A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens. - Page 2 - First Generation Forum

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Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014 2:58 PM
Thought I'd share my anti-bling solution. Only 32 bucks and free ship on EBay.

They are kinda a cross between the stock Wheel Covers and a Z24 Alloy variety. At least I think they blend in better with the style of the Sedan.




Stock Wheel Covers




Z24 Alloys





And on the Sedan....





I also scored a set of NOS - X-Body floor mats on EBay. They are a very close fit to the NOS J-Body mats. Dropped the new ones in the Pontiac and used the old ones I found at the Salvage Yard several years ago in the Sedan.

I know none of this is stock stuff but wanted to share as so to help give anyone out there ideas.







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Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014 9:17 PM
Those do look a ton better and finding at this day and time anything close too or related in decent shape never hurts.Nice share of the wheel designs as I was actually wondering this last week and before when you mentioned buying some new covers and what was available new,oem and aftermarket.Nice buys imo.



Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Sunday, August 09, 2015 6:17 PM
Luck seems to be my friend!

A co-worker offered to sell me a dirt cheap 3rd gen that was dead in the water. Being a West Virginia car she is severely rusted underneath. Floor pans are intact but the sides and rockers are in horrible shape. Fuel and brake lines were rotted clean through. Working on the assumption I had little to loose I picked up a complete set of fuel and brake components at my local salvage yard and set to off. After replacing all of the fuel and brake lines from just under the drivers foot well aft, and the fuel pump - I was rewarded with a beautifully running drive train. If fact I was able to drive this car home 43 miles and it was a pretty boring drive at that.

I've been tinkering on this during the weekend, hung another fender and added a trunk lid with a spoiler - (ok , the latter was just for the fun of it and I got it very cheap at the yard). I think I am going to be able to get an inspection sticker with the help of a friend who is member of a local car club (wink, wink). If so I plan on using this rust bucket in the winter weather while there is salt on the roads - obviously it can't hurt this one much more - and save my beloved 1st gens the hazards of winter weather. The '94 sedan is absolutely rust free underneath and will provide me with many years of use. Long term plans will be to find another 3rd gen with a dead drive train so I can use this rust bucket as the donor, but for now I'll patch up the holes as best I can and see what I can do with one in such rough shape. Maybe I'll learn a few new tricks along the way. I've got to say I've never seen one in this bad a shape though!

This Sedan is a 2002 - the last year for the venerable OHV engine. I picked up this rusted but great runner for just $150. I probably have about another $150 in it so far. Since this is black I simply plan on a gallon of Gloss Black enamel Rustoleum at WalMart for $27. With a Low budget beater I will keep the Wagon and Sunbird around for a lot longer! It has been a huge learning curve and a great experience having all 3 generations at hand. Just yesterday I managed to drive all 3 gens during the day. Lots of comparisons going on!






















[imghttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-71LorWql8kM/VcfXK1qqEvI/AAAAAAAAFp4/Am897IcW8SM/s640-Ic42/SAM_5567.JPG















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Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Sunday, August 09, 2015 8:46 PM
I'd say for the cost and working go for it.I see you have been fairly busy lately as I too but,with less problems in the rust dept.Today was a tough day and my not so fun arthritis has been kicking me pretty bad in my rhs shoulder and I do mean brutal pain. I will have to revisit the doctor for something to help me cope with this as It just flared up from a wk ago and sitting drvg all day is just killing me by the end of the day.Now aside from my personal drama nice work and much better fender and you could just keep adding to what ever you do on this car on this thread imo as it want bother us here for sure!! I just might go junkyarding this week looking for some Honda related items but,hoping real GOLD shows up before I go as I am searching for some well 1st gen stuff.Keep it orlen your doing a good job staying busy.I know you saw some of the work I did the two days on the youngest nephews car and the rear struts were actually reallllllly easy.The front is next and to be determined on ease.R



Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Monday, August 10, 2015 1:32 PM
Great score Orlen,

How are the control arm mounts and the sub-frame?
My mother in-laws 94 second gen looked good from up top, but under the car was literally falling apart from rust when it went to the junk-yard in 2010.












Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Monday, August 10, 2015 4:23 PM
Great find Orlen....................................

Doug in P.R.



92 Pontiac Sunbird LE, 2.0, AT, Red / Black with Grey 155K miles. Hurricane Maria Survivor ! ( It takes a licking and keeps on ticking ! ).....in Salinas, Puerto Rico!




Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Sunday, September 06, 2015 12:46 PM
Current progress on the 3rd Gen. Top painted. Using Good 'Ole Rustoleum this time around. Going to compare this with the X-O Rust I been using. Trunklid and Hood sanded down. Brushing lots of Rust Inhibitor around underneath. Finally found a good Fuel Pump at the yard and it now it starts and runs reliably. Might just make a good winter runner out of this cheapo J-Body yet!

