[cnc]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

CNC - Wow, that is a fine example, you are blessed! Bet the glass channel area is from pine needles.

Dang you got lucky!

I like your paint scheme too, that will look good.


.

Thanks appreciate the comment and I agree with pine needle perhaps too...

[cnc]

Drop offs pics left and right sides

[HWYSTR455]

That is fantastic, those things are nice! Rarely do you ever see them that good!


.

[cnc]

Yes very true most are shot.....I've started a thread in. The body shop 73 redo

[JUDGE3]

My sheetmetal is all reproduction. pleased with all of it. but that means much more fitment than always better original parts. so my doors are going to be up and down a lot. I removed my doors with no help (a mistake at my age my wife tells me all the time) by removing the bolts sitting on my stool, resting the door on my legs glass in and all, then rolled over to my bench and up. ugh.

decided to get the ez lift tool for my jack, doubt the pros would use it but for my temporary use I like it a lot. its going to serve its purpose real well for not a lot of $ thru summit.

I have to go slow from this point on being cosmetics time. knew I couldn't use my legs and stool technique anymore. maybe someone on the fence with this tool will like the info.

[JUDGE3]

postin up some of my fun restoration moments . just for fun.

morphing from the awkward original steering wheel to the Trans Am LEATHER steering wheel. small thing, huge difference.

[JUDGE3]

....from the classic odd-mod original 350 engine to the 455 stump puller...

[JUDGE3]

from the tired looking base-bird front end to the aggressive TA front end...

[JUDGE3]

from the crusty pe-leg to the moser 12/3.73

(iv'e experienced all the pontiac "good" rear gears 3.42-3.55-3.73-3.90.4.33, hands down 3.73 is my favorite)

[JUDGE3]

buying the base repop shaker scoop and building/blockerizing it and looking thru the windshield at it for the first time

[JUDGE3]

I hate doing coil springs. hate it. removed/installed three times! but........cutting them properly -twice- very small amounts both times I achieved the exact results I wanted. dreaded hard work but done forever. I'm never doing it again. done it many many times.

[JUDGE3]

building my own bezel from a 40 buck ebay bezel & speedhuttin the gauges. (and putting the bird in the middle instead of oddly off to one side?) I had a bulk roll of the foil engine turned stuff. applied it 3 or 4 times before I was satisfied with it. did it on a cold winters day inside, enjoyed it.

[JUDGE3]

Getting all, and I mean all, the rust cut out everywhere and replacing/welding all the new steel on and seeing it for the first time complete. mercy did that feel good. lotta work but extremely rewarding. and the $ saved would be ridiculous!

note the high front end stance prior to the dreaded coil cuts.

[JUDGE3]

Trailering it down to finally get the title/tag/registration all done, and the exhaust put on. then when I got the title, they typo'd the vin wrong. crap. back up for a lengthy hassle and a month and a half later got the correct title.

hearing it with the new exhaust was wonderful. then driving it and forgetting to install the th400 vacuum line they don't like to shift without that. then installing it, drive for a bit to break in the drivetrain and promptly lettin er rip and burnin off the brown letter bf goodrich tires. ha

[JUDGE3]

after tossin the original driveshaft outside in the cedar tree pile letting it "winter" a couple years, discovering I could and wanted to use it, sandblasting it and having new 1350 series stuff welded on. the retrieval and being able to use it after all was fun. hmm think iv'e done that with a couple things! outside storage "B" has come in handy.

[JUDGE3]

seeing this pic of my 2 favorite Pontiacs racing. wow what a piece of history.

starin' at my hopefull end-result pic but with cragar ss wheels when done. the cragars are a demon from the past I gotta purge.

But if I could, I would finish mine just like this video. holy smokes, what a car and what a run. that sound is nothing short of incredible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNfK3TRs1N0

and in between it all, the Chiefs won the superbowl and are poised to be great for quite some time. yeha

[JUDGE3]

scuff sanding/cleaning/seam sealing, applying por15 then epoxy primer everywhere I could.

[JUDGE3]

changing out parts to remove the air conditioning. I don't like ac on a old muscle car.

[JUDGE3]

Trashing the brake booster, fabbing up a proportioning valve bracket, brake switch bracket, and finding out a 69 Firebird brake pedal is a direct bolt in with 2 holes for manual brake swapping.

[JUDGE3]

Put in 2 decent weekends and got back into it full tilt again. feels good. learned a lot to boot. I'm on track to completely finish the final lengthy time consuming stage of door gap fitment by the end of December. come January it will be time to apply body filler as needed. all other gap areas and fitment on the car is completed and the fit is very nice. never thought I would be looking forward to all the sanding ahead but I am.

so I replaced the bottom of the rusted door shell with a reproduction piece that I was very thankful became available. first time I've ever (with hammer and dolly) installed doorskins also. with all that, I anticipated needing to weld some steel to the door edges/fenders/quarters as needed. not a big deal if you follow proper procedure and planish as you go but I learned and am now on a roll! I'm also air cooling my welds and taking my time. learned the rookie way.

notable notes: The ez door tool for the jack is a must. iv'e had the door up and down at least 5 times already.

installing the door the first couple times is a bummer. by the 5th plus time you get good at it and its not so traumatic lol.

I learned to install all 3 bolts on both hinges, run the back 2 up but not tight. the single fwd bolt once you get the adjustment, tighten just that bolt all the way is enough. small movements with the door make big differences. also snug up one hinge, loosen and make an adjustment on the other, then tighten and do the other. trying to do both together doesn't work.

lotta measuring/marking. I used a wooden paint stir stick for my gap gauge. don't know how thick that is but I used it on my 2015 silverado truck to see what modern gaps are and it was good enough for me so goin with it.

really fun when you hit that magic adjustment spot and see the gap getting where you want it.