72 TA : New Project

[njsteve]

After hunting for a while I finally found a nice project car for the next year or so: and actually found it on eBay! It ended up being an hour from my house so I went to get a look at the car and we struck a deal right there. It's a 72 Trans AM 455 HO four speed with a/c. One of 458 stick cars. It still has its original engine and trans (havent found the rear dif code yet but it looks original) Originally came from Reliable Pontiac in Roseville, CA. I did a google search and they are still in business! I called them and spoke with a very nice lady in the parts department who is sending me a bunch of complimentary license frames and stickers. She doubted any old docs exist as the dealer moved around in the past 32 years but she took down my VIN just in case. The car has 114,000 but the sheetmetal is amazing. The only rust I've found is a small 3" section in the pass quarter, some soft areas in the trunk center section and a couple small spots in the rad support where batt acid did it's thing. Everything else is amazing. You wipe off the grime and there's bright red primer under everything. The original front fenders are perfect. There is a bunch of bondo in the doors and one rear quarter from parking lot damage and the paint is cracking all over, but nothing a good stripping won't handle. The seller had to get rid of his three Pontiacs on wifes orders. He still has a 71 GTO 455 HO 4 speed car and a 71 Formula 455 auto car he's looking to sell Both are original engine cars. This car recently had a carb fire that must have been a doozy: From what I can surmise the car backfired and caught fire in his garage, he was faced with the choice of trying to put it out and risk the house burning down, or pushing it outside and putting it out, out there. The time spent getting it out took its toll.

[njsteve]

Here's the rear 3/4 shot

[njsteve]

engine shot. The shaker was damaged in his haste in trying to get the fire out. I also think he ended up backing the car over the edge: look at the front snorkle.

[njsteve]

Check out the Shroud of Torchin. There must have been a two foot long flame coming out of that snorkle to melt the shroud in that spot.

[njsteve]

Oh and even though the engine was "totally rebuilt" by the previous owner before the seller had it, I think I will take it all apart anyway. Tell me what's wrong with these two plugs............ one peanut plug and one large plug and neither was tight!. I checked all the plugs and none were tight. There were four different brands and sizes. Thankfully all the threads are OK in the heads. The car actually ran when I took it for a short test drive.

[njsteve]

The carb fire melted all the wiring in the engine compartment. There is a lot of visible copper showing. But the car still starts and runs. I guess you cant kill a Pontiac with fire. You gotta drive a stake through its heart or a silver bullet or something

[njsteve]

And what the heck is this? A Ford solenoid. I have a full set of engine compartment harnesses on order already. I can only imagine what these wires are hooked to.

[njsteve]

And here's the interior. Its in really nice shape. Orginal carpet could use a shampooing. Driver's set has some separating seams, the headliner has a rip and the console has a tear in it. The dash is perfect, though I have to see if they hogged out the hole to fit that CD player.

[Steve_Hoog]

OH MAN the solenoid does it, you should just sell the car to me.

[njsteve]

As for what's missing: it needs a 7042273 Quadrajet, the correct divorced choke pulldown, a new shaker lid and air cleaner base, an original 1112126 or 27 single point distributor (thankfully it was ordered w/o the infamous semi-functional unitized/transisterized ignition), some of the shaker hardware, throttle bracket stuff...and a whole lot of $$$ to redo everything. But the nice part is that the body needs very little work and the original drivetrain is there. Let the parts hunting begin! If anyone has any of the above mentioned stuff or advice, drop me an email. Thanks, NJSteve

[njsteve]

And of course it needs a front valance and spoiler. I just spent some time under the car and it does have its original CMG 3.42 rear. I am still amazed, having lived so long on the East Coast, that a (California) car could be 32 years old and have so little rust. I guess all these years in the rust belt have made me metalically cynical.

[njsteve]

[ QUOTE ]
OH MAN the solenoid does it, you should just sell the car to me.

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess it's the heavy duty idle stop solenoid that I'm missing from the carb. It's now fender-mounted. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[All American Racer]

I hate hearing that a guy has to get rid of his cars because his wife told him to. Man that irks me. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

[yellowjudge]

Sds good.Luckily your car's bdy sound. I think the 455 HO is a great car! I have 2 71s. my 1 is a 1 owner 4spd. non a/c, console! 52 k miles, still has orig belts & hoses.It's a great street mtr. I think these cars should go up in value. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif

[njsteve]

I've been looking for one for a few months now and just in that time period the prices have gone from 10K to 20K for a nice restorable car. I picked this one up for a number in between those two and after really checking out the body on this car I think that was a major score. Not having to pay for the extensive amount of rust repair and panel replacement is a major bonus.

[drdave69]

Great car. Restore it and enjoy.
I had a '74 T/A with the 455/Auto and 3:42 posi many years ago. That car was SCARY fast. I have no idea how I survived driving that car.

[DaveC68]

Great looking car!
I just don't see how you could part with your pace car though?(my personal dream car)
...hoping you got the T/A for such a good deal that you can hold on to the pace car too. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif
Is the black interior common...of the few early T/A's I've seen most had either a bright blue or white interior.
just wondering?

[njsteve]

I would have prefered a blue interior but this car was so nice and so close. The other car I was looking at was in Michigan and I dreaded driving 1400 miles round trip to look and possibly buy it. That one is now on ebay, though it's a 71, white, 455 HO auto, w/ac. He wanted 18,500 a couple weeks ago. Has some weird dashboard rust though. I paid less than that for my 72. If the Pace Car sells then I have enough money to do this car and get my wife her new kitchen, floor, husband, etc.

[djunod]

Awesome! I'm jealous http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[njsteve]

I started tearing the car apart this weekend. Found more of the burned up wiring and repairs under the hood. I'm just amazed that this thing started and ran with all the toasted wires and crispy fuel lines http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif Pulled all the carpet out and this is how the floors looked. Just amazing. All the original mastic sound deadener in place, shiny overspray on the floor. Gotta love California cars!

[njsteve]

Here's the front floor. The car still has its original Hurst shifter on the M-22...you know the one you can sell on ebay for $900 per bolt http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[njsteve]

Gotta love this guy's version of a performance exhaust. The car still has its stock 455HO manifolds (non cracked) with all this stuff attached to it. See if you can count all the adapters on the exhaust system http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/scholar.gif

[njsteve]

Here's some more adapters...

[njsteve]

Here's the engine compartment ready for engine removal. All the toasted wiring is on the cowl.

[njsteve]

And here's the engine VIN in case anyone out there is unfamiliar with Pontiacs. It is stamped on the passenger front face of the block, below the water pump inlet. Just about impossible to see unless you're under the car, looking up, or you've removed everything in the way.

[njsteve]

And here's the mess that is the garage...

[firstgenaddict]

Love those performance pipes.
455 HO 4spd T/A nice!
Smooth ride Mr. Bandit.

[njsteve]

I just got the results of a Washington State title search on my 72 TA. They had info on 3 previous owners out there back to 1992...and it was for free. The lady on the phone couldnt understand my shock at the fact that a DMV didnt want any money for copies of the records. I guess people are just different out on the left coast. So if I am owner "X", now I have info on owners X-1 Pennsylvania, X-2 Wash, X-3 Wash and X-4 Wash. I have no idea how many more there are as the car was sold new in CA and I havent gotten their info yet.

I also tore the engine down and found that the bearings are bad and the crank was previously cut 010 and 030. So it's new crank time. I might just go for an entire internal reciprocating assembly kit from Butler Racing since the original block is already 040. I have to get it measured to see if we can keep it at that size. Here's a shot of the rod bearings. Caught it just in time I think. And no, they're not supposed to be fully grooved bearings! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gif

[njsteve]

Here's a close-up!

[Steve_Hoog]

Steve

Throw those rods in the trash can and get some new ones from Bulter, he has some really good stuff at great prices.

[njsteve]

So I'm starting the cleanup getting ready for reassembly of my 455 HO and I see this hole in the main web. It's the original engine with 115,000 miles on it so I guess it really didn't hurt anything. After looking at it all day and sticking assorted picks in it to see how deep it was (over 3/4 inch deep) I used a bright light and saw threads inside. So I pulled the #3 4-bolt main cap and see light through the hole. I guess an overzealous machinist cut the hole too deep originally. Has anyone ever run into anything like this before???? http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[njsteve]

Here's the bolt view from the bottom:

[Belair62]

Engine built on a Monday morning ??

[njsteve]

It was cast on J181, Sept 18, 1971. Anyone have a calendar cross reference???

[Mr70]

J 18 1-is October 18th 1971.
That was indeed a MONDAY.

[John Brown]

Lighter weight. She's a factory race part!! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif

[njsteve]

[ QUOTE ]
J 18 1-is October 18th 1971.
That was indeed a MONDAY.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually I think "J" is September as "I" is not used in the casting date sequences because it looks too much like a "1", so it goes, A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-J-K-L-M. How's the calender look now?

[Mr70]

If it's the letter "I",then it's a Saturday in 1971.
I know Tonawanda used the letter "I" in their engine casting dates.
Delco Remy did not use the letter "I" in their dating of electrical components,among others.
At least that is what I have found from back then.

[njsteve]

The casting date is definitely J181. I thought that GM and most other manufacturers did not use the letter "I" in their castings because it would be confused with the number "1". So if you take "I" out of the alphabet then the following is the result A=Jan, B=Feb, C=March, D=April, E=May, F=June, G=July, H=August, J=September, K=October, L=November and M=December

[njsteve]

So here I am with the 455 HO short block assembled and about to bolt on the heads. I pick them up to bolt on the engine and sand falls out. YES, SAND! The heads were brought to what I thought was a reputable engine shop in Union, NJ to be disassembled and inspected, cleaned and reassembled. Well it turns out the IDIOT I brought them to dissassembled them, found out the recent valve job on them was fine, installed a new set of seals, reassembled them and then PUT THEM IN THE SANDBLAST CABINET AND BLASTED THE PAINT OFF. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gif He then took them out and shook them off and gave them back to me when I picked them up a week later (about a month ago).

