Hey guys , i haven't really posted anything on the site at all im just a dedicated reader , there's some very good people and information on here that really motivated me to do what im doing now! So i figured id post my progress!
Well , the snow is finally starting to melt and the temperatures starting to rise so it's time to get working on my "97 Sunfire 2.2 OHV 5spd .. Only paid 700$ for the car about 5 months ago and she needed some work.. I honestly had no intention on doing anything to it... After finding the org and browsing threw here frequently it's inspired me to start working on the car! Here's some pics of my current progress.
So.. From when i first got it.. Down to it's current state!
The very first day i got'er!
Spent an afternoon shinning her up and tinting the tails and reflectors!
The day the water pump went boom she was outta commission for a few days .. While fighting with a local parts dealer and getting the wrong water pump twice in a row..
Shortly after i was able to replace the stock head unit with this lower end model pioneer deck.. The sound system was also upgraded with Alpine Type S door speakers , and Alpine Type S in the rear.
Now finally this weeks project , the cars in the shop now being re painted .. The black hood is off my parts car , it was less dinged up then the hood that was originally on the car so i swapped it on " And yes the bug deflector is staying off haha " .. This is my baby up on the hoist waiting to be prepped..
As you can see the old girl had some battle wounds , so today this is where its at , a small section of the rocker was welded and this other small section on the fender! The car is currently completely sanded and tommorow " Sunday March 14th " were gonna finish off the rest of the body work and get'er masked! I also decided to repaint the car without any of the moldings and Sunfire badges to give it a " Cleaner " look.
Here she is again all sanded , where we ended the work this Saturday afternoon!
Well thats my work in progress if anyones interested in seeing how it turns out il post more pictures as she comes along .. At the end of the week il have also upgraded the sound system with 2 10" Alpine Type S Subs which will be powered by an Alpine V power 1000 watt amp , I'll post pictures after the install.
I recently ran into some extra money " Tax Return " .... So after the paint i need some ideas on where to head next.. If anyones got any suggestions please let me know! I already have a set of 17" RTX rims for this summer...
Planned Upgrades :
--- Ive also found a lowering kit for the car that originally came off a 98" Sunfire.. The owner says it'll drop the car 2 inches.. Anyone think that may be abit much?.. Thats the only reason im holding off on buying it...
-- Rear limo tint from a local shop , and possibly a lighter tint on the front windows.
-- And last but not least id like to pick up a new clutch.. She dont like being thrown into second right now , it's time for a clutch replacement , I'm looking for a reliable stage 2 clutch. Whatre you guys running?
Thanks for reading!
Sorry for the long post ;
good start..... find out what the lowering kit is exactly, dont put a junk ebay kit on which is probably what it is
Should weld some eyelids on the hood before you paint it. Nice work so far, way bring it back. 2" is the drop you get from a set of eibach sportlines, which is a great set of springs. If you find ot what color they are that would greatly help figure out what they are. As for the clutch, dose the trans make a crunching noise when your shifting quickly to 2nd? Sounds more like a synchro issue rather than clutch.
Member of J-body of Michigan.
Yeah i havent had a chance to look at the springs closely , all i do know forsure is that they're yellow , as for the clutch issue.. I find the car does shift very sloppy.. Mostly second going into second and third.. Sometimes even holding the clutch down and slowly going into second the shifter feels as though it jams up before getting into second , so you gotta kinda force it in.. Same with third.. I dont blame the clutch for that though.. Like you said it's probably the syncros.. The only reason i say the clutch is weak is because if im on it hard and do manage to get a hard shift into second the clutch has a noticeable slip.. But nothing bad yet!
Yeah you drive a jbody , but not like us.
RidinJStyle97 wrote:Yeah i havent had a chance to look at the springs closely , all i do know forsure is that they're yellow
Could be Goldlines if they are indeed yellow...
But yeah, keep posting updates, I love to see cars getting fixed up/repainted.
Supercharged 2002 Cavalier Z24
J-Body Bash Veteran
i say stay away from goldlines. i have a set and hate em
RidinJStyle97 wrote:And yes the bug deflector is staying off haha
I also decided to repaint the car without any of the moldings and Sunfire badges to give it a " Cleaner " look.
Good call on both those things!
ACav2Envy wrote:Should weld some eyelids on the hood before you paint it.
I agree!
I would also recommend removing the factory spoiler (welding the holes) and painting the door handles and trunk panel to match.
Are you re-painting it the same color or are you doing a different color?
RidinJStyle97 wrote:I recently ran into some extra money " Tax Return " .... So after the paint i need some ideas on where to head next.. If anyones got any suggestions please let me know! I already have a set of 17" RTX rims for this summer...
Planned Upgrades :
-- Rear limo tint from a local shop , and possibly a lighter tint on the front windows.
Glad to hear you have some 17s ready to go on her! Do you have any pictures of them?
As far as tint goes, having one % on the front and another on the rear looks goofy in my opinion. I think you would be better (depending on your local laws of course) to use the same % all around. I have 35% all around and it looks nice. It's dark enough, but not too dark.
