[shutyomouf]

Tommorrow morning me and dad are going to try to get the GTO running. Right now the engine and transmission are in the car but none of the accessories are on it. We got a trunk full of parts and hopefully the carb will be done tommorrow.

Does anyone know where to find a picture of the front of a 73 400? There is a bag full of brackets and we are not sure which one goes where. It would save a lot of time trying to put the puzzle together with a picture to go off of.

My dad drove this car from Arizona (where his dad is) to Minnesota (home) close to 20 years ago and moved to Florida about 13 years ago to live in the garage. The car is in good shape but is going to need a lot of tlc.

It's a 1973 GTO 400 auto, bucket seats, power windows, a/c, great interior.

I will post up some pictures tommorrow

[77 Canamman]

[dblsprt68]

Your going to do what I did several years ago, getting a box of brackets and putting everything together. I was a longtime Chevy guy and bought my Can Am with no engine. I picked up a running 400 but it only had the alternator on it. I used the exploded view pictures above and got everything back together. The guy told me that "everything" was in the trunk.......I hoped he was right; turns out he was! Post some pics when you can. Welcome!!!!

[shutyomouf]

Not sure why but I made a post a few days ago with pics and it didn't show up. I'll try again later.

[shutyomouf]

Heres how we started the day.


Hood up



After studying Canamman (big thanks!) pictures we mocked up the powersteering and all the pullies and brackets.

Action shot


As it stands now all the pullies and brackets got a nice cleaning and paint job, we have stainless steel transmission and fuel lines on order and still waiting for the carb to be built.

Next session I hope to give the engine bay a good cleaning and get all the parts bolted up. The wiring and a few vacuum lines are our next hurdle. On the front of the engine down in the intake there is a hole where a hose or something goes, does anyone know what goes there? I will post a more detailed pics when I get a chance.

Thanks

[77 Canamman]

Glad you were able to figure out the brackets. It looks great. I am happy that I could help you out.

[73LeMans]

What a great car. Know how many dreams Ive had that start off with images like that? Too many! Welcome!

[shutyomouf]

Word on the street is the fuel and tranny lines are in and I will pick up the carb tommorrow. This weekend should be a good one.

In that pic of the rusty motor what is the the big bunch of wires plugged into on the right side. That doesn't look familiar.

[77 Canamman]

The pic of that rusty engine is a 1972 400. The wires on the right side of the engine and the bulkhead attach to the drivers side of the firewall. It is close in appearance to a 1973 harness, which also attaches to the firewall, and the wires plug into the wiper motor, washer pump, brake proportioning valve, then run along the inside of the valve colver, then plug into the alternator, and temp gauge/light sender unit.

[CanAmT/AGTO]

[QUOTE=

Next session I hope to give the engine bay a good cleaning and get all the parts bolted up. The wiring and a few vacuum lines are our next hurdle. On the front of the engine down in the intake there is a hole where a hose or something goes, does anyone know what goes there? I will post a more detailed pics when I get a chance.

Thanks

QUOTE]


That hole in the valley pan is for the PCV valve. It should have a rubber grommet in it to make a positive seal around the PCV valve.Those are usually hard and need to be replaced and are available from our Host.
Looks like a GREAT start and a real solid car. Make sure to THANK your Father for maintaining a great car over the years.

Larry

[77 Canamman]

As Larry said, your car appears to be in great condition. The PCV valve grommet can still be sourced through your local dealer as GM part number 5646418 or AC-Delco part number CV295, or I have also found them at Autozone as a special order part. It is Dorman part number 42054 or 495-018 and the cost is $8.99. All of the Pontiac parts retailers such as our host or Ames carry them also. Another point of interest is the valve itself. Resist the temptation of buying an aftermarket one from Autozone, etc. The valve is supposed to be a precise size, and if incorrect, can lead to a rough idle, or insufficient crankcase venting. AC Delco part number CV-679C is the right one for most Pontiac V-8 engines.

[shutyomouf]

Thanks for the info guys! The plan for tommorrow is a cleaning and hopefully some assembly.

Score today.

[77 Canamman]

Nice looking carb..

[shutyomouf]

It's crazy the difference a scrub brush makes.



Much better



We ran into a snag with the fuel pump and the new line we got. The line is designed for the fitting on the fuel pump to have a 90 fitting and ours comes straight out. Tuesday we will have the new pump.

The little stuff is the biggest challenge, like we don't have the little ball that connects the carb to the throttle cable. The emissions and vacuum lines are still being figured out.

Anyone recommend any manuals with diagrams or nice pictures? Also how similar are the 72 and 73 400? It's hard to find 73 stuff and want to know if parts are pretty much the same or maybe go up to 74?

Thanks!

[shutyomouf]

Here is a good example of the condition of the car, under a layer of dust is a damn fine specimen.



some interior shots

my little man doing the dirty work, carpet has some wear spots but everything else is great.


before the cleaning







We found a throttle cable ball and learned that the fuel pump ordeal was sabotage, way back in the day napa sold dad the wrong pump, bastards!

[Brian Baker]

Tell us more about the pattern on the seats and the "burled walnut" on the console cover as neither look original. But are they?

[77 Canamman]

Originally Posted by shutyomouf

The little stuff is the biggest challenge, like we don't have the little ball that connects the carb to the throttle cable. The emissions and vacuum lines are still being figured out.

Anyone recommend any manuals with diagrams or nice pictures? Also how similar are the 72 and 73 400? It's hard to find 73 stuff and want to know if parts are pretty much the same or maybe go up to 74?

Thanks!

I recommend the factory Pontiac service manual. The '72 and '73 400 engines are very much the same animal, the exception being that the '73's use a EGR system, and hot air choke. The compression and cam are the same, but the exhaust valve size was reduced from 1.77" in '72 to 1.66" in '73. The power rating dropped 20 net HP to 230 hp in '73. Our host and Ames both sell 1973 engine parts such as date coded plug wires, fuel pump, lines, carb parts, although they mostly appear in their Firebird catalogs.

[shutyomouf]

The seats and console are original, the guage cluster panel is from a 74 lemans.

[77 Canamman]

Have the seats been reupholstered? I have never seen that material on another 1973 GTO.

[shutyomouf]

As far as we know the seats are original. Dad got the car from grandpa and grandpa bought the car from the original owner in 82 or 83, I think we have the bill of sale with the date on it.

I wouldn't mind throwing a set of seats from a 06 GTO in there. I'll get more pics of the interior this weekend.

Thanks for the info guys, I'm getting the service manual on CD.