Friday, October 5, 2007

Friday, October 5, 2007

The interior parts that I PayPal'ed someone for have yet to arrive.  When I questioned the seller, they said that they would give me a refund.  Two weeks later, no refund so I've turned them into PayPal as a non-delivering sale.  It's only $50 but still, I can't abide a thief so I hope that Karma is rather swift in dealing with this particular individual.  A few days later, I managed to track down the person's wife on the Internet.  An email to her about the situation got me a prompt refund through PayPal.  The quest continues for replacement interior "hips" for the passenger and driver's rear side of the car.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Fresh P245/50ZR16 tires mounted on the correct 16x8 inch factory aluminum wheels are installed.  Combined with the suspension rebuild, the car rides and drives like it was brand new.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

The suspension parts are scheduled to be installed.  This includes a complete front end rebuild kit from PST along with all the other front end and steering geometry pieces, KYB shocks and struts, Hotchkiss performance lowering coil springs, and PST weld-in subframe connectors.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

The suspension parts are scheduled to be installed.  This includes a complete front end rebuild kit from PST along with all the other front end and steering geometry pieces, KYB shocks and struts, Hotchkiss performance lowering coil springs, and PST weld-in subframe connectors.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Thursday, September 6, 2007

The "rattle" under the hood appears to be the smog pump having given up the ghost.  I purchased a new smog pump from Discount Auto Parts for $50 and the new belt brought the total to just over $60 tax and all.  I took my Gerber EZ-Out folder and sliced the old belt.  No more rattle under the hood.  I'll replace the smog pump and new belt the first chance I get.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

 I've developed a rather annoying rattle under the hood.  It could be a bearing in the alternator or another accessory.  The rattle starts at idle and sounds like someone sticking a playing card in the spokes of a bicycle.  If you give the TA gas, the rattle goes away at anything above 1800 RPM or during the adding of power / throttle.  Once the engine RPM falls below 1800 RPM, the rattle returns.  Since the rattle doesn't increase with engine RPM, I believe that the problem is either something loose under the hood or an accessory / belt about to give up the ghost.  I'll look at it Saturday morning.  I still need to look for one or two pieces of the rear interior panels as mine have been faded and destroyed by the sun (the carpet has faded as well which is why I'm going to go ahead and redo the interior).  I've got a line on a few sets of replacement panels (the one behind the driver's side seat can literally be scraped apart with your fingernail, it has become that brittle with UV exposure over the last two decades.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Prepped and coated hood is installed.  If the car turned heads before, it really does now.  The hood really compliments the lines of the '85 to '90 TA body style (less so on the later "Batmobile" / Banshee style Firebirds).  Whether or not I keep it on the TA is another matter for discussion.  I'll probably repaint it, put the decal on it, then hang it from my garage wall behind where I park the TA and switch back to the flat hood for shows and casual cruising.  Four bolts and the deed is done / the switch is complete.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Unpacked the '83 power bulge hood and began to prep it.  A cusp brush and power drill makes short work of the surface rust.  Black primer and rust converter goes on next.  I'll order a replacement '83 hood insulation mat to complete the installation in a few weeks.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

The power bulge hood arrives.  It is black and, save for some rust on the underside, in near perfect condition.  It is also gloss black, the same shade as my car and the paint is very, very good (with one ugly mark where the paint wrinkles for about an inch and a half near a crease).  Here are some pictures of the hood being shipped, being cleaned up then installed on the '86 TA.  I'll still get it stripped and repainted when I paint the ground effects, going back with a standard factory OEM style louvered bird decal for the scoop (in light gold).

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Thursday, August 2, 2007

The correctly matched (F/R) set of 1986 factory 16x8 wheels arrived and are in great shape.  Since these wheels are the aluminum finish with black paint in the vents (the way I wanted the other wheels to be painted), I won't have to do anything but clean them up a bit, slap new rubber on them and mount them on the car.  Thanks again, Richard, for your help in this project crunch.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Friday, July 27, 2007

Well, I got gypped and it's taken me over a year to realize it.  Yeah, yeah.  You will remember that I picked up a set of four factory aluminum wheels off of Ebay right before I purchased the TA?  Well, the 16x8 wheels used from 1984 to 1992 require specific off-sets, that is, you have front wheels and rear wheels and they aren't interchangeable.  I knew this.  When I purchased the wheels, I knew this, but part of me assumed that I had bought / been sent a full set of wheels so I only gave them a cursory glance to make sure they weren't dented / dinged up then I threw them into storage and forgot about them for over a year.  When I was getting ready to have the wheels I bought on Ebay stripped and powder coated, I had a dark little thought go through my mind ... I saw that the inside was stamped "REAR" and I said to myself ... "do I have two front and two rear wheels or a mixture?"  I turned the wheels over and ... sigh ... CRAP.  Each wheel had "REAR" stamped into the backside of the wheel flange.  I had purchased four rear wheels which meant that somewhere, out there, someone had also purchased four front wheels (and were probably thinking CRAP as well when they discovered their predicament).  Maybe the seller had two sets and got them mixed up, maybe the seller was sold these wheels and didn't know that they were a mismatched set.  Or maybe the seller did know...  let the buyer beware.

