Got a set of Hankook Ventus V2 tires, and mounting them on a set of OEM 5022 double spoke wheels.

Will be picking Harlock up from the shop this weekend. All stereo components should arrive by Friday and will be installed while I'm at my dad's garage. I need to measure the headliner to give my leather vendor the proper measurements, and he will see if he has a piece that will cover the entire board. I will also be ordering the same material for my visors if he has enough.

If we have time I might go up to the bone yard I got my Accord's hood from and see if they have any parts I can use for my Camaro. I didn't go over to the "domestic" side of the lot so I don't know what all they have. I'm sure I saw at least a few Firebirds last time I was there...

Once I drive it for a week or so I'll probably order a set of headlights with the black housing.

 

Don't know why I haven't kept this thread updated! Well, time for a huge update. Pic for attention, haha:



I put in the new stereo:


Remember how I said the exhaust rattled, and that the garage I bought it at (not from, just where it was sitting at) said they'd fix it for me? I'll post a photo of the "fix" they did on my exhaust...My car is safe and sound in a real shop now. It's at a Chevy dealership that my father works for. My mechanic is Derek and he is apparently the lord of all F-bodies at that shop.



Like, what the H were they thinking?! They had my car for 3 weeks and did nothing to it but this BS. If they ever attempt to speak with me again they're going to get some choice words.

Wednesday's exciting garage escapades:

The oil was getting nasty and was NOT changed, which I made a note of before having it taken to this garage. They replaced the oil and replaced the oil sensor while they were in there. The transmission fluid was drained and refilled.

There was a C-clamp holding my exhaust manifold together. I have ordered a new one to replace it. The bolts holding it together were snapped off.


And, it turns out my car WAS supposed to have dual exhaust...so now it does. The awful rattling noise was my exhaust pipe hitting and rubbing against the frame of the car. This has been corrected and the part of the frame that was rubbed against has been cleaned and had undercoating sprayed on it.


In other news, the front right brake pad had the "squealers" BENT BACKWARD to keep them from making noise, as the bare-*** brake pad was being forced down onto the rotor. Not only that but the caliper pin was so rusted and lacking lubrication that the caliper tool they used on it broke.


The rear-most spark plug on the driver's side had not been changed while the other ones had, and the plug wire was TOUCHING the exhaust, apparently.

Thursday:

This could have ended up costing an arm and a leg to fix everything, paying full labor and parts rate (and if we weren't doing some of it ourselves!). And I haven't even found out the full extent of everything yet; today is round two of diagnosing and fixing. They're waiting for my exhaust manifold to come in as well.

Dad just sent me a photo of the new right front caliper on the resurfaced rotor. I had my front rotors resurfaced; they had a thin layer of rust and since the rotors still have good thickness I had them just shave 'em down a bit.

What I don't get is the other garage that had my car for 3 freaking weeks COULD have diagnosed all of this stuff and charged me out the wazoo for it. But they didn't...? I would have gotten this stuff fixed either way, which is why I'm not even mad about this, it's just laughably ridiculous.


Don't worry, hangers coming soon.

He's off the lift...look at them tail pipes! Also, that nasty throttle body.

Dad says "Wait till you see the job he (my mechanic) did on the plug wires, evap code was a bad wire end somebody tried to fix." It seems as if someone attempted at repairing one of the spark plug wires and was not too successful. It has been fixed properly this time around and is now running on all six cylinders!

Friday:

Getting a pinion seal, right rear axle bearing, seal and new shocks today. Front brake hoses on Monday. That should be it besides the wiring next weekend.

Later on Friday:
BRAKEing news:

They were going in to do the pinion seal (rear axle differential pinion seal) today, and when they got up in there, they discovered that basically everything from the axle back is FUBAR and needs redone.

After discovering this, my father called the crappy garage that effed up my exhaust and told them "You will have a complete rear end for my daughter's car sitting outside your shop on Monday. I will give you $125 for it and not a penny more. You knew about this."

They admitted that the car had NO exhaust system on it when it first arrived to them, so they KNEW about all this trouble when they "rebuilt" it, which explains why the whole underside of the car is loose and out of place. They KNEW about the brake hoses being shot, that brake pad being tampered with, the right rear shock having no pressure to it, etc. because they inspected it. Any garage would have found the brake issues at the VERY least. But no. Neither I nor my dad was informed of any of these issues whatsoever.

Also found when looking at the brake system was that the master cylinder is done for. So that needs replaced too. He just told me he ordered a new one from the local parts store, so that's taken care of. He will bench bleed it and install it for me at home. He also says even with all of that I'm still under $1000 of my $2870 remaining budget, so things are pretty okay, considering all the BS they've been finding. The car actually runs and sounds good now, but all of this stuff does need done.

The rear stuff being shot explains why it's hard to shift out of park (not just a dry shifter cable like they previously thought)...and the worn out master cylinder and worn out hoses explains why the brakes were so tight - the cylinder wasn't letting pressure out and was keeping all four brakes pressed in. Which probably explains the bald brake pad on the right rear.

