Kirban 1,600 mile '87 GN Barn Find Clean up Thread

[lumarkhood]

I thought it might be of interest to the TB community to post some updates about this car. First, this 1987 GN is the one that Dennis Kirban listed as the "Barn Find" 1,600 mile car. I purchased it from Marc Y., the original owner and friend of Dennis. Marc is a great guy who has a cool stash of low-mileage cars.

One retrieved from Marc's secret storage area in the hills of PA., the car was taken to Tom Fischer's shop in Aracde, NY, Muscle Car Alley (Muscle Car Alley) Tom has completed some high-end restorations of second-gen Trans Am's for me, in addition to some highly modified cars. Knowing this GN needs to stay as original as possible, while also being made 100% street/road worthy, I knew Tom's expertise and creativity would be the perfect fit.

Upon arrival, he set out the following plan:

(1) Interior should clean up as a 1,600 mile car should look
(2) engine bay should clean up as a 1,600 mile car should look
(3) paint will take some time and work, but not real major flaws other than being 24 years old and probably not that great to begin with
(4) underside is a problem area - as you guys know, large amounts of surface rust

For the underside, Tom conferred with Dennis, and decided on a "rust-remover" that "washes" the surface build-up off. Tom and his crew (namely Kevin) have constructed a system that catches the water, pumps back into a gathering area, then re-applies to underside. Pretty cool set up.

I'm going to try and post some pics of the whole process. May take me a few tries as this will be my first time to do this.

 

[lumarkhood]

Here is a pic of the car at Tom's shop in Arcade, NY.

 

[lumarkhood]

Some random pictures...

 

[lumarkhood]

Some more pics of the car...

 

[lumarkhood]

Additional pictures...

 

[lumarkhood]

Here is a picture of the set up Tom Fischer designed to handle the rust-remover process...

 

[lumarkhood]

Here are two pics of the process and a short video...

 

[MeanBuicks]

Very interested in how this turns out. I like the sprinkler system. Who'da thunk a few years ago that such a process could aid in restoring a car.

 

[FlyinGN]

where the heck was that stored?? I've seen less rust on 150k mile cars.. shame.

 

[hang10]

where the heck was that stored?? I've seen less rust on 150k mile cars.. shame.

Mileage has nothing to do with the rust...it sat for 24 years. Ever see new cars @ dealships that have sat for awhile and the brake rotors look like crap.....

 

[asto-t]

Looking forward to the final results. This is the same rust abatement the car buried in Ok. had. What will the bodyshop do to prevent the rust from coming back? Clear coat the bottom of the car?

 

[FlyinGN]

Mileage has nothing to do with the rust...it sat for 24 years. Ever see new cars @ dealships that have sat for awhile and the brake rotors look like crap.....

I did not say mileage had anything to do with it, I was making a point that I have seen LESS rust on cars that have 150k miles on it,. Heck, my every day driver is outside 24/7 for a decade and there is not a speck of rust under it.. That car must have been stored in swamp for Gods sake. Shame..

 

[drd21968]

that rust does not look like it has rotted anything.get it cleaned up and you will have one of the best stock gn in the country.people just do not realize how rare a car you have.nice find.

 

[turbo nasty]

Congrats on your purchase. That is just plain sweet. The rust removal setup is cool. Be sure and check under the rubber straps on the tank that is where they really rust. Any thoughts on replacing the plastic/nylon cam gear on the timing set? Wonder if it is cracked/failing just from age?

 

[Gus_Mahn]

Neat project. Is that "safest rust remover"? Please post some after pictures and let us know how it will be protected. I'm also wondering how they will clean the fuzz off of the aluminum and brighten up the cast aluminum.

 

[musclecaralley]

Hello everyone. Tom with musclecaralley.....

My intension is too not disassemble this car, but to preserve it the best I can. The rust remover system is doing its job but workin hard due to the amount of rust. The car wasn't stored in a swamp, just a damp garage. Overall this a really cool nice original car.
Due to some pitting in the metal its not gonna look 100% new. I basically wanna kill the rust and leave it as survivor. My thoughts were to protect it with a satin clear after the process.
I am at this moment giving the car another treatment with fresh product. I will keep you posted to how this goes. It looks alot better already then what it did....

 

[TurboRegal84]

Very neat project and a great thread! From the factory these cars had several parts that were not treated so it is normal for them to show surface rust. I am sure Dennis can offer plenty of low mile undercarriage pictures to aid in the process of making it factory looking. I also have pictures of a 800 mile car undercarriage that was 100% original that I would be happy to send to you to help!

 

[musclecaralley]

here is how its turning out so far...

 

[musclecaralley]

 

[musclecaralley]