1992 Grand Prix Progression

[red97GPGT]

looking good, i need to do that to my wheels, they are so road rased and corrorded from the road salt here that they only look good at a distance.

youre putting in alot of work , itll pay off!

[95naSTA]

Anxious to see them painted and installed.

I don't know if you figured this out already but the 92-99 Bonneville x-laces (the ones that look the same just not as wide or agressive offset) have the same size center caps. Just if you want mroe options at the yard.

[Ringo64]

Anxious to see them painted and installed.

[Twenty]

I don't know if you figured this out already but the 92-99 Bonneville x-laces (the ones that look the same just not as wide or agressive offset) have the same size center caps. Just if you want mroe options at the yard.

I'll add them to my list of cars to look for, thank you! I hadn't thought of them.

It was indeed a lot of work, and I got a wicked sunburn on the back of my neck while stripping and painting, but I'm excited now! Tomorrow morning the wheels and tires go in the back of our truck to be hauled down to work with me. Tomorrow night, if it's nice out (It has rained the last two Wednesday nights), is the weekly car meet so I'll be pushing to get them on the car for that.

[Twenty]

Tonight I placed an order for new dogbone mounts. Something that will hopefully be a balance between the stock and the previously-tried pieces. They should be here fairly soon; they're coming from within Canada, though we're having a postal (Semi-) strike now. Yay.

(Picture from the MRZ website)

The 3.1L will be getting some more attention this year.

[Twenty]

Tires are going on tomorrow now. Just another delay in an endless stream of them with this car. The dogbones are delayed too because they're currently out of stock.

I headed out tonight though, to the weekly local meet. The past two Wednesdays have suffered from rain so I was happy to finally have a decent night. It was a smaller turnout tonight but I saw some friends and got some pictures.

That's the GP with my friend's Camaro. Aside from a Cavalier we were the only domestics.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

I love how the 5th gen Camaro is a hulk in size in comparison of the GP.

[Ringo64]

' date='Jun 9 2011, 06:42 AM' post='55234']

I love how the 5th gen Camaro is a hulk in size in comparison of the GP.

I think my car would look like a hulk next to it

not saying it's a bad thing just stating times have changed

[Twenty]

The GP is small, but I like it that way. It's nimble and easy to park in our crowded parking lots.

And, after delays, delays, and more delays, Judge has new shows on! It's sitting in the garage right now with the Crosslaces. A full update will come tomorrow.

[Twenty]

UPDATE: Crosslaces

After a few delays in getting tires mounted, the Crosslaces were finally ready to go on the car. I had originally planned to go with my existing summer tires, but they had unfortunately gone bad over the winter so a set of new Goodyear Eagle GTs were mounted instead. They make the old tires look wimpy. They're the same size as my original tires, 215/60R16. There is a very very mild stretch but I need it to clear the fenders once the car's lowered.

They were also filled with Nitrogen, so we'll see what the fuss is about. They at least now have the fancy green valve stem caps.

And now at long last the colour I picked has been revealed: Satin black!

After dinner last night I shuffled our cars around and took over the garage to swap the wheels.

Starting in August of last year I'd really been looking for a set of Crosslaces. Several months to find a set, a couple more to get them stripped and repainted, and then three attempts to mount tires. At long last, they were on the car and supporting it. The moment of truth came, how was the fitment?

Pretty darn good.

With standard camber, the fronts have a touch of poke when viewed from the nose of the car (The fenders narrow as you get to the front of the car).

The rears however, are pretty much spot-on.

Full shots:

Now that the wheels are on, two things come to mind:

1: Those coilovers HAVE to go on.

2: I may experiment with some subtle time-attack stripes, in a dark grey or similar shade.

Either way, the wheels are on and that major step is over. It only took until mid-June to get on summer tires. That's a record.

