79 Trans Am resto
 

picked this 79 up earlier this year. I didn't get to it until recently, but now I'm making some headway.

It's a super solid car, numbers matching 403 auto car. Bought new in CT, spent some time in MA before making its way back to CT. Now I have it, and it's back in MA. I bought it in a million pieces, and roughly assembled it in the guys driveway to take it home. After sitting in the corner for a while, I got to work.

So far I've stripped the body, repaired the passenger lower quarter, and sprayed it BC/CC black. Got the rebuilt 403 back in, with all new brake lines, booster and master. I'm currently buttoning up the engine now in preparation for its first start and camshaft break in.

I'll be updating this thread as I go along.

More pics

Pics 2

Wow great work...

Was that the water neck that came in the 79?

Thank you!

Yes sir. It's original to the car.

Got the trans installed today. The lift was tied up, so I got to do it old-school on the floor with a jack. Went in pretty easily though. Also ran more hoses and wiring in the engine bay.

Does anyone know how the throttle return spring is supposed to go on this setup? Just glancing at it, I don't see where to hook it up.

Return springs run from the idle-solenoid bracket hole, just out of shot, to that small tab with hole on the linkage.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...7&d=1699577937

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b5eecc36_b.jpgFirebird 403 carb spring EGR quadrajet by Ben, on Flickr

Cool, thank you!

Since mine is a heat only setup, should I have the idle solenoid on my carb? I thought they were only on ac setups?

Chipping away. Got the driveshaft, speedo cable, vacuum modulator, battery cables, and tranny lines installed. The car has power running through it for the first time since 2007.

Now it's time to track down little electrical gremlins, like the turn signals not working, and the headlights not coming on. Oddly enough, the wipers and horn work, which is usually what I fight with to get working lol

Fighting with the pulley alignment. The ps pump needs to go back about 1/4" to line up with the second rib on the wp pulley. There's really no adjustment, and the ps pulley is pressed on all the way, so this should be fun to figure out.

Has that combination of pulleys, brackets and water pump been together before?

No idea, it was all in boxes when I got it. The crank pulley seems to be for a 77 and down Olds, but it lines up with the first 2 grooves on the water pump pulley after I spaced out the WP pulley for chits and giggles. I can get everything to line up with the WP pulley spaced out.

I wish I knew for sure what is throwing it off. The PS assembly looks right from the links provided and viewing the service manual. The alternator seems to be in the right place with the brackets set up correctly.

Idk. I don't mind spacing out the WP pulley if I have to, but it's not correct.

Was your T/A from Rudy Pontiac in Norwalk, CT? My family owed the dealership.

Jim

It came from Wile Motors in Willimantic CT.

The options were:



403 with Th400 trans
Hood decal
Body side moldings
White letter tires
Additional insulation
Front & rear floor mats
RH vanity mirror
Drip rails
Power windows
Super cooling radiator
Am/Fm cassette radio
Snowflake wheels 7"
Delay wipers


Not loaded up, but not totally stripped either. Oddly enough it has no rear defrost.

Well, the first start was a failure. Started pissing out coolant from the back of the intake manifold. So rather then fighting with that while trying to break in a camshaft, I'll be pulling the intake and resealing it.

Figures, I buttoned up the engine bay today. Got the radiator in, hoses, belts, fluids etc etc.

Oh well :/

Yessir, that was the leak. Rear passenger side coolant passage was leaking like a sieve.

Oh well, at least it's not too big a deal to fix.

Looking good!

I'm having a hell of a time getting it to fire off.

I set cylinder #1 at TDC compression, distributor rotor facing #1, wires run 18436572 counter clockwise. I have spark at the cylinders verified by a spare plug put in each wire and cranked. Tons of fuel in the carb.

I'm not getting anything. Not even a cough. Even if the distributor was 180 out I'd get a fireball out the carb.

I must have pulled and set the distributor 20 times.

Do you guys think the valve timing is off? I'm setting it with both valves closed, but I'm running out of ideas.

I'm ready to pull the front of the engine apart and verify the cam installation.

Suggestions?

How do you set idle/static timing?