RidinJStyle97 wrote:Yeah i havent had a chance to look at the springs closely , all i do know forsure is that they're yellow Kevin Richter wrote:Could be Goldlines if they are indeed yellow... Furious2.2 wrote:i say stay away from goldlines. i have a set and hate em
Yeah, they're probably Goldines which are a good quality spring and give a 1.75" drop approximately. You will need a good set of aftermarket struts to go with them (D-Specs, KONI Yellows, etc.) though, otherwise the car will bounce around and the struts will blow quickly. You will also want to buy all new strut mounts for it. It's obviously better to replace everything at once.
I had Goldlines on stock springs (this was long before I found The Org. and before I knew better) on my '02 Sunfire GT. They rode okay for a while, but like I said, after a while the struts blew and it rode like crap. In my opinion they were a good quality spring though if you like that low of a drop.
Personally for a daily driver I would recommend Eibach Pro Kit springs and KYB AGX struts. It is a good quality setup for a fairly cheap price. It gives a 1.4" drop which is ideal for a daily driver because it's low enough to look good and handle better, but not low enough that you will be bottoming out on every bump in the road.
Ultimately what you do to your Sunfire is up to you though. I am looking forward to seeing more updates. You have done great so far bringing her back to life. Keep it up.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edited Sunday, March 14, 2010 6:43 PM
Thanks for the suggestions and replies!
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Quote:
Yeah, they're probably Goldines which are a good quality spring and give a 1.75" drop approximately. You will need a good set of aftermarket struts to go with them (D-Specs, KONI Yellows, etc.) though, otherwise the car will bounce around and the struts will blow quickly. You will also want to buy all new strut mounts for it. It's obviously better to replace everything at once.
I wasn't very familiar with what all consisted in having a stable setup so thanks for filling me in on that , I'm definitely gonna look into upgrading the struts aswell before installing the kit , I'm gonna hopefully go see what buddies got this week and snap some pics so i know exactly what they are , il post em on here to get some opinions!
Quote:
Glad to hear you have some 17s ready to go on her! Do you have any pictures of them?
I was dreading for someone to ask that haha! But as requested here's a picture of what i got , before everyone thinks i'm crazy the rims are getting re finished before they go on the car.. there's no way in hell they're going on as is.. It's a long story why i own a red set of RTX's.. A buddy of mine owed me some money.. So i ended up getting the rims and very good rubber for a steal.. So i figured why not.. The plan is to simply get the spokes in red re finished to black.. And keep all the chrome as it is. It's hard to imagine they may look good on the fire when they're done.. So im kinda just crossing my fingers and gonna let it happen! haha
Scary .. I know.. The rims were originally installed on a black "99 GT
As for the progress with the paint and bodywork we put in another full Sunday afternoon working hard on'er.. Although it's kinda hard to see as theres not much of a difference visually haha!..
Here she is all masked up and eager to be painted.
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And here's another from the front , the final sand on the fill isnt completed yet.. But for now ive done all " I " can do and now it's in the hands of a trusted close friend of mine to finish sanding and get'er primed. Cant wait!
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I'll hopefully get the car back Wednesday or Thursday this week , il have pics up of the finished product as soon as i get her home.. Then i can get on to getting my windows tinted , and snap some pictures of the new look while repping the Jbody sticker on the rear window
which i ordered like 3 weeks ago.. Hope i get it soon haha!
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And just for something to do.. This is what the J replaced.. It's a sad story really.. Don't laugh! Too hard anyway.
She was my first car given to me by my parents ,My pride and joy for nearly 2 years haha she smoked a bright blue and the auto tranny was about ready to blow before some random pack of hood rats decided it be funny to smash out a window and destroy the ignition to take'er out into a back road to destroy it.. Police found the car 4 days later in this condition.
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This happend a little over a year and a half ago.. I had the last laugh anyways when insurance called me up saying the car had 4200$ Damage , and i should expect a 2100$ check in the mail.
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Rest assured the fire is also being installed with a viper alarm.. It's sad but in my neighborhood tinted windows is enough to attract a break in.. oh well.. Thanks for the replies! I'll keep posting updates!
Yeah you drive a jbody , but not like us.
Should get some evil eyes welded on that hood before you paint it!!
M62, 42's, ZZP 3", ZZP S3 H/E
214whp 190wtq
Trevor Blesh wrote:slvrblit wrote:Should get some evil eyes welded on that hood before you paint it!!
x90billion
Alright , Alright.. You guys got me convinced! haha , I really did want the evil eyes but wasent sure if it was going to be possible with the short time frame we had to work with in the shop , we went through the process today and she's getting evil eyes
I cant freaking wait to get'er outta the shop! Thursday hopefully the latest... I'll be all horny with posting pics after shes out so everyone beware haha
1997 Sunfire 2.2 OHV , 5 Speed.
" Yeah you drive a jbody , but not like us. "
Yeah i shouldnt jump the gun , i dont even know if its gonna be jizz worthy yet haha
1997 Sunfire 2.2 OHV , 5 Speed.
" Yeah you drive a jbody , but not like us. "
YAY FOR EVIL EYES!
