1980 Pontiac LeMans Station Wagon - G-T-faux (stuck with it, and can't shake it... like a bad case of herpes)

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motorheadmike

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Nov 18, 2009
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pontiacgp said:
http://store.stepvanparts.com/GAS-TANK-RUBBER-INSULATION-81960.HTM

for the top of the tank I use #90 roofing felt

Thanks for that!

However, I am going with a couple sets of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/271342611398?ss ... 1497.l2649, the tank measures 60" around where the straps/rubber would lie (I am going to double it up on top along the mounting rails). $26 shipped wasn't so bad...
 

motorheadmike

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Nov 18, 2009
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Does anyone know of any clever stereo installations in these wagons? I am looking for some ideas...
 

motorheadmike

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Well it is official... the wagon is "rust-free"! Or at least as rust-free as I care to make it; and it only took 6 months to get there. :roll: Finally seam sealed and under-coated the last of my repairs under the car and now its time to prep this thing to get a heart transplant.

Last night (while waiting for some paint to dry) I started pulling all of the previous owners wiring out of the car (gauges and sending units, power seat, electric cut-outs, electric fans, etc) so that I could identify what circuits were in the car, and more importantly what was missing or had been molested. All and all the car is pretty sound for having a 34 year old electrical system, and in its life only a few circuits were screwed with - still working on identifying some of the unknown wires. The true advantage of working on a car of this vintage with very few options is that it is easy to get your head around what is required and where... plus it cuts down on the need to delete or integrate systems (especially when I pull the wiring out of the Camaro for the LS swap).

My next major undertaking will be removing and adapting the steering column (with delay wipers and cruise control stalk) from my 87 Monte Carlo to this ancient beast. I am thinking that I will need to make a bespoke harness to the cruise control and wiper assembly vs. trying to repin the 1980 wiring. Good thing that I have a complete donor car to rape for parts.
 

liquidh8

Comic Book Super Hero
motorheadmike said:
Does anyone know of any clever stereo installations in these wagons? I am looking for some ideas...

Not sure what you mean by clever? I had an over the top install in my Malibu wagon, glass doorpanels, massive amps/subs, etc.

The wiper stank w/delay and cruise really aren't that bad. Since you have the donor car, you can easily see what needs to be changed. I did the same thing in all my older than 82 G-bodies. :D
 

Longroof79

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Mike,
Having the donor car will make converting your wiper stalk easy. You will need to convert to a later type wiper motor to correspond with the late type switch. ...and also make sure if you're using a delay wiper motor, make sure the switch is also the delay type.
You'll either need the pigtails from the bulkhead to the wiper motor, and the small pigtail from the later style column going to the wiper switch.
This topic is covered on the forum.
 

motorheadmike

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Nov 18, 2009
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liquidh8 said:
motorheadmike said:
Does anyone know of any clever stereo installations in these wagons? I am looking for some ideas...

Not sure what you mean by clever? I had an over the top install in my Malibu wagon, glass doorpanels, massive amps/subs, etc.

The wiper stank w/delay and cruise really aren't that bad. Since you have the donor car, you can easily see what needs to be changed. I did the same thing in all my older than 82 G-bodies. :D

By clever, I mean hidden or well installed. The challenges I face is that the wagons don't lend themselves to component installs very well (ie. no pointless package tray/speaker deck in the sedans and coupes to take advantage of). I have sketches of how I feel I can layout my component system (which will be sub-less for now) and hide the cross-overs and amps (has a lot to do with that hatch I built); as well as packaging the woofers well. The other issue is that by mini-tubbing the wagon I lost the factory 4x10 spots, which means finding a new home for the lows/mids.

I have lots of MDF laying around right now. 8)

Longroof79 said:
Having the donor car will make converting your wiper stalk easy. You will need to convert to a later type wiper motor to correspond with the late type switch. ...and also make sure if you're using a delay wiper motor, make sure the switch is also the delay type.
You'll either need the pigtails from the bulkhead to the wiper motor, and the small pigtail from the later style column going to the wiper switch.

I read the thread on retro-fitting the wipers/cruise and don't think that I am going to face any severe challenges (other than that one bolt hole not lining up) doing the swap.
 

liquidh8

Comic Book Super Hero
motorheadmike said:
liquidh8 said:
motorheadmike said:
Does anyone know of any clever stereo installations in these wagons? I am looking for some ideas...

Not sure what you mean by clever? I had an over the top install in my Malibu wagon, glass doorpanels, massive amps/subs, etc.

The wiper stank w/delay and cruise really aren't that bad. Since you have the donor car, you can easily see what needs to be changed. I did the same thing in all my older than 82 G-bodies. :D

By clever, I mean hidden or well installed. The challenges I face is that the wagons don't lend themselves to component installs very well (ie. no pointless package tray/speaker deck in the sedans and coupes to take advantage of). I have sketches of how I feel I can layout my component system (which will be sub-less for now) and hide the cross-overs and amps (has a lot to do with that hatch I built); as well as packaging the woofers well. The other issue is that by mini-tubbing the wagon I lost the factory 4x10 spots, which means finding a new home for the lows/mids.

I have lots of MDF laying around right now. 8)

Ok, wasn't trying to sound like a wise *ss, :D . You could get the q-logic kick panels (separates) for the front fill (had them), I have seen 6x9"s in the tailgate for just rear fill. You could use separates also. Just mount the tweaters closer to the front in one of the posts, since you want the highs pointed to the ears. Having them all the way back there, they get drowned out with subs (tried that).

Make a small sub box. Mount the amps in the spare tire well and/or under the front seat(s). That would be the stealthiest I think, I have done that too. But I used 2 small 8 inch subs in each cubby hole in the rear side panels at first. There isn't alot of options if you want a loud SQ or SPL system. I went with custom fiberglass door panels for the J/L separates.
 

ssn696

Living in the Past
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Jul 19, 2009
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30 years ago, I made inserts for the storage cubbies in the rear of my 83 Malibu wagon. The LeMans and Malibu interchanged a lot of parts- maybe yours has those too? I fit 6x9s in there no problem. I might even have the plywood panels stashed somewhere still.
I also built a wedge-shaped sub box that fit just behind the rear seat. To match the speaker cube volume needs, it went all the way across, and had a single 12" dual coil sub in it. I also made it just a little taller than the seat back so I could get a sheet of plywood on top of it and the rear door. Made for carrying home projects from the lumberyard. The wagon was more utilitarian as it was my single ride in those days. Looking back, how I managed to not decapitate or impale myself is a wonder. I still have that speaker box in the back of a closet if you want pictures.
For the head unit, I made an aluminum bracket that went under the plastic fascia...cut our the radio hole to match the DIN opening size. Used the screw holes on the dash opening.
 
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