Restoring your LS1 Firebird/TransAm 10 years from now
10-11-2010, 01:04 AM
#1
TECH Regular
Thread Starter
Restoring your LS1 Firebird/TransAm 10 years from now Has anyone thought about this?
Where would you find the parts/pieces to restore cracked leather seats, faded interior panels, cracked door panels, chipped/cracked stock polish wheels?
I was just thinking about this the other day since my car is a daily driver. I gave away my stock exhaust with the tips a few months back after i bought my GMMG system and I regret giving it away.
I was just wondering if anyone else has thought about this, especially if their car is their daily driver right now and how would you plan on going about restoring as I'm sure most junk yards would not have a lot of the pieces in mint condition that we would need to restore our cars.
????
Where would you find the parts/pieces to restore cracked leather seats, faded interior panels, cracked door panels, chipped/cracked stock polish wheels?
I was just thinking about this the other day since my car is a daily driver. I gave away my stock exhaust with the tips a few months back after i bought my GMMG system and I regret giving it away.
I was just wondering if anyone else has thought about this, especially if their car is their daily driver right now and how would you plan on going about restoring as I'm sure most junk yards would not have a lot of the pieces in mint condition that we would need to restore our cars.
????
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alsignman (09-30-2022)
10-11-2010, 02:52 AM
#2
Has anyone thought about this?
Where would you find the parts/pieces to restore cracked leather seats, faded interior panels, cracked door panels, chipped/cracked stock polish wheels?
I was just thinking about this the other day since my car is a daily driver. I gave away my stock exhaust with the tips a few months back after i bought my GMMG system and I regret giving it away.
I was just wondering if anyone else has thought about this, especially if their car is their daily driver right now and how would you plan on going about restoring as I'm sure most junk yards would not have a lot of the pieces in mint condition that we would need to restore our cars.
????
Where would you find the parts/pieces to restore cracked leather seats, faded interior panels, cracked door panels, chipped/cracked stock polish wheels?
I was just thinking about this the other day since my car is a daily driver. I gave away my stock exhaust with the tips a few months back after i bought my GMMG system and I regret giving it away.
I was just wondering if anyone else has thought about this, especially if their car is their daily driver right now and how would you plan on going about restoring as I'm sure most junk yards would not have a lot of the pieces in mint condition that we would need to restore our cars.
????
10-11-2010, 03:46 AM
#3
Not that I see myself living past today, but in response to your question, the "how" will be answered by "when." As in when these cars become collectible then outfits like Year One will start to carry OEM parts. As demand increases (don't see why they would) companies will start to copy or reproduce parts for these cars.
The same thing happened to old muscle, and it should be no different for new muscle. But dear Lord I sure as hell don't want to be around 10 years from now...
The same thing happened to old muscle, and it should be no different for new muscle. But dear Lord I sure as hell don't want to be around 10 years from now...
10-11-2010, 09:17 AM
#5
TECH Junkie
I've thought about 'stockpiling' some items since a few things are already tougher to find. There have already been posts about 'dealers don't have the part anymore'. I find this a bit worrisome for the future but who knows? There will be an abundance of parts in salvage yards in 10 years so maybe that will be sufficient, but NOS will be another issue.
10-11-2010, 10:35 AM
#7
Not that I see myself living past today, but in response to your question, the "how" will be answered by "when." As in when these cars become collectible then outfits like Year One will start to carry OEM parts. As demand increases (don't see why they would) companies will start to copy or reproduce parts for these cars.
The same thing happened to old muscle, and it should be no different for new muscle. But dear Lord I sure as hell don't want to be around 10 years from now...
The same thing happened to old muscle, and it should be no different for new muscle. But dear Lord I sure as hell don't want to be around 10 years from now...
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10-11-2010, 11:27 AM
#8
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Someone who knows what they are doing should make a repro of the LT1 WS6 airbox because those things are already starting to fetch more than they originally cost new at the dealer.