So, while they're messing with all of that, I'm going to get springs for on the back as well. Might as well! I may also order a custom gauge set since dad's buddy is going to be messing with the wiring harnesses in the front to get the gauge lights working. Might be easier to just have him install all new stuff than find the problem with the old ones, provided that's the problem. Apparently it is the problem because they had the harness out from under the steering column and there's just wires all over the place, some look like they were cut and some look like they've been ripped out.

So, basically, I'm repairing and replacing 17 years of neglect, abuse and hack jobs.

My poor car.

My poor wallet.

lol

 

My 96 I am selling for parts is safer to drive then that thing was a few weeks ago. The reason I listed in the Parts area was to avoid a kid buying it thinking it was ready to go.

If a mechanic friend of mine would have inspected and sold a car in that condition to my son he would have been looking for his teeth and having a chat with the State cop that over sees inspection in that area.

The teeth would be because of the betrayal of friendship the report to State cops would be the reminder that no matter who you sell to that crap aint going to fly.

Glad you are getting it fixed.

 

wow,,, some redneck work there, and wow,,, great price for the repair/replacement work.

 

? how much for the tires what size are they,yes fly by the seat of there pants dealers with brake lines some states like mine they can be rusted all day but not leaking an pass,so that can be a very fine line ,sound like your making it run good again ,good way to make it last for sure ,? the wraps can cost as much as paint I have read about some an there are different types the better one they say last up to 10 years ,other 3 to 5

 

The tires were $291, the wheels were $300. Tires are Hankook Ventus 2 Concept 2 tires
Size 245/50/16, wheels are OEM 16s.

I'm part of the liquid wrapping community and I have one of the best shops in the country not too far from me. And when I say that I mean certified installer that runs a shop specifically for "dipping" cars. Their basic color wraps on a coupe start at $675 (I believe for Halo EFX brand wrap which comes in gloss, satin and matte finishes), way cheaper than a paint job, customization is higher and it is much cheaper and easier to re-shoot a body panel if it gets damaged. IMO that's worth more than one "good" paint job. For a $3k paint job I could get my car dipped 4 times over the course of 20 years, if I changed the color of my car every 5 years.

AutoFlex has a peel-able life of over 10 years, Halo EFX and Cerberus have 5-8 years I believe, and plain PDS is gauged at around 3 years for peel-ability. You could leave it on there forever if you want, if you take good care of it, it's just that the ease of peeling the dip off lessens over time.

 

yes I had looked into that the Autoflex is better ups downs ,be carful with gas with them I am sure you know, hear wraps are more $$ right now couse there is like 3 places doing them ,the tires I get falkens for my 95 $300.00 for a set of 4 last time discount tires direct 17in 245 45 17,i am getting a set for my 99 for like $275 4 tires 225 50 16 then about 70.00 mount an balance the tires new stems ,the thing with paint is the mark up they say,i have friend who was in body work owned his own shop until he got in bike wreck years ago ,but hes still pretty good not as fast at 62 but good ,says we can paint my whole car for $700 to $800.00 in my garage ,all Cyclamen dark purple $500 is labor paint an supplys $250.00 or so ,I don't know about a a wrap when a good paint job last 20 + years ,I know grafics places are doing them more then body shops so far ,for the tires most dealers buy from tire rack or discount direct so gorn is right about getting them cheaper there,some years ago I thought $400,00 from the dealer was ok till I found I could buy the set for 4 for $250.00 that was then ,when they have a sale they just can be beat the fakens I have used for 8 year now an about my second set now they were $400.00 one week the next 300.00 shipped to my house free,so $375 ,00 for 4 installed is a great deal ,they were just one year old too ,most tires I buy from them are same year for the price can beat it,the first set I got was the zr1 wheels the falkins mounted on the rims shipped to my house all 4 $1200.00 they were 40s in the back much wider like the old 50s went back to same size as wider tires wear faster ,now if one shops that set can be had for $1100.00 tires rims,so many people pay way to much for tires I hear like 125,00 from a friend Nitto 1 tire , them found the same tires for $75.00 1seems some just don't mind paying more for the same tire

 

AutoFlex is gasoline-resistant and I believe Cerberus gloss is as well, or can at least be buffed out if it sits too long and does damage.

 

my read up said gas for both was not good,an for the $675,00 base one 3 to 5 years ,depending on how its take care of ,I guess they could be good for cars that are garage kept like my 95 ,I wonder what the hot sun an Arizona can do to it bubbling would be a worry for me ,an what about the trim doors ,under the hood ,engine bay ,I think there only for outside of the car too ,I would think about trying it ,if I didt have body guy who works for a lot less then body shops do + owes me a few favors ,around hear I am hearing like $1500.00 half of a 3k paint job ,my guess is the more people start doing it the more the price will come down ,an for aguy like me you can eat off my wheels it may be agood choice one day after the price goes south hear

 

your car looks like it had sport appearance package ,see the 4 or 5 holes in the bottom of your bumper an front too ,mabey someone took it off .mine the front came off before I bought it but the rear an sides remain on the 99 3800