Day 6: Shift Kit 9/29/09

Day 6: Shift Kit 9/29/09

Hey all, thanks for coming back!! Today my B&M Shift Kit was delivered!! Right now, I've decided to go with the Stage One: Heavy Duty application, as opposed to the Stage Two: Street/Strip application, simply because if Im not going to be on the track all that much, no need for it really. (I can always switch em up if i want to, and the Corvette Servo is going to add a little punch too.) Now I have all my transmission parts, short of the transmission itself, which is exciting and a pain in the butt at the same time. I WANT MY CAR BACK! The transmission should be here by the end of the week, so I guess I can wait.

Not much else to report, my foglight grill should be coming, (to help me towards the factory IROC-Z appearance package), which should be cool, and I also won a 115 MPH speedometer on eBay last night, DESPITE not hitting the reserve price, but the seller (also with the name Martin) sold it to me anyway! AWESOME!! It's not the 145 like had originally aimed for, but I couldnt win those auctions to save my life, they're going for a couple hundred dollars in the bidding wars!! this one? a mere 30 bucks! *thanks again Mom for my gift card! :]* This is also just the face too, so I don't have to go through the removal of the ENTIRE dash cluster. Also, this item is NOS! (new old stock), and brand new, meaning it has ZERO miles on it, so I don't have to go through the trouble of having to figure out car's actual mileage with a new cluster, I can just add whatever the odometer reads at the time of swap to what the new odometer reads! Pretty sweet!

That's all for now! Keep posted, subscribe, and comment!! Pass it on!
Thanks all!

B&M Shift Kit

115 MPH Speedometer Face NOS!

Day 5: Shifter & Sevo 9/28/09

Day 5: Shifter & Servo, 9/28/09

Well, Good news, My transmission parts are finally starting to trickle in. Today I recieved my Corvette 700-R4 Transmission Servo, which again will improve shifting between gears (notable 1-2 and 3-4) and my B&M Megashifter (Ratchet action). The megashifter looks like it could be a complicated install, but Im sure it isn't too, too bad. lol. Not much else to report. Been driving a Toyota Previa in the meantime...not too sure how I feel about driving a van, but eh, it works fine :) (after a major tune up, of course, haha)

Also, keep in mind, the days listed (Day 1, Day 2, etc) go in order of days I actually have worked on the car, not how many days I've owned it, just so we're clear. Not much else to say at the moment, should have more parts, including the transmission later this week, which I'm very excited about! I keep being outbid on speedometers on eBay, which really sucks, but maybe it's for the better. I also will be needing a new Alternator for my car to get rid of a terribly annoying high pitched squeal, and low electrical charge on startup, so I'll be saving up for that as well. Make sure to subscribe and keep reading!! Thanks!

Corvette Servo (left) and B&M MegaShifter

Day 4: Tail Lights. 9/26/09

Day 4: Tail Lights 9/26/09


Well, kind of a shock for my Saturday!! FedEx Delivers!!! Haha, they delivered my Factory Correct IROC-Z Grid Tail Lights today, installed without a hitch, everything works as it should! :D One step closer to being factory complete!! Outer appearance wise, anyway! Also ordered a cheap fog light grill off a member of ThirdGen.Org today, It will be much better than my sagging, incorrect Rally Sport Louvered Grill that my car is currently sporting! I also think I will sell my Rally Sport Tail Lights that were replaced today to make some extra moolah!! and maybe get me some fog lights for the grill! Hooray! :)

That's all for now! Make sure you subscribe and keep reading!! Thanks again!

Factory IROC-Z Grid Tail Lights Installed

Day 3: Decals & Dash Bezel 9/25/09

Day 3: Decals & Dash Bezel 9/25/09

Sorry, posting a day late.
Anyway, After I got out of school, I had an ample amount of spare time on my hands, (go figure) So i decided to try and apply the factory IROC-Z decals I've had laying around my house since i bought the car. Installed them, looks nice, they came out straight, (THANK GOD!) and look good. I installed them on the rear of the doors, such as the later model IROC-Z's had them as opposed to the factory location front for 1986, simply because I like them better there. (Good a reason as any I suppose!!) They look good, and I like em. Not much new otherwise to report today. I did paint the metal part of the dash bezelwhite, because I heard it made the factory bulbs reflect brighter. Well dispite a crappy paint job due to weather conditions, they DO look brighter at night...will get the bezel painted right soon, IF I keep the dash cluster. (may be ordering a 145mph speedo if i can find one under 50 dollars. :] Sorry, no pics on the bezel. That's all for now! Make sure you subscribe and keep checking back!

