....been almost 8 years
 

....since I last drove my 1991 WS6 Trans Am GTA.

for a small back story my old 1SG knew I was into cars and he would tell me when he was ready to get rid of his car he'd call me.

Well one day I got that call.

"the sun is beating my old car up pretty good and I want it to go to someone who will enjoy her as I did.....even if it gets parted out and those parts go to someone else's project(s)...

With a handshake and farewell, I was now the second owner of a trans am. This was about July of 2016.
I knew nothing about it, and had planned to part it out. I listed it on craisglist on the way home and had several calls for parts from it.

So many calls that I started doing research and started to fall in love with the car.

The day after I brought it home

Get 'er done. :)

91/92 GTAs are fairly rare. Being a hard top also helps. Good luck on the project. These are fantastic performance cars.

a few months later i took the TA to the local GM dealer as it had a fuel tank leak recall from 1991..lol

------------

Thought you guys would find it amusing as I did when I took the car in last month for a recall from 1994. I’m sure some tech didn’t like the idea of lookin over a 1991 vehicle. I got the oil changed while it was in the shop.
I noticed the oil pressure was higher after the oil change. They said they used 5/30 oil, but by the gauge it seemed it would’ve been a thicker grade since it was showing a higher pressure. Before oil change, cruised at 30 psi, after oil change 45 psi hot, cold it will go up to the 60psi mark until it warms up.

Later, around, 2017 i stripped the car and repainted it.

Then as time went on the original engine got tired

so i pulled it and installed a 383 which was pretty fun. i added a 2500 stall to the 700r4

....and then life hit me pretty hard.

on 19 NOV 2020 i posted this:

Been over a year since last post..

New motor had been built, and it’s currently in a plastic bag.

Had a brother pass from cancer, and my mom pass from age.

Then no BS my dog choked on something she ate and had to be put down,

My wife decided it was time for a divorce, and got lost my job due to covid.



If that ain’t a country song I surely don’t know what is. That being said, I have been rebuilding myself, and looking into the future. I got to keep my house, and all my toys, just basically had to pay a sum of money to make her happy.

I have since located a shop to redo my entire leather interior, from seats, to door panels, to restitching the shifter handle/e brake handle and steering wheel.

I was able to take a job overseas, and was able to plus up the bank accounts. Thanks to this, the GTA should be back on the road in 2021. I have contacted gbody parts to see if they can gold powder coat me some 18 inch mesh wheels, since all they sell is black.

Also have been looking into a tubular K member, control arms, and all the parts to add sub frame connectors and all that jazz. Possibly, looking into a 8.8 or 9” complete, bolt in, ready to go axle.

I believe that will round out my small GTA project.

That was 2021 when i wrote the above post..
crazy how time flies by.

Currently the car is nearly stripped again.

All new drivetrain, all the fun stuff has been ordered, tubular control arms, crossmember, trans crossmember, lowering kit, adjustable koni's..

If it unbolts it's been sent out of powder coating..

all new steering suspension pieces and parts..

DSE sub frame connectors..

LS/4l60e from my old truck..

new wheels/tires/C6 brakes

Steering column sent out to be rebuilt.

Picked up some powder coated parts..

Billet Specialties steering wheel..

Hydroboost conversion

And once the BTR equalizer intake arrives will start the underhood fabrication.

I have decided on a color change as well. I saw a late model corvette at a local show with a color called Black Rose, and it's dark enough to look black and in the sun the pearls light up.. Should be a perfect match with the gold wheels.

I love the white, but, to me a dark 3rd gen just looks so beautiful..and I didnt want a black one, i needed to be a bit different than the others. Painted the hood hinges so i could see the color

it seems the wheel choice i have has limited me on 'big brakes'..

C5 will work, but i think for the price of obtaining the parts it is nearly the same amount as getting a wilwood kit.

Still up in the air and doing more research, only time will tell as i dont need to worry about brakes yet..

I dig it.. loved those cars back in the day

yea me too..

i still feel jealous of the high school stud with the teal green convertible getting the highschool hottie everyday after class. man what a lucky dude he was.

sent out a lot of parts for powder coating..

now to install the suspension of this car to get it moving around the shop again.
it was real nice to drop off 30 year old greasy nasty parts and pic them up powder coated, cleaned, ready to instal...

going to be a cool car

..this si the new color the car will be going

GM color called Black Rose

I took this vette picture at a local car show.

and here is the hood hinges of my car painted..

currently waiting on a few more parts to arrive so i can get the front suspension back together.
right now it s a big road block and need to be able to move this vehicle around the shop..

Looking good. I dig it.

Nice. Great thread man. You've been through a lot. My story is similar for me and my 92 GTA. But it's still going to be another several years until I get her put back on the road. She's safe in a storage container for now while I focus on my 69 Firebird.

Best of luck, I bet she turns out great!

