Space City 1982 GP Build

[Texas82GP]

The quality of the paint job on the engine was less than stellar and wasn't really doing it for me so I painted it Corporate Blue. I also pulled the oil pan and the timing cover to replace the traditional four piece oil pan gasket with a one piece gasket. I don't want leaks! I also went back together with all ARP 12 point bolts for a little detail. Balancer is genuine GM. I will replace the valve covers. They put the same cover on both sides so you end up with two oil filler caps which I don't like. Still, I couldn't bring myself to slop paint all over them.

 

[Texas82GP]

Now I'm working on some issues under the hood. First, the motor mounts are in bad shape, welded on (GRRRR) and they are both higher up and farther back than where they are supposed to be. I'll have to cut them off. Another item I want to address is the plastic cover over the firewall. Does anybody else have one of these on their car? My entire firewall is covered first with insulation and then with this plastic cover. Unfortunately it is torn up, probably from pulling the diesel and putting in the 400. I'm pretty sure the passenger exhaust manifold on the 400 punched a few of the holes in it. I have to decide if I want to try to patch it or just get rid of it. I'm wondering if it is a diesel thing or if it is a Brougham thing. It is obviously for cutting down on Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH). What do you guys think? Try to patch it maybe with fiberglass or just rip it off of there?

 

[theoldsone]

Ill be the first to comment on this build

Welcome to GBF!
This car looks very decent. Not many people own Pontiac GP's. I like the red, but your probably right about the interior its a down fall. Black and red always looks good. A black Interior with a bucket combo will put this car in a class of its own. Id suggest Procar seats I have a set of my own and I lovem! Good move on tearing out the 400 (even though i would have opted to rebuild). You asked about the fire wall padding stuff. IMO id rip it off and not worry about it. If you plan on redoing the interior my suggestion would be to throw on a heat/vibration shield on the inside. Like Dynamat or something similar.

 

[seabeeveteran03]

That's a clean looking GP, looks to be a fun cruiser when you get it done. I like it.

 

[truracer20]

The firewall stuff is because it was a diesel. The car looks nice. A new engine will make for a nice new start, no fighting aggravating issues. I can't stand seeing an engine put in without new gaskets, cleaning and painting of it as well as the accessories and engine compartment.

 

[Texas82GP]

Welcome to GBF!
This car looks very decent. Not many people own Pontiac GP's. I like the red, but your probably right about the interior its a down fall. Black and red always looks good. A black Interior with a bucket combo will put this car in a class of its own. Id suggest Procar seats I have a set of my own and I lovem! Good move on tearing out the 400 (even though i would have opted to rebuild). You asked about the fire wall padding stuff. IMO id rip it off and not worry about it. If you plan on redoing the interior my suggestion would be to throw on a heat/vibration shield on the inside. Like Dynamat or something similar.

Thanks. It is a nice car. I don't think its ever been in a major accident and it appears to be rust free. You never really know what is under the paint but from everything I've seen it is a really nice body. Agreed on the black and red. It just works. I'm considering having the landau top redone black as well. I already picked up a set of buckets and the rear seat out of a Monte SS so those are going in. I'll have to check out the Procar seats though.

What turned me off on rebuilding the 400 was that it was already 0.030 over and my guess is it would have to go to 0.060 over to clean up the bores. The general consensus is that this is fine on those 400 blocks but plenty of people say you have to sonic check the block to make sure. I don't have good personal experience with a machine shop here in Houston though I'm sure there must be one. I've used a few and been unimpressed. I want attention to detail. I didn't want to spend a bunch of money and be disappointed so I elected to buy the motor in the box and move on.

I'm definitely leaning towards removing the sound deadening on the firewall. I'm torn because I hate to take something away from the car but my guess is I won't be satisfied with the repair once I'm done.

 

[Texas82GP]

That's a clean looking GP, looks to be a fun cruiser when you get it done. I like it.

Thanks. I appreciate the kind words. I'm looking forward to getting it going again and being able to park it somewhere without it leaking all over the place and being able to cope heavy traffic (a must in Houston) without having a nerve racking experience eyeballing the temperature gauge.

 

[Texas82GP]

The firewall stuff is because it was a diesel. The car looks nice. A new engine will make for a nice new start, no fighting aggravating issues. I can't stand seeing an engine put in without new gaskets, cleaning and painting of it as well as the accessories and engine compartment.

Thanks. I thought that might be the case. My step dad had an 84 Cutlass in the late 90's that I did quite a bit of work on and I didn't remember the car having that, but it's been over 15 years since I've seen that car. I figured if the gasoline cars didn't have the sound deadening on the engine bay side of the firewall then I don't need it. I want a sporty cruiser more than I want a lux-o-cruiser but at the same time don't want to take something away from the car and regret it. I'll put long headers on the car as part of this project and I won't mind hearing them some but don't want to turn the car into a beast either. If the gasoline powered cars didn't have it then I'm taking it off.

Totally agree with you on hating to see an engine installed with no attention to detail. Between the filth, the leaks and the red-neck engineering the installation of the 400 in this car was really bad for my OCD.

 

[liquidh8]

Looking good. These things are always the stuff that makes me not buy cars sign unseen online or anything.

That little 350 will get you down the road fine.

 

[79loserbluebu]

That car is gorgeous