[The Boss]

Congratulations - great starting point!

[Held for Ransom]

You could look into getting the correct trim tag screws too.

[PontGuy]

You could look into getting the correct trim tag screws too

Haha noticed that too. And I can't tell what most of the trim codes mean. But I do have a copy of the original invoice that shows code E for the blue exterior and code 901 for standard red vinyl interior. So as far as I can tell the color combo is legit.

Still not sure what to make of this car but at least it is very well documented so I have a good trail to follow. A ton of money was spent building it, then it was featured in HPP. The engine as described in the magazine was pretty much stock. But around the same time the engine was rebuilt again, this time .060 over, with EFI, performance cam, and the 5C heads. Still the same owner. It looks like it was sold soon afterward and has only a little over 1,000 miles on it since. I am guessing that the new combo just didn't work right and the owner got tired of throwing money at it.

So now my goal is to strip the complicated stuff out from under the hood, swap out the cam if needed, and put it right. I wasn't planning on this big a project but at least it shouldn't cost much.

[77 TRASHCAN]

Originally Posted by PontGuy

TA's any year have gotten extremely rare around here. Until the Atlanta BOPC I hadn't seen one for years- not even at local shows. So hunting down a really nice local 74 455 with a color scheme that I like was just an impossible challenge. But admit it, I will be biting my nails for a few weeks going this route.

Greg, got agree on the potential. But hoping that it looks as good as it does in the pics, and that it runs good enough in its mostly "original" numbers-matching form to make me happy. I keep telling myself I really don't need another car that is as strong as the Lemans... but we will see. And hoping maybe it will surprise me.

When I bought my car new in 77, it seemed like T/A's were as common as Impala's or Chevy 1/2 ton pickups.

Years later I worked w/ a guy in a parts store. He called them trashcans, because typically about 2 years after the young owner had their way w/ these cars, they WERE trashcans...scrap material. I had a choice of a black/black car or a white w/ red interior, I didn't care for the white one at all, after 2 years on the road the white car looked like it survived one too many demolition derbys

[Greg Reid]

I've seen the same Admiralty Blue '74 TA twice in the last couple of months parked at the local community college here.
Both times I was with my wife on the way to somewhere. I'm keeping an eye out to see if I can catch the driver sometime for a closer look. Definitely a driver quality car...about like the one I had.

[PontGuy]

Sounds like its got you thinking Greg.

I haven't had a chance to do anything in the garage but still going through all the documents and receipts. And planning my attack for this weekend.

I want to get the engine running reasonable so that I can really drive the car. No doubt that the fuel injection is causing big problems so that is top of the list after checking the compression and the basics. I have a spare good Q-jet, mech pump and even an early stock manifold, and getting them on the engine shouldn't take too long. Pulling off all the EFI electrical wiring and sensors will be a hassle but I can do that later. I also found a receipt for replacing the pinion and axle seals but it says nothing about setting up a new gear so thinking that it may still have the 3.08. It did not feel like a big gear during my short test drive but its hard to say without checking it.

A neighbor watching the car being unloaded told me he had a 79 in his garage. He said it runs good but we've both lived here over 15 years and I've never seen it. Maybe all of the remaining TA's in Augusta are just garage queens? This one will NOT be a garage queen.

[Bentwheelbob]

Originally Posted by PontGuy

So now my goal is to strip the complicated stuff out from under the hood, swap out the cam if needed, and put it right. I wasn't planning on this big a project but at least it shouldn't cost much.

Yeah that's the ticket...it shouldn't cost too much. How many times have we all made that statement. I've lost track personally, but my wife has it written down somewhere I think.

Love the car and glad you are happy. It sounds like it has found a good home. Good luck on sorting it out and making things more original. I look forward to following your progress.

[PontGuy]

Yeah that's the ticket...it shouldn't cost too much. How many times have we all made that statement. I've lost track personally, but my wife has it written down somewhere I think.

Love the car and glad you are happy. It sounds like it has found a good home. Good luck on sorting it out and making things more original. I look forward to following your progress.

How true! But knowing that up-front helps.

While disappointed that the EFI is working so poorly I figured that I would end up replacing it when I bought the car so at least the cost of doing that was a consideration. The fact that the build has so few miles on it and it has good heads is on the plus side.

[PontGuy]

Also the dealer is still supposed to send me the original carb and manifold (see post #1). I figure there's a 50/50 chance of that actually happening since the parts did not arrive with the car, but still hoping that it might give me a good carb core. If not I'll be in the market for a late 70's Pontiac Q-jet to build.

I ran the spare Q-jet I have for several months on the Lemans while I waited for Cliff to build the good one for it. Its an early Chevy-style side inlet and not optimized, but it actually worked better-than-OK on the Lemans engine.

[PontGuy]

Finally got to spend an evening checking things out.

3.08 posi gear. Perfect.

The battery charge was low- only 12.0V. Thought it might be because the car cranked very slowly last weekend. I put a charger on it and we will see whether it holds. If not then I'll pick up another battery in the morning.

I traced the fuel system. A second 3/8 tube was run from the tank to the throttle body and the original 3/8 fuel line is plumbed to return from the throttle body to the tank. The original small dia return tubing is still on the car but disconnected on both ends. An inline electric fuel pump is in the back. Everything is connected with rubber hose so it should be easy to rig the carb for testing. I also traced most of the wiring for the FI system but still need to find the power feed so I can disable it without removing everything.

