Gearing up for Spring 14'
 

Well, I'm bored at work. and figured why not make a pointless thread? sounds great right, yeah okay.

so as most of you know, the car is being stored this winter (again) and now i am going to be "fixing" her up with some small issues, while also adding a few new things.

first off, the car is on jack stands, no wheels on it at all. been up in the air for about 2 weeks now. my 18s are still for sale. with one bite but who knows how it will go. once the rims sell i will be removing the tires off them and using them on my new wheels, right now i have 2 new wheels... still need 2 more, but they are still a secret, probably until spring when i can actually get the car out of the garage.


next up, get stock tails. i sold my led tails and now im in need of some new stockers. so thats on the list. and they arent easy to find.


also, remove both front axles and take them in to an axle shop. the outter CV boots are ripped on both driver side and passanger side (driver side is worse) i dont know what caused it. but they leaked axle grease all over my wheels last summer. and im just now getting to it. really dont want new wheels covered in axle grease, (especially because they arent cheap) and ive been meaning to get this taken care of. depending on weather, they might get removed tomorrow. then quoted for boot replacement.

I will also have to go to GM for some trans fluid to replace whats lost when pulling the axles out.

still have some other things for sale too that im trying to push along to help fund this stuff.


plan on cleaning up my brake calipers as well as the wheels are off, gives me the advantage. and whenever i hit 200k miles the car will get an oil change as well, but its only been out twice since ive put it away for the winter. (weather permitting) but now the car is not drivable... i mean unless i dont care to have tail lights. :lol:



thats it for now, i dont think ill be fixing anything else for the time being, the car is in pretty solid shape still (which is good) just the pesky CV boots need done. :)



Oh ans cant forget finish tuning with paul. But that wont be till the car is out of hibernation.

Let's see...
Car is currently at the shop having the old motor ripped out and the new motor installed. Tuning shortly thereafter.
Installing Quaife limited-slip differential.
Installing NGK AFX wideband O2.
New water pump, tensioner, and serpentine belt.
Power steering pump being sent to Turn One for a rebuild. New all-metal power steering pump pulley.
Installing the rear STB/V-brace that I got from jabartram some time ago.

Hopefully will sell my old Kosei K-1 wheels sooner rather than later. But if not, I'll ditch the old rubber, re-finish them and wrap them in Hoosier road race rubber for track days. :)

Matt. Id just trash the rubber and use them as drag wheels. Im very interested to see track times on that motor. So please go asap.

Need stock tails? Maybe I'll part out/scrap my red car. I'm feeling lazy and don't know if I want to get it running again.

Yeah I need a full set! Dont want ones that are dull, scratched or leaky!

Rubber around them cool too? If you sold the set... how much?

technically anyone can post in here on what they are doing to get ready for the non snow season. so post up. :)


honestly, i shouldnt have put this in LA1 section.

Glad to see I'm not the only one with a winter to do list... only problem is my shed is burried in snow and frozen solid, so until it thaws a bit, I'm not getting anything done!!
-install suspension
-install front sway bar
-redo entire stereo
-pull motor for cam, heads, drtc install
-fix rust spots
-finishing osv
-paint

Aiming for the long weekend in May up here to have her all done and on the road after 18 months of storage...

As for the 5 speed, I have a list there too...
-install rocker covers
-finish grand am interior swap
-install headers and idi cover (whenever i get it ;) )
-change out suspension and drop it :)

Lots to do in a short time... sometimes i wish i was unemployed to play lmao!! Wouldn't give up my job for anything though!!

Tim, if you make the May deadline, you are cutting it close for its debut for homecoming 2014. :)

IT MUST COME.

Since my car is parked for the winter and with school I don’t have too much time to get vehicle work done. But here are the plans before April:

-Get the new valve cover installed
-Install the 250A alternator
-Find a driver side tweeter pod (screwed up my last one)
-install the other Crescendo FT1 Super Tweeter
-find some passive crossovers
-finish up the trunk with vinyl, carpet, suede
-add some custom amp mounts
-get more 12 gauge, 4 gauge and wire everything up

Try not to hit anything else... Figure out why my ses and trac off lights are on and why am I suddenly getting like 15mpg? Get the car detailed professionally. Get my new tails done and installed, hopefully get a spring touch up in the paint again?

nothing but system work, nice.



and those are alot of questions ryan, not liking that.

Hey Brandon, i have a set of factory tweeter pods if you need them... also the extra radio bezel if you still need it too... let's work out a deal for that battery and get it done haha!!! :)

I need to find a better radio bezel when I get done kicking my cars ass.

Hahaha

Bwahahaha.... i might another extra one lol... i don't know what all i have in the shed anymore!!! And with it being buried in snow i wont know til spring at this rate!!! :p

I don't need the radio bezel anymore since the in-dash tablet plan is no more, but I would be interested in the tweeter pods.

ok sounds good... as soon as I can dig out the shed, I can get them... damn winter! supposed to warm up over the weekend, so here's hoping I can get in there!!