As a result, I just spent the entire weekend disassembling these heads and pressure washing them til my hands pruned up, in order to get every last piece of carbide grit out of the heads, springs, guides, etc. I called the IDIOT this morning and asked him what why on Earth would he do that and he responded that he didn't want to give me the heads back with all the old paint on them. I'm flaberghasted on the phone that this guy has no clue what he has done is beyond insane. I tried to explain that just one grain of sand could wipe out an engine and he responds that he thought he got all the sand out because he ran the heads through the vibrator after he blasted them. I asked how he expected to get the sand out of the areas that still were oily and he said he didn't think that would have been a problem. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif I mentioned the whole episode to my mechanic buddy who recommended this guy and he was speechless. All we can think is that the guy maybe has had a stroke or is in the early stages of Alzheimers (I'm serious here). The speedshop guy has been in business for 40 years.

[njsteve]

Even my 9-year-old daughter (here helping me assemble the short block) thought it was totally nuts.

[Mr70]

Sounds like it may be time for him to retire,for whatever reason. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[WILMASBOYL78]

Sounds like a really neat car, but the engine shop guy should be hung! Good luck with the project.... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

wilma

[njsteve]

Here is the latest photo. I am assembling the engine so I can run it on my engine stand. Actually I dont have an engine stand so I'm just going to install it back in the car just to get it run in and then pull it out and take the body apart for painting. I dont like letting freshly assembled engines sit. I had a cam go bad on my last project after the engine sat for a year without being initially fired up. So hopefully in the next couple weeks I'll have some noise to report on. You gotta love the baby blue color of the 1972 Pontiac engines. (I gotta hate the $24.95 a can it cost for the correct paint though) http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gif

[njsteve]

Well I just got the 455HO up and running in the world's most expensive run stand: I ended up bolting the engine and trans back in the car and hooking up the basic wiring and a tach, oil pressure and a temp gauge. No exhaust, just a couple of dump tubes off the exhaust manifolds. I tried using my mechanic buddy's rubber exhaust tubes (the ones you use in the winter to pipe the exhaust out of your shop). They didnt help one bit. In fact the exhaust coming out of the manifolds was so hot it set the insides of them on fire. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gif Very scary for a few minutes -it looked just like a blown head gasket: billowing white and grey smoke out the pipes. I yanked them off the engine and the smoke disapeared (along with the crowd of neighbors who gathered to watch my garage burn down). I let it run between 1700 to 2500 for about 25 minutes, I changed the oil and no metal was on the magnetized drain plug. I let it cool down overnight and it started with a click of the ignition key this morning. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif So it all looks good for now. Now I can pull the car completely apart and store the engine til it's done. This thing was so loud I had to use my industrial ear protectors! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

[njsteve]

So here I am snooping around the interior of my 72 T/A and I see two studs coming up from the rear floor. Really strange. Here's what I saw:

[njsteve]

I peel back the factory mastic sound deadener and I find a right rear side marker lamp bezel face down against the floor pan:

[njsteve]

Can you imagine how many technicians tried to figure out that rattle in the floorboard over the entire warranty period of this car? It was obviously put there by a disgruntled UAW worker just prior to the six month strike that shut down the Norwood plant for the rest of the model year in 1972. (as you may recall that was the reason there were so few 72 Camaros and Forebirds built)

[Mr70]

That became an option on the Delorean later on as well.
I believe it was originally RPO 0U812 http://smilies.sofrayt.com/%5E/k/hippy.gif

[njsteve]

I just spent the entire day with a pressure washer underneath the Tran Am. The entire original floors are still covered in their factory red oxide primer with white overspray. Not a speck of rust underneath the car (other than the trunk well but that is standard on any 2nd gen F-body). There was no undercoating so all I was removing was the years of road grime. Just amazing! I found the factory paint marks on the suspension pieces, the part number tags on the coil springs. Even the leaf springs had the part numbers still stenciled on them in white paint. Now I know how archaeologists feel when they unearth a new dinosaur. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif I will post some detail shots this week after I finish removing 33 years of grease, oil and tar from my entire body. My wife saw me coming near the house and locked the doors. She said that was the dirtiest she has ever seen me in the entire time she has known me. I wore a full rain suit (which is now in the garbage, but still managed to get my face hands and hair totally blackened.) -I looked like a West Virginia coal miner coming home from work!

[njsteve]

And here we are: Greasy Man and Spotless boy, about a half a second before my wife abducted him and dragged him away from grime-central. She just doesn't know what fun really is! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Belair62]

That must have been fun !!!

[budnate]

did the same thing on the '68 last fall..I came up with laying old king size sheets under the car to keep all the grease and dirt off the driveway...sure made cleanup fast roll them up toss in the garbage, rinse a little all done sure beat cleaning the driveway after the car trick, I always had a gravel area for messy stuff until this place now I have to think before making a mess..lol.

Bud.

[mmcporter]

Looking good--you really realize the details and effort that goes into a restoration of this type when you do it yourself. You've got quite a journey going there.

Morris

[njsteve]

I get more of a kick out of the restoration process than I do after it's finished and just sitting there. It's like a jigsaw puzzle; what do you do with it when it's all finished...take it apart and do it again? This car is kind of neat in that I am keeping as much of it in its original form. The floors will remain in their original (now clean) state. Other than stripping and straightening the upper sheetmetal and replacing a portion of the trunk well, the car will be a "reassemblation" not really a restoration. -a new challenge for me. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[njsteve]

Here is some of the underside's original finish: this is the inside of the trans tunnel if you were laying on the ground looking up. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

[njsteve]

Here is the underside of the rear floor, passenger side, along with the rear dif with yellow paint on the yoke.

[njsteve]

Here is the front of the cowl. The VIN was stamped in two places, below the circular fan motor cut out and next to the heater box rectangular cutout.

[njsteve]

Here's the 3.42 rear dif with color codes, orange and green.

[njsteve]

Front suspension with green paint marks on spindle. The srpings even still had the part number tags on them.

[Mr70]

That's some nice work Steve,with great results.

[njsteve]

Passenger side, front floor with the overspray visible. The factory white overspray was everywhere underneath this car.

[njsteve]

Driver's side floor front area.

[njsteve]

Top of cowl, blackout area.

[njsteve]

Driver side front cowl area. The black is flat black, not semi-gloss. Note the heavy runs in the black paint.

[njsteve]

The inside of the tran hump where the shifter goes through. This area had a random coating of the same body shutz (heavy undercoat) that the rear wheel wells had. An interesting note: It appears that the body shutz in the rear wheel wells was applied before paint. The undercoated area is painted white and when a section is peeled away, shows red oxide primer underneath.

[njsteve]

I spent the day powerwashing the frame and then using some paint stripper to get the real yucky stuff off. Look what I found under the paint by the passenger side rear of the subframe. It looks like it was hand-printed with a magic marker "5236 44." Does this correspond to anything?

[njsteve]

Here it is upside down so you dont pull a neck muscle looking at it.

[njsteve]

And here is a close up of the front coil spring. As you can see it was painted black originaly and still has the part number tag attached, #3988100 AX. Does anyone know if this tag is reproduced? I couldnt find it on Jim Osborn's site.

[tirebird]

Steve:

If you want the original factory order sheet and dealer info. on your car there is only one legitimate source, Pontiac Historic Services.

http://www.phs-online.com/

John

[njsteve]

I have all of the PHS data on the car. I was even able to locate the original dealer (they're still in business out in California) and they sent me some license plates and frames.

There's nothing like the feeling of calling Pontiac and getting your car's build sheet from their files!

But when it comes to the miscellanious decals it is very hard to find Pontiac specific items. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[njsteve]

I have the subframe all painted up and on the stand now. I started cleaning the control arms and noticed that the factory must have dipped the arms in black paint with the idea that they stopped dipping before the paint got onto the area of the ball joints. (or the ball joints were installed when the arm was dipped) Here is the lower control arm. You can see by the rusty area that there was never any paint on the end:

[njsteve]

Here's the underside of the lower arm. (The wierd tiger striping is from the pressure sprayer set on too fine of a stream)

[njsteve]

Here's the upper arm. It seems that the upper ball joints must have been installed when the arms were dipped in paint as there is no paint on the mounting surface of the arm where the ball joint was installed. This car still had its original riveted ball joints in place at 115,000 miles. (I took them out as I intend to drive the car and I'm not too crazy about having my wheels fall off at speed)

[njsteve]

Here's the underside of the upper arm:

[MosportGreen66]

Steve... great pictures! I would be interested to see if the Camaros were assembled in a similar fashion! Great work!

[njsteve]

I believe that the Norwood plant was the only plant making Camaros and Firebirds in 1972. The United Auto Workers went on strike in April of 1972, shutting the entire plant down until the next model year. That's why 72 is probably the rarest year for F-body total production. (only 458 4-speed Trans Ams were built). When the line went back up in 73, they ended up scrapping thousands of partially completed cars due to the fact that they did not meet the 1973 emissions and bumper regulations.

[Stefano]

Great Pics, keep'em coming!

[Alss]

[ QUOTE ]
And here is a close up of the front coil spring. As you can see it was painted black originaly and still has the part number tag attached, #3988100 AX. Does anyone know if this tag is reproduced? I couldnt find it on Jim Osborn's site.

[/ QUOTE ]

Contact Don Lightfoot,he is a member here and at Team Chevelle... he made me tags and various stickers for my COPO springs that no one else had. Resto looks great, keep up the good work.

ALbert

Here is Dons E-mail [email protected] Tell him ALbert sent you http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

[njsteve]

I spent some time hand washing the spindles today, trying to preserve the original paint marks. It seems that the spindles have some type of grey phosphate coating on them. After using a toothbrush and some watered down detergent, here are the results. This is the driver's side spindle with its green paint mark.

[njsteve]

The other side of the driver's spindle has some green drips here and there and a black paint daub by the dustshield mounting boss.

[njsteve]

The passenger side spindle has a "Petty Blue" paint mark on it.

[njsteve]

On the other side of the passenger spindle is a yellow 1/4" by 1-1/" line near the caliper mounting hole. After cleaning the spindles I sprayed them with a wax based metal preservative called Nylac. I am going to reinstall them as is and not remove or alter their orginal condition.

[njsteve]

There is also a white paint mark on the top of the pass spindle running down the side.

