Doin' a little J-Body stuff - Page 2 - First Generation Forum

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Re: Doin' a little J-Body stuff
Monday, December 21, 2015 1:11 PM
More great work from Orlen!

I use a sharpie and some el cheapo glad fake tupperware containers to hold my parts so I know where all the bolts and screws go.

Re: Doin' a little J-Body stuff
Monday, December 21, 2015 5:01 PM
Hey Orlen,
Glad to see that the old girl is back together. Did the same thing on my mother in-laws 94 Cav back twelve years ago. Back then I was able to get new head bolts from Chevy. Just replaced the gasket as the head looked pretty good. Ran flawlessly for another 3-4 years until the sub-frame rotted out.











Re: Doin' a little J-Body stuff
Monday, December 21, 2015 9:35 PM
Good deal orlen.The last couple of weeks I have been dealing with car drama too.To be quick fixed the wifes car as the reman caliper had a bad ebrake mech and had to buy another and swap and rebleed the brakes a 2nd time.Next was my nephews 02 civic did new struts on the front(not hard either).There is more story but,I am keeping it short tonight.R



Re: Doin' a little J-Body stuff
Sunday, March 13, 2016 8:35 AM
Well things are kinda quiet here especially considering the number of J's I have accumulated now.

After head replaced on the '94 it has been running very reliable. Intermittent CEL comes on now and then, but car runs like a top and gets good milage.

The '02 runs like a dream. Just swapped a used front hub in because the old one was tired. The whole job was under an hour. Pity that this car is as rusted as it is underneath. Perfect runner and with the 4 spd. auto it eats up the highway!

Foolishly cleaned the battery tray on Tammy's '98 on a warm day back in January, now her daytime running lights are dead and the indicator flashes on the IC. Later discovered GM placed a harness connector directly under the battery tray - all that acid I cleaned off the tray surely ran down all over that connector, so I got a job to do this spring!

Been painting the red hood inside up on the 3rd floor for the old Wagon, She still putters right along and can still up on the highway. Cutting back on the daily driving of this one has really made it a survivor! Keeping an eye out for an engine at the Pick N Save.

The Sunbird gave me a fit when I finally uncovered her and fired it up a week ago. Idle speed all over the place , but it eventually settle down and have been driving it around on the pretty & dry days. That mystery miss when starting is lasting longer now, but once it warms up it runs really well - even pulls strongly out on the highway. I suspect a sticky valve.....probably from the hammering off that bad cam lobe. Gonna get a compression tester pretty soon and see what I can find out!

Been picking up a few odds and ends for the '01 project car for this year. Amazingly folks - this car turned out to be a 1 owner machine!!! Grandson and I ran over to West Virginia yesterday and put a couple wheels on the back end(one tire had gone flat) , swapped out a charged battery in it. Started right up and drove it around the parking lot. Engine is raising hell on the top end when you give it the throttle - I am wondering if one of the roller cams is bad in it. Clutch and gears are smooth as glass - I will really enjoy driving this thing when I get it fixed up! Got it titled but haven't had it hauled home yet. Hoping to get it moved on a trailer instead of bouncing all over a roll back.5 speed J's of all years are getting mighty thin. I need a shifter boot for it, and yet have to find a '00 to '02 with a manual at the yard.Found an earlier one but the console is different- not sure if the console is the same in the '03 - '05s. They just got an '02 in the salvage yard - smacked hard in the rear with 150k on it. Hoping I might be able to pick the engine up when it becomes available. Can take a chance on it for $150. Have to wait and see. More feasible proposition would be for me to find a '00 to '02 with a good body and engine but blown auto transmission. I could replace the body on the '02 and replace the transmission using the '02 as the donor. I could then take the good engine left out of the donor '02 and drop that in the 5 speed car.

So how do I manage to use all this rolling stock? It took me awhile to figure that one myself. In the end I have figured out a way to alternate back an forth. I cover up the '94 and Wagon one month - drive the '02 and Pontiac (the Pontiac on pretty sunny days and "02 on long trips - bad weather). The next month it is the same thing with the '94 and the Wagon. I cover up the '02 and Pontiac - drive the Wagon on pretty sunny days and the '94 on bad weather and long trips. This really cuts back on the milage in any of them,yet keeps them on the road and running. If/when I get the 5speed on the road I'll use it in place of the '02. Whatever body I replace the '02 with - I plan on taking that car and using it for Tammy to putter around in when I need to work/paint on her '98 and also can use it in the snow during the winter when they have all that salt all over the place.

Naturally I have pondered Z's and verts a lot. I loath V-6's so that pretty much rules out a Z. I have so many extra parts for both the Wagon and Pontiac I doubt I could have the heart to part with either of them. I put a lot of myself in both of those cars - for better or worse....LoL.

Lots to keep me busy



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Re: Doin' a little J-Body stuff
Saturday, June 23, 2018 7:00 PM
Well making enough progress to make a little post.

