Modifications, Upgrades, and Repair...part four

**UPDATE** (10MAY09):
Progress is being made on the console swap, but it's slow.  So far, I've managed to get the template made that I'll use to make the final bezel for the power window switches.  This weekend I've gone out and sourced parts, materials, and tools I'll need to get the job done so now to buy the stuff.  I'm looking at picking some of it up next payday and so on until I get everything I need.  After that I'll only need a new shift boot and it'll basically be ready to drop in.  I'll be picking up the boot from RedlineGoods.com.  I've seen what they can do on Jay's car and I really like what they have to offer.  It should make for a nice addition to my interior and give it a little updating.

Also this weekend I made the necessary repairs to my trunk motor/housing again.  I'm glad that it's all back together and working.  Now I don't have to worry about my back glass shattering when I hit a bump from it bouncing.  It's nice and firmly secured.  While I was out yesterday I swung by the powder coating place to see how much it'll cost to have my strut tower brace re-powder coated.  The factory stuff from BMR isn't holding up well so this gives me an excuse to have it redone to how I want it.  I'm hoping it the shop is able to do what I'm looking for because it'll be different once it's done.  :)

**UPDATE** (12MAY09)
A while back I made some items for my car to use while at car shows to add another element to the theme of my car.  While at shows my car doors open so judges and spectators can look inside my car.  In order to keep my doors from moving while open I began searching for door props.  I found a set that looked pretty nice, but were really expensive so I decided it was time to make my own.  After a trip to Lowe's to source materials I had seen from my search.  The end result is the pictured below...

The remove before flight tags are what gave me the idea for the addition to the theme and to serve as a reminder something is holding my door open.  You can find them from various sources on-line, mostly on aviation website.  Since I'm in the Air Force and I deal with different aircraft on daily basis I thought it would be kind of cool to do something to honor that part of my life so I went with a semi-aircraft theme comprised of the "Remove Before Flight" tags on my door props and with the addition of wheel chocks that I put around the rear driver's wheel.  I also have a decal called "Bomber Girl" from Lethal Threat that adorns my rear glass on both sides as it does on the rear passenger windows on my Silverado: Optimus Prime.

Priior to picking my car up from the fellas at Zeus they had an old tail filler panel from a base model Firebird they just gave me.  Can't complain because it was free and it gave me a great idea.  As the weather started warming up I went to work on refinishing it.  The concept is to try reproducing a look similar in appearance to the Heritage Trans AM that GM built after production of the F-Body line stopped in 2002.  On that concept they took the tail filler and painted it to match the body color.  I figured why not give it a try.  If it works...it works...if not, I'm only out the time and materials I bought to refinish the tail filler.  I'm eager to get it on the car, but I'm having problems sourcing the one small trim peice that goes into the key hole area.  Once I find one of those it'll go on.  :)

**UPDATE** (22MAY09):
This week has been good for getting some work done on both my car and the wife's Formula.  I was able to do some work on cleaning up her new headlight pods and get some progress made on my GenIV console swap.  I've managed to get it all painted up.  I'm still missing a couple of parts, but those will come.  Just have to keep looking.  I did manage to score the retainer ring for the cigarette lighter so that is installed now.  Here are the pictures...

On the shifter plate I decided to do something a little different.  So, I found some Dupli-Color body paint that matched my exterior color and painted it to match.  As you can see in the pictures above it came out nicely.  The pictures below are the wet sanding and an additional coat.  I sanded it twice and it has a total of three coats on it.  The area where the cubby and lighter outlet goes is paint satin black using Krylon Fusion paint.

Next was to clean up the lower console part.  For that I picked up a can of Dupli-Color Vinyl and Carpet Die.  I didn't go wild with changing the color and picked a color as close to what the stock GenIII console looks like as I could.  The night before I removed anything that came off so none of the rubber peices would get painted over.

Once it was all dry it went back together and I partially assembled the two parts to see how they look together.  It's going to be really nice once it's all completed and installed.  The armrest, shift boot, and e-brake boot are all going to be grey leather with red stitching to add a little color to the interior.  It should look really nice.  I can't wait.

Also done this week is finishing up the tail filler modification.  I started this back in March when I got the tail filler, but I couldn't finish it until I got the trim ring that goes around the lock cylinder.  Yesterday I finally got it!  I had to buy a whole other tail filler, but that's okay becaue the wife likes it so it's going on her Formula.  I painted the trim ring to match the rest of the filler and presto...done.  Today, I got it all put together.  First off though...I had to clean the rear panel.  It was filthy and it's more than obvious that the lights haven't been removed in some time.  There were leaves and all kind of nastiness behind the lights.  So, after a quick cleaning it was ready to accept the new panel and lghts again.