As for myk not wanting to be around in 10 years i think he means the country is going to crap and it's going to be scary here in 10 years and i tend to agree with him.
As for myk not wanting to be around in 10 years i think he means the country is going to crap and it's going to be scary here in 10 years and i tend to agree with him.
10-11-2010, 03:47 PM
#9
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Last year I sold my 1971 LeMans Sport to buy my 2002 TA. I then cleaned out my stash of spares for the car that I had been buying and saving since 1986. You'd be amazed at the appreciation from when I paid for them out of junk yards in the '80s and '90s to what I sold them for on e-bay. Basically I should have been investing in old car parts all along!
Taking that lesson forward I'm making sure that anything I take off of my TA gets cleaned and put on the shelf. I'm also grabbing up what I consider wear parts or stuff that is likely to get damaged (lenses, leather steering wheel, shifter handle, park brake handle, pedal pads, door panels, weather stripping that is unique to the convertible, couple of spare speedline wheels). This stuff is relatively cheap right now and not likely to be reproduced for a long time. The used stuff from low mile wrecks is where you get the best buys but some stuff I've just got to have NOS.
My advice, grab it while you can, I ain't sharing my stuff!
Steve
Taking that lesson forward I'm making sure that anything I take off of my TA gets cleaned and put on the shelf. I'm also grabbing up what I consider wear parts or stuff that is likely to get damaged (lenses, leather steering wheel, shifter handle, park brake handle, pedal pads, door panels, weather stripping that is unique to the convertible, couple of spare speedline wheels). This stuff is relatively cheap right now and not likely to be reproduced for a long time. The used stuff from low mile wrecks is where you get the best buys but some stuff I've just got to have NOS.
My advice, grab it while you can, I ain't sharing my stuff!
Steve
10-11-2010, 04:22 PM
#10
Someone who knows what they are doing should make a repro of the LT1 WS6 airbox because those things are already starting to fetch more than they originally cost new at the dealer.
As for myk not wanting to be around in 10 years i think he means the country is going to crap and it's going to be scary here in 10 years and i tend to agree with him.
As for myk not wanting to be around in 10 years i think he means the country is going to crap and it's going to be scary here in 10 years and i tend to agree with him.
10-11-2010, 04:55 PM
#11
Stock piling in the garage attic has already been started, ...
Blackwing, or two, ..., gold wheels, lower airbox rad-support, gold tips, gold center caps, door panels, window motors, antenna, ..., IROC LED brake light, headrests, center section, taillights, ..., what else have I got?!?
A lot of 'aftermarket' stuff is always available. But yer right, ..., the door panels, lower WS6 rad-support, dash panels, ..., seat covers, ..., consoles, ..., those are all things not reproduced yet, & getting hard to find.
Blackwing, or two, ..., gold wheels, lower airbox rad-support, gold tips, gold center caps, door panels, window motors, antenna, ..., IROC LED brake light, headrests, center section, taillights, ..., what else have I got?!?
A lot of 'aftermarket' stuff is always available. But yer right, ..., the door panels, lower WS6 rad-support, dash panels, ..., seat covers, ..., consoles, ..., those are all things not reproduced yet, & getting hard to find.
10-12-2010, 09:13 AM
#14
Let me start off by saying this is an excellent thread, IMO.
I've been slowly but surely collecting some small odds, and ends and I've already replaced some totally odd ball pieces on the car that I felt had excessive wear for example, the three plastic rivets that hold the plastic spare tire cover(holds the speaker) in the hatch area.
RPM WS6 has a good amount of knowledge in this area as him and I are both OCD about our vehicles and both have an earlier production F body, which bring me to another point. If you have a 98-99 car that came with the gray interior, your best off to hunt as many brand new interior pieces as you can. Gray parts have been discontinued.
Gray center console pieces are all gone (if somone finds a brand new arm rest, PM ME!) Year one has brand new sail panels, map pockets and a few other odds and ends. My other advice to T/A owners is to go out and buy some New Headlamp Motors! just to have around as I can almost guarantee there will be a demand for them.
