Project Turbo TA

[RickHigginsHtbr]

Alright, this thread is going to be my ongoing saga during Project Turbo TA. Updates, Idea's, Pictures, Etc will all be posted in here.

History: I bought the car right after High School Grad back in '01. It's a 1980 Turbo Trans Am that I was planning on restoring and selling. It's an all original White on Dark Blue with every option minus the hood lights and polished tips. Drove it around a little bit, took it to the track, and basically blew every gasket in the engine. 6 Years later, and that engine is still fighting me every second that it can, so I decided to completely modify the whole car. I wanted to keep it bone stock, since currently it is all #'s matching, but the market for Turbo Trans Am's from 80 - 81 is crap, and always will be.

Currently: 1/2 the engine is in the car, 1/2 in my basement. Yesterday I started gutting out the interior, anything salvagable will be going up on eBay. There's a few rust spots that will either be replaced or repaired. Here's the pics from yesterday:





I was expecting the floors to be alot worse than this. The heater core was blown when I bought it, and I was still soaking up coolant out of the carpet last summer.



Old School, lol.

Even have a little surface rust on the roof.... have no idea how.

Love those metal A-Pillars, lol.

I'm planning on doing a whole lot with this car, like I said, completely custom. Here's what I'm thinking right now:
- Full Fiberglass front end, 1 piece, Flip forward with alot of the body lines smoothed out. Side heat extractors molded in as well.
- HID Retro fit
- LSx Motor, would prefer an LS2, but, we'll see.
- STS Remote Mount Turbo, to keep it a 'true' Turbo TA
- Fiberglass Door Panels, no door handles, possibly Lambo'ed
- Fiberglass Trunk + Rear Quarters, all molding molded on.
- Custom Fiberglass Dash + Door Panels
- C4 Vette Seats, all 4, hopefully all 8-way powered
- Sunroof, thinking G6 GTP style.
- Center Console, custom, fiberglass, running into the back
- 18x10's in the rear, 17x8's in the front
- Air Ride Technologies full airbag system
- Possible Body drop, depending on budget + time + difficulty to run a full frame

This is going to be fun Still going to keep the White on Dark Blue theme with it, but also debating chopping the top an inch or two while I'm shaving everything else. Keeping the factory tail lights, cause they're just bad ass, but prob going to do '68 Side Markers. Any other idea's?

[Greengo 07]

dont do lambo style doors on that car, it would completely ruin it, if your going completely custom, change everything else but leave those doors alone, other than stripping them down and what not,

[RazorDX]

I have to agree with Justin... but that still sounds like one badass project. Good luck with it and keep this thread alive.

[urweak]

i wonder what this stuff is for

[StaindGreen9]

Originally posted by urweak


i wonder what this stuff is for

I don't know why they don't want trolls to like economics.

"No is econ trol"

[Grandam1999V6]

Originally posted by StaindGreen9
"No is econ trol"

[Sweet05CTS]

Ok so this is an 1980 muscle car... not a entry level sedan or coupe... don't do doors, or bags... this car should look stock n clean on the outside, and tear apart anyone who wants some on the street or strip

[350F]

Should have kept the stock interior IMO. The market for "custom" late 2nd gens is even worse than stock late 2nd gens. But I'm all for slapping a LS1 in it Most of the Grand Ams on this site are faster than that car with the stock engine.

[Big Joe]

Rick cut the floor pans out and replace them for sure. Need any help with the body work/ fiberglass give me a call. I swing down for the weekend.

[99GrandAMSE]

Sad ... if that was a numbers matching 'turbo' car, I would have left it alone and repaired it back to all original as it would have been worth a great deal more (at least in Canada where they weren't plentiful) ... anyway, I have never seen a Turbo car without the hood lights (sure the hood didn't get changed along the way as the lights were the only indication of turbo condition, again, at least in Canada) ... also, 'non polished tips'? ... AFAIK, all factory original tips were chrome (you know, the two little 45 degree tips on each side) but if they because just standard pipe once replaced with aftermarket (unless, of course, the installer cut off the tips from the original and re-welded on which also was quiet common) ... IMO, too bad as it looked in somewhat decent shape

