1979 Trans Am exterior panel decal placement
 

Hello All,
For the 1979 Trans Am 6.6 Liter, I have been searching online trying to find a schematic on exterior decal placement - all except the hood bird. I don't really want to sign up for all of the Trans Am forums today to get the information. I also don't have the service manual yet.
I am mainly working on the shaker scoop now, but will do the rest in a few weeks.
Does anyone have a schematic they can post or email to me about the exact location of the hood scoop 6.6 liter., fender, sail panel, front end and spoiler decals?
mjsteffen8@gmail.com
Thank you.

its a little small but you can see the details.

Thank you 78w72, you have been very helpful with all on this car and that attachment is exactly what I needed and should be useful for a lot of people on this forum.
I assume the measurements are in inches?
And also the print is a little blurry on the scoop placement on the down measurement, From the top of the scoop down is that .28 inches? And on the 79 scoop it has a curve down at the top- is it advised to run a straightedge over past the curve of the scoop and measure the .28 inches down from the bottom of the straightedge? Or, how does one determine the starting point to measure down from the top.

you're welcome. measurements are in inches.

yes it looks like .28. all the shaker scoops have the curve & honestly i dont think you need to worry about a straight edge or being exact on the measurements. these cars were mass produced & many different people put the decals on at 2 different plants. & from originals ive seen over the years the decals were all over the place everywhere on the car. i just eyeballed mine & picked a spot roughly in the middle of the curve & went about a quarter inch down... nobody will notice or care about .3 of an inch.

got news for you. no matter what the book says it should be, they slapped them on there all sorts of ways, some near the top, some on the lower side, some started at the rear of the scoop, some were in the middle so to speak and some were more forward, lots of them were crooked. very little quality control back then.

Was kinda thinking the same thing, But on a restored car you might as well get them as close or closer then they were originally installed so you don't have to explain your method. :p The factory stripes on my 78 S/E look like there were installed by a guy who had a 12 pack for breakfast & another for lunch. They are all original so its an interesting conversation, but man, I am pretty sure it was a timed event & the installer in 1978 likely had minutes to install 50' of pinstripes. The stripes over the roof were headed to one side of the car & then puled back the other direction. Also the sail panel birds are slightly different from left to right. I don't mind it because its original, But its funny how random they are in some areas from the factory.

Went through this with the GTO decal on the quarter. Lots of original photos that showed them in several locations, but all within limits. I took all those photos & decided on an average location based on those images. That worked out pretty well. You might be able to do the same thing with your 79 decals.

i know what you are saying. if you go to a car show judges who dont know $#!+ will count off if they are perfectly lined up and people will talk it down (which is why i dont show cars). i would suggest either putting them on to your liking or like they were shown in the factory photos.

Yep, if they are factory installed, there is nothing to talk about. If somebody installs them after a repaint there will always be somebody won't like it :p

If I was repainting the car I mentioned above, I would likely collect some more pictures, combine that with my car now, the book & put them on.
The pinstripes however I would have a really hard time putting them on that sloppy. I would put them on straight & call it over restored.
Like Muscle collector mentioned, that would be my liking & to heck with the rest of the critics :D

I would have to be happy with it when its sitting in my garage :cool2:

I tried to look at as many original examples as I could find prior to my decal placement, even though I had the shop manual with the dimensions. I do not doubt that there is a bit of deviation, but I dont think they were all that bad. Yes these things were put on rather quickly but you need to keep in mind these guys were doing thousands of decals. I think I read one time that a 2 man crew would put the hood bird on. I dont know the time frame now but it was ridiculous compared to what us hobbyist do.

Thanks all for your comments and advice-
Do you guys recommending clear coating over the decals - or what else do I need to know about application. I am not doing the hood bird but all others.
When I was flipping cars for extra money in the 90s I sold an 81 Turbo Trans Am that I had newly painted and all of the graphics and hood bird hand painted by a custom graphics guy - looked great but I cant find the guy now.

Personally I would never clear over the decals.

x2 on not clearing over decals... the clear will eventually crack around the edges.

Thanks guys- I wont clear over the decals

They are usually a vinyl transfer, not a film like a plastic model kit that needs coating.

why do plastic model decals need coated? ive never cleared or coated plastic model decals, they last a very very long time.

For added protection and because the decal sheen doesn't match the paint finish. Certain weathering techniques can ruin decals not sealed.

i4abuygto, sent you an email, probably went straight to junk. A few months late.

never heard of that & model kit instructions dont say to clear the decals. ive been building models for 35+ years & have never cleared or coated decals & they look great & i still have some models i did as a teenager that are 25-30 years old, decals are holding up great & look like the day they were applied.

& just like real cars, the decals are not intended to & never match the sheen of the paint.

sorry, dont believe any of what you said about clearing model car decals... not trying to argue, just stating some facts.

yes back to the topic that you sidetracked from mentioning model decals for some reason...

apparently AUS was kinda angry this morning, he deleted these replies -

Sorry, don't believe any of that and I didn't mention cars. Back to the topic.

Hey **** you ****

back at ya buddy!

Actually the original decals were shiny like the paint......the repro decals are grainy and have no shine to them. I have originals on my 79 and they are high gloss and very smooth.