My new 1988 T/A

[DynoDave]

You're not far off Kyle.

All 4 originals are being restored, and painted red again of course. The Michelins come off. I'd loev to buy new Michelins, but they no longer make a tire in this size.

I have a second set of the PW7 "Diamond Spoke" wheels in gold. The two front wheels (deeper dish than the rears) will also be restored, and painted red. The rears will not.

I will have the old Michelins mounted on the 4 rear wheels (two red, two gold). These will be for parking on in the winter.

I have a set of 4th gen wheels with near new tires on them...have maybe a thousand miles on them. Got them from a MIFB member a year or so back. The near-new Falken Ziex 960s will get mounted to the 4 red rear wheels.

The 4th gen wheels I will sell CHEEEEAP.

The pads are still usable, but noisy, and always put off a lot of dust...unwelcome with that wheel design. They are down to the last 3rd of their life, are at LEAST 10 years old, and I'm heading out on a driving tour out of state. So I think while I'm in there, I'll replace them.

I'm having a VERY HARD time avoiding mission creep, because I have the knuckles, hubs and calipers to make the change to 4th gen LS front brakes. I have to buy pads either way. So my "cost" to make the conversion now is a pair of new rotors, hoses for the calipers, and conversion brackets. I did this a few years ago when I had the inner fender liner out replacing the power antenna, which lead to stereo replacement, custom harness, new dash speakers with mods and repairs, IPC trim with aluminum rings, new rear speaker, and a rebuild of the factory subs, added an amp, refinished the battery tray and touched up the inner fender, finder liner, and fender wheel lip, console mod., etc. etc. etc. Took many months longer than planned, and I can't have that this time, or I'll miss a trip that's already paid for.

Have pretty much ID'd the parts I want to meet my planned project needs. Have a few phone calls in that I'm waiting on return calls for. Hope to get everything ordered this weekend. Among them, new swaybar end links.

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[MP81]

I love scope creep, it's my middle name!

But I can understand just...wanting a working car. I've made the decision for the car at least one season (usually it's the one doing the deciding it will not be going anywhere) because of that.

Definitely see the benefit, from a cost standpoint, of doing the LS1 brake swap now though, since it's fairly straightforward and you're not spending money on pads twice, but obviously it's not just as simple as turning some rotors and putting new pads on. Will they fit behind the stock wheels?

And yeah, those end-links look great. Nothing wrong there at all!

[DynoDave]

It's just that one end link bushing that is split...all the rest are in good shape, including the rear.

Yes, the LS brakes clear the 16" wheels. I've read that a very, very thin spacer is needed on the front. I elected for now to go ahead and order pads for the brakes I have. The upgrade (beyond the pads) will have to wait.

On order:
- Hawks PC pads.
- Caliper hardware kit.
- Caliper pins.
- 1LE sway bar end links (got some for the rear too, just to make sure I had the matching pieces if/when needed).
- J&M Strut mounts (adjustable).
- Torque arm bushing (Prothane).
- Transmission mount (stock rubber).
- Headline material.
- T-top drip rails.
- Trans filter and gasket.
- Trans fluid and additive.

Stretch goal included replacing the fuel pump, and maybe the tank. But I discovered in crawling around under there that the exhaust is welded, 1 piece form the cat all the way to the tips. The muffler has to come out to get the tank out, so it being all one piece greatly complicates things. That may have to wait.

Got a few other chores done...dish washer is installed, but not tested yet. Moved the two stacks of tires in the back garage so they are ready to load into the van. Also started sorting all the parts into stacks by project so I can sort them when I get shelves up. And digging those stacks of tires out also starts the process of getting a utility trailer out of the back corner of the shop, where the storage racks will live. Got one of my blocks of teak from the Battleship New Jersey drilled and mounted to the workbench. Battery charger hooked up to the deep-cycle in the car hauler. The fun never ends.

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To kill some time, I started cleaning up this pair of original WS6 wheel centers that came off the extra set of PW7 wheels.

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[DynoDave]

Ordered what I hope is the last of the parts today. Van loaded with 8 of the 12 wheels/tires.

Puttered around in the garage with a few things, and decided I had to get SOMETHING done this evening. The driver side rear side marker had burned out some time in the last year or so. I had looked at getting to it, and it appeared to be a fairly "trim removal" intensive job, and had let it go for too long. I figured tonight was the night.

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The panels in the rear area are shingled. I need to get to the one with the locking door on it at the bottom of the photo. Guess which side is at the bottom of the shingled trim pieces?

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I'm not sure what the "approved" tool is for these large plastic trim screws, but this trim stick seems to work pretty well, and shouldn't harm the screws appearance, or the panel if the tool slips.

