New member. Saying Hi and need pointers

[lazytik]

Hello everyone,

 

I own a 94 Grand Prix SE. I like it, its not bad at all for $1000, and its loud and red...so it keeps my 17 year old self sufficiently happy.

 

I wanted to ask you a few things:

 

1. Is there a way to supercharge this engine? I believe it is a 3100 v6. if so, how much do you think it would cost? u think its worth it?

 

2. I have cleaned the upholstery using a foam type cleaner, but it didnt work...is there anything better to yield better results?

 

3. I would like to install foglights. I have barely any experience, so, is it hard? any pointers?

 

4. My passenger window doesnt work. it goes down, but not up. u think its the motor? the switch?

 

 

Really appreciate it. Looking forward to this community.

[jeremy]

1. You can definitely supercharge it, you would probably spend $1000-1500 to do it if you did it yourself. I personally wouldn't spend more money to supercharge a car then I paid for it. Plus, if I was going to go FI, I would choose to turbo it anyway.

 

2. If your seats are that far gone, you might as well buy new ones. Seats from any 1G w-body will fit your GP.

 

3. Foglight installs are a breeze, just follow the instructions in the fog light set that you buy. Should only be 2 or 3 wires tops.

 

4. Does the window go up with either switch in the car? If not, then I would guess the motor is bad, if it goes up with one switch but not the other you have a bad switch.

 

oh yeah, welcome to the board

[88Regal Limited]

1- engine swap. Go 3.4 or L67 (supercharged 3800)

2- Fabric or plastic/dash? Turtle wax interior cleaner works good on dash and plastic.

3- Ask around. Never did it.

4- Down but not up? Probably a bad motor. Scour the junkyard for one.

 

And....

Welcome to insanity!

[94CutlassSLCoupe]

for #1...it would be cheaper to drop in an L67 (3800 series II) than it would be to work with the 3100 for that purpose....the 3100 is a great engine, just don't expect to run faster than 16.5 or so on the 1/4 mile

 

otherwise i agree with jeremy

[lazytik]

thanks guys.

 

i have no money for an engine swap...but supercharging was a thought. as for interior...plastic and dash r GREAT. its the seats...theyr a bit old...and dont scrub out well. new seats? god no...cant afford it...got a term bill due. however, i was thinkin white custom covers or something.

 

as for fogs..im plannin on putting them behind my grill. u think it wud be ok? reason for this is to save them from debris (the road to my job has a quarry on the way...so..mad gravel).

 

i love the junkyards. i got my power antenna taken care of...it was bent, horribly, so i found a newer caddy one. a little retrofitting, and its great. thanks to my dad for that.

 

thank u again guys...really appreciate it. please give me any more pointers if you would like to. this car has a rebuilt engine...so im not too worried about mechanical expenses now.

 

however, my steering makes a clicking noise, and i can feel something hitting under my foot (below the car)...think its the CV joints?

[1990lumina]

Try a steam cleaner on the seats. If you have a friend, or if you have one or know where you can get/rent one then it's definately worth a try.

 

And welcome,

[Dannymik]

welcome to the board...a turbo will cost more, but will give you better gains for your 3100. As for the window related question, I would bet that you need a new switch for your passenger side...like Jeremy stated, If it works fine from the drivers side, then its the pass. switch. Now post some pics of that beast

[DaveFromColorado]

Welcome to the board!

 

most of the things you listed are very simple things to do, other then the supercharging of the 3.1/3100 - you can do all sorts of other performance things to that engine to make it a bit* faster, but if you were going to force some air down it's throat (supercharger/turbocharger) you'd better be ready to build up the bottom end (pistons, rods, bearings, oil pump ... lots of stuff) and even then, it's no gaurentee it'll hold up (someone here on the board an example of a turbocharged 3.1 and what happens with age and abuse)

 

as far as the clunking/clicking in the steering, do a search for it, this topic has been talked about MANY times, I'm sure you'll be able to match a post to your specific problems, and hopefully that'll bring ya some good answers.

 

Again, welcome to the board!

 

--Dave.

[lazytik]

thanks. pic, will be coming soon. i just washed it...so they should be okay. i will search for the steering problem. and i think i'll keep this one naturally aspirated...got books to buy u know.

 

steam cleaner...hmmm...will do. hope there are no complications with the power seat.

 

i like this car...it has a throaty grumble to it...it works..and it gets decent mileage.

 

 

thanks again guys. as always, pointers/things to watch out for are welcome.

 

i will go to bed now...and detail my engine tomorrow!

 

gnight

[Dannymik]

from my experience with an '88 and '95 w-body I would have to point out that you need to keep your eye on the rear brakes. Both of my previous w's had lots of issues with the rotors warping every year...the biggest culprit is if your sliders aren't lubricated correctly.

