I'm back...

[34FieroGT]

Hey Everyone,

It's been far too long.  As some of you may, or may not remember, I had picked up an '88 Formula a while ago with the intention of turning it into a streetable track car.  All I needed to do was sell my '86 GT to free up garage space and provide some funding to get the Formula project started.  Well, it took far too long for the GT to sell and the Formula ended up being too much of a basket case to really do anything with it.

The Formula had been hit front and rear, and the engine had was knocking.  Loudly.  But I knew all this at the time of purchase.  Well, time had taken it's toll and my grand plans for a full restoration are scuttled.  There's not enough metal left under the body panels to consider a restoration.  The Formula is now a parts car.

Since my '86 GT sold this spring, I managed to find myself an '88 GT with nearly identical mileage to my old '86 and picked it up this week and drove it home from Toronto on Thursday:


At Home

First impressions from the drive home -- some work will be required.  There's a rattle that sounds to be coming from the vicinity of the steering column over bumps and there's some front suspension noise and a bit of a 'jiggle' in the steering wheel over medium or larger bumps.  Not impressed with the brakes at all -- they worked well, but as this was my first time driving an '88, I expected far better.  Significant pedal pressure was required, but nothing frightening.  My god though, this thing handles better stock than my '86 ever did, even after all it's modifications.

She's not perfect, but there's next to no rust at all.  Minor, very minor, surface rust along the pinch welds behind the rocker panels.  The undercarriage is next to pristine!  The suspension bushings appear to be original, and are shot -- cracked and wallowed out.  The shocks and struts also appear to be original, but are not completely shot.  There are some blemishes in the paint, but nothing major.

There's only two things about this GT that I'm disappointed in:

1.  It's an automatic
2.  It's white

Well, the Formula has got a Getrag, and I'm pretty sure it's about time I learned automotive painting.    So the plans for this year are to install my 3.4L engine, swap out the automatic for the Formula's Getrag, replace all the suspension bushings with poly, replace the shocks and struts -- really hoping I can still find a set of Koni adjustables, and get my old OZ rims on.  I've also got a Northstar engine on a stand that will eventually end up in her.  But that's a ways off -- I'm not even certain if the N* will be any good.  It needs head gaskets at a minimum.

Looking forward to seeing some old faces, and new ones too, once this lockdown gets lifted.  In the meantime, I think that I've got my hands full.   

   tyler...

[c-l]

Kool... nice to see you are back.... It is very quiet around here.

[can machine]

I saw a white GT heading north on the 416 and headed east on the 417 on Tuesday June 9th around 3:30pm. Maybe it was you. I didn't have a chance to catch up but it looked really clean.

[34FieroGT]

Yup, that was me on the 9th.

Well, got the formula stripped down.  Didn’t even need to unbolt the cradle — rust took care of that for me.  Wreckers will be picking up the carcass next Friday (17 July).  Only parts left of any value are the rear deck lid (lock cylinder will need to be replaced), the tail lights, and possibly the sail panels.  They’re free for the taking until the wreckers haul it away — you’ll need to pick them up if you want them.

   tyler...