My new 77 Trans Am - 11,700 mile Survivor

[Dave Castine]

Hi guys - I just picked up this beautiful, one owner, original paint '77 Trans Am, all #'s matching and untouched W72 400, backed with a 4-spd and 3:42 Posi rear. This car is 100% original with the exception of the upgraded Snowflake wheels, BFG tires, and the battery. The original wheels and tires come with the car. She should get to me on Sunday. I'm more of a mopar guy so I'm not very knowledgable on these cars, but I do know a survivor when I see one and being a "Class of 77" High School grad it certainly brings me back - can't wait to get it home. I will not be selling this one, it will be driven very sparingly and enjoyed by my wife and I.

Question #1: Replacement parts, who would you recommend? I'd like to replace the soft parts with quality reproduction parts (belts, hoses, brake hoses, etc.)

Thanks!

[KenMaisano]

Congrats!! Amazing find, In my opinion the second generation F body was way ahead of its time. One of my daily drivers is a loaded 74 T/A super duty. Really comfortable to drive home after a hard days work. Ames Performance, Classic Industries, Inline tube for your parts.

[Crush]

Wow! Would love to hear the story on how you found it!!

[big gear head]

Very nice car. And no bird on the hood.

Just wondering, why do you want to replace those parts? If they are still original and in good condition, wouldn't it be better to leave them on the car?

[flyingn]

super nice!!!! congrats on a beautifully bought bird!

[markinnaples]

Beautiful. I had a 36K mile 1978 T/A just like that but silver over red velour that was just so much fun to drive (slow but felt faster and handled nicely). Yours is stunning, congrats.

[CC Rider]

Very nice!

[Postsedan]

"For the Money, For the Glory and For The FUN!"

Absolutely LOVE IT!

Congrats!

Dan

[69z28302]

Nice survivor..

[Jonesy]

Wow, 4 speed and CB radio. Nice car.

[PeteLeathersac]

'

Congrats and sure looks like a beauty, hood bird delete or removed?
Rod or original, love to see more of the '36 Ford too!
:beers:
~ Pete


.

[Tracker1]

I have three of these W72 4 speed cars, 77-79. Ames Performance Engineering is a very good supplier. That car is a quality piece, congrats.

[StealthBird]

Very nice Trans Am! Let me know if you are interested in getting an accurate reproduction window sticker. http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/happy/happy0034.gif (http://www.mysmiley.net/free-angel-smileys.php)

They produced 68,745 Trans Ams, and only 10,143 buyers opted for no hood bird, so it's around a 1 to 6 ratio.

Hood birds were always optional on the 1973-1981 Trans Am, the exceptions were Special Editions, Pace Cars, or Anniversary cars.

[Dave Castine]

Thanks guys - I wasn't looking for a car but a client of mine told me about his late friend's car that his widow was looking to sell and asked me if I could help her. This was on the Friday after Thanksgiving - I was getting ready for my 40th class reunion (yup graduated HS in 1977), Smokey and the Bandit, had a CB - the whole 9 yards...LOL

Once Howard told me the car was a one owner 77 Trans AM with 11k miles on it I was very interested. Then he told me it was a stick car - I had to have it. It started out as a dealer owned car for it's first 8k miles, then sold retail to Tom (Howard's late buddy) - Tom only drove it 3,700 miles since Feb of 1978 - yikes! I have the original Rally wheels with original Uniroyal Steel Belted Radial Tires which I will be putting back on after I swap the BFG's from the Snowflakes over onto the Rally's.

As far as replacing the belts and hoses; I just figured that I "should" - do you actually think that even if they look good, they'd be safe? The last thing I need is to get caught on the side of the road with my wife giving me that look... (been there, done that - X10, LOL)

I opened the trunk and found an NOS SE Hood Decal in the GM shipping tube (this car is not an SE), so Maybe Tom was looking to change the look of the car by throwing on the Snowflake wheels and having the hood decal put on? Who knows? Can't imagine that few decade old hood decal is any good, but I'll keep it for a conversation piece.