 

The next common issue you'll come across is an intake leak. The 3100 is notorious for leaking oil (and if its not delt within a descent amount of time then you could experience some serious damage). I never changed an intake gasket, but I'm sure someone can chime in onthis matter.

[lazytik]

oh yea...im familiar with the rear brake debacle. about a month ago, both of my calipers seized..out of the blue. by the time i got it to my mechanics, the pads and rotors were gone. cost be a pretty penny...but hey..thats automobilia for you.

[1990lumina]

To keep it from happening again, people on this board recommend that you use the parking brake a couple times a week, just pump it down and release, to keep everything moving back there.

[Euro]

is it a coupe or sedan? since you dont have fog lights, im guessing its a sedan?

 

they're not hard to install, just watch out if your wires arent long enough...I had that problem with some Pilot fogs i bought from autozone. The wire that I put into my interior for the light switch was too short and the only solution would have been to make my own wire, so i said screw that

 

anyways, steam cleaning the seats is the next best way...but if that doesnt work, and you dont wanna go the "find new seats from a j/y" route, find some seat covers...

 

 

and welcome!

[SigEpCutlass]

Hello everyone,

 

I own a 94 Grand Prix SE. I like it, its not bad at all for $1000, and its loud and red...so it keeps my 17 year old self sufficiently happy.

 

I wanted to ask you a few things:

 

1. Is there a way to supercharge this engine? I believe it is a 3100 v6. if so, how much do you think it would cost? u think its worth it?

 

3. I would like to install foglights. I have barely any experience, so, is it hard? any pointers?

 

4. My passenger window doesnt work. it goes down, but not up. u think its the motor? the switch?

 

 

Really appreciate it. Looking forward to this community.

 

Yes, there is a supercharger kit out there for the 3100 from RSM I believe. Is it worth it? I say no only because of how much it costs.

 

Foglights shouldn't be hard. You would probably just drill holes into the bottom of the front bumper in the place you want and then secure them. I don't know much about wiring, but I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to splice a wire to power them up. I've never had to do that personally because my cutty has stock foglights.

 

Window sounds like it definately needs a new motor. I know before I got my cutlass from a relative, the motors and regulators in the front doors were replaced twice. Now everything's been peachy for over 45,000 since then. That will be a little pricey to repair. I'm sure someone on here could probably talk you though it if you have a decent amount of knowledge to actually do it. I'm not sure if there's a FAQ for this or not.

 

Welcome to the insanity!

[MonteCarloChick]

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

Welcome!

[lazytik]

thanks guys. i really appreciate your pointers. i thought that pumping/using the parking brakes once in a while would help, thanks for clearing that up.

 

i will most likely hit advance autos/autozone/pepboys OR eBay for fogs. i have a 4 door, so the fogs are actually in the lights themselves, and i just want brighter ones down below.

 

so, deciding from your responses, i will not be using any forced inductions. unless the motor blows, and i have the money. instead i will baby this car till i sell it for a 300zx. maybe next summer.

 

i like how this car is old school, yet pretty up to date. and pretty quick while accelerating. i love the torque and torque steer.

[havikx]

baby the hell out of it. its a w..it breaks. fairly easy at that. make sure to keep on schedule with oil changes and basic up-keeps. never take the easy way out either. if you change oil..change filter. if you change plugs..make sure you dont buy crappy ones. theres an ongoing war about if bosch platnium series plugs are good or not for w's. personally..i have series2 plugs and never had a problem...with plugs atleast.

 

never the easy way out..baby it..and it might not break that often. lol. just playing.

 

welcome.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

So you want fogs for the brightness? I would try just putting in some Silverstars into the regular low beams first and see how that works for ya.

[lazytik]

c-bad, i already got the Fogs...and installed them. they are a bit brighter, but silverstars would be better. but i dont feel too comfy spending more money on this car this month. also, i have one of those uniborw headlights. u know, the ones that stretch across the whole front. well, i dont know how silverstars would look on only 2 of the roughly 7 bulbs there. the ones in the middle light up like city lights...dim, but the regular low beams are def. brighter than the rest of the "brow".

 

so, i have NO idea how weird it would look to have two brighter silverstars, and then all these dim yellow bulbs. may look ricey.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

I have silverstars for my low beams and just regular bulbs for my fogs on the bottem. The silverstars just look more white, but still match well enough that I'm not gonna bother changing the fogs. If you get bulbs that are more blue then it would probably look stupid..

[lazytik]

hmm ok. well, i just tried them out in the dark. just the parking lights and the fogs r great. then i turned on my original low beams and they were great. def. worth $20.

 

so yea...i think i will spend the silverstar money on a radar.

 

THEN i will get silverstars. maybe.

 

dont wanna be ricey with the blue lights