72 TA : New Project [Archive] - Page 5

njsteve

08-22-2010, 04:59 PM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: firstgenaddict</div><div class="ubbcode-body">At least PitViper no longer is forced to moonlight as a trans am workbench, although just being near Poncho parts may be considered an upgrade... <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/wink.gif </div></div>

Spent the afternoon cleaning up the "workbench". Look what I found underneath it.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005602.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005605.jpg

I guess it's been undercover as a workbench quite a while since my son came out to the garage and said: "I didn't know we had a Viper?"

Xplantdad

08-22-2010, 05:45 PM

That's funny Steve!

Charley Lillard

08-23-2010, 04:00 PM

It would be nice if you could bring it to MCACN in November. A bunch of us would like to see it.

KevinW

08-23-2010, 05:32 PM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I guess it's been undercover as a workbench quite a while since my son came out to the garage and said: "I didn't know we had a Viper?" </div></div>

That is really funny! How old was he when you started this project? Sound like in-between the 6 year project he became "car aware" <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/laugh.gif

njsteve

08-23-2010, 05:46 PM

He's almost 10 now and was 3 when I started the project. The daughter was in third grade and she's now in high school!

DaJudge

08-24-2010, 07:32 PM

Great job Steve. Now can you come over and help me with my Formula Haha

KevinW

09-04-2010, 01:28 AM

Steve, you still going Sat and Sunday?

njsteve

09-04-2010, 02:49 AM

Yes, I'll probably be there around noon Saturday and early on Sunday.

KevinW

09-04-2010, 02:56 PM

Sounds good, I am still toying with showing up sunday. your cell still ends in 49?

njsteve

09-04-2010, 04:33 PM

Nope, I'll pm ya.

njsteve

09-06-2010, 01:37 AM

Drove the 72 to Musclepalooza at Englishtown this weekend. Met a bunch of people who recognized the car from this thread.

Don't you just hate it when you go to the senior prom and somebody else shows up wearing the exact same dress as you???

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/naughty.gif

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7005702.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7005703.jpg

But seriously, one of the guys from the Performance Years website, Dave, (necdb3) brought his beautiful March 1972 built '72 T/A, 4-speed, A/C, polyethylene valance-equipped car and we parked next to each other (His is on the right). Great guy and even nicer car. It was neat to have another 72 there to compare to. I even found I was missing an A/C hose bracket on the inner fender. In fact I have the bracket, I just could never figure out where the darn thing was supposed to go! Mystery solved, thanks to Dave.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7005681.jpg

At the end of the day, I wound up with a second place for the Pontiac class. An absolutely stunning turquoise, 65 GTO won 1st place. It was an amazing car and definitely deserved the win. - Though, I think I had more fun! When we were sitting in the cars, waiting to drive up for the trophy presentation, the Hemmings people were telling the drivers that they could shut their cars off to avoid overheating on the 90 degree day. I just smiled, rolled up the windows and turned the A/C to max and watched the temp gauge sit happily at 170 degrees. Try doing that in a tri-powered GTO!
<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif

KevinW

09-06-2010, 02:56 AM

Congrats Steve! Do you remember who took the chev trophys?

njsteve

09-06-2010, 02:58 AM

The white 67 Z/28 got a trophy (I recall that since he was in line behind me).

njsteve

09-06-2010, 05:18 PM

Amazingly enough, this morning I found that little a/c hose bracket in the "box-o-leftover parts" I have. Here it is all nice and installed:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7005752.jpg

napa68

09-07-2010, 12:40 AM

Steve,
I need to take the opportunity to say thanks. Not only has your thread (which I hate to see end) been sheer entertainment, but also rather inspiring. I must say for myself (and probably some others) that your work is a text book model to slow down, pay attention to the details, and produce a product that raises the bar of quality. In addition to the restoration itself, the additional time taken to photograph the details and share them must have really stacked up. Sir, I take my hat off to you! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/worship.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/Can-I-Have-It.gif

njsteve

09-07-2010, 02:28 AM

You're all quite welcome. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

As is the curse of every project, this one is never done. I still have bugs to get out. After the 200 miles I put on her this weekend, I found out I have an out of balance wheel. I need to find the best four of the eight honeycombs I have so the car rolls without that 55 mph jiggle.

And the darn a/c compressor sprays oil around the engine compartment. What is it with the GM A6 compressors? In 30 years of buying new, not reman compressors for the cars I have, I've only bought one compressor that didn't leak oil. And that's the one in our '75 Firebird, which has a dirty original engine compartment that doesn't need a clean compressor.

RPOLS3

09-07-2010, 04:05 PM

If you get the A/C compressor thing sorted out let me know as I have been fighting that for 23 years on the Chevelle as well.

Jake

njsteve

09-07-2010, 08:53 PM

I think it was dual designed as an A/C compressor and a front mounted rust-proofing, oil dispenser, kinda like the V75 Liquid Tire Chain, trunk-mounted traction compound dispenser that was available on 69 Camaros.
<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif

Verne_Frantz

09-11-2010, 01:37 AM

I think you're right Steve; I've never seen a '60s or early '70s compressor that didn't spew out oil from the front seal. I changed THREE of them on my '63 and they all did it! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif Still have wet hood insulation and a slimy inner fender. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/dunno.gif

Verne <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

njsteve

09-11-2010, 08:14 PM

Spent last night at my buddy's garage dismounting all eight honeycomb rims from the four radials and four Polyglasses. We found the best, non-wobbliest rims and mounted the radials on them. Those honeycomb rims are extrememly hard to balance since a normal balancer that centers a rim with a steel cone, won't work with urethane face honeycombs. The problem is that the center portion of the urethane face of the honeycomb is molded around a steel cone-shaped, support that is not set in any particular spot on the rim. As a result, the center opening on a honeycomb is not concentrically aligned with the steel portion of the rim.

We used his balancer to check each rim for lateral curb damage but when you tried to set the mounted rim on the balancer to balance the wheel assembly for out-of-round, it was like watching a merry-go-round horse. Luckily he had a friend at a muffler shop who had a different wheel balancer that had a retaining hub with the five centering posts that mounted the wheel by the lug holes, instead of the center hole. We did a static and dynamic balance that used the regular hammer-on weights on the inside edge of the rim and then mini, stick-on weights on the internal area near the center of the rim, on the back side.

Here's a version of the balancer contraption for lug-centric wheels that don't have a concentric center hub.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/CSWB-UA-2.jpg

Worked like a charm. The car cruises up to 80 mph with no jiggles, vibrations, or rumbles. It rides like a Mercedes now. Kinda scary compared to the teeth chattering Polyglasses.

BTW, those heavy, repro Polyglasses were pretty much unbalance-able on the other four rims, so we just mounted them on the rims for show use only. When a balancing machine says you have to add the equivilent of a Porterhouse steak (16 oz) to the outside of the wheel to get it to balance, that's a little too much for me.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005767.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005766.jpg

njsteve

09-15-2010, 12:02 AM

Tuning question today. What's your opinion on how the plugs are burning. Too lean or just right? Slight tan on the electrode, pure white on the insulators. Currently running a tank of Shell premium after using up last week's tank of Sunoco plus four gallons of unleaded Cam2 100 octane.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005776.jpg

napa68

09-15-2010, 04:07 AM

Just my .02. I'd like to see a little more color there. Is that just from cruising around or is there some recent power runs on that?

njsteve

09-15-2010, 04:13 AM

About 300 miles of mixed driving - highway speeds and local traffic. Engine temp running around 175 degrees even with the recently hot weather.

VintageMusclecar

09-17-2010, 01:48 AM

Looks like those plugs are running a little hot. Considering this is just from "normal" driving, the heat line looks like it is pretty far past the bend on the ground electrode, and are there tiny little black specs on the porcelain?

What heat range are they?

Compression ratio?

Where's the timing at, and have you heard any audible signs of detonation? (Sorry for all the questions, but Pontiacs are known to be finicky about their tune)

Eric

njsteve

09-17-2010, 02:14 AM

No specks on porcelain. Stock compression of 8.5 to 1. They are the stock heat range 2869 platinums. What would a colder heat range be with NGKs? No detonation, even with 91 octane. Initial timing at 12 before TDC. Total timing around 36 degrees if I recall correctly. Has a minor nosing over/power loss at around 5000 rpm.

njsteve

09-17-2010, 02:51 AM

Full part # is UR4GP 2869 G Power.

VintageMusclecar

09-17-2010, 03:14 AM

(edit* you posted your above reply while I was typing this one, hence some redundancy)

The 2869 is also numbered as a UR4GP. A Platinum that's one step colder would be a UR5GP. A "standard" NGK that's 1 step colder would be a UR5. (Personally, I've never had any luck with platinum plugs in anything other than late model EFI stuff)

Loosely translated, the 2869's appear to be the equivalent of a R45TS and the UR5's would be the equivalent of an R44TS.

I would expect the engine to be done by 5K if it's in stock form. All of the "stock" Pontiacs I've ever worked with liked to be shifted <5K for best performance. I also recall that most of them liked a total timing figure of 30°-32° as well. (FWIW, I'm referencing some of these figures from a friend's `76 TA with a `69 RAIII 400 in it that's dipped into the high 12's in factory trim on more than one occasion)

Phil did your carb, didn't he? If so, I believe he normally richens them up just a tad, so the carb should be good to go. You might try richening up the trim screws maybe 1/8 turn and see if that makes any difference on the plugs.

Eric

njsteve

09-17-2010, 03:37 AM

Yes, got the carb from Phil at Custom Rebuilt Carburetors in Middlesex, NJ about 6 years ago.

I set the idle mixture to the highest vacuum reading i could get which was something crazy like 23 inches. Probably running a bit lean then. I will richen it up and maybe back off the timing a degree or two. As for the rpm range it's kind of hard to be accurate since the factory tachs are slow and rather inaccurate. So the nosing over could be earlier in the power range.

I will tinker with it this weekend and report back.

68 Vert

09-18-2010, 01:41 PM

Steve, my former WW5 HO car would nose over around 4,500...I ended up changing the metering rods and adjusting the secondary air valve. Problem solved.
To start, make sure you have the correct metering rods, hanger and cam. I would start with 3/4 to 1 full turn on the air valve and go from there.

I'll see if I can find which rods I used...

Mike

njsteve

09-18-2010, 02:22 PM

What you describe is exactly it. It seems to run out of gas at that rpm. The secondaries open very smoothly and without any bog or hesitation so hopefully it's a metering rod thing. I don't have much experience in tuning quadrajets. Any recommended websites for info (or local NJ people in the area).

68 Vert

09-18-2010, 07:26 PM

Some info here: http://www.florida4x4.com/tech/quadrajet/ Download the Q-Jet tuning paper...the writer is a little over the top but you'll get the idea.