[njsteve]

I hope all of this is of some help to other second gen F-Body owners out there. Since the Firebirds and Camaros were built at the same plant in 1972, maybe you guys can use the pictures for reference purposes. I know I'm getting a kick out of finding all these little markings and heiroglyphics. If you need more info, here is the Trans Am site that I am posting larger photos at: http://forums.performanceyears.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/1066051911/m/6111059321

[njsteve]

Got the frame painted and partially assembled. I had the wife help me gently lower (read that as drop) it off of the saw horses and onto the ground after taking the photos. It was getting a bit too heavy up on the stands. Luckily, I had bolted up two tires before we lowered it down. Now at least all the hard work is done and the rest of the steering and other stuff can go on. It's also much more handy to be able to roll it around the garage on a set of tires.

And yes, I am still using that "Abdominizer 5000" as a partial frame stand. It will be available for rental once I'm done with this project.

[njsteve]

I repainted the control arms exactly as they came off, I also touched up the original marks on the rotors. You can even see the stamped date codes on the upper control arm.

[njsteve]

I left the spindles exactly as I found them. I cleaned them and then sprayed a wax preservative on them to delay any rusting. The rotor dust shields were power washed, which returned them nicely to their original galvanized condition.

[njsteve]

The car still had its original rotors at 114,000 miles, which were cleaned and resurfaced. I then redid the paint marks exactly as they were found. The pink paint was on the area where the maximum thickness measurement is cast into the hub: ".985"

[njsteve]

Here's the rolling frame as it sits now. Next comes the steering linkage, next week. All the tie rod ends and drag link joints feel nice and tight. I'm just going to clean them up and reinstall them.

[njsteve]

The other side.

[njsteve]

Rear view.

[MosportGreen66]

WOW! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worship.gif

[Mr70]

How much for the Abdominizer 5000?
Great Pix Steve.

[njsteve]

[ QUOTE ]
How much for the Abdominizer 5000?
Great Pix Steve.

[/ QUOTE ]

My wife had a yard sale and no one wanted the thing, so I dragged it into the garage. I think with some modifications it could be the next best thing to "Black and Decker Workmate". Who knows, maybe I can make it into a run stand for the next engine! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif

[SamLBInj]

You are pretty good at this, Want to do a Z/28 http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif
Was watching the Guys from Classic (Legendary?)showing how to dip certain parts in paint, Pretty cool http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[njsteve]

[ QUOTE ]
You are pretty good at this, Want to do a Z/28 http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif
Was watching the Guys from Classic (Legendary?)showing how to dip certain parts in paint, Pretty cool http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm trying to do all of the cheap labor-intensive stuff on my own (read that as when you got no money to spend, use your own labor). I already have the drivetrain finished. Next comes the rear differential and springs.

The major expense will be the body shell, which hopefully wont be that bad as it only needs the center section of the trunk floor replaced and one very small rust spot in the pass quarter, plus the usual 35 years of dents.

[KevinW]

Steve, just found this novel http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Looks like its coming around!

[njsteve]

I took out the rear end and springs today. Pretty amazing. The stenciled part number is still on the top of one of the springs. The odd thing is it looks like the factory stenciled the "PL 481612" over another number that was in smaller font size. Here's a shot of the leafs. It looks like they have never been out of the car. All of the factory bushings were still present, including the zinc strip that goes between the bottom of the leaf spring and the lower rubber saddle bushing.

[njsteve]

Here's a close up of the spring part number. You can faintly see the smaller size numbers "492547" and a very large "RN" under the "PL 481612" numbers. Very interesting. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[njsteve]

Once the rear end was out I got some more photos of the underside, emission lines, brackets, clamps etc. All the factory GM hoses were still there (dry rotting away). Here is a shot from the rear looking forward down the tranny tunnel. I am just loving California cars more and more as I go deeper into this project. The original finish is just amazing.

[njsteve]

I just pulled the inspection cover off of the rear differential and found this...ouch! It looks like some broken pieces of the posi clutch plates and a whole bunch of metal powder.

[njsteve]

Look at the difference in the spring heights of the green posi unit springs. I guess that's where those peices came from. Looks like time for a rebuild of the rear. The original 11/71 dated 3.42 gears look great but there is a little too much slop in the pinion anyway. Oh well, new bearings, seals and clutches and we should be OK.

[njsteve]

I've been working on some minor sub assemblies lately. Removed the tilt column and repainted it, and replaced the burned up universal joint rubber boot on the firewall end. (the boot is available on ebay as a Jeep CJ part, along with the column bushings, for about $10). I also pulled out the guages and got the original clock working again. Easy to do, just get a small fingernail file and file the points flat and then reassemble the case back on the gauge. Then spray the heck out it with WD40. Works every time.

I pulled the fuse box down from the firewall and found a nice surprise inside. Here's the fuse box:

[njsteve]

And here's what I found inside when I pulled the fuse box apart: a factory riv-nut with white overspray on it, wedged between the main power distribution wires, between the two halves of the fuse box assembly. These were the steel collapsable nuts that they used to mount things like mirrors to the doors.

As you may recall, this car was built while the UAW was still deciding whether to go on strike (which later occurred in early calender year 1972, shutting down the entire F-body plant for the rest of the 72 model year).

So far this is the second "mystery gift" left in this car by the disgruntled assembly line workers. The first was the extra side marker lamp bezel stuck beneath the mastic sound deadener, under the rear seat. Left there, no doubt, to make some mysteriously, un-locatable road noise.

Can you imagine this car going 114,000 miles with that little piece of metal just hovering above the main fuse terminals? That was a complete electrical melt-down just waiting to happen.

[Rat_Pack]

Steve, man that is a unbelievable! I have seen some weird stuff over the years but never anything like that sandwiched between the two halves of the fuse panel. Everyone that has owned that car over the years has been extremely lucky. This just proves my point with customers who worry about "penny pinching" during a restoration of the electrical system of these old cars. An extra grand on the restoration can mean the difference between a really nice done car or a car that is as DONE as toast from an electrical fire. Thanks for posting that picture and story...........RatPack....................

[njsteve]

It just makes me wonder what other little booby-traps are waiting to be found in this car. Maybe I should open the trunk and see if Jimmy Hoffa is in there. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif

[njsteve]

I just finished restoring the Trans Am's air cleaner base plate. The original had been run over by the previous owner in his haste to put out the engine fire that was attempting to immolate the entire car. I ended up using a small chisel to remove the passenger side snorkel and transplanted the passenger side snorkel from a standard four barrel dual snorkel 1972 air cleaner (they use the same snorkels), that I got off of ebay reasonably cheap. Instead of trying to weld that paper thin metal back together, I used some 2 part steel epoxy. It is actually holding it together better than any weld would and looks just like it was factory installed.

The fun part was removing the thermactor heat riser valves from the snorkels. It's easy to bend the tab and get the units out, but to reinstall the retaining tabs you need to use a special tool: My late Grandfather left me a pair of long wood vise clamps. You put one leg of the clamp down the mouth of the snorkle and the other on top of the thermactor bracket and tighten. It bends the interior tab forward perfectly. Sure beats trying to pry and tap with a long chisel and hammer. Thanks Grampa!

I also used paint stripper to remove all the factory paint. Once it was together I used Rustoleum Satin Black which duplicated the factory finish exactly. Another backyard auto restoration success story.

BEFORE:
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/72engshakerpassA.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/72HOpasscloseup.jpg

[njsteve]

AFTER:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/aircleaner3.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/aircleaner2.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/aircleaner1.jpg

[njsteve]

The finished result looks just like this $2000 NOS air cleaner from ebay a few months back! Total repair price: $3 for epoxy, $3 for primer, $4 for paint, $75 for extra 4 bbl air cleaner, which I can probably resell on ebay for the same amount I bought it for. Total investment, minus labor = $85.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/nosac2.jpg

[69rsz28]

Really nice job Steve. I hope I have that kind of success when I start working on my project. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif

[CamarosRus]

Steve, Is it correct that you removed the BAD snorkel and installed a good one from another cleaner......If this is the case can you elaborate on HOW you did the amputation and reattachement........
Also if you used Rustoleum 7777 Satin Black, and it matches Pontiac OEM......may I assume that Chevrolet's Air Cleaners were in fact somewhat glossier.......than factory Pontiac ????

Chuck

[njsteve]

You can see from the photos that the color is a very close match to the NOS air cleaner's color. The same transplant procedure works for any of the chevy air cleaners as well. You just have to know which snorkel is the correct one to swap. There are only four tack welds on the outer flange perimeter that hold the flange of the snorkel against the air cleaner base. Using a very small chisel you gently split the seam between the flange and the base. The metal is very thin and once you get it off, you can tap it flat again. Attaching the new snorkel is relatively easy as the snorkel fits over the 1/2" tubular section that is on the base with a snug fit. You dont even need clamps to hold it on. Just apply epoxy to the flange and tap it back into place, and wait for it to set.

[njsteve]

The driver's side snorkel on any Pontiac 4bbl air cleaner from late 60s to 72 is the one you need to replace either of the snorkels on a 70 to 72 Trans Am air cleaner. Unfortunately you need two of them. (Even though both sides have the Thermac valve, the passenger's side snorkel usually doesn't have the heat riser tube mount on the bottom, but sometimes you get lucky). In these photos you can see the 4 bbl donor air cleaner, the flange area and the underside which shows the passenger side snorkel without the tube mount. This would be a similar process for any GM air cleaner. KevinW seems to be the expert on donor snorkels for Chevy stuff. He knows which are the right ones for the cowl air cleaners, especially the rarer automatic equipped ones that had the Thermac heat riser.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/acfix1.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/acfix3.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/acfix4.jpg

[CamarosRus]

Kevin W, Might you know of another G.M. application that used the same snorkels as the ONE YEAR ONLY 1970 Camaro L-78 or 70 LS-6/L-78 Chevelle W/O Cowl Induction Hood ??

