Edit: I didn't realize that I put a "sad" smilie on the heading. This is a happy build.

Nick has inspired me to post on my convertible build/restoration, so here it goes.

We originally purchased this car back in '98 in TN and this is what it looked like the day we brought it home......sorry for the scanned pics......pre-digital camera days.



We sold it the following year for some much needed cash. Luckily it was sold and kept locally. The guy and his sons drove it till around '01 or '02 and then parked it. Another person wanted the car so the gentleman I sold it to junked the title in '05 to sell it. The second guy just wanted the wheels off of it and nothing else. The car sat at this mans house for two years then ended up at the local junk yard. A friend of mine drove by and saw it sitting outside the yard and called me up to tell me where it was. The owner of the yard is his cousin so I went the following Monday to buy it back.

I bought it back for $250 ( going rate at the time for metal ). This is how it looked the day I picked it up......





After replacing the fuel pump/sending unit, gas tank, fuel filter, distributor, exhaust, and a new battery, it fired right up after sitting all of that time. I also put the correct plug wires on it, as you can see in the above pic they were everywhere rapped around the brake booster and throttle cable.

Here are some of the progress pics.

Interior before:


My helper cleaning the interior.....

Enjoying her finished project.....


I don't have the extra money to throw at this car (or any for that matter) so this was all done with no or very minimal cash (paint for the wheels).

Me and my little helper getting it ready for some wax/buffing.


After:


Still working on getting the paint in decent shape here:



Painted the wheels. These are what I had on my D/D '85 Fiero SE. I have the honeycomb wheels off the '87 on it now to get some use out of the tires before they rot. Anyway......


After cleaning up the wheel wells and putting it down on all fours finally, here it is minus some pieces. I'm still working on getting the paint back on it.



My daughter will have the choice to make of which one of the cars to have. Being a girl she'll probably pic the 'vert. I won't cut her loose with the SC Fiero.....if it's finished by then.

When the cash presents itself again I will be on the hunt for an '87 Z24 coupe to work on for my other project. Some may call me insane, but I want an LS1 powered rear drive Z24 coupe.

This car will be getting the same suspension treatment as my '87 GT. KYB with Intrax springs and full polly bushings plus the cross drilled rotors. I had someone lined up to do the harness for the 3.8SC in this, but he is no longer doing them. I'll probably just do the 3400 with a four speed auto instead.

Thanks, Nick, for the inspiration.

[This message has been edited by kyunderdawg (edited 07-20-2009).]

Nice looking car. I will be looking for a convertible for the wife next year. Shh she doesn't know.
Its amazing what people will throw away.

Going to keep with the theme

quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: Nice looking car. I will be looking for a convertible for the wife next year. Shh she doesn't know. Its amazing what people will throw away. Going to keep with the theme

What convertible are you looking for?

I can't believe what these cars are going for now days. People think that since a car hits 20yrs+ it's worth gold no matter what it is. I love the first gen Z's, but they are still just Cavaliers. Nothing special about them except the digital dash and ground effects. I'm seeing more ads for these cars that say "classic car" or "collector car".........IT'S A CAVALIER!!!!!! Rant over.

This was a CA car and I was the third owner of it in '98. The 'mom and pop' dealership that I purchased it from got it as a trade in from the original owner. It only had 125,000 mi on it when I bought it then and now it has 140,000. The person I sold it to aparrently didn't drive it very much in the time frame that he had it. Oh well, it's mine again and won't be leaving again.

[This message has been edited by kyunderdawg (edited 07-19-2009).]

Really nice looking car that you have there. It is funny, but when I seen the pic of your daughter cleaning up the interior, I thought to myself....Future owner. Then after panning down in the thread, there you are already offering the Cavalier up to her. That sent a warm feeling through my heart. You are a good dad. Plus for you on that one.

