evilemokid94

iTrader: (6)

hey guys, was just wondering if you have ever walked into your garage or outside and looked at your guy's cars after theyve turned into a project and regreted it. i know i have and kinda regret making my car a project. when i first got my 86 i bought it as a parts car of my 90 rs for $250, but quickly found out that my 86 was in alot better shape than the 90, so i put countless hours swapping parts over between the two before i junked the 90, put a new paint job on the camaro and fixed all the minor things on the outside, tinted the windows, rebuilt a 93 2.8 and put down under the hood and had it running good to where i could take it anywhere, reinstalled my AC and had it blowing 30 degree air out at idle and all around had a damn good looking car that i was proud of and looked good in my own opinion. well october last year i turned into the side of a ford truck and ripped the nose cone on my car in half so there went my good looking car. well after the accident i was in the process of rebuilding a 96 vortec 350 to sell for money to do a little body work and i decided to swap that in since it was in an accident. ever since then iv kinda regretted it, i mean i now have the 350 running great, starts with the turn of a key, purrs and has no power issues and will roast the tires off with little effort, sounds great, but im still working all the bugs out trying to get it perfect and now it seems like my car is broken down more than its on the road.and im kicking myself for it, i took a good looking and running car into something that looks like crap and basicly never moves... sorry about the rant but i had this feeling and wanted to know if im alone on this note.

1986Z28OWNER

iTrader: (1)

I get discouraged on my car all the time. It's been getting built for a year and a half and I've probably invested 35k into it. It's frustrating at times because progress seems so slow. I break it up into small projects and every time I work on the car I have a list of things I'd like to accomplish. It helps when you accomplish a project, seeing progress is what keeps me motivated.

Guest

I feel you man. I replaced my WINDOW MOTOR last year and it took me a few days. Driving around with no door panel with that stupid plastic hanging off, window constantly down made me think of my gorgeous, reliable car as a piece. Thank God I did my engine swap in a week and got everything (wires and lines, etc.) in a clean, tucked away location. I can't imagine staring at my car with no engine, crap hanging out of it, more dead than alive. My heart goes out to you.

freaky

i been working on mine for three years . when i get discouraged i just take a break . i haven't touched it in 6 months now but i'm ready for another go around with her

ternandes

iTrader: (7)

I'm wrestling with three of them. 86 SE, 87 Base, and 88 GTA. Each was purchased for very little money, starting with the 86 as a driver. The other two were bought as parts cars, but I couldn't stand the thought of breaking them up as they were both repairable. They are all three running now, but none is without problems.

The GTA is my daily driver now, but at 160K miles and after encountering a deer or two, not the prettiest pony in the paddock. She has aches and pains, but she runs pretty well and I get 21 mpg.

The 86 came out of the body shop looking stunning, but at 230K I wasn't shocked when a rod bearing started to knock. I am currently preparing for a swap from 2.8 auto to 305 TPI T5.

The 87 has always been just a bit shy of being completed, as my son used her as a daily driver and was willing to live with its shortcomings.

So now I am rotating my attention among all three, while at the same time keeping Her Majesty, the Queen of Hunnidoo appeased.

I don't regret any of it, because I saved all three cars from the crusher, and I get frequent inquiries from people asking if I want to sell.

BTW, I am intensely patriotic, and the cars are red, white, and blue (one of each).

Persistence pays off. Read some of the threads on here where guys have literally spent years patiently and thoroughly rebuilding their cars. You can't buy the sense of satisfaction that you get from driving and showing off your car.

evilemokid94

iTrader: (6)

Thankfully I've got my motor and transmission in now. That last picture was during the motor swap but I chose that picture to show the replacement nose cone. It wouldn't be so bad if all the bugs would go away so I could drive it. I just miss driving my car. But in my town there is only my third gen running around, so I have the factor of having the only thirdgen in town. I just miss my car and couldn't go a year or years without touching my car or driving it.

NufNuffZ28

iTrader: (10)

Everyone that has major projects feels like this!


My advice is to keep driving it and working the bugs out. Any major changes in engine/tranny/rear will usually result in some bugs coming out......


And trust me, I've had every bug, lol.

Now I'm 95% done, on a magazine cover, and have driven my car 3 hours to a show!

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

You'll take care of all the little bugs eventually, as long as you keep working on them! And another thing, most people don't even notice the things that make you think your own car is a POS! I have a couple spots that are chipping on my front bumper, and it makes me think my car looks like crap, but people have said they didn't notice until I pointed them out.

