Call Art Morrison.
Call Art Morrison.
In reply to wheelsmithy :
That would be sick but that frame looks like it costs 10k...
I'm on like a 1k budget for a back half
How experienced are you with a welder?
you can get the competition engineering ladder bar frame rail kit and front crossmember for under 500, you already have ladder bars and 9".
Patrick said:How experienced are you with a welder?
you can get the competition engineering ladder bar frame rail kit and front crossmember for under 500, you already have ladder bars and 9".
Buy welder, practice lots, then get after it.... that's my current plan.
In reply to Patrick :
booger welder, but it usually sticks together. I'd either get my buddy to weld it or pay someone to weld it. I'll stick to welding smaller, non-life-threatening stuff.
Images are being uploaded to imgur right now, Ill post a half a dozen sexy pics and half a dozen of the worst rust. Links to all the photos will be available. Some of the sexy pics are on IG right now, I'm actually updating the forum post faster than I usually would. I don't know if it'll stay that way but for now y'all are getting the best detailed info.
I guess we'll start with where the rust is and if I've found replacement panels for it.
The trunk area, I'm not sure what all these panels are called and other than the trunk lid itself, I haven't found sheet metal replacements.
Whoever makes that weld through paint/primer stuff is gonna make a fortune off of me should I actually pursue fixing this car.... This is also all I found without jacking the car up into the air.
There are tons of little broken things in the car as well. T-top handle is broken on one side and doesn't properly latch on the other, door isn't very aligned at all on the driver side. None of this stuff scares me but just adds to the amount of work involved. If there wasn't such a sheet metal demand I wouldn't even be questioning this cars restorability with my skills and budget.
Thoughts? WWGRMD?
Sexy pictures - Proof its pretty clean firewall forward - Rusty pictures
iansane said:NOHOME said:I would go looking for a C5 and skin it down to the firewall and drop that TransAm shell over the top. Yes there is a matter of a 4" wheel base mismatch the TA being 108" and the Ct 104.5"
I like this idea. And 4" gives you a good amount of frame to stretch to fix drive position/dash/steering wheel inconsistencies. Although then it's either stretch the the torque tube or set the engine back a bit...
Or radius tbe wheelwells for clearance, leaving the c5 stuff alone.
IDK if Classic Ind is still around, but you used to be able to buy a whole 2nd gen in parts.
I'm almost positive I could back half a car and 4-link it for less than $500. $700 tops. (Not including paint) YMMV
In reply to Crackers :
Yea, I saw frame kits for 500-600 bucks. That looks like the way to go. Cheaper than another 2nd gen, makes it drivable, doesn't toss the entire car.
Only thing I'm iffy about would be cutting all that out, would the body want to twist and bend? What's the best way to go about it?
Again 0 research in, but I got other stuff I need to take care of right now
berkeley the body rust, tub it and send it
If you want to back-half the car in the driveway, shim the axle stands so that there is no twist to the car. As long as the car is supported on a single plane it wont twist and you should be able to use triangulation and existing chassis datum points to locate the new back-half. Use plywood under axle stands or screw-jacks to achieve a single plane support.
Do some cross-measuring from a back panel or crossmember that is going to stay to some points on the axle and that way you can be sure the axle is in at right angles in the right place when you are done.
Patrick said:berkeley the body rust, tub it and send it
LOL, I would like to not look at my dream car with holes in it. Dents, scrapes, runs in paint all ok
The size of those holes? Not so much.
However, it might be sent to get it going and then fixed later
NOHOME said:If you want to back-half the car in the driveway, shim the axle stands so that there is no twist to the car. As long as the car is supported on a single plane it wont twist and you should be able to use triangulation and existing chassis datum points to locate the new back-half. Use plywood under axle stands or screw-jacks to achieve a single plane support.
Do some cross-measuring from a back panel or crossmember that is going to stay to some points on the axle and that way you can be sure the axle is in at right angles in the right place when you are done.
Put it in the air, (four jack stands) make the car level (shim stands with wood, sheet metal ect), install everything level, measure to make sure its straight. Stitch it together for good?
How long would this take a couple dudes doing it for the first time?
Difficulty level?
Upon closer inspection I would part it out and chalk it up to a learning experience. There's lots of rot in areas that will take more time and money to fix than acquiring a clean shell
Put it back together with all the parts you have and park it in the garage.
