Hello everyone,

I've owned an 85 GT for almost 20 years and since then I've performed the following work on it:

Conversion of Auto to 4spd Muncie
1998 L67 Swap (port and polished, 3.5" pulley)
C4 Corvette Brakes
Aircon added
Power mirrors added
All poly suspension, lowered
stainless lines all around
Aux Gauges added, boost gauge added
Auto dimming rear view mirror
Mr Mikes Seats
Late style headlights swapped in
Strut tower brace added
decklid shocks added
Recovered shift knob and steering wheel. Dyed interior black. Replaced carpet with black.
Short Shifter


There is probably so much more I am forgetting now. The car sat for almost 10 years as life got in the way and as of a couple years ago it has become my summer daily driver. It made it to the 40th last year (3600km trip) with only a couple issues.

What is happening now is I am preparing all the panels for paint and installing an AusFiero Stage II body kit. First I am repairing all the damage the car has accumulated and ensuring the whole car will be sanded smoothed and primed prior to painting. All panels will be removed except for the roof panel as I am not interested in removing it.

The plan is to paint the car "Watkins Glen Gray" with midnight black lower rockers.

I will try to keep this organized as I go detailing all my steps. I will follow up shortly with the next post with what has been done already.

As the car looks now:

[This message has been edited by Matthew_Fiero (edited 07-24-2024).]

There are several damaged body pieces:

1. the hood being destroyed by the front fascia screws:


2. Crack in the rear bumper. (I've always wanted to fix this!)


3. Broken off corner of notchback clip.


4. Cracked passenger side door.


5. Cracks in the decklid and provisioning for clearance for the strut bar and decklid shock-struts. I accidentally bent the decklid back snapping the hinge cables. Sorry I don't have a better pic.


6. Damaged decklid key lock cylinder hole.


7. Sneak peak of Aus Stage 2 scoops.


Over the coming day's I'll be spraying all repair areas with a 2K epoxy primer and then coats of high build primer. The inside and out of the decklid will then be entirely sanded in preparation for paint. I am opting to keep the inner surfaces black.

[This message has been edited by Matthew_Fiero (edited 07-24-2024).]

quote Originally posted by Matthew_Fiero:

Oh **** ... that's some old-school 2nd-Gen TransAm rust right there. At least it's not in an area that you can see, but you'll definitely want to fix that since it'll make your car's interior miserable.

The only thing I'd suggest out of all of this is... fiberglass of course is easy to repair... but that rear bumper will never be the same with a repair. It'll eventually flex and contort to the point where you'll see a depression in there.

The rear GT / SE Aero bumpers are common enough that... unless you're concerned about matching VIN stickers... (that might have not even started until 87), then you'd be better off swapping out the rear bumper when you do the paint work.


I have the same issue as you with the fiberglass decklid on my daughter's car. Curious to see how you not only fix it, but shore it up...


EDIT: Have you looked in the upper-rear frame rails? That's an area that usually gets pretty bad on these cars.

[This message has been edited by 82-T/A [At Work] (edited 07-15-2024).]

I started with the decklid. Cleaning up all the cracked areas and cut out material that was hanging up on the strut towers (reversed perch), strut tower brace and the gas struts. These aren't necessarily finalized pictures there was more cleanign up to do. The cracks were all ground to have a rounded bottom for more strength and to allow for more resin buildup.



Using some FR601and standard fiberglass sheets I applied them to the exposed areas.


In this photograph I actually didn't like how I set up the weights to hold the decklid in it's proper location. I opened up the repair areas to ensure fiber and resin wasn't touching paint. The portion of the decklid that is directly against the back edge of the passenger side decklid vent was sitting high and not contacting the rubber bumper. I removed the repair and reglassed and now the decklid sits as it should. I applied one layer first by brusing on a layer of resin only working up to bared material. Then applying one piece of fiberglass cut to the size I determined best for the repair. I applied additional layers when required. For the cracking that did not break fibers I grooved the crack and applied resin only.








I was lucky that the cracking did not ever extend into the skin itself or the decklid could have been considered broken beyond repair.

I took notice that whoever installed the spoiler drilled into the fiberglass and didn't seal the exposed fibers. I drilled the holes larger to remove any fiberglass rot and sealed them up with the resin and a bit of lightweight gold filler.



For the hood I applied the same method with brushing the resin and adding small pieces of fiberglass cloth to build up the material. Then sanding and finishing with the same filler as mentioned above.



The decklid is rigid and the repair seems to hold during torsion tests (wiggling back and forth in my arms) of the decklid. Alignment is simple and easy now that it sits flat and doesn't have interference from the strut towers etc.

[This message has been edited by Matthew_Fiero (edited 07-15-2024).]

I managed to remove the A pillar and get a better view of the rust situation. Here is what awaited me:


After some cutting and grinding I am left with this:


I am so thankful that I will not have to remove the windshield. The rust wasn't through in the lip.

