Bringing a 95 Grand Am SE back to life

[manbearpig]

I'm still going on this... progress has been slow over the summer. Planning on having the engine together by the end of the month, going to try and get the car on all four wheels again. Found AC Delco hub bearings on ebay for 40 bucks a pop.

Need to get new lower control arms, I saw on jbody.org that the aluminum 99 Grand Am arms will work on a Jbody with minor mods. Not sure if it's worth the trouble though because I'm sure they are longer than the ones on my Grand Am.

Trying to find some kind of database of interchangeable parts between N-L-J bodies, but it looks like I'm going to have to spend some time in the junkyard figuring it out for myself. For one, I'm trying to figure out what cars I can grab the frame rails from. Mine are salvageable I think, but they're pretty rusty and I think I could find some better examples.

[manbearpig]

Still going... been cleaning and organizing my messy garage. The sooner I get this together the sooner I'll be able to get it out of the garage and free up some space. Ben, the mapp gas did the trick. Still got a little more cleaning up to do but it looks way better than it did.

[Evan Walker]

Oh wow! That looks amazing!

[SappySE107]

mapp gas. I have an oven that I use after I get most of the crap out with a torch and then blast them.

[manbearpig]

Do you have any tips for cleaning out the lower intake manifold? Mine is nice and caked with carbon buildup... My parts washer isn't cutting it. Thinking carb and choke cleaner or some acidic aluminum wheel cleaner?

[SappySE107]

That'll buff out:P Its not going to hurt but that is quite the gouge.

[manbearpig]

I think what I have is a little more than a line, LOL. I've never seen one like this:

[SappySE107]

They are washers that have a rubber seal on the ID. Its only the 4 longer/middle bolts that have them. You can put some silicone under the heads to do the same thing. Its there to make sure there isn't a vacuum leak. A lot of timing chain covers have a line where the tensioner is. Never really thought about it actually.

[manbearpig]

I'm guessing the original belt tensioner came apart because there's a huge pulley shaped gouge in my front cover. I could probably still use it, but since I'm going through all of this trouble, I'm going to find a junkyard replacement (no picture of that currently).

As for the lower intake, the bolt kit I bought didn't come with any washers. I found my original bolts and honestly don't remember if washers were on them when I took them off.



I'm guessing I'll need to hit the dealer (if that's even possible right now) to acquire these washers, or do you have these on your site, Ben?

[SappySE107]

I haven't seen the gear with the numbers cast in like that but it is where the bolts for the cam cover go so it doesn't surprised me that would hit. Good looking setup on there now

[manbearpig]

Timing chain pics: No comparison here on what's the better choice... the aftermarket cam gear was rubbing where the numbers are on the back, GM one is fine of course. How they sell the rubbing one is beyond me.







The tensioner makes it even better!

[manbearpig]

Intake gaskets are much nicer than what I had, even the upper plenum gaskets:

[SappySE107]

Thanks! I am going to try to get that out today if I can get the manifold set before USPS shows up. Virus has me doing as little as possible outside the house. Wish I could help with welding, but I can't weld thin metals yet. I don't even know what a weld through seam sealer is. I have used youtube a lot for welding videos though. Wish I had some clear cups but god knows that isn't my problem right now hahahaha.

[manbearpig]

Ordered a timing set and intake manifold gasket kit from wot-tech.com... been trying to get my garage organized to make working on the car easier.

I've never welded sheet metal on a car before, anyone got any tips/tricks? I've watched plenty of videos... any suggestions on seam sealers (like should I get a weld-through seam sealer?) would be appreciated.

[manbearpig]

Great! I'll be buying the timing set you have next time I get paid. Maybe I can get this engine back together soon. I have the factory service manual and will be following torque specs and sequence exactly.

I'm thinking about the intake gasket kit you have too... this car might get 5000-7500 miles put on it per year, and just used for commuting/running errands when the weather isn't good. Won't be driven hard, just need it to work and preferably last a long time.