ss.slp.ls1

iTrader: (36)

He's from Texas...

officermartinez

iTrader: (1)

Hahahaha! Now all I need is a big ole John Deere sticker in my back window!

Oh, BTW, I have some damage on my dash that I still need to get fixed (thanks to those kids with cinder blocks)..








While I looking at my dash, I decided to purchase a double din radio opening from KEE AUDIO (here on LS1TECH). I will be purchasing my car stereo stuff in roughly 45-60 days.

I also just purchased (4) brand new rotors and all of my new brake pads.. I drove down to Mansfield, Texas and picked up all (4) brake calipers for my car as well as the entire front spindle assembly.. I took them down to Kennedale, Texas to the powder coater.. I got them back and now they gloss black.. They look really good (pictures soon to follow, later on this evening). I also took my outside door handles and T-Top bar to the powder coater and had those done gloss black as well.. I have to pick those up tomorrow.

I picked up some GM approved factory type carpeting and some carpet backing from YearOne.com. The new carpet will go in as soon as I am satisfied with the Fatmat. I contacted Tyler at Pavlock Performance.. I sent all (4) of my side marker lights, my 3rd brake light and my entire rear tail light assembly to him to have all of the lights sprayed / tinted. I received the lights back and they look great.. However, one of the lights incurred some shipping damage so I had to go on to eBay to buy another tail light.. I ultimately sent that tail light to him (and I should get it back sometime this week):

officermartinez

iTrader: (1)

..as promised, my brake calipers and front spindles are back from the powder coater. I am very impressed!

officermartinez

iTrader: (1)

I began removing parts off of my car, to prep it for the upcoming body work and paint job..






I also began searching high and low for LT1 Trans Am body parts.. (front bumper, rear bumper, side skirts, raised rear hatch / spoiler, new hatch shocks, etc). OMG, people are proud of their busted up parts.. LMAO! It took a lot of work (especially the front bumper cover) to bring everything up to par.. Also, the dents in the hood ended up being a major pain in the butt so I picked up another hood. Both of my mirrors were bad so I also picked up a set of the electronic controlled side mirrors as well.





One of my headlight motors is bad so I found one of those on eBay as well as TWO new window motors. Ughhhhhhh, when it rains, it pours.. I also took this opportunity to take off my hood and rear hatch hinges.. They were badly rusted. I took them over to the powder coater as well. A week later, viola.. new hinges!

officermartinez

iTrader: (1)

I picked up the parts and had a wrecker tow my car to the paint and body shop.. Here she is, at the paint and body shop.. I decided to stay with the factory dark green color (used PPG primer, paint and clear):

snk-huntr

iTrader: (2)

yep I remember your name from ebay , I sold you a taillight off my ta.

officermartinez

iTrader: (1)

Hahahaha.. YEP! That's me! I was soooo upset with UPS when they damaged my tail light. I still haven't gotten reimbursed for the other tail light.. UPS likes to drag their feet in their claims department. I received your tail light and spent about 6 1/2 hours cleaning it up.. It had some over spray on it (but was able to get all of it off) and the lense was decently scratched (just as you described). Soooo, I went to Walmart and bought some 600 grit, 1000 grit, 1500 grit and 2000 grit carbon paper. I spent about 5 hours wet sanding the lense til I was satisfied with it. I then hit it with some plastic polish and viola, no more deep scratches and the lense looked much better. I then sent it to Pavlock Performance.

quicksilver383

iTrader: (3)

Good job dude. That hard work is rewarding. On a side note, did you ever consider the factory ground effects for the firebirds and formulas? I always thought those looked cool and are VERY rare. You can always flip the T/A stuff, as you know people are proud their used parts. In any case, keep it up.

officermartinez

iTrader: (1)

Thanks.. I appreciate the words of encouragement! Since the car started to life as a Formula, I wanted to change it up a bit.. It was a challenge to say the least, to find Trans Am body parts in good condition. I was never able to find a WS6 ram air LT1 hood (OEM) that didn't have any damage. I didn't care what color it was obviously because I knew I was going to have it repainted. I did find one in "decent" condition but the guy would not budge from his $800 asking price. Oh well.. I have the side skirts but they are not installed yet. They've already been painted but they will be one of the last things that I install before my car hits the road.

