Dropping the Cobra hood and bumper cover (along with new Cobra headlights) off at the body shop today. He's got all the body work done and everything primed up I believe. He said the body was in really good shape (which I expected) but it just had a shitty paint job on it. The PO painted it at some point, but not very well. 10' at best. I hope to snap some pics when I drop this stuff off.
Stopped by yesterday and snapped a few quick photos while I dropped the hood and bumper off. He's got the bodywork done and primed. He had to take the rear bumper cover down to the plastic - it was spiderwebbed up bad from where it had been hit (prior to me backing in to it, mind you). We're going to spray the side scoop mesh as well - where it was previously painted there's no way to really clean that up. I can always replace with new later if I decide to. Same with the door lock cylinders (except where the key actually goes in). As for the tails, he's going to do the same - just bring the tape line in a little closer to clean it up. No way to really fix the bad tape from before without getting new tails. i don't want to drop the coin on a set of new tails, the current ones aren't hurt. He's still got more sanding to do on the rest of the car and now has the new hood and front bumper to work on. I'm trying to find a replacement hood liner/insulator. He said that would save him a ton of work (and money for me) if we could find something to keep him from having to clean up the fiberglass so much. He'll still paint it, but it won't have to be glass smooth this way. I just need to find something that will work with the aftermarket hood. I thought maybe one of the Dynamat hood kits? There's some kits on CJPP as well. New fogs and headlights are with him too when the time comes. Rear bumper cover Side Front, you can see where he took a "elbow divot" out of the fender, probably from me leaning on the car working on it Other side, cleaning up where the door moulding was The old hood is still on there, I'm guessing to help keep dust/spray out of the engine bay.
Picked the car up Thursday night. I know you hear it all the time, but pics really don't do it justice. It's probably the "slickest" paint I've ever felt. It looks like a completely different car! Still waiting to get the inserts in the hood, but otherwise we're there. It looks amazing with the Cobra hood and bumper. I think I need to adjust the headlights still, it was twilight but it looked like they were off. Once it gets nice out, I'll get some outdoor shots.
Installed new door panel inserts from LMR this weekend. Proceeded to break the rear tabs on each one during the install. So, they still fit shitty but at least look better than the old ones. Also have to figure out the keyless entry, it quit working. I'm thinking it is just dead batteries in the fobs (I tried both) but haven't had a chance to investigate yet.
Got one of the fobs working again. It was either dead batteries or failed solder connections on the back of the PCB. When I pulled the batteries out, the contact on the back of the PCB dropped out (along with the contact from the battery holder). I finally managed to wrangle new batteries in and put a piece of tape over the contact for the PCB to hold it in place. Working like a champ. The other fob did the exact same thing, but I didn't have another battery to try with it so I just put it all in a Ziplock bag and stashed it with my spare keys. They were cheap replacements from Amazon/eBay, so not surprised they didn't last long.
Update: Picked up a used BBK catless xpipe from a member over on SN95 forums last weekend and had it installed yesterday. Picked the car up after work and man! I freaking love it. I was always a bit scared of xpipes due to the supposed rasp, but there's none with this one. I don't know if it is because of the pushrod motor or the Borla mufflers, but there's no rasp at all. It sounds downright angry under throttle - too bad there isn't any bite to back up the bark! The craziest thing is that it is quieter while cruising than before, which totally surprised me. The exhaust that was there before was pretty hacked up, he cleaned all that up for me while he was at it. The new setup is catless BBK xpipe to Borla ProXS mufflers to 3" tailpipes. I'll see if I can get a sound clip done up.
My 82 GT had a build 393w, Kooks 1 3/4" longtubes, 3" Dr. Gas X-pipe, and 3" spintech pro street mufflers. The sound was intoxicating.
