i knew it was there.

honestly i should have taken care of it last year. but it looks worse then it really is, panels still real solid so i'm just gonna blast and use some rust converter on whats left. light skim coat of filler for smoothing everything out. couple coats of primer, couple coats of paint.

then its ready for plastidip.

started working on the front bumper. wasnt feeling so hot so didnt do much.





gonna fill the old plate holes and reinstall the front lip and make everything look molded on.

going to also rewire my front turn signals and markers. also gonna mount up my engine oil cooler i scored from work for nothing.

maybe some of the more experienced body guys can chime in.

i've got decent rust removal and bodywork skills but i'm wondering after i've prepped the otuer metal for a recoat what can i do to help slow the inside? at the bottom of the rocker there are the holes where the fender mounts....what can i spray inside to help slow down the inevitable?

I've seen posts on autobody forums where guys take the little spray hose from a can of WD40 and stick it in the nozzle of a can of primer to get in behind and in the little crannies.

so i'm still waiting for my plastidip to arrive.

i still have some more touch ups and i wanna do a better job repairing that d/s rocker panel.

put my plate back on today and gave her a wash.

not the best pics but new additions are the front cutout and plate relocation, and a rear tow hook. plate relocation isnt perfect but its legal and thats enough for now lol.

hehehe... I see a tow hook

ya man it had to be done lol.

btw that section of raod is forks of the credit.

Epic. If you plan on going let me know. I'm trying to avoid big upgrades until the end of summer, I want my car on the road.

so i scrounged together enough dough to pick up a 140 amp alternator and 850cca battery.




and wanted some free hp so threw on some sticks i had laying around, i'm glad the rear window isnt sticker friendly, causes me to limit the gaudiness slighty lol.



and a random shot i liked.

so basically i deleted my capacitor until i've tested it and verify its doing its job.
but i'm still frustrated and feel like i got screwed on the alternator, it's definetly heavier then the original that i pulled out and is definetly working much stronger then the old one.

at idle with no load(cold)- volt meter shows 14.2- 14.6 spike.
at idle no load(hot) 14.1-14.4
at idle with headlights on 14.1-14.4
at idle headlights/ defroster 14.0-14.2
at idle headlights/ defrost/blower on 2/ stereo powered up but not playing. 13.9-14.0

now considered my normal driving condition is headlights on radio at roughly half volume and bass at about 50-60%, when idling voltmeter reads lows of 13.3-13.5 on bass hits. i even get dimming of the gauge cluster(indiglo) on larger bass hits. i really thought i wouldnt be having these issues with the bigger alt and battery.
i'll be adding a blaupunkt pca 465 4 channel amp to power the front/rear speakers in the next week or so so thats an additional 260watts rms give or take. so now i'm getting worried. i'm also considering install a kinetik 1200 or 1400 power cell in the trunk once i figured out how to wire it all lol

i also picked up a hei module made by accel


but i'm wondering about this post on the disty cap, should i cut it off?



i havent even looked at the motor lately, money woes are stalling progress and i've honestly shifted to suspension noises and rebuilding the suspension, saving for poly bushings and stiffer eibach springs for the gc's. no sense going fast if my suspension falls apart. i rolled my fenders but in the rear i still have enough body under heavy turning that i rub laterally.
and i'm gonna have to go with slightly stiffer springs and a 1/8th to a 1/4 inch lift nothing major dont think its really gonna change the stance that much. may still go wider with spacers once i'm all finished.

plastidip is supposed to arrive next week but i won't be spraying till late august at this rate as i'm still splitting my time between my other project car and ex needs her auto tranny and a/c replaced/repaired.

my buddy also started collecting heatsinks and turns out a grand am and a few grand prixs have heatsinks that work perfect. this is a shitty pic i found and it looks close.

yah cut it off and fill whats there with high heat silicone. can fill the hole on the disty to if you dont plan to go back to internal coil.

ok a few things...

the battery tie down...very cool!

and you got THAT much of a drop from lowering springs or do you have GC's.....and yeah you COULD cut the cap but you can also just remove the internal coil....its VERY simple. also the heat sink for the HEI, is there a part number or an exact model you got that off of because i wouldnt mind having one of those....

I like the stickers.