Marriage: 1980 Grand Am and 2005 GTO Build Thread.

[smed7880]

Houston. 106 today. No relief in sight, 100s on the long range forecasts. Garage time will start 2am ish tonight.

First project is get my winch set up on the trailer.

Off work, went to look at an 84 regal basket case 15 mins from me. Frame looks ok but i cant see it all since the car is buried in a garage. $400. All i want is the frame, any good body mounts, and some sheet metal. So now ill have 3 frame swaps to do. All of the grand am suspension etc will go on this third frame which will go under the solid Oklahoma 84 regal body. Plan is to put the rusted GAm frame with the junk suspension from the $400 buick under the junk regal body and get rid of all of that asap. Ill strip whats good but it doesnt look like much is.

Im in deep now. Real deep.

 

[smed7880]

Step 1. Get donor home. Completed. Now to strip it down. So far frame loks ok but nothin else is altho it is a bucket seat car so ill harvest seat mounts column and instrument panel

 

[smed7880]

103...ran me in. Trailer olympics completed, donor regal is on deck for body pull tomorrow morning. Some of the needed sheet metal appears to be useable for the GAm. Must get it stripped and gone asap.

No way i make my deadline. Backup plan is my torino to storage if it is ready friday.

 

[pagrunt]

103...ran me in. Trailer olympics completed, donor regal is on deck for body pull tomorrow morning. Some of the needed sheet metal appears to be useable for the GAm. Must get it stripped and gone asap.

No way i make my deadline. Backup plan is my torino to storage if it is ready friday.

Sounds like you need a visit from joesregalproject with his sawzall. You'd have all the panels you need for patching and a pile of carnage for the scrap man.

 

[smed7880]

Wow its hot. Im cooling off after some of the sketchiest redneck car olympics ever. The donor regal frame is good, one washer repair area needed. The body has donor metal where i need it for the GAm. This was a great $400 win.

My first frame off. Other than the heat it went pretty well. I wont be able to just rough it off on the other 2 though, will take much more care.

Ive got to pressure wash the frame then let it dry. Ill start swapping the pontiac front suspension and rear end stuff onto this frame, use cut 4x4s as front springs, just trying to get all the jigsaw pieces onto it, get it under the rust free regal body, loosely put it together then itll await me getting to it. Then cut up the donor regal body for good metal, finish stripping it, put the rusted GAm frame under it with all the junk suspension and crappy parts and call the junk man. Then take rust free regal to storage. IF my Torino is ready friday itll have to go to storage while i get the gbody stuff sorted out.

 

[smed7880]

Pressure washing done and the garage is shut down. Got too hot but had to get the donor regal separated today no matter what.

Frame looks very good. Passenger a pillar washer repair will be needed but solid elsewhere. I might cut a little patch from the old GAm frame if its good there.

 

[Happy camper]

Pressure washing done and the garage is shut down. Got too hot but had to get the donor regal separated today no matter what.

Frame looks very good. Passenger a pillar washer repair will be needed but solid elsewhere. I might cut a little patch from the old GAm frame if its good there.

Progress is Progress.

 

[CopperNick]

Might give some thought to snatching the rear frame horns from the frame destined to go to the scrappers. They are like gold to builders north of the M-D line up in the rust/salt belt and no longer repopped. As long as they are complete and not eaten out or twisted/bent, someone ought to be interested in them.



Nick

 

[smed7880]

Thanks for the heads up. The left rear rail is toast but the right rear appears solid.

 

[smed7880]

So the jankey knotted wood on the discount rack wasnt a good plan...