Thanks for the kind words from you all..
I have been through a lot of ‘life’ over the years. What is posted here on these 2 pages is a 14 page build on the ‘camaro’ forum. This is the condensed version.
I wanted to have the vehicle moving under it’s own power by now, but, that never works out am I right? Lol
I didn’t plan on having to swap intake manifolds and accessories, but the truck stuff doesn’t physically fit under the hood. I’ll probably use it all for now and just not run a hood until I am ready to buy all the things I want. BTR equalizer intake, holley mid mount accessory drive, throttle body, adds up to about $4500… oh well, it’s only money

Car has been sitting a bit while we get caught up on some customer jobs..

the DSE SFCs are ordered.. looking forward to getting those installed.
Going to make some 2x4 'cribbing' just for that job. Want the vehicle on its own weight while installing them.

might start the color change also. Was planning on driving the vehicle for a bit while it's still white, but might just go head and get it all jambed in and readied for the new shiny stuff.

Thank you for the kind words...
'been through alot' is an understatement that is for sure!

So here are some updates.

I have been involved in customer cars and when you got to pay the bills, working on your own stuff takes less precedence...

But I pulled off the hood and one fender to get some color on them.

I do small spray out panels on things as well, but, it just doesn't have the same effect to me. So, spraying the hood and fender gives me a big panel and a good side panel to see what it actually looks like. And a big plus is it is there in all different lighting, day, dusk, night ect..

I also have always loved 'hood bird' stickers. I think they should be on all Trans Am’s and the third gen didnt get any.

Keeping with my dark theme, I wanted a hood bird that would be dark until I didnt want it to be. This means pearls and candy’s. I sprayed the hood gold, and added big flake to the gold to give it extra sparkle. Then 5 coats of HoK Red Apple candy over the gold, laid out the TA bird ‘sticker’ and then sprayed the hood black followed by the custom color on top. 2 medium coats of clear and let it dry for a day. Sanded the clear with some 800 and 2 more medium coats of clear. Sanded with 1200, 1500, 2000 and buffed to how you see it now.

When I spray the entire car, the hood will be sanded with 800 again, and the color will be blended into the edges of the hood so everything matches, and then 3 coats of clear on the entire car. Wait a few days, and 800 the entire car, followed by 4 medium coats on the entire thing. Then final sand and buff.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do…

Great stuff!!

Very nice color choice. Love the bird on the hood, too. Will you keep the gold mesh wheels?

Paint is looking sharp, very cool color!

thank you, much appreciated..
The wheels/tires are brand new, only been mounted on the car. Yes keeping them, want to keep the stock look, but slightly modified..
thank you, I'm really digging it as well.

I really wanted some big break upgrades, but seem the hawks original style wheels i bought, even in 17s, dont fit a lot of big brakes.
Sucks, but i guess I'll be 'stuck' with the LS1 style brakes.

I dont plan on anything past daily driving of this, so i dont need the cool guy stuff, but, form what i have researched the LS1 style brakes should be a nice upgrade over stock, and not too expensive to piece together..

On to the next page...

IF youre following my scout build, you'd know the shop has been swamped with customer work. No, i am not complaining..

the end of triple digit weather is a few weeks away, and i'll be happy to get some time back on my own builds.

I ordered the parts to mount the LS1 brakes, and a 'short' intake manifold to see if till fit under the stock hood.

I'm not going for max power on this build, but, i don't want to spend $800 on a LS1/3 intake manifold that is 20 or so years old.

So i went with one of Summit's intakes and we'll see what it looks like when it gets here.

I need the intake for the fabrication and modifications I'm doing under hood. I ordered another Qt of the color posted above, and also a pint of another color. I'll do a spray out panel and make a final decision then.

I'm certain it'll be the color i did the hood and fender with, but, Im still not 100%..

Once the car is back on the ground and rolling, we'll finish getting the engine and trans plumbed/wiring and running. It is so much easier to move a running vehicle than a non running one..

At that time will pull the doors and prep the jambs and get ready for the color change..

New intake came in, and seems to fit pretty nicely.
About 1.5 inchges from the hood.

this was the last piece needed to start forming the sheet metal for the firewall and shock towers.

The current truck accessories need to go, as the alt sits way to high. Eventually I'll end up with the holley system, just not looking for drop the $3200 right now on it. So, ill order a dirty dingo bracket and just move the alt over to fit in the meantime.

So much work to do coming up.

I want to hit this one first before i get heavy on the scout. This one is real close to driving and I'd like to make that happen as a 'dead' car is a dumb car..

Close... :thumbsup::knokwood:

Always fun to pull a solid car out to work on!

was a bit sad the wheels i bought dont fit 'big' brakes..

seems im stuck with LT1 stuff.

thats ok, this isnt a track car, and well i dont see too many 140 mph blasts going on anytime soon.

but that is what doing hours of research does..lets you know when you spent money in the right or wrong places.

Sorry to hear the misfortune. Don't let it stop you though.