SLP Lid and a 85mm MAF going into mine as soon as the MAF gets here. Not much this winter, but at least its something! LOL
Having it sitting in the garage is making me crazy!!! In all the years I had the Grand Am, and all the work I did, never once did I park it... this sucks! I don't know how you guys park the rides for winter, I'm loosing my mind here!!!!!!!!

believe me Paul, I feel your pain... my car has been parked for 14 months now... especially after you opened it up for me, it's been eating me every day I pull in the driveway and look at the shed... probably why I have kept buying parts for it... gonna be sweet when she comes out again!! hopefully to paint, then a trip out your way for some more tuning!! lol

Im going to replace the front strut mounts while im at it.

well I got quite a bit started today.... lets see...


whats been done/needs to be done.

- find new tail lights.
- front brakes removed.
- front struts removed.
- front hubs removed.
- axles need to be removed.
- finish tuning with Paul.
- replace front strut mounts.
- replace axle boots.
- get two more wheels to complete my set. (they are still a secret)
- possible alignment since struts have been pulled.
- swap tires to new wheels (getting 2 tires put on the new wheels tomorrow)





plan on removing the axles when I get wheels put on the rear end, im afraid me pulling the axles out will rock the front end of the car off the jack stands. (rear end is up in the air too. held by a jack)


who knows I might reveal my new wheels tomorrow once the nitto tires are put on them. :)

but I got a good start on the car today, now its more of the waiting game. need cash, and have to send things in to get replaced. I will not be doing the axle boots myself, nor will I replace the strut mounts myself. that will be done by professionals. lol

So sleepy broke my car today while we were tuning! Bastard! He needs to learn how to drive! First he takes out his underbody and radiator support on 465 by hitting a semi tire??? Now he's driving my car and plows a pot hole... We saw someone else already pulled over changing their tire in the rain too. Sadly, after my big brake "upgrade" we had to get the rear wheel off of the car and out it on the front so we could get the spare on the rear. Now my car is on a doughnut, with the trac off light on, washer fluid light on, funky idle, rear window regulator broke, needs an ok change and the idle is bouncy and rough!! My poor car! I need to get that honda so I can put my Alero away.

I said im sorry ryan!!!! It was an honest accident. Im as sad/mad as you are about it.

The offer is still there for me to replace it. :)

I can run to a yard if you want... Aleros are plentiful in my yards... sadly so is the turnover rate. The only thing is my yard charges $30 for each tail light housing and the Alero has 4... Don't know if you're gonna like the final price. Shipping would be $10 on top of it. I'd only do you the favor of sourcing the parts... no profit at all.

Actually come to think of it... have you asked Certifit how much they will charge for new ones?

There is a yard out in hays when I go back out that I got a new outer for mine from and paid $15 for it and got 99-00 hvac knobs for free with it...Unfortunately they only have one so while I could get the rest, I couldn't get the driver's side outer

I dont want to go through a jy cause its risky in getting leaky tails.

And no I haven't heard of that place.

Well considering that it rains and snows in Maryland a lot (because DC doesn't have junkyards), I think it would be pretty obvious to see a leaky tail with all the condensation build up. Plus you gotta remember that the east coast disposes of cars more quickly than the rest of the country.

There's one in Indiana... although IDK how far it is from where you live. Look it up... Certifit.com

They're known to be used by the shops when they need brand new parts. It's very cheap too. A bumper costs $50 there... same as what my yards charge. Equal for the fenders... $40 or what the yard charges.

look for a new alero.... thats my plan

Cool man, ill check it out. Thanks.

Well got a little bit done. Pulled both axles out today. Now I just need PARTS.

you SHOULD get an alignment after pulling the front struts. it will easily effect camber. you might even consider trying GAGT alignment specs. hopefully someone knows better then i did, but i thought they were different specs.

If he really want it to handle like a slot car, I've got some decent alignment settings he can try,,,,

Hahaha I planned on getting an alignment. Didnt know you could align the car any way special.

Wrong thread perhaps?

I am doing a few things when spring hits and one thing this afternoon. My fuel pressure regulator is leaking so gotta change that.
1. Serpentine belt (cracked and original GM factory belt with 142k on it and 13 years old.
2. Tensioner (Frozen)
3. Idler Pulley (loose bearing)
4. Possible driver side front door replace(found a good junkyard one)
Already got my new subs and amp installed. Nebraska weather been really warm lately so it's allowing me to get some stuff done.

Have to fix coolant leak on the wife's car and change her plug wires, didnt do it when I did plugs.

It's all easy stuff I have to do. Contemplating changing the motor mount while I am at it being you have to take it off.

Well, caster is non-adjustable but you can get a bit more aggressive with camber and toe settings.

And still be okay on tire wear?

The way you drive, you'll be fine. :haha: