[SD73]

I believe the intent of these were to help with hot start problems, but I'm not positive.

I'll type in what the Dealer Tech Bulletin says about it.

"The fuel line accumulator welch plug may become dislodged, allowing the fuel tank to syphon when the engine is not running. If the car is parked in an enclosed area where fumes from the spilled fuel can accumulate in sufficient quantity and a spark or flame occurs, persons in the vicinity could be injured by fire. To avoid this occurrence, the fuel line accumulator assembly is to be removed from all cars involved and replaced with a fuel hose and hose support.

This applies to Norwood cars before vin 3N140294 and Van Nuys cars before 3L138624."

Other plants have vins to look for too, but I'll just post these as they probably apply to most of us anyway.

[ricky80ss]

Thanks to all the comments and opinions, I will check into the trunk issue, it raised many concerns, I was a bit hesitant to list this 2 cars since I am not really expert in early 70 TA's , all I can say is this vehicles looked clean beautiful cars to me, what I am going to do , owner permitted, go back to that car and look for the vin number on the firewall, that should clarify if body, or part of it is original, any suggestions are welcomed, and I promise I will do like Tiger woods and write an apology if this car is rebody :-) , as you probably all know we are more experts in late 70's Ta , I never said the car was 100% correct or anything, and always encouraged to anyone interested to come and inspect it, the car is not even visible in my inventory on the website, I only took some shots and a couple of videos when visiting the owners showroom , he was not really urged to sell them, but for the right price he would sell and asked since we are into trans ams if we could find a buyer .
As I said in listings was only a visual inspection and even few of my friends tha own real SD's did not know about the canister until they read this threads. I guess you learn something new everyday.
RD

[njsteve]

I believe the original purpose of that accumulator contraption was to reduce a fuel pulsation noise that some people had complained about. Something about a wierd harmonic thumping that caused the entire steel fuel line down the side of the car to vibrate.

The contraption cured the problem....by burning the entire car into a smoldering pile of ash when it started leaking onto hot exhaust components.

:-)

[weranc55]

Originally Posted by ricky80ss

Thanks to all the comments and opinions, I will check into the trunk issue, it raised many concerns, I was a bit hesitant to list this 2 cars since I am not really expert in early 70 TA's , all I can say is this vehicles looked clean beautiful cars to me, what I am going to do , owner permitted, go back to that car and look for the vin number on the firewall, that should clarify if body, or part of it is original, any suggestions are welcomed, and I promise I will do like Tiger woods and write an apology if this car is rebody :-) , as you probably all know we are more experts in late 70's Ta , I never said the car was 100% correct or anything, and always encouraged to anyone interested to come and inspect it, the car is not even visible in my inventory on the website, I only took some shots and a couple of videos when visiting the owners showroom , he was not really urged to sell them, but for the right price he would sell and asked since we are into trans ams if we could find a buyer .
As I said in listings was only a visual inspection and even few of my friends tha own real SD's did not know about the canister until they read this threads. I guess you learn something new everyday.
RD

Ricky thanks for the response. You kind of have to feel for the owner if he bought the car like that not knowing. Hopefully the car has the correct firewall. Its such a shame because of the rarity of the car.

[sd455hota]

Ricky, would it be possible for you to post the owners contact info? Then those more knowledgeable on the early 70s cars and interested in either or both of these cars could contact him directly. The owner might even benefit from information that could be provided to him by someone inquiring. Also this could help your reputation as I'm sure you don't want to be a part of the sale of a car until you have full knowledge of it's level of correctness.

[ricky80ss]

Originally Posted by weranc55

Ricky thanks for the response. You kind of have to feel for the owner if he bought the car like that not knowing. Hopefully the car has the correct firewall. Its such a shame because of the rarity of the car.

Well I called the owner and he was kind of shocked, he says he verified vin on fenders and other places before buying the car..... anyways, doesnt want to sell the car anymore, hope he did not got offended or anything by the findings, I still want to verify that there is ZERO chances that one of this car could have been built with that trunk divider with no canister and different holes.
Anyways I dont have those cars listed in my web site for sale , I posted those private listings on the forum to try to target people looking for this rare TA's and as always read opinions and comments, the forums are really valuable help.
Rick

PD anyone outhere have NOS intake gaskets for 73 SD? or know where to find them?

[ricky80ss]

Originally Posted by sd455hota

Ricky, would it be possible for you to post the owners contact info? Then those more knowledgeable on the early 70s cars and interested in either or both of these cars could contact him directly. The owner might even benefit from information that could be provided to him by someone inquiring. Also this could help your reputation as I'm sure you don't want to be a part of the sale of a car until you have full knowledge of it's level of correctness.

for privacy reasons a would have ask him.

any idea of SD intake gasket, my engine builder needs one!

[SD73]

Originally Posted by ricky80ss

PD anyone outhere have NOS intake gaskets for 73 SD? or know where to find them?

Not a Pontiac part, but I believe Ken from H-O Racing still has a few of his own sets.

http://www.hoenterprises.com

[Transamric]

That fuel accumulator is definitely a problem leaker. My L75 A/T non A/C Ta has it. Years ago it started to weep around the bottom plug. Seems that fuel residue starts to eat away at the pot metal where the steel plug is pressed in. I repaired mine by coating the bottom with a layer of clear epoxy, but then later replaced it with a NOS one I found. But for a short time I ran the car with it bypassed & could not notice any difference.

SD73, my VIN is before the numbers you listed, so that works for me. Is there a way I could get a scan of that TSB? I have a '73 Dealer Technical Bulletin binder, but it doesn't have that page in it.

[Father&Son73T/A]

Originally Posted by SD73

I believe the intent of these were to help with hot start problems, but I'm not positive.

I'll type in what the Dealer Tech Bulletin says about it.

