'96 Grand Am 2.4L/5Spd Highway Cruiser

[Smurf]

Hello all. Last winter, I started looking for a cheap car to build a pure highway cruising vehicle to take day trips, or long (1000 mile?) trips. Having previously owned a 1997 Grand Am two door with the 2.4L TwinCam that never gave me a problem, I was happy to find a local guy selling a 1996 Grand Am, two door, 2.4L 5 speed manual, with 114K on the clock. With no pictures on the Craigslist ad, I feared it was red, multicolored, or (oh God no) purple on the way over.


Good enough for me, and the blue is a bonus! Bought it for my birthday, 12/12/12, and parked it for the winter. I'm not quite satisfied with my stick-driving skills, and having just moved to the region, I wasn't about to try improving in snow and traffic. So I waited.. and waited.. and finally, spring has arrived! (enough )


Good side angle, for template use. Except for what appears to be a shotgun blast from the backseat into the sheetmetal (no idea!) it's not bad.


Bored on a snowy day, crafted some hideous upper blocks with ducttape-laminated cardboard. I'll be figuring out a lower block, then going to do it all correctly with foam and glass or something else. Definitely needing suggestions on materials here! Door-popper actuators sliding screens with holes on tracks, one set for each side on separate controls? Just fill the top and the outer thirds of the bottom?


I realize the spoiler wing is useless, and possibly detracting from the aero. But I've thought of using it as a mount for a full Kamm or similar. Or perhaps a Bonneville style wing, which hooks into the front lip of the trunk and extending it rearwards over the stock spoiler? Again, haven't figured out the best method, and open to input.

The day after putting license plates on it, the UltraGauge was installed. It showed the engine codes for Cylinder #3 Misfire and Downstream o2 Sensor. Pulled the IDI ignition off, changed the plugs, but they were new looking NGKs. I'm assuming the spark plug coils weren't properly connecting, because when I fired it back up both codes were clear. And it runs much better, much less coughing on hard (2500+ RPM) accelerations. At the moment, I do not have a garage or a real work area, so my aero options are limited. Although I'm not opposed to buying a junkyard front bumper cover or trunk and modding it, if it works then great, if not, I still have my good ones.

It currently gets 37MPG overall in town and light cruising. The car gets extremely mad at me when I try bumpstarting, so EOC won't be an option. But clutching and coasting in neutral works good enough for me. On most cruising trips, I can achieve the trifecta of ~45MPH, ~45MPG, ~45 mile trip. The goal will eventually to achieve sustained 45 MPG at 60 MPH, and then go for more!

[MetroMPG]

Congrats on the find and for going with the 5 speed!

Originally Posted by Smurf

what appears to be a shotgun blast from the backseat into the sheetmetal (no idea!) it's not bad.

Looks to me like the previous owner tried pound out a dent from the inside of the car.

It currently gets 37MPG overall in town and light cruising.

That's pretty impressive. I had no idea that the Grand Ams were capable of that.

I realize the spoiler wing is useless, and possibly detracting from the aero. But I've thought of using it as a mount for a full Kamm or similar.

A properly designed Kamm back would be ideal... but until you do that I would leave the rear wing on the car.

For a few years GM liked to put excessively rounded transitions on the trailing edge of their trunk lids. I remember reading an article about how adding a spoiler to that style of trunk lid reduces both drag and lift.

Good luck with the car! I'm looking forward to following the projects!

[02ws6]

those Quad 4 motors were awesome for the technology that GM had in them. I had a Grand Am GT 5spd of the same year and always had a good time with that car. Good luck on your future endeavors!

[radioranger]

Escort owner here and you just sold me on a wing for my 98 4 dr getting around 40 avg now but my trunk is very rounded off, good luck with it , new respect for those tin indians , course it has an Old's motor! LOL, side story, I used to work onn the boat of a big wig in Pontiac advertising and he told me the wide track look came about when GM realized the 389 wouldnt fit in a Chevy frame, so they had to widen the whole car to fit !! could be legend but maybe not .

[radioranger]

Just checking out your picture and the license plat could probably be a partial lower grille block,

[mcrews]

dont forget to increase the psi to 40+.
Also, I bet you have room to increase the tire size on the stock rim.
There are several threads where this is discussed (successfully)

[Smurf]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

MetroMPG: That's pretty impressive. I had no idea that the Grand Ams were capable of that.

In general, it cruises along at 25-27MPH in 4th gear, and 35MPH in 5th, just barely above idle.

MetroMPG: For a few years GM liked to put excessively rounded transitions on the trailing edge of their trunk lids. I remember reading an article about how adding a spoiler to that style of trunk lid reduces both drag and lift.

Makes sense to me!

Radioranger: Just checking out your picture and the license plat could probably be a partial lower grille block

Except the license plate mount is horribly loose. It's on my list of things to fix lol

Mcrews: Dont forget to increase the psi to 40+.
Also, I bet you have room to increase the tire size on the stock rim.
There are several threads where this is discussed (successfully)

The KwikTrip gas station on the corner has a weak air hose, took a long time to get all four up to 37ish PSI. It currently has 195/65 15"s all around, any suggestions?


One lingering thought I've had is to do a full foam and fiberglass body kit. The nose would resemble the late-90s Firebirds with a smooth round surface. For the sides, the stock body cladding would be extended vertically straight down so that instead of the car tapering in towards the bottom, the sides would be completely flat. Then some Basjoos front skirts, similar on the rear, working with the belly pan... Would the effort be paid back? It would completely smooth the flow around the sides, wheel wells, etc. Any thoughts?

[mcrews]

ok,
1. check out the clearance on the top of the tire to the bottom of the strut base.
2. crank the steering hard left and right and see how close you are to anything.
3. if the is clearance get back with a rough estimate.
4. then will look at tirerack.com for the next size taller
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...s-24006-3.html
see post/pics at #30. That is the clearance to the strut mount WITH the taller tire!
However, the way the fender well was designed, there is about 1/4 of an inch at the front edge.
So that was the tallest tire i could go with!

[Smurf]

Fuel log updated.

Filled today, it was 357.4 miles, 11.086 gallons. Then took a 240 mile trip to Devils Lake State Park in central Wisconsin (ever near there, make the trip!) and back, about 37MPG on that.

I think I have my "Baseline"

[Smurf]

Finally solved a massive headache of a problem. The Grand Am's are notorious for swimming pools in the front floors. Eventually, I was pulling out gallons. After inspecting every square inch of the windshield and door seals, I was baffled. Popped the hood, stuck my head under the driver's side of the dash, and there it was. The surrounding for the bundle of wiring that comes through the upper corner of the firewall was completely rusted, leaving the wire loom free to move around. And water to flow down the windshield, through the cowl vents, and into my carpet. Compressed air and Great Stuff took care of it, thankfully!

Now, on to the brakes. The fronts are terribly noisy, almost an embarrassing amount of noise. I don't have the tools or space to do it, but I have a shop that said $20 a wheel if I'm bringing in the pads (or shoes, for the rear drums). I'm hoping any brake drag from the front end will be fixed, and coasting should improve. It's teaching me the valuable art of engine braking though, and I've nearly mastered it to avoid odd staring

Currently at 280 miles, about 1/4 tank left, and UG is saying 33.2MPG for the urban commute.