Did I do good Veeky Forums? '84 Trans Am, bought it for 1100. Been working on it all day

Did I do good Veeky Forums? '84 Trans Am, bought it for 1100. Been working on it all day

You did great, user

Depends on the state

Depends on how much work it needs. And if you'll have to replace a 305 or not.

It needs a lot of work but that's why I bought it, to have something fun to work on. It starts and runs at least. SUPPOSEDLY there's a 350 that's been swapped in, but I'll have to verify that later on
Virginia sadly

I like it.

ty bb

Hey OP, I can relate. I bought a 1986 Pontiac Firebird with all matching serial numbers for $1200 that was garaged for most of its life up until a certain point, which was fairly recently. It has an LG4 305 V8 5.0L engine, and I was able to get an extra engine that was left over from the owner who had taken it out from a c10 truck in favor for an LS1. Besides one 1" wide A-pillar rust on the driver side, an intermediate sized rust hole in the right fender, and some minor rust around the edges of the hood and trunk trim--it was by the ocean for the time that it wasn't garaged--the whole body is in good shape. No rust or anything.

Biggest problem is a vibration that starts up at 2000RPM. I've determined isn't the torque convert/flexplate, so I have to assume that it's the transmission and/or engine mounts. Unfortunately, GM seemed to have designed the engine mounts just above the suspension, which means that more of the car would have to be disassembled just to get to them. Might have to take it in somewhere.

Already replaced the water pump, the radiator,the transmission seal, the front brake rotors, have cleaned out most of the interior (just needs shampooing), and am in the middle of replacing the heater core. Next is to start replacing the weatherstrips for the doors and windows, as they are original from the looks of it, and are cracked.

If I can just tackle the vibration problem, then I'm home free.

What's up with yours? How many miles?

I'll post some pictures of mine to bump your thread.

FYI these pictures are before I took it to the car wash.

Although it seems to have the original paint, it's starting to wear down, as I was wiping the car with a paper towel and some water to get of some sap that had fallen on it recenlty, only to find that the paper towel was starting to turn red. :(

Mine needs tires, brake flush, light engine rebuild, transmission pan gasket, cooling system needs work, and a decent amount of cosmetic work. Later in I want to drop in a Pontiac 400. Right now I'm just trying to hook up the damn battery haha. Both of the cables are black so I'm kinda hesitant about where I'm putting them. One of them goes to a piece of metal on top of the alternator, but not the alternator itself, so I think that's the negative. The other one seems like it goes back behind the engine. Just don't want to fry the electronics on top of everything else lol

Yeah mine needs paint bad too. Once I get it road worthy I might just get a bunch of paint and do it myself. Even if I mess up, it'll still look better. It sounds amazing though. Straight piped and sounds all bubbly. Bit of smoke though when it starts up, so I'm probably in for a head gasket or two

> just bought car that "needs a lot of work"
> working on it all day
> uncertain what engine the car has

ok

What? That I don't know which engine it is? 305s and 350s are impossible to tell apart without pulling a head and measuring the bore

...

Nice man

Whoops, didn't mean to just post a pic.
>both cables are black
Damn, that's tough. Good luck with that.

Yeah, it's probably better to do it yourself than not for your case. The thing that bums me out more though is the fact that some kids wrote on the dirty hood with their finger, which led to it to being permanently engraved.

>The thing that bums me out more
Sorry, on mine lol

Yours doesn't seem too bad, honestly. All the problems you have are straightforward, but everything I have to do beyond the heater core is almost cryptic.

That's no good. My hood's all messed up and it's out of alignment but I got it to pop consistently by spraying some wd40 on the latch

>All the problems you have are straightforward
For now lol. Until more and more appear

Dude, too bad you live on the other side of the country. I would sell you the extra engine if you wanted it for cheap. Although I suppose another 305 wouldn't be what you would want.

That's a good start. Are there any dents on the body? From the pictures you provided, it looks dent free, so at least you have that going for you.

Yeah, haha.

There's a few dings but nothing major. The biggest thing is the weather stripping is all rotted out, so that'll needed to go. Luckily there's aftermarket stuff online

>a few dings.
Not too bad. Mine only has one on the driver side because the previous owner, when taking it of his trailer, nicked it because he wasn't careful enough. Again, it's too bad, but not nearly bad as it could be.

>luckily there's after market stuff
Definitely. I got my radiator for $90, water pump for $27, rotors for $35 each, and mounts-to-be for $11.99 each or so.

I have the weatherstrips for the roof and doors, and after looking around on ebay, I was able to find mine for $100 Free shipping compared to $200+ on a motor website.

Parts for our type of car are practically being handed out. Take advantage of it, and turn your diamond in the rough into something you'll be proud to have. You obviously already appreciate this type of car, so the payout will be even better, so long as you play your cards right.

That what I hope to do. It's in rough shape but in a year or two I'll have made something out of it. Some red spray paint and a bit of work and it'll start looking right. Just finished installing a coolant tank cause there wasn't one lol.