Now that we're finally in the house and I have all my detailing supplies, the car (and truck and boss's whip) all got a proper detailing over the weekend. This consisted of breaking out the foam cannon and a hand wash and wax. No more quick trips through the spray off car wash, thankfully. Ignore the fact that I don't have much grass yet - you can't grow new grass in the South during summer. I added the vinyl stripe back across the top of the back window recently, which you can see here. The ole eff-one-fiddy cleans up pretty good still: Couldn't leave the boss's whip out, RX350: I use a SunJoe electric pressure washer to run my Chemical Guys foam cannon. It isn't the best, but I was on a budget when I got it and it works decent enough. I've used the crap out of it for a few years and it has held up well. Using the CG Mr. Pink soap in the foam cannon. I've used a few other soaps of theirs and it's all about the same from my experience. For wax, I'm currently using the Turtle Wax Seal n' Shine. It's super easy to apply/remove, and it lasts a really long time. It also has a really nice bead. I've got other waxes and stuff I can use, but right now, this is the ticket.
Updates on the '94: Major highlights include: rear seat delete side scoop insert replacements front component speaker replacement and Mach tweeter pod install new pedal covers new Summit aluminum drive shaft (more on that below) Car is currently sitting on jack stands, awaiting a new driveshaft from Summit. I fouled mine up when trying to replace the 160k mile-old u-joints. I've got some slop in the drivetrain and suspected u-joints, but that may not be the entire story. While replacing the u-joints, I couldn't get the bearing cap to seat far enough in on one of the second sides, and I ended up breaking the casting on the u-joint where the c-clip rides. I wouldn't be lucky enough for it to be on the yoke or flange, but on the driveshaft itself. So, a new driveshaft was ordered after finally finding one at Summit. I was holding out for the Ford aluminum one from LMR, but they went from expecting stock on 2/28 to "we don't know when we are getting them". This was all after fighting getting the old driveshaft out (when the PO had gears installed, the asshats put the DS bolts in with an air wrench, and I had a terrible time getting them out). Also of note, I have either 3.73 or 3.90s, and not 4.10s as initially thought. Without cracking the pumpkin and counting teeth, I can't tell for sure. This was based on DS turns in relation to the rear wheel. That'll be a job for another day. It probably needs a rebuild anyway. Rear seat delete: I cut some "ports" in the back as it was killing my bass from the sub. This is the "trunk" side, I just hit it with some flat black rattle can: You can't see it from the trunk due to the sub box. Made it with 3/4" MDF, so I likely didn't save any weight. But, it is solid and I can sit stuff on it or get on it to tweak amp settings or whatever I need access to in the back. New side scoops: When I had the car painted, my painter painted the grill inside the scoops. I decided I wanted them black, so ordered new (used) inserts from eBay and installed them. Not a bad job, just took some time. I ended up having to take the back seat apart again to remove the seat belts for better seat delete fitment. Much quicker the second time around. Mach tweeter pod install: Made tweeter mounting plates from 1/16" ABS I sourced from work scrap. I started with 1/8" ABS from Amazon, but it was too thick and the pod grill wouldn't seat. I still ended up having to grind down the inside of the grill a little in one spot to get them to seat. I also bought new RF 5.25" components to replace the POS NVX components I originally purchased. There are two ways to get Mach pods in a non-Mach car: either trim the top of the door panel or the bottom of the Mach pod. I chose to not hack up my door panels and just used my Dremel to trim the bottom of the pods. It doesn't have to be perfect because you can't see the bottom once mounted. I was lucky in that on my non-Mach car, there was a screw hole already there and a passthrough for wiring for the mirror. One screw and some double-sided tape and we are in business. Where I had to trim down some: Mounted: That about sums up the major updates to the car. I've got Cobra front brakes in the works - I have some used calipers/pads/brackets, and just need rotors and the new lines from MM. That kit is like $100 from MM, and rotors won't be terrible. I was going to source reman calipers, but everything I could find online indicated mixed results with having the Cobra raised letters. Most remans don't differentiate between Mach and Cobra calipers from those years. I found a set on the SN95 forum from a member who was upgrading to the ATS calipers, so that worked out.
Thanks man! It is finally back on the road, got the new Summit Racing aluminum driveshaft installed. All seems good for the moment.
NICE CAR! After 15 years and having too many cars where she wasn't driven very often, I sold my 96' GT to the kid down the street last August. You never get what you put $$$ into them, but I still see him driving it around and enjoying it, so kind of paying it forward. LOL