Checking/adjusting the air valve is pretty simple. I would tighten the spring by a 1/4-1/2 turn and see what kind of change you see/feel. This alone may fix the problem.

njsteve

09-18-2010, 08:04 PM

Drove her over to my buddy's garage this morning and got some underside shots, since all I have to this date are the ones taken from a creeper 6" underneath the car when it was on jack stands.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005793.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005795.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005796.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005797.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005798.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005799.jpg

mockingbird812

09-18-2010, 08:52 PM

Swell underside Steve. Very nice!! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

x Baldwin Motion

09-19-2010, 12:48 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mockingbird812</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Swell underside Steve. Very nice!! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif </div></div>

yeah, I can hardly see any AC comp fluid <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

njsteve

09-19-2010, 01:12 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 68 Vert</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Steve, my former WW5 HO car would nose over around 4,500...I ended up changing the metering rods and adjusting the secondary air valve. Problem solved.
To start, make sure you have the correct metering rods, hanger and cam. I would start with 3/4 to 1 full turn on the air valve and go from there.

I'll see if I can find which rods I used...

Mike </div></div>

I checked and the metering rods are the stock CR rods. Just out of curiosity, what would the recommended change be from there?

njsteve

09-19-2010, 02:23 AM

I see what you mean about that article! I never realized Quadrajets were that complex. I'll see what the secondary air valve spring is set at and go slowly from there.

njsteve

09-21-2010, 10:45 PM

On the advice of Phil at Custom Rebuilt Carburetors, here in New Joysey, who I bought the 7042273 Quadrajet from in 2005, I unbolted it and brought it by his shop where he freshened it up. He ended up putting in a pair of BE secondary metering rods, replacing the leaner stock CR rods and rechecking everything on the flow bench.

No flat spot anymore. A noticeably more linear power band.

Runs scary fast now - keeps pulling all the way up the rpm range. Thankfully I have forged connecting rods now. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif

Here's Phil's website. Lots of neat stuff vintage stuff there. He has a lot of rare carbs in case anyone is looking for something weird and original.

http://customrebuiltcarbs.com/

KevinW

09-22-2010, 01:17 AM

Nice, how much did he charge? My carb I bought from him a long time ago is running a tad rich on the primaries. Have not had the guts to open up the secondaries yet, it is plenty quick without the 2nds <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif

njsteve

09-22-2010, 01:37 AM

He didn't charge me anything. He said there wasn't much that needed to be done that wasn't done originally, it just needed "fattening up" from the stock specs, a new gasket or two, and rechecking on the flowbench. To me that's still a lot of work and I would have been happy to pay for whatever he would have charged for his time and experience.

That's one of the reasons I will be bringing my future work to him and am happy to spread the word. Another reason is that he is a local business here in Jersey. Not many of those still around these days.

There are so many bad experiences in the restoration world, it's refreshing when you get to spread some good news once in a while.

(P.S. I don't mean to divert any business from our esteemed resident carb-meister, Eric at VintageMusclecar, since Eric doesn't do Quadrajets any more)

68 Vert

09-22-2010, 02:03 AM

Glad it worked out...it seems that recently, all of the Qjet cars that I've owned or worked on needed to be "fattened up".

IMO it might be the "Less than 10% Ethanol" swill that they call gas here in Fl. Great stuff.

njsteve

09-22-2010, 02:10 AM

Good point on the ethanol angle. That's why I use the major gas brands like Shell that are still gasoline and not a mixture with ethanol.

VintageMusclecar

09-22-2010, 04:21 AM

Steve;

No need for apologies, Phil's a friend of mine and I often refer QJet work to him, but FWIW I am doing them again myself, just on a somewhat limited basis (details on my website in the FAQ section)

It's all good, glad Phil got the carb dialed in. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

Eric

njsteve

09-25-2010, 12:37 AM

Today's lesson is the principle of Occam's Razor or in Latin, Lex Parsimoniae, which translates to "the simplest explanation is usually the correct one".

I have been chasing down a tachometer gremlin for a while trying to figure out why the tach would not rev beyond 4000 rpm even when the engine was obviously going faster that that. Also, when the engine was cold, the tach would read double it's actual engine reading.

Well, after fiddling around, running extra tach leads to other tachs to compare readings, checking the distributor leads, checking point dwell... I was about to pull the coil and change that.

Guess what...the coil wire was not fully seated into the top of the coil and all this time, the voltage was just jumping across which, while powering the ignition system, was wreaking havoc with the tach accuracy.

So I pulled the coil wire, cleaned the terminal ends, pulled the boots way up and made darn sure both terminals were locked into the coil and the distributor. And now the tach reads correctly.

So let that be a lesson to everyone - check the simple, stupid stuff first. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/scholar.gif

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005855.jpg

el hemi

09-25-2010, 02:41 AM

Steve..couldnt help it but I went right to Wikipedia to understand what the heck you were talking about. So I am going to pick myself up from the couch and put to use Occam's Razor and find why my MSD box works one day and not the next!!! Keep bringing us the stories Steve.

njsteve

10-01-2010, 10:35 PM

Looks like we're getting some free press:

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2010/10/01/the-viral-trans-am-resto/?refer=news

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

SS427

10-02-2010, 12:04 AM

Now that's cool!!!!!! Nice going Steve.

Xplantdad

10-02-2010, 12:28 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Looks like we're getting some free press:

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2010/10/01/the-viral-trans-am-resto/?refer=news

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif </div></div>

As it SHOULD be. You should write a book Steve <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif

njsteve

10-28-2010, 02:32 AM

Well, since no project is ever really finished...

The tilt column that came in the car when I bought it, (it was a non-tilt car originally) has been making noises like a bell ringing whenever I'd take the car out for a drive (I have about 700 miles on it now). So I went on the hunt for a non-tilt column and actually found one on ebay. It was listed as a Camaro column but they are the same from 70 to around 76.

The 70-76 columns have a splined end while the 77-81 columns have a D-shaped end that interlocks with a similar intermediate shaft.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005910.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005909.jpg

I disassembled the column and soaked the steel end in the safestrustremover liquid along with my trusty aquarium heater and pool sump pump and let it circulate or a few hours.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005939.jpg

njsteve

10-28-2010, 02:36 AM

I would imagine I am not the only husband out there who's wife always complains about my inability to throw anything away. My standard response is "I may use that some day."

Well. I finally got to "that day!"

The wife came downstairs over the weekend and laughed hysterically when she saw the old wooden flag pole that I refused to throw out ten years ago. Guess what? It fit the column perfectly as a rotating spindle for paint purposes.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005944.jpg

njsteve

10-28-2010, 03:01 AM

Here's something I just learned: the columns are dated coded. According to the seller, this column was from a 72 Camaro. The date code confirms that: 10th month of 1971. Pretty lucky score for my December built car.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005946.jpg

njsteve

10-28-2010, 03:04 AM

After spending a few days cleaning and reassembling the new column, I installed it. Of course I learned that the standard columns are clocked differently than the tilt ones. The splines have the intermediate shaft alignment notch at the 3 o'clock position, while the tilt column had it at the 6 o'clock position. So the wheel was 90 degrees off when the tires were straight ahead.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005952.jpg

njsteve

10-28-2010, 03:10 AM

Using my kids' sidewalk chalk and an unused book shelf, I traced the exact position of both front tires.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005956.jpg

From these two lines I was able to establish the toe setting with a tape measure. Sure beats trying to get the exact same spot on the tire treads.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005959.jpg

Took a few tries keeping the book shelf steady while tracing with the chalk, but in the end it looked like 1/4" toe in.

njsteve

10-28-2010, 03:17 AM

I then raised the car and loosened the tie rod ends and turned both tie rods an equal amount to get the front wheels to match each other as well as the steering wheel when it was in the correct position.

It took several test drives and subsequent chalk tracings and readjustments, to get the wheel exactly straight but in the end I got the toe-in to 1/8" (the factory spec is 3/16" + or - 1/16").

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005961.jpg

By the way, I did partially disassemble the old tilt column to get the original turn signal switch out in order to use it in the new column as it had the correct color-coded wires in it that matched the dash wiring harness. During the disassembly I found that the upper bearing had come apart in the tilt column, hence the ringing sound of the races rattling against the housing.

SuperNovaSS

10-28-2010, 05:31 AM

I don't understand the chalk marks. The car was already aligned right? Why not drive it until you know the wheels are straight, pull the wheel, then reinstall it straight? Looking great Steve!

Jason

al8apex

10-28-2010, 06:17 AM

you can't "pull the wheel" because it is keyed on the spline.

To center the steering wheel you adjust the tie rods ...

if the steering wheel is to the right, then you adjust BOTH tie rods ends to the right so the wheel effectively is centered ...

the 2nd gen f bodies like nearly zero toe in, the closer to 1/16 the better ...

SuperNovaSS

10-28-2010, 06:26 AM

Hmmmm, interesting. I didn't realize that.

Jason

Bert

10-28-2010, 12:54 PM

Steve,
If its not already spoken for...I would like to buy the tilt from you..
let me know please..
[email protected]

Jeff H

10-29-2010, 01:25 AM

The tilt wheel that was in my 70 L78 Camaro also made some noise. And if I turned the outside collar to tighten it, you couldn't start the car! I'm guessing the same problem you encountered.

njsteve

10-29-2010, 10:26 PM

Update on that ringing sound that was allegedly from the column. Well, since the new non tilt column started making the same noise, I began the usual search and destroy mission to locate the source.

I unhooked the reverse light/ignition lock back drive linkage...no improvement, then removed the entire backdrive bell crank assembly...no improvement, retightened everything under the dash...no improvement..finally took it for the 10th test drive loop of the day and noticed that the ringing disappeared when I touched then clutch pedal. AHA! I have you now!

Hung upside down under the dash and noticed that the clutch rod had a washer behind the cotter pin that was just dangling there. Removed it and greased the moving parts. Took her for another test drive...noise still there but slightly less. Came in at around 3000 rpm. Touched the clutch pedal and it went away again.

Pulled her back in the garage and checked the other end of the clutch rod. Yup, another really loose washer behind the cotter pin. Of course this was rather impossible to get to but after loosening up the steel brake line bracketry I was able to access it. Removed that washer and hooked the clutch rod back up. Took her for another ride...noise still there but reduced. Went away, again, when slack in clutch pedal was removed.

Finally, I noticed that the clutch rod still jiggled when mounted up. While there is a hard rubber bushing in the pedal bracket under the dash, the bell crank end in the engine compartment however, is metal to metal. The final fix was to use a thick washer and a Hurst shifter linkage clip instead of a hair pin style clip. The shifter clip applies pressure to take up any slack in the rod. That finally worked...

So it turned out that the tilt steering column wasn't bad, it was just acting like a megaphone, transfering the location of the noise up into the column instead of under the dash. DAMN GREMLINS!!!