As the car progresses though, its future is still uncertain at this point. As the decal on the windshield says, the car is daily driven (And has always been), but in our climate sooner or later that does catch up with you. Judge is quickly going downhill this year and it won't be until I can have the shell examined by some professionals in the bodywork field that we'll know what can be done with the car. For the time being it'll keep progressing, but only with bolt-on parts. If all goes to heck they can be removed and the car can go back to stock. It won't be until the true state of the shell is determined that I'll decide if it'll be repaired again, or left to age naturally at which point the car will likely be driven until it's dead.

To be continued...

[Jedi3]

I hate to say this but I hate the black rims, you should of done them white.

this bums me out.

sorry

if your happy thats all that matters thou.

[Twenty]

To be honest they're iffy in my books at the moment, but the car really needs to be lowered now to tuck them into the arches. At stock height they accentuate the 4x4 stance.

As mentioned though, I plan to experiment with some time attack stripes to break up all of the black.

Once the car's lowered I'll make the final call. Worst-case scenario, I just repaint them white.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

Needs a red time attack ring.

I dig it.

[Twenty]

I'm thinking red, grey, or even yellow (!...probably not that though). I also want to come up with something special for the center caps. A logo unique to the car perhaps, I need to start doodling.

[Twenty]

Bonus pictures from tonight. It was raining all day today, but it finally let up not too long ago. I pulled the GP out of the garage to check clearances with the new wheels and also to see what work has to be done for it to accept these wheels once it's lowered.

Up front the tires come close to the bumper but should be good. The fender will need some work though, but some extra camber should help as well.

The quarter panels on the other hand, look like they will get away with just a rolled lip.

I then messed around with the camera, just because.

[Ringo64]

Yeah I agree with Joe, not diggin them black. On your GP it needs to be white or something along the lines IMO

[Ghost]

nice job. but i kinda have to agree, white would be better IMO. white would show the detail of the rim. i say black with white accent or white with red accent.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

Hating on the stormtrooper look.

[Ghost]

i like them. but white seems better. leave them black so you can change it up again later.

[Jedi3]

So much cleaner, much much more factory looking and blends with your cars color theam so so so much better. Now it dosent have that I just slaped some rims on I found look.

white with a red ring

DO WORK SON!

.

[Jedi3]

and now lowered

[Twenty]

That's awesome! Thank you!

Though, just to cover all of the bases, would you mind mixing that height with the black wheels?

[Jedi3]

So much cleaner, much much more factory looking and blends with your cars color theam so so so much better. Now it dosent have that I just slaped some rims on I found look.

white with a red ring

DO WORK SON!

.

and now lowered

That's awesome! Thank you!

Though, just to cover all of the bases, would you mind mixing that height with the black wheels?

black headlights&fogs

fogs painted to match the car

fogs painted to match the car& black headlights

black headlights&fogs and pinstripes changed to black

fogs painted to match the car& black headlights and pinstripes changed to black

[Twenty]

Choices choices choices.

I recently picked up a couple colours of vinyl pinstripes for some experimenting with time-attack stripes.

I also went and borrowed a couple of your pictures Joe, to try one more combination. It's excluding a couple more changes that would find their way onto the car, but it's an idea.

That is, if the GP makes it that far. It's future is still undecided at this point in time. Currently it seems to continually change from being a major source of frustration for me, but as soon as I drive it I love it again. It's definitely love-hate right now, and I still have to see how bad the new rust damage is before I know for sure what to do.

I think at the very least a 'new' car will have to be bought, for winter use if nothing else. I have to retire the GP from our winters A.S.A.P. but we don't really have room for a fifth car. On the other hand, the brand new Scion tCs are really tempting, as is the thought of picking up a replacement with more aftermarket support. Even so, I can't picture myself without the GP. It deserves a full rebuild, but that's not possible while it's my daily driver.

I don't know what the future holds for Judge right now, my parents and I still have to decide from the available options.

[markpetersonii]

wow. I don't even know what I would go with and it's not even my car!