Tony

quote Originally posted by Tony Kania: Really nice looking car that you have there. It is funny, but when I seen the pic of your daughter cleaning up the interior, I thought to myself....Future owner. Then after panning down in the thread, there you are already offering the Cavalier up to her. That sent a warm feeling through my heart. You are a good dad. Plus for you on that one. Tony

Thanks, Tony. Ever since I've had it on stands she has wanted to ride in it. Whenever we'd leave the house she'd ask "are we taking the Cavalier?" That tares me up every time so I have been working on getting this thing back on the road. I still need to change the trans fluid and filter yet....just don't have the cash right now. I've got some OT on the next check so maybe I can get what I need next week.

I can't say what it is exactly about this body style of Z that I like so much. I guess to me they have pesonality and potential just like our Fiero's do. The Phase 1's ( '88-'90 ) and Phase 2's ( '91-'94 ) just don't have the uniqueness of the first gens. I won't even comment on the third gens ( '95 and up ).

quote Originally posted by kyunderdawg: What convertible are you looking for?

I was looking at a Pontiac 1990 or older, something to just run around in that is safe and slow Then when she is done with it (doesn't move under its own power) I would use the parts to convert one of my Fieros to a convertible.
But any one of the big 3 would work. I would even consider a Ford shudder LOL

She had one of these and after over heating it we sold it. I would have fixed the head gasket if it wasn't for all of the other problems.
(Not our car)


Good luck with the restore!

quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: I was looking at a Pontiac 1990 or older, something to just run around in that is safe and slow Then when she is done with it (doesn't move under its own power) I would use the parts to convert one of my Fieros to a convertible. But any one of the big 3 would work. I would even consider a Ford shudder LOL She had one of these and after over heating it we sold it. I would have fixed the head gasket if it wasn't for all of the other problems. (Not our car) Good luck with the restore!

Thanks!

Ah, Chrylser's "K" car. Not their best, but the big three each had something that was a headache.

Too bad your so far, there are two red Sunbirds ( 90's ) here at two different yards. Ones somewhere around $800 and has a 3.1 V6. The other is $1200, but I don't know what engine it has.

Well done!! That is a pretty car again...and I am glad I inspired you to do such good work bringing her back from the dead!! I like the black wheels, personally...suit the car to the ground ( pun intended!!Hahaha!!)
Your little helper's smile put a smile on MY face too!!
Nice to see the pictures again, and the extra ones!

Nick

You know I don't care if it's a classic car or just a chevy cavalier...I love seeing a car pulled from the grave and given another chance at life. I take pride in the fact most used cars I own our in better condition when I sell them then when I bought it. Well Done!

quote Originally posted by fierofetish: Well done!! That is a pretty car again...and I am glad I inspired you to do such good work bringing her back from the dead!! I like the black wheels, personally...suit the car to the ground ( pun intended!!Hahaha!!) Your little helper's smile put a smile on MY face too!! Nice to see the pictures again, and the extra ones! Nick

It's gonna be a long ( financial ) road to get this car looking and performing the way I want. I am already drawing out paint schemes..... I'm always getting ahead of myself. I just hope that my daughter will continue to have an interest in doing something with cars.....not to my extent, but to at least learn basic maintenance and trouble shooting.

I've got some subtle ideas for some body mods, but can't do it until the extra cash starts coming in again.

That is a nice looking car. I cansee it actually having a semi classic status some day.

Paul,
Bring that baby to the Bluegrass Fieros Cookout/Table Dancing & Lying contest. Aug. 15th, Frankfort, KY.

Ron

quote Originally posted by blackrams: Paul, Bring that baby to the Bluegrass Fieros Cookout/Table Dancing & Lying contest. Aug. 15th, Frankfort, KY. Ron

I'd thought about it. I'll see if I can get the minor mechanical issues fixed first.....hopefully I can. I'll e-mail you soon on the directions to you for the festivities.

I love the picture of the early MPFI V6. It really makes the Fiero engine bay look roomy!

quote Originally posted by css9450: I love the picture of the early MPFI V6. It really makes the Fiero engine bay look roomy!

Yup.....and it ain't no fun to work on either.

Here are some pics of the bad side of the car.....




None that can't be fixed pretty easy, but till I get the cash...........