Now, to find a new cast iron proportioning/combination valve since I discovered that the original is seeping from the internal o-ring, under pressure. Thankfully, I used silicone fluid so no paint damage. At least I already have the brake lines moved after playing chase the ringing clutch noise, all day.

427TJ

10-29-2010, 10:30 PM

Holy cow! So now the tilt goes back in???

njsteve

10-29-2010, 10:34 PM

Nah, The car had a non-tilt originally so I'll keep the straight column where it is.

njsteve

10-29-2010, 11:06 PM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bert</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Steve,
If its not already spoken for...I would like to buy the tilt from you..
let me know please..
[email protected] </div></div>

Bert, I sent you an email.

Xplantdad

10-29-2010, 11:48 PM

Steve...I have a weird noise in the plumbing at my house....are you busy this afternoon? <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/wink.gif

Just kidding....it's cool to read about your problems/solutions!

You are aptly named Mc Gyver! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/headbang.gif

njsteve

10-30-2010, 12:50 AM

Jiggle the handle. It works for a variety of maladies.
<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/naughty.gif

Xplantdad

10-30-2010, 04:18 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Jiggle the handle. It works for a variety of maladies.
<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/naughty.gif </div></div>

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif LOL

SS427

10-30-2010, 04:50 PM

Persistance pays! You don't give up easily that is for sure.

njsteve

11-02-2010, 03:10 AM

While my subscription copy still hasn't arrived, I went to Borders last night and found the December 2010 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines on the newstand. They have the car featured in the Restoration section and Part I is six pages long. I believe Part II will be in the Jan issue. It was cool to see the car finally in print (other than the 6-year-feature here)
<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/youguysrock.gif

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif

markinnaples

11-02-2010, 03:29 AM

NJSteve, I got my copy last week; nice write up on a great restoration. Congrats!

Xplantdad

11-02-2010, 02:09 PM

As it should be! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/headbang.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/headbang.gif

SS427

11-02-2010, 03:02 PM

Well deserced Steve!

mockingbird812

11-02-2010, 06:43 PM

Congrats Mac! Well done. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif I 'spect it will be running for about 17 editions to cover your restoration! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/whistle.gif

StealthBird

11-02-2010, 11:06 PM

Congrats Steve! I received my HMM last Saturday, and it's a very nice write up on your project. I also thought it was pretty cool that at the end of the article, they actually print a link to this forum, and this thread, for more info!

Such a great looking car! The 72 Trans Am, with the honeycomb grilles and honeycomb wheels, is just a beautiful combo.

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/Can-I-Have-It.gif

njsteve

11-12-2010, 01:54 AM

Got the proportioning/combination valve back from one of the Performance Years website members, 70RAIII (Bill Oxley) who did a really nice job rebuilding it. He indicated that it was all stuck inside, so it wasn't really functioning as anything other than a T-fitting between the front and back fluid routes. Now it's actually working as designed, which is a good thing since if I recall correctly, one of the critical roles of this valve is to internally shift and block the internal passages if one circuit springs a leak and loses fluid. That way you still have braking power for the remaining circuit.

Another thing I noticed is that the purple DOT 5 silicone brake fluid turns yellow after a few years. Even the leftover, half a bottle I still had on the shelf, turned the same yellow. I'd imagine that means it's time to replace it all, which I did. I flushed the entire system and replaced it with new DOT 5 silicone brake fluid, about four bottles worth, to get all the old stuff out and completely flush the system of the four year old fluid.

The newly refurbished proportioning/combination valve, just back from Bill Oxley:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005982.jpg

And after the installation and the brake bleed-a-thon:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7005983.jpg

kwhizz

11-15-2010, 01:51 AM

Great Article and a great job on the car.........Congrat's Steve............

Ken

njsteve

11-15-2010, 02:18 AM

Thanks! I've been trying to put some miles on the car before winter. Started the whole project when the car had 114,163 on it. Put about 80 miles on her today and finally got the odometer to 115,000, so thats about 850 miles on the car since finished. Another 150 or so before the magic 1,000 mile mark. Plugs are still burning perfectly clean.

The one thing I've learned about Pontiacs is that they are very cold-natured when it comes to needing a warm up. You really have to let this car warm up to operating temperature before driving it. Once that choke pull off engages, she's good to go, but very cranky if you try to drive her before she's ready.

I've also finally run out of little noises and bugs to get rid of, from the squeeking front shock bushings, to the tach reading wrong, to the lean secondary rods and bad accellerator pump, to the steering column/clutch rod ringing, to the bad o-ring in the proportioning valve. I guess it never really ends.

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

njsteve

11-15-2010, 03:33 AM

BTW, I did actually notice that the TCS system works. I was sitting in the driveway after returning from the Sunday drive and was just shifting through the four gears and reverse, with the clutch engaged. When I put the shifter into fourth, the rpms dropped by several hundred. Pulled it out of fourth and the rpms rose back to the idle position. Very interesting. I guess in fourth, they didn't want any vacuum advance, so once it hits fourth gear the vacuum signal gets interrupted by the TCS solenoid.

njsteve

11-20-2010, 05:40 PM

Spoke with Dave from the Performance Years website (necb3) who has the 72 4-speed T/A that parked with me at the MusclePalooza show back in September. He mentioned that my TCS emissions system seems to be running backwards. I checked the manual and he was right.

This was from page 6D-9 of the 1972 repair manual:

"TCS solenoid energized, providing no vacuum advance in all transmission ranges but high gear during normal operating temperature (between 85 degrees and 220 degrees)."

"TCS solenoid de-energized, allowing for full vaccuum advance in high gear during normal operating temperature and all modes of transmission operation. (below 85 degrees and above 220 degrees)."

So I checked the wiring and it turns out I had the two-prong wiring clip hooked up the wrong way, of the two possible ways to connect it to the TCS solenoid. So I flipped the wiring terminal over and reconnected it.

The good news is that the TCS then worked properly as designed.

The bad news is that the engine ran like crap with no vacuum advance within the above factory parameters. Couldn't even get the car out of the garage for a test drive.

What the heck were they thinking back then? I guess it was their drastic attempts at making these monsters somehow emissions friendly. Gotta love the early 1970s - the engineers figured if they could make the tailpipe emissions somehow cleaner, then all was wonderful in the world. They didn't care that the cars barely ran, they just had to make the EPA happy and the customer be damned.

Anyway, I rerouted the vacuum line from the carb T directly to the distributor and then reset the timing as per another 455HO guys' recommendations (Lloyd: 12 degrees initial with the vacuum disconnected and plugged). The car definitely picked up some power and wasn't falling so flat in the upper mid-range anymore. Currently waiting on some new jets and primary rods to arrive.

SuperNovaSS

11-20-2010, 05:54 PM

So the carb may have been setup properly before?

Jason

njsteve

11-20-2010, 09:06 PM

No, the 72 HO carbs were jetted extremely lean from the factory, too lean in fact to get any real power, it seems. I just happened to actually hook up the wiring wrong on the TCS solenoid, which ended up producing more power than stock to begin with by giving vacuum advance in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gears. Sort of like going directly to step 3 and skipping steps 1 and 2 of disconnecting the TCS and rerouting the vacuum advance hoses, when looking to improve performance.

The richer secondary rods helped the WOT performance. The guys over at the Pontiac site who are very familiar with the low compressions 71 and 72 HO engines are passing along most of their little secrets. I have a couple pairs of jets and primary rods on their way, for me to experiment with.

Each little tuning trick seems to be helping the performance measurably. By next spring it should be running a bit strong(er). <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif

njsteve

11-23-2010, 10:43 PM

It's been an eventful couple of days here! Nothing seems to be easy lately. DAMN GREMLINS!

After I did the jet and rod swap, I reinstalled the carb and took it for a ride: it felt good but started popping at 4,000 rpm. Thought it was a jetting issue until I got home and sat there idling and it then idled down to zero and wouldn't restart, just cranked with no spark.

Typical! So I swapped in a brand new extra set of Accel points since the ones in the distributor looked fried...again. (Unfortunately, I had previously reinstalled that damn Pertronix coil which I had swapped back in after noticing the original Delco coil was leaking oil last week. I am beginning to think that that Pertronix coil is supposed to have its own ballast resister, even though the box said it didn't need one.)

Anyway, I couldn't get the damn thing to spark! So last night I bought a new coil at the local Napa store, still no spark. So then came the ignition parts replacement with known good parts to try to work through what went bad. Points, condensors, rotor, cap. Even tried a new primary lead wire from the neg coil terminal to the points since I have seen those break internally, before.

Turns out the brand new Accel points that I had swapped in, were defective. They were brand new in the box, but for some reason wouldn't work - looked like the rubbing block was too short. Swapped in another condensor, still no spark. Finally, I filed down an old set of used points, installed them and it miraculously fired up. Oh, that was after I installed the rotor backwards (yes, it is possible) and almost blew the roof off of the garage. (Lucky, the car has a shaker hole in the hood, otherwise it would have one now!) All in all, a very long day, yesterday. Bought a new set of Napa points this morning and replaced the old set. Started up fine once the dwell was set.

So, the end result is that I put in the #74 jets and the #44 metering rods which were almost an exact 10% jet/rod size increase in richness, along with the red power piston spring, all from Lloyd-TX, a 455HO fanatic on the Performance Years website. This replaced the factory 71 jets and 43 rods. BE secondary metering rods, replacing the leaner stock CR rods. Accelerator pump and spring from Cliff Ruggles. Timing set at 8 degrees initial at the moment. Running with the vacuum advance routed directly to the manifold vacuum nipple off the back of the carb, separate from the TCS system.

Whoa Nelly! That really woke this thing up. She definitely screams now. No more fading, pulsing or flat spots in the mid and top range. She just keeps pulling. I chickened out at around 5,000 rpm, since I was running out of highway rapidly - but she was still pulling. I would estimate it was a good 30 horsepower difference between the stock super lean setup and Lloyd's recipe. Very seemless transition to the secondaries. The car's nose just rises up off the ground immediately. Oh, and the spark plugs actually have a little color on them now, from the super lean, bright white, porcelain, before.

By the way did I mention that this car gets really bad gas mileage? or is it my driving technique? I went through half a tank and only went 35 miles.

njsteve

11-25-2010, 02:29 AM

Any electrical gurus out there?

OK, so I figured out the reason I keep burning up the ignition points. I just don't know how to remedy the problem.

Just out of curiosity I decided to check the voltage at the positive terminal of the coil (the black/pink resistor ignition wire and the yellow starter solenoid wire that are crimped together) when cranking versus when running.

It is completely opposite of what it is supposed to be:

When cranking it shows 9.2 - 9.6 volts. Which I imagine is a full 12 volts but reduced by the amount of juice it takes to run the starter motor.

When running it shows around 12.2-12.4 volts.

This is the opposite of what it is supposed to be doing! It should be 12 volts during crank and 9 volts when running. So those full time 12 volts are frying the points.

I just swapped out the ignition switch under the column thinking maybe it was defective but no change. I checked the starter solenoid and it is wired properly with the purple, and yellow wires in their proper position.

Anyone have an idea on this? Is the resistor wire not resisting?

The engine wiring harness was supposed to be the one for the points ignition. (AmericanAutowire part# FB20530) I am wondering if they built me the wrong harness, and gave me the unitized harness instead.

I don't know if this is a blessing in disguise since I am going to upgrade to the M&H breakerless setup this weekend and their site says it will operate on the between 6 to 18 volts. I know that you need a full 12 volts running when you put an HEI distributor in, just wondering if the unitized harness has the same 12 volt running voltage.

napa68

11-25-2010, 03:35 PM

It sounds to me like you may have the wrong harness. If the car were mine, I would take this route.
http://www.lectriclimited.com/mainpage.htm

The NCRS really seem to like this. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tim

njsteve

11-25-2010, 06:00 PM

That link goes to the main page. Are you referring to this?

http://www.breakerless.com/

LectricLimited sells them as well.

I ordered it on Monday. It should arrive tomorrow.

I dug out my original fried harness and checked the resistor wire, or what was left of it, and it read approximately 1.2 ohms resistance. It's just about impossible to get to the harness that's in the car since the bulkhead junction is buried under the power brake booster.

napa68

11-26-2010, 01:56 PM

Yup! That's it!

njsteve

11-26-2010, 11:26 PM

Got the M&H breakerless conversion installed today. Started up just fine. Had to reset the timing, though since it was off by quite a bit. Must be due to the location of the sensor as compared to the points. Once the timing was set, she ran great.

I need to call their tech line on Monday to verify that running it on 12 volts won't be a problem. The specs on their website say it's good for 6 to 18 volts but I'd like to be sure.

I also need to call American Autowire Factory Fit, the makers of the wiring harness in the car and find out why their harness is not limiting the voltage the way it's supposed to.

njsteve

11-27-2010, 01:30 AM

Here's a couple photos of what the brand new points looked like after about 25 miles worth of test driving. Nice blue toasty finish from the full 12 volts all the time. The contact surface looks just as fried.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006043.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006044.jpg

I ended up removing the old resistor section of wire from the original burned harness and if I cant get no satisfaction from the company that made the repro harness, I guess I will have to just attach the resister section to the repro harness and hope that reduces the voltage to an acceptable level.

mockingbird812

11-27-2010, 02:39 AM

Vintage ('70) Mallory units use a .7 to 1.5 ohm resistor. This is what I am running in the Deuce right now...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v697/mockingbird812/70%20Roof%20Deuce/Restored%20Components/DSC_0024.jpg

njsteve

11-27-2010, 03:57 AM

I have a question on that ballast resistor. When you apply 12 volts to one end, what does the voltage read at the other end? I was getting the exact same voltage (12 volts) out of all of the spare ballast resistors I have in the shop. I thought it is supposed to read a lower voltage or am I mistaken?

John Brown

11-27-2010, 04:12 AM

A resistor only cuts down the voltage when the car is running. Its like having a restriction in a water pipe. When the system isn't flowing you have full pressure. It's when you open the valve that the restriction effects the flow.

njsteve

11-27-2010, 04:18 AM

Interesting! I will do some more experimenting tomorrow and see what the results are.

njsteve

11-27-2010, 07:13 PM

Today's experiment involved taking the original resistor wire lead from the original burned factory harness and connecting it between the pos terminal on the coil and the pos harness leads to see if the voltage would be reduced. I would note that the original resistor wire does feel different than the alleged resistor wire that is in the repro harness. The original wire is a much stiffer, silver colored wire with a rubberized jacketing and, not copper wire with regular colored insulation as in the repro harness.

With the car running, the voltage varied between 10.5 to 11 volts depending upon idle speed. With the car off but the key in the run position, it shows 12 volts (as predicted by member John Brown). Very interesting result since it indicates that the original factory resistor wire doesn't cut the voltage down to the recommended 9 volts.

I then took an old ballast resistor, (actually the one from the original cobbled together and toasted harness with the aftermarket electronic ignition) and connected that between the pos coil terminal and the repro harness pos leads. The result was 9 volts when the engine was running and 12 volts with the engine off and the key in the run position. Though not stock, it brings the car right into spec for points ignition running voltage.

I then removed the ballast resistor and hooked the repro harness back up as it was originally and it read 14.3 volts with the car at high idle. When not running but key in run position it read 12.4 volts.

The battery by the way read 12.8 volts with the car off.
When running and the alternator charging, the battery read 14.3 volts, the same voltage as the alternator output. If you shut off the car, unplug the alternator and restart the car the pos coil voltage reads 12.4 volts.

So the inevitable conclusion is that there is no resistor wire in the repro harness and that whatever voltage the alternator is putting out is the voltage that is going to the pos lead on the coil, resulting in fried points.

I will update this electrical mystery after I talk to American Autowire and M&H on Monday.

mockingbird812

11-27-2010, 08:53 PM

Good stuff Mac. Good luck and keep us posted! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

njsteve

11-29-2010, 02:26 AM

Just to be safe, I temporarily installed that ballast resistor between the factory pos leads and the pos terminal on the coil. I mounted the ballast low on the firewall using the existing through bolt from one of the three pedal bracket bolts coming through the firewall. You can't see it unless you are really looking for it. Runs 9.4 volts at idle.

njsteve

11-29-2010, 09:52 PM

Spoke with both M&H and American Autowire today.

American Autowire is working on getting me a replacement harness. They said it is possible that it was put together wrong, without a resistor wire, a few years ago when I originally purchased it. (Luckily I saved the invoice) They seem to be very attentive to customer needs and it looks like they are going to send me a new harness so I can swap it out and return the old one so they can dissect it.

M&H, the makers of the SE breakerless conversion indicated that you should only run the lower voltage (9 volts) to their unit when running and not a full 12 volt load because it will eventually burn out the unit. They agreed that running the ballast resistor is a good thing to do for the time being.

mockingbird812

11-29-2010, 10:00 PM

Now you're gettin' somewhere!

njsteve

11-30-2010, 12:04 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mockingbird812</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Now you're gettin' somewhere! </div></div>

Yeah, it's like a bad 1950's detective novel: <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

"There she was, pumpin out a turgid twelve volts, way over my nine volt limit. I said Baby Cakes, you gotta lower that voltage or we're both gonna get burned. She just smirked in the blue afterglow of her tesla-coil, sparks flying like Frankenstein's monster tied down to the slab."

Hopefully we'll be getting to the good part soon! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif

Update: American Autowire fedexed the replacement harness out today. Since they are in NJ, it should be here tomorrow or Wednesday. Then comes the disassembly fun to remove the old one. A+ customer service!

Here's their website: www.americanautowire.com (http://www.americanautowire.com)

mockingbird812

11-30-2010, 02:03 AM

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/haha.gif You've got a future Mac!!! I love your "prose"!!! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/haha.gif

njsteve

12-01-2010, 02:03 AM

Victory at last!

Got the replacement harness from American Autowire this afternoon. It took more than four hours to pull the old one and put the new one in. It was not a fun time.

The junction to the firewall was a nightmare as it is behind the brake booster. You literally have to pull about six inches of the engine harness into the passenger compartment in order to disconnect it from the inside half of the dash harness. You then have to find something to pry the halves apart while hanging upside-down under the dash. Of course there is no room to tighten the main connection bolt once you get the new engine harness connected to the old dash harness. And in typical fashion, the internal retaining nut inside the main fuse box started spinning, making it just about impossible to pull the two halves together. Not a happy time. Completely shredded my hands and arms doing this.

The starter removal/reinstallation was another fun part of the process. The factory length on the 455HO starter harness section has very little extra play in it as it has to get around the front of the block and underneath the HO exhaust manifolds, unlike the regular Pontiac engines, so you have to hold the 20 pound starter up with one hand while removing/installing the wires with the other hand, while using your third hand to hold the wires in place so they don't move while tightening.

Here's the old harness after I got it removed and before sending it back to American Autowire.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006058.jpg

njsteve

12-01-2010, 02:09 AM

As we suspected, the harness in the car had regular copper wire instead of resistor wire for the positive coil lead. As you can see the black wire with the pink stripe is just regular copper wire:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006051.jpg

The replacement harness had the correct resistor wire. It was actually labeled as resistor wire like the original one I pulled from my toasted factory harness. You could see it was a heavy silver and not copper wire.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006055.jpg

Once I got everything reinstalled and hooked up, I started her up. She actually had the correct voltage, in the correct key positions: 9 volts when running! Finally no more frying electricals. Heck, now maybe my tach will even read the correct rpms. (I can always hope).

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif

I gotta hand it to the guys at American Autowire. I don't know many companies these days, that would honor a warranty issue six years after you buy something. My original receipt was dated November 2004 but they honored the warranty nonetheless, and overnighted the new harness, no charge. Now that's the real test of a company - standing behind their product when something like this happens, regardless of the timespan.

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

mockingbird812

12-01-2010, 02:21 AM

Congrats Mac. We're gonna want to see pix of your trashed arms and hands tho!! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

njsteve

12-01-2010, 02:28 AM

I look like something out of the new TV series <span style="font-style: italic">The Walking Dead</span> at the moment. No a pretty sight!

mockingbird812

12-01-2010, 02:34 AM

That <span style="font-style: italic">Walking Dead</span> is good. I surprised myself that I would like a zombie show so much.

SuperNovaSS

12-01-2010, 03:15 AM

Thumbs up to you and American Autowire.

Jason

njsteve

12-02-2010, 11:10 PM

An added bonus: The tach is now working accurately too, now that the coil voltage is correct.
At 60 mph it reads around 2,700 rpm (the website chart http://www.ringpinion.com/Calc_RPM.aspx says 2,642 rpm)

Yippy!
<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

njsteve

12-04-2010, 10:27 PM

Took her out for a ride today and finally made the magic 1000 mile mark on the car. So everything is run-in and still actually functioning.

Funny thing is that the a/c compressor finally stopped seeping oil and spraying it around the engine compartment. Of course that then lead me to double check that there was still freon in the system and that it didn't all leak out somewhere. Thankfully it is still holding pressure and blowing cold. So I guess it takes 1000 miles of run-in to get the compressor front seal, to seal.

aaron

12-20-2010, 11:56 PM

what kind of rust remover did you use

njsteve

12-21-2010, 12:01 AM

This stuff is great: www.safestrustremover.com. (http://www.safestrustremover.com)

njsteve

12-23-2010, 02:51 AM

I'm short on projects at the moment so I decided to tackle to original busted-up shaker so I have a spare eventually.

As you may recall the original was damaged in the carb fire and the edge was run over during the prior owner's rush to get the fire put out. I had my body guy strip it but when he found it was so damaged I told him to stop the work on it.