[RickHigginsHtbr]

Originally posted by 99GrandAMSE
Sad ... if that was a numbers matching 'turbo' car, I would have left it alone and repaired it back to all original as it would have been worth a great deal more (at least in Canada where they weren't plentiful) ... anyway, I have never seen a Turbo car without the hood lights (sure the hood didn't get changed along the way as the lights were the only indication of turbo condition, again, at least in Canada) ... also, 'non polished tips'? ... AFAIK, all factory original tips were chrome (you know, the two little 45 degree tips on each side) but if they because just standard pipe once replaced with aftermarket (unless, of course, the installer cut off the tips from the original and re-welded on which also was quiet common) ... IMO, too bad as it looked in somewhat decent shape

Car was ordered from a dealership in Atlantic City, NJ back in 1980 with those two options particulary deleted. I have the whole Pontiac Historical Services packet somewhere with a copy of the build sheet. BUT, you canadians did have one advantage with the turbo t/a's as I'm 99% sure that the handful of convertible turbo cars were built and mainly sold in canada. 110ish total iirc.

Bagged... There's alot of f-body guys putting the bag's on from air ride technologies because it's a smoother ride and, suprisingly, is better in the corners than stock and most aftermarket suspensions. fully deflated, I think the bags only drop it about 1/2" more than my car sits right now, maybe slightly more... just enough to scrape the cat on a bump.

Full restored low mile 80 T/A's will only go from $4K to $6K, pace cars and bandits from $6 - $8K, and the extremely rare turbo formula around $8K. I'll be spending more on it than its worth to restore it. And even still, mine has 91K on it.

When I blew the engine I was at atco, it was on my 12.9 run where I basically ran it without a wastegate. Way too much boost for that engine, I was lucky the gaskets all gave out before the rod's snapped or something. But, stock, I believe I ran either 13.9 or 14.1... gotta find the time slips.

The door's... door handles are definately going, since the opinion on lambo'd is a nay, I'll stay away.

Joe, the floors are mostly surface rust, may have to cut and replace one area on the front pass side, but the rest can be ground down and covered in por15. But, I will be needing some fiberglass expertise when it comes to everything i'll be glassing.

But, this is what I want guys, give me more idea's and shoot down some more! Now I'm thinking making a fiberglass mold of the factory dash and using that... smooth it and paint it to match the body.

[99GrandAMSE]

Originally posted by RickHigginsHtbr
Car was ordered from a dealership in Atlantic City, NJ back in 1980 with those two options particulary deleted. I have the whole Pontiac Historical Services packet somewhere with a copy of the build sheet. BUT, you canadians did have one advantage with the turbo t/a's as I'm 99% sure that the handful of convertible turbo cars were built and mainly sold in canada. 110ish total iirc ...

Strange ... or should I say VERY STRANGE!!!!!!!!! ... I have been involved in second generation f-bodies since 1978 and have heard about almost everything, or so I thought, but that is a new one on me whereby the factory would allow a delete of a main part of the car (in this case, the hood lights) ... sort of like asking for a factory delete of the shaker hood ... same goes for the tips ... oh well, learn something new everyday (but, I am still not 100% convinced there wasn't another reason behind this but who knows)

As far as I know (in Canada anyway), there were no factory assembled second generation convertibles as they were all sent out to the aftermarket by the owners (same idea as there actually wasn't a factory supplied t-bar roof option in 1977 being Hurst installed them) ... personally, I would have still kept it original

Originally posted by RickHigginsHtbr
... Full restored low mile 80 T/A's will only go from $4K to $6K, pace cars and bandits from $6 - $8K, and the extremely rare turbo formula around $8K. I'll be spending more on it than its worth to restore it. And even still, mine has 91K on it ...