The untreated metal parts under that car are pretty rusted (brake lines, leaf springs, front control arms, coil springs, etc.) - what should I do with those? Coat them with some sort of rust neutralizer? Replace them?

Thanks for your guidance everyone! - Merry Christmas

[Dave Castine]

'

Congrats and sure looks like a beauty, hood bird delete or removed?
Rod or original, love to see more of the '36 Ford too!
:beers:
~ Pete


.

I'll get you more info on that Ford Street Rod - it's my buddy Howard's baby...

I sent away for the PHS docs, so we'll see if it's a decal delete or not, the buildsheet is probably still in the car as well.

Thanks

[Crush]

Very cool story and one that will hopefully happen to all of us!

[Tracker1]

Join over on this Pontiac forum (link below), and post in the 1977-81 Trans Am Tech section. Very knowledgeable people there would love to see such a great specimen. I had a 1970 Trans Am that we used Evapo-Rust on and it really did a great job on the underside of the car, once the sprayers were directed properly. njsteve is a member here, and over there, and you should look up his revival of a 1972 Trans Am survivor - his homegrown method of using rust remover was very effective.

Try and post a pic of your car's undercarriage too please.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/forums/index.php

Here is njsteve's thread
http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=433662&highlight=keepat&page=82

[Dave Castine]

I'll get some pics posted tomorrow of the undercarriage and I will definitely join the Pontiac Group.

[sixt9rsx33]

Wow congrats on a great car. Nothing better than a great survivor! Enjoy cruising that baby.
I graduated High School in 1982 and my step brother had a 78 W72 with T tops but an automatic car. That car was a great runner and a fantastic driving vehicle. Myself, I had a 78 Z28 an automatic car too. Black on Black. We use to race all the time and basically would tie each time out. I guess it was best that way!

[Dave Castine]

Very nice Trans Am! Let me know if you are interested in getting an accurate reproduction window sticker. http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/happy/happy0034.gif (http://www.mysmiley.net/free-angel-smileys.php)

They produced 68,745 Trans Ams, and only 10,143 buyers opted for no hood bird, so it's around a 1 to 6 ratio.

Hood birds were always optional on the 1973-1981 Trans Am, the exceptions were Special Editions, Pace Cars, or Anniversary cars.

StealthBird - I WILL want a window sticker, I'm away on business and when I get back home I expect to have the PHS docs there. I'll be in touch! THANK YOU!

[Dave Castine]

Okay guys here are a few pics of the rust on the underside of the Trans Am, looking for my best option here as it pertains to an original, low mile OHIO car. Remove the rust / replace the part / leave it alone? As always, THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!

[Dave Castine]

Looks like I have a leaky pinion seal too.

[Dave Castine]

Guys I'm looking for suggestions on what to do with the rusted parts under my car - Remove the rust / replace the part / leave it alone? As always, THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!

[njsteve]

Set up a kiddie pool with plastic sheeting a sump pump and a sprayer and use the Safest Rust Remover or Evaporust solution and just let it spray. They problem is that it needs to be warm out for the stuff to work its best - like 80 degrees. I don't know if you have a heated garage, otherwise I'd wait til next spring.

It is amazing stuff. You also need to have it as grease and oil free as possible otherwise it contaminates the liquid and reduces its effectiveness.

http://www.yenko.net/forum/showthread.php?t=79126&highlight=remover&page=13

http://www.yenko.net/forum/showthread.php?t=79126&highlight=remover&page=14

[Dave Castine]

Thanks Steve! I was just coming back to this thread to say "nevermind, I just read njsTeve's TA thread!" LOL

I'll wait til next spring I live here in MA - thank you sir!

[wheelhop]

Did you get your PHS docs back yet?

[Dave Castine]

I'm away on business in San Diego (why do I live in Boston?!?!?!) - I'll be back on Saturday, hopefully they'll be in the mail that the USPS has been holding. I'm also going to look for a buildsheet, I'm a mopar guy so are they in the back seat like all of my old b-bodies? LOL

[Chazman]

Nice find! Congrats!