The basic shaker domes are interchangeable from 71 to 76 (1970 had a thin edge version) but were modified depending upon the year it was used. From 70 to 72 they had a flapper valve that would be activated by two solenoids but starting in 73 the flapper was cancelled and a riveted cover and frame took their place in the rear opening.

Here's my busted original:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006099.jpg

Here it is with the mounting flange set on it. These were riveted to the shakers in a process that usually caused stress cracks in the fiberglass. The 70-72 mounting falnges have a two stud mounting system that attaches to the air cleaner with two wing nuts. The 73-76 units used a large ring that used a single screw to retain it to the air cleaner.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006102.jpg

njsteve

12-23-2010, 02:58 AM

I found a 76 shaker dome on ebay for $70. I got it rather cheaply, since nobody wanted it because the metal mounting flange was unuseable as it was rusted with holes in it. The fiberglass, though was in remarkably nice shape with only one rivet stress crack and a small edge of the lip missing.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006096.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006097.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006094.jpg

njsteve

12-23-2010, 03:05 AM

Removing the rusted late model base plate flange was rather easy. There are a dozen or so rivets and I gently used a drill to cut the bottom of the rivet off, allowing the base plate to be removed.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006117.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006114.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006125.jpg

The remaining portion of the rivet can then be popped out of the hole with the tip of a pencil.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006121.jpg

njsteve

12-23-2010, 03:11 AM

This is the flapper door assembly. Sorry I didn't take any photos but I was so busy fixing it, I forgot. The frame was a fiberglass jigsaw puzzle busted into four different pieces but I was able to reassemble and repair it with epoxy and fiberglass bondo.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006104.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006105.jpg

This assembly was originally glued into the shaker domes with some type of red resin epoxy that gets rather brittle with age, which is actually a benefit since it is easy to chip away in order to free either the flapper door assembly or the block off plate assembly. Here it is set into its original position in the busted shaker.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006107.jpg

njsteve

12-23-2010, 03:19 AM

Luckily the prior owner of the 76 shaker dome had already relieved it of the block off plate and frame, leaving only some excess red resin epoxy to remove.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006095.jpg

That's it at the moment. Next step is to strip the paint off the red shaker and do the repairs of the rivet crack and the missing edge.

njsteve

12-27-2010, 03:18 AM

I used some paint stripper and got the majority of the original red paint off the dome. Went pretty quick. I then washed and sanded it down with a handheld Black and Decker mouse sander.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006133.jpg

You can see the missing edge that needs to be reconstructed on the lower left. Also, anywhere I thought it looked like a stress crack was forming from a rivet hole, I grooved that area out with a Dremel tool.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006134.jpg

njsteve

12-27-2010, 03:22 AM

To map out the area for the reconstruction, I taped some cardboard underneath and then estimated the outer dimensions.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006135.jpg

I then used a plastic bag under the supporting cardboard to prevent the fiberglass filler from sticking to the cardboard. After mixing the fiberglass Bondo, I applied it "liberally" to all the grooved areas and the edge area.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006141.jpg

njsteve

12-27-2010, 03:27 AM

Here's what the repair looked like from the top side, after pulling the plastic bag and cardboard off. You can see one of the rivet hole stress cracks on the upper right rivet hole.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/SDC10007.jpg

And after some preliminary trimming and sanding. Once I got the underside flat, I used the busted shaker as a stencil, placing the two, flange to flange and traced the correct curve with a pencil onto the new shaker dome's underside.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/SDC10008.jpg

njsteve

12-27-2010, 03:35 AM

Once all the underside repairs were done, I grooved out the corresponding areas on the top side and applied more fiberglass filler to repair the remnants of the stress cracks on top.

Here is the semifinished shaker dome after all the fiberglass repairs were done. Still needs some primer, redrilling of the rivet holes to the correct size, and epoxying of the door assembly into the opening, before the metal base plate can be riveted back on.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006159.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006158.jpg

And the underside:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006160.jpg

The before and after of the reconstructed missing edge:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006093b.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006161.jpg

mockingbird812

12-27-2010, 04:00 AM

Nicely done Mac! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

njsteve

12-27-2010, 04:07 AM

Hey, I gotta do something while we have this blizzard snowing us in. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

Just finished playing Stratego with the boy. He wanted that game for Christmas. It's amazing how things come full circle. I remember playing that game decades ago. I even remember the TV commercial. Turns out his 4th grade teacher taught the kids how to play the game. I had to go to four different Target stores on Christmas Eve to find it. It was sold out everywhere! I had no idea it was so trendy and back in style!

mockingbird812

12-27-2010, 04:56 AM

I played that game daily during breaks in 5th grade. Its the BEST!!!!

njsteve

12-28-2010, 04:10 AM

Primed the shaker today and epoxied in the flapper door. More sanding on the schedule for tomorrow.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006179.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006175.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006177.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006176.jpg

VIPERICH

12-30-2010, 07:44 PM

as stated before your talent is amazing.ive read your t/a thread many many times and still go back and look at it over and over.i love the blue and white.my first real car was a 1975 t/a 400 4 speed.grey with red interior.the first night i got it i loaded it up with my buddies and went cruising.after a few hours of tearing it up i thought darn this car spins the tires to easy lol i blew the clutch the first night i had it.the look on the guys face that i bought it from was priceless the next day when he saw it coming back to his shop the next day on a flatbed.
i painted the car white and painted the honeycombs white too.darn i loved that car.when my camaro gets done i may look for a t/a project.funny thing is smokey and the bandit was on yesterday and the sound of burt revving that bad boy up flying down the highway gave me goosebumps.well sorry for the long winded poor grammer read but i know you can decipher it.hats off bro

njsteve

12-30-2010, 08:26 PM

Viperich, thanks for the good words! We still have my grandmother's 75 Firebird that she bought new from Ruckles Pontiac in Yonkers, NY in 1975. Unrestored other than a paint job 20 years ago. I let my daughter, who was named after my grandmother (her great-grandmother) take it out for her first drive when she turned 15. Neat family heirloom.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/firebird75001b.jpg

njsteve

12-30-2010, 08:28 PM

Almost done! Got the final layer of primer on and the detail work on the seam where the trap door mounts.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/SDC10026.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/SDC10024.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/SDC10029.jpg

njsteve

12-30-2010, 08:31 PM

I did the preliminary mounting of the base plate ring. I carefully drilled the holes in sets of two at a time, and then secured the plate to the shaker with 13 small nuts and bolts that are the same diameter as the rivets in order to get everything fixed in place and mated up properly.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/SDC10030.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/SDC10031.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/SDC10032.jpg

flyingn

01-01-2011, 04:07 PM

just read your article in Hemming muscle machines Steve.. Nice work.... Very nice..

njsteve

01-01-2011, 04:35 PM

Thanks, Frank. It's the never-ending project...that just won't end. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

njsteve

01-03-2011, 01:16 AM

OK, this is insane. I just got through several hours of saving this entire thread as per the directions on the "print an entire thread" thread:

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=438560#Post4385 60

So, I went to the "Topic Options" at the upper left side of the thread and hit print topic, which opened the thread into a printable document. I then saved that document in two versions: The Web Archive Single File MHT was 102 MB!!! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/eek.gif The Webpage Complete HTM version was a much more manageable 987 KB.

It ended up being a 773 page document. Took an eternity to load. Holy Cow! No way I'm gonna actually print a hard copy. I'd go bankrupt buying ink cartridges! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/no.gif

Dave Rifkin

01-03-2011, 02:58 AM

You could probably save ink and money by saving the file on a thumb drive, or CD, and taking it to a local Kinkos for them to print out.

Verne_Frantz

01-11-2011, 12:59 AM

Hi Steve, I've been away for a long time with eye problems and your thread was the first one I wanted to catch up on. I was troubleshooting your electrical/ignition problem along the way and basically came to the same conclusion (as though the coil wires were reversed). You probably dealt with Donny Bock at American Autowire. He's a good friend and knows his stuff. He's helped me several times with my cars. Glad to hear Donny "fixed" it for you.
Verne <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

njsteve

01-11-2011, 01:27 AM

So did reading my thread cause your eye problems in the first place, Verne?

After 115 pages I think that would be your doctor's opinion.

(Glad to see you back) <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

I think Donny was the guy I dealt with. I can't say enough about a company that would warranty something 6 years after you bought it. That's stellar customer service.

mazda

01-18-2011, 04:24 PM

Thanks for the info......

njsteve

02-25-2011, 12:06 AM

Had to change out the muffler today. Recently noticed that I must have blown out the existing one from all that carb tuning and electrical bug-chasing a couple months ago. I guess if you get enough unburnt fuel downstream, it's eventually going to ignite! Never heard anything, and it wasn't leaking even with the double sized bulging.

I bought a new one from Gardner and installed it today. Went in with no issues whatsoever. Just had to borrow my buddy's exhaust pipe expander contraption to re-round the insides of the pipes so they would fit in nicely into the new muffler. Took her out for a drive while it was still sunny out. It was a nice ride...can't wait for Spring to come in a month or so.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/02172011muffler2.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/SDC10095.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/SDC10094.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/SDC10090.jpg

mockingbird812

02-25-2011, 03:54 AM

Yikes Steve that was a BOOMER!

njsteve

03-03-2011, 04:06 PM

The bodyman stopped by the house yesterday to rivet the shaker flange to the dome. It's a two-man job as one person has to hold the upside-down dome with the rivet inserted, tightly against the flanging "chisel" which has a cupped section that holds the rivet head in place. The cupped chisel is set in a vise, with the shaker and rivet placed on top. The bottom of the rivet is then peened over with a flat ended chisel to permanently set the rivet.

Worked out well, all thirteen rivets went in without any damage to the fibreglass. (NORWOOD, thanks for the rivets, BTW)

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006238.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006239.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006242.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/S7006241.jpg

Now I have to find another car to set under the shaker. Hmmmmmm.

njsteve

03-19-2011, 11:54 PM

Took her out for a drive yesterday. It was record-breaking 78 degree winter day here in Joysey. She ran very nicely. It is quite a kick to hear the secondaries on the Quadrajet kick in and simultaneously watch the shaker trap door open up, doubling the volume of the angry, engine noise.

Still tinkering. Found a near-NOS quality, interior rear view mirror on ebay to replace the de-silvering glass, original. I found it with an hour to spare on ebay and ended up paying only 34 bucks for it. Since it costs twice that amount to get one redone and you tend to break things when trying to take one of these apart, I think it worked out quite well.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/SDC10165.jpg

Also, the alleged reproduction mirrors all the repro companies offer are completely wrong, as they have a chrome, not textured black, housing. No one correctly reproduces the black painted mirrors.

Here's a shot of the original one:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/SDC10166.jpg

KevinW

03-21-2011, 03:33 AM

Steve, you always find the odd stuff cheap <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif Wish Jinx was ready last friday! Still redoing the gas lines and tank (winter project, just a little late :))

njsteve

03-21-2011, 03:36 AM

Hey, it's officially Spring now, so get movin' <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif

Any word on a replacement location for the Jackson Outlet cruise?

