My new project! 97 Grand Prix GT 2dr

[minidreams_n_scale]

Hey guys i just picked up this 1997 Grand Prix GT Coupe from a 72 yr old lady that bought it brand new ! The car has 168,000 but i averaged it out to be 16,500 miles a year so thats not to bad right ? I have heard good and bad about these cars but it caught my ideas and mixed reveiws seem to point that it is a strong car and most problems were do to lack of personal up keep ! Heck i even read on here someone has 300,000 plus mlies and the Grand Prix still runs strong !


Here a pic of the car as it sets today !



Its needs a hood ! The old lady hit a deer about 2yrs ago ! But other then that its is very very clean car inside and out with no other damage !

I heard something about the vin#'s that had K in it had some type of performance upgrade ! Is that ture ? Mine does have it and i was just wondering !

Another story i heard is the Grand Prix's go a blaze for no reason at all ! Any truth to that or is that just another case of bad personal up keep ?

I hope i am not posting this in the wrong area ! I just wanted to share my new 1:1 project ! I am not new to AF i mostly post in the Model section of AUTOART ! And now that i have the base set for a real 1:1 project I hope to be here on the Grand Prix fourm often aswhile !


Or and just in case you wanted to know what i have planned here a quick photo shop i did !

[VR43000GT]

Hmmm, not my cup of tea but to each their own. Best of luck with whatever you do.

[wlkjr]

Besides the wheels, it looks just like mine. Wish I could pick up another like that one. Yeah, I've got 334,000 on mine and drive it daily to work 50 miles one way. I have no mods whatsoever and it suits my purpose.
You might want to do an oil analysis to see what's going on inside. It may give you a hint as to any problems with the intake gaskets.
If you treat it well it should meet your needs. Good luck with the project. If you have problems with it, there's no shortage of expert help in this GP forum. It has been invaluable keeping mine in top running order.

[richtazz]

Welcome the the Grand Prix forums.

The custom paint scheme isn't my style either, but I've seen worse.

I've never heard of any catching fire issues on GP's

The only thing I can think of on the power upgrade deal you mentioned is that when GM redesigned the 3800 Vin-L in 95 to the 3800 series-II Vin-K, the resulting changes upped the horsepower (185 to 205). The only engine available in a 97 GP GT was the 3800-K. The SE had a base 3.1 and optional 3800-K, and the GTP has the supercharged version of the 3800 as the only engine option.

As wlkjr (Hi Wally!!) mentioned, keep an eye on coolant level and oil condition. The pre-99 3800-K's have an EGR stovepipe issue where the heat melts the UIM and causes and internal coolant leak.

Other smaller common issues are blower motors/resistors, hub bearings and weak headlights.

More major common issues are transmission issues, fuel pumps and window regulators.

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Again Thanks guys ! I did notice when i looked at the coolent it looks like muddy water and in the over flow bottle the tude looked like it had some gunk on the end ! Kinda of rust colored !

I went ahead and made an appointment for a Radiator/Engine Flush ! Just for the sack of knowing it has been done but does this sound like an issue problem or is it that DEX style coolent (the non green stuff) ?

[wlkjr]

Originally Posted by minidreams_n_scale

Again Thanks guys ! I did notice when i looked at the coolent it looks like muddy water and in the over flow bottle the tude looked like it had some gunk on the end ! Kinda of rust colored !

I went ahead and made an appointment for a Radiator/Engine Flush ! Just for the sack of knowing it has been done but does this sound like an issue problem or is it that DEX style coolent (the non green stuff) ?

Most likely it is just old Dex but it definitely needs changing. My gaskets didn't give until I had over 300,000 and surprisingly my upper plenum around the stovepipe was not melted.

[minidreams_n_scale]

Originally Posted by wlkjr

Most likely it is just old Dex but it definitely needs changing. My gaskets didn't give until I had over 300,000 and surprisingly my upper plenum around the stovepipe was not melted.

WLKJR ! That sounds nice to me ! I think i just might be worried about nothing ! I just need to do some routine maintenance ! Thanks !


So what is the UIM , Is it the black plastic upper manifold ?

and what is the Plenum ?

Here are some motor shots i just took !





Not to bad looking for 11 yrs old ! LOL ! Just a little dirty ! And does anyone have the plastic cover that says 3800 series II v6! LOL! I didn't know it needed 1 till i came to the GP fourms !

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Here are some more pics of the new project !

WORSE PART SO FAR !

It needs a hood ! The old lady hit a deer ! Fenders , bumpers,and light are all ok !



the rear is untouched !