Slowly......ever sooooo slooowwly coming together. I recieved some real good info on doing a 3100 or 3400 in this car over the weekend from some of the 60degreeV6 guys. Looks like GM made it pretty easy to put this later model engine in these cars. I just so happen to have a 3100 sitting on a stand that a friend gave me last year from doing a swap for an elderly couple. It's out of an '01 Malibu. Anyway, here is where it's at at the moment.....


Next on the list of things to do is tackle the engine bay. I'm satisfied with everything else for the moment.

Looks good!

quote Originally posted by Khw: Looks good!

I just need to get a small bottle of touch-up paint to hit the bare spots. When I peeled the tape off of the nose after painting the black trim it took some of the white with it.

Throw some D's on that b**** . Not bad dude you brought it back from what it was. keep up the good work

quote Originally posted by pontiackid86: Throw some D's on that b**** .

By D's you mean dubs ( 20" )? Believe it or not there is an '87 Z in AL or GA that has 20" with it raised.

I love those matchbox chevy's. Great lookin' car dude. Keep it up.

quote Originally posted by N3M3S1S: I love those matchbox chevy's. Great lookin' car dude. Keep it up.

LOL! I've never heard them called "matchbox" before. My friend 'named' my Fiero "snap-tite" (plastic car) and now he's named this one "soapbox durby car" due to it being square. Thats alright though, he drives a pink (strawberry pearl) Neon so I give him grief about it.

Looks good enough to eat Wow, I really like the 'retro' boxiness of it!! Well done Paul... a credit to you and your 'little helper'
Nick

looks good, ditch the roll bar and it will clean it up a bunch

Didn't some of these have what looked like backwards scoops on the hood? Like cowl induction?

quote Originally posted by $Rich$: looks good, ditch the roll bar and it will clean it up a bunch

It will be wrapped with red vinyl to match the interior. It should look better then.

quote Originally posted by 2.5: Didn't some of these have what looked like backwards scoops on the hood? Like cowl induction?

Yup. Most of the '87 models had them. They went all the way up the hood and was the best looking cowl hood on the Z's. IMO I have one waiting to go on this car. Thinking about making heat extractors in the cowls like my GTO had. I'll post a pic of what I'm talking about when I get home.

[This message has been edited by kyunderdawg (edited 08-24-2009).]

That'd be cool, I like those hoods too

This is the hood that I had on my GTO, but this one is carbon fiber though....

I think this would be a cool idea on my cowl induction hood.

I know that it's my car, but what colored wheels looks best to you guys?

Cast your vote........
Black.....

White.....


I will be starting to referbish the pieces shown here....

Black...by far.

quote Originally posted by 1986 Fiero GT: Black...by far.

I think the black definitely gives it a more aggressive look, but the white screams "summer". Kinda reminds me of the summer edition Mustang LX convertibles. I knew someone that had one and everything about it was white.

quote Originally posted by kyunderdawg: I think the black definitely gives it a more aggressive look, but the white screams "summer". Kinda reminds me of the summer edition Mustang LX convertibles. I knew someone that had one and everything about it was white.

how about black with white lip?

Everybody does black wheels. Go with the white, Paul.

what about white with a black bar in the middle like http://rimspin.com/wp-conte...ith-painted-rims.jpg

other two tone ideas
http://www.rimexperts.com/i...rtel_black_large.jpg
http://oldholden.com/ohfile...ldskoolgts_0_0_0.jpg
http://www.rimandwheelworks...mages/hyper2-700.jpg

or go all out
http://www.rides-mag.com/on...scheflowerpower2.jpg

If you paint it white, it will start the monochromatic look that was big in the 80s.

[This message has been edited by Gokart Mozart (edited 09-05-2009).]

How did I miss this thread!!

<----Adds to favorites

Great looking car. And a awesome house too!!

I like the black wheels!!

quote Originally posted by Gokart Mozart: http://rimspin.com/wp-conte...ith-painted-rims.jpg

The white set is like this, but in the pic you can't really tell it. The lip is pretty thin and the white overpowers it.

quote Originally posted by Gokart Mozart: or go all out http://www.rides-mag.com/on...scheflowerpower2.jpg