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I have been driving the crap out of the car. Suspension upgrades have made such a huge difference. I haven't pushed the car to its limit but maybe I can take it auto-crossing one day.
Last edited by CharcoalBird; 09-24-2015 at 02:43 AM.
Went to my parts guy last week and picked up a base tail light harness, fan with shroud, and an aluminum radiator for $60. First time in so long since I could sit in traffic and not overheat. Car made the trip flawlessly. Unlike those damn 4th gens. Always breaking down. (inside joke. 4th gen guys used to say that about the 3rd gens probably 10 years ago, now the tables have turned.)
Last edited by CharcoalBird; 12-02-2015 at 01:45 PM.
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas this year. My wife bought me UMI Subframe connectors for Christmas. Love her.
Was wondering what those of you who have had yours installed by someone else paid to have it done. The performance shop quoted me $480 for BMR Subframe connectors installed. That was their grand opening special price.
Way overpriced
Shop around and or get a mobile welder and use a lift
I shop around couple places all ranging from 500 to 100 bucks
I wouldn't pay more than 150 honestly there's not that much in labor involved to charge more than that
They try to say that they have too sand paint modify this remove entire exhaust etc but it is what it is
Shop around different shops
I used mobile welder and did it that way jack car up on jack stands on axle and control arms so car had weight on suspension
Also when you say subframe connectors they prob think of the classic car ones which are more involved
It has been another long period since I have updated anything. Only have a few things to update.
A couple months ago as I was doing a u-turn the car stalled on me and it took me several tries to getting started and stay running. Luckily oncoming traffic had time to stop and honk at me while I tried to get it started again. If not I surely would have been t-boned.
I have been trying not to sink anymore money into the motor because i want to do a LSx swap but with it running so badly I had no choice. Ended up just being a coil.
I've also been holding off on detailing the car because it is impossible to keep it clean. My property sits back hidden from the main road which I love. What I don't love is the dirt driveway to my house. It kicks up a cloud of dirt anytime someone drives down it. I've been preparing ahead of time for the fbody gathering in Atlanta in may so I decided to get started and make it easier to clean as it gets closer. Here are a couple before and after pictures of the engine bay.
I still have a looooong ways to go.
I also want to take some pieces and brackets off and repaint them. Specifically, the headlight assemblies.
Last edited by CharcoalBird; 03-26-2016 at 07:06 PM.
That polish works great, I have the same stuff from chemical guys with the torq 10fx buffer.
Have you thought about turbocharging the v6? I'm in the middle of finishing my build and it really isn't difficult at all. There are a lot of guys here on the forum that would help you out too. Shoot, I even have an extra log header if you were interested in doing it. Just some food for thought!
Awesome car by the way, great to see someone else taking fantastic care of a V6 car.
Thank you, C2YT. I have had many people suggest I turbo the car. I just can't bring myself to do it as I would prefer a v8. With over 250k on this car and motor, it is in great shape, runs great, and sure doesn't look or feel like that many miles. I'm positive I could reach 300k if I wanted to. It is rare to see a v6 car get some love. I came close to trying to turbo it once and frequented the v6 sections. There are some great builds in there.
I love the v-line from chemical guys. Works great. I purchased a Porter Cable 7424xp at Lowe's for $40! It was a display model they had put on clearance.
Well glad to see you have looked into it at least, if you ever change your mind let me know. It would be stupid simple to bolt up the log header I have, modify your stock y-pipe, and bust it out. You figure even if you blew up the engine and decided to go with a v8 you could still use the intercooler and some other odds and ends.
I love it too, I don't have much seat time with it but I quickly polished out my girlfriends tailgate on her black f150. Took out 95% of the medium-light scratches. Can't wait to use it on my car when the build is done in these next few weeks.
The wife came out and got in on the action. My 2yr old daughter also came out to lend a hand but after grabbing a flat tip screw driver almost jabbing my paint, i had to put her on a different project. This is my in-laws garage...wish I had one. Nice of them to let me take up a space for a few weeks.
Before.
After.
