I saw someone mention that they had to replace it cuz it wouldn't start on here, so I was wondering. Thanks