NEW GUY ..... 99 GT Sedan

[Denbow 99 GT]

hello all,
first time on a car forum, been reading all evening trying to find the answers BEFORE I ask all the DUMB questions .... picked up my first Grand Prix about 4 weeks ago, was sitting in my neighbors drive for the 3 yrs.. I've lived here, has 150,000 on it, she was original owner, has one spot below gas filler door (typical I hear), leather interior is very good, well maintained.... its first stop was my go to mechanic, replaced upper intake with Dorman, lower intake gasket, valve cover gaskets, water pump, thermo, tensioner, wires, plugs, belt, battery .... that's the first round, he's doing all brake lines and fuel lines in round 2, possibly fuel pump and tank if needed .... after that the body shop ....
that brings me to my first question for round 3, suspension ..... I'm looking for a moderate "drop" and from what I've read here so far it looks like the favorite is KYB Excel-G with Vogtland springs, my question is.... what else is needed ? I've seen "pogo", "camber kits", "mounts", etc.. ..... I just want to make sure I get ALL the right components, I'm not looking for a Road Racer, just a lower profile and good handling.
next question ..... ground effects, lower .... I have searched the ENTIRE INTERNET for a fix for the "impossible to get" backer or stiffener that goes behind and attaches to the rocker, they are both shot, my doors are spotless, the rockers have a few small holes that will be repaired, but I am clueless on how to re-attach the lower ground FX, any help and or pics would be a blessing.
I hope to figure out how to show some pics on here, this has become my winter project, and would like to share with like minded car guru's ..... I appreciate any help, and I will continue to READ FOR THE ANSWERS .... I know us "new guys" drive everyone nuts with old questions ...
Looking forward to being part of the crowd..... Thanks

 

[nos4blood70]

Welcome.

You should check the rear strut towers for rust.

 

[andesmint]

I had a hard time finding replacement brackets for the side skirts as well. Couldn't find any new or used ones online or in stores and mine were COMPLETELY shot lol. In the end i went to the junkyard to find a set. I ended up finding a set that was decent and cut out any rust they did have and welded new sheet metal as needed. kindof had to Frankenstein them but they've worked great so far. just an idea if you have no other luck.

 

[hensleya1]

hello all,
first time on a car forum, been reading all evening trying to find the answers BEFORE I ask all the DUMB questions .... picked up my first Grand Prix about 4 weeks ago, was sitting in my neighbors drive for the 3 yrs.. I've lived here, has 150,000 on it, she was original owner, has one spot below gas filler door (typical I hear), leather interior is very good, well maintained.... its first stop was my go to mechanic, replaced upper intake with Dorman, lower intake gasket, valve cover gaskets, water pump, thermo, tensioner, wires, plugs, belt, battery .... that's the first round, he's doing all brake lines and fuel lines in round 2, possibly fuel pump and tank if needed .... after that the body shop ....
that brings me to my first question for round 3, suspension ..... I'm looking for a moderate "drop" and from what I've read here so far it looks like the favorite is KYB Excel-G with Vogtland springs, my question is.... what else is needed ? I've seen "pogo", "camber kits", "mounts", etc.. ..... I just want to make sure I get ALL the right components, I'm not looking for a Road Racer, just a lower profile and good handling.
next question ..... ground effects, lower .... I have searched the ENTIRE INTERNET for a fix for the "impossible to get" backer or stiffener that goes behind and attaches to the rocker, they are both shot, my doors are spotless, the rockers have a few small holes that will be repaired, but I am clueless on how to re-attach the lower ground FX, any help and or pics would be a blessing.
I hope to figure out how to show some pics on here, this has become my winter project, and would like to share with like minded car guru's ..... I appreciate any help, and I will continue to READ FOR THE ANSWERS .... I know us "new guys" drive everyone nuts with old questions ...
Looking forward to being part of the crowd..... Thanks

1) You should totally come to the next 3800 meet in Dayton, cause all the cool kids will be there: http://www.grandprixforums.net/threads/94123-W-Body-3800-Meet-Dayton-OH-January-3-2015

2) Before throwing money into struts, peel back the trunk carpet and look up where the strut meets the frame. The W-bodies are all notorious for rusting out up in there. Eventually the rust will cause the strut to bust through... causing the back end to drag the ground and likely take out your back tire. Not fun. If that's the case, fix it right and have it welded. Don't do what I did to my old car:

3) To host images, I use tinypic.com and then copy and paste the link over here using IMG tags. In bbcode, it'll look something like this:
<IMG>(image address here)</IMG>

Except use [ and ] instead of < and >. Hope that helps.

 

[Denbow 99 GT]

yea my drivers side is the worst, I haven't had time to get it off to even see how they go together ..... looked for pics. but no luck ... we have a local sheet metal shop and the guy is into cars, I've dealt with him before so im thinking maybe we can get something to work .... just gotta love them auto engineers ....

 

[Denbow 99 GT]

I must say though, now I don't think ill sleep tonight until I can get over to the shop and take a look at them strut towers, we did put it up on the rack before I bought it and gave it the once over and nothing looked that bad, and the only rust on the car is below the fuel door ...... ill keep my fingers crossed .....
thanks for the posting info for pics.