Newb from MN - '92 Grand Prix SE w/3.4 and 5-speed

[pocket-rocket]

Nice clean car! It's only the 2nd non GTP or STE badged DOHC GP I've seen. The first was sappys black 92 GP without the B4U and ABS coupe that he parted out many moons ago.

[WideTrackGP_92]

Nice find! I've never actually seen one of those GP's with a five speed. Period! Must be a hoot to drive with the DOHC motor.

Any sort of plan for it down the road?

Thanks, and yes it is a hoot to drive, when it's running on all 6 cylinders. LoL! My plans right now is to get everything checked out by my mechanic and get it running the best I can, but this will be a total restoration job. I'm going to fix all of the exterior and replace the parts I can't fix and get a nice fresh painjob on it (I'll be painting it as well). Then I'll move my attention to the interior and replace the carpet, redo the seats, and a few custom touches here and there. The brakes will be replaced and upgraded, and I will drive the car with the 3.4 till it dies...but I might be rebuilding another 3.4 in the meantime. We'll see. I'd really like to get an L67 in it with that 5-speed (yes, it can be done), but I'll have to get more info on the swap first.

Nice clean car! It's only the 2nd non GTP or STE badged DOHC GP I've seen. The first was sappys black 92 GP without the B4U and ABS coupe that he parted out many moons ago.

Thanks! Yeah, they are usually "GTP" and not "SE", and I honestly don't know the difference in these cars.

Yesterday I took the the car and parked it at my mechanic's shop until he can take a look at it on Wednesday. I live an hour away, so I had to do it while I was down visiting my parents in Willow River. Anyways, I told him to go over everything (engine, trans, brakes, fuel system, etc.) and check everything and write down what ever needs replacing and make a quote/estimate on what it will cost to get it done. I'm hoping the "missing" is an easy fix in the ignition (runs on 3 cylinders on and off), but I'm fearing the worst when it comes to the timing belt...at 171,xxx it's probably due. I guess we'll see come Wednesday...

[[ChaosweaveR]]

Well, it's still in nice shape anyway. That steering wheel would drive me nuts!

If you want an L67, I'm guessing no plans for the LQ1 then?

[WideTrackGP_92]

I'm not sure. The one in the car has 171,xxx miles, and the one in the parts car has 153,xxx miles. I gotta figure out what I want to do. There's not much mods to be done on a 3.4 DOHC, but there is aftermarket up the ying yang for the L67, and I could even go with an L36 and throw a ZZP turbo kit on it. Not sure what I want to do.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

L36's are plentiful and reliable. I see a lot in F-bodies making nice power, and setting nice 1/4 times. And I see plenty of turbo builds with them as well, and trans issues aside, the 90* V6's take to boost very well.

www.fullthrottlev6.com has a lot of info, and build threads to look up on about the L36 and L67 motors and squeezing power out of them.

[robertisaar]

http://60degreev6.com/forum/f109/3800-swaps-t43847

just a warning....

[WideTrackGP_92]

I'm not saying I'm going to go that route...I'm just saying it's a possibility, and I wouldn't ask anyone's help for info here. I do understand that a 3800 is not a 60 degree motor. Thanks for the heads up though

[WideTrackGP_92]

Alright, my mechanic got back to me and he listed a bunch of stuff he found wrong with the car on the invoice:

Spark plugs
Plug wires
Valve cover gaskets
Radiator and heater hoses
PCV and cruise control vacuum hoses
Possible fuel injectors
Oil leak in lower intake or head gaskets
Left rear brake locked - needs caliper
Right outer tie rod end and alignment
Massive oil leak - needs degrease
Fuel filter
Fuel pump running @ 2800 RPM's (on the low side but pattern looked okay)
Found code 35 (IAC too high) IAC around 70

That was straight from the invoice I got from him. He said the spark plugs were covered in oil (hence the missfire), so he quoted me around $500 for fixing the missfire and brakes, which isn't bad so I told him to get it done. The other stuff I'll tackle in the Spring. I also told him since he's doing the valve cover gaskets to fix the lifter tick.

[pocket-rocket]

Alright, my mechanic got back to me and he listed a bunch of stuff he found wrong with the car on the invoice:

Spark plugs
Plug wires
Valve cover gaskets
Radiator and heater hoses
PCV and cruise control vacuum hoses
Possible fuel injectors
Oil leak in lower intake or head gaskets - there is no oil in the lower intake, this is probably from the ever popular distributor plug, or the oil distribution cover in the lifter valley.
Left rear brake locked - needs caliper - an ever popular and very common problem on w bodys
Right outer tie rod end and alignment
Massive oil leak - needs degrease - probably the distributor plug
Fuel filter
Fuel pump running @ 2800 RPM's (on the low side but pattern looked okay)
Found code 35 (IAC too high) IAC around 70 - could be a sign of your lower intake gaskets going out.

That was straight from the invoice I got from him. He said the spark plugs were covered in oil (hence the missfire), so he quoted me around $500 for fixing the missfire and brakes, which isn't bad so I told him to get it done. The other stuff I'll tackle in the Spring. I also told him since he's doing the valve cover gaskets to fix the lifter tick.

I put some of the stuff that I thought was wrong in bold with what I think could be wrong beside it.

Mine always ticks if I get on it hard. Well, until I dumped a quart of Lucas in with the Mobil 1. There was an oiling update that most of the LQ1's didn't get and that could be causing your tick as well. LIM gaskets on these engines is a junk design, but not quite as serious as the 3x00 engines. The LIM gasket set also comes with a new oil distribution cover gasket as well, if it came down to changing the LIM gaskets. As for the ever popular distributor o ring, to do it by the book the rear head has to come off. To do it quick and dirty refer to this:

http://60degreev6.com/forum/f100/did-sparkplugs-and-oil-leak-t43995/post396593

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

if you have a shitty PCV you might get oil in your intake...

[WideTrackGP_92]

So I came across a few extra bucks, so I bought something to make the back of the car a little more appealing...



Got these on eBay for $40 for the pair of tips. They are stainless and bolt on, but I'm gonna have them welded on as soon as I can afford to do the entire exhaust system. For now, I'll hack off the ugly-ass stock tips and screw these on for the time being. It may still sound like a shitty stock LQ1 exhaust, but it will look much better

[pocket-rocket]

I don't see any pics. BTW, don't throw away your stock tips. I remember hearing they sell for a pretty penny if you decide to sell them.

Edit: now the pic works.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

Those tips are killer. I'm not too sure what muffler sounds good on the LQ1. My guess is Magnaflow. They sound nice on everything. lol

[WideTrackGP_92]

Yeah, I will hang on to the tips. They are honestly brand new! They've only been had a few hundred miles on them. The previous owner put on new muffs and tips directly from GM.

[WideTrackGP_92]

I recieved the exhaust tips today! Well...one anyway. I don't know if they forgot to send the other one or if they shipped them separately and one box is on another truck. Not sure, but I contacted them to see what the deal is.

ANYWAYS, here's what it is. It's beautiful! They are going to look great on the car! I made sure they fit and they tuck in the exhaust outlet very nicely. Now I have to get the rest of the exhaust pieced together (mufflers, resonator/glasspack, piping, etc).