Biggest thing is to try to do things right, like they would have been done from the factory. It makes even the littlest projects time consuming, but in the end you'll be rewarded with fewer bugs to figure out, and no major problem spots

fozzi58

I know the feeling. I had an 86 iroc for 11 years and eventually sold it after having the thing in pieces in my garage for 9 years. I just fell out of love. Kinda regret it.
It was nice to find out a member here still has it even tho he tore off the body kit. (search danko thread- too lazy to find for you)

But now but my recently acquired 89 Formula is going to replace it. I don't want to mod my 00 TA any further due to possibly decreasing its value (there's pretty kewl back story) and I loved the many 3rd gens I owned when I was a kid. So while I know it will be a few years before get it on the road, I have an end goal and have the money to have a shop do what I may not have time to. Its one of the many benefits of being a grown up and having a job.

Don't be discouraged, you may regret it in the long run.

6SIX6

iTrader: (35)

First i like the plate cover or whatever it is in the first pic you put up LOL awsome

It took me 6 years to build mine and thru that I went thru 4 bodys. yes 4 my friends where getting pissed working on a different shell every few months lol. I went thru 3 motors and trannys till I settled on my LS swap. I fine the car more reliable everyday I fix another issue now. After a summer now and goin into my 2nd year of having it i m not comfortable taking it on long cruises but im working up to it so far the longest ive gone is 75kms from home which is the max id most likely do with it for distance. Dont get me wrong i drive it everywhere tho. Long story short is that it takes time to get there and when you do its awsome as Ive learned

redneckjoe

i often question myself about the direction my build is going. 1 step forward,..2 back, lol. sometimes i have to take a break and leave it alone. dont wanna get burned out on it. heck, its supposed to be fun, not a job.
my original goals were to have a reliable car that starts every time with no problems or issues, quiet exhaust, and a half decent body thats not a POS, and of course some power under the hood. after 4 years ive met most of my goals, but sometimes find myself heading in the wrong directions.
its always good to take a break once in awhile. step back, relax.
do any of us really ever FINISH our cars?

unknown_host

iTrader: (1)

This happened to me with my old car, a 1982 Camaro that should have run in the 10's. That's how I went from this:



To a for sale sign on this:



3-4 years later I finally have another 3rd gen, and I came up with a list of rules when it comes to the car:

• If I don't have the money to start a project, I wait until I have the money.
• If I don't have the parts to begin a project, I don't tear the car apart.
• If I don't have the time to finish a project, I wait to start he project until I know I have the time. For example, my car needs to be painted, do I have 40 hrs to dedicate to that?

This has worked for me so far through a torque converter upgrade, heads/cam/intake/carb swap, shifter fabrication and a few other misc. projects. The longest my car has been out of commission is a few weeks.

The car is not perfect, but I am enjoying it a lot more than any of my other "projects" .

Eagle223usa

My IROC took almost 6 years to get on the road. My wife was absolutely amazed when I put her on the road. She thought it was just around for me to work on and drink beer! If you break it up into little projects it all seems to get done eventually. Don't despair Brother.

Guest

6 YEARS?!!! It would have to be a fly by wire jet for me to even think of spending that much time working on it.

Dakota W.

I don't look at it that way, I see it as motivation to get my car back on the road. I remember how much fun it is to throw my car around a couple of tight bends in a row, and I want to do it again, and again, and again, and- you get the point. Mine has only been down for 3 months and counting, but soon, very soon, I'll be ripping up the roads again, and I'm more motivated than ever to get it done.

Jersey89GTA

iTrader: (1)

Aaaa, just get back on the horse, make a list, break it up into phases and then you will feel the satisfaction once you are cruising again. Set the bar a bit higher and finish it to paint.

I just picked up a 90 Iroc Vert that needs quite a bit of work.

Right after I bought it I said to myself, WTF were you thinking ?
Then I made a list to get it to where I want it.

Keep telling myself "ITS A PROJECT"

The 90vert has some rarity in low mfr'g numbers (only 365 made), but it has 172K miles ? Value after done - probably way less than what I'll have in it I'm sure.

Keep the faith.

subroc

iTrader: (2)

Yup...been there. My car was a fairly modded 305 tpi with an auto and 3.42 posi. I spent a little bit of time and money working out the bugs from a previous owner and getting it painted and it was reliable and would fire up and run great whenever i wanted it to. Then i wanted more.

Enter new rear end (then it needed a rebuild). Decided i wanted more power. 355 with aluminum heads built. Was originally going to just put it in with the auto but decided i wanted a 5 speed. TKO it is. Well that trans had nothing but problems so i have pulled it 6 TIMES!!!!! 6. It is finally doing better but there is still some bugs to work out with my tune and there is a vibration that was not there earlier that i have to hunt down. My co-workers tease me that its on jackstands more than the road and in truth it seems like it.

My new project is a set of dyno don headers. Headers fit great. The y does not because of a set of hotchkis subframe connectors occupying the same space the y wanted to. A cut and a weld later it fits but then my starter needed to be reclocked and so on. It just doesn't end or so it seems at sometimes.