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Insulation coming loose. This will have to be addressed.

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Spare tire compartment looks good, the same as when I was last in here a few years ago when repairing the hatch motor.

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Back panel removed. Noticed a missing tail lamp housing wing nut. I'll have to see if I can find one of those before reassembling this trim (IE: delays).

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Two palnuts holding the cardboard locking compartment liner to the quarter trim.

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I'm guessing I need to remove these (or maybe I just want to use the special tool I bought for these)? Turns out I didn't need to remove them after all Lesson learned.

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Removed the cargo shade and two screws holding the pocket it mounts in from the quarter trim, popped some Christmas tree fasteners loose (I thought), and I have enough room to get in there.

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First time seeing this area of the car. Nice to see that it is dry and rust free.

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Not wanting to do this again anytime soon (or ever), I used up my last "long life" 194 bulb.

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Socket is slightly discolored or "charred", but after 35 years, I guess I can't complain.

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Oh, those Christmas tree fasteners I thought I was popping loose? No. They press into these threaded sockets, the same type that those big grey plastic screws threaded into. And it was those that popped out of the body before the Christmas trees would let go. This has one lightly discolored "leg" where it deformed coming out. I was able to unthread the body side of that, put it back in it's tab on the body, align all 3 trees, then press the panel back into place in one motion. But it was a PITA.

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Last job for the night, so the spray glue can cure overnight. And a bit of painters tape to protect the trim from glue over-spray.

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[MP81]

I found if you just pulled all the plastics in the hatch really hard, they'd eventually come out how you wanted.

It's basically a big puzzle, where all the parts are in the way of each other.

[DynoDave]

Work is getting crazy again. Worked until 8:30pm last night (after taking a break for dinner). Just to unwind, I hung out in the garage, but was too wiped out to get much done. I wanted to get a little something done each night, just to keep moving forward.

There is a factory foam pad held onto the underside of the rear panel with double sided tape. It goes below the little electrical contact plate for the hatch, and has two good dents in it from the screws that hold that plate to the rear trim panel. The foam side of the tape had failed, but it was still holding onto the panel.

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The old tape pulled off without too much trouble. The foam is as good as new.

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You can see a little left on the bottom of the contact plate too. It did not sit square. I taped off the area so I could get it back in the same spot.

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I bought some carpet tape to reattach the foam block. Fiber reinforced, two sided, and very sticky.

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Cut to size....

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...and it's 1988 all over again!

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[MP81]

Man...8:30 - you just need to call it at that point (well, considerably before that point) - the work will still be there in the morning. No reason to let them work you to literal death - they can go and **** off at that point.

[DynoDave]

I've been waiting on some parts to arrive, and today should have been a "Happy New Parts Day", but the results were mixed.

Spohn - Torque arm bushing....best of the bunch. Well packaged, part arrived in good shape, with new hardware, with lubricant packet, with rcpt., warranty disclaimer, ebay feedback form, a letter from the owner, and even a decal, all of which arrived in perfect shape. Grade: 100%

Hawk - Well packaged, brake pads and lubricant packet arrived in perfect shape. Rcpt. and decal inside. Decal is a little bent up, but this is NOT an important part of the transaction. Grade: 99.99%

An ebay seller who shall remain anonymous - K&N air filter. I knew it was filthy and in need of cleaning and oiling. You could see it in the auction pictures, and it was mentioned in the ad. I already have a K&N "recharge" kit, so I was good with it. The filter arrived in a snug fitting box (mistake), and looking like it was run over by a truck. I'll be seeking a refund on this item.

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Rock Auto

Two separate shipments arrived, a 3rd is yet to arrive.

1) Very good...lots of crush room in the box, padding, rcpt., and magnet. Grade: 100%

2) A bottle of assembly aid, put in a bubble wrap bag. Leaked all over the place. Now I get it, shipping liquids is tough, but that's not my problem. And if you put it in a box, there is absolutely no guarantee that it does not get tossed around, stacked upside down, etc. But with a bubble wrap envelope with a round bottle inside, it almost 100% guaranteed NOT to end up in an orientation that does not encourage a leak. What a mess, sticky and slippery at the same time. Cleaned the bottle 4xs with LA's Totally Awesome, and once with rubbing alcohol before it was finally clean enough to put on the shelf. I don't expect them to do anything about it, and I don't even know what I would want if they offered some sort of resolution. I just want them to know their packaging sucks. I'll try to provide that feedback, but since they have almost 100% isolated themselves from customer feedback, that won't be easy to do. Grade: 20%

Rock Auto Average: 60% That's an F in my book. Maybe the mid-terms (3rd package) will really pull up their average (paraphrasing Animal House).

