1972 Trans Am 455 H.O. in a poor mans garage
 

Hello everyone!..everytime I write a huge story with the details on how I got my car and more than an hour goes by, I go to post the thread and I cant..it says something about tokens and administrator, so I give up any way I don't know how to post photos so that good guy PAT BROWN of 455 H.O. fame is going to post some for me..I do hope to accomplish a lot this winter so in 3 months I will get some follow up pics..I do want to thank everyone on this forum for the continued help..its what makes it possible..thanks to NJSTEVE for seeing his 72 thread for inspiration,FORMULABRUCE for tech help and some hard to find parts.EVISME for those awesome honeycombs,your handle escapes me,but the 2133 distributor, Ol PINION HEAD for tech help,BENTWHEELBOB for the soon to be known correct engine blue.NORWOOD of course for the correct heat stove repo and the parts you are restoring for me now,I cant wait! and of course PAT BROWN for everything!! photos will eventually turn up on a thread and I will keep plugging away!! thanks glenn

okay...here's a start Glenn...

A couple more....I have many to choose from...any requests? :)

Pat - How about a picture of the smoky burnout?

Glenn - Congrats! Can't wait to watch the progress. You'll get the handle of posting pictures. My best recommendation is to get an Iphone and open a photobucket account. Good luck.

photos
 

BWB thanks! I phone, big step up for me! I am used to $10 trac phone LOL!.. smokey burnout in 3 months..PAT how about those Legendary door panels?..wheres a shot of my 455 H.O. COM banner!?..definitely need that..repo shocks..and some inside floor pan and underneath shots..thanks PAT!!

O K...stupid question time.... i was always under the impression that the 71/72 455 H.O. did not come with the positive battery cable shield????

nice car btw and good luck on the resto.....

Lookin good, Glenn. Those wheels look great on your car. Keep up the progress and more pics please :popcorn:

Did the 71's come with chrome valve covers? Were they an option?
Thanks.

lets see...floor pans...

door panels

underneath..

random

photos
 

unbelievable job PAT!..I could not have done it myself..455 H.O.COM Forever!! bossbirdta..the cable/harness shield is a part I recycled from my 1976 455 T/A that met an untimely demise in 1983 on Death Highway (RT.22)..before I added it the original wire harness and cable just hung there..I don't know if a clip was missing or what was the original design?..it looked like a good idea to install it..and on the front of the head was a drilled and tapped hole, just like the 76, so it just bolted on..I do know looking at the 72 assembly manual there was a similar shield,but its design and location was different and it was canceled..perhaps someone knows more...Charles I don't know if chrome valve covers were available over the counter in 71 or 72 but I do know in 79 I bought a set from a Pontiac dealer for my 76..and they were not a bright chrome..according to a date stamp my block and heads are 1972 SR..In 1985 when I removed the original steel painted valve covers to install chrome ones (the ones shown are my 3rd set,they do pit and rust) they had oil drippers..so my 1973 SR heads had later style valve covers as I have come to find out, H.O.s original steel painted valve covers do not..the oil drippers are a 1973 and later design..thanks for stopping by!!

I know its not corrrect, but I LOVE the chrome valve covers on a HO bird. This car has the goods, and looking pretty nice!! Grats, Glad to help!

chrome
 

and chrome bezels and chrome trim rings..I think I like to see myself!!

Are you going to post a PHS and details? Curious on the options from factory.

PHS
 

I do have the PHS but that is my problem,not being able to post, but I can tell you history and options..I hate not being capable of posting..I just saw a thread about the Tirebird and I have from 1970 that my dad and I got at a tire store a BFG tire brochure with 2 photos of a white/blue striped 701/2 T/A with BFG tires and 2 photos of the Tirebird and it says "If your man enough to drive one of these cars, etc.' and it lists all makes and models of 1970 super cars anyway...NOV. 71 build Norwood delivered to a Pontiac dealer in Jersey City..car s home was Bayonne N.J. from 71 to 85 and I bought it off the original female owner which may explain the short option list.. embarrassing why the car isn't done lets save for another time...Auto,Power windows & door locks, Electric Defog.,Air,Tilt,Tinted glass,AM/FM Stereo,..and of course the highly desired rear bumperettes...why no custom I don't know but her husband worked for the dealer so I think they knew to load the car up so to speak of the main options...so original standard black interior/Lucerne blue exterior..car has 58k since 85 I am lucky enough to have put about 400 miles on it..car cost me 5k in 1985 dollars..had there been an internet back then I am sure I could have found something else but at the time I saw the car it had a silver repaint but it was all original and not molested, plus the female owner,garage kept dealer maintained cool options meant I did not want to pass it by..had never seen a 1972 T/A and the few 70 and 71s I looked at the time were always a mess..hope that covers the options thanks!!

I don't see why you can't post pics?
Possibly they are too big memory size?

Here's a pic I did of how to add a pic inline with the post.
The main part is the 'Manage Attachments' button below the main message window.

The picture also has to be on your hard drive.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...8&d=1383243025



:)

If you still can't, send them to me and i can post them for you.

[email protected]

:)

I did have to resize all the pics before they would upload. May be part of the problem.