Chuck S

[njsteve]

Since it finally stopped raining after a week or so I decided to reinstall the drivetrain back on the finished subframe. Using my superior male logic I figured I would lift the engine and move the subframe around under it and then set it down. This was my second theory after I couldn't move the engine and trans assembly by myself while it was up in the air on the winch.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/engframere1.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/engframere3.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/engframere4.jpg

[Leigh]

Thats looking really nice. Good luck with the T/A.

[KevinW]

Chuck, do you have a pic of the air cleaner you are taking about. Steve is giving me credit for way too much knowledge http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I know 69s the best, I get fuzzy when you go to 68s or 70s. I do know that most same year similar applications recieved the same snorkel and can be swapped just like steve did. Send or post me a pic and I will try to ID it.

[SamLBInj]

Excellent job there Steve! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

[njsteve]

I spent yesterday fixing the dozen and half extra holes in the firewall from 32 years of brackets, coils, ballast resistors etc. It almost looks like someone had target practice with a .22 rifle.

Here is the before shot:
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/firewall3.jpg

I was able to borrow a buddy's welder and grinder and ended up filling all the holes myself. Took a few tries but I eventually got the hang of it. I then used some chemical stripper to remove the burnt up paint from the previous owner's carb fire. I only removed what I had to, so I have a reference point to the original semi-flat black paint. And I didn't even burn down the garage either! Here's the after shot:
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/friewallstrip2.jpg

[njsteve]

I've also been continuing the reassembly of the drivetrain. It's starting to take shape: I installed the carb, a/c compressor, alternator, clutch bellcrank, backdrive linkage, etc.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PA230016.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PA230011.jpg

[njsteve]

By the way, does anyone have a spare power steering reservoir for a 70's style GM pump? Mine is crushed beyond repair from years of prybar initiated fan belt adjustments:
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/pspump2.jpghttp://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/pspump3.jpg

[Dave Rifkin]

Looking good; you could go into business doing this type of work.

[njsteve]

I don't have the patience for body work. I can do just about anything else (within reason) -If it's greasy, it's easy! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif

[KevinW]

Steve, Bruce has 2 that he will let go real cheap http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif unknown if they work, but they look good and dirty. I will email you too.

[njsteve]

I ended up just ordering a remanufactored AC/Delco unit ps pump. They are relatively cheap and we'll see what it looks like when it arrives. Today's project was removing the original shifter handle from the factory Hurst Competition Plus shifter so I could send the shifter out for a rebuild. More bonehead engineering: It seems a previous owner devised his own version of a shim to take up some of the slack from the worn out insulator that retains the stick. He jammed a 1984 penny alongside the shifter. It took about an hour of tapping, picking and chiseling to get the one cent piece out of there, just so I'd have enough room to slide the two feelergauges in to release the retainer tabs. I am beginning to believe that the Lord of Pontiacs up there seems to be getting a kick of throwing these little hurdles my way. Gotta love these weekly backyard challenges.http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Salvatore]

My dad used to tell me all the time...If it's easy it ain't worth it! That used to make me mad especially when it was a pain in the neck job I was trying to do. But I wish he was still around to tell me that some more. Looks great Steve! Its all worth it.

[BARN FIND]

[ QUOTE ]
By the way, does anyone have a spare power steering reservoir for a 70's style GM pump? Mine is crushed beyond repair from years of prybar initiated fan belt adjustments:
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/pspump2.jpghttp://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/pspump3.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

If you end up still needing a pump reservior, PM me, I think I may have one on a 71 Bird subframe.

[SamLBInj]

[ QUOTE ]
It seems a previous owner devised his own version of a shim to take up some of the slack from the worn out insulator that retains the stick. He jammed a 1984 penny alongside the shifter. It took about an hour of tapping, picking and chiseling to get the one cent piece out of there,.http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ] I know where your coming from, Years ago the throw out bearing was jammed in tight on my 69 Z, it took a few hours for me and my Dad to cut it out of there, what a project that was http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gif

[njsteve]

So after the penny removal funfest it finally occurred to me that my labor costs are 1 cent/per hour. I knew I was getting away too cheaply on this car. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

[mockingbird812]

[ QUOTE ]
So after the penny removal funfest it finally occurred to me that my labor costs are 1 cent/per hour. I knew I was getting away too cheaply on this car. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Question is, did you salvage the penny and set it aside for the photo/documentation album? It's all apart of your journey. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Your ride looks stunning. Keep the pix a comin'! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

[njsteve]

I finished the prep on the firewall last week and painted it over the weekend. I used the mask and spray bomb technique with Rustoleum Satin Black, which as you can see is pretty darn close to the original black on the outer cowl areas. I masked off the original paint on the outer cowl areas and just painted the center panel, keeping it within the original lower overspray line.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/e3732b56.jpg

[njsteve]

Today I stripped the upper cowl area. It had several layers of fisheyed glossy black paint on it, so it had to go. I masked off the original caulking and used chemical stripper very sparingly. I then washed it all down with water followed by mineral spirits. The metal is surpisingly nice underneath. Once I get the cowl done I will finally be getting close to reattaching the subframe and drivetrain to the body.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/5ed01cb3.jpg

[njsteve]

Here's the cowl tag area. Original rivets are intact. There was a small plug of caulking in both rivet holes. I removed it so it wouldn't retain any of the chemical stripper. I used an old toothbrush once the stripper did its work: no wire bristle brushes here, didn't want to damage the soft metal tag.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/39afd30d.jpg

[Salvatore]

Lookin good. Amazing how nice some of that 30 some year old metal is. Cowl area looks like fresh metal. Sam

[njsteve]

Being a Northern boy myself, I can tell you there's nothing like a car from a non-salt state like California.

[Salvatore]

How true that is! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worship.gif

[njsteve]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
By the way, does anyone have a spare power steering reservoir for a 70's style GM pump? Mine is crushed beyond repair from years of prybar initiated fan belt adjustments:

[/ QUOTE ]

If you end up still needing a pump reservior, PM me, I think I may have one on a 71 Bird subframe.

[/ QUOTE ]

A great big thanks to Ray (a.k.a. BARNFIND) for sending me a free-be 1971 Pontiac power steering pump with no dents in the reservoir. I was even able to cancel my back-ordered pump from AC-Delco, which saved me a bunch of $$$. Ray - Awesome guy! That's what makes being a member of this website so worthwhile. Carguys helping other carguys.
http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif

[njsteve]

I have the firewall and cowl top completely painted now. I followed the original overspray lines on the cowl edge:
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/firewalltop5.jpg

[njsteve]

I also reinstalled the factory Hurst shifter on the M22. I had Peter Serio rebuild it. He did an awesome job. It took one week, including shipping both ways! Turns out it was the original shifter dated from August 1971. When I took it apart it had all of the factory installed hairpin style clips and washers still intact, as well as the original rubber grommets. Pete's website is: http://www.precisionpontiac.com/contact.htm in case you need his services. He is the expert in Hurst stuff and I highly recommend him. I also sent out the handle to be rechromed. Got that back today. It was $45 and my local chrome guy in Newark, New Jersey did an excellent job - Flavio, of All Bright Metal Finishing (973) 371-8060. Took him 8 days for the job. He does a lot of show car stuff and is very reasonable and meticulous...and things are finished when he says they will be. (which is rare for a chrome plater these days)
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/shifter1.jpg

[njsteve]

I spent the past week restoring the a/c evaporator housing. It even had it's original POA valve, dated September 21, 1971 still attached. Some gentle application of paint stripper and degreaser removed the years of gunk and overspray, leaving a very clean fiberglas housing. Even the original red paint inspection mark and the Harrision decal remained intact. I replaced the factory heater core as I was not about to trust the 33 year-old piece in there. I also replaced the a/c wiring harness as the original was melted beyond recognition and repaired with, of all things, aluminum foil and duct tape. Gee, no electrical shorts there!
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/firewallac1.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/firewallac2.jpg

[budnate]

Hey I need to clean my a/c box as well..can you tell me how you got away with stripper and not messing up the finish?? or did this step get the box to sparkle for lack of a better word... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

[njsteve]

I brushed it on and waited only a few minutes before wiping it off and then washing it down with mineral spirits to kill any remaining stripper. It did this, maybe two or three times to get all of the paint off. Lacquer strips very easily, the stripper emulsifies it and it just wipes away, whereas enamel based paints bubble first and then can be gently scraped away with a plastic scraper. Either way make sure you wash it with water and mineral spirits to remove any remaining stripper residue. Too long and it will attack the fiberglass. After I had it all clean and dry, I lightly dusted it with some Rustoleum clear enamel to bring back the gloss like the original shiny fiberglass finish.

[MosportGreen66]

Steve... is the unit fiberglass?

[njsteve]

Yes, the outer shell is made of a grey fiberglass with visible chopped strands in it. I think all of the GM "suitcases" as they are more ommonly called, were made of this injection molded fibreglass. Here's a closer look:
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/firewallac3.jpg

[budnate]

aahhhhhhh I see you cleared it you rascal...I thought it had a little bling to her..it turned out awsome I will try the same recipe and see how I do.

Thnx for the tip, Bud.

[Salvatore]

Probably made from the same materials as the tail light housings from the camaros are made. They have like that marble affect. Very nice job Steve!