The plan for tomorrow is to start it up (this time with a full charge), drive the car for a bit to warm it up, do a quick timing curve check, disable the FI system and ignition, and do a compression check on all cylinders.

Also found my spare carb and fuel pump and might be able to get them installed for testing before the weekend is out. Assuming everything works well I will need to replace fuel lines so that they make sense. It looks like this is a lot easier to do on the TA than on an A-body?

[Greg Reid]

Regarding fuel line...I can't speak from experience but it wouldn't surprise me if it's easier on the F body due to the lack of the full frame. If I recall correclty, the line runs inside the drivers side frame rail on the A body.

[PontGuy]

Yes, except where the lines go over the frame above the front wheel. Also the lines run down the passenger side of the car and I have no idea how they get over to the pump. Those sections are missing.

[Greg Reid]

Shouldn't be hard to find out on this site.

[Held for Ransom]

They are just rubber lines.

[PontGuy]

I got the battery charged up, started the engine and it ran 100% better. When first started the volt meter read 14+ like it should. I took it for a drive and watched the volts gradually drop on the meter, so I pulled into Advance and got them to do a check on the charging system. That's always fun- had a bunch of guys checking it out and asking about the car while waiting. The battery is bad so I bought another but still need to put it in. By the time I got home the volts at idle were down below 13, and the engine was running rough and wanting to stall again.

I think that the drain on the electrical system might be causing the EFI not to work right. The Holley directions caution that the system is sensitive to voltage. If it runs OK with a new battery then I can go back to my original plan and play with the EFI tune before yanking it all and installing a carb.

Since the fuel connections under the engine are rubber replacing the tubing from the tank should be pretty easy (thanks for the pics!) I will order new ones along with tubing from the pump to the carb, get the right mech pump, test the carb that I have on my Lemans, and do it right.

I haven't checked compression yet since I need a good battery to do that for all 8 cyls.

I did a quick timing check. The vacuum advance is not connected. And the base is set at 16 deg. At 3000 RPM it is only up to 22 total. And it looks like timing tops out around 26 deg all-in. The MSD RTR distributor must have some heavy weights on it and a very short stop. Manifold vacuum at idle is only around 15 but the needle is dead steady. Unless the compression is crazy high the timing should not be that far retarded and some work on the curve should help wake it up. Even with the engine running smoothly my Lemans would run circles around it. Can't have that.

Now letting it cool off a bit before replacing the battery, then will do the CR check.

[PontGuy]

Checked compression on all cylinders except 2 and 8 (now I remember why I stripped the AC out of the engine bay in the 'vert). All came in at 175-180 psi. And the plugs all look like new.

After going over the car in detail and driving it a good bit today there is not much more to say in this thread. I discovered that the AC actually works fine but the controller and/or duct work is messed up- got to put it in "defrost" to open the AC ducts. But I'll save fixing that for another time. The steering is a little loose but the suspension is tight. And there are a few other things to fix that I mentioned earlier. But all I really need to do is get the engine "tune" sorted out and it should be a fun car to drive.

[a74ta]

Have to say that I really enjoyed following your updates. I looked at that car when it was for sale on the website and wondered about the fuel injection set up. Glad things have been good. You have a beautiful car. Always happy to see a growing popularity in 1974 T/A's.

[PontGuy]

Not going away but my focus will be on the engine for a while and I plan to shift any more detailed discussion on that over to the street forum.

I have an MSD spring/stop kit on the way to play with this coming weekend. Also decided that I need to check out my spare Q-jet on the Lemans engine. I am ready to place an order with Inline Tube for new fuel lines but want to make sure I have two good carbs first.

[PontGuy]

For those that may not have been watching we now have a spirited discussion on the engine setup going on in the street section.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=758643

[PontGuy]

I have a Cliff-built carb on the way- came across it while looking for cores on ebay. I was searching for a late 70's 800CFM Q-jet but this one matches the car exactly (#7044262) and I got it cheap without having to wait on his list. Also have a 72 non-EGR manifold coming so I can put it back to stock without having to mess around with matching the crossover ports on my early manifold to the later heads. Already have new fuel lines and matching pump and will start pulling the EFI today.

Wiring is an issue on this car (main power feed/ground gremlins). Once I get the EFI off it will simplify things, but the engine harness is original and I think that the wire routing may be a bit creative. I found that the ground strap at the back of the engine was just hanging so I hooked it up last night. And will find a place to put a second strap just to make sure there are no ground issues. Hoping that will help. But I am thinking that I should buy a new engine harness and re-wire it. This is the sort of thing that I would have done during the restore but was skipped. A few questions-

• The starter cable and power feed between the alternator and the starter go behind the engine. The starter wire goes through a tube mounted on the back of the head and the power wire just goes around the back of the block. Is this correct?
• There is an electrical sensor on the side of the head on the drivers side with the connecting wire going over the valve cover. I think this is for TCS system? With the MSD distributor it should not be needed, right?
• Didn't the 74's come with external voltage regulators? Just want to confirm that this car has been switched over.