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I figured I might as well start a thread just for my own documentation of the long process of restoring my car. I've had a few other threads relating to some of the things I've encountered while working on this car already, so some of that might be repeated here.
I was a child of the 80's, and like I'm sure many others here did, I grew up watching Knight Rider. I had a KITT big wheel when I was about 3-4 years old (and amazingly I still do, it's been living in my parents' garage for over 30 years, lol) and I watched that show every week. Then the series ended, I went on to other kid things and never really had much interest in cars until I was finally old enough to drive one.
In that time, USA Network had began playing reruns of Knight Rider, and I began watching the show again. And in that time, an idea formed in the back of my teenage mind: I should get a Firebird! Unfortunately, living in Montana, a Firebird does not make for a very practical year-round vehicle, especially living on a street that usually doesn't get snow plow service for at least a day or two after any recent snowfall. So that idea was shelved for later down the road. But the idea of having that car was always there in the back of my mind. Films like 'Gone in 60 Seconds' fueled my interest not only in cars but also in building and working on one. A new idea formed, what if I bought a beat up one and fixed it? But being a teenager then a college student didn't really make for being able to afford anything other than the car I was driving, and the idea remained on the back burner.
Flash forward to 2010: I had a good job and some money saved up, and an '84 Trans Am came up for sale. I'd been working with a friend and helping him restore his VW Super Beetle, and had began idly looking at maybe trying to buy another Firebird. I jumped on the opportunity, and drove it home. I did some of the basics, replacing the T-top seals, fixing some minor dings and dents and trying to bring her back to a respectable appearance. Unfortunately, I began to discover pretty quick that my situation still wasn't ideal for owning and fixing up a second car. My apartment complex wouldn't allow vehicles to be worked on, so I had to drive it 30 miles to my buddy's garage any time I wanted to work on it. Inconvenient, but okay. But then problems began cropping up with the fuel system, and then the electrical system, and then one day I was driving home and the second I put in the clutch, the car died and refused to turn over. I parked it on the street and finally accepted that as much as I liked the car, I just wasn't in a position where I could do the work that the car really needed. I put it up for sale, and another Firebird enthusiast bought her. Just like that, the idea was on hold yet again.
A lot happened over the following years: I bought a house, got married, had a kid, and eventually moved back to Montana. Then about 2 years ago, I just started kicking the idea around again. I had a garage where I could work on a vehicle, and a little bit of money set aside. I looked around for a while and finally one day I saw it: a 1985 Trans Am, located in Moses Lake WA. It was a bit of a leap of faith, but after talking with the owner it sounded like the car was mechanically sound save for the starter being dead, but he was only asking $1350 for it and a starter was easy enough to replace. I negotiated him to $1200, bought a bus ticket and rode out to Moses Lake. Sure enough, the car was a diamond in the rough, but overall it was sound. Aside from the starter not working, the engine ran well enough. She had been in a minor fender bender a few years back and the owner had had her repainted a metallic red, although it was a cheap job and you could see the original white inside the door jambs and in the engine bay. The paint had a few chips and scratches, and there was a few body dings and dents, but since I was going to restore the car, none of this concerned me. All that mattered was that she wasn't rotting through with rust and that the engine and drivetrain worked.
Hours later, I was cruising down I-90, the proud owner of an '85 Trans Am. As I drove along and became acquainted by the car, I was surprised at how well it handled overall despite being over 33 years old at the time. Going up Lookout Pass, she was blowing past all the slow moving cars in 5th gear, holding the speed limit like a champ. When we crossed over the pass, the twists and turns of the freeway below awaited us. I took the first couple at the recommended speed of 55mph, and that car hugged the corners. I got a little cheeky, and took the next one at 60, then 65, and pretty soon I was slaloming through the curves at 70-75mph and that car was cornering like it was on rails. 33 years old and that performance suspension was still up to the task.
I cruised through town, stopped into Autozone and bought a new starter on my way home, and parked her in my driveway. The next morning, I put her up on blocks and got underneath to replace the starter... and found the mess that awaited me. She was absolutely covered in old oil on the underside. The PO had said she burned a bit of oil, but she also leaked it, too. Oh well, I didn't buy the car expecting it to be in mint condition. Further inspection of the underside revealed a couple more revelations: the front and rear sway bar links needed replaced, the rubber was gone and the washers were rattling around loose, which explained why it sounded like my car had a pocketful of change every time I went over a bump. Over that first summer, I replaced those, put some Red Devil oil stop leak in the crank case to minimize leakage until I was ready to pull and either rebuild or replace the engine, and did a few other miscellaneous repairs to the car, like replacing the dash bulbs with LED's, and so on. I learned that my car's PO was an idiot, and would only fix the items that he couldn't get away with ignoring, and even then, he didn't always do a proper repair. More than once I've had to reassure my car that, "It's okay, the bad man can't hurt you any more" as I repaired one of his slapped-together "fixes".