Luckily, I had made an Internet contact with a man who had a complete set (two front, two rear) wheels, 16x8, in the correct year pattern and the wheels were also already the way that I wanted them (aluminum finish with black paint in the vents).  Richard was kind enough to ship them to me and problem is solved.  Maybe I'll get a thick piece of glass and use the four rear wheels to make some art deco coffee table...  Important note to all newbies upgrading from 15x7 to 16x8 (or larger) and using the factory wheels to do so.  Make sure you get a complete set (2 will be marked "FRONT" and two will be marked "REAR", stamped in the aluminum on the back of the rim).  It's my fault, really.  I got the wheels in and I assumed (uh-oh) that the seller knew what he was shipping me.  I don't know if it was malicious or accidental but the end result is the same; I have two too many rear wheels and two too few front wheels.  No problem, it happened and like always, I landed on my feet and got what I wanted to begin with.  All in all, even given the mistake with the first set of wheels and the cost / shipping of the second set, I still managed to get a complete set of near mint wheels in the correct color for less than the cost of a single replacement or refurbished wheel from some companies or even the cost to powdercoat the beige colored wheels to the more natural aluminum finish with black painted vents.  Lesson learned.  Lesson passed on.  Recovery complete (with flying colors).

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

After losing a bid on a red factory 1988 Formula power bulge hood on Ebay, I hit the Internet looking for a hood.  By some twist of fate, I wound up on Craig's List where I found a 1983 Crossfire Injection setup and functional hood.  

After some email bartering, a deal was struck for $350 including shipping and fondling.  I only purchase the hood, leaving the CFI setup behind as I have no use for it other than as a desktop decoration...

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

The parts arrived from PST in three very heavy boxes.  I threw all three into storage and locked them up.  I'm glad that they do free shipping to the continental US.  That's some serious weight to ship...

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Saturday, June 9, 2007

I finally removed the dinky Firebird steering wheel and installed the optional (for that year) leather wrapped Trans Am steering wheel.  The feel between the two wheels is like night and day, the larger wheel really is the better one to use in these cars, especially if you intend to throw her around any corners or road courses.  The finish on the wheel is a little faded but a local shoe / luggage repair shop said they would re-dye the wheel and repair the slight damage to the leather wrapping for $10.  Deal.

Friday, June 8, 2007

Friday, June 8, 2007

I finally got off my butt and ordered the suspension parts for the old girl.  Coming soon from PST are:

  • Performance Polygraphite front end rebuild kit (includes polygraphite front sway bar bushings)
  • Idler arm
  • Center link
  • Hotchkiss coil spring set (x4) - will lower the car about 1" to 1.5" all around for a more aggressive stance
  • Weld-in subframe connectors to tie the subframes together and strengthen the structure (especially with the T-tops)
  • KYB front struts / rear shocks
  • Rear polygraphite sway bar bushing kit (24mm)
I was going to go ahead and order larger front and rear sway bars (the stock ones are 36mm front, 24mm rear) but PST didn't carry anything near the size of the stock bars.  I'll try Hotchkiss for the sway bar upgrade.  I'll follow up with a Hotchkiss complete rear suspension, adjustable panhard rod, aftermarket torque arm and a front strut tower brace in the months to come.  

My goal right now is to get the old girl back to handling like she was new, repaint the ground effects, restore the factory decals and mount the original 16x8 wheels with correct rubber before September 2007.

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Crap.  I just discovered a one inch tear in the side bolster of the driver's side Recaro.  It's my fault.  I'm going to have to get a little creative to not only fix it but also to build up the area around the tear (on both sides) so that this problem doesn't occur again.  The bad news is that Recaro seats are not only rare but they sell for a king's premium if you can find them on Ebay.  The good news is that the cloth pattern really isn't that fancy (not like the multiple "Ruffles" ridges seen in the later Firebird seat designs) so a competent upholstery shop should be able to repair this tear easily.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Sunday, March 18, 2007

The one year anniversary of owning the 1986 TA.  I've put over 10k miles on her in the last year mainly because she's a fun car to drive.  T-tops off in the morning, drive 35 miles to work.  T-tops off in the afternoon.  Drive 35 miles home.  The CBR600RR is gathering a lot of dust lately.