i was wondering if anyone knows about how much it would cost me to have a new hood and front clip (its actually the bumper i need but its all one piece right?) put on? I suppose I would have to re-paint the whole car to get it to look right? since the whole car is faded pretty bad. Would it even be worth it?
my dad said it wouldn't be worth it, that it would cost about 2000 dollars just for the clip and hood, so save that for another car..but he is a pessimist so i was kind of hoping...i've read new hoods are about 400 dollars...
it doesn't look too bad except the headlights are stuck open and i HATE that! but the bumper is too far in for them to close, and the hood is bent. We pulled it out the best we could. would shops see what they could do before putting on new ones?
I'm depressed and I want it to look good before i do any more mods to it..i guess i'm vain...

------------------
'87 Firebird 2.8L V6
Mods: K&N filters
Removed MAF screen
Soon, Dynomax cat-back, thinking about homemade CAI (thanks to this board).

"Buy a Ford and you buy the 'best'. Drive a mile and walk the rest."

 

I would open the yellow pages and look for a bumber exhange place. Here I can get the front clip for $200, of course I would need to install it myself. You can get a replacment hood for a hundred bucks at a wrecking yard or a cowl hood for $400 new.
I would look around @ www.jcwhitney.com/ for the cheap stuff.
SSC

 

I just noticed you had a Bird oh well. Heres the link to the Entire camaro front end. Its totally fiber glass and includes nose, fenders and hood. Its $600. http://www.jcwhitney.com/productnoit...=64255&BQ=jcw2

Ive seen Fbird parts there also you'll have to look around though.
SSC

 

What I did for my $300 Wundercar, Jennifer.
I bought it banged up, pretty good, by her or?
I ripped off the nose & ALL STUFF BEHIND IT.
Head lites worked, then (up & down).
Cooling problem, stopped being a problem, too.
I went & got all my stuff at a pick your part.
For about $20-70 or so.
Installed it.
I needed fender, nose, underside (of nose) stuff. Still seek another fender. Rest I repair.
Once the nose is gone, it's gone.
I'm gonna spray can paint my car to "match" the rest of car.
Don't care, as long as the ride isn't dumped on by others (theft).
Start shopping around for body panels. It's SO EASY TO REPLACE THESE PANELS with only a
10MM socket.
That's what all the bolts are.
Fender off in about 7 minutes, max!
Hood about 30 seconds!
Go find the stuff & enjoy the mission! YOU WILL BE VERY PLEASED WITH YOUR RESULTS!!
PS watch out for Japanese/Chinese panels (required, by law to leave adhesive sticker on back side saying origin of part). IF YOU FIND THOSE, JUST SAY NO!
Very POOR quality, for items, that big!

------------------
Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

The place where I got the headliner for my car has 2 86 firebirds. the hoods & front ends are in pretty good condition. Located in Jamestown OH. If you want, I can get a qoute. VERY resonable prices. I got the headliner, front & rear support shocks, & extra upper intake for $60.

 

thanks guys, you've given me a lot to think about. i was going to just take it to Maaco and get an estimate..but one problem is, i'm a woman (should i have kept that a secret) so no place treats me fair, i mean, i guess i'm stupid -insert giggle-.
the other problem is i can't work on my car anymore, at my new apartment complex lot. but i'm sure my dad wouldn't mind me using his garage...if its as easy as you say...i've kinda glanced at the body section in my chiltons..
thanks, i might just end up asking for that places phone number for that quote. where exactly is jamestown OH -i think that's what you said. last time i was at yards around here, there was not a hood to be found...

 

Depending on your area it can be kinda hard to find front end parts for your at the parts yard. I've found that ware I live most F-bodys end up there becuase of front end accidents. Bit of bummer for me, I need the front GFX for Camaro, but can't find one. Gueess I have to paint it my self.

If you end up going to a shop to get a quote take your Dad with you. Most auto places will quote a women more, becuase most don't know that much about cars. It'll be even worse if you are young. Once they see your Dad they will deal strait with you.