[SamLBInj]

Coming along very nicely Steve..Keep the pics and updates coming, very interesting http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

[njsteve]

These are the clutch related parts I had to replace on my 114,000 mile Trans Am. I will have to weld up the elongated clutch pedal hole but look at how much of the linkage parts were worn through after 33 years of heavy shifting. By the way, these pedal is as it came out of the car: that's the original finish on it -still no rust after all these years!
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/clutchrods.jpg

[njsteve]

I installed the subframe on the car today. It actually went very easy, just rolled it back on the floor jack and lifted the body with a transmission jack with a 8-foot fence post supporting the body.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/subframeinstall2.jpg

[njsteve]

Here it is all connected back together after 6 months apart:
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/subframeon3.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/subframeon1.jpg

[njsteve]

I am in need of the little rubber molded hose that goes from the heater fan motor housing to the a/c housing. The one pictured is actually for a Corvette and the curve is wrong. Anyone out there have an extra? They should be the same for all F-bodies for a number of years.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/heatertube.jpg

[Xplantdad]

Awesome stuff Steve! I enjoy the pics and the info. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

[njsteve]

As a post-Thanksgiving family activity I finished the rear differential and cleaned it up. The one thing that always bothers me about restorations is that some guys out there take way too much time to reproduce paint marks that were originally applied in about two seconds at the factory. My solution? I had my kids do the paint marks and they had a ball! I had the 10 year old do the letter "E" that was on the bottom of the dif, simply because my 5 year old isn't so hot on his alphabet skills at the moment.
Here's the original paint marks:
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/reardif10.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/difcolorcodesa.jpg

and here's the 10-yer-old's version:
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/rearpaint3.jpg

[njsteve]

Here's the remainder of their arts and crafts activities for the day. We replaced all of the marks that were found on the rear as it was in the car, no extras, just the orginals. I printed out photos of the marks and gave them to the kids to duplicate. Here's the 5-year-old's masterpiece. They are available for contracting out on outside restoration projects. They now consider themselves "Semi-Random Paint Application Restoration Technicians."
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/rearpaint2.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/rearpaint1.jpg

[njsteve]

Anyone ever see one of these? I found it in the bottom of my driver's side fender last year and didn't think it belonged to the car so I tossed it in the garbage but it missed and landed on the back of my workbench and it's been there ever since. The other day I was perusing the 71 and 72 Pontiac repair manuals and found this diagram that explains exactly what it is! Turns out it is the original horn relay cover, installed at the factory. I have no idea why they used it but I guess I'll put it back on since it came from the car.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/relaycover2.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/relaydiagram1.jpg

[shor]

That's great getting the kids involved.
I am sure they will remember that for a long time!

[njsteve]

Just got the original power brake booster back from Steve Gregori in California. He does an awesome job on these units. I have the entire brake system done now but have to clean up the rear leaf springs before I can reinstall the finished rear and hook up the rear brake line.

The master cylinder is a 5470409 but it doesn't have the bleeder screws. The original one on the car was the same way: no bleeder screws. So I am still wondering if the car, being a late 71 build should have a master cylinder with the bleeders or not? Anyone have an opinion on this???
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/engbrake1.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/engbrake3.jpg

[DaJudge]

Nice detail work Steve, your TA is looking good ! The master cylinder should have the bleeders, I may have one in my attic above my garage and will check for you. It was off a 71 TA I used to own 15 years ago. I had my 10 year old daughter help me out with some paint daubs as well. She really liked it as well.

[njsteve]

That would be great if you could find one. I've been checking all the parts stores and it's kind of the luck of the draw whether you get one with the bleeders or not. So far, not.

[njsteve]

I've spent some time away from the T/A doing the holiday thing. But back to work now. With the rear dif all finished, it's time to hit the springs. I disassembled one of the leaf spring assemblies by gently tapping the spring clamps to each end with a wooden mallet so I wouldn't have to try to unbend them. I then removed the center bolt and wirebrushed each spring leaf, washed them, coated them with oxy-solv rust killer and then painted them in cast iron engine paint. I then greased the plastic insulator pads and reassembled the spring pack and then tapped the clamps back into place. The spring steel that the leaves are made of is really rough and pitted, even without having been rusted. I guess that's just the quality that came from the steel mills back in 1972.

I have been thinking about how to duplicate the factory stenciled part number and ended up with this solution: I took a photo of the part number next to a ruler, uploaded the photo to my computer and then reduced the file size until the image of the ruler on the screen was the exact size of a ruler I held up to the screen. I then printed the photo out in black and white and cut the letters out with a razor knife...and voila, a perfect stencil for the original PL-461612 1972 455 HO with a/c rear leaf spring assembly!
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/spring1.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/springstencil.jpg

[njsteve]

Here's the finished product. Now I have to do the other side, but I will be masking off and keeping intact the original paint mark.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/spring2.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/spring3.jpg

[njsteve]

I spent the morning cleaning the frame rail area in preparation for installing the springs and rear end. I used lacquer thinner on a red rag and a lot of elbow grease and it worked great. It removed the years of dust and grime from the bottom. Interesting note: It looks like on 2nd Gen F-Bodies the factory had the rear axle snubbers installed on the body prior to being dipped in the primer bath at the assembbly plant. As you can see that is shiny metal under the area where the snubber was.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/P1140003.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/P1140002.jpg

[njsteve]

I kept going underneath, cleaning til I got to the other side...It also looks like they had the passenger side upper sway bar mount break away from the frame. Evidence of a sloppy weld repair is present.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/P1140004.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/P1140006.jpg

[njsteve]

Here are some details of the inner trunk floor extensions. They were undercoated from the factory on this car. You can also see the seam sealer in the rear joint area.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/P1140014.jpg

[njsteve]

And here's the passenger side rear inner fender area. While scrubbing away with the lacquer thinner and a rag I discovered a non-scratching scraper tool on my garage floor...a plastic bottle cap! It was within arms reach so I grabbed it and it worked wonders. I was able to get into the tiny areas and it was soft enough not to scratch any of the original primer or paint. I should patent it!

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/P1140008.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/P1140012.jpg

[71-LS6]

Hey Steve, that was a pretty neat trick with the leaf spring stencils. Looking good! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif

[njsteve]

When all else fails, use the cranium! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/scholar.gif

[njsteve]

Got the rear end installed, along with the sway bar and shocks. I ended up painting a set of KYB gas shocks in the GM grey color (did the same in the front). This way they won't stick out so much as not being original.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/P1150001.jpg

[njsteve]

I started to clean up the driveshaft and noticed that the original paint marks were still there, under the grey paint someone put on. Some careful cleaning and here's the remnants: From the front of the driveshaft the order is orange, white, then yellow. (This stripe scheme is corroborated by the '72 repair manual list as the correct code for the M-22 and M40 driveshaft for 1972) The stripes are brushed on and they are 1/2" wide with a 3/8" gap between them. (You can still see the brush marks in the paint) The front stripe is 19-3/8" from the front weld seam and the rear stripe is 22-1/2" from the rear weld seam.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/P1150009.jpg

[yellowjudge]

Great pics, & very informative

[njsteve]

I spent a few hours chemically stripping the paint off of the driveshaft and then polishing it with the coarse wirebrush disc on my bench grinder. It worked very well. The finish matched the shiny areas under the stripes exactly. I then restriped it with one shot striping enamel and a brush. I let the paint dry overnight and then installed the U-joints and sprayed the whole assembly with the wax based Nyalac metal preservative. It works pretty well at keeping natural metal from rusting.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/P1160002a.jpg

[DarrenX33]

Steve this is incredible work. I am blown away. Geez where the hell have I been? http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worship.gif

[MosportGreen66]

Steve... I can have my cars at your door step... ahh... tonight if you want 'em? (all of them...)

[njsteve]

Thanks for the moral support. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gifIt's amazing what you can do when you don't have the cubic $$$ to pay someone else to do it for you. I am running out of things to do now. Hopefully ENOCH can take the car soon to do the body and paint. I spent today under the car installing the driveshaft and then cleaning the rest of the underside with lacquer thinner and rags. Looks great from the floor looking up! (I don't have a lift, so it's all cold concrete here in Jersey). Thanks again y'all.

[njsteve]

The one interesting thing I have noticed after the hours spent under this car, is that it appears that the factory undercoated the cars PRIOR to painting them. If you look at the wheelwell shots you can see the areas where the undercoating has chipped away: you see red primer and not white body color. (See the photo of the rear frame rail with the big red section where a large piece of stray undercoating fell off during the cleaning process)

So I guess if you are correctly restoring one of these 2nd generation F-body cars, the wheel wells should have body color overspray on top of the black undercoating (rather ugly in my opinion).

[Jacsey 70Z]

Steve, Not sure I agree 100% with your statement about the undercoat before the color. Here is a picture of my 70Z it's unrestored and original paint (hugger orange) norwood car. All I did was clean and new exhaust, but you can see all the undercoat patterns.
I've enjoyed following this post, you've done a Great job and I love all the detail. Keep up the good work and continue to post the pictures.

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL17/1627096/5944722/120967600.jpg

[njsteve]

Maybe they changed the procedure by 1972 but from the photos there is no other logical explanation if you go layer by layer. Top layer is white, middle layer is undercoat and bottom layer is red oxide. If you chip off a piece of the oversprayed undercoating right next to a white section of metal, you only see red oxide. Here's a shot of the untouched front lower cowl area. You can see where the original paint has flaked away from the black undercoat/sealer from overzealous pressure washing (-my fault) On the rear frame rail the large red spot is where a large glob of undercoating fell off during the cleaning process, leaving only red oxide. If the car was painted white before undercoating, there should be white overspray under the undercoating and not over. (Now I'm sounding like a scene in the Movie Airplane: "Roger Over, Over Under, Under out") Do we have any former Norwood employees out there who can chime in???

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/a6d052e7.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/P1140002.jpg

[njsteve]

Got disgusted watching all the Barrett-Jackson stuff so I went out in the garage to play with the T/A this afternoon. Hooked the battery up just for fun to see what works. All the gauges actually still worked! I had worried there for a while after the initial engine run in without the right ground straps. I thought I had burned out the temp and volt gauges from the voltage feedback but they all seemed to work properly when the key was turned on today. Even the factory radio worked when I hooked some speakers up. That leads me to this question: Do you have to run 10 ohm rated speakers with the factory radio? I have the original 10 ohm dash speaker hooked up but the rear speakers were 4 ohm rated. Will this hurt the radio?

[tom406]

How are they wired? If they're wired in series (non stereo) for an 8 ohm load, they'd be just fine if there's a second set of outputs. Basically, its my understanding that whenever you drop the resistance (ohms) by half, the current the amplifier tries to deliver is doubled, and these high currents are what get you in trouble. I'm not familiar with what the factory did when you got the optional rear speaker on some of these setups. I would look at the factory wiring diagram, and just try to keep the ohm loads withing at least 60 or 70% of what the original setups were, and then avoid cranking it up excessively.

[njsteve]

It should have an AM/FM stereo unit (very hard to find) but I found a nice non stereo AM/FM and put that in. I connected the rear speakers off of the single speaker output wire that comes out of the radio. So I believe that would be in series, giving me one 10 ohm dash speaker, and two 4 ohm rear speakers for a total of 18 ohms of resistance. It sounded fine in terms of volume and clarity. So hopefully it won't burn anything out.

