McCall 94 Formula

I should probably be embarrassed but this is my 1996 Trans Am. I am trying to bring her back to life. All the things you are probably saying WTF!?!? about was done before I got it, Like the extreme use of rubber in a can, removing the headliner, and everyone's favorite the beaver dam quality body work. I have Replaced the clutch assembly, trans mount, cags skip shift eliminator, fuel filter and most likely the fuel pump next. I have fixed the passenger fog lamp that was knocked up in the nose. applied a new Trans Am and Bird decal to the tail light center piece. installed a new shifter boot ring. put some JB Weld in The ash tray bracket and the part of the center console that the shifter boot ring snaps into. Also fixed the factory radio. I have to work with a budget but I am doing the best I can with what I have.
Any thoughts or suggestions will be much appreciated.

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ramair 1

iTrader: (2)

if your budget is tight i would start with the cheap stuff like doin a little body work to get the body ready or paint .Hit the junk yards for any pieces you can find to replace the bad ones both exterior and interior.You can do alot for not a whole lotta money ,take your time and most of all have fun...good luck

McCall 94 Formula

Thanks for your reply. I have a used oem bird emblem ordered to replace the broke one on the nose. its silver so im going wait til I can get the car painted. I want to wait til I get a high rise hatch

TechCam97

iTrader: (5)

Ho.....ly.....****..... Props to you for making the effort to bring that Trans Am back from the brink! Make sure to post up progress pics as you fix things up! As for advice, just tackle it one piece at a time, man! Research your projects and save up for the parts to get it done right the first time.

xBrandonx

iTrader: (11)

I would just delete all the molding on the doors and even the bird on the front.

EXTINCT95

I am a fan of this also.

McCall 94 Formula

Is there anyway to replace the molding later on?

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

you could find it from anyone who has removed theres, which is most of us, it's much cleaner without it and its only held on by doublesided tape. honestly I don't get how that door molding broke like that, I ripped mine off by hand and it came off in one piece.

heres a quick guide I made http://www.fullthrottlev6.com/forums...elete-Write-up

McCall 94 Formula

I have no idea. I have the piece that broke over the door letters made me think of a piece of wood.

McCall 94 Formula

Your pictures help a lot. I wasn't sure how it would look. I guess that will be my next exterior job. along with removing my broken bird.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

curiosity got the best of me so I just ran outside and grabbed one of the 2 door moldings (I have them all on my porch incase I need them for something) and its about 40 degrees Fahrenheit now at 3 am with a high yesterday around 60 (to give you a temp reference) and the molding is still flexible enough to do this (remember rubber hardens as it cools). so how yours is that brittle is beyond me.

it was one of the first mods I did, as I had only owned the car about 5-6 weeks when I did it.

McCall 94 Formula

Ill post pictures after removing the molding and the piece that was in the glove box when I got it. maybe the previous owner made it himself who knows. I wouldn't guess Pontiac would have changed the material between the 93-97 models and the 98-02 models

BizZzatch350

iTrader: (33)

Lot of cosmetic, but the car looks pretty solid. The engine bay looks stock and everything seems to be all there and not messed with.

Paul Bell

iTrader: (9)

WOW I see a lot of work in your future. I'd say by the time you've spent the money and time invested in doing all the work, you'd be able to find and purchase a better condition LS1 engined car.

How many miles on this sled?

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

If I where you I would chip out the whole thing of body filler behind the passenger door, if it was that **** poorly spread to start with there is a pretty good chance the hardener to filler ratio is way off too, plus its best to see what the real problem is to start with.

McCall 94 Formula

It has 162xxx miles on it. I have the side molding and original nose emblem of. been working third this weekend so haven't gotten all the adhesive tape off.

McCall 94 Formula

Very true. But I don't have the lump sum to get a really nice one right off. I kinda like the lt1 models myself, and hopefully the added time and money that Ill have to put into it will result in car that feels like mine and not just bought. Almost the custom tailored feel, if that makes sense

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

guys that say to just buy an LS1 just don't get it, frankly I wonder how much they really enjoy customizing their car if that is there mentality, personally I like the 98+ more but still not all of us had/have the money to drop on an LS1 98+ (that starts at like 8k for a high mileage one) so we had to chose the half price option to buy an LT1 version or get a 98+ V6 for 4k or less and build/replace the old and crappy stuff as it breaks or when we have the spare cash, consider for a moment the FACT that in parts costs (not counting your time doing it) you could buy and completely rebuild an LM7 to swap into these cars and have a practically new motor for less total investment then buying a high mileage LS1 car, and you have the satisfaction of being able to say you BUILT this car and for me that has a lot more power then saying "hey, look what I bought". it's about putting the time into the car to make it an extension of yourself and if you don't get that then i'm sorry.

McCall 94 Formula

Update on the TA. I got the front fascia off. Plan on fixing the cracks, sanding and resurfacing it. Wont look great but its got to be better than someone's idea of fixing spider webbing with a quick paint over coat that didn't match and is now flaking. I got the clear turn signals out and working on removing the red over spray. I might have some pictures tonight but I will try to make sure I have some up tomorrow. Any suggestions on what to use for cracks or anything relating to the task that I am working on

MMWS6

Sand it as bare as possible. If there is a supplier in your area, get your hands on Norton's Flexible Panel Repair. That stuff is awesome to work with and sands really well. Won't crack after the repair and will act just like the panel you are fixing.
I've got a gut feeling you are about 2 years from becoming a LS1 Tech favorite through this build. Cant remember the name of the show, but always liked what the dude said at the end, "Don't Crush 'em, rebuild 'em!"
Props to ya man, I'm subscribed to see how this goes!