Hey guys, new here......got a question

88GT17MA · Dec 14, 2004

Hey everyone....I've been looking around this site every day looking for info so I already know alot of you lol.....just want to say hi and post my first question........

Im looking for people who have done something similiar to what I'm trying to do. I picked up an 88 gt and it was the biggest nightmare....blown headgasket, worst interior I have ever seen....I'm sure you guys now what Im talking about...just plain crap. It got me very discouraged and I came close to selling it but I have hope! I tore the entire car down and I'm in the middle of restoring it and building it in a SC car.

My question is this, for those of you who have done a large project like this do you have any recomendations for a plan. There is just SO much that needs to get done that I dont know where the to start! I dont want to go buying stuff and then finding out that I dont need it down the road...should I just purchase the things as I go? I do alot of mechanic work
so I know how to do it all, I have just never had to do such an extensive build up. So what do you think? Suspension first? Engine? What essential engine parts should I start off with for the build etc. Sorry for the long post, especially since its my first but my account hasnt been working so I have been itching to ask you guys some questions. Well thanks in advance and heres the progress I have so far....

1. drained all fluids
2. removed all electrical lines
3. tore out entire interior
4. cars on jack stands

I already have the following:
New seats
H-pipe
headers
electric fan
new radiator
all engine gaskets

thanks again..

1986LX2002 · Dec 14, 2004

well I fully rebuilt my 86GT. Took me a little over 2 years and about 9300 dollars and still have a lot of stuff to do. The unibody was tweaked so I had to have that taken care of, the Original T5 was blown so a new tremec3550 went in along with a new clutch, FMS driveshaft. the Interior wiring harness was taken out and gone over, I found so many mistakes and stupid splices people have done over the years The wiring alone took 3 weeks to complete. I took the entire interior out to just a steering wheel. Cleaned and fixed my dash and sprayed it SVO gray fixed my heater core. Found several stress cracks in the floor pans so that had to be fixed. My interior consists of a complete 86SVO interior which came out of a Mint "well was mint" wrecked car. The car only had 40K original miles so the interior was awesome, i grabbed that up asap. I did all the paint and body work at my house and that took a long time due to many hours sanding by hand with a long board. I would say take your time that way you only have to do the job once time around, nothing is worse than a rush job knowing you rushed it and then stuff starts to break or whatever. I would start with the body personally, if thats ok focus on getting it running to wear you can drive it. If this was my project though i would do this. Now if you have to drive the car right away obviously get the car running first but if not this is what i would do,
1. Check body and paint
2. Engine/Drivetrain/suspension
3. Performance parts
4. Interior

Good luck and welcome.

_jb_ · Dec 14, 2004

1986LX2002 said:
1. Check body and paint
2. Engine/Drivetrain/suspension
3. Performance parts
4. Interior

Good luck and welcome.

I second that. If the car needs to be painted, it will be easier when it's all apart. When you get to working on #2, stay aware of parts that could be replaced. If the part doesn't look good, you might as well replace it and save yourself the trouble. But, also remember aftermarket parts because in some cases they are cheaper and better than the OEM ones. As for the interior, people will see the outside of the car more than the inside, so the interior can take a back seat since i'm assuming you're not driving it.

Overall, if funds are available, restoring a car is awesome. I tore down my car the second day I had it. I should get those pics up...

88GT17MA · Dec 14, 2004

Thanks alot, I drive a truck daily so driving the car isnt a problem....I was thinking I should prob. do the interior last. The body is pretty good just a couple very small rust marks in the wheel well which I dont mind, maybe some day once its all done I'll get a nice paint job. The only metal that needs work is the floor pan. There is a hole the size of a quarter right under the gas pedal......I have used welders but dont own one. Any advice on what kind of entry level welding kit I could use to do small projects like subframe connectors, installing a roll cage, and fixing my hole in the floor? I suppose its time to pull the engine! I guess I'll pull the engine now and start rebuilding it and work on the suspension while the interior and the engine is out of the car....

88GT17MA · Dec 14, 2004

_JB_ said:
I second that. If the car needs to be painted, it will be easier when it's all apart. When you get to working on #2, stay aware of parts that could be replaced. If the part doesn't look good, you might as well replace it and save yourself the trouble. But, also remember aftermarket parts because in some cases they are cheaper and better than the OEM ones. As for the interior, people will see the outside of the car more than the inside, so the interior can take a back seat since i'm assuming you're not driving it.

Overall, if funds are available, restoring a car is awesome. I tore down my car the second day I had it. I should get those pics up...

ya pics of a project like this would be awesome......hmm maybe I should paint it now instead while its apart....I was going to paint the engine bay but wasnt planing on doing the rest of the car till the end altough that makes more sense now that I think of it.

_jb_ · Dec 14, 2004

88GT17MA said:
ya pics of a project like this would be awesome......hmm maybe I should paint it now instead while its apart....I was going to paint the engine bay but wasnt planing on doing the rest of the car till the end altough that makes more sense now that I think of it.

If you are going to do a color change, now is the time. Preping and painting will be so much easier and the paint will match. I didn't take out my engine when I painted my car, but I wish I did. I masked it off, but somehow I got primer on things.

If you are going to do a two tone paint for the GT effects, make sure you have them all off. I left my front on and when I painted the silver, somehow the overspray went around the car, up into the engine bay, then on the new painted black. When we took the masking stuff off, we could see the outline of it. I'm still not 100% sure on how the hell the silver overspray got on it because we masked that bitch up. All the other GT stuff came out perfect since we had those off the car.

Oh, and pay close attention to dings. I didn't notice as many untill we started spraying my car. Damn driver door has a lot on it.

88GT17MA · Dec 14, 2004

_JB_ said:
Oh, and pay close attention to dings. I didn't notice as many untill we started spraying my car. Damn driver door has a lot on it.

so did you paint the car yourself? with help? It doesnt sound to me like you dropped it off at a shop.....I've done flames and small paint projects but never an entire car, I think I could do it though, If I just take my time and try not to get to excited about finishing it lol....maybe I'm wrong though....Ive never painted a car like I said....

5.0 Nostalgia · Dec 14, 2004

I am going through the same things you are. What I think you need to do is sit down and figure out a plan. What does the car need now? Do you plan on driving the car or would you like to do the whole thing at once? What do you consider more important performance or appearance? These are things you need to consider.

_jb_ · Dec 14, 2004

Here is a link to my cars thread I started in Talk.

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?p=4838702#post4838702
56k warning though.

Hey guys, new here......got a question

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