FueledSoul

iTrader: (18)

Looks like it turned out great!

quickkris2006

iTrader: (2)

NEED UPDATES NOW!!!!!

JBert

Lets go pick that thing up and get it back together! PM me whenever if you want help-

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

Know anyone thats got a car trailer? LOL. I'm pretty sure my freind can do it with his but I need to see when he's available, and I'm sure the painter got a little backed up with the 23" of snow we just got!!

JBert

Yea, my buddy has a truck and trailer - not sure how much he will want to do it. Wont be that much.

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

Wow, can you ask him for me, if it's not too much trouble? I'm not having good luck trying to convince my freinds to borrow thiers. If he could do it I'd def pay him....to a certain point at least.

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

Just stopped by the shop today and the car is completely wet sanded and buffed now. Just need to pic her up! Heres a few shots from today.

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

And some more...

talover111

WOW! that looks amazing cant wait to see it finished

Project 3.4 Camaro

I wish I had the money to restore mine like that someday /sigh
And you're lucky on rust, the trunk portion on my car is pretty good except two spots where the spare was, but my driverside floorpan had a bigass hole right in front of the seat, it rusted a near perfect square 3 sides, with one still attached o.O but also the front seat mounting bracket broke...I deff need a new driverside floorpan and will be getting one when I have the money to do it up nicely...hopefully the pass side floorpan is decent, trunk is, firewall is, body panels are, but I have doubts about the floorpans.

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

Got the car back at home base today! I got plenty of looks on the ride home too, haha...makes you feel good inside. Heres a few pics of the set up. I'll start working on it ASAP....and when I recover a little from the paint cost, lol!

white gold 88

Looks great! Can't wait to see that one put together.

Stangski09

iTrader: (10)

Wow!

Dante93GTZ

iTrader: (5)

Do I dare as how much the paint/body work ran you?

Ultimately, I plan on doing the same with my '91 Z28, but we'll see how money goes... Apparently, my income bracket is "poverty"... Its always good to know where the government classes you...

puma1552

iTrader: (1)

Love it, I too dare to ask how much it ran you for that level of work...send me a PM if you'd prefer.

That car is really turning out beautiful, really can't wait to see it all back together soon.

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

I'll keep you guessing on the paintjob price, haha.....I feel that I got a smoking deal though personally for the level of work the painter put into it. Hopefully I can get some progress going soon too!

JBert

Nice to see it home. PM me whenever you want a hand.
JB

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

Had the car out in the sun today and cleaned up the engine bay a bit. Heres a few shots of some sun on the paint.

quickkris2006

iTrader: (2)

WOW THAT IS PURE SEXY... I might have just changed my mind on my paint color I still see a lil gray primer is that ganna be undercoated like u did the rest of the car?

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

Don't be copying my color now! LOL, jk, I actually saw a third gen TA in this color and fell in love. As far as the undercoat, yes, it will come up to that part where the primer is so the paint will meet the undercoat and make a nice line (even though you'll never see it because of the ground effects.....I still like to know it's done nicely!)

Texas T/A

Can I ask what you payed to have the car soda blasted? love that color, SOM?

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

It cost around $475 to have the chassis done with the quarter panels. The doors were about $70 each, and the other misc things were roughly $100. I'm up to around $730 give or take...but that doesn't include the hood, front bumper, or front fenders...those aren't done yet.

Nope, it's actually a plymouth color off of a 2001 prowler. It's called flame orange metallic I believe. Brighter than SOM.

puma1552

iTrader: (1)

Absolutely stunning, fantastic build all around. Really looking forward to more.

Z28FAST1

That's a beauty!!!!

firerider76

....Makes me drool....Very nice project.Keep the pics coming.

F-Body Demon

iTrader: (1)

Looks great! Gotta love the burnt orange!

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

Been SLOWLY re-assembling the doors since it's nerve-racking working around brand new paint!! I'm also looking at all my 25 year old door hardware like the strikers, door handles, bumpers, etc and not wanting to put those old worn parts on my new paint! LOL, goes to show that things can get expensive quick when restoring a car. Thank god there is a local guy to me that I can pic through his collection of parts for nicer stuff, and will prob end up getting the hawks stainless steel door strikers as well. Been looking at a new set of inner and outer door handles as well. I'll try to get pics up ASAP but so far I really havn't been getting much work done.

