[stobin]

So for the last few months the GA has been in the body shop. Things are moving slowly, but I'm very happy with the work being done. One of the major things I wanted done was to reduce the gaps on the car. The gaps were too big for my satisfaction. I have seen a lot of other '73-'77 cars with big gaps, so this is the time to do it. They started with the doors. They were slid back towards the rear quarters. A few things that had to happen was the drivers front fender ear that bolts into the firewall needed to be cut and re-welded. This was the only way to get the fender to slide back toward the drivers door. Metal was added to various areas in order to get the gaps even throughout the car. It's one thing to gap the car, but if the gaps aren't identical throughout the car, it looks wrong. This is were most of the time was spent. The front nose is one of the In Design/Motorealm pieces that has been on the car since 2001. The glass needed to be reworked for a better fit as well. One area that was a problem was the nose always rubbed the top of the bumper. That was reshaped and now has about 1/8" clearance. The nose/hood gap has been perfected as well. Another area that was addressed are the body lines. The GA has very distinctive body lines. The body guys and I agreed these should be enhanced and sharpened. So all the corners such as the trunk lid, hood, body contours, roofline have been sharpened. This really adds a custom element to the body, and will really be enhanced when the paint is done. It's hard to see in some of the pictures with just primer. see the next page for photo's.

[stobin]

[stobin]

[stobin]

So after I decided to have the GA repainted, I wanted to change the color from the bright silver to a darker silver or lighter grey. The car was painted BMW Titanium Silver in 2001. It is a little too light in the direct sunlight, and because the car is so big, I felt a little darker shade would give the car a little more character. I looked at a ton of silvers, but the problem is most newer cars have a coarse metallic. I don't like the look on older cars. I like BMW colors because they have a finer metallic. So I decided to go with 2016 BMW Donnington Gray. This color is only available on the M series. It is not as dark as the standard Space Gray. It is a little bit darker, and looks fantastic in the sun. It has a good amount of flop to it that will compliment the body lines. I'm open to opinions on the choice.

[stobin]

[John62]

As long as its not a tri coat color it looks nice, I must say I did like that rendering a few pages back with the dark red to break it up.

[stobin]

Oh that is a magazine article rendering that I found a few years ago. I had looked at the idea of possibly doing Can Am style stripes, or Judge stripes, but ultimately I run the risk of it looking wrong, or trendy in a few years, so I am keeping it simple. The black NACA hood scoops break up the hood at least. One idea that I am discussing with the painter is maybe a very subtle darker stripe along the lower side rocker panels. There is an area on the rocker that is usually chrome. The factory painted them black on all the GA's. I painted them body color when I had the care painted last time, and I like that look instead of the black.

[HWYSTR455]

Can always do pin stripes, those never go out of style, and depending on how their' done, are classy too. If you want to get a little creative, you can do a Pontiac arrowhead somewhere too, like at the end of a body-length pin stripe. (Chevy heartbeat can be an example)

Maybe consider someone who can render some ideas for you, can sit there in front of a terminal for a few mins and actually see how different accents look. For the nominal cost, it can be totally worth it. Print a couple you like out, take them home, and can think about it.

Some factory-type combos with dark grey/charcoal use stripe colors that are red, white, silver, and black (on lighter base colors). You can even do 2 colors, one stripe red, one white, or something like that.

Can even do graphics on a 2-tone where lettering is broken, or faint using fine stripes. (Think late '70s Formula graphics above the rockers as an example)

I googled 'Pinstripe colors for charcoal cars' and came up with a bunch of pics as examples. Maybe other search strings that are similar can give you some ideas.

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[stobin]

Those are all good suggestions. I am looking at different ideas. If I do anything, it will be very subtle.

[HWYSTR455]

You can look at the 'sister' cars for ideas too, like the Laguna, Skylark/Special, Cutlass/442, etc.

You can 'ghost' darker shades on panels and make them more subtle or go more filled in and make them more pronounced. Even use broken lines instead of solids, can even make the lines get thicker as they go towards the bottom of the car.

One thing about the Pontiacs for those years is the hood accent/body lines, that point makes it a little hard to work with, but sure there are options.

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[stobin]

In an attempt to update the interior of the GA with some modern convenience, I picked up a 2009-2014 Challenger center console. These go for about $150 plus shipping. I got this for $25.00 from a local seller because it was modified already and they decided not to use it. Well it fits great. I need a larger shifter opening and want cupholders. I also plan to convert to a hand brake.

[stobin]

After I install the dash I will see how much room there is to modify the Challenger console. Since I have a spare console, I plan to connect the front part of the original GA console to the Challenger one so the console fits into the lower dashboard so it looks correct. The Hurst shifter that I plan to run can not be mounted at an angle, so it won't work with the factory console opening which is too small. The Challenger has a very large opening to work with.

[gtospieg]

Just found this thread...very cool build

[stobin]

Thanks for the comment. Hoping to get it in the paint booth by next week.

[HWYSTR455]

Any updates on the build?

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[stobin]

The Grand Am has been painted. We have been dodging the weather out here in California. The car was taken to PPG Training Center in Rancho Cucamonga, Ca. The color is BMW Donnington Grey which is unique to only the X5/X6 M Series SUV's. These are pictures before the clear coat was applied.

[stobin]

Here are some after clearcoat.

[stobin]

I have been working on the car for the last month or so and made some progress. I changed the exhaust system. I had dual 3" cats reducing to 2.5" all the way back. I decided to buy a 3" Dr. Gas X-Pipe kit and the exhaust is now 3" to the mufflers, then tapers to 2.5" over the axle. I didn't see the need for 3" over the axle, and don't want the noise. The system now uses V-Band clamps which I really like, and looks much cleaner. The entire sytem is being ceramic coated to match the headers with a dark charcoal color. These are pictures of the mock up.

[stobin]

I also had purchased some stainless dual tips last year to incorporate an idea I had for a few years. I had some custom body work done on the quarter panels behind the rear tires. There were small cut-outs cut into the rear quarters to allow the tips to sit up into the fender. The tips are positioned to sit halfway up into the cut-out, and the lower half under the cut out. I have the tip ends flush with the body in order to remain subtle and not stick out. Here are some pics.

[stobin]

When I started this latest build of the Grand Am, I decided to build it around the idea of this being a "Hurst Tribute" car. I always like the Hurst cars and wanted to create that theme for the GA. I worked with Billet Badges in San Diego. I had them design a new badge using the original Grand Am script, and the Hurst logo. The seats are from a 2002 Acura CL coupe and custom brackets were built. They are embroidered with the Hurst logo and the floor mats will also incorporate the logo. I also have a Hurst Hard Drive shift handle installed. Those will be the only areas with the logo. I didn't want to overdo it. The center console is from a 2013 Challenger.