I still have a bit more cutting to do but wanted to keep the profile in tact prior to making patches for welding.

You're doin a great job there. Thanks for the photos

------------------
Astronomy says we will find a coded signal from outer space. Then we'll KNOW that life exists there, for coded signals aren't by chance.

Biology says there are coded genetic signals in every cell, but we KNOW that no intelligence created life.

I'm the original owner of a white ' 84 2M4 purchased Dec 10, 1983 from Pontiac. Always garaged, no rust, 3800SC, 4-wheel drifts are fun!

There were a few more rust spots to clean up.

This passenger side windshield wiper area:


Turned into this:



A spot on the roof here:


Was much larger than I thought. Likely caused by water leaking through sunroof.


The driver windshield wiper area also had rust but not as bad.



With these particular areas I'm either going to spot weld the holes shut or most likely apply a rust inhibiting primer and apply weld seam sealer throughout the area. It's what the car originally had and should add a bit more strength and protection.

With the roof panel off I can now re-bond the one stud above the driver. It was loose and spinning. Once I figure out how to safely handle the roof I'll flip it around and clean it up.

[This message has been edited by Matthew_Fiero (edited 07-17-2024).]

While you're under that windshield cowl, you could mesh over the cabin air intake to keep rodents out of the airbox.

Tackled one last rusty/problem area on the frame. At some point the car was jacked up incorrectly and left this:




Cleaned it up a bit and straightened out the collapsed portion.

I am not sure if I am going to be able to get ALL the rust out of the jacking location. I'll just have to do my best and weld it shut again.



So now I have three spots to weld up: The passenger side A pillar, the windshield wiper area and the driver side jacking location.

[This message has been edited by Matthew_Fiero (edited 07-18-2024).]

I took the exhaust off last night. That was a nightmare I'll never use that exhaust wrap again.



Anyone interested in a set of ceramic coated, port and polished 3800 exhaust manifolds?

Looks like the next week will be dedicated to welding and exhaust.

I'm really not comfortable welding so close to the windshield. I might use a panel bonder on the edge closest to the glass and weld the remaining section.

[This message has been edited by Matthew_Fiero (edited 07-19-2024).]

I've started prepping the roof panel for repair. I carefully removed the sunroof rails by drilling out the rivets and separating the double sided tape (I installed these years ago)

There is some damage aside from the stud being broken out:


(yikes I'll fix the focus shortly)



Found a rear bumper in great shape and a spare 4spd Muncie!

Got the roof section completely sanded. I spent extra time on the sunroof rail area to clean out rusty fibers. I backed with aluminum tape and filled all the holes with resin. The most damage was around the incorporated nut in the previously rotted sunroof rails.

I'll take better pictures of the post epoxy. Just saw they didn't turn out.

[This message has been edited by Matthew_Fiero (edited 07-24-2024).]

I managed to finish the sunroof rail section on the roof and set it aside. The roof section is now ready for primer. This took a surprisingly lot of time.



Drilled out the holes and slots for the side scoops:


For the crack on the lower rocker I cut a section of metal screen that came with the plastic welder kit and I melted it into the back side of the crack. The hot staples held the part in place. Overall it seems to be a solid repair. I just have to figure out how to sand and smooth the visible side to not look repaired.


The exhaust is finished. ZZP powerlogs and 4 resonators with C6 resonating tips. All stainless steel.


I am now in the process of repairing the crack in the acquired outer passenger side door skin with panel bonder and i will be attaching the Aus body panel to the door. More pics to come.

Remember this hole in the pass side A pillar? I cut out the rust. Made a patch out of sheet metal. Epoxy primed and painted the back of the patch and welded it into place. I was very careful welding around the windshield as not to crack it. This took hours of patience.







I will bond the lower lip of the patch once I have my panel bonder activated again.

Next is welding up the driver side jacking area. I cut out some of the spot welds and opened up the frame on the bottom in an effort to get all the rust out before patching. More pics to come!

[This message has been edited by Matthew_Fiero (edited 08-03-2024).]

I've got quite a bit accomplished considering how I've been feeling. I'm bumping this to remind myself to provide an update tonight.

Impressive amount of work being done. Good job

Finished with the rust hole in the a-pillar and pass side jacking area. It's like nothing happened!




Next I tackled the passenger side AusFiero Stage II body kit.

I had to figure out what to do with the front fender as there is an awkward gap.


So I decided to use the stock molding and cut it to the same angle as the molding that will be mounted to the door.



Marked and cut:




In order for the molding to contact the fender I cut out a corner on the rear edge and melted it together. I didn't take pictures of the completed melted area and it turned out nice.


This is my weapon of choice. It has a 35 minute working time so plenty of time to bond a panel to a door.


Used some fiberglass matting and mixed it in with the panel bonder and filled in the holes on the fender.


Put some adhesive on the back of the panel


And bonded it to the door. Learned lots of lessons here on applying this, how to smooth it and how much to apply.