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1A Auto Parts: A mail order alternative to Rock Auto, I try to encourage smaller businesses, and the founder is an ex-President of our national Pontiac club. So I thought I'd give them a try for the T-Top drip edges. Well, the result is initially underwhelming. Shipping is an expensive part of these mail order deals....people love to gripe about what Rock charges for shipping. So if this is one way to reduce shipping costs, I can see that. But it's just a bad visual. I order parts from a professional organization, and they arrive in a used box. See the original fiber tape from TRQ (chassis parts, not what I ordered) that is torn open, then the box taped shut with clear packing tape. The box did it's job (sort of). So no harm I guess. Again, just seems low rent from a large company.

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But let's look inside. That's the important part.

Some packing to limit motion...some effort, so that's a good step.

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But they picked a used box that is about 6" too short, so the rubber seals are folded over on the ends (the tips are a vulnerable part of these strips that do not have screws to secure them), and the bottom strip has a pretty decent kink in it that does not relax when set on the bench. This was entirely avoidable. Will these deformities relax and straighten out while resting on a flat surface? We'll see. They will have a few weeks to "rest" most likely, before I try to install them. I will let 1A know that I will try to use them, but they may be getting returned. Grade: 50% at best for the moment, though I would be inclined to raise that if the strips work out OK.

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The last item the jury is still out...J&M sent an email yesterday saying the item had arrived. But checking with the post office today, it is not there. I'll check with them again tomorrow morning, but I may have to contact J&M. By far the most expensive of the parts, this one has me a little worried.

[MP81]

Man, those are certainly some mixed results...nothing like waiting for parts, and they're trashed due to entirely avoidable circumstances...

RockAuto is usually pretty good...but if you have an issue, it becomes an absolute pain in the *******. One that sticks out to me was ordering new door seals (to replace the...new door seals...I had already put on the car but were far too stiff) - I found that most people were most happy with the performance/fitment of Fairchild door seals.

Placed my order and waited...and received a right hand seal...and another right hand seal. Filed for an exchange (after waiting for a replacement to be in stock) and had to take it to FedEx myself to ship it back.

Second shipment arrives: wrong item - door seals for a '94-02 Dodge Ram, a slight difference from a second-gen Camaro with T-Tops. Immediately boxed those back up, filed for a return/exchange and spent my time driving back to FedEx to ship those out.

Received the third shipment, which was for the right vehicle and did include a left and right hand seal...but they did not match. The one hand looked like the correct Fairchild seal I wanted, while the other hand looked like the Metra I already had on the car that sucked.

RockAuto was out of stock once again for the seal, so I emailed - and, as you'd expect, they were absolutely ****ing useless.

...

I contacted Fairchild themselves and they sent me the correct, matching LH seal no charge without question.

[DynoDave]

I've heard nothing but good things about Fairchild.

1A answered my comment right away, asking about box damage, part damage and setting up an exchange. I wrote with the details and told them I'd wait and see if they worked, but if not, I'd be back in touch.

The ebay seller did the right thing. Admitted the filter was trashed, and that he had not shipped it that way. He had two of these filters, and is sending me the other one at his expense.

And the J&M order...I misread the email. They were saying they considered the transaction closed because they had shipped it, not because tracking said it had arrived. Whew....I was worried there for a moment. It was due in today. I worked for about 3 hours last night, and until a little after 9pm this evening (yup...it's hell week). I have to run to CTC tomorrow, so maybe I'll have 5 extra minutes to swing by the post office tomorrow and pick those up.

I did tinker a little in the garage over the weekend, but despite the hours put in, the results do not reflect it. Had the passenger side of the front steering linkage cleaned up (my first time under here except to change oil), which is to say I scraped 35 years of accumulated grease off of all the joints, and cleaned a little after that. Not show worthy, but it's more Street Machine than trophy queen.

At least one new joint. Idler, which I'm told these cars with the 16" wheels/tires would trash in very short order. Glad to have the Moog.

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A surviving paint mark.

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So it's a little cleaner environment for me to work in. Have to do the driver side. I grab my grease gun, and start lubing joints. I'm getting nice red Wolf's Head high temp grease pushing the old stuff out. Then on the 3rd joint (the Moog), it suddenly starts oozing / dripping this black/blue/green thick motor oil looking stuff. WTH? This isn't the old stuff being pushed out, it's what coming out of my gun! I'm religious about cleaning the gun between tubes, so I'm not cross contaminating the thing with different brands of grease. But....I must not have taken the spring end of the gun apart, the end behind the piston, or at least not recently. The seal had failed enough to allow grease to accumulate in this area behind the piston, yet still sealed enough to work. Even cleaned, I was still getting that goop out the handle end, so I unscrewed the spring end, and this is what I found.