Jeff H

03-21-2011, 04:23 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Any word on a replacement location for the Jackson Outlet cruise? </div></div>

Word is the new cruise location is supposed to be at the Shoppes at Hamilton which is on rt 130 north, just south of I195.

KevinW

03-21-2011, 07:50 PM

Steve, any time you want to go to a free cruise night, let me know. I am compiling my NJ 2011 cruise/show calendar and have my email chain up and running. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif

njsteve

03-30-2011, 04:11 AM

Not being satisfied with the wrinkles that were left in the back edges of the headliner after my amateur installation a year or so ago, I took the car out for a 70-mile round trip drive today, to a long-time upholsterer I have used for other work.

He's been doing this stuff for 45 years and he still says he's learning new methods every day. After about an hour or so of tugging, heating and massaging, all the wrinkles are gone. He said one of the mistakes people tend to make is not to trim away enough of the fabric channel that holds the metal bows. If there is too much of the channel still attached to the headliner on the ends, it will cause bunching and wrinkles in the edges and corners.

All in all, he said he has seen a lot worse backyard jobs than mine, so I guess that was a compliment. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

(P.S. I think it's time I cleaned the camera lens.)

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/headliner1.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/headiner2.jpg

KevinW

03-30-2011, 12:47 PM

Nice! Just took mine for a spin too. The gas is flowing! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif

njsteve

04-04-2011, 03:41 AM

Did the annual oil change yesterday. I put 1,150 miles on her since April last year. Five quarts of Castrol GTX 10W40 + a can of STP + 3 ounces of Camshield zinc additive.

Changed the plugs back to the NGKs. It really runs a lot smoother with those NGKs in. I had swapped back to the set of Autolites during the ignition trouble-shooting episode a few months ago but I noticed it runs "different" with the Autolites - it kind of surges at a steady RPM. That doesn't happen with the NGKs.

Took her out for another spin today to test drive the new oil (needed an excuse). I'm beginning to like this thing. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif

njsteve

04-10-2011, 06:39 PM

Still fine tuning the tuning: <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

I bought a one step colder set of UR5GP NGK plugs to see how they burn. After 35 years of wrenching I'm still learning about stuff, like how to read the electrode and where the burn mark should be.

Here's the UR4GP, burning a bit too hot, as the flame mark on the electrode is closer to the base than it should be. (Too close to the tip would indicate too cold of a heat range).

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/ur4gpngk.jpg

And the UR5GP burning the preferred area, halfway up the electrode:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/UR5GPngk-1.jpg

And here is the base ring color with a consistent brownish tone, allegedly indicating proper carb jetting/fuel mixture:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr24/nk15268b/ur5gpngk.jpg

Any tuning gurus out there, feel free to chime in with your opinions!

This looked like an interesting article on plug reading:

http://www.wallaceracing.com/plug-reading-lm.html

njsteve

04-21-2011, 04:25 AM

In case anyone is still following this insane thread, I started on a new project - my Gramma Rose's Firebird that we've owned since new:

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=449019#Post4490 19

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif

njsteve

05-23-2011, 05:09 AM

Had a fun time at the Performance Years Open House yesterday in Hatfield, PA. Great bunch of people there. Hung out with a few Performance Years site members. Here's a shot of their 71 and 70, next to my 72.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/S7006630.jpg

Also spent some time with Tom D, and his High Performance Pontiac Magazine crew. They spent a good two hours shooting the T/A at a nearby barn, in the early evening. (You have to shoot a white car either first thing in the morning or the last thing at the end of the day, in order to get the exposure right. Here's a sample shot with my point and shoot camera at about 7:00 PM.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/nk15268/may2011.jpg

The car performed flawlessly. It was only 45 miles or so, so my son and I drove the leisurely hour to get there. The only stop was to rescue a female box turtle trying to cross Route 202 in PA.

The return trip was fine too. Ended up using a quarter of a tank of gas for about 90 miles of travel. We had the A/C going full blast on the way home. It was definitely a hot and humid day. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif

Postsedan

05-23-2011, 05:28 AM

Great pic, looking forward to the ink! Congrats!

Dan

njsteve

07-11-2011, 12:42 AM

Took her out to the local cruise night in Flemington, NJ yesterday. Good showing of cars there and it was about 90 degrees out.

There's nothing like rolling up the windows and running the A/C full blast on a hot day. She ran ran great -and the temp gauge never went above the first notch. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

njsteve

07-24-2011, 01:07 AM

Since we are in the midst of an apocaliptic heat wave here, (It was 108 yesterday), I took the 72 T/A out for a spin in the inferno, better known as New Jersey, today.

I went to the local cruise night again but only 20 cars showed up due to the oppressive heat.

The car uses its original, four-speed radiator (no trans cooler) that was recored with a modern three row, copper core. She handled the climate amazingly well. Here's some temp samples taken with a heat gun:

Outside Temp: 102 degrees
Pavement Temp: 121 degrees
Pass-Side Radiator Tank Temp: 153 degrees
Dr-Side Radiator Tank Temp: 183 degrees
Thermostat Housing Temp: 197 degrees

A/C on Max, center outlet temp: 35 degrees <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/cool.gif There's nothing like a good running, old R12 system.

Factory temp gauge reading: about a millimeter past the first hash mark on the gauge.

njsteve

07-24-2011, 08:10 PM

Today's 72 T/A Temperature Update:

Outside Temp: 92 degrees
Pavement Temp: 110 degrees
Pass-Side Radiator Tank Temp: 138 degrees
Dr-Side Radiator Tank Temp: 178 degrees
Thermostat Housing Temp: 185 degrees

Factory gauge reading: directly on the first hashmark

A/C still blowing nice and cold <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/cool.gif

So there you have it, I guess the first mystery hash mark on the gauge is 185, even though it is exactly halfway between "100" and "210" on the dial. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif

njsteve

07-24-2011, 08:12 PM

I spent a hour or so removing a valve train noise that I suspected was the crazy oil dripper contraption that the 455HO's used under the valve covers. It was a tinny/clanky sound that obviously wasn't a lifter but was definitely in the valvetrain somewhere.

It seems that the roller tipped rockers I am using were nicking the oil dripper indentations on the passenger side. I pulled both valve covers and removed the contraptions as they are not really needed with the roller tipped rockers. There is enough oil spray coming out of the rockers to lubricate everything that needs lubricating in there, anyway.

Top view:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7007082.jpg

Underside view:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7007077.jpg

Closeup view. Some of the nicks are old and some look fresh and shiny.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7007080.jpg

Now there are no more annoying noises that shouldn't be there. Just the annoying noises that should be. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

njsteve

07-25-2011, 12:34 AM

Now through the wonders of modern science, you can hear for yourself what the engine sounds like, after I removed those pesky dripper shields.

Just click on the photo:

http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j467/njsteve-engines/th_S7007086.jpg (http://s1087.photobucket.com/albums/j467/njsteve-engines/?action=view&current=S7007086.mp4)

Xplantdad

07-25-2011, 02:33 AM

Nice!! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif

njsteve

07-29-2011, 03:07 AM

If the weather holds out for Friday, I may drive down to the Fossils Car Club cruise down in Hamilton NJ tomorrow, in case anyone is in the area. It's a mega cruise night that they used to hold at the Jackson Outlets. The cruise moved to this new location, this year.

http://www.fossilscarclub.com/cruisenight.html

njsteve

07-30-2011, 05:08 AM

Made it down to the cruise. Weather was iffy but met up with some good people. The drive home was entertaining. It was an 85 mile round trip, made it to about 10 miles from the house and then the skies opened up. The wipers worked fine and I got home safe and then washed the road dirt off in the driveway while it was still raining. Once I finished washing, the sun came out again (typical). <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7007108.jpg

KevinW's 69 327 ragtop. Very nice car. At least he didn't get rained on because he lives near the cruise lcation. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/mad.gif

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7007109.jpg

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif

Xplantdad

07-30-2011, 05:09 AM

Nice shots Steve!

njsteve

07-30-2011, 05:15 AM

I posted a couple shots of a really cool survivor 62 421/405 in the PonchVilla section and a real 41 Willys street rod with a 528 Hemi, in the Mopar section. The threatening weather kept a lot of people away but it was a nice place to visit and hang out.

njsteve

07-31-2011, 12:28 AM

Just filled up the T/A with gas after last night's cruise. I actually managed to set a new personal best, mileage record at *11.1 mpg highway, 8 mpg city.

*Remember, use these figures to compare. Your actual mileage may vary. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif

njsteve

08-11-2011, 02:18 AM

A little test driving this evening. Checking if she's still in tune. (All within the posted speed limit, of course)

http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j467/njsteve-engines/th_S7007164.jpg (http://s1087.photobucket.com/albums/j467/njsteve-engines/?action=view&current=S7007164.mp4)

(click on the photo) <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/naughty.gif

Xplantdad

08-11-2011, 02:21 AM

Nice Steve! The sound reminds me of my brothers Formula Firebird!

Awesome... <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/headbang.gif

njsteve

08-11-2011, 02:27 AM

Nothing sounds like an angry Quadrajet (when they work properly). The car breaks the tires loose when the secondaries come in. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

If you watch the shaker closely, you can see the flapper open at the same time the secondaries kick in.

napa68

08-11-2011, 03:33 AM

Consider the mail...............hauled.

grantprix

08-11-2011, 03:50 AM

Love it! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/Can-I-Have-It.gif

mockingbird812

08-11-2011, 02:04 PM

Git some!!! Sounds good. Love seeing the flapper doing its thing! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif

njsteve

09-16-2011, 05:06 AM

Never stop tinkering. One of the honeycombs on the car was just a slightly different shade for several years now. It finally annoyed me enough to do something about it today. This was the result of a later purchased spray can of the now defunct, OEM Paints Honeycomb paint (which at the time was selling at the ridiculous price of $79 a spray can).

A few months ago I had my local Napa dealer mix me up a quart of single stage Honeycomb paint. It took them a lot of searching and a phone call to their supplier but they were finally able to cross reference the PPG DQE 8906 number over to Martin Senour #55-5327. A quart was about $35. (It requires a $25 can of hardener as well). I barely used a quarter of the quart can to paint the four wheels. You can also order direct from these people: www.tcpglobal.com (http://www.tcpglobal.com)

I ended up dismounting the front half of the tires so as not to disturb the balance weight positions on the backside. I wrapped the rubber in a couple plastic garbage bags per tire and tucked it under the front rim edges. I then mixed the paint, hardener and reducer and used a Preval spray bottle to apply the paint, since I don't have a paint gun. Once it cured, It aired the tires back up to reseat the beads, put the caps back on and all was well again.