Then bonded the little molding I modified.



I'll be riveting the molding to the fender in the original location in case it ever decides to come off. The door is on it's own I decided not to resin in studs. The adhesive seems pretty strong. I wiggled the door and banged it around a bit and it is holding well.



Finished cleaning up the front area. I found some new foam (1/2" weatherstripping) and applied to the the cover on the latch. I then proceeded to put together the rest of the windshield wiper area components and is now complete.


The rear bumper I picked up ended up painted 3 times. Originally red, then black then white. Took days to sand.

Same as the wing and wing stands. Sanding off silver, black and red. All the black and red paint was shiny and not sanded. Whoever painted this both of them did the bare minimum. As I was sanding the black layers were peeling off the red.


Had to bond in a new nut on each side as they broke loose when removing the wingstands. The panel bonder (shown in the pic) can be very sensitive to mixing and for some reason I couldn't get it to cure hard to hold the nut in. I tried 3 times! JB Weld worked like a charm and is permanently bonded to the wing.


I will be painting the wing and wingstands together as one assembly. I just had to get all those layers off.

Bonded the other body panels on the driver side. Obviously I cut the fender molding to complete the profile



The driver side is MUCH more challenging than the passenger side as the door is not lined up properly and I cannot seem to use the adjustment method on the hinges to get it to line up. So I had to make sure the panels were bonded onto the door so that one day when or if I figure out how to align the door to the car that the panels should line up properly.

A lot of time on the front fascia. It was heavily dented on the lower drivers side corner when I first saw the car so many years ago and using a heat gun, autobody dollies and lots of patience I was able to get the RIM to conform 98% of the way.

I don't have good pictures of before but you can see the "ring" where the entire corner was inside out.


There is a hundred little chips, dings and cracks in the bumper I will be using the panel bonder to fill in. You can see the entire front is littered with damage.



On another note the decklid and hood are finished. For the decklid there was around 10 decent cracks and 2 tears in the support structure of the decklid. After all the crack repair and straightening it looks fantastic and is straight! I cannot find the pictures and I have put them on the car for now so I will take pictures again when I have them off. The epoxy primer/top coat used looks near identical to the stock coating.



More to come! I have to sand the notchback clip, repair the holes where the sail panel clips go into and finish the repairs on the front fascia and then it's primer time.

That adhesive is tough stuff.

Went out after work to check the bond on The driver door when I realized it shifted down at the front.

It was an absolute struggle to get that molding off. I ground as much of the adhesive which was Rick hard using a 2 inch flapper disk on a die grinder and ended up using an air body saw to cut between the door and molding on the edge so I can try to rip it off. I then took the same flapper to the top edge to remove as much as possible to weaken the bond.

Once I was able to get a flathead in between on the larger end I went to pull up the door itself actually tore. The tear is about 6 inches long just at the top lip of the molding. I felt defeated at this time and went inside to collect myself.

What I ended up doing was taking the air body saw and carefully cut along the edges doing my best to not cut into the door or fender.

At one point the saw blade did start cutting into the door which was not visible at the time of cutting as it was under the molding.

It was a success I got it off!


Look how the adhesive failed from prying. The paint layer actually broke bond instead of the adhesive. And every part where it was torn from the molding took a small layer of fiberglass with it. Incredible how well it bonded and I didn't even use that adhesive promoter.

Overall there is minimal damage and nothing that a repair and rebond won't cover. I'm relieved because finding another molding out of a set would be difficult.

I've cleaned the tear and v grooved the back. Put some aluminum tape across the outer surface and applied the adhesive. I should have put a small piece of fiberglass in the adhesive though I'll check tomorrow I think this stuff is strong enough to hold and flexible enough for the door.



I removed the sail panels tonight and will be prepping the notchback clip for paint. It's in good shape and there shouldn't be any more surprises now.

Panel bond will play well with the front bumper for filling it in? No problems painting it you think?

quote Originally posted by Spadesluck: Panel bond will play well with the front bumper for filling it in? No problems painting it you think?

The panel bonder Sands well but there are parts of it that bubble they give it not the greatest surface finish. Don't get me wrong you can get it smooth but just like auto body fillers you can augment the shape with some glaze. I opted to use this EURO 844. It's for flexible surfaces and uses a hardener.



I just used it for the first time last night. Started by sanding down the cured adhesive on the door to match the profile of the scoop. I then put the glaze coating over that. It sands very well. Accidently got some on my finger tips last night and no amount of acetone or lacquer thinner would soften it and ended up sanding it off my fingers.



Applied it to the whole bottom of the bumper to fill in the hundreds of little stone chips and to help restore the profile of the lost edge in the center.

[This message has been edited by Matthew_Fiero (edited 08-30-2024).]

Very nice. May give something like that a look. I was working on a bumper and had not found anything I liked yet to fill in tiny blemishes. Thanks for sharing.