GRAND PRIX 79 Grand Prix Resurrection
- Thread starter CDUNIGAN1981
- Start date
After a couple of back and forth emails, I have the owner of KINGS RESTORATION in Whitestown, IN, coming out to look at my car.
He asked me what my budget was before offering to come out.
Truth is I have no idea
With that, I told him I understood the cost of paint and body was way more than the current value and likely way more than the value when its done.
I told him I understood 5 figures was likely if not apparent.
He responded, "So you do understand" and agreed to come out.
I'm totally on edge about the discussion, this car is a part of my identity as much as my last name. The guy said at any rate it would be 2 or 3 years before he would be able to work on it.
I was reminded of my trip to Denver to the "Great American Beer Festival" this past October.
I didn't know a lot of the brewer names so I came up with a simple plan for my tastings.... look for the long lines; theory being those lines were long for a reason.
Hopefully the message is something I can handle. I know I could go buy a pretty sweet car for the cost but it just wouldn't be the same.
20 years of waiting for this conversation to take place.
In other news, my Dad and I had an actual hours long conversation for the first time in what seemed like forever, since my mom was diagnosed with FTD.
Her outlook remains bleak as she has been admitted to hospital last week which is likely forever As a result my dad has a new chance to live his life which has been good for us kids.
We got to talking in depth about the guy coming out to look at my ride.
He was excited about the prospect of my car being restored.
I told him with the guy making an inital claim about it being 2 or 3 years it would allow even more time to save and decide on final mechanical upgrades specifically an OD transmission from Extreme.
He said, "yeah, I've been meaning to talk to you about that, I would like to help with the transmission"
I was like "thanks Dad, I appreciate it but I'm not cutting corners with the transmission and its going to end up being quite an expense".
He said, "yeah, I've heard you say 3-4K". He told me it was important to him and he thought Papaw would like to buy something for my Pony.
(My Papaw passed away earlier this year and left my dad some dough). He said, "listen to this body man, listen to what he says and what he doesn't say, come up with a plan on how you are going to pay for the paint and body, if you pull the trigger we will get your transmission ordered)
SO THAT HAS ME FLOORED
Depending on the message from the paint and body guy, I may be giving Lonnie a call on Monday!
Hopefully, I have some good news Sunday evening.
Pray for my Mom.
Wish me luck with the paint and body message.
-Corey
He asked me what my budget was before offering to come out.
Truth is I have no idea
With that, I told him I understood the cost of paint and body was way more than the current value and likely way more than the value when its done.
I told him I understood 5 figures was likely if not apparent.
He responded, "So you do understand" and agreed to come out.
I'm totally on edge about the discussion, this car is a part of my identity as much as my last name. The guy said at any rate it would be 2 or 3 years before he would be able to work on it.
I was reminded of my trip to Denver to the "Great American Beer Festival" this past October.
I didn't know a lot of the brewer names so I came up with a simple plan for my tastings.... look for the long lines; theory being those lines were long for a reason.
Hopefully the message is something I can handle. I know I could go buy a pretty sweet car for the cost but it just wouldn't be the same.
20 years of waiting for this conversation to take place.
In other news, my Dad and I had an actual hours long conversation for the first time in what seemed like forever, since my mom was diagnosed with FTD.
Her outlook remains bleak as she has been admitted to hospital last week which is likely forever As a result my dad has a new chance to live his life which has been good for us kids.
We got to talking in depth about the guy coming out to look at my ride.
He was excited about the prospect of my car being restored.
I told him with the guy making an inital claim about it being 2 or 3 years it would allow even more time to save and decide on final mechanical upgrades specifically an OD transmission from Extreme.
He said, "yeah, I've been meaning to talk to you about that, I would like to help with the transmission"
I was like "thanks Dad, I appreciate it but I'm not cutting corners with the transmission and its going to end up being quite an expense".
He said, "yeah, I've heard you say 3-4K". He told me it was important to him and he thought Papaw would like to buy something for my Pony.
(My Papaw passed away earlier this year and left my dad some dough). He said, "listen to this body man, listen to what he says and what he doesn't say, come up with a plan on how you are going to pay for the paint and body, if you pull the trigger we will get your transmission ordered)
SO THAT HAS ME FLOORED
Depending on the message from the paint and body guy, I may be giving Lonnie a call on Monday!
Hopefully, I have some good news Sunday evening.
Pray for my Mom.
Wish me luck with the paint and body message.
-Corey
I just dropped my 84 TA off at a body shop. Had the car for 30 years it's been on the rotessiere for almost 6. I interviewed half a dozen shops. It's a great feeling moving forward good luck with the car. I used to live in Indiana but I don't know that shop so I'm afraid I can't give you any insight but I will say of the guy is willing to come see it at your place he's a notch above a lot of other shops.
