#41  
Old 07-27-2018, 12:25 PM
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72projectbird 72projectbird is offline
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Got the firewall stripped down with a flap disc and a DA. It looks really good now, although on these turbo cars you cant see much. I'll get the booster and master detailed up later.

I initially was going to have the sub frame powder coated, but seeing how well the firewall came out, I think I'll attempt stripping it and painting it first.










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"Those poor souls have made the fatal mistake of surrounding us. Now we can fire in any direction"

1970 Trans Am RAIII 4 speed
1971 Trans Am 5.3 LM7
1977 Trans Am W72 Y82
1987 Grand National
  #42  
Old 07-29-2018, 11:36 AM
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Got the sub frame torn down today. No broken bolts, and everything looks pretty good except for a broken coil spring on the passenger side. The bottom most coil broke off completely.




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"Those poor souls have made the fatal mistake of surrounding us. Now we can fire in any direction"

1970 Trans Am RAIII 4 speed
1971 Trans Am 5.3 LM7
1977 Trans Am W72 Y82
1987 Grand National
  #43  
Old 07-29-2018, 01:26 PM
Grand73Am Grand73Am is offline
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I also found a broken coil spring on my 79 when I took it apart last year, except that it was on the left side. It was the bottom coil too. Didn't know it was broken until I took it apart.

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  #44  
Old 07-30-2018, 11:51 AM
74Grandville 74Grandville is offline
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look at that wacky exhaust tube.

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1979 Firebird Trans Am 301/4spd (Now 428)
1977 Firebird Formula 400/Auto
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  #45  
Old 07-30-2018, 12:37 PM
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Haha, the exhaust is funky on these cars!

Got the frame stripped down to bare metal, cleaned really good, and painted up chassis black. It looks like it was powder coated, so I'm pretty happy with it!








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"Those poor souls have made the fatal mistake of surrounding us. Now we can fire in any direction"

1970 Trans Am RAIII 4 speed
1971 Trans Am 5.3 LM7
1977 Trans Am W72 Y82
1987 Grand National
  #46  
Old 07-30-2018, 05:57 PM
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Got the sub frame mounted up. I think it looks really nice against the cleaned up firewall.

I started degreasing the engine and front suspension components. The arms and knuckles cleaned up pretty quickly. I found the original color of the knuckles under the grease. The engine is still a mess, but at least it's cleaner than before. It still has a long way to go, but it's coming along.














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"Those poor souls have made the fatal mistake of surrounding us. Now we can fire in any direction"

1970 Trans Am RAIII 4 speed
1971 Trans Am 5.3 LM7
1977 Trans Am W72 Y82
1987 Grand National
  #47  
Old 08-02-2018, 02:15 PM
rad400 rad400 is offline
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Looking good

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79 Trans AM 406 #12 heads Torker II intake Crower 60210 750 holley vac. sec. T400 3500 Stall 3:73:1 rear. ECMTTFMFers. IHTTFMFers.
  #48  
Old 08-14-2018, 06:56 PM
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I just read this whole thread from start to current. Good to see someone is rescuing one of these last 301t 2nd Gen Firebirds that could have easily ended up being crushed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 72projectbird;
I started degreasing the engine and front suspension components. The engine is still a mess, but at least it's cleaner than before.
I'm a bit puzzled at the lack of engine paint, plus greasy grime, considering that it was supposedly rebuilt shortly before being taken off the road in 1989. Granted having sat around, as you say, for 25 years at the time you aquired it.
Not trying to stir up sh*t but I just don't see how the gaskets/seals would leak that much (and had time to collect road grime) even if the shop that did the work didn't believe in a fresh coat of paint.

  #49  
Old 08-15-2018, 01:11 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lightfoot View Post
I just read this whole thread from start to current. Good to see someone is rescuing one of these last 301t 2nd Gen Firebirds that could have easily ended up being crushed.

I'm a bit puzzled at the lack of engine paint, plus greasy grime, considering that it was supposedly rebuilt shortly before being taken off the road in 1989. Granted having sat around, as you say, for 25 years at the time you aquired it.
Not trying to stir up sh*t but I just don't see how the gaskets/seals would leak that much (and had time to collect road grime) even if the shop that did the work didn't believe in a fresh coat of paint.
The valve cover gaskets were torn, and the previous owner just said screw it, and kept running it. They're not the easiest things to get off on a turbo car. He did the same with a set of plug wires. They run under the carb, which basically rests on the valve cover, and the wires were sandwiched between the two. Instead of removing the carb and manifold it rides on, he just cut the wires and left them. lol

There is some traces of blue paint still on the engine. When they rebuilt it I guess they never repainted it? Whatever the case, I have the paperwork from the machine shop, with the VIN of the engine written on the paperwork. It ran well, and had good oil pressure. The inside of it is clean too.

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"Those poor souls have made the fatal mistake of surrounding us. Now we can fire in any direction"

1970 Trans Am RAIII 4 speed
1971 Trans Am 5.3 LM7
1977 Trans Am W72 Y82
1987 Grand National
  #50  
Old 09-14-2018, 05:25 PM
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Progress has slowed, with other projects taking priority. I got the rest of the front end components stripped down and repainted. The steering components are painted with POR cast grey paint, which seems to closely resemble the original paint I found on the knuckles. I did the knuckles, steering linkages, calipers, and steering box in the grey. I'm currently painting the dust shields in a bright silver.

After the front end is back together, I'll remove the rear end and give it the same makeover.