IROC-Z Emblems Passenger Side

IROC-Z Decals From Driver Side

Day Three: Door Panels & Phone Calls 9/24/09

Day Three: Door Panels & Phone Calls. 9/24/09


Well, today I tried (unsuccessfully) to take the door panels off my driver's side door. A few bolts for the armrest are stripped and I dont have a special tool to remove them. So I decided to just give up and put the door back together. The goal was to investigate the sound of a loose part in between the door frame and the panel, and maybe to see why my power door locks don't work and power mirror sucks. Oh well, no big deal.

Also, today I finally ordered the transmission and transmission parts:

GM Rebuilt TH-700-R4 Automatic Transmission w/Torque Converter
B&M Shift Kit
Corvette Servo
B&M Ratchet Action Megashifter.

I waited to order them all because I wanted them here at the same time (all transmission related) and can hopefully all be installed at the same time. Talked to Bruce's Transmission, and he quoted me around $400 range to put the trans in. Not too bad, it all equates to around $500 savings than the original quote to pull my current transmission out and rebuild it. (Trans was $575). I would like to maybe rebuild this transmission on my own by someday purchasing a rebuild kit off the internet and using it as a project. Then I can either sell it for money (much needed), or keep it as a back up transmission God-forbid something goes wrong again. Time will tell. I may be even able to make money selling the old transmission as-is to some gearhead who wants to rebuild it. Saw one or two offers on TGO.

Well, That's all for today, not a very productive day in terms of conditioning the car, everything is still disassembled inside, a mess, and the cigarette lighter STILL isn't in. Also, I still have a $50 gift certificate for eBay, which Im hoping will buy me a nice 145 mph Speedometer cluster, so I don't have to worry about that damn 85 mph one anymore. haha.

Total Investment in the car to date: Roughly $3,609.95, including purchase price.

..Holy Lord :O

Day Two: Circuit Breakers 9/23/09

Day Two: Circuit Breakers. 9/23/09

Well, I went to Fair Haven Auto Parts today to buy a new 30 amp 12 volt circuit breaker for my car, (I've now replaced both of them, car has two), at a cost of $9.91. I was kinda hoping that it would fix my horn, power door locks, and cigarette lighter, as Im pretty sure they're all on the same circuit (I THINK, don't quote me on this). Well, not surprisingly, it didnt work. :( I'll have to hit up thirdgen.org to see what they say about power door locks not working. I also should begin looking into replacing the other fuses, regardless of whether or not I need them, just to be safe. Being such an old car, the labels on the fuse box of which fuse does what is all worn off, so I dont know the exact layout, aside from the 12 volt 30amp accessory circuit breakers, so its a crap shoot. Oh well...

Friday I'll probably be painting the metal inner bezel for my dash guages white, if my Grandfather has left over white spraypaint after some painting we're gonna be doing. That way my stock dash bulbs will reflect a little better and I'll be able to see the interior at night. lol. Then, if I can't get that cig plug spliced in, I'll just but the dash back together and cut my losses for now, worry about that another time.

Ordered grid tail lights (IROC-Z specific) from a friend who had an extra set laying around. He took them for just the cost of shipping since he felt bad for me :) Thanks man! At least I'm partly on my way to getting the car looking correct...I hate the look of the Rally Sport single line tail lights I have now. Once i swap the IROC-Z Grids in, I'll try and sell them (The RS lights) on eBay to make some money to buy something else the car needs, and there's NO shortage of that!

Should be ordering the Transmission & accesories soon, just have to call the transmission places around here and see what the cost is expected to be, then order it and play the waiting game till it gets here. Well, the rest remains on the waiting list....

Oh, one more interesting note. I have a Facebook friend who is building up his 305 ThirdGen Trans Am, and I mentioned my stalling problem. He asked me if the ECU had been tuned properly to accomodate the new engine. That was a really interesting point, and I should look into it, especially before I spend a crap ton of money on a Mass Air Flow Sensor that I may not need.

If, god forbid none of that solves my stalling issue, I may begin to consider looking into getting new fuel injectors. They aren't THAT expensive, and may be causing the sometimes stong, but usually present smell of gas, and stalling. Just something to think about.

