Clastic

Hey guys I'm new to the boards. I came to get some insight on my T/A.

I bought this car from a friends brother. I always wanted a Trans am and the thing was about to get towed out of her driveway. $600 later she was mine.

The body... Is rough. But salvageable! I can bring it back I'm doing a total repaint but I need some opinions.

1. My doors are haggard. The pins are gone and as you can see on the right side the effect is coming of the the door mount. Is it in my best interest to just find other T/A doors with the ground effect in good shape or can I source a Firebird, or Camaro door and add the ground effect through another means (like 3m trim adhesive)

2. Paint. The car is getting a total repaint. Still black and gold. Just a different scheme. Besides about a silver dollar hole in the passenger side rocker (no biggy) the car is relatively rust free. When you guys are doing repaints are you pulling off the ground effects? The Aircraft Mechanic in me wants to remove the GE's and sand and prime what's underneath seperately. But if there's a high chance the mounting hardware will break in the process I am up for other ideas.


That's all for now... Doesn't look there's a place to really do a wholesome "build thread" Guess when the engine build comes I'll start another thread to document that.

Ron U.S.M.C.

Welcome

I hope the car is not like mine when I payed $ 500.00 for it.

Heres a small list of some things that needed to be fixed or replaced.


It needed a fuel pump ,water pump , power steering unit ,new steering column ,intake manifold gasket, front windshield ,new door pins,new front bumper cover and lower valance, new rear hatch and motor, most of the interior including front seats ,headliner ,door skins, etc.

That's why I saved paint for last.

Yours might be different.

stealtht/a

iTrader: (1)

Definitely take the ground effects off, lots of places for rust to lurk there. Yes, you will probably break the fasteners since they will be rusty. Save the pieces to fab new ones.
You'll want. To strip it bare to find the surprises!
Good luck and have fun!

khulsebus

iTrader: (2)

Definitely take the ground effects off. Take the car as far apart as you can for paint.

Clastic

Sounds like our cars shared the same PO. The short list mine needs...

Back bumper
New rear spoiler (not sure where I'm getting this, I can't stand to fork $400 just yet)
both sway bar end links
both shocks
repair the "cheat panel" the PO cut for the fuel pump
repair the the two cuts he made trying to find where to cut for the "cheat panel"
hatch pull down motor
hatch struts
door pins
new steering wheel
all new wear items in the steering system (some might be good but it's all getting replaced)
headliner.
Radio
Dashpad
both front seats broken
carpet steam cleaned
fuel pump relay harness cut out and rewired (he used wire nuts burned the harness and connector)
bumper cover
Misc interior trim parts
overhaul seatbelts so they work again
fan relay harness cut out and rewired (again, used wire nuts same result)
And at least the Pass door. Drivers might be saved.

Don't care about the engine and trans. They're both getting pulled once I get the body shipshape. 350/T56 are sitting in their place

Body work is the part I hate so after I rewire and get it running, it takes priority.

Just for curiosity does the door ground effect have to be removed by going the the door panel. I see the screws holding so I'm picturing that's what you have to take loose. Is this correct?

For kicks here's the wiring mess I found

my86bird

If you haven't already done something about the door, door hinge pins are available on-line. Just type in door hinge pins for 1989 Firebird. One guy had a great suggestion, since he had no help, was to use an engine hoist to hold the door up while removing the pins. Another suspended the doors from inside his garage roof. As has been suggested, definitely do all work on the car before paint. Good Luck

Bob88GTA

iTrader: (2)

[QUOTE=Clastic;5760954]Sounds like our cars shared the same PO. The short list mine needs...

Back bumper
New rear spoiler (not sure where I'm getting this, I can't stand to fork $400 just yet)
both sway bar end links
both shocks
repair the "cheat panel" the PO cut for the fuel pump
repair the the two cuts he made trying to find where to cut for the "cheat panel"
hatch pull down motor
hatch struts
door pins
new steering wheel
all new wear items in the steering system (some might be good but it's all getting replaced)
headliner.
Radio
Dashpad
both front seats broken
carpet steam cleaned
fuel pump relay harness cut out and rewired (he used wire nuts burned the harness and connector)
bumper cover
Misc interior trim parts
overhaul seatbelts so they work again
fan relay harness cut out and rewired (again, used wire nuts same result)
And at least the Pass door. Drivers might be saved.

Don't care about the engine and trans. They're both getting pulled once I get the body shipshape. 350/T56 are sitting in their place

Body work is the part I hate so after I rewire and get it running, it takes priority.

Just for curiosity does the door ground effect have to be removed by going the the door panel. I see the screws holding so I'm picturing that's what you have to take loose. Is this correct?

For kicks here's the wiring mess I found[/QUOTE

WELCOME! and WOW! You might be better of to find another car and compare the needed items on each. That's a lot of stuff. But, I've seen worse. Take time, money, and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Good luck with the build!

ZsTransAm

If you have a hole in the rocker then there will almost surely be rust hiding under your ground effects. You will break stuff taking it all off but it has to be done if you still want the car to still look good a couple years after the paint job.

Hal87

iTrader: (1)

The door GE is held on with 3 10mm speed nuts inside the door ( yes, the door panel has to come off, good time to add sound insulation.) There is a acorn nut on either end of the GE that is accessed on the back side of the door. Use a deep well socket as the studs are rather long...sometimes will spin out of the GE piece too.

Welcome to the forum, great bunch of helpful folks here, everyone is good at sharing ideas and knowledge.

jamon8

iTrader: (3)

I just took apart a 88 gta and did not break anything

FBOMB90

I agree with all of the above. The ground effects definitely need to come off. I found some more rust on mine that I would have otherwise overlooked if I hadn't taken mine off. The more rust you stop now, saves headaches in the future. Being a uni-body car, it needs all the structural support it can get. Once you start removing body panels, you'll realize how much they really hold the car together. That being said, I would add sub-frame connectors to your list of parts. I also broke some of the mounting studs for the ground effects upon removal and was able to fix them all. I replaced the broken ones with regular bolts that I cut the heads off of and glued or welded them in place. They are all reinstalled on my car now and are holding just as good as the rest of them. Good luck brother, you've got a lot of work on your hands!