[aronhk_md]

If I can just get it there this year....lol

[Wareagle]

Heres some more info on the Gun Metal Grey SD455 T/A I mentioned - http://peterschoon.com/455sd_history.html must have been a fake ? as only three colors were available for 73 SD's - red - green and white - glad I did'nt buy it .
Also saw a black 73 T/A Driving around with SD455 Decals - repaint ? .

[aronhk_md]

There was a black 73.....it was a special order car. Cant remember if it was an SD though. Not sure about any others though. Didnt see anything in that link about a grey SD Ken....what am I missing?

[Wareagle]

Could that Grey T/A have been a special order car or that poster car - just curious - if real would be maybe 1 of 1 .

[aronhk_md]

Sure it could be, but I dont know. Some of the guys in the 70-73 bird section might though.

[Wareagle]

Yes I'll try them - Initially I was contacted by my salesman at the local Pontiac Dealership and asked if I was interested in a 1973 Gun Metal Grey SD455 T/A - should have got the VIN # - Then I would have known for sure - but the owner backed out of the deal anyways .

[Brewster]

I tried to expand on that link but it states "Not Found" ?

I had never heard of that black one with red accents until HPP article so a grey or silver one I guess wouldn't surprise me?

[aronhk_md]

A few more pics of the front end nearing its final stages.....

[marks73ta]

Hey Aron. Did you weather the storm OK? You really got dumped on. That front end is a nice piece. Have you had it mocked up on the car yet. I had a one piece front end (think it was a VFN) on my '67 Nova years ago. Overall it was OK but the fender lines/edges where it met the factory doors and lower rocker were way off. I had top do a lot of work there just to make it look decent. Check your edges. Mark L

[aronhk_md]

We got quite lucky with the strorm. I think it petered out a bit just before it hit us. A few branches down and a couple of trickles of water in the basement.

I havent had the front end mocked up yet, and I have thought about the body lines. It may somewhat be a moot point if I have to split the bottom part of the fender and leave it on the bady to facilitate the tilt. But yes, I've thought about that. The boy doing it is not only a decent body guy from all reports, but has several 70-81 TA's himself.....so hoping he gets it close. Then if necessary we can fine tune it once in place Thanks for the reminder though.

[marks73ta]

Main thing is you're safe relatively dry. Mark L. (You didn't let my TA get wet did you????) 8^)

[Wareagle]

Originally Posted by Brewster

I tried to expand on that link but it states "Not Found" ?

I had never heard of that black one with red accents until HPP article so a grey or silver one I guess wouldn't surprise me?

Brew - yes with the legend of the SD455 - It wouldn't surprise me either .

[BruceWilkie]

Originally Posted by marks73ta

Main thing is you're safe relatively dry. Mark L. (You didn't let my TA get wet did you????) 8^)

Mark didnt you tell him you ran out of filler and substituted drywall joint compound??

[marks73ta]

SHHHHH, damn Bruce, now I gotta think up a new lie. Good thing I'm innovative, heh. My biggest worry is, the TA turns into an evil gremlin if it gets wet!! Aron donn wanna drive no Gremlin, right?? Markus Uh Babbanistious

[aronhk_md]

A gremlin eh? I remember those............hehehe

[aronhk_md]

Had some delays, got busy with other things and the trans am sat for a few months. The engine was supposed to start going together when I last posted, but.....it didnt. However, it is back on the front burner for hopefully the next 2 weeks. Meantime, the fiberglass guy has been working steadily on the front end. There was a LOT to do to turn a regular firebird one piece fiberglass front end into a Trans Am front end, and of course the whole piece itself came from US Body as a disappointingly rough piece. Not to mention it comes with none of the attachment points for grills, headlights, turn signals, etc.

And now, except for some final details to be tweeked once its mounted...its DONE!

[ERIC AULL]

Aron, Lookin' insane!!!! My 67 GTO is coming along........keep at it!! Eric

[smittyseng]

Nice job, your going to have one bad azz car when your done. Any plans on how your going to mount and open the tilt front end? The reason I ask is back in 1989 me and another py member here-mr.twister both bought the same exact front ends for our birds, I had a real clean 73 from California and he had a not so clean 72 from Virginia. He glassed in metal into the front or bolted thru the glass down low and welded steel with hinges on his frame horns if I remember right, he also had to butcher up the bottom with cutouts to clear the frame horns when it was openend (If I remember right, he might chime in). At the back of the fender because there is no way humanly possible for it to clear the doors when it tilts from a fixed position so he cut his fenders right a the center body line and mounted the lower halfs to the car. It didn't work so well opening by yourself and he was never happy with the fit, finish and operation (not saying you won't be). Now Myself, I had the glass work on the front smoothed out perfect, I was determined not to have the cut in the center of the front fenders, I had metal glassed into the front and mounted to the inside, I had pivoting hinges attached to them and the frame horns and I played around with trying to get it to open by just trimming a tiny bit off the bottom rear, well , that didn't work so well, I couldn't get the rear part to clear the firewall where it curves out in front of the door sooo-I chopped all the metal off the corners of the firewall and while I was at it smoothed out the complete firewall. I welded in all kinds of thin steel, cut out the majority of the firewall, got rid of the top lip , had it looking pretty custom and front seemed like it would clear it real well. Got it somewhat done and the front end would scratch the paint off the front of the doors unless you had 2 people opening the damn thing and it was real flimsy when half opened, when it was all the way opened it was crushing the fibreglass on the bottom as it pivoted into the frame rails before it was any where vertical enough to stay up without manpower, tried mounting it a little different and the nose would hit the ground (concrete). I was really pizzed at that point and I took it to another body guy and I bought some fancy 500$ sliding/cantilever hinges, the idea was you would pull the front end forward and as it came forward it would be sliding at a angle upwards as it came forward, would clear the frame horns and the nose wouldn't be dug into the ashphalt,. Had more bracing glassed in and these fancy hinges on slides put on, well, still couldn't open the damn thing without it wrecking some paint somewhere, really needed two people to do it and it would slide back on the rolling slides that it was hinged to, I am curious to see how your going to do it, I no longer own that 73 but someone on here does, he may have pics. Great project and good luck, Smitty

[RAIV-Z]

Aron,
That front end looks killer!

[bankbook]

Looks really good Aron !!

Just located a one piece locally. I have to look at it this weekend, for the future.

IT NEVER ENDS! LOL