[Pepi]

Originally Posted by Transamric

And a few more.

I always remember mine having a yellow sticker with the black "B" on it, but mine was more towards the back of the valve cover on R/H side. Never knew what it was for. I think now I need to look for a replacement one. Can you give any dimensions on the sticker?

[RicksGTO]

Bob, I'm sending you a PM with the current address link that should be the long term owner: Same name and age is 63, used to live in Marion, IN and the map location on his previous address in Marion matches a mapquest search for the Delmar Rd. address pretty much exactly.

[Formulabruce]

I used to have that "dronemaster" exhaust. at 2600 rpm with the rear of the header pipes hangining from the rear floor, it was just too much for me.. Glad you like it!! I do like the way it fits in your car!

[Held for Ransom]

Originally Posted by Transamric

Ok, looks like three clips. Air cleaner temp valve looks more like Baby Blue to me, but I may have replaced that way back when.

Master cylinder dates are a bleep to read on these, so tiny. Underneath the casting number is 5470409-1B*017, and the stamping by the front pipe is CS309 for sure, but the last number could be most anything. Should be a '3' based on the datings of other parts, but looks more like a 'T'.

Nice original air cleaner. Clamp will have a date too. Light, light blue is close enough for me.
The master date code was more for Bob. Steel wool/sandpaper and a camera are the tools I use.

[MikeNoun]

Here's a few pics of a 1700 mile 1973 SD-455 car that I've used for reference in the past.

[West Coast GTO]

Originally Posted by Bentwheelbob

I hate to admit this, but I may as well for complete disclosure. I spoke Sunday night to East Coast Guy ("ECG").who owned the car before WCG. He bought the car through a Michigan car dealer (Car Planet) who I now believe bought the car and had the title assigned from the long term owner without ever titling it himself. When ECG bought the car the orginal honeycombs along with the original Wide Ovals had been removed for wheel restoration and tire replacement. This replacement and restoration had not been completed so the dealer swapped them for a set from a '74 Super Duty he had on the lot that were restored. He was supposed to send these to ECG and swap them after the car was delivered, but never did. ECG has a few pictures somewhere of the original wheels and Wide Ovals and is trying to find them to share with me. The car has an orginal wide oval that was he spare. I need to check the wheel that is in the trunk and now has a BFG.

I now believe the long term owner parked the car in 1980 for some reason based upon the inspection sticker date and other dots that can be connected, and then it was sold 31 years later to Car Planet. I have tried to track down the long term owner - Greg Anderson of Marion, Indiana, but have had no luck. He would be 63 today and should still be around, but I can't get a hit. The original 1973 lessee is a Marion Urologist that I have numbers for, but haven't spoken to. He's 74, but only had the car for one year.

Very interesting about the " original" honeycomb wheels and tires. When I was purchasing the car , and after the inspection, I was never told about the original wheels/ tires at all. I just assumed that they were the originals and the date codes were not included on the inspection. Also, I believe that I had asked on the forum regarding the lack of mention of honeycomb wheels that the PHS did not list them because they were a no-cost choice between honeys and Rally II wheels.
The previous seller that I bought the car from ( ECG) did say that he bought from a dealer that did not title the car so that part rings true.

[Held for Ransom]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Here's a few pics of a 1700 mile 1973 SD-455 car that I've used for reference in the past.

Looks like the "Nicklaus" car.

[Bentwheelbob]

So here are the original spiral shocks. I was hoping they might not be too dead, but these suckers are mush. I need to decide whether to get them rebuilt or buy a set of repops? There is a guy I found on the internet that does both, and includes the date code and PN on the repops, however, you lose the patina.

As I understand it, the Black Car would have used the same shock. Is that correct?

[RamAir]

Tough call, if you ever have it vintage certified at MCACN repops are a deduct

[The Boss]

He could always bolt the mush back on for the show Doug and save the repops for the burnouts.

[Transamric]

Originally Posted by Pepi

I always remember mine having a yellow sticker with the black "B" on it, but mine was more towards the back of the valve cover on R/H side. Never knew what it was for. I think now I need to look for a replacement one. Can you give any dimensions on the sticker?

Measures .907" outside diameter, but from the looks of the glue residue around the edge, may have originally been .012-.015 larger. The "B" is exactly .500" tall.

[Bentwheelbob]

The Red Car came with its' original hairy hose in a box and a replacement vinyl hose on the car. The original hose was ripped off the wire structure right on one end. I am glad that the prior owner saved it, however, because I was able to fix it almost as good as new.

I used 3M black weatherstrip adhesive and a bunch of spring clamps and binder clips to hold it in place while it dried, and you really cannot tell it was ever separated. I still need to attach the clear plastic inside liner, but that will be a piece of cake compared to the fiber outer hose. Here's a few pic's.

[RamAir]

That's great work Bob, where can I get a pair of those awesome work shoes?

[Bentwheelbob]

Hah. LLBean bison hide moccasins. Two big thumbs up. Fit a little tight at first, but wear them a couple times to wash your car and they are fantastic. Second pair I have bought, and about to order a third.

[RamAir]

Originally Posted by Bentwheelbob

Hah. LLBean bison hide moccasins. Two big thumbs up. Fit a little tight at first, but wear them a couple times to wash your car and they are fantastic. Second pair I have bought, and about to order a third.

Thx, I'm on it ;-)

[The Boss]

Necessity is the mother of invention!

Bravo! Well Done!

[Judge273]

Chris, Lot of cliché lately...Europe thing?

[The Boss]

Nah, I've had a couple of beers.

I can stop however if it's annoying.

[Bentwheelbob]

So the Red Car is up in the air and I love the way it looks. The nice thing about these 4 post lifts is you can get hydraulic bridge jacks that lift the car of the lift. Kind of looks like they are flying. We jacked it up to pull the wheels so the they could be cleaned, the BFG's removed, and the Wide Ovals installed. It was a great opportunity to check things out and it's obvious that the 255 BFG's were rubbing in a few places. Everything else looks pretty cool, there's a few paint marks on the right front and the remains of the sway bar sticker. This car is really clean.

[Bentwheelbob]

Well, the wheels looked pretty, but I went ahead and fogged a little paint on the honeycomb side of the wheel just to clean things up. As I suspected, the wheel for the spare appears to be original. A picture of the stamping is below. I would appreciate a decode.

I learned a little more of the cars history today. Best I can piece it together, the second owner Greg Anderson parked the car at some point and that was that. He eventually sold it to the third owner who bought it as a restoration project. The third owner never titled it and never did any work on it. Eventually he realized it wasn't going to happen and he sold it to Bob Reason at Car Planet in Troy, MI. Bob never titled the car either, but he loved it. I spoke to him today, he said it was one of the best original cars he ever owned. When he bought the car it had the original Wide Ovals on it although they were flat. He met the seller and in the process of winching it from the sellers trailer to his trailer 2 of the tires shred the sidewalls. Long story short he readily volunteered that the original rims were in great shape, but that he swapped them for some restored wheels and honeycombs he already in the shop to get it rolling. The good news is he sold the wheels to a buddy named John that still has them stacked in his basement. We'll see how this plays out...

Bob went through the car - gas tank, carb, brakes, et cetera and got it going. He drove it for about a year on dealer plates and then sold it when a Trans Am he wanted worse came along.

Here's a few wheel pictures.