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.