That's all for now, Don't forget to subscribe and check back often!!

***and thanks to everyone who's been helping me along with this, I really appreciate it! :) ***

Day One: Bulb Chasing/Wiring 9/19/09

Day One: 9/19/09

Well, after making a facebook note on my goals to restore my IROC-Z, I woke up today and decided to jump right in. Why not? It's not like my car is going anywhere, considering my transmission lost second gear...
So I decided to first start with my cigarette lighter, which didnt work when i bought the car. Not a problem, considering i don't smoke, but it IS a problem considering my driving habits require me to have a radar detector and CB Radio! So after disassembling the panel containing the cigarette lighter, the tight cramped space made it diffcult to reach in and grab the wiring harness of the old cigarette lighter. (Need to splice the wires to connect my little 5 dollar Wal-Mart Cig lighter). So I decided to take apart the instrument panel to see if i can feed the wires through the opening. (after all, the little tug that got my rear window defroster [also not functioning] and wiring harness to get slack enough to unscrew the lighter out, was not working for the cigarette harness. Following me so far??

Well after removing the dash bezels, i noticed why my service engine light wasn't working....the bulb was broken...seriously...the only working bulb was the e-brake indicator bulb, so I'll have to make a run to Smith Auto Parts and replace a lot of bulbs in my dash. (also considering swapping stock cluster bulbs for LEDs) I also decided I may want to paint the bezels white to get the black and white theme going inside the car as it is outside. But more on that later.

Well, after much fumbling around, I FINALLY get the instrument cluster cover bezels out, and am right now face to face with the actual gauges (Hell, I can roll back my odometer!!) Well, this had all taken a considerable amount of time, as well as a late start, so by this time, Im losing daylight fast, so I move onto other bulbs, and decide to leave my cigarette lighter for another time. (Dash is still disassembled and being cleaned as we speak, won't be back in for a couple of days)
My dome light is also out, including the map lights, and I got the bulb and dome light cover out, cleaned and sitting on my table..with the dash bezels, but i cannot for the life of me figure out how to access the map lights?! There's no room between the T-Top Bar and the console, even with the t-top removed, no screws/nuts/anything to remove, so right now im stumped. All those bulbs will need to be replaced as well.

Next, my shift indicator light hasn't been working, so I took up my shift plate and knob to get a look see underneath and voila! what do i find? 8 used cigarette butts that look as old as the car!! Are you joking me? LOL. Anyway, turns out that the shift bulb wasn't even under the shift plate where it belonged, (had a little slot that it locked into, so i put it where it belonged, you guessed it, gotta replace ANOTHER BULB. gah. Although I may decide to replace that one out with a matching LED, should I go that route. Either way, i havent been driving the car that much due to a bad transmission and stalling issue, and almost never at night, so the bulb issue isnt really a big concern now, but something to think about. May be able to pick some up with my birthday money! (Thanks Mom & Dad!) :)

I also had a pack of 20 amp fuses lying around from a previous encounter with my old car, so i went ahead and replaced all the 20 amp fuses in my fuse block. Granted it may not have been necessary, but having fresh fuses never hurt anyone. Also need to replace the second accessory fuse, but they are expensive! I already had to replace one, and it costed like 12-15 dollars!!! GEEZ! for a fuse!! The whole pack of 20 amp fuses didnt cost more than 5 dollars!! That MAY solve my cigarette lighter not working, because the power door locks also do not work, and I believe they may all be on the same fuse, so we'll have to check and see....Though if i do find out i did all this work on the dash/cig lighter to find out it was a fuse, I'd be ticked off!! LOL

Thank God for TGO & The Haynes Repair Manual!

Well, that's all for today, stay tuned and I'll keep you posted on the car's restoration! :)
The complete list can be found on my facebook site, just add me if you cant see it! Also check me out on Thirdgen.org (http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/member.php?u=100349&tab=aboutme&simple=1)

Total investment in the car to date: roughly $1,114.25 in parts and labor + $1,610 (car purchase price) = $2,724.25
Pictures of Day One Below:


Dash assembly without bezels
Dash Bezels out of the car

8 Used cigarette butts found underneath the shift plate..

New Cigarette lighter in the panel, waiting to be installed

Cigarette Lighter socket (top), rear window defroster (bottom)