doug-doug the mighy
Member
So I picked this one up off of unofun here on the site. So hats off to him - he gave me some really cool stuff with the car like a old issue (Jan '82) of hotVWs which featured the Sterling and a few things tucked inside.
About the car:
The body is a t-top style canopy on an early 80s chasis (I think it is 84 but Greg can weigh in if her remembers better than I...). The car has a smooth hood (no nostrils) and a louvered rear deck. It is finished in a cherry red with a gold pin strip on the front and the rear (nothing at the canopy). The car has been modified to house a Buick V6 3800, with a quadrajet carb. The back of the body has been bumped out a bit to accommodate this beast. The transmission is some kind of automatic with a kung fu shift grip. It moves like a manual but the lack of a clutch is telling...
Fun fact on this car, I refer to this car in my personal notes and computer files as "The Quadra". This is not only due to the fact that this thing has/had a quadrajet but that I am the fourth time Greg has sold this same car! We are both excited to see this come to pass
My general plan:
I need to drop the engine and completely rebuild it. I will finish it with a nice engine paint that suits the final look.
The carburetor was toast and will be replaced with a good quadrajet to stay true to its known DNA.
The transmission will be 1. converted back to a manual transmission (or some kind fo really cool Hurst slap shifter), and 2. repositioned to move it closer to the steering wheel (vice its native bug location buried deep inside the console area) making for a more natural loock and feel.
The parking brake was deleted but will be re-added.
The pedal box will need to be rebuilt as my short legs can barely hit them without me sliding too far forward in the seat.
There appears to be some rust near the engine mounts and the seat pans. Although barn kept for several years, I am sure this was from earlier and is likely superficial. It will all be remedied when the engine is dropped for rebuild.
All the wiring in the car needs to be replaced. Aside from some of it being just really old (1984??), I am frustrated by the fact that the battery I dropped in for testing has the terminals on the wrong side, meaning the cables are just a bit short to connect and still have the battery sit in its "spot". I also want to install a dedicated fuse panel in the nose for some major items (canopy, lights, engine stuff, etc). I may put the dashboard stuff on this panel or I may tuck it inside the cockpit, undecided as of yet. I just know that I need to clean things up from how earlier builders did things.
New fuel tank.
The canopy (as mentioned here) has a hydraulic liftbut I want to convert it to linear actuators. The "escape plan" for a canopy lift failure is to remove the windows ans t-top and climb out. the "locked out access plan" (meaning the system has failed and is locked shut with me outside) is still being developed but I am still doing my research on some ideas I have.
The dash will be converted from analog gauges to a multi-function display. The dash will be a bit less busy than before and I will use the newly available real estate to add a good head unit. I may go with some thing like OpenAuto since I have a spare raspberry pi on hand. I definitely want to add a rear camera so the screen will need a place to live.
I will keep the car red (with the pinstripe, it really looks good) bit I will have the whole body redone with a fresh gel coat as what is on there has issues all the way to the fiberglass in some spots.
I will change the front tires to put something a little more narrow on but I want to keep the overall look of the rear tires. I may change the rims completely so we will see on this.
About the car:
The body is a t-top style canopy on an early 80s chasis (I think it is 84 but Greg can weigh in if her remembers better than I...). The car has a smooth hood (no nostrils) and a louvered rear deck. It is finished in a cherry red with a gold pin strip on the front and the rear (nothing at the canopy). The car has been modified to house a Buick V6 3800, with a quadrajet carb. The back of the body has been bumped out a bit to accommodate this beast. The transmission is some kind of automatic with a kung fu shift grip. It moves like a manual but the lack of a clutch is telling...
Fun fact on this car, I refer to this car in my personal notes and computer files as "The Quadra". This is not only due to the fact that this thing has/had a quadrajet but that I am the fourth time Greg has sold this same car! We are both excited to see this come to pass
My general plan:
I need to drop the engine and completely rebuild it. I will finish it with a nice engine paint that suits the final look.
The carburetor was toast and will be replaced with a good quadrajet to stay true to its known DNA.
The transmission will be 1. converted back to a manual transmission (or some kind fo really cool Hurst slap shifter), and 2. repositioned to move it closer to the steering wheel (vice its native bug location buried deep inside the console area) making for a more natural loock and feel.
The parking brake was deleted but will be re-added.
The pedal box will need to be rebuilt as my short legs can barely hit them without me sliding too far forward in the seat.
There appears to be some rust near the engine mounts and the seat pans. Although barn kept for several years, I am sure this was from earlier and is likely superficial. It will all be remedied when the engine is dropped for rebuild.
All the wiring in the car needs to be replaced. Aside from some of it being just really old (1984??), I am frustrated by the fact that the battery I dropped in for testing has the terminals on the wrong side, meaning the cables are just a bit short to connect and still have the battery sit in its "spot". I also want to install a dedicated fuse panel in the nose for some major items (canopy, lights, engine stuff, etc). I may put the dashboard stuff on this panel or I may tuck it inside the cockpit, undecided as of yet. I just know that I need to clean things up from how earlier builders did things.
New fuel tank.
The canopy (as mentioned here) has a hydraulic liftbut I want to convert it to linear actuators. The "escape plan" for a canopy lift failure is to remove the windows ans t-top and climb out. the "locked out access plan" (meaning the system has failed and is locked shut with me outside) is still being developed but I am still doing my research on some ideas I have.
The dash will be converted from analog gauges to a multi-function display. The dash will be a bit less busy than before and I will use the newly available real estate to add a good head unit. I may go with some thing like OpenAuto since I have a spare raspberry pi on hand. I definitely want to add a rear camera so the screen will need a place to live.
I will keep the car red (with the pinstripe, it really looks good) bit I will have the whole body redone with a fresh gel coat as what is on there has issues all the way to the fiberglass in some spots.
I will change the front tires to put something a little more narrow on but I want to keep the overall look of the rear tires. I may change the rims completely so we will see on this.