1BADZ28SD

iTrader: (4)

beautiful color i love my next car will have this color lol

8732

hey man i found this thread. it has been so fascinating and very motivational. i was sitting there looking at the first pics and i was like i seen that some where. then i remembered its the nightmare ta dude from youtube!!!(sure hope im right otherwise i have just made a complete jacka$$ of myself) im glad to see you have put this much effort into your car.

i love the suspension parts. where did you get the camber things for underhood? i love them.

and when is there going to be updates? cant wait to see it come back together

roughly how much have you put into the overall build so far? [if you dont mind me asking]

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

Thanks for the compliments, and yes I am NightmareTA from youtube, lol. Thats actually my LS1tech username which I use instead of this one since my car obviously isn't white anymore!

The caster/camber plates I bought from hawksthirdgenparts.com. They are made by J&M. You can get them in either black or red powdercoated.

As far as updates, I update this site all the time. Ussually there will be at least one update a week, most of the time more though. I've been slow lately though because I'm nervous working around the new paint! Haha.

And I don't even want to start adding up the money into the car right now! When it's done I'll do it just for the heck of it. If I had to take a rough guess though I'd say around $13k dollars, not including the purchase price of the car itself. Prob more than that in reality though since that doesn't account for all the added small things.

Jason E

You will find you have more in the car than you ever thought imaginable You may NOT want to add it all up, if you start adding up all the small stuff! You've certainly done signficiantly more work yourself than I did with my '91, but with all the mods, labor and everything, if I add up every part, nut and bolt I've pushed $16,000 on mine now...and it still has a 305 People have asked me where the money went...not because it doesn't look great, because it came out awesome. But, like you said before, all the little things you don't want to add to a fresh paint job really add up. I spent over $800 just replacing side glass the windshield and the t-tops with new pieces, because why have fresh paint with scratched windows, a sandblasted windshield and spider-webbed t-tops? Then add up the exterior emblems, door handles, window sweeps, etc...then factor in that the car looked so good outside, the inside looked like crap. So, out came the headliner...the carpet...the dash pad.

Wrap it all up, and then of course you want to protect the paint job...so add $500 for a custom clear nose bra. Now, it looks like it needs a nice silver pinstripe and window tint to finish the look, so add another $250 or so for that. So right there is $1,500 extra spent on just making something look "more finished," for lack of a better term.

This, on a car that cost me $1,000 back in 2006 Beautiful project, enjoy it, and if you want to enjoy it more?? Don't add up every penny spent...trust me

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

I couldn't agree more. I've dumped close to $3000 on my TA, on top of the $2800 I spent just to buy the car. It feels like I've done hardly anything to it!

Jason E

The one thing I've learned about older cars...after owning 5 third gens, 1 fourth gen, and having sold cars for 11 years now...

Anyone can buy a new car. For most people, its likely the better way to go. Owning an old car is a hobby...a labor of love. It isn't merely transportation. Its more a way of life. Its also, when you factor in depreciation, the cheaper way to go. This is assuming you can stomach the occassional "click, click," and nothing when you try to start it every now and then With that being said, I have NEVER been stranded with my third gens.

The way I look at it is this. If I had bought a $15,000 "hobby car" 5 years ago, when I bought my RS, it would be worth probably $7,500 today. I did it backwards. I bought a $1,000 car, put $15,000 in it, and now its probably worth $7,500 today

Either way, the math is the same. Granted, I went through a lot of hard work and heartache resurrecting the RS. But, in the end, there is a huge pride of ownership for me with this car, knowing what I started with. I've also learned a lot through the whole process.

Thankfully, I also learned that cosmetic restorations of older, low mileage cars is way, WAY easier! When I'm done with the TA, I'll have around $9,000 in it, and it will be worth close to that!

1BADZ28SD

iTrader: (4)

very true nicely said

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

Oh believe me, there's a very good reason I don't want to add everything up on this car. I don't really care to know, and don't want to know what I have ino it LOL. Money is not my concern on a project like this as I love the car and it has a lot of sentimental value and good memories to me. I guess it's not bad to have a ballpark idea of about what you put into it but I won't add up every last receipt.

The only thing I care about is that the car is built EXACTLY the way I want it the first time around, and that at car shows and while out driving, I get the occasional "WOW" from somebody. I'll be completely happy at that point!

puma1552

iTrader: (1)

This is so, so true.

Just yesterday I spent $1200 on all new weatherstripping (all GM) for the cowl, hatch, T-tops, and doors. I'm a driver's side drip rail short of being complete, but I have a lead. Then add that $1200 to the $400 for NOS IROC tail lenses, then add a few hundred more for fresh NOS emblems all around and a new grille, new sidemarkers/parking lenses all around, new side mirror glass, and some detail pieces like new lock cylinder caps, etc, and all of a sudden I'm $2,000 deep into paint and body and I haven't even touched the car. That's $2,000 just in finishing touches.