And the finished product...

It certainly gives the car a unique look.  I like it and reminds me of the heritage Trans AM General Motors did up in 2003.  Now, if I could only find a spoiler to match that would be awesome!

**UPDATE** (7JUN09)
A week ago this past Friday it was not a a good night for the wife and I.  Yet again left stranded.  This makes the second time.  This time I was unable to figure out why the car won't start.  Not being at home and having access to my tools made some it difficult to check things beyond making sure everything was plugged in correctly and tightly.  We waited for two-hours for the tow truck to get there and gave AAA a piece of my mind about them questioning my request for a rollback wrecked vice the traditional tow behind.

Due to having a fund raising car wash I was unable to spend a lot of time looking at it the following morning.  I did manage to give it a once over in the daylight and tried to jump it using my truck.  Still nothing which infuriated me even more.  Fast-forward to this past Thursday which was the first opportunity I had to really look at the car from working all week.  The wife and I started simple with checking the spark now that I have tools to hold the plug wire with versus holding it my bare hand while she cranked on the car.  Not that it would have really made any difference since there was no spark.

Now the hunt begins...why is there no spark.  Asked a neighbor if he could come down and give me a hand.  A second set of eyes never hurts to have around.  Especially when you're frustrated and ready to blow stuff up.  It's a good thing I did because within about five-minutes the probable culprit was found...a broken connection on the ignition module.  I have a new one on the way and should hopefully have it this week so I can get it spliced on and back on the street.

**UPDATE** (11JUN09):
The new parts came in yesterday and within 30-minutes the new connector was spliced in and the car cranked right up.  I was very happy that this is all it was that kept my car from starting.  Now I can get back to driving it with a big smile.

**UPDATE** (5SEP09):
The caster/camber plates under the hood are looking very bad.  Why?  Because they're 20-years old now.  I really want to get a new set, but with things being as they are I'm not in the position to get them changed out for a new set at the moment.  So, time to break out the sand paper and automotive paint to do a little work myself.  It would have been much simpler to do out of the car, but in order to do that I would have to take apart my front suspension and I really don't have the knowledge/experience to do that so I improvised.  They're not perfect, but they look much better than they did.

This is the driver side after some sanding to get it smoothed out.  The passenger side was only slightly in better shape.

 
Primed and ready to paint.

  
A nice satin black finish to them.  They almost look new.

The only thing left really is to take care of a couple other spots under the hood and it'll look even better until I can afford to have all of the body work done and get the entire car repainted.  For now, I have to do what I can to help keep it from getting any worse.  This is one reason my car no longer gets driven in the rain.  I also touched up my power brake booster while I was under the hood.  Aluminum foil works great for masking things off because it forms so easily around anything.  :)

While the strut tower brace was out I thought I'd do some touch up and customization work on it.  It originally came from BMR in their "silver vien hammertone" powder coat finish.  It looked pretty nice when I got it, but I think I got a Friday peice because the powder coating started to peel around the center part.  What better time to fix it than while it's out.  I was originally going to have it re-powder coated with a custom look.  I may still in the end, but for now I think it turned out looking pretty awesome and I haven't seen another one like it.

Repainted and getting ready to add the custom touch to it.

Red inset lettering to help make it "pop" when you look at it.

Letting the middle section dry before putting it all back together.

Back in the car.  The lettering jumps out at you.  Now the STB is a differnt color it doesn't just blend into the rest of the motor when you're looking under the hood.  I think it turned out pretty nice.

And finally...

...the finished product.  As I mentioned there is still some room for improvement, but every little bit helps.  The addtion of the repainted STB and caster/camber plates made a huge difference in the appearance of the engine compartment.

Stay tuned for more updates as they happen...:)
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Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: RPO and Technical Data
Page 3: How RARE is it?
Page 4: Photography of Vader...part one
Page 5: Photography of Vader...part two
Page 6: Photography of Vader...part three
Page 7: Vader's Heart
Page 8: Inside Vader
Page 9: Modifications, Upgrades, and Repair...part one
Page 10: Modifications, Upgrades, and Repair...part two
Page 11: Modifications, Upgrades, and Repair...part three
Page 12: Modifications, Upgrades, and Repair...part four
Page 13: Literature and Awards
Page 14: Car Shows and Events
Page 15: The Track and at Play
Page 16: My other Firebirds