WOW, they are worth a great more here provided the numbers match and the restoration was done correctly (or even better, original condition) as they would be worth between $15-$20K ... the more original the car and rare it is, the more value (i.e.: mine is worth more because of the condition, mileage and power train combination) ... anyway, too bad

[RickHigginsHtbr]

Originally posted by 99GrandAMSE
Strange ... or should I say VERY STRANGE!!!!!!!!! ... I have been involved in second generation f-bodies since 1978 and have heard about almost everything, or so I thought, but that is a new one on me whereby the factory would allow a delete of a main part of the car (in this case, the hood lights) ... sort of like asking for a factory delete of the shaker hood ... same goes for the tips ... oh well, learn something new everyday (but, I am still not 100% convinced there wasn't another reason behind this but who knows)

As far as I know (in Canada anyway), there were no factory assembled second generation convertibles as they were all sent out to the aftermarket by the owners (same idea as there actually wasn't a factory supplied t-bar roof option in 1977 being Hurst installed them) ... personally, I would have still kept it original



WOW, they are worth a great more here provided the numbers match and the restoration was done correctly (or even better, original condition) as they would be worth between $15-$20K ... the more original the car and rare it is, the more value (i.e.: mine is worth more because of the condition, mileage and power train combination) ... anyway, too bad

I know mine was 1 of 5700, but not sure about the paint break down. I have to find that info again on the vert's, it was an aftermarket company that did it, but i'm not sure if it went factory -> company -> dealership or factory -> dealership -> company.

I actually overpaid for my corvette, but it was the only way I could get the loan for it. I paid $6K where market value for them in this area is $4K - $5K in good running shape.

[99GrandAMSE]

... typically, the convertible details for second generation went FACTORY-DEALER-OWNER-COMPANY but I have heard of some that went FACTORY-DEALER-COMPANY-OWNER depending on how much 'clout' the owner had ... in regards to the Hurst t-tops, they went FACTORY-COMPANY-DEALER-OWNER as it was a "GM option for Hurst to install"

[RickHigginsHtbr]

PROJECT



9/26/07 Update.
Ok, a lot of the parts I had sold, a lot of spares, some from the interior, and yesterday I had the chance to rip out some more and start working on the floors. Got the Center Console out, got the Door Panels off, and started taking apart the dash. The floors... a little worse than what I thought a month ago with a bunch of pin holes that need to be addressed. Nothing bigger than 1/2 the size of a penny though luckily. But, what worries me is that it seems the metal is thicker on the interior side than it is on the outside. So hopefully I wont be doing double repairs when I strip down the bottom side of the floors.



mmmmmmm.... rust, lol. Whoever had the bright idea of putting bare metal under the sill panel to protect the wiring, great idea! The Under Sill Plates were in alot better condition that expected, even salvageable. Just need to clean those up before I give them up. I was expecting the passenger side to be worse, but the drivers side was.


Thinking of keeping the factory gauge bezels for the custom dash, but not sure yet. And don't you love that mess of wiring by the fuse box? The kid who had it before me had a system and an alarm in it.



After stripping it down a little with a wire brush. Not too bad, but slightly worse than I expected.



Ended up using Plastikote's Rust Converter on it. I used it on a few spots when I bought the car and those spots are still rust free. This should hold it for awhile til I can start grinding and filling in the pin holes. The factory seem filler basically came off if you blew on it wrong.

Today I should have the drivers side floor pans taken care of, and if all goes well I'll have the dash out too.

[Nighthawk243]

For rust, sandblast...

[RickHigginsHtbr]

Originally posted by Nighthawk243
For rust, sandblast...

hopefully i'll have the cash for one when i do the underside of the body.

[ga5speed02]

Originally posted by 99GrandAMSE
Sad ... if that was a numbers matching 'turbo' car, I would have left it alone and repaired it back to all original as it would have been worth a great deal more

i tried to tell him that but he didnt listen
. the interior should have been left stock cause its "bad ass"

also, i am all for customization. shave it, suicide the doors, bags,custom stereo, def and engine swap.

[ga5speed02]

Originally posted by Big Joe
. Need any help with the body work/ fiberglass give me a call. I swing down for the weekend.

as Farva would say Bull

[Nighthawk243]

Originally posted by RickHigginsHtbr
hopefully i'll have the cash for one when i do the underside of the body.

See if you can rent one for the weekend... it shouldn't be too much to get a small one.

Rust is cancer, and sandblasting is the way to get rid of it unless you want to put new metal in.