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?