It looks as fit the tail lights have some pockets if ait in them and the left side taillight has a mounting stud the has been stripped out ! So it rattles a little ! Its on my replace list ! Anyone have an extra LOL!

And here are some interior pics !

INSIDE THE TRUNK !





Inside the interior !










I thinks its a pretty clean car for the year and mileage !

[tblake]

Looks like a nice car!!! Not sure if I would change the body other than finding a replacement hood.

For the air pockets in the taillights, you have two options. 1, check out zzperformance.com. Go into the grand prix section. Click on products and then on prototypes, returns, and used section. I think I have seen some used tail lights here for a good price.

Option 2 would be to email ed morad's ebay store and tell him what you want. He will for sure be able to help you out with probably both the tail lights and the engine cover. (not sure how people lose these things)

Also to answer your horsepower question, take a look at this

http://www.zzperformance.com/grand_p...=214&catid=113

Read the testimonails. Might be worth a shot

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MAN I THOUGHT YOU GUYS LIKED ME HERE !


well today i tackled the valve cover gaskets ! NO ONE TOLD ME WHO MUCH STUFF WAS IN THE WAY AND HOW TIGHT SOME OF THE BOLTS WERE TO GET TO ! LOL !


well i got them on ! it took about 3hours but i cleaned up the motor as i was taking it apart ! no sence in adding the new rubber to dirty parts !

now to drive it and let the old oil that leaked out to burn off !



Now why i was in there i try to look at what i think was the UIM for any leaks ! I really couldn't see any ! I seen what i would consider oil/dirty spots ! I plan on giving the engine a steam /degrease wash this week and it get as clean as i can so i can tell whats really going on !

And how would i know if i need fuel injecter O rings?


Oh by the way thanks for all the help so far ! I hope that i can take this car to 300,000 miles ! I seen several people post they been there and there were a few on ebay saying the same thing!

[minidreams_n_scale]

does anyone have a lay out , gudie line on the process to change the upper manifold gaskets and what not ?

[wlkjr]

Originally Posted by minidreams_n_scale

does anyone have a lay out , gudie line on the process to change the upper manifold gaskets and what not ?

Bob can give you that info. If you do the upper, I'd go ahead and do the lower at the same time since you'll already have everything off. Won't take that much more to do both. I got a Sharpie that writes on black and lettered and numbered all my connectors and hoses so I'd know exactly how to put them back. Also take a few digital pictures to refer to.

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How's everyones Grand Prix's been running ?

Well as stated before i replace the valve cover gasket in jan and changed the oil ! Then i drove it for the 3000 miles and i am happy to say NO MORE OIL LEAKS !

But i have been working on it ! New heater hoses ! I had 1 spring a leak so i just replaced both ! New T stat ! New rear strut upper mounts! Added in my new sound system ! And then i spent about 6hrs going around the car touching up chips and until it gets warmer here in MO i touched up the missing paint that was on the hood that had flaked off from the deer hit !

I found the upper engine cover that was missing when i bought the car at a local salvage yard !

Slowly but surely i am getting this car peiced back together and every day i drive it i love it more and more ! Hands down my funnest car to date !

OH ! just a little info ! My Grand Prix is non super 3.8 gt ? At what speed does the car shut down ! I has a brother that works for the MO highway patrol ! Last week end i got on an open part of 71 hwy and i tagged the neddle to 110 and was still running strong ! My brothers crown vic was pegged at 120 but doesn't read anymore ! My car never lost power ! Doesn't it have a shut down point or what would be called a Govner ?

Either way ! 172,000 and can run with the crowd i am very happy !

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Well since i needed to replace my hood from the last owner hitting a deer i started to look for hoods for this ! i could only find the Pace car hood but i wanted some differnting ! I wanted something to make my GP stand away from the other GP's out there in my area so this week i went and got aftermarket hood from Certifit ** just stock ** and then i went and found a 78-80 Z-28 Camaro hood scoop and added it to my new stock hood !



The lenght of my hood is 46 in long ! The hood scoop was 49,3/4 long ! So i tried to center it up as much as possible and back trim it to edge of the hood ! I cut the front up frist and then thought before i trim the back i want to see it on the car !

So at this point i have some body work to do to the hood and scoop but $100.00 for the scoop and $50.00 for the hood I AM HAPPY ! $ 150.00 FOR A CUSTOM HOOD IS ALRIGHT IN MY BOOK !

[tblake]

yeah man, just get it painted, and put her on. I think it will look alright on there. Post a picture of the finished product.