I'm glad I don't live somewhere people have to pay $1100 for a 3rd gen needing an engine rebuild. These things are throwaway cars.

Man 1100 gets you a rusted out roller here. Some guy is trying to sell his 305 with a blown head gasket for $2500 right now. V6s in good condition go for $2k. It's awful but at least I got a good deal for where I live

Yuropoor fag here. I am mad jelly of your new ride, we don't get such cool looking cars for that price in here mah dude.


Hope you have fun

I respect your opinion, but I disagree. People are still paying a pretty penny for these cars mostly for their aesthetic, but it still makes for a good car depending on the options.

>Man 1100 gets you a rusted out roller here
This.

I am lucky that I got mine in the shape it's in. I'm this fag by the way I bet if you look, and have the room, tools, and mindset, you can find a beater worth its wait if you give it time.

>wait
I mean weight.

That's what really hooked me, they look amazing, at least when they're not beat to shit

Are you serious? Did reading the block casting number never occur to you?

Man that shit is way back there. I'll have to check it later on. Wasn't planning on doing much with the engine. Gonna 455 swap it

>turd gen
Ya dun goofed

Check the head casting then lad if you want to know. If it's a 305 it'll probably have 601 or 081 casting heads.

Or just run it until you put a bigger motor in it.

Just be aware that after the motor goes in, you'll be pushing that little 10 bolt diff. The chassis is poor and will flex pretty badly. All of this can be fixed like I did with my TA, but there is time and money involved.

I'm probably going to get a rear off a fourth gen and see how that holds up. That way I'll have disk brakes too. I couldn't find a lot of info off the block. Only thing I could tell is the intake manifold is off a late 70s Corvette

The 12 bolt from the 4th gen will hold up to most stout street engines. Subframe connectors will stiffen up the chassis and suspension will get it riding right. Once that's done, you're laughing.

Third gen master race reporting in.

Nice. Wish my paint looked that good haha. What's in it?

350 L98/ 700r4 /9bolt

Nice

Can you cut the front lip and have boxy front? Is that a thing that can be done?

It's only a "turd" if the owner rices it, or customizes it in their own tacky fashion.

If you keep it original, it's quite the car.

Sure pal... I believe you

Damn thats nice

i don't quite understand the nature of the question.

tyty

he wants to lop off the front bumper and make it a flat front end it would ruin the flow of the body

oh and to answer your question yes just take off the front clip and fab something up

super jealous bro

thank's

Nigger you got my favorite year. It's t-topless too, fuck I'm jealous.

I've always wanted to get an 84 with the W62 aero front end and put a Pontiac 400 in it.

Really? I got my first third gen for free when my neighbor wrecked it into a pole and gave it to my Dad who gave it to me. It's blue booked for $200.

That's exactly what I'm doing. At least once I'm done fixing Cletus' mistakes

You must live in a non shit state. Prices here are insane

>overpaying for a turd gen
Now I've seen it all

That's cool as fuck. It might ruin the flow, but from the thumbnail, doesn't the car with the front removed off look awesome?

You basically wanna turn it into an aerocoupe?

GM essentially made this but on a different car. You might be able to take the front fascia of a g-body and clip it on, but if you really want that specific look then it's on a different car probably.

I'm gonna post some more pics of the aerocoupe for comparison.

...

>$1100
>overpaying
You're lucky to get anything that runs and drives ok for that much, let alone something even kind of cool like an f body

In my area $1100 is just about fair for an f-body with an alleged 350 in it.

It might be because I live in a redneck southern town but these things go for a few hundred bucks down here. Ironically they share their price point with most fourth gens too. Of course there's a dichotomy between stock and abused cars and "NO LOWBALLERS I KNOW WHAT I GOT" $20000 mint or "costum" shit.

That's...alright I ugess. I still like the Pontiac a lot better desu. Something about the back end of the Aero is just not...that good.

Would Southern Americans ''Rednecks'' sell this car at that price, to someone coming from Europe? Or will I get shot?

>turd gen
>good
Pick one opee

Yeah, it always bothered me too. I used to not like how third gens looked but I got used to them and I found specific models I think look good. Early Berlinetta Camaros are sexy, and early Trans Ams like yours are god tier.

Sure if you have the money. They'll just ramble at you and try to jew you a bit but if you point out that the muffler is held up by a coathanger they'll sell it for a price you want.

>455 swap
>not LS1
Thank god, I'm so tired of hearing about LS swaps. You can pull more power out of the 455 anyway. Are you going to switch the transmission to a T56? What about the rear end? Dana 60?

Awesome, can't wait to visit.

Not sure about the transmission I'll go with. Right now mines leaking real bad. I THINK I just found out why. Looks like cletus decided not to put some of the pan bolts all the way in...

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone shoots everyone that's different on sight in america. Even in rural areas. Like said they might try to jive you but you can talk them down like anyone else.

I had a 92 RS in high school I was slowly converting into a Sport Coupe look of the earlier models
(Pic related, a weekish before I lost it in a wreck.)
Miss the shit out of it man, have been trying to get a new third gen for years since with no luck

If you have to ask...