Eagle223usa

I basically bought a rust free stripped race car.

Yeah Brother, and still working on it. I did everything to the absolute best standard that I could. The best parts are not cheap or easy to find. I rebuilt just about everything, right down to the original brake calipers. I re upholstered my own seats, and added heated seats. I ported my own intake and cylinder heads. I saved up for a Rosseler tranny. I tracked down original NOS GM weather stripping and T top bar and much more. I saved the money and did what I could, when I could. I also moved the complete project, still in pieces, once to a new house and garage. Check out my threads, it's all posted here in several different forums.

I enjoyed the process so much I'm starting another one this summer, my first IROC, an 88 5.7 T top car also.

As my mechanic said "It's a brand new 89!" My neighbors refer to my house as "The car show" when I have my 2 IROC's and my Corvette in the driveway. I was worth it, to me.

If you put the time, money and the blood, sweat and tears into it, you will appreciate it like no one else will, I promise.

cosmick

I am daily driving my 'maro, even though I want nearly everything about it changed. But I do have something else to drive, something reliable, boring and thirsty. I'm dreading the times when it will be parked for more than a long weekend, but while it drives is the time for maintenance to keep my reliable alternative reliable. I'd like to post pics on here every day, showing my progress on transforming my 'maro. But that can't happen if there is no progress. And it is difficult to progress on an only car.

fozzi58

I have a perfectly good running LS1 TA (owned since 04) and I think I put 600 miles on it all last year. I bought it with 36k on the clock and its got 44k miles now after 9 years of ownership. Look up at my above post about 9 years lost on my 86 IROC.

I certainly wish I had more time to drive it but once I sell my little side business I'll be maxing out my mileage on the collectors insurance and massaging my new project into the beast I want it to be.

I remember the days of trying to hot rod my rides while they were also my daily drivers. I feel for you all going through it as I have done it myself. Many a days I drove my F-Bods with missing hatch, no interior, open headers (even a spare distributor for a 78 FB that kept having issues) but your best bet is to buy a turd to get back and forth to school/work/grandma's whatever. Just a suggestion to not make the same mistakes I made. Your F-Body will love you more for it as well.

Eagle223usa

Now I understand how you feel. Mine quit running in March 2014, there is nothing wrong with it, it just thinks its stolen and refuses to start. Several mechanics have looked at it, and told me there is nothing wrong with it...it just won't start. New burned chip from tuned performance, starter enable bypass, still no start. Junk electronics. Until some smart kid creates a new PCM for these cars I think they are done. At this point I would pay money to watch my 89 Iroc go into the crusher. 15grand and 6 years wasted at this point.

skirocz28

One bolt at a time.

NEVER GIVE UP!

PurelyPMD

iTrader: (3)

It's called mission creep - one thing leads to another and as long as you're in there, you might as well.......!

Focus on what you're doing & get it back on the road.

Eagle223usa

Thanks for the pep talk guys...Long nites in the garage and 1 too many beers....Dang electrics.

W72

iTrader: (9)

That's exactly what my conscience tells me all the time....do it now, while I'm at it.


Awhile ago one of the older "hot rodders" in my area asked how my LS swap was going and I started to lament that it was ballooning out of control and I just don't know where the finish line is? or if there is going to be one.

He said " Son, you know how you eat an elephant?" I said No? he said " One bite at a time"

That's what I tell my self every time I get steered off track to fix something else, while I'm at it.

Keep taking one bite at a time....



...

86blackiroc

iTrader: (12)

Sounds like you know several mechanics that aren't any good?

Ron U.S.M.C.

This is the first time I ever took on a project like this and it started tough and continued non stop for years. The longest break it gave me was a week if that.

The car was on its way to the junkyard.
They jumped the starter and dumped fuel into the TBI and it ran for a few seconds. I took a chance and paid $500.00 for it.

Needed a fuel pump ,water pump , power steering unit ,new steering column/ VATS module ,intake manifold gasket, front windshield ,new front bumper cover and lower valance, new rear hatch and motor, some of the interior including headliner ,door skins , console, etc.

About a year ago it started stalling at lights and not starting randomly.

Finally I asked Brian at "Tuned Performance" to send me a EPROM with the VATS aspect removed. He sent me a 1992 EPROM with a few extra mods for my "89" and that fixed the problems completely.

Can a EPROM go bad. Yes. Should you replace it if VATS along with other gremlins are plaguing you, Yes.

Eagle223usa

They don't understand it, too old.

ternandes

iTrader: (7)

Exactly. It is idiotic to say that there is nothing wrong with a car that won't start.

The correct statement would be "I can't find the problem. I have reached the limit of my diagnostic capability".