Once I finish up cleaning the engine bay, I plan to remove the headlight assemblies and paint those parts. When I figure out how to remove the wiper arms I will paint those as well. I know there is a bolt that holds them in place but it is under that flap. I want to do it without damaging anything. Also need to find the correct paint for them as well as the cowl screen. I would also like to do the underside of the hood but that I would need to take somewhere. Will also repaint my strut tower brace. Rust is not an attractive feature on these cars.
I also purchased some 1000, 1500, 2000, and 2500 sand paper. Need to wetsand some areas around the doors and hatch that have left over residue from when it was wet sanded after being painted. I've been so afraid to take sand paper to my paint that I just left it there.
Last edited by CharcoalBird; 04-03-2016 at 01:17 PM.
I need to make a list and keep updating it as I find new things I want to do. Will just post it here and update as I go along and find new things that need done.
Paint
-Wiper Arms
-Cowl plastics
-Door Locks
-Hood Nostril Screens
-Bottom of the hood
-Front GFX
-Bottom of front bumper - done
-Headlight brackets - done
Detail
-Finish under hood
-Door Jams
-Glass
-Exhaust Tips
-Wheels
Sand
-Door Jams
-Hatch area
Misc
-Swap old seat belts for NOS ones I have
-Install hatch shade
-Purchase factory tail light harness and swap
-Red RAII air filter
-LED dome light
-Fix dash illumination(blinkers and dummy lights work, but does not illuminate)
-Order new turn signal lever (left turn does not turn off automatically and can not turn brights on)
My list will get longer and longer the more I think and drive the car. I'm stopping for now because I can already see this is going to take a long time just to finish what I have posted now. Glad I made a list though.
I have also been looking for a new hood. Either a formula hood or a t/a hood. I will still keep my RAII though. Love them all.
Last edited by CharcoalBird; 05-06-2016 at 11:15 AM.
Reason: Be nice.
You are exactly rite. A TBI car is a lower end car than a TPI car. Even though they usually run great as a passenger car and all the great sound is there stock it is a dog as far as performance. Not a dog in comparison to a 3.1 6 cyl though rite.. Bet you will really enjoy your V8 car. It wont sound like a fart can.
Nothing wrong with the V6, and as for sounding like a fart can, I can assure you it does not.
now that you'll have a future drag car why not turbo your known good engine?!? Something different than the other and you can still save all of your parts (trans especially!)....Also I don't think a 3.1 with the right exhaust sounds bad either
I have been painting the engine bay parts little by little. They are turning out better than I expected. Still have the head light assemblies to do and I think I will stop there. I need a bigger air compressor.
I also decided to check my headlight motor bushings. They haven't been giving me problems but I rather do this while I have it out already. Glad I did, definitely needs new bushings. Will be ordering the TDS rebuild kit for both sides today.
Last edited by CharcoalBird; 05-06-2016 at 11:14 AM.
Headlights repaired, parts have been painted, and a lot of beer has been drunk. I still have quite a bit to do and progress has been slower than I had hoped(unrelated to beer.)
I ordered a NOS front passenger side seat belt from hawks. Should be here tomorrow. Once it gets here I will have replaced both front seat belts for my wife and I and one rear seat belt for my daughter(all NOS). It gives me just a bit more piece of mind taking them in the car. I have yet to take my daughter anywhere in the car.
I'm hoping to start putting the front end back together either tomorrow or this weekend.
Finally got the front end buttoned back up. I forgot how much of a pain it was to get my front end lined up with the hood and vise-versa. Luckily my father decided to stop by for a visit and lent a hand.
Before
After
This was an in progress pic. I was able to put it all back together. Engine bay looks so much better. I am not so embarrassed to pop my hood now.
Last edited by CharcoalBird; 05-06-2016 at 11:33 PM.
Looks great man!!! Might as well toss the old stock air filter sitting there
Btw in case you haven't already noticed, you can kind of get a glimpse of what tinted headlights would look like on your car with the way the pic took of your passenger headlight lol just a thought
Once I extend the wiring for the air sensor, then I'll mount it on the new intake and remove the old one.
