1992 Grand Prix Progression

[Twenty]

I guess I should compile a thread for the progress made on my Grand Prix. It was almost entirely stock when I got the keys, and with just a couple of exceptions all work since has been done by myself, sometimes with a second set of hands from a friend.

1992 Grand Prix SE sedan

Bright White/Garnet Red Cloth/3.1L V6

Exterior:

-OEM optional side skirts

-OEM optional rear valence

-OEM '88-'91 base model tail lights

-Yellow vinyl tinted fog lights

-Iron vinyl tinted brake lights

-Thule roof rack (Not shown)

-Thule 555 fairing (Not shown)

Interior:

-Alarm

-Broadway 270mm rear-view mirror

-OEM tape deck

-OEM push-button trunk release

-OEM red courtesy lights

Engine:

-K&N air filter

-Magnaflow catalytic converter

-Tucked headlight harnesses

Chassis:

-OEM 3.4L Cutlass convertible front strut bar

-AWeb rear strut bar

-Goodridge stainless steel braided brake lines

[[ChaosweaveR]]

I'm not too sure about springs, but a drop and wheels really change the attitude of a car. I'd look for that next, a sweet set of five spoke white wheels would look perfect on that GP.

[Twenty]

Coilovers are on my list, as I do want to lower the car. As for wheels, until I find something nice (Most likely 5-spoke, as you said), I intend to get some small spacers for my stock wheels.

I've still got to add some pictures to this, so stay tuned. I have a longer post waiting to be added, but the forum and/or my laptop went slow so I couldn't post it tonight. It'll be added soon.

[Ghost]

if youre posting plenty of pics, jus wait till it loads and do not do anything after you hit submit.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

I'm not too sure if they made coilovers for this gen GP. Springs, I know there has to be a few sets out there.

And if you want to start with some engine mods, exhaust is a good place to start. A Magnaflow high flow cat, glasspack as a resonator, and dual Magnaflow mufflers out back with 2.25" pipping, the GP will sound stellar.

[Killiger2009]

yes pikters would be best because everyone loves pikters

[Twenty]

TIMELINE!

This is one of the first pictures from when I first got the GP. It was bone stock aside from an OEM tape deck, OEM push-button trunk release, and an alarm. This picture is from February 2009, about a month after I got the car.

The first new part was bought in March '09; a 270mm Broadway rear-view mirror because the original was too small for my taste.

In April I came across an old roof rack from one of my parents' previous cars. I put it on but later found out that I'd need to upgrade it.

In May the original windshield was finally replaced with a nice, new one. That was a big improvement. Following that, I also repainted all of the locks, antenna, and part of the wiper cowl black. Details count.

This picture was taken the last day of high school (June 14) and is still one of my favourites.

A few days later I dropped in a new air filter. I went with a lifetime K&N filter and noticed a huge jump in my fuel mileage.

In September, a few days before my birthday I picked up a used (But mint) Thule roof rack. It replaced the original rack which proved to be WAY too noisy.

Shortly after I put in a Broadway blind spot mirror, following a very cloe brush with a minivan who almost ran me off the road. The mirror is no longer in, I've since taken it out.

Later that month (October) I got bored and decided to tuck the headlight harnesses.

Before:

After:

I also picked up not one, but two Thule 555 fairings (Discontinued and hard to find), for the roof rack.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g112/Twe...cs/P1090716.jpg

In January (2010) I won an AWeb rear strut bar off of eBay. I installed it as it was, and then when the weather warmed up I took it out and painted it flat black.

Come April, I got my hands on both an OEM optional rear valence (Single-exhaust specific) and red courtesy light lenses for the doors. The red lenses match my red interior better than the originals.

Later that month I picked up a front strut bar. It's an OEM piece from a 3.4L Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible.

I then ordered Goodridge stainless steel braided brake lines to replace the originals. A co-worker of mine installed them, as I had no experience working with brakes and didn't care to learn on my daily driver.

I also picked up two used bike racks, which together make one good unit (But for the price I can't complain). They were torn apart for fresh paint.

Due to lots of construction in my city right now, I had to pick up a hood bra to save my paint. It's stored in the trunk for the times I need it.

I then got a set of OEM optional side skirts to go with the rear valence. Obviously, they'd need paint first though.

At the end of may I then stripped most of the interior and sent the car off to the body shop to have some rust removed. The roof and driver's quarter panel were repaired, while the driver's door was reshelled. I picked up the car towards the end of June.

[Jedi3]

car looks great nice job!

[Twenty]

While I was waiting though, I picked up '88-'91 base model tail lights, a sport cluster, front valve cover, and upper intake manifold. The VC and UIM will be powder coated at some point.

When it came home, I reassembled it and put in the new tail lights, after having them buffed by the body shop.

And finally, the most recent part is a new catalytic converter from Magnaflow. The old one had developed a nasty rattle so it had to go. The replacement was installed by a local exhaust shop this past Wednesday.

And after all of that, is where the GP stands today. More is always coming, so I'll keep updating.

Cheers!

