[Elarson]

Originally Posted by jhein

Thank you for that post. That's excellent information.

I had a thread recently about this general question but it was mainly related to aftermarket parts, heads, blocks etc.

So as far as the drain back issues related to aftermarket heads and blocks, doesn't that really not matter?

So what if the heads and the lifter valley hold a bunch of oil? Once you reach the oil retention threshold in those cavities and keep the crankcase full, what does it matter?

It matters on determining the correct fill on a fresh dry engine vs. an oil change on a previously run engine (that has already established equilibrium on the "hidden oil").

Eric

[jhein]

Originally Posted by Elarson

It matters on determining the correct fill on a fresh dry engine vs. an oil change on a previously run engine (that has already established equilibrium on the "hidden oil").

Eric

Yes, I agree completely with that. But once have your fill amount figured out, it shouldn't really matter as far as getting oil back to the crankcase.

[mgarblik]

I have a link that has some dyno highlights and some photos from the session. I will list it here.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...1CS3RreXUxZEZ3

[mgarblik]

Finally, an update on this project! I know it's been a long time since I updated this thread. I have been working on the car whenever I have a small block of time to do so. It is taking much, much longer to get it back together and in running condition than expected. Other than time constraints, low quality replacement parts have been a major time consuming issue putting the car back together. I have been blessed to have received this car with a treasure trove of NOS parts with the car. Most of these parts were purchased in the late 1970's when still available from the dealer and as expected, all of them install and function perfectly. The aftermarket stuff has been another story. Almost without exception, every part has some type of flaw or issue that renders it completely non-usable or requires extensive modification to make it look correct or function.
I will admit up front that I loath doing interior and trim work. But it's a necessary part of the project of course.

First major snag that slowed things down was the attempted installation of new carpet. The purchased carpet was so poorly molded that is just looked terrible. Spent over 30 hours trying to work it out and get a decent fit in the footwells and around the transmission hump. Bought additional Jute backing to try and "crutch" it together to look proper and fit nicely. Had an interior expert come over and work with it for several hours as well. Finally decided it was a no-go. Took it all back out, cut it up and threw it away. Ordered a second set direct from ACC. It was much better quality than the first set, with tighter loop and more dense backing. Also a slightly less intense shade of black. (different vendor of dye lot?). Anyway, it did install much better and looks good after about 20 hours of additional fitting. I give it an honest 8 out of 10.
The next major snag was the headliner. Like many people, I purchased a complete, ready made headliner, perforated vinyl, foam backed glued to plastic backing. Let it lay out for many months after unrolling it from small box it was shipped in. I had 2 people helping me with a combined over 100 years of experience. After 5 hours trying to make it fit and contour properly to the roof interior, we finally had to give up. We had the front half fitting pretty darn good but the rear section would not fit the contour of the roof no matter what you did with it. We tried everything. In a best case scenario, the headliner would still droop in one area or 2, bad enough that I could not except the results. We removed it and ended up cutting it in pieces for the garbage man to take away.
Fortunately, I kept the original fiberboard backing and will attempt to cover it and install in the next few weeks.
So between the carpet and headliner I have thrown about $600.00 in the trash. Not the end of the world, but not great either. Learning experience fee, I guess.

After spending some time at the Trans Am Nationals looking at every 2nd generation TA I could, I am not the only one with headliner installation issues. That made me feel a little better about my failures. I fully understand why the reproduction pieces are made the way they are. They can roll them up and ship then in a small box or a tube. If they were made full size and properly molded, it would probably cost $400-500 to ship them in a giant box and even then probably be damaged. So I get it. Once the recovered headliner is finally installed I can move under the hood and get the engine back in the chassis.

Still hoping to have it running before the snow flies this fall/winter. Will post some pics soon of where the progress is now and in the near future. Appreciate the help and advice from members on this forum. I am mostly a mechanical guy so help with trim/interior has been very useful. Trying to do this car as correctly as possible.

I do have the entire braking system installed and verified no leaks and working. The combination valve was particularly difficult to rebuild. Most of the seals are not available and one tiny interior spring was rusted in 3 pieces. I was able to work with Lee spring and come up with a replacement. same wire diameter, length and hopefully spring rate. The aftermarket replacement combo valves are brass and don't look anything similar to the original. I assume they would function in a pinch I guess. I have the NOS package shelf installed, rear speaker, original rear seat and upholstery installed. Also dash and wiring. So some work is being accomplished. Stay tuned.

[HWYSTR455]

Yeah I too have struggled with the carpets, in all my cars. For my bird, I prefer no console, it's a manual, and finding a carpet that fits well is a challenge.

Same with headliner, I prefer the one-piece ones, and had modded a later year cardboard one prior, which worked 'ok' to 'good'. I bought one of the ABS ones, and didn't remove it from the box upon arrival, and no way was that thing going to ever work.