I'm supposed to run down to the powder coater in a couple of hours and pick up my door handles and T-Top bar.. BTW, the car was shot with the factory dark green. When I bought the car, the roof was dark green as well (painted from the factory). Back then (and still today), I saw the Camaro's offered a black roof (regardless of the rest of the paint). I have always liked the black roof look so I had mine painted gloss black..

J-13gtp

iTrader: (1)

Love the thread, Ive got a 95 bird myself that Im workin on. But sadly I cant see the pics I think photobucket is down.

officermartinez

iTrader: (1)

Hmmmmm.. I wonder if photobucket is back up? Can you see them now? Here are two more pics for ya.. I spent today, working on my roof (t-top area). Those cinder blocks caused a lot of damage so I think I have corrected everything now. I drove over to Kennedale, Texas to pick up my T-Top bar from TopKoat powdercoating and it is now installed on my car. It came out GREAT! I am very happy with the over all results of my efforts.. (sorry if the photo's kinda suck.. I didn't have enough lighting):

latindragons

Looking great man!! I love these kinds of threads. I can't wait to completely overhaul my '95.

transambandit

iTrader: (6)

question, why didnt the insurance for your friends shop fix up the damage?

officermartinez

iTrader: (1)

Whew.. It's a little exhausting but the wife is finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.. LOL!

My buddy bought an oldddd mechanics shop.. The business went under years ago but it still has car lifts, car bays, etc.. He uses it for his own personal place to work on his cars (and a few of his friends cars). He doesn't carry any type of insurance on the place (since it's not a business). All I can do is roll with the punches, so to speak..

Here are a few more pics of the car at the paint and body shop:

BizZzatch350

iTrader: (33)

Glad to see your coming back at it, most guys would not have stuck to finishing that car the way you did.

officermartinez

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the compliment.. Although, I could really throw myself on a sword at the moment.. Im in the middle of putting in some brand new carpet.. OMG! Ughhhhh, what a P.I.T.A! I have a few pictures from todays events.. minor stuff really, but VERY time consuming..

I worked on the door some (cleaning out the dirt dobbers nest and laying another layer of fatmat)..




Then, I finished out of the remaining bare spots of metal..




Next, I cut off my rear seat mounts and applied a few layers of sound dampening material..




I purchased some VERY thick floorboard covering (also good for its additional sound dampening characteristics). I measured and cut the material, as needed..






Like I mentioned above, I am still in the middle of laying my carpet. As soon as that's done, I will mount my seatbelts and headliner. I also plan to purchase a single 4-AWG in and (4) 8-AWG out distribution block. Since I laid all of that Fatmat, grounding something against bare metal inside my car will be at a premium (ie.. my nitrous install which requires a few ground wires).

officermartinez

iTrader: (1)

Ahhhhh.. I guess I'm gonna call it a day and start fresh tomorrow morning. Here are a few shots of the carpet being installed.. (By the way, the carpet came with some of that carpet padding glued in place.. talk about THICK. I had one hell of a time trying to get my seatbelt star bolts mounted up. I probably spent 45 minutes trying to mount two stupid seatbelt bolts up.. hahahaha).

MTBSully

iTrader: (7)

looks awesome man keep it up

camaroboricua

iTrader: (23)

Looks great, cant wait to see the finished product. I have the same color t/a so im really liking your car. Gives me some motivation for mine...

itSSlowZ28

iTrader: (5)

what did you use to paint down in the valleys around the t-top whether stripping? it looks a LOT better than the bare stock look

car is looking amazing man, can't wait to see it all come together. your definately going to have a beautiful car that will actually be VERY enjoyable to drive