Hey, guys!
I have always been a fan of the first gen J's especially the Z's. I had this car back in '98 and this is what it looked like the day I got it home. Hope this pic turns out.......sorry for the scanned pic.......pre-digital camera days.
I also had an '87 hatchback Z in '92. Again, sorry for the scanned pics......
BEFORE:
AFTER:
To me the first gen Cavalier's have a personality all their own. I guess I'm stuck in the 80's because I like and have two Pontiac Fiero's as well........'85 SE V6, '87 GT.
Some of these cars here I have seen on other sites. All that I have seen so far are awesome looking, so sorry that I have to bring my sad little Z to the mix. Hopefully soon it will be fully restored and mildly custom.
This is currently the stage the vert is in. No money to fix the major damage, so we are just cleaning it up to have fun with. It needs a D/S door and fender. My daughter and I are cleaning and painting to spruce it up as much as we can.
This is how the vert looked at the junkyard. I bought it back for $250.00 and got an original title for it.
I'll update with current picks when I get it back on the ground.
Thanks,
Paul
Mike (96RedCav) wrote:Nice, Get it finished!
Any plans for the motor?
For now the 2.8 is still running strong, but I'm drooling over putting a 3.8SC w/4T65HD tranny. I have it sitting in the garage waiting to go into my '87 Fiero GT though. Of course if the cash was availible it would be full frame with an LS1.
Paul, great pictures. How could the previous owner dump it off at a boneyard!????
Good to hear you were able to rescue it and bring it home.
Good luck with everything you're doing and keep us posted on the progress. It will look sharp once its done.
Daryl Scott wrote:Paul, great pictures. How could the previous owner dump it off at a boneyard!????
Good to hear you were able to rescue it and bring it home.
Good luck with everything you're doing and keep us posted on the progress. It will look sharp once its done.
What can I say? The other guy just wasn't a j-body fan.
The funny thing is.......the car still ran after sitting all of those years. I put a new gas tank, fuel pump, distributor, and an exhaust on it. I still have to change the trans fluid and filter yet. We 'bumped' it over a full rotation at the yard before we loaded it up to see if it was locked up. After getting it home and putting everything on it fired right up. Of course after getting it timed it has been running great.
I will keep posting progress pics as I go.
Paul-
Great Name!!!
Great Car!!! Awesome starting point...
Paul94Z28 wrote:Paul-
Great Name!!!
Ha ha ha!!!! Right back at ya.
I'm in the process of painting the GTZ wheels so I hope to have them on soon and get this thing back on all fours. Should get pics up this week.
Just some update on what I've done so far. I still have alot of things to put back together and touch up yet.
Removed the 'belt line' trim to give it a smoother look. I have always liked Fabians' '87 Z coupe because his is the first one I ever saw with the trim removed. Not a good pic, but it's just a sneak peak.
Here are some updated pics. I couldn't wait to get this thing back on the ground. Still trying to get the paint back in decent shape before I put everything back on.
After I get the exterior finished I'll continue with the interior. I cleaned up under the hood a little, but it mostly needs disassembled to make it look the way it should so I will be doing the engine bay probably this winter when it's not being driven.
again. i love it !!!! and love it even more with the berettas on it
AZ24Ncav wrote:again. i love it !!!! and love it even more with the berettas on it
Thanks! The wife is saying that it looked better with the white GTZ's on it instead of the black. I can't remember what it looked like with the white set. This set thats mounted now is eventually going on my '87 Fiero GT, but since it won't be on the road for a while I'd thought I'd get some use out of these tires for now.
I have my strut tower brace painted and waiting to go on, but the engine bay needs major cleaning before that pretty piece gets mounted. I still have to finish cleaning and painting some of the interior too. Thought about painting the rollbar red to match the inside........the black bar stands out too much.
Looks great Paul. My 84 Sunbird could never sit on jackstands like that! Sad how rusted mine is.
AZ24Ncav wrote:love it
I had thought about keeping my cowl hood for a spare and fabricating an SS hood like the one you have on yours.
no dont .. lol love how it is now/
Looks great! It would look great with the factory cowl induction hood. Let me know if you need any parts. I am scrapping a wrecked Z24 and I have a shed full of various engine parts.
Josh Maloney wrote:Looks great! It would look great with the factory cowl induction hood. Let me know if you need any parts. I am scrapping a wrecked Z24 and I have a shed full of various engine parts.
I am going to take this car to my friends body shop and see what he'd be able to fix and what he can't. Where are you located incase I need somethig?
Those late model Cavalier wheels look good an there.
Iowa Pub wrote:Looks great Paul. My 84 Sunbird could never sit on jackstands like that! Sad how rusted mine is.
I have to get part of the body welded right at the corner just under the D/S quarter window trim due to it having a little rip. Don't know how it happend or when. I hated having it on stands for the time that I had it due to it keeping stress on that small tear.
I have possibly found a black top for it at a private yard. The guy said it is good shape and would sell me the frame and top. It might be a bad idea to put a used top on it though, but if it's in decent shape it might be worth it.
Paul Siebert wrote:
Where are you located incase I need somethig?
Never mind. I checked your registry. I'm originally from Festus.
Josh Maloney wrote:Paul Siebert wrote:Paul Siebert wrote:
Where are you located incase I need somethig?
Never mind. I checked your registry. I'm originally from Festus.
Then you have probably seen it on the side of the road with cop behind it. I think they hate the stripes.
I do have an old friend of the family that is a city cop, but I can't remember where and I have a young cousin thats in the Sherriff's department on the tactical team ( their version of S.W.A.T.)
If I can get the issues worked out with my Z I just might have to take a trip up there sometime. I haven't been there since late '05 when my grandmother turned 90. Need to come up there and visit my old stomping grounds.
Do you know of anyone that has put a 3400 in an '86 model? I know of someone that is putting one in an '87, but mine has the dang distributor'd 2.8 and I don't know if it will be quite different to deal with. My original plan was a 3.8SC, but the person that was going to build my harness isn't in good health and isn't building them anymore.
Are you coming to the 60degreeV6 meet here in next month at Beach Bend Park ( Aug. 20-23 )? Some of the guys that I've talked to from v6z24 are coming.
