Thinking about buying this POS:lol:

[Aqua Blue RS/SS]

Originally Posted by 102SS

I had a Fire Red 1988 GTA back in 91 and kept it for 5 years until I got my 94 TA GT

It was an L98 with digital dash and camel cloth interior.

Funny how GM called the color Fire Red when it was more of a Dark Cherry

Was that the almost burgundy color? That’s what color my dads ‘86 Z28 was.

[Aqua Blue RS/SS]

Originally Posted by Tajefe Couple

Can't wait to see the pics and be interesting to hear your buddy at the pawn shops reaction. Enjoy that first cruise!!!
You've inspired me to get my 70k mile 1989 GTA back on the road after about 17 years of storage give or take. I've been having a mechanic help ALOT along the way if you would ever like an idea of how many grand$ it takes to do what you've done to yours almost identically. Wanted to do it all myself but with 2 shoulder surgeries, no lift yet, and life getting in the way just decided to bite the bullet and pay some labor$$$. After replacing the tank and entire fuel system wish I would've done the 4th gen swap you did.
Could I ask you a favor with a vacuum routing issue have been having trouble solving pretty please sir? Mice seem to like vacuum lines, thankfully that was all they liked.
The routing for your vacuum line coming off the heater control valve looks the same as my 5.7L. Can you tell me if that runs all the way back to the firewall on the passenger side and goes in there or does it T in somewhere. Been trying to figure out these eaten up and missing vacuum system lines for a while and any help would be appreciated. Please feel free to toss in a pic or send me one if you ever get a chance or would be so kind sir!
Mine once again also has life and runs but clearly still a work in progress then on to my 1988 GTA that has only been setting about 6 or 7 years
Once again much respect and to cool to see that Iroc resurrected, especially with the money they bring lately way more value than a GTA.

Here’s a couple shots of the vacuum line to the heater valve, and another of the supply for it all that comes from the booster. They both go into the same loom and disappear out of sight. Neither has any Tee’s or anything else that ties into them. If you need better pics of where it ties into the loom at the firewall I can get them pretty easily, I though I took a decent one of that but it didn’t come out well on my phone.

[Aqua Blue RS/SS]

Got a lot done today. started by swapping out the brake hoses and flushing the master cylinder. I ended up letting both chambers run dry so I could wipe all the nasty build up out of them. Then I gravity bled them until I had clean fluid at each end. I changed the oil next. If you aren’t a believer in marvel mystery oil here’s something to think on. I put 4 qts of 15w40 (I know it’s thick, but there’s a reason) and 2 of marvel mystery oil(the reason) in it back in April when I changed the oil before attempting to crank it over for the first time. This car has seen absolutely 0 miles since I changed the oil. It’s had maybe 3-4 hours of total run time between getting it running correctly and the occasional start to keep the battery charged and everything lubed. The oil that came out is BLACK. It cleaned a lot of crap out of it. I put 10-30 back in it and a new filter, I’ll run this change for a few hundred miles and do it again to keep flushing everything out. The lifters were noisy when I first started it up last summer. They have quieted down the more it’s run and are pretty much silent now.

I topped off the oil in the rear end and slapped the new tires back on it and and dropped it off the jack stands hopefully for the last time for a while. I moved it around the driveway and tested the brakes out to make sure they were right(they are). My little dude left with his mom half way thru all the work to visit the in-laws tomorrow, as I’m headed to Denver for the broncos game. Sine he was gone I refrained from the temptation to take it down the road solo, he’s gotta be with me on the maiden voyage. I still need to flush the coolant and do a few more small things before we go but I think it’ll happen this week.

All that gunk in the drain pan is the brake fluid from the lines/flush
Check out those oil psi shots. That was with 10/30 in it at operating temp. Not bad.

[102SS]

Originally Posted by Aqua Blue RS/SS

Was that the almost burgundy color? That’s what color my dads ‘86 Z28 was.

Yeah thats the one

[Tajefe Couple]

Didn't want to jack your thread to much more with quoting you but appreciate the pics sir! Those are a great help. Mine is a little different but that helps with where I need to look for that line.