It makes a HUGE difference when you mess around with something that you can't do much more harm to!









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Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Sunday, September 06, 2015 6:43 PM
Hey Orlen, Who is the skinny guy in the pics? Glad to see the weight is staying off. Cav looks great and will make a great winter car.
Spent my day at Hemming's Motor News Fall Musclepalooza at Lebanon Valley Motor Speedway in Lebanon, NY.
Great weather and a cheap day of drag racing plus over 200 cars at the car show for only $10..
No j-bodys, only Americazn muscle cars (V8) allowed!

http://www.hemmings.com/events/musclepalooza



















Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Saturday, September 12, 2015 7:15 PM
Just wanted to share some photos of the parts I've pulled at the local yard for the '94. Finally got to take a better look at that head I was VERY Lucky to get for just $25! Bear in mind I have done absolutely nothing to this other than cover it over and carry it home. Even the combustion chambers aren't fully carboned up yet. The Springs are NEW! Scratching my head at how lucky I got on this one - yard runs are always pot luck. Also a photo of some other like new parts I got off the same car.























Secondly this is what the ole Wagon now looks like after I been busy on it......


















Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Saturday, September 12, 2015 10:15 PM
I do believe you are having the gold mine of luck this year finding parts.I have been checking online and nothing is popping up here kind of a dry year for me.Kudo's for the good finds and I envy you for stripping a car as I did the last several years on my gold mine finds here in nc.Semi tired tonight and the next two days are my long days drive wise.I have some things in the mix right now and once I get some To do's off the calendar I will touch base on a good date for you to pick you secondary gold mine of goodies I have for you here!! I need your lucky charm for finding good parts as mine is kind of dull lately.R



Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Sunday, September 13, 2015 10:19 AM
1st and 2nd gen stuff here has dried up here as well. That head looks like it was well maintained and is a good score. Someday these parts will be non existent in the yards and will only be available from guys like Ron and Orlen.










Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Sunday, September 13, 2015 6:14 PM
One theory I have as to the reason of the available early models here is because economically we aren't at the top of the deck, so to speak. There are a lot of older cars around here for the simple reason not as many can afford new ones. Of course we aren't like Cuba.
I have even noticed nowadays here the younger generation that are working the low end jobs are either riding scooters or just plain walking and don't even want a car. Young people adapt , and I think they look at old schoolers like myself ; not with envy, but with quite dis-belief that someone would put so much time and effort into a small fleet of old cars. Times are changing, and for people struggling to pay bills and deal with healthcare, something has to give.

On a brighter note , I have thoroughly enjoyed experiencing 1st, 2nd,and 3rd gen at the same time. I had a lot of experience with Mustang II and Pintos and it is noteworthy neither had any generations during the production runs, all of them were basically the same thing. So with so much variety these days, it is a lot to be focused on when I am in the yard so I have resorted to making a priority list and trying to disciplined with what I am doing. I think next year will be a blast , having this treasure trove of parts to work with. Honestly I have a to do list that will be years in completion, if then. In the meantime I have more than plenty to keep me out of trouble!( Hopefully. )



Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Monday, September 14, 2015 4:43 AM
I would think the reason for the dry run lately is these are 30 year old cars with a small amount still left on the road. I only see one other 1st gen roaming around my area, and a handful of 2nd gens.

With so few left, that means it's a rare thing for one to head to a junkyard. When one does get there, it wouldn't surprise me if most junkyard owners simply send them straight to the crusher thinking "gee, I haven't seen one of these in years, no way is anyone gonna come in and buy something from it".
Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Monday, September 14, 2015 5:46 PM
Agree with all points Wayne. Never see any 1st gens very few 2nds. One of my local yards told me flat out that he never saves a 1st gen, just sends them right to scrap.





Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Monday, September 14, 2015 9:11 PM
True in degree's on that .I will say on a good note the yards I go to throw everything they get into the grab all you can get to make a buck here.On my yard locally they keep stuff a long while generally as for example they have had two mazda trucks for like 3 months and yes I got a few items off those as I own a 87 b series myself.The one specific situation where I at both yards was scooping up tons off two different cars and like two weeks and they were gone? I say this bc there were lots of other cars in the same row and if a car is being stolen from a lot parts I would leave it.However I guess IF I had stepped up and told the staff at either location Hey I am wanting LOTS of parts off this car,please keep it as I am spending more dough on it next week(maybe Just maybe they would have set it aside).As I typed this you know I have never thought to ask this ???????.Uh I guess I will in the future if that make's a difference or not.I need to win the lottery and create my own Jbody junkyard where the cars are kept in a building and save anything worthy.My junkyard would not be junky either as everything would be indoors!!!! I will play the nc powerball this wed hoping for the best as I do every week.Did I say I was tired from 535 miles of driving today?



Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015 9:04 AM
I asked once, they wouldn't do it.
Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Monday, September 21, 2015 7:40 AM
Things are a little slow on here so......


Just a little update on the '02. Had to get my favorite brand of Rust Reformer off of Amazon since non of the WalMarts around here seem to have any. Had to spend over double the WalMart price but I like the stuff and know what to expect when I use it. Everyone has their own I guess. So I finally got a couple coats of this around what is left of the rockers and also a couple coats on the Hood and Decklid. Not able to cut and weld, so I'm just going to make this one look as good as I can then see if it can hold up. Might last a few years and I might be looking for another to drop this drivetrain in soon, will have to wait and see. At least I am learning to deal with a car that is blowing off clearcoat - experience I really needed. Taking a 5 day break the end of this week so hopefully I can make some progress. Also had to pick up a drivers side fender as I discovered a hole behind the mud guard. As luck would have it the replacement was a silver one so it has been a lot of painting on the inside of this one to make sure I don't see silver when I open the door. At least it has a lot of extra protection in there. I also discovered the inner fender liners do not swap with earlier '95-'99 models - they look the same but the bolt patterns are different.

Hopefully will have some progress photos. For now all I have is some shots of the front area as John was curious what shape that area was in. While rusty it isn't rotted out, and this was pretty much the deciding factor when I was looking at the car to buy. I was really on the fence when I was looking at this car. I can only hope there is enough of it under there to keep it on the road for awhile. At least something like this keeps me outta trouble ..... Hahaa!

If the car holds up I guess I will keep working with it.















































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Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015 12:12 PM
Orlen, you aren't going to patch up those rockers? A little Bondo with Fiberglass over some cut out metal from those fenders you are replacing riveted or screwed on would do the trick..........I used to do that on my NY Winter cars all the time.

Doug in P.R.


92 Pontiac Sunbird LE, 2.0, AT, Red / Black with Grey 155K miles. Hurricane Maria Survivor ! ( It takes a licking and keeps on ticking ! ).....in Salinas, Puerto Rico!




Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015 12:48 PM
Doug, I am waiting to see once I get it painted and on the road - if this is worth the extra effort underneath. I got an idea to squirt that expandable foam in the rocker area ( or what is left of it ) - to keep the elements out of the inner metal and hopefully stave off more rust than I already am enjoying! Later if it proves worth the time I'll certainly get under there and see what I can do with it. One reason I'm not chomping at the bit to rivet in sheet metal at this point is because I don't want to drill holes in an already weakened area and potentially cause failure until I feel more secure I have a sound enough body to proceed with.

Perhaps I ought to put 4 badly out of balance wheels on this buggy and hit the road for a little spin - see what falls off and what stays on......Hahaa!


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Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015 3:17 PM
Orlen , do not use that expandable foam. i had the same idea years back, big mistake , the stuff holds water like a sponge and it will rust even faster. i even sprayed undercoating over the foam thinking it would stop it from absorbing water but it just didnt work.
Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015 7:48 PM
Thank You John!

Saved from disaster once again by the wonderful J-Body members!! Shame that it was a bad idea, but I sure am glad John stopped me before. That old adage - an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure - Yes!

Now I can work on a "Plan B"


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Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Saturday, September 26, 2015 7:58 PM
Finally installed the 2nd fender, and all sanded down for paint. Gaining a lot of valuable experience! If you want to learn on J-Bodies then pick up an old beater and dive in - you can't hurt something that doesn't run to start with!!

Can it get a 2nd chance to run the roads again??? This one is getting a little closer..........
































Just clowning around with the 2nd Gen while I was outside....














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Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Sunday, September 27, 2015 7:11 PM
1st primer coat - 4 hr job! Painting with a roller is super cheap but super labor intensive!















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Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Monday, September 28, 2015 3:48 PM
Looks like a new car allready Orlen.........................................................Great Job!
Doug in P.R.


92 Pontiac Sunbird LE, 2.0, AT, Red / Black with Grey 155K miles. Hurricane Maria Survivor ! ( It takes a licking and keeps on ticking ! ).....in Salinas, Puerto Rico!




Re: A companion for my 2 - 1st Gens.
Monday, September 28, 2015 9:29 PM
It does look good.But with all this rain even in a garage the moisture would concern me a bit.It has rained like the last 4 days on and off here and I am soooo tired of the wet muck.



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