Driving Excitement...85 Trans Am Project. New Plan as of 5/3

[wake]

glad to hear you got that situation resolved...lemme know anyway i can help to get er back on the road!

[SSEiMan01]

Loan/give me about 10 g's?

I'll settle on a winning lotto ticket.

[MattStrike]

Mmmm... RWD = sexy. Makes me want to look harder for a engine cradle from a '95-ish camaro .

If it's still got a wing on the back?...

[SSEiMan01]

It is there Matt, its black, but the same as the one we put on your car. That whole hatch is from my brothers old 84, I wanted non-defrost so the tint I get wont look goofy along the edges.

[LeSabreUltra]

Looks like a good project, and quick too!

That color you want, is called red jewel tintcoat on the Malibu. I test drove one in that color. It's very pretty, and responds well to a good wax! Should be very shiny on your car.
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[00Beast]

Same color as our Suburban. I love it, lol.

[SSEiMan01]

I actually have the paint already, I'll open it up sometime and snap a pic. I opened it when it was custom mixed, touch more red flake added. At first I was like...


Then I was like...




On a slightly less comical note, I pulled the starter today (no fun with trans cooler lines in the way) After I had called to make sure Advance had one in stock, they said they did. I got there, and not one store had one. So, I had to put it back in and wait until I have time on Friday to try round two, er...round 582,694.

At least I got the oil change done on it.

[SSEiMan01]

Random thought occurred when I was working on the car today... Needs suspension anyway...it's already WS6, so WS6 shocks/struts are a given. Lowering springs? Just a thought. It's already pretty low, I probably won't since ground clearance sucks. Would look kinda cool though.

[wake]

i wouldnt drop it any at all for a few reason, ground clearence obviously and not only that but lets face it third gens arent the best for guys like you or me to get in and out of as it is...i wouldnt dare try to get in a lowered third gen

[clm2112]

I'd skip dropping it too. When my Camaro was first swapped from a 2.8L V6 to a V8, I left the original front springs in. Cost me an oil pan and a Y-Pipe.

[SSEiMan01]

Yeah, just a thought, and Lucas. You should have been there to hand me tools today... I had to get back up every ten seconds, which is a bitch for the arthritis. lol
I need a lift...

[wake]

[SSEiMan01]

Ok, check this out. I just got back from picking up the starter from AAP. They ordered a starter for an automatic trans. car. Which mine is. Checked the part number of the one I have. It is for a manual trans car. WTF? Thing is, the auto starter is A LOT bigger, like won't fit in that area bigger. Story of my life I guess. Another manual starter is on order and should be in this afternoon, I'll throw it in after work.

In the meantime, I need to re-re-re-re-re-hang my rearview mirror. Gotta love that rough cam. It works out though, I have to go in and order a steering box anyway.

I have no idea WHY the manual starter works, the flywheels are different between the two transmissions. But this is only a temporary starter anyway until I can afford a high torque mini/LT1 starter, they're about the same price via my findings. Could maybe be why I've always had issues? I don't know since the starter that came on the car was the same size, and it never gave me trouble before the swap. I won't ask questions as long as it holds out for a little while.

[Jrs3800]

You really need that High Torque Mini Starter as you have more compression I am sure... As well you must have stiffer valve springs and the like... So it takes more to overcome that force and spin the motor over...lol.. Will be happy to see you get a mini starter tho...

[SSEiMan01]

Believe me Don, what I really want in there is a MSD APS mini starter. BUT that is not in the budget right now. Looking back, I should have done that in the first place. I will get to it though.

Cleaned it up a little bit, put on the worst of three sets of center caps I have. At least it doesn't look as bad as it could. I rediscovered the business card to a body shop in NC which is what hinted me to the car's past life in the south, explaining no rust. I wonder if they did that nasty fade job.


EDIT: This:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MSD-5095/

If that fails, I give up. LOL Overkill? Meh, maybe, maybe not. I could do a SBC starter in my sleep thanks to this car and I don't want to do a starter of the month challenge.

[SSEiMan01]

Just finished putting the new starter in. It's better than the old one, since it actually works, but you can still tell it is struggling to start that thing when it's hot. I don't know how long this one will last, but it is at least a band-aid for a month or so until I get another.

[Jrs3800]

Te he.... Nothing like compression...lol

[clm2112]

Question regarding the setup of a hard restart when warm: Are you running an electric choke, heater stove choke, or no choke at all?

Just thinking that if the engine is warmed up, it shouldn't need any choke at all, one pump of the accelerator pump should make it light right up. But if the choke is set wrong it may not be giving the engine what it needs to fire a cylinder in a single revolution of the crank.

Also, what are you seeing on the removed starters in terms of damage?

[Jrs3800]

Curt would timing also have an effect on start up? So used to the FI cars I didn't even stop to think about it...lol

[SSEiMan01]

Timing is set to Comp's specs for this cam, and fine tuned by the mechanic I had tune the carb professionally. The starters I remove look fine. The flywheel is fine, the solenoids just keep burning out. I run an electric choke on an Edelbrock 1406 carb. It's not an issue starting the car, its the starter sounding weak for a second.