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You can see the dark black/blue/purple edge where the liquid was slipping past the red grease in the center of the tube.

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And the bad end.

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Worked a lot of grease guns, lubed a lot of vehicles, never seen anything like that. That all went into the trash, and a trip to NAPA got me two new tubes of Valvoline High Temp red grease (and some Duplicolor School Bus Yellow paint). And a stop at Menards got me a new gun and some other supplies.

So back under he car again, re-lube all the joints until I've purged the dark goop, then clean everything again. Like I said, a weekend of hobby hours invested, and I got half the front end greased.

I did dig out the Koni shocks and struts. These were a low mile used set I bought from a guy on Thirdgen.org. A few nicks and scratches, so I touched them up with some POR-15.

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Kind of like cleaning the steering linkage, it's more about stopping corrosion on expensive parts than it is about making them "pretty".

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Then tonight, after shutting off the work laptop, I spent a few minutes in the shop, including getting one side of them etch primed. That can cure overnight, and I'll prime the other side tomorrow. I have no idea how well this will stick, but I made an effort. As always, not a ton of progress, but progress. And, progress, not perfection.

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[MP81]

You really should work less. It'll still be there in the morning.

And wow, definitely above and beyond what I'd have done on the Konis - hell, they sometimes look like that new out of the box...usually because they ship out of the box (due to them being oddly thin for heavy suspension parts). Planning to top-coat with yellow to match the original color?

[DynoDave]

I'd love to be able to walk away from work...in more ways than one. But it's all time sensitive govt. stuff. Got to be done when it's due. Late isn't an option.

Yes, painting the Konis back to a close color...Duplicolor School Bus Yellow is said (on several forums I've read) to be a good match. Since I'm now painting 100% of the bodies, I don't have to worry about a perfect match. Actually, struts to shocks, they didn't match from the factory. The rear shocks are noticeably lighter yellow than the struts. Hard to see in the photos. Only problem is the local Napa only had 1 can of this paint, and won't be getting more (they are not going to carry spray paint in the future. I thought that was OK as I was only planning on spot touch-up. But once I was done covering all the chips with POR15 in black, it became clear I was going to have to prime them to get coverage (yellow would take ten coats to had those black spots on a yellow background). So I may have to order another can. I just ordered another can.

Today I was able to finish priming those items while the sun was shining. Tomorrow is peak crazy at work (I hope), so I'll be lucky to get the first half of the first coat of color on them.

On the parts front, the J&M strut mounts arrived (some assembly required).

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And I rcvd. an email notice that the replacement K&N filter shipped. Should be here Friday.

Lastly, these showed up, which I had forgotten to mention previously. '91-'92 F-body front inner fenders liners. '82-'89 these liners attached to the fender lip with the liner laying over the outside of the fender wheelwell lip (closer to the tire), where the '91-'92 are sized / designed to mount behind the wheel well lip (making the fender lip the closest surface to the wheel/tire). At least that's what I've been told. It's a small gain, but my driver side can already rub ever-so-slightly when turning. You never hear it or feel it, but there is a light polished mark on the liner on that side. With these adjustable mounts, and a bit more caster dialed in, that tire may move back a touch, aggravating that condition. I'm hoping these will help with that.

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[MP81]

Well, hopefully with all this time you've been putting in, you'll be able to claw it back somewhere else. You don't work for free.

Your mention of the tire rub reminds me that I need to flip the mounting of my (metal) inner wheelhouses. Should gain me another ~1/8-1/4", and also look less like shit.

[DynoDave]

More room is good!

Got a solid couple of hours in last night, and got the driver side steering linkage all cleaned up and lubricated. "Wonder Bar" goers on next. I've had this for quite a few years....ordered it when my hatch motor failed....came from same supplier, TDS.

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Replacement K&N came in today. Much better packaging, and in good shape. Ready for cleaning and re-oiling.

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And I was able to wrap up work at a decent hour this afternoon (with a little left over for the weekend), and got the van full O'tires down to the shop that is refinishing them. 12 wheels, 12 tires, and a confusing mix for what is being done with what. Should look nice when done, and it will be nice for her to have some new shoes.

[MP81]

Great news you didn't have to work late on a Friday!

Did your car already have a wonderbar, or is this an add? I can never remember which did and didn't have them. I think my IROC had one, but I honestly don't remember anymore.