When friends or guests come over make them sit in it and drink a few beers and relish long about how your going to fix it up since it's your dream car and drive it all over the country, maybe even race it.
Then head to your patio and grill out some steaks but don't ever do anything to the car. You can do the same with a boat in your driveway.
I love it, well done!
I'm a native Texan. I don't do rusty. I will drive to NM or AZ to buy a car free of the stuff if I have to.
I had a friend save a rusty 71 Mustang that I wouldn't touch. It can be done.
It's a labor of love though. If you do it, you get a free to wear a mullet for life pass.
That's a parts car. Don't waste any time on it until you find an appropriate car to swap some of the parts to. I wouldn't take it apart or anything, just cover it up till you find a better body/chassis to start with. At least get a better unibody.
well guys, locating all the stuff I need to complete the car is a complete PITA
while not impossible nor bank breaking yet, I found a base model 81 not far from me for $800. im pretty sure the door skins were 80 a pop, rockers were similar a pop, a rear subframe kit was 300 for a pair... I'm already at $620 plus the time to install it AND i have all those other parts to patch and fix.
I messaged the guy to check it out, If the doors, rockers and rear subframe are all in passable condition... swapparoo might be the final answer.
I could part out the left overs since I'll want my own carpet/interior
TurboFocus said:well guys, locating all the stuff I need to complete the car is a complete PITA
while not impossible nor bank breaking yet, I found a base model 81 not far from me for $800. im pretty sure the door skins were 80 a pop, rockers were similar a pop, a rear subframe kit was 300 for a pair... I'm already at $620 plus the time to install it AND i have all those other parts to patch and fix.
I messaged the guy to check it out, If the doors, rockers and rear subframe are all in passable condition... swapparoo might be the final answer.
I could part out the left overs since I'll want my own carpet/interior
If you have the space finding a rust free tub is going to be a much easier project. Go for it!
While they do make just about everything for the late 2nd Gen cars now, I'd focus on finding a cheap non-T/A roller and build that, especially since you don't care about provenance. It would be far cheaper in the long run. Regular 1977-81 Firebirds are still out there in your budget. Keep in mind that the tail panels are different on the 79-81 models due to the full width tail lights. Other than that, it's all the same stuff underneath.
TurboFocus said:well guys, locating all the stuff I need to complete the car is a complete PITA
while not impossible nor bank breaking yet, I found a base model 81 not far from me for $800. im pretty sure the door skins were 80 a pop, rockers were similar a pop, a rear subframe kit was 300 for a pair... I'm already at $620 plus the time to install it AND i have all those other parts to patch and fix.
I messaged the guy to check it out, If the doors, rockers and rear subframe are all in passable condition... swapparoo might be the final answer.
I could part out the left overs since I'll want my own carpet/interior
This ^^^ is by far the way to go. There's nothing special about a TA unibody vs. a base or Esprit body. I've swapped the front half of a 78 TA to the unibody of an 80 Formula and many other 2nd gen projects. I've been working on 2nd gens since they were new cars and we were doing day 2 mods so I can probably answer almost any question you might have and if I can't I know someone who can. Looking forward to watching this project!
Oh ya, there's only one sub frame in a stock 2nd gen and it's in the front. There's no "subframe" in the rear. The rear rails are welded to (and part of) the unibody.
In reply to TurboFocus :
That would be an elleventeen on the "holy E36 M3" repair scale.
I did one that was that bad, took ten years. Came out really nice. Maybe 20k not counting tools required.
Very big learning curve and sense of achievement.
Won't do another like it on my dime.
Pete
X2 on the swap parts to a rust free tub idea. There's always twice the rust lurking that you don't yet see....
If it's still available at next paycheck, its mine. My job owes me a chunk of change that should be getting paid out soon.
I do have a couple questions, first has to do with T-tops. How hard is the swap from a donor car?
The second is a little more complex.... I'm going to be keeping the T/A dash vs the base dash. Is the vin attached to the dash? I don't like the idea of popping it out nor do I like the idea of a mis-matched vin on the body and dash. WWGRMD? Make it obvious that it's been tampered with and register an 81? Swap the hidden vin from the TA and register as a 78? Or am I crazy and the dash comes off around the vin?
Halp!
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