Not surprisingly, the paint on my car is single stage paint with no clear coat. I found this out when I washed the car and went to give it a good waxing to bring some shine to the paint, only to have my buffing sponge come back with red all over it. I planned to repaint it a nice Gunmetal Grey Metallic anyway, so this wasn't really too upsetting, but it was a bit of a surprise to find my car's paint transferring to my buffing sponge.
The T-top seals were either original or had been replaced so long ago it didn't matter, because she leaked like crazy the first time it rained. I had been working in the garage and had to temporarily vacate her overnight, with only a 10% chance of rain. It was pouring the next morning, there was water freely dripping from the roof and the rear footwells were soaked. I have a feeling I might get a nasty surprise when I eventually start the interior and pull the carpet up, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I performed the mandatory replacement of the T-top seals, and since she now lives in my garage, she really doesn't see rain other than the occasional surprise rain shower when I've had her out for a drive.
I'll post other updates as I dig through my phone's photos. I usually take photos of stuff I've done, so I'll post some more detailed updates as I bring this thread up to speed. Ultimately my plans are to restore the car, but with a bigger engine and more overall power. Even today at 35 years old, she's still a head turner, even in her present condition I've gotten some compliments and double-takes as I've driven her around. It might take a few years or so to get her fully to where I want her to be, but it's not just the destination, it's also about the journey.
Here's a photo of my car as it is right now. The color isn't bad, but it definitely needs a repaint. There's a few scratches that go down to the original color, and the paint is chipped entirely off the front of the passenger mirror. Plus there's a couple of areas that might need a little skim coat of Bondo to completely smooth out. I've pulled the worst of the dents, but since I'm planning on Gunmetal Grey Metallic, I'm going to want the body as smooth and straight as I can get it, since dark colors and metallics can both highlight body flaws, and I'm planning to paint a color that's both, lol.
A California Gold clay bar did wonders for clearing up the oxidation on the paint from being left in the elements, and a little bit of cleaner wax polished it up and restored a bit of shine. I'm hoping to do paint this year, but time will tell. But after a good cleaning, I took it through town and had a 60-ish woman approach me at the gas pump about how nice my car looked, and how she had one back in the 80's. So while it's not in perfect condition, it's nice to know it still looks nice enough that other people appreciate it for what it is.
This was the worst of the body damage, aside from the ground effects that just need to be replaced. My first attempt at pulling a dent of any kind, my tools were a Harbor Freight dent puller, a body hammer and tap down tool set from Amazon, and YouTube videos. There's just a tiny bit of a distortion when the light hits it just right, but a light skim coat of Bondo and some sanding before paint and it shouldn't be an issue.
The interior is the original red and grey, although it's going to need a total overhaul. Thankfully it doesn't have that "what's that smell" quality, but it's pretty worn and has a couple of stains. The front seats have a couple of sear covers from the previous owner, and of course the dash is cracked like so many other vinyl dashes from the era, hence the cover. All the seats are torn in some place or another, and the carpet has a small hole on the passenger foot well. I'm thinking of doing a black and grey color scheme for the interior, I think it would go with the gunmetal pretty well.
The dash trim is off in the photo because it was taken when I was doing my dash led conversion. The shift **** is an aftermarket one, as is obviously the steering wheel. The wheel's vinyl is torn in the middle, so even if I wasn't planning to restore an OEM one, it would need a replacement.
The child seat in the back is a necessity for my daughter since there's only a lap belt in the rear. Although she's rapidly outgrowing it, so upgrading to a late 3rd generation or 4th generation rear seatbelt set is going to be part of the project as well. I'm probably going to work on the interior this coming winter, since I won't be driving the car then and it can all be done without needing to pull the car out of the garage. The door trim is in good shape, and I've heard some good things about SEM dyes from a buddy who's restored a '78 Monte Carlo and used it on his interior work. I'm hoping it's good enough for my needs, as it will hopefully save me from buying all new trim. I've got all summer to make up my mind still, and I'm keeping an eye on Craigslist and a couple of junkyards for any third gens that pop up for parts.
I love those wheels almost bought some for my car before I found a set of crosslace wheels reasonable. You got a cool car, wish I had a 5spd to drive every day.
Black or grey ( Or black and grey). Would look great with gunmetal grey. I'm repainting my '89 GTA in gunmetal grey, as well. I will be going with a black leather interior too. Check out 427seven 's car. His is a lot like what I'm planning for mine. He added more metal flake to his paint. Very beautiful!
DR.K.
06-27-2020, 01:30 PM
