GP1138 Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 Hey guys, I found a TGP "parts car" near me, that I'm really really tempted to pick up, but I gotta know something first. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7934924606 There it is, it's about 30-50 miles from me, but it's got no brake booster, heater hoses, and other various junk. I know I can fix all the other stuff cheap, but I want to know if the brake booster's going to be a pain in the ass to put back on the car... hell, will it be hard to find? What other cars used the same braking system as the TGP, and are their brake boosters interchangable with the TGP's? Is there a better system, or is there a possibility that I can get a non-ABS system and just flash the PCM or something? No matter what, I'm picking up this car, if nothing else, for you guys. Unless the auction gets above $500 in the next day or so, I'm going to wire $150 to the woman who's auctioning the car, and she's going to hold it for me. I might be going to see it today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herb427sc Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 In 1988, The PMIII was put on 167 "1988" vehicles for "REAL WORLD" Testing. In 1989, it was optional on the Regal, Grand Prix, Cutlass and standard on the TGP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted November 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 In 1988, The PMIII was put on 167 "1988" vehicles for "REAL WORLD" Testing.In 1989, it was optional on the Regal, Grand Prix, Cutlass and standard on the TGP. Ok, is there a better system that I can upgrade to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff M Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 In 1988, The PMIII was put on 167 "1988" vehicles for "REAL WORLD" Testing.In 1989, it was optional on the Regal, Grand Prix, Cutlass and standard on the TGP. I also hear it was used on circa 1991-? Lotus Turbo Esprit Jeff M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfewtrail Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 In 1988, The PMIII was put on 167 "1988" vehicles for "REAL WORLD" Testing.In 1989, it was optional on the Regal, Grand Prix, Cutlass and standard on the TGP. Ok, is there a better system that I can upgrade to? You can put normal vaccum brakes in it if ya' want. The PMIII is usually problematic/expensive anyways. It does take a a little work to convert to vacuum brakes though, there have been posts on this before(probably in this section here...or over at http://www.netavalanche.com/tgp) if you want to read up on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93CutlassSupreme Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 i plan on converting to better brakes too. i found this write-up after an extensive google search The key to better w-body brakes, steps in order1. Remove the passenger-side front seat and carpet. 2. Make a friend at a local auto shop, and have him cut a hole in the passenger side floorpan, as large as possible. 3. Also have your man, boy, brotha, n****, or whatever he is at the shop weld on a decent-size hook on the underbody, right before the hole just cut in the floor pan 4. Somehow drag your ass to the hardware store, and pick up some good quality chain. 5. Then, drag your ass to a local boating store and pick up an anchor used for hard river beds. 6. Hook one end of the chain to the hook your boy welded to the underbody, and the other end to the anchor. 7. Place anchor/chain assembly in the car 8. Search the downtown area of a nearby large city and pick up a bum (or to be polictly correct, a "homeless person") willing to work for food. 9. Build a shack in the backyard for the bum to sleep in, and offer him a bowl of soup or a sandwich a day or something if he'll perform a easy daily task for you indeftanly. 10. Place bum in the passenger seat of the car. 11. When you desire to stop, instead of pressing the brake pedal and possibly rear-ending the car ahead of you becauce your car doesn't stop very well, just have the bum toss the anchor out of the car through the hole in the floorpan. Whelp, there you go. 11 easy steps to better w-body brakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted November 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 i plan on converting to better brakes too. i found this write-up after an extensive google search The key to better w-body brakes, steps in order1. Remove the passenger-side front seat and carpet. 2. Make a friend at a local auto shop, and have him cut a hole in the passenger side floorpan, as large as possible. 3. Also have your man, boy, brotha, n****, or whatever he is at the shop weld on a decent-size hook on the underbody, right before the hole just cut in the floor pan 4. Somehow drag your ass to the hardware store, and pick up some good quality chain. 5. Then, drag your ass to a local boating store and pick up an anchor used for hard river beds. 6. Hook one end of the chain to the hook your boy welded to the underbody, and the other end to the anchor. 7. Place anchor/chain assembly in the car 8. Search the downtown area of a nearby large city and pick up a bum (or to be polictly correct, a "homeless person") willing to work for food. 9. Build a shack in the backyard for the bum to sleep in, and offer him a bowl of soup or a sandwich a day or something if he'll perform a easy daily task for you indeftanly. 10. Place bum in the passenger seat of the car. 11. When you desire to stop, instead of pressing the brake pedal and possibly rear-ending the car ahead of you becauce your car doesn't stop very well, just have the bum toss the anchor out of the car through the hole in the floorpan. Whelp, there you go. 11 easy steps to better w-body brakes. Well, I'm not really interested in doing that much work to be able to stop, as the current W-body braking system is just fine for those of us who are able to push the pedal a little harder than in other cars. I went out to see the TGP yesterday night. It's really not that bad. It's definitely worth more than $500, which is what I'm paying for it. The Good: 133k miles Interior is fine, just needs cleaned Power Sunroof! HUD/DIC Paint is good, missing a little on decklid, and faded on rear bumper but otherwise great! Engine/tranny are said to be good Turbo is still there the only thing missing in the braking system is the booster Glass is all good The Bad: Interior needs a good cleaning Driver door handle broken :dammit: Rust spot on driver door, under body cladding Missing various minor engine parts (it's in a junkyard, so they used a couple parts from it, the thermostat is gone, but the housing is there) Hood has been open in the rain I don't think this will be too hard to work with. The engine itself looked grimy, but it's apparently not bad. Next time I go it will be in daylight and I will have a battery and the parts to hook everything back up and start it up. Will I be able to start it with the brake booster unhooked? Will I have to bring something to plug the vacuum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herb427sc Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 The PMIII does not use vacuum for the booster. An electro-hydraulic pump supplies the boost for the brakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff M Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 The PMIII does not use vacuum for the booster.An electro-hydraulic pump supplies the boost for the brakes. Roger that!! He can just take out the fuses and relays for the brake system so the pump does not try to run though there is no pump now Actually there should be no problem running the engine without the ABS unit in place, might be difficult to put the car into gear and press on the gas pedal to hear the engine run with a little load unless you add some big tire blocks , and if one of the tires stays turning after its run/idled in drive, tranny might not like being put into park with the tranny/tire still spinning, can always just shut off the engine then put it back into park. The ABS unit will throw some codes but that will not hurt anything. Jeff M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 I would remove the entire dash, swap out the firewall panel, and install the vacuum booster to convert the whole thing to conventional vacuum brakes. PM3 isn't worth the cost and effort to mess with, especially if it's not even there. Pulling an entire dash sounds like a big job, but I'm sure it's just a matter of removing screws till it comes out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
god910 Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 I would remove the entire dash, swap out the firewall panel, and install the vacuum booster to convert the whole thing to conventional vacuum brakes. PM3 isn't worth the cost and effort to mess with, especially if it's not even there. Pulling an entire dash sounds like a big job, but I'm sure it's just a matter of removing screws till it comes out. Preaching to the choir... I feel strongly about my vacuum brakes. I can't say how hard the swap is, but I don't care. It's worth it. 10-20 hours, it'd be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.