Good luck with your mom as well.
Good luck with your mom as well.
It was not a death sentence. He actually said it didn't look as bad as he was expecting after seeing the pictures of the t tops a floor pan that I sent him.
I told him I wanted to put my own elbow grease into as much of it as possible. So (A) I could save $ and (B) I can call it my own.
He said he wouldn't be able to touch for a year or two.
He said even if he wasn't the guy that gets the job he is willing to provide technical support and suggested I take more steps to prepare.
Dash out, doors off, trim off, paint stripped.
He said he could walk me through the prep process and could even come by on occasion if needed. If I brought it to him disassembled and stripped he put it between 10-15k which is within my range.
He said he does honest work and that if he gets 2 hours of work done in 1 hr... he charges 1 hr.
I'm nervous but have a good feeling it could work out with effort, time, patience and thought.
I'm not naive about the effort or potential cost. I'm driven by obsession and feel I will never be satisfied with anything less than a restoration.
If I had a pole barn or a detached garage, I would start tonight.
Going to sleep on this but have a hard time not seeing myself starting to get this car ready.
In the end, I don't really have a choice.
I told him I wanted to put my own elbow grease into as much of it as possible. So (A) I could save $ and (B) I can call it my own.
He said he wouldn't be able to touch for a year or two.
He said even if he wasn't the guy that gets the job he is willing to provide technical support and suggested I take more steps to prepare.
Dash out, doors off, trim off, paint stripped.
He said he could walk me through the prep process and could even come by on occasion if needed. If I brought it to him disassembled and stripped he put it between 10-15k which is within my range.
He said he does honest work and that if he gets 2 hours of work done in 1 hr... he charges 1 hr.
I'm nervous but have a good feeling it could work out with effort, time, patience and thought.
I'm not naive about the effort or potential cost. I'm driven by obsession and feel I will never be satisfied with anything less than a restoration.
If I had a pole barn or a detached garage, I would start tonight.
Going to sleep on this but have a hard time not seeing myself starting to get this car ready.
In the end, I don't really have a choice.
I had my Cutlass for 30 years before I finished it. You are kicking butt!Im starting again.
79 Grand Prix T Top
74 Pont 455
77 Pont 6x; 92-93 cc w/ 2.11 & 1.66 valves
Cam Specs
.495" lift, intake and exhaust
Duration
230° @ .050, Intake and exhaust
9.5:1 flattop piston
Going to try to document this rebirth. Ive had this car since HS when I bought it in 1998.
Not a gear head but love cars. Plan on spending a lot of time reading.
First up....Maddog Headers!
Finally, headers 20 yrs later.
Wish me luck!
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
I'm ready to order my 200-4r from Extreme Automatics.
I'm going with the stage 2 conversion package with a 10" billet converter upgrade.
I will be driving the car on county roads, state highways and interstate.
I don't plan on much if any track time.
Doubt I will ever drive it out of state.
Long trips will be infrequent.
I am leaning toward a non-lockup converter because it is just one less thing that can malfunction and its not like long trips are going to be a common thing.
With that said, I like the idea of being able to drop my RPM's, even if just 100-200 rpm's while cruising.
It is not like my Pony 455 is a 8000 RPM motor to begin with.
I would love some input on the lockup vs non-lockup
I'm going with the stage 2 conversion package with a 10" billet converter upgrade.
I will be driving the car on county roads, state highways and interstate.
I don't plan on much if any track time.
Doubt I will ever drive it out of state.
Long trips will be infrequent.
I am leaning toward a non-lockup converter because it is just one less thing that can malfunction and its not like long trips are going to be a common thing.
With that said, I like the idea of being able to drop my RPM's, even if just 100-200 rpm's while cruising.
It is not like my Pony 455 is a 8000 RPM motor to begin with.
I would love some input on the lockup vs non-lockup
Tell me about your thoughts on lockup vs nonlockup. I'm about to buy a 200-4r and read you have same gears with your Poncho motor as myself.
I need help deciding.
Thanks
Yeah, the lock up is nice feature, it actually drops rpm 200 to 300 at highway speeds. I am considering 3.90 gears with the TH2004R going in my 70S. Without lock up and 28" tall tires, I wouldn't even consider it.
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Any suggestions on controls?
I think I would really be happy with lower RPMs cruising the Pontiac motor.
I need to understand the lockup controls I should go with.
I'm also trying to find out a 4 speed shifter. I thought I had ran across a kit to adapt my 3 speed to 4.
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