Restoration of Obsidian
Mechanical Issues
As stated on the last page, I purchased my Beretta GTU in March of 2000. The car had roughly 66,000 miles and had been sitting in front of the previous owner's house for about three months. Several mechanical problems were very obvious at the time of purchase. I had to fix an oil leak (oil filter adapter), the ECM, the alternator (bad diode), the belt tensioner, and the water pump. I was finally able to replace the transmission (no second gear) in March of 2000.
This GTU had already gone through an engine. In 1997, at 51,000 miles, it had to have its engine replaced for some reason. When I bought the car, it had 15W40 oil in it. After having the transmission rebuilt, I figured it was road-worthy. I went to Wichita several times (100 mile round trip) with no problems. The car had no problem getting up to speed, had a great passing gear, and handled the road pretty well. My wife Andrea were engaged at the time and we had started to plan our move to Lawrence, KS for college and I decided my car was fit to go. The first time we went, there were no problems. Three hours each way and we did just fine. About a month or two later on April 26th, 2001 we went again to start apartment hunting. We got there all right and we started to come back on I-70. We had about 90 miles to go and the engine lost two bearings. The towing bill for the trip was $220 ($33 for the tow and $187 in mileage). That particular engine only had 20,000 miles on it. The 2.8L/3T40 combination is one of the most reliable engine/transmission combinations in the history of Chevrolet, and the putz (name withheld) I bought this car from managed to break or weaken them both.
The car went in for its engine overhaul on June 20th. Just for spits and giggles, the mechanic started her up and he told me that's the loudest running engine he'd ever heard not including cars with missing exhausts. He told me he took off the oil pan before pulling the old engine core and he said two of the bearings were a total loss. I replaced the engine core, PCV valve, all of the filters, spark plugs, spark plug wires, all gaskets (intake manifold, TB, EGR, etc.), serpentine belt, both motor mounts, thermostat, oil pump, oil pump screen/tube, engine oil, transmission fluid, and coolant. I reused all other intake/fuel injection hard parts. Total cost of the labor was $986.00. Total cost of parts was $1200. I got a substantial discount due to the fact that a member of my immediate family works for a parts store. List price of the parts I bought was well over $2000. The engine alone would have been $1600.
Since moving to Lawrence, I've redone the front and rear brakes, new tires (Daytonas), alignment, one of my ignition coils, and a new radiator.
Cosmetic Issues
EXTERIOR
On to the non-mechanical problems I have had the pleasure of dealing with. The car may look great in the pictures, but there are some things I'll have to have worked on. For starters, the front valance that comes as part of the GTU ground effects package was missing and has been since I bought the car. I have purchased a new valance but have yet to put it on. I also have a cracked side-skirt, but it should be repairable.
The hood is a real eyesore because they either snagged it from a junkyard and didn't bother painting it, or they used lacquer and cheap aerosol clear coat because it looks horrible. The are also half a dozen scratches that appear to have come from someone take a knife (or some other sharp object) and dragging it along the hood. The scratches are so deep, it has caused the paint to curl up around the scratches due to moisture penetrating the area. The dreaded "primer echo failure" is occurring on the hood and GTU package parts.
INTERIOR
The seats are in ok condition except the driver's bucket seat is bent up a little. I'll start to look for GTZ, Z26, or even newer base/GT seats (91+). The door panels are starting to go and the dashboard is completely gone. The panels are warped and unsightly. I may be able to re-vinyl them, but I'll have to ask a few shops. The dash is a complete loss. There is a huge gash on the very top in the middle of it. Other than that, the rest of the interior is pretty darn good shape. The rear bench (60/40 fold-down) is in great shape and the carpeting is literally stain-free.
Updated September 9th, 2002