Auto shops all ways get thrown off when my girlfirend goes in. She helps with a lot repairs on the Camaro. She even comes along to the scrap yards to help hunt down parts.

 

no kidding, one mechanic laughed at me, actually laughed out loud, when i told him what i thought was wrong with my car-said "oh no, its probably not that"-3 hours later he called me and stated exactly what i thought was wrong. i couldn't fix it without a welder so i had to go somewhere. but guess where i won't go anymore if i need a mechanic.
you're right-lookin' like i'm about 16 probably doesn't help either..maybe i can show 'em my license.
thanks for the advice!

 

Jamestown is about an hiour or so south of columbus, or 30 min east of dayton.

 

Be aware.
CAMARO & FIREBIRD FENDERS, "OFF THE CAR" almost look identical.
Make sure you see the parts on the car, first.
I almost bought a Camaro fender at a swap meet, thinking it was for a Firebird.
The guy was scamming me, I thought he was and I walked away.
Couple vendors down later, I saw a correct Firebird fender. I was correct in not buying the other guys part.
Don't ask what the difference is.
You need to see the fender on the car, promise.
I forgot, there is ONE 15mm bolt. It's the lone bolt, by the door jam, at the front fender, on the ground. Just run your hand down on the door sill area, you'll feel it.
Keep searching & look in the local auto trade paper for wrecks & yard suggestions. You may get lucky!!

------------------
Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

The difference is the firebird's nose drops faster and lower then the camaro's. yes off they look identical but the camaro has a taller front end peice(Near the bumper cover).

I know 1 and only once I went to aamco transmissions(The us wide repair shop). Well anyway the guy test drove my car, popped the hood for some reason(Without me knowing it) comes back and says yes I was right the clutch bands are starting to go. I was maybe 18-19 knew about cars, but not all knowing. I said ok how much to rebuild it and he said about $1900. I laughed at him saying I only paid $175 for the car(A 87 dodge laser good running little thing too!.) And left. 2 days later I am driving to a freinds house and the hood comes flying off!. Imediately I know what happened, the fu(ker did not close the hood fully. Anyway the hood took out the windshield, both front fenders and obviously the hood.
I called them up and said you test drove my car 2 days ago and I just lost my hood, did you close the hood or not?. They say yes (Obviously) so I have to go see a lawywer(I hate these people). They say that I do have a case. Anyway we go to court and the fu(ker admits to opening my hood and not informing me of it(like they are required too!) but says It was my fault the hood flew off because I did not double check everything before driving the car!. They get off of course. And I had top pay to have my car taken to a junk yard. They did however get a really nasty reputation in the area for all the bad publicity cause the news sations sided with me and ran the story once a week for 5 months. I am guessing they lost about 1.2 million is work. They always had a waiting period of at least 3 weeks before they could do anything under the hood for repairs. 2 days after the news first aired a 200ft by 150ft parking lot that they used as a "holding area" of waiting repairs was empty and stayed that way for a little over a year. Not untill they had a new manager come in and get new guys working for them. I was estatic. I was laughing at the former manager for 2 years.

[This message has been edited by Camaro_hunter_d (edited December 06, 2001).]

 

Geez, why go new? Get it all from a junkyard. If the lights won't flip down, I bet the steel bumper underneath is bent in- and that's also a bolt-on, bolt-off deal. Just get out a 10mm socket and ratchet handle, and start taking parts off.

Why not look for a whole car? When I totalled mine, I bought an '84 Firebird (barely ran) for $250.

I had my car shot at Maaco; it came out pretty good- but I did all my own bodywork. You should bring them a car that's totally prepped- emblems removed, hatch window edges taped, blinkers & taillights & front headlight "shrouds" (around the bulbs) & front fender marking lights removed, marker light lenses in the rear taped over, door-to-bottom-of-window weatherstrip taped, side mirror glass taped, etc. If your paint's in good condition, and just faded, you should scuff your old paint with 320 grit paper- no need to remove it to bare metal, unless the paint's in bad condition. There should be no cracks/checks/peeling paint.


