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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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.
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
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.
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!
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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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
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
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.
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.
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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".
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.
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?
I asked once, they wouldn't do it.
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!
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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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.
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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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!
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.