GLHS 937 Restoration Project
Well as most of you know, I was encouraged to look for another vehicle after a young little kid decided to challenge the structural rigidity of my car with her car. Although she won that battle, it led me on a search to find my replacement. Well as it is nearly impossible IF not impossible to find a replacement, I found what is to be suitable companion for Shelby. GLHS #937 is now in my possession and will be cared for and restored slowly but surely. Below are the threads regarding the damage to Shelby and the procurement process for #937, or as I will call her for the time being, Elanor. Stupid I know, but I don't care. :D
http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=48897
http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=49151
It was a long journey but so begins the process of cleaning this baby up and making her look presentable again. There are some pictures attached of the car so you can see what I have to work with. For most of you, this will be the last time you ever see this car in such a shape, unless the unthinkable happens. As of this coming weekend, I plan to replace all of the interior pieces with much nicer interior sails, a-pillar pieces, new headliner, new visors, possibly a carpet swap from the blue car simply because I JUST bought it.
I will also be doing some maintenance on the engine bay to compensate for the oil drips, bad gaskets, flush the radiator system, replace the vacuum lines or repair them as necessary and basically pressure spray the entire engine bay to see what I have to work with. I will also be working to remove all of the rust on the outer shell of the car and priming it to keep it from coming up again.
Because I want to do some upgrades that I did to my other car, this will not be a 100% original car when finished. If it were in the shape some of the cars I've seen are in (GLHS231), I would more than likely try to keep it original. But as it is now, there is just no way I can nor really will do so. It will keep the stock wheels, valve cover, Koni's, TII intercooler/radiator setup, etc. It WILL lose the prop rod, it will be lowered (somehow), upgraded front brakes, probably disc brakes in the rear but I haven't decided on that yet and other little things. The paint job will be all black without the flat on the areas the GLHS had, like the top of the back bumper, rear sail "vents" and the mirrors. All of that will be painted gloss black along with the rest of the car. I will be sure to include all of the GLHS decals which to me, really make the car stand out.
More to come but here are some pictures for now.
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20198.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20205.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20206.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20207.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20208.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20209.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20210.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20211.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20212.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20213.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20214.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20215.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20216.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20217.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20218.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20219.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20220.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20221.jpg
http://minigts.com/GLHS937/New%20Fol...ture%20222.jpg
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
This is how I see it with the car, the good and the bad.
Good
Numbered car
All GLHS items are in tact
Wheels are in good shape
Motor is in good shape
Struts are in good shape
Mostly cosmetic damage/bad appearance
Very much in tact car
Seats are in good shape
Air system works, but no A/C
Bad
Dent on the driver's door by the stripes, just saw it. :(
Damage on the driver’s fender and driver’s quarter, minor though
Bad CV shafts
Bad gaskets
Rust on the surface, although very repairable (most removed)
Bad headliner
Bad interior plastic parts
Bad carpet
Bad electrical wiring in the engine bay
Bad paint
Bad hatch struts
Wheels need refinishing bad
Bad sunroof weatherstrip
Torn weatherstrips all around the car
Missing door weather strip for the passenger's side
Missing door weather strip for the driver's side
Tail lights need to be repainted
All motor mounts need to be replaced
Window scrapers need to be replaced
Interior door skins need to be replaced
Steering wheel needs to be recovered
Shifter knob needs to be recovered
Driver’s seat is missing a bolt so it doesn’t sit correctly or recline correctly
A/C doesn’t work
Wiper bushings are bad
Wiper fluid tank is removed, but I have it
Making some popping sound from the driver’s side it sounds like, don’t know what it is
Missing all the decals
All the speakers are bad except for one. :p(correction, all work but the driver's side speaker)
Radio works, but no antenna and it’s crackily
Tach doesn’t work
Window crank bushings are gone
Driver’s door has issues opening from the inside
Seat belts are really worn (but I have the ones from my car that will go in their place
Missing driver’s front fascia skirt piece (I have an extra one)
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
Nice project! :)
Looking forward to progress pics
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
Looks good!
Interesting though...the speedo overlay sticker is a bit different from the three 87 GLHS's I've owned over the years.
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
Good luck with the project Jon! Looks like a nice one to start with. How are the floors under the carpet?
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Pat
Looks good!
Interesting though...the speedo overlay sticker is a bit different from the three 87 GLHS's I've owned over the years.
If you have a picture of any of the ones you have/had, please post. I'm not terribly concerned with it being the exact sticker, but I'd like to know if it's been replaced or modified in any way. Heck maybe they ran out of stickers at Shelby and used something different for mine. :p
Quote:
Originally Posted by
contraption22
Good luck with the project Jon! Looks like a nice one to start with. How are the floors under the carpet?
Well to be honest, I haven't looked under the carpet, but under the car the floor is MINT. The rails even are unscathed from improper jack use. A good pressure washing will reveal what appears to be a very clean underside. I plan to pull the carpet this weekend so we'll see then. But from what I can tell, there aren't any leaks in the car to speak of.
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
As solid as it looks, driving that car home like you did makes you my hero. Good luck on the car. Please don't give up on the MiniGTS.
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
Quote:
Originally Posted by
GLHS592
As solid as it looks, driving that car home like you did makes you my hero. Good luck on the car. Please don't give up on the MiniGTS.
lol Man I won't give up on it. I'm still dealing with the insurance people about it. It's hard to get an accurate value for the car when there isn't anything to compare it to. :( They are still calling it an 85 Charger, not taking into consideration what has been done to it. We'll see...
But this thing is going to be fun restoring and I hope I can get it to a presentable shape before SDAC. I think I can with the interior and the engine, just not sure about the paint. :$ I need the Isenberg touch. ;)
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
Very nice. Its going to make a great project.
BTW you said the a/c doesnt work. I wonder why.
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
Good to see anither S getting resurrected. Gonna be using parts from the blue one?
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
Damn you now I don't want to sell my 86. Good luck with it!
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
Must be an early 87 as I've seen a few early 87's with the 86 speedo decal.
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BLUEBALL
Good to see anither S getting resurrected. Gonna be using parts from the blue one?
hehe I wonder why too... ;) I have all the parts, just need to figure out which type of freon I want to use and what parts I'll need to swap to do it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Captain Chaos
Damn you now I don't want to sell my 86. Good luck with it!
Give it a chance! If not, at least give it a good home. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bradp
Must be an early 87 as I've seen a few early 87's with the 86 speedo decal.
Well I don't know. I submitted the VIN to the Shelby Registry and I'm extremely sure it's an S car unless someone did an amazing clone. I have the VIN somewhere if it can be checked based on the information.
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
Quote:
Originally Posted by
minigts
Give it a chance! If not, at least give it a good home. :)
Its next after the Aries. Just promised myself I wouldn't throw a motor in it so it would be a driver. I want it restified.:thumb:
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bradp
Must be an early 87 as I've seen a few early 87's with the 86 speedo decal.
Perhaps the cluster was changed out at one time or another.
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
Looks like a nice solid start !! Have fun , I'd bet it'll turn out great !
Re: GLHS 937 Restoration Project
Quote:
Originally Posted by
contraption22
Perhaps the cluster was changed out at one time or another.
I guess that is possible. It acts like a car with 113,xxx miles though. Clutch is a little shallow, but it doesn't burn any oil and it runs like a top. I'm not terribly worried about the cluster though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
spyder
Looks like a nice solid start !! Have fun , I'd bet it'll turn out great !
Thanks man, going to do some work on the window bushings tonight. :thumb: