New to me 1996 Grand Prix SE, need thoughts

[Calvinator]

Hello all --

 

New to me 1996 Grand Prix SE.

I will fix this car up and my son will use for college.

An experiment for me, too.  How many miles can I get out of this car.  Goal=200k.

3.1 motor.  Auto trans.

102k miles.

I live in Ohio.

Florida car.  Minimal rust.

I see clean rockers, pinch welds, subframe, rear trailer arm connection!

Clean, Dark gray cloth interior. 

Salvage title from hail storm.

 

Good:

Clean car.

1 year old rotors, pads, struts, front hub, 2 tires,

New fuel pump and serpentine belt.

AC works.

Pioneer head unit.  Looks to have nice specs and fitment.

 

Bad:

Hood hail damaged.

3 hail dings in front fenders.

PO used duplicolor spray paint in a few spots.

ABS light on.

Windows and regulators kinda work.  Needs inspection.

 

I bought car and further inspected.

 

Repairs so far:

Transmission cooler lines rusted and leaking.  Replaced.

Changed transmission filter and fluid.

Cooling system flushed (remove thermostat, fill and drain with distilled water 4 times), refilled with DEX 50/50, new thermostat, hoses, cap.  Checked fans and they are working.

Oil change to synthetic.

 

Car is now running and driving.  I plugged my Autoscan tool in and went for 2 hrs spirited driving.  No codes and temp stayed between 170-190. Hot heat and cold A/C.

 

No leaks

 

I am experiencing "piston slap" when car is cold.  Seems a common issue on 3.1 motors.  I guess I keep the car maintained and live with it.

 

 

Repairs in the next 2 weeks:

Bad rear hub.

Leaking gas filler.

Windows and regulator.

Interior light bulbs, some are out.

Underside, door seams, inner fenders, and every nook and cranny will be oil sprayed with Fluid Film.

 

Repairs in the next 2 months:

I found and bought a NOS hood for $160!

Body work on the front fender dings.

Paint work on rear quarter.

Front fascia needs to be attached.

Replaced front  door speakers with Kicker 41KSC54.

Replace rear deck speakers with Kicker 41KSC6934.

Trunk subwoofer.  Kicker, not sure which one yet.

Some vinyl graphics.  I'm thinking a swoop on front fenders, or a rear quarter panel stripe.  I saw a Gran Prix with Firebird on the hood, that was cool looking!  I am thinking about a Firebird on the hood!!!

Law says I needs a front license plate.  I hate the offset look.  Will related to center of front fascia.  Not sure how that will look.

 

 

The driver's door catch is annoying.  It has 4 loud metal clunks sounds when opening and closing door.  I can see the hinge is wore out, and lubing doesn't help.  It will need to be replaced, but I am finding this part is NLA.  Any suggestions?

 

 

 

I scored some perfect Centerline Nitro 2 wheels on craigslist.  They were on a 2002 Monte Carlo.  17x7. 5x115. 42MM offset.  Polished Aluminum.  WOW, are they light.

 

 

Tire size calculators say 235/55R17 or 245/50R17 would be stock tire diameters and work with the 7" rim.  I'm just starting research.  Any thoughts or PICS on these sized tires for this style of car?

 

[94 olds vert]

Welcome!Clean looking car.

 

For the door hinge:

 

 

 

remove the rubber grommit mounted into the door and see if the bolts holding the mechanism within the door are tight.

 

MODIFICATION:

get some 3/16th inch 1 inch diameter fender washers (Lowes and TSC have them) and place them between the bolt heads and the door to strengthen the door metal which can fatigue and break.

[55trucker]

Doesn't seem to look bad from the phone pics you've supplied, how deep are the hail dings?

 

You've found a hood so that would take care of those particular areas, like everything it's 20 yr old car, if you're going to use it a 365 day a year car consider protecting the bottomside,

 

about those new wheels......they are a gen 2 design wheel?

 

if so they may not fit the Gen 1 car, the hub/rim offset is not the issue, pull one of the oem wheels off & flip it over on it's back and compare the hub area of both wheels, Gen 1 wheels have a deep/thick hub flange and noticeable surrounding clearance so as to allow the backside of the spokes to clear the caliper that Gen 2 wheels will not.

[GOT2B GM]

Car looks good, welcome to the site.

 

Those wheels may need spacers to clear the front caliper brackets.

 

If you get a door check link from an earlier 1st gen W, they are less apt to make noise than the later ones. I want to say 88-90 model years.

 

Car looks good, welcome to the site.

[Imp558]

Beautiful car, welcome to the site. There's write-ups in the FAQ section that provide hours of entertainment.