Has to be tempting to jump in it and go but much respect for waiting on your little helper. He's probably at the age where memories get made and at the least will make a great life long story on how he got in to cars. Not to mention would think it'd be one more good reason to keep that car around for many years to come. Hope you both enjoy that ride

[ariZona28]

Really coming along! +1 on the Marvels, I'm really not into the oil additives or canned problem solvers but that stuff does work. I used it to un-stick a lifter in my old '75 Cutlass and I got another 200K miles out of it.

[Aqua Blue RS/SS]

Hey boys, check this out!

[George-CZ]

Originally Posted by Aqua Blue RS/SS

Hey boys, check this out!

I love this! Somewhere forgotten car wakes up to life after years and returns to the road again.

[102SS]

Originally Posted by ariZona28

Really coming along! +1 on the Marvels, I'm really not into the oil additives or canned problem solvers but that stuff does work. I used it to un-stick a lifter in my old '75 Cutlass and I got another 200K miles out of it.

Some good old ATF works well.

Nice Pic

Congrats on getting her roadworthy Aqua

[Tajefe Couple]

Way to go Aqua.
Now time for some of that shine juice or whatever that Vice Grip Garage guy calls it.

[102SS]

Originally Posted by Tajefe Couple

Way to go Aqua.
Now time for some of that shine juice or whatever that Vice Grip Garage guy calls it.

Just dispose of the rags properly or your garage may go up in a ball of flames

(The shine juice contains linseed oil which is known to spontaneously combust when soaked on rags)

[Aqua Blue RS/SS]

I’m actually thinking about using some of this… a little more permanent and better protection at the same time…
https://poppyspatina.com/products/specialist-kit

I’m going to get this car painted back to its original glory in time but I’m hoping this will hold me over for a while. Proper paint ain’t cheap, even when the body is stupid straight like this car is.

I’ve driven it about 30 more miles over the last few days. So far all I’ve noticed is the speedo is a little off and I’m still battling a parasitic draw that has shown up sometime since Oct. I never had a problem this summer but I’ve got 60-80 milliamps of draw that I haven’t been able to track down. Pulled all the fuses one by one, all the relays one by one, the alternator wiring, nothing kills the draw. I’ll get it sorted out. For now it sits with the negative off the battery. This car is a real sweetheart. It needs a little interior work, and all the weatherstrips changed and a few other things like that, but man does it really run excellent overall. I burned my first rubber in it last night just testing the handling in an empty parking lot. I’m starting to get a little more comfortable and gradually getting on it harder and longer. The modern HP guy in me says it needs about 300 more horses but then I remember intimately this is for my son and he don’t need 300 more horses at all in any way haha.

[Tajefe Couple]

So wondering would a bad starter solenoid cause a parasitic draw like that?

Also always been curious if products like "shine juice" or similar cause issues with future paint jobs or how they stand up in the long run.

Glad your enjoying it and my buddy keeps saying mine needs more power too. Told him that's what the Camaro is for or even my stock GTO with 400 ponies. Think my response is just to keep myself from scratching that itch. Because when I was young 400 or 500 hp in a 3rd gen would have cost decent $$$ and was just a dream back then.

[Aqua Blue RS/SS]

I have the same reservations about the shine juice. Where this stuff is an actual clear with a hardener it’s a chance I’m willing to take. This car would be real blast with 500HP. I’ve got a 6.0 Gen 4 truck motor that Im building. Been thinking about swapping it in. I’ll be easily north of 500 at the crank but man that opens up a huge can of worms. I keep trying to talk myself out of it haha.
It’s certainly possible the starter or solenoid is the issue. I just upgraded from a Fluke 787 to a 789 process meter and it’s a little different than the 787. My professional life requires me to be able to test 12/24v circuits daily but I haven’t messed with this meter much yet. I’m gonna play with the meter some more and see if I had it set up wrong, definitely a possibility. The weird thing is that the meter doesn’t pass the current and enable the dome lights or whatever to come on when in line between the battery and cable, like my meters in the past have. That makes me thing I’ve not got it set quite right. The car is running great though still. I drove it a couple more miles today. I’m about ready to try a full throttle run, I’m pretty confident the transmission is healthy enough to hold it, it still shifts really nice. The Dex 6 probably is helping there some I’m sure.