------------------
-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

 

I agree, you can get a good, not show quaility but good paint job at places like Maaco, the key is do the prep yourself. I shot my S-10 in my backyard two years ago and it cost me a weekend and a half and two hundred in materials, I borrowed a compressor and gun from where I work.
A few gnats landed in the wet paint, something you can't help when it's outdoors!

 

well i need a car i can drive 60 miles round trip to work every day, and be able to trust it. i barely trust mine, i never know when the ignition module is going to fail completely -my car has died 3 times, once on the freeway. so i don't really want to buy a car that is in worse shape than mine, unless its for parts but i'm sure my apt wouldn't like me starting a salvage yard in their lot. my car isn't really so bad. the hood is starting to rust where it was bent up and then back down when my dad jumped up and down on it trying to get it to latch, and bend back. the bumper is shoved in. i'm not sure what's wrong with the headlights. both of them are just useless, i had to rig something up to keep them open. if i squint at the car or look at if from far away it just looks like the headlights are stuck open, like so many other ones.
i was thinking exactly what was said, just do the prep work and take it in to maaco like that. i'm going to tour some junkyards tomorrow.
i have another question. I read in another topic something about the ECM wires being under the front passenger side fender, that if there was a collision it could mess them up. i came out of the office one day to find a huge dent right there, on the fender. could that have something to do with the stalling? because it seems electrical, with the IAC motor..it will stall, then i have to shut off the ignition for 10 seconds before restarting, then the engine will idle at about 2500 RPM for a long time before finally kicking down to 1000. i read in the book that is how you reset the motor...
and that fender is why i need a whole front clip. its bad.

------------------
'87 Firebird 2.8L V6
Mods: K&N filters
Removed MAF screen
Soon, Dynomax cat-back, thinking about homemade CAI (thanks to this board).

"Buy a Ford and you buy the 'best'. Drive a mile and walk the rest."

 

With the limitations you have mentioned (all reasons, body electrical, age of car, etc.)
I strongly suggest you find yourself another ride.
Buy it new.
Or a very good used low price something.
Save this effort for more improtant things in life.
This is beyond you and your working conditions.
IF it was summertime or more room to work with, you'd have away better chance to win.
Not with Michigan Winters working against.

------------------
Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

Yeah, that's what I meant, use it for parts. You can always sell it to a junkyard (or they'll take it for free) after you're done with it.


You had to rig something up? Why? Do the headlights want to close? If so, and you've blocked them from closing, you could be burning out the motor. Go under the front bumper, you'll see a 2-wire "weatherpack" connector from each headlight- unhook 'em. That's the wires from the actuators. Pre-87 models (mine included) used 3-wire actuators.

Urethane bumpers will return to their original shape if pulled off the car and left in the sun.. granted, hot sun is hard to find lately. A heat gun might work. The key is to remove the bumper from the car so the crunched fenders and "hangers" (metal strips along the top of the bumper, hangs the bumper on the car) aren't messing the bumper up. The bumper on my car was bent due to a junkyard car's head-on collision with a pole. I removed the plate holder (which let the bumper pop out), fixed the tears with a urethane bumper repair kit, and was good to go.


If you do any bodywork using filler, somehow indicate to them where it is.. maybe with a different color primer? I did a ton of bodywork on mine, including filler (done correctly- using thin layers). They sanded the filler!! The most obvious point is on my hood- I had two dents that I worked out to be "thin dents", then used filler for a perfectly flat surface. The bozos sanded the filler down, realized it was filler, and stopped. The result? Two "flat" spots in the "slope" of my hood.

Waait... I thought the hood & bumper & fender were bad? Anyway, if you pull off the inner fender, you'll see the ECM wires & ECM wire passthru into the passenger compartment. The inner fender attaches to the outer fender using plastic "rivets"- use pliers to pull out the center "plunger", then pull the rivet out with your fingers or a screwdriver. The inner fender attaches to the frame with little 9/32" (7mm) bolts. You could examine the wiring for damage.

