[transam1972]

I should have said, Get some foam on this thing, Im up to my butt in gas!

[Formulabruce]

things will get better!!

[Judge273]

Glad you ok after that accident!

Did you ever post the phs?

[transam1972]

I cannot find my $25 PHS!!..will need to order a new one,not many options,but convienience ones....original owner was a female Spanish woeman whose husband was a salesman at the dealership,she would have been about 38 at the time of purchase....car was dealer maintained,garage kept when I bought it in 1985...unfortunately the videos of my first day with the car are corrupted!!..I kept it in a garage as I did not know till after I got it it needed quarters....started resto in 1990,but lost intrest...as no internet with a NJSTEVE thread!!!

[njsteve]

LOL. Bayonne? That's a rough town! Do you know what dealer it was?

[transam1972]

they are closed down...I lived there again in 2005 to 2007....on the left towards NYC....the Blvd.?

[transam1972]

what are the 2 main drags going thru bayonne again?....is it 1&9 called BROADWAY!!!!and the other?....I lived on 10th street....when it first came towards me, I thought it a Formula SD as no front spoiler and car was silver!?

[Neil E]

I grew up in Jersey City on the Bayonne boarder and recall seeing a silver 72 Trans Am parked in the “Country Village” section of Jersey City, the last few blocks which are actually in Bayonne. It must have been your car. This was when I was just out of high school, in the late eighties. That car must have sat in the same parking spot for a least a two or three years.

The two main drags in Bayonne are Broadway and Kennedy Blvd.

May have sold from Park Pontiac in Jersey City.

Small world.

[transam1972]

pretty cool stuff!...I just got a PM back from Neil and he remembers the car from just before I bought it in 1985, the year he graduated...fortunately I got it before he did!!...instead he got a 1972 LeMans Sport with the endura option and a 455 H.O.!!..I got to Bayonne in Feb. 85, saw it in the summer but she did not sell to me til Oct....so the big question is....Neil did you ever see the car Lucerne blue??

[Neil E]

Glenn,

Never did see the car Lucerne Blue. I recall the car being parked on the street in front of the previous owner’s house for at least a couple of years. The car always confused me since I knew it was a ’72 from the honeycomb grills, but also knew that they only came in white or blue.

I was too young and too poor at the time to even think about trying to buy the car.

Good luck with the restoration.

Neil

[transam1972]

almost 30 years ago...what the hell have I been doing?????....oh yah I remember...anyway not happy to hear the car sat outside, yet I never saw any ill effects....owner had a garage....sold me the car as she was going to get a new one..in a way she knew what she had as the car cost me $5k...more than it cost new and she Fd it all up with a silver paint job that was in every joint...I can still find silver overspray on the grease...that's why I replaced every panel with new GM, took of the doors...had them dunked and stripped at REDI STRIP PA....new quarters slowed me big time down...and I had a Camaro to entertain me, which is up next following the demise of the 3000...just waiting for the check...this is a comedy thread...

[transam1972]

since I am reminiscing, I never took a photo of the car when I first got it, only videotape of all things....I even bought a brand new VCR last year (they still sell them!) to try and view the tape....some grainy images and that was it, I used a tripod and was looking forward to a young me...anyway I did find a few pix from the early 90s and something I never planned on mentioning but you would never know unless I told you...I did not even know until after I owned the car and started work...the car obviously saw city life & traffic....the trunk drop offs were 1/2 gone and rust had started on the lower quarters courtesy of New Jersey salted roads? I really don't know, some bondo and a crummy silver paint job hid all that...but probably the real reason the total repaint..this accident and the fact that the owner said the paint was bad...meaning the original Lucerne blue, of course she never mentioned the hit...the drivers rear quarter had taken a hit....they drilled some holes and pulled and then the bondo....as with unibody construction, damage can be complicated so I decided to do both quarters that cost me $1200 and could only find Camaro drop offs which I modified to fit...when I change my trunk lock (currently locked out) I will post pics of my trunk pan, you would never know....point is you can see the damage in the floor pan in the photo...one shows the drop off removed and the other is a test fit of new fenders and bumper and valance....morale a simple repaint is not always that simple

[transam1972]

this is a 1972-73 repop of the poly valance that was purchased when they first came out, I am unsure if they are still made the same,not a bad alternative for an original and it appears to be made of fiberglass..fit is extremely good...is there another version of this part?

[SD73]

Originally Posted by transam1972

Attachment 351667 this is a 1972-73 repop of the poly valance that was purchased when they first came out, I am unsure if they are still made the same,not a bad alternative for an original and it appears to be made of fiberglass..fit is extremely good...is there another version of this part?

Yes, the newer valances are made of ABS. Some people have mixed feelings about them, but I love mine. The body shop had no issues with the install that they made me aware of and the big upside is they have none of the brittleness problems the originals have.

[transam1972]

interesting..I do believe I have seen 2 of the same appearing repop valance offered at different price points, so that explains it...one is plastic and one is fiberglass...as far as finding a poly valance that's not an easy task...I definitely prefer the look of the 72 & 73 valance over the steel....what I find annoying is that all of these parts including air dams and spoilers were originally moulded in colour...in the late seventies I got all new parts and you just bolted them on...it will be interesting on having to deal with how these parts will be painted..obviously with a flex agent...but far from an original look I remember...and even though my car had a metal valance on it when I got it...they somehow left the special 3 hole bracket on (that is repoped)

[transam1972]

[transam1972]

this air dam is an original GM purchased in 1979...I was expecting it to be molded white,its not...it was painted and it did come with white molded welting...so GM did sell pre painted airdams....the complete set I got in 79 had white welting, perhaps the parts were painted?...so long ago

[transam1972]

this is the original hood that was on the car...and it did have both original fenders,which I opted to replace with brand new GM in 1990 as I was able to work a barter deal with the owner of QUEEN CITY PONTIAC in Greenbrook N.J.(I serviced the office copier) who sold me 2 new fenders for $300...they also got me L&R later style doorskins,trunklid,fiberglass tail insert,& sport mirrors at cost..yet I would think there would have been overspray underneath?..I kept the hood stored separate and it irks me that my poor planning led to some surface rust along the edges...I can clean it up, but it was perfect..I have seen a repop of this exact design with this inner bracing and since I am a bit of a perfectionist reagarding new sheet metal I may just go for it..I can always save the original hood as a spare!

[Formulabruce]

In the late 70's the painted parts for earlier cars were only available "Cameo " white, or unpainted. The white was the same from 71-80.

[transam1972]

FORMULABRUCE, I am curious about the Lucerne blue cars...were the spoilers & airdams molded in blue,with blue welting?..and are you saying that the white were molded in colour?...thankyou...I did get new parts in 79 that as I recall, I just bolted on?