Besides Year One, I can't think of anything else? It's not a bad idea to go thru the parts numbers sticky and see what you may need, or to gamble and see what may be of value 10+years from now. Having brand new decals isn't a bad idea either! (Ram Air stickers, the phoenix in the back filler panel, etc)
I've been slowly but surely collecting some small odds, and ends and I've already replaced some totally odd ball pieces on the car that I felt had excessive wear for example, the three plastic rivets that hold the plastic spare tire cover(holds the speaker) in the hatch area.
RPM WS6 has a good amount of knowledge in this area as him and I are both OCD about our vehicles and both have an earlier production F body, which bring me to another point. If you have a 98-99 car that came with the gray interior, your best off to hunt as many brand new interior pieces as you can. Gray parts have been discontinued.
Gray center console pieces are all gone (if somone finds a brand new arm rest, PM ME!) Year one has brand new sail panels, map pockets and a few other odds and ends. My other advice to T/A owners is to go out and buy some New Headlamp Motors! just to have around as I can almost guarantee there will be a demand for them.
Besides Year One, I can't think of anything else? It's not a bad idea to go thru the parts numbers sticky and see what you may need, or to gamble and see what may be of value 10+years from now. Having brand new decals isn't a bad idea either! (Ram Air stickers, the phoenix in the back filler panel, etc)
10-12-2010, 11:14 AM
#15
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Besides Year One, I can't think of anything else? It's not a bad idea to go thru the parts numbers sticky and see what you may need, or to gamble and see what may be of value 10+years from now. Having brand new decals isn't a bad idea either! (Ram Air stickers, the phoenix in the back filler panel, etc)
A couple of years ago they had only the first and second gen cars, they are now starting to get 3rd and 4th gen items. It's only a matter of time before they get door panels and other panels. My current catalog has the sail panel that GM Parts Direct says is on back order.
It's a huge catalog that has tons of parts, I highly recommend it.
10-12-2010, 11:28 AM
#16
Classic Industries is starting to have a good collection of 82-02 Trans Am items.
A couple of years ago they had only the first and second gen cars, they are now starting to get 3rd and 4th gen items. It's only a matter of time before they get door panels and other panels. My current catalog has the sail panel that GM Parts Direct says is on back order.
It's a huge catalog that has tons of parts, I highly recommend it.
A couple of years ago they had only the first and second gen cars, they are now starting to get 3rd and 4th gen items. It's only a matter of time before they get door panels and other panels. My current catalog has the sail panel that GM Parts Direct says is on back order.
It's a huge catalog that has tons of parts, I highly recommend it.
10-12-2010, 11:30 AM
#17
and no, they are not for sale!!!
10-12-2010, 11:46 AM
#18
TECH Enthusiast
I was just about to mention classic industries. Awesome company. They do ALOT of cars from the 50's to today. Weve probably bought $30k worth of stuff over the years from the for my dads 69 z28 and my old 91 z28. Ill be ordering some pieces here real shortly for my 02 when it goes in for a repaint (weatherstripping, t-top seals, etc...). But yes, im sure places like year one will build on their 4th gen catalog as we move along in years. Swap meets are also an awesome source of these kind of things. We picked an entire emissions system for our 69 z28 with less than 1000 miles on it for $200 at a swap meet last summer. The guy that had it bought his 69 new, drove it for a few weeks then deleted all the emissions items, threw it in a box in the attic. Totalled out that 69 in 81 and bought another. Then he was cleaning out the attic last spring and ran across the emissions system. 
Great finds can be had if you are patient.
Great finds can be had if you are patient.
10-12-2010, 11:53 AM
#19
TECH Resident
I also hope the same thing that they start making repo parts... Im going to need door panels soon as they just started to crack and my dash pad is faded which meens its going to dry out and crack soon.