Been buying some tires this year off EBay and mounting myself. So nice not having to deal modern aggravations such as tire pressure monitoring systems. Everything is so darn complicated nowadays - I lived just fine all those years without all this mess. I think if people ditched the cell phones and actually drove their cars we'd all be a lot safer!

So here are a few photos. Little 13"s this year so far. A lot of people cringe at thin and tall but that is just fine with me!! I drive these cars to stand out of the crowd in the 1st place so these tires just add to the uniqueness. Hard to find 175/80/13's that are actual car tires - most are trailer tires nowadays. I am going to use 185/70/14's on the larger wheels because those tires are almost the same height and these - will look the same and do a decent job of filling up the wheel wells.


Plenty of wire wheeling,scrubbing and washing here! No sitting in front of the TV/Laptop/Cell Phone/Game System!!



It takes an old man to appreciate 13" wheels




I take 2"x8" lumber - cut in 8" lengths and use them as spreaders to open up the tires before I get around to mounting them. Place 4 sections of wood inside the tire and they pry the beads away from each other. After a few weeks like that the tire has enough memory to stay spread apart to seal the beads up against the wheels. Mounting these on the 5.5" wheels was a breeze!



Here are a set for the Wagon - I think those Whitewalls look good against the white wheels. Will have the beauty rings and center caps cleaned up tomorrow and hopefully mounted on the wagon. Just got done repainting the top of the Wagon - 2 coats rust inhibitor/4 Coats Primer/ 4 Color Coats. I meant business this time around!!




And a close up comparison of the 2. Blackwalls out on the Alloys and Whitwalls out on the Steelies.....

It is Great to still be able to do this kind of stuff!!





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Re: Doin' a little J-Body stuff
Sunday, June 24, 2018 3:28 AM
I like your post Orlen but can't see the pics.( A circle with a dash in it is all I see)

I'm on a phone to use the internet , finally got the internet cable hooked up last week ,about another week for it to energized.

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: Doin' a little J-Body stuff
Sunday, June 24, 2018 8:19 AM












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Re: Doin' a little J-Body stuff
Sunday, June 24, 2018 12:36 PM
Your 2nd post, first 3 out of the 5 pics I can see.

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: Doin' a little J-Body stuff
Sunday, June 24, 2018 7:15 PM
Well here's hopin' these photos post up!

Well, the ole Wagon is finally done! Top repainted, rack reinstalled, tires mounted up ,trim rings polished and everything bolted up with new shiny Lug Nuts! Glad to be able to drive it to work again on some pretty days. Lots of things to do with this one, but at least it is running and rolling!







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Re: Doin' a little J-Body stuff
Monday, June 25, 2018 11:24 AM
Looking good 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: Doin' a little J-Body stuff
Sunday, July 08, 2018 6:55 PM
More Wagon work:

Replaced both tired Axle Shafts. Right side gave me fit!! Put the darn thing back together only to discover I didn't get the axle seated I pounded and grunted - but to no avail. The whole darn mess had to come completely apart all over again. Source of all my woes was the little C Clip at the end of the shaft - it just wouldn't fit. Out of desperation I removed the Clip off the old shaft and tried it - Voila!! You just never know what drama these little cars will offer up next. The exercise was well worth the effort as it gave me a great opportunity to inspect all the Ball Joints, Tie Rod Ends, and Hub Bearings. Surprisingly everything in there was all good - saving me a boatload of money and time I can use on other areas! The Ole Wagon will be taking me to work a couple of day next week!!

These old cars really are easy to work on!!

Oh Yeah - You notice the new one has the Antilock Reluctor Ring - they ship these for the old cars too and they still fit just fine.










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Re: Doin' a little J-Body stuff
Monday, July 09, 2018 5:29 AM
Just like me Orlen, working on dirt. Sure miss my concrete slab and carport I had in Arizona.

Kudos to you for toughening it out in your old age.

Keep up the good JBody work!

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: Doin' a little J-Body stuff
Monday, July 09, 2018 7:26 AM
This gonna sound crazy - but that is actually carpet I am working on in there. It isn't the cleanest nowadays but I do try to keep it vacuumed after a project like this. The Garage floor is wood and I decided to throw down a piece of carpet a neighbor had tossed out - worked so nice I have used that ever since. Talk about a spoiled old man?!?! This carpet is getting old and I do need to keep an eye out for a newer piece - but an 11' x 14' piece is not only hard to find - but heavy as hell to muscle around by yourself.

The word "heavy" seems to apply to more and more things as I get older too.....


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Re: Doin' a little J-Body stuff
Monday, July 09, 2018 5:53 PM
Fooled me, looks just like dirt.

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: Doin' a little J-Body stuff
Tuesday, July 10, 2018 7:26 AM
The Old Man's Dog House - where I do all my magic.

A Garage is a great thing to have in a relationship!!





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Re: Doin' a little J-Body stuff
Tuesday, July 10, 2018 9:01 AM
I envy you Orlen, all the homes we owned never had a garage, only our house in Az had even had a carport that we built just a couple years before we left.

Out in the open and even in the snow has been my garage.

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!




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