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$500 97 Grand Prix GT Repair Progress

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InfidelRebel

New member
I'm just going to use this thread to keep track of how much I spend fixing the $500 97 Grand Prix GT I bought awhile back.

Finished:
Replaced the exhaust hanger so my muffler doesn't scrape against the ground.
-Cost: $4 and a half hour of struggling.
Changed the thermostat and gasket. Old themostat opened too easily.
-Cost: $14, thermostat ($8), gasket ($2), and sealant ($4).
Replaced the front right headlight.
-Cost: $8 for the headlight
Flushed the radiator and replaced the coolant.
-Cost: $14 for Prestone coolant.
-Mechanic's quote: $100
Put in an exhaust connector and a metal strapping kit to fix the exhaust.
-Cost: $6, 1 7/8" exhaust connector ($3), and metal strapping kit ($3)
Cut the engine coolant overflow hose (Don't know the technical name). I accidently hit the hose with a wrench and cracked it. I cut about 2 inches off the hose (Where the crack was) and put it back on.
-Cost: Free
Replaced front and rear brake pads. I was originally quoted $400 to replace front and rear brake pads and rotors, but after taking the wheels off I realized the rotors are fine.
-Cost: $30 for front and read brake pads.
-Mechanic's quote: $400 to replace pads and rotors.
Total: $76


Need To Be Done:
Fix A/C. It blows hot air. Will trying charging it, and if that doesn't help I'll look for leaks.
Replace blower motor resistor. Air only works on max setting
Replace front struts. Not a priority, needs to be done but right now I don't have the time or money, so we'll see.
Replace sway bar. The right end link is broken.
 
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Btw, here's a pic. Needs to be washed...and painted...and well...it needs just about everything. Still a good deal for the money though.

97GrandPrix.jpg


I read a guide somewhere on how to paint a car for $50 or $75. I was thinking of doing that eventually, even if it's not perfect it'll look a lot better than it does now.
 
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The Poor Mans Paint Job; How to paint your car for $75.00

This is the one. I know you guys get the best everything for your cars, but I'm trying to do everything on a budget. Just thought it would be interesting to see how cheap I can get this car into decent shape. Maybe when I get everything fixed I'll try to mod it and all that, assuming the car doesn't fall apart. This is mainly a learning experience for me, I want to do everything myself. I don't expect this car to last forever, but I do like the Grand Prix and will probably get another one when this does eventually die. Hopefully it'll last another 100,000 or so, I'd be very happy if it made it to 300,000. It's at 165,000 right now.

When I bought it it wasn't in good enough shape to make it worth spending thousands having a mechanic work on it, but it's perfect if I can do most of the work myself. I'm just going to use this thread to keep track of the expenses and see how good of shape I can get it in for the least amount of money possible.
 
So the AC has me a little confused. I hooked a gauge up and it's not showing any pressure when I turn the AC on max. The air is blowing (But comes out hot), and the compressor looks like it spins, but I don't hear anything kick in when I switch from cold to hot. :th_scratchhead:

Luckily my grandfather fixed ACs professionally for about 40 years, so I'm gonna take it by tomorrow for our poker game and have him take a look. I bought some 134 already but dont want to open the bottle until i know if it'll help or not.
 
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don't kid yourself. A lot of us are budget as shiv. there are a few that do only do the best, but those guys are living life. haha I do everything myself and I know nothing about cars.... just to save money. fortunately, so far I've messed nothing up worse than it had been before I touched it. So I'm doing A-OK. haha

Fortunately I don't need a paint job though : P haha
 
Yeah im trying to stay on the budget and will do everything cheap, but seein my car being a special edition and all, i want to keep it nice, maybe it will be worth something more in 10 years.
 
Personally, unless you have huge rust spots everywhere, I would not do that paint your car method or the paint roller one. It would not look any better(actually worse) than the stock paintjob even if it was far from perfect. If your paint is gone on large areas all over the car then maybe it would be a different story.....
 


Well the reason I'm considering painting it is that on the right rear rocker there's some rust and a pretty big dent. The only way to get the rust out will ruin the paint job. On top of that, despite the fact that it has the factory paint job, the paint isn't as crisp as it used to be. The black GP looks almost purple because it's really lightened up. The paint itself is still on there, it's not rusted off or anything like a lot of older cars do, but I definitely think it would look better with a fresh paint job, if there's anyway to make it look halfway decent.

I'll post a pic later of the rust damage, it's not too bad but it's not pretty either.
 
Well I'm definitely out of Freon. Problem is there's probably a leak somewhere or the condenser is broken. I already have a can of 134 with a gauge, but I don't want to use it if it's just going to leak out again. Should I just put it in and hope there's not a leak, or should I use UV dye? I heard the stop leak is crap and not to use it. I have the bottle and the reciept in case I decide to return it ($27) but it sucks driving in this heat. It's gonna get cool soon though I don't know if it should be a priority or not, but would still be nice to have working A/C.
 
put dye in with it, that way if it leaks you will find out where. Unfortunately I had to put in a new condensor pump in July in mine. I would not have found the leak without the dye as it passed the initial pressure test on the machine. There is a reason there is no freon in it now, it had to leave somewhere.....
 
So I fixed a few things today and found a couple things that I found interesting. First, when draining the coolant I found what looks like an electrical plug hanging down under the car on the front left side. It's basically an electrical cord/hose with a plug on the end that can be removed. It doesn't look like it's supposed to just be hanging. Anyone know what that could be? If it would help I'll post a picture.

Also, after flushing the radiator, for some reason my A/C started working. It's still warm, but before when switching between hot and cold you didn't hear the condenser or anything kick in, but now the hot is noticably hot, and the cold while not cold, isn't as hot as it was. I'm going to recheck the pressure soon and see if there's any freon, there could still be a leak somewhere but at least I'm making progress.

Anyway, beside that I replaced the headlight and changed a gasket and thermostat since the old one was bad. :th_thumb-up:

Still a long way to go, but I think I got a lot done for my $40.
 


That plug that you found.......are all of your lights working? Does your low oil level light work or is it hooked up? A pic of it might help and a pic of where the wire is routed from would help too......the general area I mean.
 
Yes, it's from Massachusetts. After looking up pictures, it could definitely be a block heater cord.

I don't have a digital camera atm, I'm going to borrow one tomorrow to take a pic. Thanks for the help.
 
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