Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

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... [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/wink.gif[/img]

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Yeah! I now know what it's like to discover a vintage barn find - I found the old Viper in my own garage once I used up all those T/A parts!

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

I was tinkering with the car today, drove it to my buddy's garage and we couldn't figure out where the freakin' squeekin' noises were coming from. I tightened everything I could find (including finding a bunch of suspension bolts I didn't tighten 5 years years ago when I assembled the suspension), but couldn't stop the problem. The squeek would appear the moment the front suspension moved.

So after tightening everything twice, I removed the front shocks and discovered that from sitting so long, the four upper shock grommets on both sides were permananetly compressed to the point that they allowed the shock stem to move laterally under compression and make the squeek. I drove around the block with no front shocks and the car was silent. So at least I solved the noise problem for the moment. Now I have to find some more shock grommets/bushings.

I also had to re-rebuild my alternator when I noticed it was putting out 18 volts at the dash gauge instead of 14. Luckily I had a spare one around to swap the rectifier and diodes from. Now it works fine and luckily I didn't fry anything.

Still waiting on the front valance...

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Steve, I have a bunch of brand new shock grommets if you still need them. Get ahold of me tomorrow if so.

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Rick,
I dug around and found some better old ones in the toolbox than I had on the car and reinstalled the shocks (nice and quiet for the moment) but if you have some new ones that would be much better!

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

I threw some info out there on the Temperature Sender thread and thought I'd repost it here as well.

https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbt...6&amp;page=all

Since it is really expensive to find an original, vintage Delco temp sender that reads correctly, the Wells brand from your local AutoZone ended up being the best and closest calibrated bet. And at $6, it sure beats the hundreds that some people want for an original 1513321. Note: the later Delco replacements are not calibrated correctly and as a result the temp gauge reads way too high - which is the same problem exihibted by the Lectric Limited sender I tested.

Here is the chart I made up comparing the $6 Wells TU5, the $25 Lectric Limited, and a vintage GM 1513321 temp sender. The test was done with a pot of water on the stove. The senders were immersed to the top of the threads and then tested with an ohm meter once the water temp stabilized at each temperature level.

80 degrees: Wells at 650 ohms, LL at 573 ohms, GM at 549
90 degrees: Wells at 526 ohms, LL at 445 ohms, GM at 524
100 degrees: Wells at 429 ohms, LL at 365 ohms, GM at 409
110 degrees: Wells at 328 ohms, LL at 266 ohms, GM at 365
120 degrees: Wells at 283 ohms, LL at 227 ohms, GM at 323
130 degrees: Wells at 250 ohms, LL at 200 ohms, GM at 272
140 degrees: Wells at 216 ohms, LL at 170 ohms, GM at 227
150 degrees: Wells at 198 ohms, LL at 155 ohms, GM at 195
160 degrees: Wells at 173 ohms, LL at 133 ohms, GM at 175
170 degrees: Wells at 157 ohms, LL at 119 ohms, GM at 157
180 degrees: Wells at 135 ohms, LL at 101 ohms, GM at 140
190 degrees: Wells at 120 ohms, LL at 89 ohms, GM at 125
200 degrees: Wells at 109 ohms, LL at 79 ohms, GM at 109
212 degrees: Wells at 104 ohms, LL at 75 ohms, GM at 102

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Nice job &quot;Mac&quot;. So from what I see in your results, the el cheapo Wells brand stayed fairly close with the OEM GM sender (except at 80 degrees . [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif[/img] ) How do these two compare visually?

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

The Wells is an exact duplicate except there is no stamped Delco or part number on it. Only the original GM/Delco units have any words stamped on them at all. The more recent GM/Delco senders have nothing on them at all which leads me to believe that they have some outside manufacturer making them to some universal, one-sender-fits-all spec.

Here are two vintage Delcos on the left, then a correct old NOS Delco sender with the stampings and a more recent (inaccurate) Delco sender with no stamping, on the right:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/DSC00370.jpg

Close up of some vintage Delco senders with the &quot;AC MADE IN USA&quot; stamping:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...8b/senders.jpg

By the way, these are other peoples' photos - I don't have any of these senders. A Pontiac buddy just sent me the one that I tested and that one I put in the car.

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

I hope my car turns out even close to this nice...!!
Great Job!!

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Finally got the polyethylene valance back today. All that relocating and modifying paid off in the end - it actually fits without any binding, stretching or shoving into place. Just hand-tightening of the large washered bolts to hold it in place.

Here is a shot of the finished valance:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7005573.jpg