LOL.

But on the plus side, that's $2,000 less of a blow I'll have to handle when the big bill comes for doing paint and body. Whatever I pay for now, I won't have to pay for later.

Still have a few more parts I want though...

8732

i still cant get over how nice this project is. what happened to the 355 you had in it? it seemed decently quick.

i understand about the paint. that color is just awesome. id hate to scratch it up or ding it especially after all the work and waiting.

if you notice i have an 87 gta with a 5.3 ls1. shes far from finished

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

Hey guys. Figured I'd post some progress pics since I actually was pretty productive today. Got the passenger door completely back together minus my new door handles which should be here soon. It really wasn't as hard as I though. Borrowed a rivet gun from the body guy and riveted the door lock actuator and window regulator in just like the factory did. Re-greased everything and here we are!

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

Also put the insulation on the firewall and cleaned up and re-greased the wiper linkage and installed that. Heres a few pics.




It's coming slowly but surely! Need my weatherstripping kit still and the dynamat for the floors. Also need the chassis harness and then the interior can be put completely back in.

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

The 355 is a long story. I basically never got it to run right due to some sort of internal problem so I parted the motor out. I always wanted LSx power anyways so that gave me a good excuse just to pull the trigger on it! And I did notice you had a 5.3 third gen as well. Whats the details on yours? All motor?

8732

might as well do it while you got it apart.

yeah all motor. its got a ligenfelter gt2-3 cam in it(which i read it great for turbo apps like yours) it has the ls6 valve springs too. it needs a few things to be finished.

valve springs swapped. wiring completed. accessories attached to the engine. then the trans attached with the adapter i unfortunately havent bought yet. the tv cable attached. some other odds and ends.

Jason E

Nice pics! Noticed the "Long Radio" sticker on your window!! That would only mean something to us MA/CT guys...haven't seen one in years! Still using that security system?

quickkris2006

iTrader: (2)

u really should consider putting in a 4th gen t/a dash in this car.. it would look sooo amazing sitting in this car.. u updated almost everything else y not give the interior some lovin..

Rumblin70SS

I'm not normally a fan of that color, but the car is just stunning! Looking forward to seeing the progress! Nice to see cars get out of hand once in awhile as that's the only way to do it!

puma1552

iTrader: (1)

Man, this car makes me drool. That color is just fantastic.

1BADZ28SD

iTrader: (4)

i agree i love the color

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

LOL, oh yea, long radio has been around forever around here. And unfortunately no I'm not using it anymore. Thats probably been on the car since it was almost new! It was a wiring mess under the dash and I don't plan on even putting an alarm back on as I don't plan to let the car sit anywhere where I wont see it.

I really wanted to at first but 2 things made me decide otherwise.....first off, a lot of people are starting to do it now, and I actually love the classic look of the third gen interior and dash. A lot of times it just looks out of place to mix and match a 4th gen dash with third gen door panels, seats, etc. You really need to go all out for it to look "right" in our cars. The way I think about it is....if I want a new car, I'll go buy one. I've owned a bunch including a 2000 firehawk and an 08 shelby mustang. This is my 86 trans am and I want to "feel" like I'm in an older car when I drive it (but have the power of a newer one, lol). Second, My interior in this car was in such awesome shape still that I couldn't bring myself to sell it or get rid of it!

And again, thanks all for the compliments! Hopefully tomorrow I will have the other door assembled.

Jason E

Good answer I completely agree. I won't even put 4th gen seats in my RS, let alone a whole interior.

Project 3.4 Camaro

Theres something to be said for the feel of driving an old school muscle car.....it just has that feel to it that you don't get from driving any new or mundane car....Sure its not the most well put together car, or the most reliable, cheap interior, and its loud etc...but the feeling of knowing you're in a badass car and the crazy things you can make it do with your right foot, the loping near stall idles when you pull up to lights, and take off tires spinning, its just not something every car has, its that x-factor that some cars have and some don't, honestly I'm not sure I would like a 4th gen f-body because I don't think they would have that x-factor. Newer cars are just.....too refined & quaint, whereas old muscle cars are primal and savage.

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

Thread subscribed.

If I had a garage of my own, and the time it would take me to do this I'd do iit all, and take the time to do it right. Replacing every bit so it was all factory fresh.