Picked Up a New 89 GP SE 5 Speed Today

TGP Nick · November 03, 2007, 07:37:56 PM

I bought a new car today- its an 89 GP SE with a 282 5 speed in it. She looks decent, runs and drives EXCELLENT, and handles very tight. I was impressed by its performance- for being a N/A 2.8, it actually has some balls! :laugh: Just for shits and giggles, I came to a stop, revved it up to ~3K, let out the clutch and floored it and it lit up the tires for a good 30 feet or so. Very fun to drive! On the drive home, I managed 34 MPG with it.
I picked it up this morning for $500. It had a new transmission and new clutch put in pretty recently, and it shifts very smooth and tight. It has one new dogbone, new lower motor mount, new brake master cylinder, front struts replaced 30k miles ago, rear struts replaced 10k miles ago, new waterpump, new battery, and all of the engine cradle bushings and bolts were replaced recently. Handles VERY tight- I was impressed.
The bad: it needs brakes- they are making grinding noises in the rear, and all 4 tires need replaced badly- the tires are worn down to the bare wires showing through :icon_eek: . Also, the paint is peeling on the roof and hood, and the previous owner painted the grilles, the defrost vent, and the light/wiper pods red... I will be replacing them all soon! ;)
For a $500 winter car, I'm very happy with it. It has been an excellent car so far, and I hope she serves me well through the winter. With a little TLC, it will be excellent.
Here are some pics I took of it when I brought it home. (These are raw pics, the car is dirty everywhere inside, out, and everywhere in between. I haven't cleaned the car at all yet, so yeah.) :icon_lol:

My favorite part of the car:

grinders_18 · November 03, 2007, 07:53:03 PM

Looks nice, Nick! Good buy! How the hell does that sunroof work??? It looks to me like it just sits on the roof, not like our TGP's where they fit flush and slide into the car. Makes me want a 5 speed....now to learn how to drive manual...

TGed · November 03, 2007, 08:00:04 PM

Looks broken in... :icon_biggrin:
Score!

I need me one of those "winter beaters" .

TGP Nick · November 03, 2007, 08:06:39 PM

Kyle, the car used to have the factory ASC sunroof in it (I have the ASC receipt to prove it) and it still has the asc sunroof switch and motor there, but the original sunroof itself is gone... It looks as if one of the previous owners took a rectangular piece of glass and siliconed it to the top of the roof... its really tacky, but at least it doesn't leak... I want a real sunroof in it though. Its extremely fun to drive.. I couldn't keep myself away from it.. I spent the afternoon driving around in it, instead of washing it lol.

TGP Nick · November 03, 2007, 08:10:47 PM

About the only thing I got done on it today (other than drive it everywhere :lol: ) was clean the engine bay, and as you can see it needed a clean badly! Took a while to clean 18 years of dirt and grime off, but she cleans up real nice. Heres a shitty night pic of what the engine bay looks like after I cleaned it. I'll have to get a better pic tomorrow when its bright out.

grinders_18 · November 03, 2007, 08:16:54 PM

Damn that's clean...I spent like 5 minutes doing dobule takes to see if thats really the same car. How'd you get the blacks to stay that bright black?

TGP Nick · November 03, 2007, 08:19:22 PM

Say that again? I didn't understand what you are asking about the blacks- like the black plastic stuff, or...?

GOT2B GM · November 03, 2007, 08:22:07 PM

Looks like a good beater, and when you're done with it, pull the 5 spd setup and make your money back on it.

TGP Nick · November 05, 2007, 04:31:37 PM

I washed the outside of the car yesterday, and I would venture to guess that the car probably hasn't been washed in a year or two.. when I was washing it, something wierd happened... you know how when you are washing a paintbrush/paintroller after painting a wall white, how the water looks kinda milky?? Thats what happened when I was pushing my washmit back and forth across the car :icon_eek: After I washed the car a couple times, all the crap came off and she shined up nice!
After washing it, I washed the windows and vacuumed it out, and put some nice splashguards on it. After washing it, the car looks to be in really good shape, the paint is actually very glossy and is in pretty decent shape! From the front fenders, back everything is in great shape, hardly any rock dings or anything on the doors, rear quarter panel, or bumper cover. If its still decently warm out this week, I'd like to sand up, repaint, and re-clear the roof, hood, and lower valence, and touch-up the minor chips in the paint. This car is turning out WAY better than I expected and is cleaning up very nice. Next up is repainting, claybar, buff and wax, new(er) tires, brakes, and carpet-cleaning the carpet and upholstery in the car.