[njsteve]

Here's a tech tip for the day: I've been trying to figure out where the short was in the wiring for the blower motor. I got so frustrated after an hour or two under the dash that I gave the damn motor a smack with my hand and what happens? It starts working. Typical. I then sprayed the heck out of the internals with WD-40 and it works fine now. So remember when all else fails, smack it with a bigger hammer...it just might help. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/scholar.gif

[Dave Rifkin]

I have to say that this has been my favorite thread to watch throughout the past few months. I love to watch the progress and see the various tips and tricks that are being used to restore such a nice TA.
Keep the updates coming........I really look forward to them

[njsteve]

The last thing to do before taking it off the jack stands was to adjust the subframe and tighten it up. I loosened the bushing bolts and then used a tapered 3/4" brass drift to align the holes in the subframe mounts with the pilot holes in the body mounts. It worked great. I then tightened the 4 bolts to 95 pounds. I finally was able to put the T/A back on the ground again and then rolled it out of the way to sweep out the garage and clean up the workbench. I found all the little clips and nuts and things that have been flinging out of sight over the past 6 months or so. It's amazing how they all migrate to the center, underneath the car.

I Hooked up the battery and cranked the engine over just to get the oil pressure up. The factory gauge is actually still accurate. After about 5 seconds of cranking it was reading 75 pounds, which is the same as the mechanical gauge I had hooked up.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/Jan06front.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/Jan06rear.jpg

[njsteve]

I unbolted the rear spoiler, tail panel, rear lamps and bumper. You can still see where the remnants of the original set of tape stripes were. Interestingly, the factory was about 3/8" inch to the left of center. So much for assembly line precision.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/rearstripe.jpg

[njsteve]

Here's the finished dash and gauges. I removed everything and cleaned it up (mainly removed all the dust). The 1970-73 engine-turned dash panels are nearly impossible to find in nice shape -they all turn yellow with age. I ended up disassembling mine, removing the factory clear varnish with lacquer thinner and then sprayed a new layer of clear over the aluminum. It worked great -really pops now. The switches all function properly now too, even the A/C stuff: you can hear the compressor clutch click when you trip the switch. All the gauges work too, even the clock. That was actually fun to restore. It's even rather easy, just remove the unit, take a small file (your wife's favorite nail file works perfectly) and file the set of points flat. Then spray all the gears and internals with WD-40. That's it. The clock runs, well...like clock now.

Here's the "before" shot, complete with cheesy aftermarket Grant steering wheel and stereo:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/72dashpass11-20-04.jpg


Here's the "after" shot, complete with my daughter's baby shoes hanging from the mirror -she's already claimed the car as hers.
I guess that means now I have to teach her how to powershift an M-22: http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/Jan06dash.jpg

[njsteve]

I removed the doors and trunk lid and loaded the front sheetmetal up, to bring them to Enoch tomorrow so he can start on them. This way he can have 1/2 the car semifinished when the body arrives. More evidentiary photos show that these cars must have had their doors and trunk lids installed when they went through the red oxide primer dip. Notice that there is no primer under the hinge area at the door jam and only some seepage on top of the trunk hinge where the shims left a gap.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/drhinge2.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/trunkhinge.jpg

[njsteve]

Here's how she looks at the moment:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/feb06a.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/feb06b.jpg

[njsteve]

Here is the original plastic front valance from the car. All of the mounting points are broken and it is cracked in several places...and the parts that aren't cracked, are melted from a past carb fire gone out of control. Next to it is the "Parts Place" reproduction. The upper flanges seem to be wider than the originals and of course the whole thing is much thinner tha the original factory piece, but it's all we have to work with at the moment until someone makes a better one. I would think that these pieces would be in high demand to accurately reproduce as the cars look so much better with the plastic valance than the steel one: you don't see the unfinished lower nose flange with the plastic valance as you do with the steel ones.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/valance1.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/valance2.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/valcompare.jpg

[71-LS6]

Hey Steve, good job on that dash panel. Following this thread is kind of like watching old episodes of "McGyver". Keep the pics coming.

[njsteve]

I don't know about McGyver but I feel more like Cliff Clavin on Cheers sometimes:

"As a matter of fact there Normy, the 1972 Camaro and Firebird, or F-Bodies as they are more commonly referred to by those in the know, were the lowest production year of any of the years from 1967 to 2002 due to the fact of a full strike against the Norwood Assembly Plant was instituted by the United Auto Workers, resulting in thousands of unfinished cars left on the assembly line being scrapped as they would not have passed the more stringent 1973 emission and bumper standards...." http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/scholar.gif

[njsteve]

I took a little break while getting the Camaro sold and delivered, so now it's back to work. I sent the original radiator out to be recored and got it back a week later. I went to reinstall it and it wouldn't fit. Very strange, it was 3/4" too wide for the saddles. The following Monday I called the radiator guy (very reputable, long-time radiator overhauler and custom tank fabricator) and he was scratching his head also. Until finally he says: "Hey wait a minute I was recoring a Camaro radiator the same week...could I have switched the cores? He picks up the phone and calls the Camaro guy and asks him if he installed the rad yet. The guy says: "I was just about to, right now." The rad guy tells him: "Just bring it back now, I'll explain later." Turns out he did swtich the cores and there was a 3/4" difference in the widths for the same year cars. He redid my radiator with a new corre (and the other guy's too) and had it back to me in a few days. No charge. I have to say he was a stand-up guy about the whole thing, no questions, no excuses. You don't find that very often these days in service industries. I would definitely recommend him: Arts Radiator Fabrication in Flemington, NJ. He was surprised that I wasn't angry. I explained it this way: if it was a simple mistake that I could have made, there is no way that I would fault anyone else for making the same mistake. So I guess the lesson for all of us is the old saying: "measure twice and cut once." Or in this case: "measure twice and install once."

I also found a correct, original master cylinder on ebay for $18, complete with the bleeder screws and had my local auto parts store send it out and had it rebuilt. I installed it and filled the system with silicone brake fluid and bled it. I prefer the silicone fluid on restorations because if you ever have a leak or a drip, it won't hurt the paint. Easy insurance.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/radinstall1.jpg

[njsteve]

I found another 1971-72 charcoal cannister and restored that. My original had some slight nipple damage (insert joke here) from the previous owner's fire. Being the dummy that I am I always wondered why they called it a charcoal cannister. That was until I pulled the filter off the bottom while having it right side up. Here's what came out: about two pounds of charcoal.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/charcoal.jpg

[njsteve]

Here's the new one back in the car. I reused the original hose clamps after cleaning them up a little. I went to the local pet store and bought two pounds of activated charcoal (for fish tank filter use) and poured that into the cannister and then capped it off with a new filter on the bottom. I then reinstalled it on the base and bolted it back up to the radiator support. It should actually work as intended now.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/radinstall2.jpg

[Xplantdad]

Wow Steve...looking great! This is better than any restoration book... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif

[Charley Lillard]

But now you have cheap repo charcoal in your car...

[njsteve]

Well, as a matter of fact there Normy, if one were to perform carbon dating on both samples of charcoal they would both date back to the early Pennsylvanian period, when the majority of the Earth's coal supply was formed.
-Sincerely, Cliff Clavin

[njsteve]

I've been working on my other project lately (1987 IROC Z) and have been collecting parts for the T/A. I recently received my Gardner exhaust system and trial fitted it this afternoon. Amazing quality stuff! It took longer to bolt up the hangers than it did to hang the entire system. Everything slid into place by hand. The only problem I ran into was trying to finagle the intermediate pipes under the car without the car being on a lift. I was like one of those twisted nail puzzlers that you see in novelty stores. There was only one way to move, twist and rotate the pipe(s) around to get them into place. But after using my brain and lifting the car as high as possible on the jack stands, they eventually fell into place. I highly recommend their products. I trial fitted (no clamps) everything so I can start the car with an exhaust in place. The engine hasn't been run in 6 months or so and now that I have the radiator, power steering and everything else hooked up I want to get it sorted out. I'll try to link some photos in the next day or so.

[njsteve]

Here are some photos of the Gardner exhaust trial fitted to the car. The pipes hung perfectly -no tools required.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/exh1.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/exh2a.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/exh3.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/exh4.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/exh5.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/exh6.jpg

[njsteve]

Once in a while you actually find a bargain on ebay: I have been looking for an NOS front spoiler for the T/A. When you can locate one they run between $300 and $400 dollars. The reproductions are total garbage. This one was somewhat mis-described in its auction and I ended up getting it for $128! It is definitely an original NOS GM piece that came factory pre-painted in white. Here it is alongside my slightly used (smashed and burnt) original one:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/fspoiler3.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/fspoiler4.jpg

[njsteve]

I put some gas in her today and she started right up. The Gardner exhaust sounds very nice. Kinda rumbly. Now I have to figure out why the temp gauge isnt working. It worked last Fall when I ran it. Everything on the engine and frame is grounded and the gauge moves to zero when the key is turned on but doesn't read when the engine heats up. Anyone know how to test these guages and/or the sender? The gauges use a printed circuit in the back.

[njsteve]

I fixed the gauge problem. An old-time mechanic buddy of mine gave me this secret: if you want to verify if the guage is working disconnect the temp sensor wire from the sensor at the engine and connect a test light between the sensor wire and engine ground. Turn on the ignition switch. The test light should glow dimly. If it glows, the gauge is working and is grounded properly and the sensor itself is bad. That was the case here. I went to the local NAPA store and they actually had the correct gauge sensor in stock with the correct slip-on style terminal end for early GM vehicles. This makes me happy as I did not want to pull the dash out for exploratory surgery.

[njsteve]

Just so you don't all think I've been slacking. Here's what she looks like at the moment. Everything starts up and runs as designed, even the shaker flapper (they use two of the same hood solenoids as the 69 Camaro). I am waiting for the body shop to get the front sheet metal done before I bring the rest of the car down. Don't mind the damaged shaker, That is the original one the previous owner drove over when he was putting the fire out. I have a mint replacment waiting for paint.

