I am building a 92 Beretta for one of the Gambler 500 races, so i figured i could write down what we do to the car! The car has a 2.2L engine and the auto tranny.
I paid $230 for the car, and drove it 1hr home. It made the drive, but needed some attention pretty soon. Temp gauge wouldnt go above 1/8th on a TX summer night, shocks are toast, tires are bald, ac compressor is stuck ON, no blower motor, no radio, and a whole slew of wiring issues.
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First thing i did was repair the wiring to the starter, and tighten the bolts, so the starter would stop flopping around
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next, i needed to figure out why the temp gauge was not going above 1/8th. I tried to remove the temp sensor, but it broke off inside the housing.... SO i decided to look at the thermostat. I found that someone broke off the top outlet neck bolt, and made their own gaskets with blue paper and gobs of silicone.... dang. I decided to remove the thermostat housing to put it in the mill and repair the broken stud section. Upon removal, i found the housing was garbage..... Someone had been inside there before and JB welded the crap out of it inside because it was completely corroded from running tap water in the cooling system..... The "coolant" was dark brown from rust. I had to go on a search for a new thermostat housing. I found that the part is obsolete, and was able to find one at a junkyard.
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I got the coolant system fully flushed, new thermostat etc. Also did a compression check, and wasnt surprised by the results. The cylinders varied from 165psi to 100psi. Changed the oil and out in some Engine Restore to see how that helped. Also installed a blower motor and a universal Bosch Temp gauge. The gauge on the dash would never go above 1/8th position, even when the car was reading 185 degree with my temp gun. I left the OE temp sending unit dangling, and installed a bosche temp unit in the housing, and wired it in.
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Started on the rear lift to allow for larger tires. I installed some front springs from a 1990's v8 Cadillac Coupe. It lifted it so much, that it was nearly impossible to attached the shocks. I had to compress them ALOT and pull them towards the front of the car with ratched straps. I also welded the top coil a bit to the perch to it wont shoot out when we do jumps. I am searching for some longer shocks now. The springs had the correct taper to fit in the top and bottom perches. I will probably soften them up with a torch, I gained 3 inches of lift, but that is only because the shocks are holding the rear axle in haha
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Why are you posting here? This is for 2nd gen "J" Body cars, your car is a "L" Body and not related to this forum at all.
Research before you post.......
Doug in P.R.
92 Pontiac Sunbird LE, 2.0, AT, Red / Black with Grey 155K miles. Hurricane Maria Survivor ! ( It takes a licking and keeps on ticking ! ).....in Salinas, Puerto Rico!
Quite cool, but not exactly what I thought it might be. I imagined a full frame 4x4.
Many years ago I had a 1969 Chevy Suburban 4x4 4speed. I had plans to put either a 1967 Pontiac LeMans 2 door hardtop or a 1973 Grand Prix body on the frame. Never got around to it though. Still, to this very day, I wish I had of done it. I know it is kinda silly, but deep down,,,, would have loved it.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your car and please post more as you progress. It is interesting. This site is pretty dead now, so going off platform probably isn't looked down on too much anymore. And Doug is good guy, so maybe he will be cool with it, in the long run.
Just picking Doug.
Haha oops, I was almost positive the beretta and cavalier were the same thing..... I thought the corsica was the same too
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_L_platform
You were close , Canadian Pontiac Tempest
It's ok, happens on the web all the time..
Continue on....
Doug in P.R.
92 Pontiac Sunbird LE, 2.0, AT, Red / Black with Grey 155K miles. Hurricane Maria Survivor ! ( It takes a licking and keeps on ticking ! ).....in Salinas, Puerto Rico!