My first car, a 350-powered 69 Cutlass S, jumped timing at 104k miles. The factory manual had a blurb about cylinder #4 (?) being at a certain position - if not it jumped.

A google search may unearth this procedure and save you the time and gaskets. I did NOT download this - try at your own risk.

https://onlinerepairmanuals.com/work...manual/5529975

I'll just pull it apart. The previous owner built the long block, and said it was set to go. So far that's looking like it might be false.

I have ample amounts of fuel, a new carb, an HEI that's producing spark, and it's been set with #1 TDC multiple times.

I'm getting nothing. Not a cough, backfire, pop, nothing. It's like it doesn't have ignition, despite having spark. The only thing I can think of is the valve timing is off.

Well, take a look at this BS. Timing mark on crank facing 12 o'clock, cam is drifting off somewhere around 2.

Numb nuts put this together

Where's the dot on the crank gear? I see a white line but not the dot.

But that is way if it is where the line is. Did you put the white lines on?

:confused:

I put the lines on so they're easier to see in the pics.

So I removed the crank sprocket and installed it straight up (not advanced or retarded) and spun the cam until the dot on it lined up the the crank sprocket, and re-installed the chain. Now I got the dots facing 6 o'clock on the cam, and 12 on the crank. After rotating it 360° they line back up and cylinder #1 is at TDC.

Sounds right, right?

I think they're asking if you know which key slot and mark are correct for "straight up". Is a square mark for "0" advance? Or is it a round mark, triangle, whatever...

It was. I pulled it off and set it straight up with the circle (O never mived the crank. It lined up on its own), and lined it up with the circle on the cam.

I just bumped the key and got it to cough through the carb slightly, which is more than I was ever getting before. So I'm definitely on the right track

I have no idea wtf happened during installation. I guess I'll go over everything to make sure nothing else is installed incorrectly.

Wow, if the square mark was under your white paint, then you definitely found the smoking gun.

Caca happens, but this one sounds beyond frustrating.

Good job figuring it out.

Well, it's all back together. Just waiting on some gaskets. Did a little test fire and got it to go. So I guess the previous owner just messed up the chain installation.

Got the car up and running! Had to wait a few days for parts and such, but got it fired up, broken in for 20 minutes at 2000-2500 rpm, and locked in the timing where it seemed to like it.

What are you guys doing oil wise after break in? I have always changed break in oil the day after initial start and set up, and run Dello with a zinc additive on top of it after.

Next up, interior. Already have the seats redone with new foam and covers, just waiting on the headliner before I install everything. Also building a 4 relay system for the power windows, instead of using the stock setup that runs the power thru the switch before going to the motors.

Got the 4 relays installed for the power windows, and Jesus they're fast now. Bypassing the factory relay that ran all the power through the switch, and instead having a dedicated relay for each up and down function per window really helped. More than I figured it would. The windows are lightning quick now. Pretty sweet.

Just got the headliner delivered today. Hope to start assembling the interior this weekend.

I need need to purchase and install a headliner in my son’s 79…any tips? Has to be easier than an early car with the bows…

It was easy, I did my 78.

The one piece style is definitely easier than the bow style. That said, it's 100x easier with another person helping.

I just installed mine yesterday. Looks great.

Got the dash back in, and the bird on. Doing the rest of the interior now

Looks great!

Looking great! I’m jealous as my car should be at that stage this coming year. I like the mod with the window relays. Was that a kit you picked up?

Thanks!

The power window relays are something I made. I think someone made a kit at one point, but haven't seen one lately. It's pretty easy to make. I basically copied this thread when building the harness

https://nastyz28.com/threads/4-relay...s-2017.314231/

Painless makes a kit I test fit a first run for them.

I thought they made them, but I figured I'd make my own for a few bucks. For anyone thinking about doing it, I 100% recommend it regardless of if you buy a kit or build it yourself. I haven't seen faster 2nd gen windows. The stock setup is slooooooow!

Here she is all decaled up and looking good!

Looks like a new car!!!

Like the 4 relay PW setup! Thanks for putting up the pics & link!
About to go through the PW on my '79 project & then re mount the doors, not looking fwd to the task.