[Chazman]

For those who have done it, when you set up a kiddie pool with pump to spray Evaoprust, etc., for rust removal, do you spray the solution straight from the bottle or do you mix it with water to create more volume?

[njsteve]

Full strength and warmed to 80 degrees with a goldfish pond heater. Buy multiple gallon jugs of the stuff.

[Chazman]

Full strength and warmed to 80 degrees with a goldfish pond heater. Buy multiple gallon jugs of the stuff.

Thanks!


I went through your thread. It's a shame photosucksit stole all of your pics. I would have loved to see them!

[Dave Castine]

Thanks!


I went through your thread. It's a shame photosucksit stole all of your pics. I would have loved to see them!

I was also thinking that - damn shame, they would've been so educational to a lot of us!

[njsteve]

If you use Google Chrome, there is an add on that fixes the problem and displays the photos.

http://www.yenko.net/forum/showthread.php?t=144412&highlight=Google

[Chazman]

Anything for Macbook?

[Dave Castine]

SWEET - I just loaded the Chrome fix - Thanks Steve!!!

Guys - here is my PHS sheet on my car, would it specify if it was an actual BIRD DELETE? I still believe the buildsheet would be in the car but I haven't looked for it yet.

Thanks for the time - 'appreciate it!

[njsteve]

Dave, the hood bird was an extra cost option. There is no such thing as “bird delete.”

[Mr70]

Thank You..

[njsteve]

That would be an artist's rendering of an actual bird delete. ;-)

[Dave Castine]

LMAO - ok thanks guys. So in other words my car probably wasn't ordered with the hood decal (if it's original). Same thing as the misunderstood stripe delete option on the Chevelles, makes sense.

Thanks again!

[StealthBird]

Dave, the hood bird was an extra cost option. There is no such thing as “bird delete.”

That's what I stated on the last page of this thread. http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/happy/happy0024.gif (http://www.mysmiley.net/free-facebook-smileys.php)

Nicely appointed Trans Am! One thing I noticed is that the car did not come with cast aluminum wheels, it came with B/C Rally II's. The B/C stands for body colored, and in this case the Rally II's would have been black with silver spokes. Not a big deal, a lot of people swapped out the Rally II's for the 7" cast aluminum versions, they were a great looking (and lightweight) wheel.

The interior shows the Custom Trim option in Firethorn Red. Also has the top of the line AM/FM Stereo, but without a tape deck or CB radio. And more good news, it has the RTS Handling Package option, which included the GR70x15 white letter tires.

The original buyer also ordered the additional chrome moldings (roof drip, window sill, and hood rear edge). Not an uncommon option pair, but often seen on black Trans Ams probably because black and chrome always look good together.

Mike

[Dave Castine]

Yup I have the Original Rally's with the original tires. I intend to swap the BFG's onto the original wheels and take off the snowflakes

[Dave Castine]

That's what I stated on the last page of this thread. http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/happy/happy0024.gif (http://www.mysmiley.net/free-facebook-smileys.php)

Nicely appointed Trans Am! One thing I noticed is that the car did not come with cast aluminum wheels, it came with B/C Rally II's. The B/C stands for body colored, and in this case the Rally II's would have been black with silver spokes. Not a big deal, a lot of people swapped out the Rally II's for the 7" cast aluminum versions, they were a great looking (and lightweight) wheel.

The interior shows the Custom Trim option in Firethorn Red. Also has the top of the line AM/FM Stereo, but without a tape deck or CB radio. And more good news, it has the RTS Handling Package option, which included the GR70x15 white letter tires.

The original buyer also ordered the additional chrome moldings (roof drip, window sill, and hood rear edge). Not an uncommon option pair, but often seen on black Trans Ams probably because black and chrome always look good together.

Mike

Mike - thanks SO MUCH, I missed your input about the Bird on the hood, sorry. This weekend I hope to remove the rear seats to look for the buildsheet.

Thanks man!

[Crush]

This car gets better all the time! What a find!