Extreme budget GN build thread
- Thread starter BuickMike
- Start date
Nice work. Yet another car finished before mine. Hell what's another year
x2
. As much as I love the threads with the $$$$ rebuild/restores, and would love to build just ONE of my cars to that standard, it just ain't gonna happen with 2 little girls running around the house.:biggrin: This thread is a great example of how to do a build on a budget and most likely the path I will follow. Great job.Thanks for all the replies. I really tried to pinch pennies on some things in order to save a few bucks to do other things. So may people told me things like "why did you strip and paint the frame yourself? You could have had it sand blasted and powder coated for $300." Well, it only cost me $30. I took the $270 I saved and put it towards suspension. Over the years I have still dumped a lot of $$ into this car, but if I break it down to the time it has taken to get to this point I've only put in an average of $40 a month into it. I have been selling things when I can and taking a few bucks from a second job to make it happen. Most of my extra money went to paying off student loans, credit cards, and cars. Now all I have is mortgage. I'm going to wait a couple weeks for it to cool off a little around here before firing it up.
Great job! I think the buick had the better styling out of all the cars that came out of detroit back then. Of course, I still thought the 58 "edsel" was the best!:biggrin:
BTW, did you relocate the fuseable links while you had chance? After getting towed home twice for their failures, I decided to relocate mine to the battery for convenient replacement. couldn't fit under the car w/o a jack!
BTW, did you relocate the fuseable links while you had chance? After getting towed home twice for their failures, I decided to relocate mine to the battery for convenient replacement. couldn't fit under the car w/o a jack!
Its alive! I finally got the last things together and fired it up for the first time this morning. The break in went pretty well. No debris in the filter or in the old oil for that matter. The motor never got past 165 during break-in. Oil pressure was a good 55psi or more. No smoke.
There are a few gremlins that need to be worked out. There was coolant leaking out from around the firewall for a few minutes and it mostly stopped after a minute. I think it is the heater core but I can't tell for sure. It stopped as soon as I turned off the blower motor inside the car. I will pressure test it later. The valve train was also a little loud. Looks like I need to go back and double check the lifter preload. Good thing I have TA adjustable push rods. I also need to go back and check the backlash on my rear end. I could hear a little whine when I was decelerating. I had a bad feeling about that because after I rebuilt it I was secong guessing the numbers I used. The only other surprise I had was that my fuel pump won't hold pressure after the car is shut off. It otherwise works ok.
I took it for a drive and it feels pretty good. The new suspension setup is pretty nice and tight. The S10 brakes are pretty awesome. I did a short 10psi run after driving for a bit to seat the rings. I was blown away by how hard it pulled for that low of boost. It also spools instantly and lit up the tires from a roll. When it was stock I needed about 17psi to do that.
Next week I'll start fixing all these things. I also need to work on some interior issues. I'm hoping to get it completely back on the road next month.
There are a few gremlins that need to be worked out. There was coolant leaking out from around the firewall for a few minutes and it mostly stopped after a minute. I think it is the heater core but I can't tell for sure. It stopped as soon as I turned off the blower motor inside the car. I will pressure test it later. The valve train was also a little loud. Looks like I need to go back and double check the lifter preload. Good thing I have TA adjustable push rods. I also need to go back and check the backlash on my rear end. I could hear a little whine when I was decelerating. I had a bad feeling about that because after I rebuilt it I was secong guessing the numbers I used. The only other surprise I had was that my fuel pump won't hold pressure after the car is shut off. It otherwise works ok.
I took it for a drive and it feels pretty good. The new suspension setup is pretty nice and tight. The S10 brakes are pretty awesome. I did a short 10psi run after driving for a bit to seat the rings. I was blown away by how hard it pulled for that low of boost. It also spools instantly and lit up the tires from a roll. When it was stock I needed about 17psi to do that.
Next week I'll start fixing all these things. I also need to work on some interior issues. I'm hoping to get it completely back on the road next month.
usetaboost
SAY CAR RAMROD!!