The result was better than I expected. Comparing the color with an original paint wheel and it looks pretty much dead on. (even better than the OEM Paint mix, which was a bit too gun-metal colored, or at least the later can was)

Original wheel:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/c05e_1.jpg

Repainted wheel:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7007310.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7007308.jpg

I guess I'll do the Polyglas mounted set next.
Just so they all match. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif

MrsBillyBobcat

09-17-2011, 05:44 PM

They look AWESOME Steve! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/worship.gif

njsteve

10-03-2011, 11:51 PM

If anybody is near a newstand, the T/A is supposed to come out in the January issue of High Performance Pontiac, which hits the stands in October. My subscription copy always arrives suspiciously late and dog-eared from the mailman pre-reading it for several weeks before it shows up in my mailbox.

Please give me a heads up if you come across a copy. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif

Xplantdad

10-04-2011, 11:15 PM

I will look for it for you Steve!

njsteve

10-08-2011, 02:06 PM

Holy $&@#!

How did we get to half a million views on this insane seven year rant?

If I had a dime for every view I could have paid for a third of the resto cost. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

I guess it's like a train wreck: you just gotta stop and look.

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/youguysrock.gif

DarrenX33

10-08-2011, 10:27 PM

The thread speaks for itself pal. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

njsteve

10-13-2011, 01:15 AM

After trying all sorts of stuff to remove the 40 year old waterspots on the back window, and reading the recent thread in the tech section here: http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=462594#Post4625 94
I decided to try the SPOT-X water stain remover. I found it on Amazon.com for about $15.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/spotx.jpg

Here's the acid rain waterspots that up til were impervious to everything I tried: clay, rubbing compound, 0000 steel wool, 80 grit on a DA sander...

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/waterspots1.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/waterspots.jpg

njsteve

10-13-2011, 01:22 AM

It was really rather simple. You dampen the white scotchbrite pad and put a couple tablespoons of the powder on the pad. You rub using finger pressure only.

Make sure you don't get the powder on any aluminum trim or painted surfaces, if you do, wash it off, DO NOT TRY TO RUB IT OFF THE PAINT.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/during.jpg

Here is the left half after one application. You can already see the shiny-ness, returning

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/halfandhalf.jpg

njsteve

10-13-2011, 01:26 AM

And the final result after about thirty minutes of effort:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/after2.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/after.jpg

The stuff actually works great. After the glass cleaning, I did then have to re-polish the aluminum window trim with a quick application of Simichrome but that was no big deal.

VintageMusclecar

10-13-2011, 01:54 AM

If it looks 1/2 as good in real life as it does in the pics, then that's some impressive stuff.

njsteve

10-13-2011, 02:00 AM

It was pretty amazing stuff. It will also scratch aluminum window trim instantly if you accidentally rub too far from the edge of the glass. Don't even think about getting it near the paint. Some masking tape would probably be a good idea at the perimeter of the glass, just to be safe. This stuff is about the consistency and abrasiveness of Comet cleanser.

njsteve

10-13-2011, 08:00 PM

I went out hunting for the magazine this morning and found them at Barnes&Noble. A very happy day! Just in time for my wife's birthday. She will be so surprised when I give her an autographed copy as her birthday present. Stay tuned for further updates! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/HPPontiacTA.jpg

Xplantdad

10-13-2011, 11:15 PM

Looks great...congrats Steve...you've earned it....three times over! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

njsteve

10-22-2011, 06:44 PM

Thank you very much. I'd love to bring it to MCACN but the Charger is going instead...to try to drum up some prospective buyer interest, maybe.

MrsBillyBobcat

10-22-2011, 08:35 PM

<span style="font-size: 14pt">CONGRATULATIONS Steve!</span> <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif <span style="font-size: 14pt">It looks AWESOME! </span> <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/worship.gif

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Just in time for my wife's birthday. She will be so surprised when I give her an autographed copy as her birthday present. Stay tuned for further updates! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

</div></div>

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/haha.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/haha.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/haha.gif

So....how'd she like it? <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif

mockingbird812

10-22-2011, 10:58 PM

Excellent Steve and Congratulations. Boy, that panel fit looks so,,,so,,,so......unfactory-like. Nice job!!

njsteve

10-23-2011, 01:37 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MrsBillyBobcat</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><span style="font-size: 14pt">CONGRATULATIONS Steve!</span> <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif <span style="font-size: 14pt">It looks AWESOME! </span> <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/worship.gif

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Just in time for my wife's birthday. She will be so surprised when I give her an autographed copy as her birthday present. Stay tuned for further updates! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

</div></div>

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/haha.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/haha.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/haha.gif

So....how'd she like it? <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif </div></div>

Rita,

Actually I chickened out and gave her our customary family gift of a home-made limerick. We do it for everyone's birthday in our house. Even the kids are required to draft one up.

Here is my "gift" for my better half. It covers her two biggest gripes: we have way too many dogs and I have way too many hats stashed all around the house. Of course she also says there aren't enough cats, even though we have the same # of finicky felines as dastardly dogs (all are rescues, including the blind one in the lower right, in the picture).

She loved it!

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/Limerick2011.jpg

We should have enough limericks to fill a book by next year. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

mockingbird812

10-23-2011, 03:48 AM

Great tradition Steve. You may want to keep your day job, however! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/whistle.gif

MrsBillyBobcat

10-23-2011, 10:04 PM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Rita,

Actually I chickened out and gave her our customary family gift of a home-made limerick. We do it for everyone's birthday in our house. Even the kids are required to draft one up.

Here is my "gift" for my better half. It covers her two biggest gripes: we have way too many dogs and I have way too many hats stashed all around the house. Of course she also says there aren't enough cats, even though we have the same # of finicky felines as dastardly dogs (all are rescues, including the blind one in the lower right, in the picture).

She loved it!

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/Limerick2011.jpg

We should have enough limericks to fill a book by next year. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif </div></div>

<span style="font-size: 14pt">LOL Steve! That is way COOL!!! </span> <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/headbang.gif
Homemade cards/ gifts are the BEST! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif Thanks so much for sharing! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/worship.gif

njsteve

12-01-2011, 04:05 PM

I finally got some tires for the rims that I won from Year One for my Gramma Rose's 1975 Firebird. They will be going on Gramma's Firebird but I wanted to see how they fit on the T/A in terms of clearance and ride.

They are the 275/40x17 BFGs as recommended by Year One. They actually fit fine with no rubbing whatsoever! I drove around some windy/bumpy roads to check for rubbing and didn't hear or feel a thing. The car does handle and drive a bit stiffer than the BFG 235/60x15s I normally run, but the ride is nowhere near as jarring as the orginal bias ply F60x15 Polyglas tires.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7007516.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7007519a.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7007522.jpg

I compared the height measurements of each tire and they are as follows:

F60x15 Goodyear Polyglas: 26" tall
235/60x15 BFG Radial T/A: 25.5" tall
275/40x17 BFG Sports: 25" tall (of course the BFG spec sheet said they were 25.9 tall on a 9 rim <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/no.gif)

I'll try to get the weights of each tire later today when I move them over to Gramma's car but I can tell you the 17" set up is really heavy (one of the tires landed on my pinky while moving them out of the truck and I was not a happy camper). <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif

BTW, these are the original 114,000 mile front and rear springs on this car. You do see a bunch of space above the tire in the wheelwell. If I had it to do over again, I might go with a 45 series tire to get a bit more fill in the wheel well.

njsteve

12-01-2011, 04:06 PM

Here's the three tires on the car:

F60x15 Polyglas:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/72TA455HO4speed2a.jpg

235/60x15 BFG:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7006635a.jpg

275/40x17 BFG:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7007516.jpg

njsteve

12-01-2011, 11:48 PM

And here they are where they belong, on Gramma Rose's Firebird:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7007530.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7007535.jpg

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

Xplantdad

12-02-2011, 03:40 AM

Looks great Steve... <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

njsteve

12-10-2011, 04:10 AM

Thanks to Norwood and his expertise (no doubt using surplus, Area 51 Alien replication technology), he has come out with another unique part for our cars. This time it's the heat riser shroud mounting bracket for the 72 455HO engines.

Here's is the problem. The only repro available for the 72's is the wrong style bracket that is used on the 70s and 71s. Pictured on the top and bottom, it has two big "ears" that come up to protect the vacuum hoses. This was not used in 72.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/TA20restoration20SD120206.jpg

Here is a borrowed shot of an original 72 bracket on top, and Norwood's exact duplicate on the bottom:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/hobrkt.jpg

And a borrowed photo of the 72-only shroud unit that employed a locater tab to engage in the slot in the bracket:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/Picture20016a.jpg

Compared with the repro piece that is sold by all the venders and mistakenly described as fitting all the 70/71/72 cars. The triangular piece needs to be trimmed down into a small tab, and then it works just fine with Norwood's bracket:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/IMG_0419s.jpg

And the modified shroud and new bracket, assembled and mounted. (...and it looks like I need to do some detailing and repainting over the winter).

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/nk15268c/S7007555.jpg

njsteve

12-10-2011, 04:14 AM

I just got a heads up from a guy on the Performance Years website that they spotted my T/A in the Hemmings 2012 Muscle Machines calendar. Just in case anyone is interested. (I bought one as a Christmas gift for the in-laws, at my wife's suggestion since they are car-people, too and get a kick out of following my antics) <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

http://www.hemmings.com/store/detail_calendars.html?product_id=1377

Xplantdad

12-10-2011, 04:15 PM

Cool Steve! Looks like Sam's Deuce is in there as well! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

njsteve

03-22-2012, 01:41 AM

Well, here is the update of the century. The 72 sold today to a very happy new owner. We were both quite pleased with the transaction. If the new owner wishes to announce himself publicly I will leave it up to him.

I know what you're thinking: how could you spend seven years working toward something and then sell it? Well, it's kind of like the biblical story of Jacob and how he had to toil for seven years under Rachel's father Laban, before being allowed to marry Rachel, only the morning after the wedding ceremony he finds out there was a switcheroo and it's Leah he married and not Rachel. So he had to work another seven years to get the girl (car) of his dreams, Rachel.

That was kind of how I felt every time I'd open the garage and see the 72 sitting there. All I saw was seven years of labor and not the good feeling of owning the car I always wanted. So, off she went and now I am hunting for "Rachel". <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

This now leaves me with a bit of funding for the next project, whatever that may be. Hopefully something will come up soon. (or at least sooner than in the next seven years. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/wink.gif

mockingbird812

03-22-2012, 01:58 AM

I thot her name was Christina? <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif

Congrats Steve and good hunting. Anything in mind?

njsteve

03-22-2012, 02:00 AM

Naw, that's the Charger.

And it's Ms. Christine to you buddy!
<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

Xplantdad

03-22-2012, 05:12 AM

Steve...you need an SD Formula <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif BTW, congrats on the sale!!