Another Lucy 72? Those are showing up a lot lately? Steve has a shop full and one Adian. Haha

posting
 

its Adrian!!..but unfortunately when it comes to this computer stuff I don't have any one around to help me..I did go to my local library and even they could not do it..but I have been meaning to go again and get someone else to try..I know it can be done..BENTWHEELBOB suggested an I phone and I will check into that I just have a lot going on and it is frustrating that is why I asked PAT BROWN of 455 H.O.COM to post some for me and he was very kind enough to help me out, but thank you for the offer!..I just got my new Lecarra Trans AM Formula style steering wheel the other day and I wish I could post a photo right now to compare to my original wheel..I am going to start a thread on it but I think its fantastic really!!

wow, if there is ANYWAY you could SOMEHOW post up that BFG tire brochure it would be a great thing to see. sounds like a pretty neat piece of Trans Am/ Tirebird memorabilia. the Tirebird has been getting some nice love on the forums here lately and i'm sure most of us would greatly appreciate if you could share such an item.....

brochure
 

I will ask PAT BROWN if he has the tech. to post it and I will send it to him, I am sure he does..if not I will PM you and if you or someone you know can do it I will send it to them all I ask is it gets sent back!..I know it will!!

that would be awesome! i'm sure PB could help, if not i know i can!!!!

Thank You....

Nope..."71 HO's were painted (one year only Pontiac Teal Blue/green) Don't know about the 400 cars in '71. All 455HO TA's had painted covers.

valve covers
 

I did save my original painted covers..I also see Ames sells the correct valve cover in steel so if someone wants new and then paint it engine blue, they can..I believe chrome valve covers re appeared on the later T/As..meaning 77 and up 400s..dont know if standard or optional...but does anyone know if a chrome dressup kit was offered in 1970 for the Trans Am?....and does anyone know if you could buy chrome valve covers over the counter in the early 70 s?...didn't 67 68 or 69 have chrome covers?...that's too early for me!!

Car Porn.....
 

U mean this one?????

It's like 8 1/2" x 11"....3 folds....

Now where the heck do I get me one of those brochures??

BFG porn
 

that's it!..and I thought I had the only one!!..but it is now in the care of Held For Ransom...Aunt Jemimah, what took you so long?!

I believe ALL 400 & larger displacement engines built from 65-70 came with chrome valve covers from the factory...

They re-appeared again in 77-79 with the W72 T/A 6.6 engine upgrade....(hardchrome...not polished)

I'm sure the dealers parts departments would sell you a set over the counter to dress up your 71 & newer engine compartments

valve covers
 

thanks..I am glad you cleared that up..in 1972 it was possible to put chrome valve covers on your 455 H.O..in 79 I got a set of those hard chrome as you described covers..remember thinking at the time how poor they looked on my 76..later half of the70s were tough times..bad T.V.shows too

As Glenn alluded to, he sent me his brochure. Just missing the TA and track page.
Here are the pics I have...

that's awesome! i should have known!!!! :doh:

BFG brochure
 

can anyone tell what city that is?

I just LOVE the picture of Mr. BusinessMan (with the attache case) getting into the stock white T/A....definately a 70....low back seats...

The front tag looks to be Ohio 70...

Thats it....I'm puttin' the JW's back on the HO...(sans trim rings) :3gears:

the deal is going down
 

no doubt a briefcase full of car porn!..definitely 70..I always like the back in the day shots, and this is definitely a cool staged shot..I have a Sports Car Graphic mag with a cover shot of a white 70 T/A in a ghetto alley and the title is 1971 American GTs are they headed down a dead end street?..the article correctly predicts the death of the super cars in the next(at the time) few years

A couple years ago I was at a salvage yard. There was this set of rims that had a complete set of these tires on them. They were in very decent condition so I picked them up. The tires are stashed away in the loft of the garage.

BFG Tires
 

Even though the lettering has changed slightly, BFG RWL have survived 40 plus years..that is why I run them on my T/A..first off they are radials and have RWL, a must, and of course Radial T/A is Radial Trans Am!!...too bad they did not repo this early design for us....Edvisme, you have a set of those rims?!

Rims, no. Tires, yes.

Are they 8 or 10 spokes?

No rims
 

I am understanding now, no rims..cause if you had a set of those rims!..do we know anything about those rims on the Tirebird?..who would have made them..I need to see what is the Tirebird using now?

Allow me to use my Hillbilly logic ;), I read at the bottom of the brochure that read BF Goodrich Canada, LTD. I'm guessing a large city in Ontario? or other major thoroughfare in Canada close to the Goodrich headquarters. If I spoke french I might hazard a guess at the signage on the building in the background.

Almost would have said Montreal Forum in Quebec. But not sure the glass panes are the right size, the inside light is confusing.

I was thinking the rims were Minilites, but I don't remember for sure.

yes, they were Minilites. I had the article on the one Tirebird that became a canary yellow 454 car and it still had the Minilites with it when the guy bought it in the early 80's.

....and here it is.....now painted in a more correct BFG blue....

looks much better in blue, still has the LS6 in it

What was that one used for? LS6? Doesn't look like the one with racing stripes that is for sale? Confused now...

The guy that had it several years ago had a posting on Yenko.net with the full story of the street Tire Bird with the LS6. Here are a couple links to the discovery and the ownership by a member there:

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbt...with#Post91877

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbt...ird#Post127804

pix
 

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