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"Those poor souls have made the fatal mistake of surrounding us. Now we can fire in any direction"

1970 Trans Am RAIII 4 speed
1971 Trans Am 5.3 LM7
1977 Trans Am W72 Y82
1987 Grand National
  #51  
Old 09-19-2018, 08:54 PM
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Started assembling the front end. Got the dust shields on, repacked the bearings, and installed the rotors. The rotors are a little rusty from sitting. I think I might take them back off and paint the hub and vented areas. You can see the repainted sway bar and hardware in the pics.

I don't have the springs in yet. There's not enough weight on the front of the car for me to get them in, and I don't have the correct style spring compressor to do it the other way.






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"Those poor souls have made the fatal mistake of surrounding us. Now we can fire in any direction"

1970 Trans Am RAIII 4 speed
1971 Trans Am 5.3 LM7
1977 Trans Am W72 Y82
1987 Grand National
  #52  
Old 09-25-2018, 12:21 PM
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Got the new heater core installed, and really cleaned up the under dash housing, as well as the suitcase on the firewall. I saw another build where the guy clear coated over the factory finish and it looked great, so I decided to do the same. It gives it a nice look, while keeping the original feel. I was able to keep the original sticker in place.








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"Those poor souls have made the fatal mistake of surrounding us. Now we can fire in any direction"

1970 Trans Am RAIII 4 speed
1971 Trans Am 5.3 LM7
1977 Trans Am W72 Y82
1987 Grand National
  #53  
Old 09-28-2018, 12:21 PM
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Got the steering column prepped and painted, and got the steering wheel and collar stripped and ready for paint. The column isn't full gloss like it looks in one of the pics. I used SEM Landau black, which looks very factory when dry. I was able to get the turn signal and tilt stalks looking like new again with some steel wool and metal polish.

I mounted the column temporarily to let if fully dry. I'll be coming back out so I can finish up the wiring and install the dash.








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"Those poor souls have made the fatal mistake of surrounding us. Now we can fire in any direction"

1970 Trans Am RAIII 4 speed
1971 Trans Am 5.3 LM7
1977 Trans Am W72 Y82
1987 Grand National
  #54  
Old 09-28-2018, 08:14 PM
Aus78Formula Aus78Formula is offline
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I like the cast iron spindles. I did mine the same even though it appears the original paint was a light blue/grey.

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Old 09-28-2018, 09:03 PM
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This is a really cool build to watch. Keep up the good work

  #56  
Old 09-29-2018, 08:09 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aus78Formula View Post
I like the cast iron spindles. I did mine the same even though it appears the original paint was a light blue/grey.
Thank you! The original paint definitely had a blue tint to it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 1965gp View Post
This is a really cool build to watch. Keep up the good work
Thanks! I know the later cars don't always get the same viewership that other builds get, but I enjoy keeping the thread going for those who are interested.

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"Those poor souls have made the fatal mistake of surrounding us. Now we can fire in any direction"

1970 Trans Am RAIII 4 speed
1971 Trans Am 5.3 LM7
1977 Trans Am W72 Y82
1987 Grand National
  #57  
Old 09-29-2018, 09:00 PM
Grand73Am Grand73Am is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 72projectbird View Post
Thanks! I know the later cars don't always get the same viewership that other builds get, but I enjoy keeping the thread going for those who are interested.
Funny, since I have 79's, the later cars are the only projects I view .

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  #58  
Old 10-01-2018, 11:38 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Grand73Am View Post
Funny, since I have 79's, the later cars are the only projects I view .
lol

I view all the builds, even for cars I don't own. I like seeing what everyone is doing.

I got the column and wheel installed the other day, so I could steer the car around. I also put the dash in to get the visual, but it'll be coming back out so I can run the wiring and duct work.

Has anyone had any luck removing warping from the dashes of these cars? Mine has a little warp right in the middle, and I'd like to get rid of it.




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"Those poor souls have made the fatal mistake of surrounding us. Now we can fire in any direction"

1970 Trans Am RAIII 4 speed
1971 Trans Am 5.3 LM7
1977 Trans Am W72 Y82
1987 Grand National
  #59  
Old 10-01-2018, 12:29 PM
Grand73Am Grand73Am is offline
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I don't have time to view them all! I have to draw the line somewhere.

As for your dash, pretty much all of them have that dip in that spot. I've looked at mine to see why, and it's because that's where one of the screws to the dash is installed, but the dash pad is not reinforced well in that screw location, so it gets pulled down when the screw is tightened. Since you'll be pulling the dash pad off again, you'll be able to look under the pad to see what I'm talking about.

I suppose you might could heat that area and push it back up, then reinforce under the dash pad in that spot with something. I would consider Marine Tex epoxy putty for reinforcement. Then, when installing, don't tighten the screw too much. Might be a little risky with the heat and bending needed to do it that way.

Or I suppose you could just fill in the dip with some dash pad urethane filler, but that would require body work to your dash pad and repainting. Even the first method above may take some filler to make it straight, even after lifting the area.

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  #60  
Old 10-01-2018, 04:27 PM
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I think I'll leave it alone. The dash is otherwise perfect, with no cracks. The original owner cut the radio opening out, but that's not a big enough deal for me to completely tear into a dash restoration.

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"Those poor souls have made the fatal mistake of surrounding us. Now we can fire in any direction"

1970 Trans Am RAIII 4 speed
1971 Trans Am 5.3 LM7
1977 Trans Am W72 Y82
1987 Grand National
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