I just dropped off the original honeycomb wheels at the media blaster today to get the several layers of incorrect silver paint off of them. I'll update when they come back.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/aug06eng2.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/aug06eng3.jpg

[DarrenX33]

Looks great slacker. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

[Xplantdad]

Yep...Darren's right. It looks great.

This is like having a continuing magazine article...I can't wait to see the finished product. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

[MosportGreen66]

[ QUOTE ]
Looks great slacker. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I wish I could restore as well as you slack... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif

[firstgenaddict]

Wow you are doing a heck of a job on that T/A... it looks very http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif
Do you hire out?

[njsteve]

I sent out the original honeycomb wheels to be media blasted to get them ready for refinishing. The Honeycomb wheel was a rather innovative design for the time: they used a molded urethane face on a stamped steel wheel.

I ended up using the same media blasting facility as in this article. They were actually pretty close to me here in Jersey. http://www.goatsgarage.com/huny1.html

They had them done in three days. Awesome job. They stripped off about four or five layers of crappy silver paint and this was the result. Now I can refinish them with that $40 a can OEM honeycomb paint. Ouch!

Here they are sitting out in the 103 degree New Jersey heat. I washed them off and the water literally turned to steam as I watched. Gotta love that global warming. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/honeycomb1.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/honeycomb3.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/honeycomb5.jpg

[njsteve]

Here is a honeycomb wheel after priming with the OEM flexible primer. I sprayed the rest of the rim (sides and back) with a Rustoleum grey that was very close to the original. I searched various auto parts stores and eventually found the correct flexible bumper repair kit. I found this at a Napa store. They pulled it off of a back shelf and blew the dust off the box. It looks like 1980s vintage packaging but it worked fine. A couple of the rims had factory moding flaws and air pockets that needed to be filled. Also three of the rims had edges that were not fully molded to the rim from the factory. I ended up just gooping it on my finger and spreading it by hand on the edges, kinda like doing bathtub caulking.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/honeycomba.jpg

[njsteve]

Here's the finished product. The OEM Honeycomb wheel paint actually goes a long way. I painted all five wheels with one can! I bought three. I ended up using a second can just to get a heavy coat on the wheels but the finish didnt change much with the extra paint. Good stuff, if you follow the directions and spray it from 8 to 10 inches away, it leaves a dry textured finish with lots of metallic sparkles. After painting them in the driveway I walked inside and the wife asks me "Where the heck have you been, the disco?" I was covered in the sparkly overspray, looking like I just came back from a hard night at Studio 54, circa 1977.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/P8040001.jpg

[njsteve]

OK, something went schizo with my photo account, so here's the finished wheel photo, again. I had to reload it:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/honeycombb.jpg

[njsteve]

Here are the 2 of the 5 finished wheels. I indexed the tires so the letters are all in the same spot on all four road wheels. Since the 72 Honeycombs don't use a trim ring, which would cover the wheel weights, I decided to balance the wheels on the backside only. As much as I have harped on the price of the very expensive OEM line of spraypaints, I do have to admit they are the exact, correct finsh, they make the wheels look great, and each can goes a long way.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/honeycombd.jpg

[SuperNovaSS]

SWEET!

[njsteve]

I took a ride over to ENOCH's place today to see the progress on the Trans Am's body parts. We have to replace one door skin (I found a correct NOS one on ebay pretty cheap - a miracle since it is impossible to find the 70 to 73 style with the correct longer door handle opening) Anyway, here are some shots of the door. He had already prepped the edges for the new skin by beadblasting the mounting areas (the shiny silver areas). I guess this settles the question of whether the doors were loaded (minus glass and sliders) when they went into the primer dip.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/door1.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/door2.jpg

[njsteve]

And here's the door skin. Heavily infested with the dreaded "Bondo Worms." Gotta love 1970's dent repair. Drill a few hundred holes, use the dent puller and then smear the Bondo on til it squeezes through the holes.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/door3.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/door4.jpg

[njsteve]

Ok, since it's been raining cats and dogs outside for the past four days and it looks like I'm not loading up to go to Musclepalooza in a hurricane I thought I'd reupholster the front seats. I took over the dining room table, laid out some carpet on top and made myself a workbench. (It sure helps when the wife is visiting her relatives for the week and I have the house to myself). I ordered the PUI seat cover set last week and spent the past few days tugging and pulling and hog ringing til my hands were numb.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/seat1.jpg

[njsteve]

I found the best way to get the covers on with the least amount of wrinkles was to asemble them onto the foam backing and hog ring them on. After that's done you can slide the metal frame into the seat cover (this works for the seat back far easier than for the seat bottoms) Here's a shot of the hinge assembly: those chrome push-on retainers are bear to get off. You have to pry them into oblivian before they release. Amazingly, Home Depot had the exact ones in their hardware aisle for 45 cents each. (Note to self: when you do the other side don't try to hold the cap in place while hitting it with the large wooden mallet pictured in the previous photo. OUCH! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif)

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/seat4.jpg

[njsteve]

Here are the finished products. The seat on the right has the original upper material (this was originally the passenger seat back cover. I was able to pull the upper cover and foam off of the passenger side frame and switch it to the driver's side frame since the cover was nearly perfect. Both seat bottoms and the left seat back are the PUI pieces. They still need some heat gun time to smooth out the pull marks and wrinkles but they look pretty decent. Here's a close up of the material differences in the 1972 Tetra grain inserts used on the 1972 deluxe seats. You can see that the PUI cover on the left has slightly larger perforations than the pin-sized holes on the original material on the right.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/seat5.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/seat6.jpg

[njsteve]

It's finally sunny out so I have the seats cooking in the mid-day sun on the driveway. Had some spare time (family still away) so I bolted up the nose brackets. I am definitely learning something about Pontiacs. -They must have had some Rube-Goldberg type engineer thinking this stuff up: if one bracket would work on on a Chevy, Pontiac had to use three or four. If you have ever seen how Pontiac designed the a/c compressor brackets you'll know what I mean. There are support brackets bracing other support brackets that hold other brackets in place...Well anyway the front bumper/grill brackets also brace the radiator support, each with its own adjustment, hence the masking tape to protect the paint for the time being. Oh, and the horns now work, too! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/radsuppt2.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/radsuppt3.jpg

[Dave Rifkin]

This is without question my favorite thread from any site that I've visited in the years that I have been searching the web. I love to see the progress on a car that I admire and also to see the outstanding results that can be had by a car owner working out of his garage.
This restoration and all of its documentation via photographs should be made into a book.
I know I'd love to read about the methods used to create such great results.
Keep up the good work; I look forward to each and every update. I think I'll be a bit disappointed when it's finally complete; you'll have to find another car and start again (only kidding)

[njsteve]

Glad to be of service. I like to do things with my own hands. I can never understand the guys that want to buy a complete finished car: Where is the satifaction in having something that is yours simply through purchase power alone? Anyone can buy a finished car but doing it yourself (or as much as you can do yourself) is where the enjoyment is. My theory is "It's not mine until I've either broken something on it or I've bled on it somewhere, while trying to fix it."

Now where is that bottle of Advil. My thumb is throbbing from hitting it with a mallet. My forearms feel like Popeye's and I need a tetanus shot from crimping too many of those damn hog-rings onto my fingers.

Oh and I still have to hook up the new VCR/DVD in the living room after the five year old thought the DVD disc would play better with butter on it to fill in all the scratches. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Jeff H]

Steve, I did the seat covers on my 70 SS396 a month ago. They are the black/white houndstooth seats that are a one year only design so I was happy to even find a set of PUI covers. They are a close match to the originals but definitely not 100%, probably closer to 90% match. And they didn't have as many places to hog ring as the originals but it doesn't look like that was a problem for me. The TA is looking good. You need to bring it down to Jackson Outlets so we can park them together!

[Dave Rifkin]

[ QUOTE ]
Steve, I did the seat covers on my 70 SS396 a month ago. They are the black/white houndstooth seats that are a one year only design so I was happy to even find a set of PUI covers. They are a close match to the originals but definitely not 100%, probably closer to 90% match. And they didn't have as many places to hog ring as the originals but it doesn't look like that was a problem for me. The TA is looking good. You need to bring it down to Jackson Outlets so we can park them together!

[/ QUOTE ]

When is the Jackson outlets gathering; I have heard good things about that show.

[Jeff H]

[ QUOTE ]
When is the Jackson outlets gathering; I have heard good things about that show.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's the last Friday of every month during the summer. I think Sep is the last one this year. It's a nice mix of restored cars, street rods and customs.

[Turbo Regal]

[ QUOTE ]
This is without question my favorite thread from any site that I've visited in the years that I have been searching the web. I love to see the progress on a car that I admire and also to see the outstanding results that can be had by a car owner working out of his garage.
This restoration and all of its documentation via photographs should be made into a book.
I know I'd love to read about the methods used to create such great results.
Keep up the good work; I look forward to each and every update. I think I'll be a bit disappointed when it's finally complete; you'll have to find another car and start again (only kidding)

[/ QUOTE ]I agree!

[70-SS/RS-L78]

[ QUOTE ]
This is without question my favorite thread from any site that I've visited in the years that I have been searching the web. I love to see the progress on a car that I admire and also to see the outstanding results that can be had by a car owner working out of his garage.
This restoration and all of its documentation via photographs should be made into a book.
I know I'd love to read about the methods used to create such great results.
Keep up the good work; I look forward to each and every update. I think I'll be a bit disappointed when it's finally complete; you'll have to find another car and start again (only kidding)

[/ QUOTE ]

I also agree..
Nice Work Steve http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif

[njsteve]

Todays' question: I am looking at using some of the modern plastic panel repair adhesives to repair the cracks in the lower front valance for this car and was wondering if anyone knows exactly what type of plastic these valances were made of? Is it ABS plastic or something else more prehistoric than that?

Any recommendations on adhesives?