And is the trunk actually shaved, or just removed for paint?
Also, I would be keeping the side skirts, just not the door markers...
Anyways, good progress, and Ill be following this.
go to autozone and buy one 45 degree bend and a 6" inch tube from spectra. for under 30 bucks you can make a nice looking intake lol.
Xplicit wrote:YAY FOR EVIL EYES!
And is the trunk actually shaved, or just removed for paint?
Also, I would be keeping the side skirts, just not the door markers...
Anyways, good progress, and Ill be following this.
YAY for evil eyes x100 And no the trunk isnt shaved.. i thought about it but i kinda like the trunk lid as it was. And yea im also going to reinstall the side skirts they're all sanded and ready to go... As for the intake i actually found a cold air that orginally came off something else that has the perfect bends to clear everything.. Just waiting to polish it and install it once the weather clears up..
Cant wait to see'er with the lowering kit and rims.. Gawd.. everythings going to smoothly right now.. Somethings gotta give. lol
1997 Sunfire 2.2 OHV , 5 Speed.
" Yeah you drive a jbody , but not like us. "
You should remove the antenna post instead of taping it off, it's gonna cause chipping issues later on. Same with the door locks, but those aren't as much of a problem area on our cars.
Awesome news on the eyelids!
I agree that you should paint the handles and mirrors while your doing all this work.
Member of J-body of Michigan.
Yup, paint only the outers of the mirrors color matched, and the door handles. And I still say shave the trunk. Every time I see an older sunfire here without one I wanna steal it from them!
Well i know all my posts may be getting annoying but hell why not! Here's a small update on what the car looks like as of today Tuesday , " March 16th " .. It's nice to finally imagine the car with no visible rust! lol
So i threw together a little before and after comparison!
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Before the work on the rocker.
And now today!
....
Same with the good ol jbody disease around the gas cap area.. no before pic but she was rotted threw lol.
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And the final pic giving myself a little teaser of how cleaned up the doors look d-badged..
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Well the car is suppose to be sprayed tomorrow , cant wait to see how she turns out.. As for the evil eyes once the car is finished my body guy said he " Suggests " i use my spare hood for the mod incase something goes wrong and we damage the hood on the car.. So unfortunately im only dropping the other hood off to him Sunday so he can get started but hopefully it'll be worth the wait! .. As for the trunk lid being shaved i just cant bring myself to do it haha , i simply like the trunk as it is.. Maybe it has something to do with a guy from work owning a 95 fire with no wing .. I just dont dig it lol
Thanks for the suggestions and comments guys i'll keep updating.
1997 Sunfire 2.2 OHV , 5 Speed.
" Yeah you drive a jbody , but not like us. "
Only complaint is removing the antenna base take no time at all, and is quite wiser than masking it off.
I like everything else and plans.
Glad you decided to go with the evil eyes, you won't be disappointed!
Supercharged 2002 Cavalier Z24
J-Body Bash Veteran
J TO ENVY wrote:
Personally for a daily driver I would recommend Eibach Pro Kit springs and KYB AGX struts. It is a good quality setup for a fairly cheap price. It gives a 1.4" drop which is ideal for a daily driver because it's low enough to look good and handle better, but not low enough that you will be bottoming out on every bump in the road.
Ultimately what you do to your Sunfire is up to you though. I am looking forward to seeing more updates. You have done great so far bringing her back to life. Keep it up.
I completely agree with this. The car will handle great, not be too low, and the ride is excellent.
I also like the progress on the car
. I'm glad you're going with Evil Eyes; they complete the front end quite well.
You could always sell those wheels and get another set if they don't look quite right . . just a thought!
Good luck with everything! I hope it turns out how you want it to
.
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1990 Pontiac Sunbird //
1995 Beretta Base
Well guys here she is all painted up and in the drying stages! I have to admit.. The bodywork was exceptional in my own opinion , but the paint job.. Well let's just say it's not so exceptional. Dont get me wrong i love the new look and the cleanliness feel the cars gonna have , im just a picky person haha.. But for the price of the job i cant complain " You get what you pay for " right?
I didnt spend a whole lot of time up there today so i dont have much for quality pics , I'll be going back up tomorrow to put'er back together and hopefully take it home
So here she is..
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And the rear
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hehehe
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And here she is again! This pic came out weird with the reflections and everything haha.. Mind you all these pics were taken on my phone lol..
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As for the " Imperfections " i'll upload more pics over the weekend of the little downsides of the job but overall im happy , and cant freaking wait to start cruisin the J again after almost 2 weeks... Oh , and stopping off tomorrow to pick up my new audio setup
1997 Sunfire 2.2 OHV , 5 Speed.
" Yeah you drive a jbody , but not like us. "
But it looks so good wingless there... hahah. Can't wait for pics of it all together.
Ugh
Dont make me regret not doing it! haha
1997 Sunfire 2.2 OHV , 5 Speed.
" Yeah you drive a jbody , but not like us. "
