1988 Formula Build for Jeri (Page 5/12)
Toddster OCT 08, 02:23 PM

quote
Originally posted by blackrams:


One never knows where the next needed part will show up. Persistence is the key. Excellent find!

Rams



I know, fate tends to be bizarre at times. I will be moving south myself so I empathize. I have to concern myself with some storage as well.
Toddster OCT 13, 09:25 PM
This weekend I removed the Fenders, Doors and Fascia to do more cleaning underneath and move forward on getting the interior back together.

First, I relocated the antenna out of the way. First I grabbed some aluminum angle and self tappers


Next, Set it in place to run along the inside of the passenger fender


Next, drill a hole in the edge of the frame rail and file the edges smooth, then using heavy duty zip ties strap the end of the antenna to the frame rail with a piece of rubber in between. The quality of the signal is about 90% that of the standard configuration. Good enough for me.


I really hate cheap paint work and this car had some patch paintwork done. It is not all over the car but a few parts got a respray and they didn't mask very well. No better time than now to touch up the door jams with some chassis black!


Next, get the interior back together. Starting with the first thing that has to go in, the headliner. T-Top headliners are a pain because the only thing holding them together is literally the headliner fabric. Once it goes, you have a challenge ahead. Here is how to cope. Start with a coat hanger, some thick card stock, a stapler, and some spray glue.


Cut the coat hanger into two sections about 6" ling and give them a slight bend to fit the contour of the headliner.


Then glue them in and hold tem down with heavy card stock (also glued) AND stapled. It will be rock solid.


Spray glue the liner and the backer board, let sit for 3 minutes and roll it out one half at a time and gently smooth it in.


BBefore you install it, remove the center T-Bar and give it a clean and touch-up the paint if needed, then re-install before you put the headliner in. Time to install. Extra hands help here. Install all the odds and ends to hold it in place.


Now the fun part, cutting-in the T-Tops. This needs to be done in stages. You can always remove mor material, you CAN'T put it back so go slowly!


After pressing in the headliner tap in the rubber trim ring over the headliner and I trial fit the end caps. Looks good!




The carpets got a pressure wash and the computer for the 5-Speed went in.



Tomorrow, the doors get a cleaning and get installed, along with the rest of the interior.
Sage OCT 14, 10:11 AM
Great project....excellent coverage of progress and very nice work!

Fantastic job Mr. Toddster!

HAGO!
Toddster OCT 15, 12:54 PM
I decided to rebuild the doors since the motors are kinda weak and there is some rust that needs to be tackled. It is just surface rust but I don't want it to become worse so I am taking the doors apart and hitting them with a coat of paint. I will post that later today.

So in the meantime, I am getting the interior back together. For the time being, I am sticking with the stock stereo. I will upgrade eventually but before I do I want to know that the car works and all systems are operational before I complicate things. So I slipped a couple of retainers onto the holes and slipped the support bracket on and held it down with a couple of 10mm screws. the best part, this is removable and restoreable anytime I like.





time for the dashboard and instrumentation. all got a good cleaning and armor-all treatment.


One of the annoying aspects of a Formula is the 4 spoke steering wheel and the omnipresent problem of broken horn buttons. I had a good left button and I salvaged a steering wheel off a 1986 SE with a good right button. one crimp later and presto.


I also found time to re-assemble the front end. After some cleaning, touch-up paint on the chassis and a good buff on the paint, it is looking good. I will repaint the car in a year or so but this looks good enough for a 5 foot car for now.
Toddster OCT 16, 11:50 PM
So today I took the donor car doors and stripped them down and cleaned them up. I tested the motors and solenoid and everything works like new. The hinge pins were a bit worn however so I just swapped the hinges from the original doors which are perfect. I cleaned and greased the window metal tracks and the window operate like new now. But when I started to put the door together I noticed something.........................what is missing from this door?...........I didn't even notice at first. Take a look as see if you can guess and then scroll to the bottom to see if you got it.

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Before putting the panels back together the first step is to make this car serviceable down the road when I get ready to give it a new paint job. And that means getting rid of he rivets! Rivets are a hassle. They might make manufacturing easy but they make servicing a pain so when ever possible I swap in riv-nuts instead. I first drill out the rivet holes to allow a M6 riv-nut. Brass or Stainless are the best for a steel frame.







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Finally for this evening, stinking up the house with melted plastic. The overflow reservoir had a few splits in it and since I didn't have a spare it comes down to plastic welding. I just used my soldering iron and a little patience and it's as good as new.



If you read the first paragraph then here is the answer, the flange that holds the lip of the panel to the door frame is missing! So I drilled out the spot welds on the original door and plan to weld the flange to the donor door. But it won't fit because the profile is different soooooooooooooooooooo, ugh, I have to get a new donor door. Grrrrr.

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[This message has been edited by Toddster (edited 10-29-2019).]

Toddster OCT 18, 12:10 AM
Too much to do today so tonight I am just doing a little trim repair.
blackrams OCT 19, 11:55 PM
Bump for an interesting and entertaining thread.

Rams
turbo86se OCT 22, 10:15 AM
Oh wow this thread is great! Thank you for the pics and explanation of the manual swap. I'm in the slow process of swapping my '87 GT to a manual, and I've got it really stripped down, like bare bones. What has been the hardest part so far? I read that removing the auto pedal assembly is rough because of the wiring. Please keep the pics coming!
Toddster OCT 22, 01:29 PM

quote
Originally posted by turbo86se:

Oh wow this thread is great! Thank you for the pics and explanation of the manual swap. I'm in the slow process of swapping my '87 GT to a manual, and I've got it really stripped down, like bare bones. What has been the hardest part so far? I read that removing the auto pedal assembly is rough because of the wiring. Please keep the pics coming!



Yes, the way they route the wiring means you have to pull it out of the way of the bracket to get the bracket out. The bracket has sharp edges and the danger is that you can damage the harness. But a little careful maneuvering and it comes out eventually. The key is having the dashboard out of the way. Don't even think about trying it with the dashboard in place.

More details and pics soon. Been busy with other stuff lately.
Fiero Thomas OCT 22, 02:54 PM
Great job with the build Toddster. I enjoy reading about this.

------------------
Thank You
Thomas
1987 Fiero GT T-Top 1988 Fiero Formula

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