This was a very rare piece used on late 72 and early 73 Firebirds. The problem was that they were easily broken. As a result the factory replaced them all under warranty with the steel valance used in 70 to 72. The steel valance makes the front end of the car look quite different, not nearly as streamlined looking as the plastic valance version. Here's a couple shots of the one I am working on at the moment. It arrived a little more broken in shipping that I expected but I have had it in my extremely expensive ACME Plastic Valance Repair Fixture, as you can see. It took years of development and millions of dollars to perfect and cannot be duplicated at any price. It actually is working great. In about three weeks it has completely pulled the edges of the main center crack back together. Now if I only had the right adhesive to keep it there, it would be wonderful

(P.S. I am still looking for whole plastic valances or even parts to repair the plastic valance that I have for my 72 T/A if anyone out there has one for sale.)

Here's the before photos:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/Valance004.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/Valance002.jpg

[njsteve]

Here's the ACME repair fixture in all its glory:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB120001a.jpg


And here's the "after" photo showing the edges of the crack completely rejoined together through the magic of gravity and professionally applied industrial counterweights:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB120003.jpg

[KevinW]

Steve, I saw this stuff demonstrated at Carlise. It was really amazing what they could do with it. I have not puchased any because I am not there with what I have to repair yet. I'm still working with metal! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

http://plastex.home.att.net/

[70-SS/RS-L78]

Steve your best bet would be to find a similar type of thin rubber and urethane it behind the crack, If you just try to
butt weld the crack together the part will break. I have refurbished more then my share of Z/28 and TA covers. The
aftermarket covers did not even come close to OEM.

[njsteve]

Through testing I determined material is polyurethane, the same thing they make ATV body panels, motorcycle fenders and water tanks out of. I dealt with this place over the past few days: http://www.urethanesupply.com/index.html and they were an amazing help. I have one of their airless welders on its way along with the welding rods for the polyurethane material. (there is no adhesive known to man that will bond polyurethane -you must weld it to repair it) Another problem is that it is very difficult to get paint to adhere to polyurethane. They even had a step by step on how to do that! http://www.urethanesupply.com/atvpainting.html Great website. Now we know the reason these valances were molded in color: because there were no paints or additives to make the paint stick to them back then.

[njsteve]

Let me rephrase that, it's POLYETHYLENE not polyurethane. My spell checker went a little wild on me there. Damn computers. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[njsteve]

I purchased a plastic welder from www.urethanesupply.com (http://www.urethanesupply.com) and had some really good results fixing the original polyethylene front valance

Here is the process I went through which was remarkably easy. These valances are made out of polyethylene and once I figured that out, it was just boiled down to following the directions in the kit and using the right plastic welding rods. This contraption is basically a soldering iron with a special tip that you feed the polyurethane rods into.

The first step of course is cleaning the area as best as possible and the using aluminum tape to hold the cracks together. (The aluminum tape is critical as it is very thick and wont stretch like masking tape will: it holds the crack together tightly) Once that is done you use the hot tool to melt a groove in the crack halfway into the plastic. You then apply the flat face of the iron onto the crack and while melting the base material, you feed the rod material into the melted area. You do about an inch at a time and them massage it in very well. Once you get the entire length done you take a strip of stainless steel mesh and apply it onto the repair and melt that into the repair for added strength (preferably on the back side of the panel). When that is done and cooled off (apply cold water to speed things up) you can turn the valance over and remove the aluminum tape, groove the other side's crack and do the same only without the mesh. The interesting thing about the welding rods is that they have a selection of colors available in this kit due to the fact that it is used mainly to repair kayaks and ATV fenders which are molded in color. Once it is cooled you can sand it down.

The face bar portion was a little trickier since it was very hard to get into the rear part of the crack. I heated up the area quite a bit and placed the mesh and a bunch of extra polyethylene rod into the area for added strength.

The process and the tool was amazingly easy and I just saved an irreplaceable part for about $90 in material and 3 hours of work.

Here's the crack:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB160002.jpg

After taping and grooving:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB160003-1.jpg

Applying the welding rod and melting the stainless steel mesh in to the backside of the repair:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB160006.jpg

The front side after valance was flipped over and the procedure was repeated:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB160010.jpg

[njsteve]

The hard part was the broken face bar:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/Valance002-1.jpg

After aluminum taping you can how hard it was to get in behind to affect the repair:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB160011.jpg

After welding and adding a bunch of extra material and mesh. This area wont be seen once the panel is installed:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB160015.jpg

After the repair:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB160013.jpg

And here's the final product. The inside joke about these polyethylene valance is that most T/A guys consider them made out of "unobtanium" since they were never offered as a service part and the only ones out there were the ones that were installed on the cars originally in early 1972 and early 1973. (There was no late 72 as the UAW-GM strike shut down the F-body plant in April 1972 until the 1973 model year) Once these valances broke (and they all did) the dealers replaced them under warranty with the steel version which did not have the upper face bars which really make the nose of these cars flow into the grill.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB160017.jpg

[njsteve]

I also used the welder to recreate the missing broken sections by gradually building up material until it replicated the original contours. This took about three hours today to get the rough shape of the broken sections.

Before:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/Valance003.jpg

After:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/val004.jpg

Before:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB160010.jpg

After:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB180002.jpg

[njsteve]

It's Thanksgiving so I'm hiding downstairs since my wife threw me out of the kitchen. Here are the reproduced sections after more welding, filing and sanding:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB220009.jpg

And the large crack after the same continued process of file, sand and reapply more melted polyethylene:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB220013.jpg

[njsteve]

And here's the last stage of the broken face bar's repair. The uneven area underneath is actually the factory clearance cut out for the mounting bolt:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB220012.jpg

[njsteve]

Here are the two edge sections. Both were heavily cracked due to the fact that factory molding process injected very little plastic on the ends of the panel. The main area of the valance is about 3/8" thick while the outer edges are only about 1/16" thick. I had to reproduce a missing section from one end as evidenced by the different color of the polyurethane material in the lower photo. I also heavily back-filled the thin areas around the edge so now they're about 1/2" thick:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB220002.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB220010.jpg

[njsteve]

As a final judge of the repair I trial-fitted the NOS front spoiler on the panel. (it's actually made of injection molded fiberglass -why they didn't also make the valance out of that is beyond me!) The spoiler just dropped in place and lined up perfectly. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB220007.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB220008.jpg

[mockingbird812]

Very nice Steve. I love it when a plan comes together. Nice treat for me on T-day. Thanks! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif

[70 Forest Green Zee]

A very interesting post....the repair turn out very very nice..... outstanding job Steve!! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worship.gif

[DaJudge]

Looks great Steve can't wait to see the finished car.Happy Thanksgiving ,Mike

[70-SS/RS-L78]

Steve that is SWEET, It sure looks a lot easier then the way I used to do the 78-81 Z covers. The Black Cat 2K Waterborne Primers
look like the way to go. We used to add flex additive to our primers to make them work. I remember having to strip to strip all of the
original factory lacquer paint off by hand.

[njsteve]

The front sheet metal and other panels are at ENOCH's shop in Pennsylvania. He updates me with photos of the progress. Once the front clip is done I hope to bring the rest of the car to him to finish the job. It's been 2 years since I started this project in November, 2004 and I'd really love to get her on the road for next spring. Here are some shots of the trunk lid and passenger fender getting done. Both were rust-free so they were stripped, scuffed and primed. The fender had a small dent in the flare area and had to be massaged back into place.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/1106fender2.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/1106fender3.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/111906fenderpirmer.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/111906lidprimed.jpg

[Xplantdad]

Looking good Steve. Massaging metal...a sort of lost art these days... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif

[njsteve]

BTW, here are two comparison shots of the nose examples of the plastic valance versus the steel valance. As you can see on the copper-colored 71 Formula, the steel valance leaves a huge gap under the endura nose that spoils the look of the nose with the mounting bolts visible in the unfinished urethane area. The white 72 T/A is much nicer with the plastic valance hiding that unsightly, blemished area. (Please disregard the broken spoiler/snow plow option in this original as-purchased photo of my car)

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/DSCN3996_1.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/72nose11-20-04-1.jpg

[Dave Rifkin]

Steve thanks for illustrating the difference. I can't say that I recall seeing any Firebirds with the plastic valance; at least I never really noticed.

[njsteve]

And here's the final shots of the valance repairs after sanding with 120 grit. I'll leave the rest of the prep for ENOCH. I can't say enough about that little plastic welder contraption. See what a little google search can do when you stumble upon the right company on the internet? I can't wait to get my white valance pieces back from ENOCH so I can start melting on them as well. The original white valance pictured on my car above suffered near terminal breakage due to the snow shoveling the spoiler did. All of the mounting pads were obliterated, the face bar is broken, and the bottom section is heavily melted from the carb fire gone wild. I just love a challenge!

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB250004.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/PB250001.jpg

[njsteve]

Hey, there's actually one of those plastic valances on ebay now. $400 starting bid and repaired in a similar fashion to mine. This one's a marroon colored plastic. (all the various colors were premolded into the plastic)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayIS...bayphotohosting (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140060350200&indexURL= 0#ebayphotohosting)

[njsteve]

I contacted a company called ECS Automotive who are renowned for their 100% accurate Mopar reproduction decals and asked them if they were interested in stepping outside the Mopar arena for my project. They were quite interested as they are looking to expand their catalog of decals with GM stuff. I cant say enough about these guys. There products are 100% exact compared to the crap that is out there. I previously had one of those "resto outlet" decals that was just pathetic: wrong size, wrong font, wrong spelling etc.

The guys at ECS even reproduced the exact material and process that they were originally made in. The factory emissions decals were clear plastic with black and white printing laid on from the back side of the clear plastic, not like the modern spray printed version the "resto outlets" sell.

Their phone # is (636) 207-7767 www.ecsautomotive.com (http://www.ecsautomotive.com) . Dave was the guy I worked with. I also sent them the original dealership bumper decal from my Hemi Charger and look here to check that out: http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/238504/Main/82224/#Post238504

By the way, they are now actively looking for other decals to reproduce: if you allow them to use your original decal(s) for a pattern, (which they send back to you, of course) you get the new reproduction one(s) for free.

Here is a comparison of my original and the ECS prototype (which actually had some preproduction flaws which I couldn't see but they said they altered after this version) They said there were something like 15 different fonts used in these decals and the "other" decal makers just use one font for everything...and it shows.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/decal.jpg