So, had to buy another one. Am at the point where I'm about to install it, will comment on my experience.

So in the rear you say it was drooping? Like where the roof transitions into the sail panel areas?



.

[Held for Ransom]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

First major snag that slowed things down was the attempted installation of new carpet. The purchased carpet was so poorly molded that is just looked terrible. Spent over 30 hours trying to work it out and get a decent fit in the footwells and around the transmission hump. Bought additional Jute backing to try and "crutch" it together to look proper and fit nicely. Had an interior expert come over and work with it for several hours as well. Finally decided it was a no-go. Took it all back out, cut it up and threw it away. Ordered a second set direct from ACC. It was much better quality than the first set, with tighter loop and more dense backing. Also a slightly less intense shade of black. (different vendor of dye lot?). Anyway, it did install much better and looks good after about 20 hours of additional fitting. I give it an honest 8 out of 10.

Was the first set from ACC as well?

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by Held for Ransom

Was the first set from ACC as well?

I am really sorry I can't say 100%. It came from Classic Industries and was in an OER box. I assumed it was ACC because I also assumed they were the single source supplier for everyone. So I just don't know. The second set was in a ACC box. Definitely different carpet The loop, color of black, and the backing, all different. The stuff from OER was garbage. The headliner that would not install had a PUI label on it. Should have known it was going to be substandard like most of their stuff. I do appreciate the way Ames does "grade" most of their products. That is helpful when buying many aftermarket products. I would give the first carpet set a "D". The second carpet set a "B" The headliner from PUI a D+. Bought a vent cable from Ames for the front vents. It didn't work properly either. It was way too loose in the plastic bushing that is supposed to provide friction to keep the vent in a set position. Had to take it all back apart which is a major job, removing the parking brake and being so very careful. Had to put the cable in a lathe and knurl the stem to provide some friction in the bushing so the damn thing would work like the other 3 original ones. This all took almost 8 hours of labor by the time it was all done. This kind of stuff is infuriating when yiou pay almost $60.00 for a 1 ft. long manual cable that is worth about $5.00. All part of the experience I guess. It's been this way with almost every aftermarket part I have purchased. The only part I can think of that installed perfectly were the bucket seat hinge covers. Looked perfect and installed nicely. Even the seat divider between the back seat and the trunk needed extensive cutting and fitting around the little EVAP canister behind the back seat. And the divider was black instead of tan cardboard like the original one. Had to prep and paint it tan.

[Gator67]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

. The aftermarket stuff has been another story. Almost without exception, every part has some type of flaw or issue that renders it completely non-usable or requires extensive modification to make it look correct or function.
I will admit up front that I loath doing interior and trim work. But it's a necessary part of the project of course...So between the carpet and headliner I have thrown about $600.00 in the trash. Not the end of the world, but not great either. Learning experience fee, I guess.

I couldn't agree with you more about this...I had similar issues with carpet kits and the one-piece headliner, but there's a lot of other repro stuff that doesn't work well for one reason or another...garbage windshield and rear window molding kits, visor hinges that are too stiff and break, misshapen mirror pads, parking light housings for the early cars with defective bulb sockets, clips, miscellaneous hardware and screws, windows/glass, and so on. Sure, there's a lot of reproduction stuff that works well and I'm glad it's available, and it's possible to work with things like the carpet and and headliner kits that are available to get an outcome that's "OK" for a nice driver. But dealing with bad parts is a huge waste of time and money (roughly 3% of the total cost on the last build I did). Can't imagine the headache and cost it must take to do a #1 car with what's available.

[mgarblik]

I just received my new headliner, (foam backed material only), from Ames Performance Engineering. The box was smashed in pretty deep on one end, about 3-4 inches. I was expecting the worst. A big Kudos to Ames! They had the delicate material rolled on a thick cardboard tube with shrink wrap bands. Then they had packed the ends of the box with 6" of brown paper packing. A superior job of packing to assure it would arrive here undamaged. This material is different from the PUI stuff on the pre-assembled ABS boards. This material is from Acme interiors. It is a tiny bit thicker and has a more dense backing foam in dark gray vs white. Hopefully, it will glue on without wrinkles and drama and I can but this unpleasant part of the project behind me. The theory is the original cardboard backing fit in this exact car for 51 years. So it should go back in and fit once recovered. We will see if theory and reality align sometime in the next week. Lots of prep work to do on the original cardboard. I will take some pics of the process.

[mgarblik]

Here are some pics of the interior at this point. The big install to come is the headliner. I expect things to move forward more quickly after that. pic 1 original dash and pad. pic 2 original back seat pic 3 NOS package shelf and speaker grille pic 4 replacement seat divider, painted pic 5 original headliner backer board