Also, search for "clean IAC passageway" on this board, you'll find out how to clean the IAC. If your car is dying due to a bad ignition module, replace it- why drive around on a bad one?? Be sure to use the heat-sink grease on it, or you'll burn up another one. Instructions for that are also on this board... I just left step-by-step ones for someone. And it sounds like your car would benefit from a "major tuneup"- yep, search for that too. No offense, but it sounds like not being able to trust your car comes from a lack of maintainance... I've got 225,000 miles on my '86 Firebird, and I fail to see why someone else's F-body couldn't be as reliable!


------------------
-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

[This message has been edited by TomP (edited December 07, 2001).]

 

i just gave it a tune-up about 2500 miles ago: new cap,rotor, platinum plugs, wires, filters all around, of course oil change.
it has regular oil changes.
after i upgraded to K&N filters, plat. plugs, and synth oil, it ran better then ever. put some fuel inj. cleaner in, it backfired on next start up, and thats where the probs started.
i got it 4 years ago. it had 86,000 now has 125,000.
its had about 3 of these tune-ups since i've had it.
no the person before me just abused it. that's why i got it for $1200.
it just started this weird stalling/10 second thing awhile ago. (last tune-up)
yeah this started as a body repair thing but ..speaking of fenders....
i'm not going to start thinking about junking it. i'd buy a new car if i had thousands of dollars but i don't- i guess that is 'beyond me' too.
and the cheapest used bird/camaro i've ever seen (and believe me i've looked) around here, that would run, and be better than mine, was about 1500 dollars.
if i could just figure out this IAC thing or whatever it is, i would be able to sell it as "Runs Great!" and get some $$. it drives great it just doesn't idle great.
i guess i can sell it as "many new parts.."


------------------
'87 Firebird 2.8L V6

"Ford...At least they circled the problem."

 

oh and the headlights, i mean they don't go up or down. well, they go down, that's where they want to stay. that's why i have them stuck open. (turning the ***** doesn't work.)
you tell me why it wouldn't be reliable. i haven't the foggiest. i never knew there were so many still around. maybe its Michigan or something-i see maybe 1 diff. third gen firebird every month.
i even checked for recalls on the ignition module. i didn't find any, but looking for my dad for recalls on his Ford F-250 i found one on the module, that it was overheating. then that news broke about ford and lawsuits and stalling cars. and i read on someone else's web site that on their firebird they relocated their module and its fine now.
i always have a spare , module that is.
thanks for your advice, and your little jab that i wasn't taking care of my car :P

------------------
'87 Firebird 2.8L V6

"Ford...At least they circled the problem."

 

look around! I found a complete front clip from a t-boned 89 t/a before for 50 bucks. Check junk yards, houses, etc to see. I bet you can find a cheap one!

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1972 Chevy Chevelle "Malibu"
Hooker Headers, Flowmaster 40 series mufflers, accel 8.8 wires,Edelbrock performer intake Edelbrock Carb, Msd Blaster 2 Coil, Torque Thrust "D" wheels
Coming Up
Hei conversion, Msd digital 6, Stock Cowl Induction Hood, K&N Filter w/ Xtreme Air Lid
Click here for my Malibu information
In Memory of #3 Dale Earnhardt

 

The place where I get my spare parts are fixng up an '84 firebird SE 6 banger. I believe he said it would sell for about $500. Also remeber this is a crbed motor & is also that wonderful Frost Beige color. paint is good though.

 

You're welcome for the "jab", and thanks for your correction! The idling thing is probably the IAC passageways clogged; do a search for that... aw hell, here's the link: https://www.thirdgen.org/messgboard/...ML/001539.html

Then visit the "tech section" from thirdgen.org , and read up on setting the TPS voltage and idle speed.

Also, your tuneup never mentioned setting/checking the ignition timing, adjusting the TV cable (if automatic transmission), cleaning the throttle body (along with the IAC stuff), fuel filter, or PCV valve, or trans filter/fluid (if automatic).

And have you replaced the module already?

------------------
-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)