Detailing the car and just looking it over has made my focus shift to the interior. I need new seats, carpet, headliner, visors, sail panels, and a new console. I'll start changing that stuff out over a period of time.
Last edited by CharcoalBird; 05-18-2016 at 10:58 AM.
I have also been making a list of basically everything the car needs. Since starting to Detail I have found more wrong with the car than can be seen on the surface.
Luckily it is just surface rust. I will need to strip both fender wells and coat them.
Detailing. I removed the rear wheels, cleaned them inside and out, cleaned the tires and applied shine, then threw some wax on the wheels. Also cleaned the fender wells as best as I could.
Went to the F-Body Gathering in Atlanta, GA this weekend. I had a good time. Many nice cars there.
Decent 3rd gen turnout. There were 4 or 5 3rd gen birds and at least 15-20 camaros.
I took a panoramic picture from the front and that file format is not supported here so, here is a rear shot of our cruise to Joe's Crab Shack.
Waiting while some of the others fill up on gas. This was my daughter's first time in the car. She ended up falling asleep...ride quality cant be that bad. I removed the front ground effects.
Headed back home. Notice I have my front ground effects off. Had to remove them for the car to go on the trailer. I ended up reinstalling them at the show(not permanently, just enough for them to look like they are installed properly) and taking them back off again.
Didn't go home empty handed this year! I received a runner up award. I'm not sure who won my class but there was a clean 60k mile TTA there.
Now that the gathering is over, my car will return to a life of collecting dust from my driveway and pollen. I will need to go on a photoshoot first! And I desperately need my garage built. In due time.
Last edited by CharcoalBird; 06-02-2016 at 01:32 PM.
Went to do the photo shoot in the car when I rolled up behind this clean blue c5 z06 about a quarter mile from the location. Turns out my friend bought it the day before and was headed to the same location as me to take pictures. Funny coincidence.
I was also hoping to take some night pictures at this location but a storm rolled in and I had to leave early.
If you look across the street there is my friend's new to him z06 and my other friend's ls1 swapped 2-door Tahoe.
Stunning!!! Love the stance...need to eventually look at springs as well
also great to see the family tagged along to atl
Thank you, Maks!
Springs were easy to install once I figured out how to get the factory ones out of the pocket.
It was great that my family went with me. I was nervous about having my daughter in the car with me. Atlanta drivers are terrible! I was in almost 3 or 4 accidents from people not using turn signals and weaving from lane to lane in traffic. I spent more time away from the hotel and away from the show exploring Georgia so they enjoyed the trip more.
No updates to post and it will be quite some time before I can update again.
Went on a cruise this weekend. Not as many turned out as I had hoped but it was still a good cruise. Funny because there were 2 4th gens, 2 bmw's, a new cts-v, 2 5th gens, a gto, a LS1 swapped 2door tahoe, and a 2014 mustang...and for the first time, my car got most of the attention. That was a nice and it certainly gives you a good feeling when all the work you have put into it get recognized.
My first rolling shots. I left my ground effects off because I was unfamiliar with the route we were taking. Glad i did, im sure they would have scraped or broken off if i hadnt.
car looks great!!! interesting touch on the white formula with the painted center and black outs and the black bird next to it....great to see a gathering!!!
Maks, that white formula is actually a pearl white just like yours. I thought the same about the taillight section. Unfortunately for the black formula, someone damaged the spoiler so he had to remove it. That's an expensive thing to replace let alone find a factory piece.
I am really surprised lately as there are more and more clean 3rd gens coming out. It used to be one really nice one and the rest were far from being car show worthy. That has changed.
Hey there, I'm restoring my 91 firebird (and swapping the V6 for an L98). What actual color is this? I assume by your name that it's "charcoal." I'm looking for just a little darker color. Remember what company paint this was?
I had a picture in my head of what I want my (now dark green) car to look like, then I stumbled upon yours....THAT'S IT! I LOVE your look.
09-21-2015, 08:23 PM
Went to the F-Body Gathering in Atlanta, GA this weekend. I had a good time. Many nice cars there.