SS427

03-22-2012, 03:41 PM

The new owner got a fantastic car and a VERY long thread to go with it not too mention some ink as well! We wait in patience for the next "build". <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/worship.gif

KevinW

03-22-2012, 09:18 PM

The never ending saga of Steve's projects. I am looking forward to another large project build thread to follow <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/laugh.gif Glad I got to see it in person a couple of times. Or maybe it is a local guy and I may see it around?

StealthBird

03-22-2012, 10:08 PM

I'm sad to hear you let it go Steve. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/frown.gif

But the new owner should be thrilled that they bought a car that had a top notch, proper resto, by someone dedicated to "getting it right".

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif

SmallHurst

03-31-2012, 11:59 PM

Whatever you get for a new project, remember who has the Goodyears lined up for you!!!!

Slashnine

04-02-2012, 07:28 PM

Wow awesome work here, i like your new restored part!

njsteve

04-12-2012, 01:21 AM

If you want to see what I sold the T/A in order to get, go here and see the new project:

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/naughty.gif

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=487291#Post4872 91

njsteve

08-11-2012, 11:32 PM

Who on earth is still reading this! We are almost at 1,000,000 views this week! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif

This is crazy!

bashton

08-14-2012, 01:42 PM

And don't forget...the new owner has agreed to join us at MCACN in November with the T/A and of course, Steven will be joining us with his Formula AND he has promised to do a wheelie demonstration on his Raleigh Chopper.

Bashton
MCACN Managing Member

njsteve

08-14-2012, 04:48 PM

That's great news! (about the car being at the show, not the wheelie thing - I wouldn't want to blow out the rear tire trying to pull the front wheel off the ground) <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

njsteve

10-10-2012, 02:12 PM

I just got a message that the collector that bought my 72 T/A featured in this thread is interested in selling it, and a couple other of his cars, to acquire another couple cars he has been hunting for.

If anyone is interested, PM me and I will put you in contact with him.

He also has that time capsule 13,000 mile red 73 455 4 speed (nonSD) T/A that is up for sale as well as a 69 H/O and a 70 Cuda 440+6. All the cars are amazing and he is a very good guy to deal with. I have driven the 73 and it is nice!

I will post something in the for sale section.

njsteve

12-31-2012, 09:07 PM

In case anyone wants a souvenier from this never-ending thread, I have the original set of Armasteel connecting rods and the 9799103 nodular crankshaft for sale. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/511578#Post511578

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/511577#Post511577

njsteve

12-22-2014, 12:41 AM

Looks like she is on the market by the collector who just received her in a trade:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121523640696?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageNa me=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT (http://http://www.ebay.com/itm/121523640696?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageNa me=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121523640696?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageNa me=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Ebay item #121523640696 in case link doesn't work.

njsteve

12-22-2014, 01:53 AM

Here is a link that works, I think:

72 TA (http://www.ebay.com/itm/121523640696?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageNa me=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

chrism

10-09-2015, 06:32 AM

Dear Steve and all fans of this 72 TA -

I just wanted you to know that this car is alive and well. I bought it earlier this year in Austin, TX, and drove it back to San Francisco, CA, along the famous Route 66. The collector I purchased it from in Austin thought I was a bit crazy to actually *drive* it home, but I figured a classic American car deserves a road trip on the classic American road. It's a "Trans Am" after all, right? <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

I took some footage while I was driving back and finally got around to making a video. I've just uploaded it to YouTube here: Trans Am - Trans America (https://youtu.be/MNBkYYyOj-o). I'm not a professional videographer, but I tried my best to capture the greatest of this car.

Thanks.
https://miks.smugmug.com/Trans-Am/Trans-Am-Trans-America/i-XgcJJmv/0/L/IMG_4881-L.jpg

njsteve

10-09-2015, 10:19 AM

That's awesome. Nice to see that it is back home on the left coast where it was sold new! It's a great car. If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

cook_dw

10-09-2015, 12:13 PM

What an awesome car.. Loved the cinematography..!!.. Great job and glad to see these cars still being driven and not trailered. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/youguysrock.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/Can-I-Have-It.gif

njsteve

10-09-2015, 12:52 PM

I watched the video. Most excellent. I love the highway run through the gears - and the vintage 1973 Chevy truck coming the other way. I lost count of how many gears you went through, it was like watching a 1970's car chase with never ending shifting sounds. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

njsteve

10-09-2015, 04:11 PM

Lots of comments on the sister thread on PY:

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5474796#post5474796

Tenney

10-09-2015, 07:27 PM

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

Xplantdad

10-10-2015, 12:57 AM

Really neat video!

AMANOCC

10-10-2015, 03:07 AM

That video made my night!

SuperNovaSS

10-10-2015, 03:09 AM

Very cool video. It looks like this was a solo trip. Who was filming the speedo, etc while you were driving?

Jason

chrism

10-10-2015, 03:40 AM

Hi all. Glad you're liking the video. It certainly took a while to shoot and even longer to edit, so I'm happy it's out in the world for others to enjoy.

If you click on "Show More" in the info box below the video you'll get a bit more background on the project. I was alone on this trip, so all the camera work was done by myself, much of it while driving (speedo, hood-horizon shots, driving shadow, reflection in windows, etc.). Yes, perhaps a bit risky, but there was lots of open, empty road along the way for much of the trip. I laid the phone on the ground pointing up for the undercarriage shot - that was done in the middle of the road in the middle of nowhere. I did have a small Gorillapod that I used to attach the iPhone to sign posts for some of the drive-by shots, and then I used it around the rear view mirror when making the "Rocket Man" sequence (freeing up both hands so I could steer and shift). It would've been cool to have had a suction mount for the iPhone so I could've stuck it to the car and had shots looking back at or along the car while driving. Next road trip!

I recall somewhere back in this thread that Steve mentioned you needed to photograph white cars at sunrise or sunset to get the appearance right. I got lucky one night driving out of Oatman, AZ with a fantastic sunset - those are the video shots at the start and the still photos at the end. That's how the sky really looked - no photoshop work.

The car got a bit dirty from all those miles but rest assured it received a thorough detail job from the best place in San Francisco and is, once again, pristine.

Steve, nice to meet you. Thanks for the link to the sister thread, and cool people are checking it out there, too (I've updated the video info with that link as well). Will certainly shoot you a PM to touch base.

njsteve

10-10-2015, 11:26 AM

Did you actually drive it all that way with those vintage California plates on it? <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

grantprix

10-11-2015, 05:25 AM

What a great video! Amazing job...

Ryan1969Chevelle

10-11-2015, 10:50 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">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. <img src="http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> </div></div>

Can I use this term? "Reassemblation"?

Ryan

earntaz

10-11-2015, 01:31 PM

Or "restification?

njsteve

10-11-2015, 02:07 PM

Oh, no you can't. I patented and copyrighted and trademarked every single word I used - just like that corporation that tried to trademark that word that sounds like "sir-bibe-urr" a few years back. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

Ryan1969Chevelle

10-11-2015, 02:23 PM

I just found this thread, I am 40 pages in and can't put it down!!!

Thanksgiving after turkey reading:-)

Ryan

marxjunk

10-11-2015, 03:18 PM

you can just imagine all the TA guys just cringing when the snow scene pops up.

ive always said they are just cars and where meant to be driven..my hat of to you...not sure i would go that far...but good job

njsteve

10-11-2015, 04:48 PM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Ryan1969Chevelle</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I just found this thread, I am 40 pages in and can't put it down!!!

Thanksgiving after turkey reading:-)

Ryan </div></div>

What do you mean, It's been here for over a decade with almost 3-1/2 million views!...(If I only had a penny for each hit.....) <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/no.gif

Glad you're enjoying it. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

BTW, there are three more sequals after it...just look in the Pontiac section for Part Deux, Part Tres, and "Gramma's Car"

Mr70

10-11-2015, 06:49 PM

Is it too much to ask the new owner to give us a glimpse of it's 8tk demo tape in that vid? <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif

Ryan1969Chevelle

10-12-2015, 01:33 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Ryan1969Chevelle</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I just found this thread, I am 40 pages in and can't put it down!!!

Thanksgiving after turkey reading:-)

Ryan </div></div>

What do you mean, It's been here for over a decade with almost 3-1/2 million views!...(If I only had a penny for each hit.....) <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/no.gif

Glad you're enjoying it. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

BTW, there are three more sequals after it...just look in the Pontiac section for Part Deux, Part Tres, and "Gramma's Car" </div></div>

I have read every page of grammas car, and your recent low mile car, but am now on page 70 of the 4speed car!! Riveting stuff!!

Ryan1969Chevelle

10-12-2015, 03:20 AM

Just finished all 124 pages!!!

Fantastic X100,000,000

Ryan

chrism

10-12-2015, 04:33 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Did you actually drive it all that way with those vintage California plates on it? <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif </div></div>

Yes, all ~1800 miles where done with the vintage plates on. I had no choice, really - flew to Austin from SF and the only way back was in the T/A. I've since registered the car in CA but still haven't put on the plates!

chrism

10-12-2015, 04:36 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: marxjunk</div><div class="ubbcode-body">you can just imagine all the TA guys just cringing when the snow scene pops up.

ive always said they are just cars and where meant to be driven..my hat of to you...not sure i would go that far...but good job </div></div>

I know, I know. Believe me - driving back through snow wasn't the plan. I woke up one morning in Flagstaff and the white stuff was coming down hard. I cringed, too, driving it out of the underground lot, but there was no other option - I had to get back. It didn't last long but it's certainly an experience to drive a rear-wheel-drive big block on an icy highway!

Ryan1969Chevelle

10-12-2015, 08:02 AM

John Brown

10-12-2015, 04:10 PM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Here is a link that works, I think:

72 TA (http://www.ebay.com/itm/121523640696?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageNa me=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT) </div></div>

Hate it when thread titles change with no reason.....

njsteve

10-12-2015, 06:34 PM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Ryan1969Chevelle</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Ryan1969Chevelle</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Ryan1969Chevelle</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I just found this thread, I am 40 pages in and can't put it down!!!

Thanksgiving after turkey reading:-)

Ryan </div></div>

What do you mean, It's been here for over a decade with almost 3-1/2 million views!...(If I only had a penny for each hit.....) <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/no.gif

Glad you're enjoying it. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

BTW, there are three more sequals after it...just look in the Pontiac section for Part Deux, Part Tres, and "Gramma's Car" </div></div>

I have read every page of grammas car, and your recent low mile car, but am now on page 70 of the 4speed car!! Riveting stuff!! </div></div>

I can't find "Part Deux"?

Ryan

Please TTT for me

</div></div>

You have to adjust the display settings at the bottom of the Pontiac page to show "From All Dates" and then it dsiplays things that havent had a reply in 6 months.

here's the link to Part Deux, the Special Order Paint (Black) 1972 455HO 4 speed:

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/487291/the-new-project-part-deux#Post487291