- Joined
- May 4, 2005
I'm glad to hear the s10 upgrade is worth the whole 85 bucks I spent on it The hydroboost upgrade from the powermaster already made a night and day difference on my car and I haven't even bled brakes yet. My suspension setup is similar to yours except I don't have the fancy control arms and I used moog springs.
What differences do you feel from the stock rear bar to the s10? I'm thinking about putting on a hellwig bar as one of my winter projects.
The hydroboost upgrade from the powermaster already made a night and day difference on my car and I haven't even bled brakes yet. My suspension setup is similar to yours except I don't have the fancy control arms and I used moog springs. What differences do you feel from the stock rear bar to the s10? I'm thinking about putting on a hellwig bar as one of my winter projects.
I'm glad I can inspire others since it has been build threads and car tv shows that has been keeping me going all these years.
I've only driven it around the neighborhood so I don't have a ton of feedback on the suspension. It does feel real responsive, but does not ride harsh at all. I need to get some tires for my GTA rims and get those on instead of the dry rotted skinnies.
I set my initial alignment settings to about 0 toe, -1.5 degrees camber, and 3 degrees caster. The steering is a little tight when I try to turn off of a straight line, but that's mostly because the toe has changed since I aligned it before the car ever moved.
I've only driven it around the neighborhood so I don't have a ton of feedback on the suspension. It does feel real responsive, but does not ride harsh at all. I need to get some tires for my GTA rims and get those on instead of the dry rotted skinnies.
I set my initial alignment settings to about 0 toe, -1.5 degrees camber, and 3 degrees caster. The steering is a little tight when I try to turn off of a straight line, but that's mostly because the toe has changed since I aligned it before the car ever moved.
AZMotorgod
Member
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2010
Mike,
Congrats on getting her running. I see you took advantage of that freakisly "mild" weather we had yesterday.
Congrats on getting her running. I see you took advantage of that freakisly "mild" weather we had yesterday.
Alright, here's an update. I got everything sorted out with the heater core, valvetrain noise, and the rear end. I repainted the whole cowl and it looks great, but I'm too lazy to take pics right now. I set the alignment to zero toe, -1.5 camber, and 4.2 caster. That should work decent for a street car. I initially had it to -2 camber and 5 caster, but I didn't like how it steered. I put the hood on a couple days ago. I still need to do a few more adjustments to align it right. I also got my new interior pieces from NOS4GN and they are NICE! I have new seat covers with all exclusive material, visors, carpet, floor mats, upper foor panels, and T Top plastic. I still need to work out whether I'm going to replace the lower door panels yet, make a new headliner, recover the steering wheel, and get a new trim ring. Right now I'm saving up for tires and weatherstripping. The weatherstripping will go on whenever I decide to start working on paint and body. Hopefully I'll get this thing registered in the next few weeks and work on getting the motor dialed in once I put some miles on it. Unfortunately I found out that my AC compressor is bad after charging the system today. It works, but it is just weak. I'm going to try to live without it until next spring.
Here is one pic my sister took after I gave my brother-in-law a ride around the block. It's amazing that this thing is quicker with 10psi of boost and 1/4 throttle than it was with 17psi and WOT on the stock motor. I can't wait to get some meth in it and turn up the wick!.
Edit: missing pic
Here is one pic my sister took after I gave my brother-in-law a ride around the block. It's amazing that this thing is quicker with 10psi of boost and 1/4 throttle than it was with 17psi and WOT on the stock motor. I can't wait to get some meth in it and turn up the wick!.
Edit: missing pic
scojack_2001
Livin' Like A Refugee
- Joined
- May 24, 2001
Nice work Mike!
Im liking the front upper control arms and S10 brake upgrade. Thats my winter project for me this year. Any info you can share would be great. Also where did you get the Grand Prix brace and did it help any?
Thanks!
Scott
P.S. Keep up the good work!
Im liking the front upper control arms and S10 brake upgrade. Thats my winter project for me this year. Any info you can share would be great. Also where did you get the Grand Prix brace and did it help any?
Thanks!
Scott
P.S. Keep up the good work!