[Twenty]

' date='Jul 5 2010, 01:44 AM' post='31732']

I'm not too sure if they made coilovers for this gen GP. Springs, I know there has to be a few sets out there.

And if you want to start with some engine mods, exhaust is a good place to start. A Magnaflow high flow cat, glasspack as a resonator, and dual Magnaflow mufflers out back with 2.25" pipping, the GP will sound stellar.

One company makes coilovers for '88-'96 GPs. Other than that, there are a couple of options for springs, using later-model front springs and a new leafspring out back (Yup, leafspring). I want coilovers though for the adjustabillity and performance they offer.

I've started piecing together a new exhaust. I don't know when the rest will come, but I had to start with the catalytic converter as mine needed replacing. I'll replace the rest at some point.

As you can see, pictures are up now! Thanks for the feedback everyone!

[G0VTCH33ZE]

I love seeing stuff like this, looks really good man!

[markpetersonii]

Very cool! Everything looks great, a ton of work but in the end it looks great!

[[ChaosweaveR]]

Astounding. I love seeing the lesser loved Pontiacs get some love and attention.

But I see you have the cat already, what's the pipe diameter?

[Ghost]

great pics. how did it feel after the strut bars installation? and im curious to see it dropped.

[Twenty]

' date='Jul 5 2010, 02:26 PM' post='31758']

Astounding. I love seeing the lesser loved Pontiacs get some love and attention.

But I see you have the cat already, what's the pipe diameter?

According to Magnaflow's site, it should be 2". I can't say I've actually measured it.

great pics. how did it feel after the strut bars installation? and im curious to see it dropped.

The strut bars made a noticable improvement. At low speeds the difference isn't very distinct, but once you get going (ie 50 kph+) you feel them, especially when making sudden turns.

[Sam]

sooo much work! lol

looks great.

[Twenty]

sooo much work! lol

looks great.

Ha, you think? I'm starting to refer to this as the most expensive 1G GP sedan.

It's worth every dollar though.

[Twenty]

UPDATE: Vinyl, Round One.

Yesterday morning I had some vinyl dropped off at my house that I had ordered a couple of days before. I found a local supplier and was able to order just the materials so that I could try the install myself.

Apparently, I do know how to apply vinyl. It worked.

I chose yellow and Iron (light tint) for the car's fog lights and tail lights, respectively.

I decided to start with the fog lights tonight since they're smaller and I had extra yellow material (To allow for mistakes).

With the foglights on, I marked the edge of the lights with tape so that I could align the vinyl with the exact edge of the light, to avoid going too far or not far enough. Then I pulled out the light bar and got to work.

If you've ever seen Lamin-x tutorials (If you haven't, go on you-tube. They helped with this), you'll know it's essentially peel-and-stick.

After some careful trimming and heating with my mother's hairdryer, I got the first side down. I had to make relief cuts in the corners, but other than that the vinyl went right on.

Once I had the first side on, it was just a matter of doing it again.

Then it was time to reinstall the bar and admire my work.

I even had the GP out tonight and the yellow lights are noticable. I think it was well worth it. The front end of the GP was still stock, and I'd had this idea for a while, so I'm happy that it worked out. Next up, the tail lights will be getting the Iron tint.

[Ghost]

great job. vinyl isnt too hard. jus depends on the size and shape of the surface.

[markpetersonii]

Very cool! I like it!

[Twenty]

Thanks guys! I'll admit, I'm on a vinyl kick right now. It's just too much fun to work with.

I've also vinyled the wood trim in my friend's Lexus SC400, and before that I also tinted his side markers and cornering lights. But, the GP got some more vinyl too....

UPDATE: Vinyl, Round Two

As I mentioned above, I also picked up some 'Iron' (Very light tint) vinyl for my tail lights. The pictures are a bit late, but the lights are both done and the results are exactly what I was looking for. As an added bonus, light output is unchanged. The tinted lights are just as bright as the untinted.

After trying nearly every combination of tinting (R Y and W, just Y and W, R and W, etc)I settled on just tinting the brake light portions. The tinted turn signals and backup lights looked too dark, and made the tinting too obvious. With just the brake light sections darkened, it could pass for OEM.

Initial comparison; Passenger light fully tinted, driver's untouched.

Finished product:

Along with getting the lights tinted, recently I picked up some OEM sideskirt-specific (As far as I can tell?) mudflaps and garnet red front floor mats. The mats actually came from a '91 Cutlass, but are identical except for the 'GM' squares in the lower corners.

And finally, today I got the replacement information decal for my new door. The manager of our body shop finally received it from the company and sent it down to my location for me to pick up.

Slowly but surely the to-do list is shrinking. I still have to get the side skirts installed, but they should be the last major step before I can call the car done for this year.

[Ghost]

nice job on the tail lights.

[Ringo64]

Looks good! I like the new door sticker lol. '92, wow I was 3

[Twenty]

Thanks guys! I'm really liking this vinyl.

When this car was made, I wasn't even 1 yet. And actually, the car is now 18 years old, I just noticed that!

Happy birthday GP!

[Twenty]

A quick snapshot taken last night at a local meet.