"The fuel line accumulator welch plug may become dislodged, allowing the fuel tank to syphon when the engine is not running. If the car is parked in an enclosed area where fumes from the spilled fuel can accumulate in sufficient quantity and a spark or flame occurs, persons in the vicinity could be injured by fire. To avoid this occurrence, the fuel line accumulator assembly is to be removed from all cars involved and replaced with a fuel hose and hose support.

This applies to Norwood cars before vin 3N140294 and Van Nuys cars before 3L138624."

Other plants have vins to look for too, but I'll just post these as they probably apply to most of us anyway.

My VIN is 3N114XXX
I'm pullin the resto photo's,I never heard of this before

[SD73]

Rick, it's 11 pages. It was the first bulletin in section 8 of my binder. Get me your email and I'll send you the pics I took of those pages.

[njsteve]

Originally Posted by ricky80ss

Well I called the owner and he was kind of shocked, he says he verified vin on fenders and other places before buying the car..... anyways, doesnt want to sell the car anymore, hope he did not got offended or anything by the findings, I still want to verify that there is ZERO chances that one of this car could have been built with that trunk divider with no canister and different holes.

Rick

There is zero chance it was built that way. We all know about the history of how the SD455s were delayed after the whole EGR valve timing issue ploy by Pontiac and how its effect on federally mandated emission controls almost scuttled the entire engine option.

That was just a little valve. Can you imagine a car being built without the Federally mandated emission control system vapor canister and all accompanying fuel and vapor return lines? No way. That would have literally been a Federal offense at the time. EPA could (and still can) levy some hefty fines to auto manufacturers for minor emission related violations.

Also, only one plant was building these cars at the time: Norwood. No other trunk bulkhead panels could have been installed on the assembly line other than the vapor canister version, especially a panel that would have been almost four years old by then.

I wonder if the car even has the charcoal cannister in the right front fender area either?

Looks like the current owner got stuck with a VIN-swapped rebody when he bought it long ago. Very sad considering the rarity and value of what the car was.

[toomanybirds]

Originally Posted by ricky80ss

Well I called the owner and he was kind of shocked, he says he verified vin on fenders and other places before buying the car..... anyways, doesnt want to sell the car anymore, hope he did not got offended or anything by the findings, I still want to verify that there is ZERO chances that one of this car could have been built with that trunk divider with no canister and different holes.
Anyways I dont have those cars listed in my web site for sale , I posted those private listings on the forum to try to target people looking for this rare TA's and as always read opinions and comments, the forums are really valuable help.
Rick

PD anyone outhere have NOS intake gaskets for 73 SD? or know where to find them?

The VIN is not stamped on the fenders. The fenders are stamped with date codes only.

The "hidden" VIN is stamped under the blower motor. The engine and transmission are also stamped, and the cowl VIN tag is attached with special "rosette" rivets.

All these things can be faked by a restamper, but a knowledgeable person can still ID a fake or a rebody.

If you are looking for gaskets that appear the same as original gaskets, Felpro did sell the same ones as the OEM, but they have been discontinued for many years. Last I knew, you could still get the Felpro RA IV and 71 455HO, but the exhaust port is larger than the SD455 and 72 455HO.

If you can't find any of the originals, PM me and I will try to locate some for you.

[74SDformula]

The Fel-Pro performance intake gaskets will work but they do not replicate the look of the original gaskets. The original gaskets protrude somewhat from the front of the intake manifold.

[Brewster]

I dont see how it could be a problem due to location even if it did leak unless of course where talking major leak. I do not have this item on my June mfg'd cars but would by-pass it if I did with a running fitting and a couple clamps.

Puresd, he saw me due to the arrest me red buc car behind me and no arrest/tickets happened since he pulled just me over and Ive been there done that before. He just didnt want to be in the photo shoot.
Oh, and the ponds down by you are mud pie brown less the green aquatic life.

The gaskets are rare and hard to find along with many others including original head gaskets, exhaust........which where all unique in there own form. Lots of luck finding a set on short notice.

[SD455DJ]

Originally Posted by SD73

I believe the intent of these were to help with hot start problems, but I'm not positive.

I'll type in what the Dealer Tech Bulletin says about it.

"The fuel line accumulator welch plug may become dislodged, allowing the fuel tank to syphon when the engine is not running. If the car is parked in an enclosed area where fumes from the spilled fuel can accumulate in sufficient quantity and a spark or flame occurs, persons in the vicinity could be injured by fire. To avoid this occurrence, the fuel line accumulator assembly is to be removed from all cars involved and replaced with a fuel hose and hose support.

This applies to Norwood cars before vin 3N140294 and Van Nuys cars before 3L138624."

Other plants have vins to look for too, but I'll just post these as they probably apply to most of us anyway.

SD73 - My VIN is 3N144xxx, so does that mean that cars built after the numbers you listed have better designed accumulator whatevers, or were they all supposed to be replaced in the recall? It looks like they were installed on any 455 engine, auto or stick, with or without A/C. DJ

[SD73]

SD455DJ, you wouldn't have had the accumulator at all. Just a straight rubber hose running to your fuel pump and a clip holding the hoses to and from your fuel pump in place of where that accumulator would be.

[SD455DJ]

Originally Posted by SD73

SD455DJ, you wouldn't have had the accumulator at all. Just a straight rubber hose running to your fuel pump and a clip holding the hoses to and from your fuel pump in place of where that accumulator would be.

SD73 - What did the replacement clip look like? Did it attach to the same bolt as teh accumulator? Thanks. DJ

[SD73]

Yes, it bolted in the same place as the accumulator. It was just a simple metal clip that went around both the hoses to hole them in place. I'll try to post a pic later today if no one else has one handy.

[SD73]

Just found a pic I had.