[Psych0matt]

Welcome welcome

[Calvinator]

Thanks for the welcome and suggestions.

 

a) I looked at that door check again, pulling off the rubber boot.  Loose bolts.  I cleaned up the half-pound of grease PO used to lube up the assembly.   As suggested, I added a washer to both bolts, a drop of locktite, and tightened it all up.  Coated the moving parts with Fluid Film and the door doesn't creak anymore!  Thanks for that suggestion!

 

The wheels I bought were from  2001 monte carlo, so I'll assume I will have a clearance issue.  When I start the test fit next month, I'll plan on adding a spacer.  The price was right on the wheels, if it doesn't work out I can sell them off.

 

c) The fender hail dings are minor.  My father in law owns a body shop and said no biggie to the fenders.  But the hood had 20 dings in it.  He said it would take a whole day to fix the hood hail damage.  Alot of block sanding so the hood wasn't wavy looking.  Luckily, we have a new hood awaiting in the garage.

 

 

Styling update.  I am going to paint the hood and trunk spolier Rat Rod satin black.  Stealing that look from the Challengers and Chargers out there.  I'll add a rear quarter panel strobe graphic too...

[Nas Escobar]

Welcome to the forum.

 

Nice plans with the car. 

[Psych0matt]

Styling update. I am going to paint the hood and trunk spolier Rat Rod satin black. Stealing that look from the Challengers and Chargers out there. I'll add a rear quarter panel strobe graphic too...

Don't... just, please don't.

[movielover40]

Car looks very good.

 

Best of luck with it.

[Imp558]

Don't... just, please don't.

X2, that's only one step better than the "patina" look. They look nice with hood vents cut in.

Edited March 14, 2017 by Imp558

[Nas Escobar]

In other news, let me know if the 5 spokes will be for sale. I'd like to run em on my Z34.

[Calvinator]

X2, that's only one step better than the "patina" look. They look nice with hood vents cut in.

 

Ha....  You have to remember, this car is being fixed up for a 17 year old.  Those kids like the fast 'n furious style.

 

I'm still heading down the rat rod black spoiler and hood.  I'll be adding a gloss black vinyl strobe on the hood too.  Satin black / gloss black.

 

Oh yeah, de-badging too.

 

Fart can mufflers.........  no no, just kidding on that.  We are a cherry bomb family and have them on 3 other cars.

[Psych0matt]

I was excited for this car at first... :

[Imp558]

The car is cared for, we all have different styles. Like how I didn't tell anybody I got chrome pinstripe until it was on, lol. In my defense I still think it works.

It may be ricer aesthetics and camEro teenager mufflers but it's the driver's vision for the car and again, it's being cared for while a lot of others are having the wheels driven off of them or getting scrapped for silly reasons.

[Psych0matt]

I agree, but to go F&F meets mopar on a 90s GM car for a 17 year old not doing the work himself sounds dumb to me. If he was choosing to do these things I could forgive it as stupid teenager choices. I just think painting parts different colors and slapping graphics on the side are cheap and tasteless.

[Imp558]

My son wants a Carolla, and unmodified. Because they all look they same so even an older one in nice shape can look like a new car. He doesn't have any of the teenager with stickers thing in him.

[Nas Escobar]

My son wants a Carolla, and unmodified. Because they all look they same so even an older one in nice shape can look like a new car. He doesn't have any of the teenager with stickers thing in him.

Next thing you know, you'll come home and find this sitting next to your Buick.

 

[Psych0matt]

get rid of the fart can, ugly wheels, and stickers and I'd rock it

[Euro]

Who gives a shit if he wants to do that to this car?  It's not yours...

 

 

Welcome!  Nice progress so far, be sure to post more pictures as you go along.

[Calvinator]

All good....  I'll keep the updates coming.  Respect all opinions.  I am on many other forums, each has their hot topics:

 

Jeeps ---  mods, wheels, tires.

Chevy truck -- engine hacks vs. the correct repairs to keep the trucks running.

Boats --- show and shine, and then all the topics on keeping the motors running.

House forums --- all the 'old timer ways to fix things and how improper wiring will burn down the house.

 

So far I've learned w-body likes stock cars with some mods....  and, something about lower valence must be in place or your transmission will fail.

[Imp558]

So far I've learned w-body likes stock cars with some mods.... and, something about lower valence must be in place or your transmission will fail.

I shit my pants when I read that, you're going to fit in just fine here.

[94 olds vert]

I always see Ws in the junkyard without a valance, and laugh when people are pulling the trans out. They clearly know nothing. 

[Nas Escobar]

I shit my pants...

I thought you didn't like talking about that subject....

[Imp558]

I thought you didn't like talking about that subject....

not in as great of detail as we were using before