[1RAMAIR1]

Originally Posted by RAJ7395

The 2680 stamping on the ring gear is the date of manufacture and indicates that the ring gear was produced the 268 day of 1970. As the gear post dates the cars production by over a full year, it was obviously added at a later date and is not a correct "born with" component.

Thank you for helping clear that oddity up. I may never know the specifics surrounding the swap but at least it puts that scenario to rest.

Do you have any insight for the AM Radio and the Rally Wheels? Since both are considered "options" they should be listed on the invoice but they are not. Would they have been installed at the Dealership? I can understand how easy it would be to swap Wheels but the Radio has me baffled. Why would anyone want a mundane AM Radio added to the vehicle when it was new? Keep in mind that it looked Factory installed when we dis-assembled the Dash.

[RAJ7395]

Here's the PHS from my 69 TA. As it so happens, my car originally came with a push button AM radio and Rally II wheels. As you can see, both options are listed on the invoice.

Unfortunately, mine was not ordered with stacked gauges. As my car is a non-numbers matching auto, I will be adding the stacked gauges as I feel that it enhance rather than hurt the value of the car. I plan on selling it after completion to fund my 70 and 71 TAs restorations as those (and 71 cudas) are my true dream cars.

My guess is that radio and Rally II's were added at the dealership to meet a particular buyers desires.

FYI- The exact correct date code for the Rally IIs for my 06A cars build date is April first 1969. The car came with three of it's original rims and it took me years to find the last two to complete the set.

[1RAMAIR1]

Originally Posted by RAJ7395

Here's the PHS from my 69 TA. As it so happens, my car originally came with a push button AM radio and Rally II wheels. As you can see, both options are listed on the invoice.

My Car came from Jack Shaw Pontiac in Michigan. They were notorious for turning out Factory "race" Cars. One of my Friends who is a 28 year Executive for Chrysler, said that the Dealerships constantly swapped Wheels and other "simple" bolt on parts if that is what it took to sell a vehicle that was on the lot.

I can't explain the installation of the AM Radio but the Dog Dish Hubcaps might have been swapped with another vehicle in order to expedite or push the sale of the Car. They are correctly coded and dated for my vehicle so I am going to put them back during the Restoration.

[1RAMAIR1]

Originally Posted by FunctionalShaker

Factory NOS replacement parts differ as well.

I've collected a large assortment of NOS parts as well as original Assembly Line parts for this project. I'm going to start posting photos of these components. There are are subtle differences between the replacement and Factory parts. For instance, consider the Emergency Brake Line Cables. The Assembly Line versions have a "small" variation that is missing on every NOS replacement Cable that I have seen. Does anyone know what that small detail is?

[FASTASSBIRD]

Hey Dave, how is the Trans An coming? I'm sure we are ALL waiting to see some pics! Come on man bring this thing back to life!

[SnakeEyes]

Wow, this is an interesting thread! Can't wait to watch this as it goes.

I have a question, that hopefully won't be too strange. The Firebird you bought for the interior, what are the plans for it after you remove the interior?

[69taramair3]

Glad to see Dave started a post on this restoration.We have been intouch with each other a few times . I am in the middle of a very special 69 trans am restoration also. This post couldn't be at a better time.Dave does the most correct restorations on the planet period!this is going to be good!!!!

[1RAMAIR1]

Originally Posted by SnakeEyes

Wow, this is an interesting thread! Can't wait to watch this as it goes.

I have a question, that hopefully won't be too strange. The Firebird you bought for the interior, what are the plans for it after you remove the interior?

I'll use various body panels (especially floors) for my project. I won't know exactly what will be used until I get a full inventory of components that will be needed. I have a good Friend of 40+ years who will be doing the Body work. (His name is Rick Bommarito.) Any repairs will be done with the complete panels to preserve the original look of the spot welds and Factory seams. Rick has built many Race Cars for some of the top tier Guys in the Drag Racing Industry. We will start taking "parts" off the car next week.

[1RAMAIR1]

Originally Posted by FASTASSBIRD

Hey Dave, how is the Trans An coming? I'm sure we are ALL waiting to see some pics! Come on man bring this thing back to life!

I'll start posting more pictures. Promise! We start full bore with working on the project sometime next week.

Here is the small detail that I was talking about regarding the Emergency Brake Cable. I personally have never seen the small rubber boot that covers the cable end. The NOS replacements do not have it. Has anyone else ever seen this?

[SnakeEyes]

Wow, buying and cutting up a survivor is serious dedication to your goal.

No one has mentioned it, but a huge resource for you would be Camaros.org. For all the commonly shared parts, there is a boatload of info, and they have forums that might help answer questions like the one you just asked. There are also video of the assembly line showing them building the car( if you can't find them there or on YouTube, videos are also posted on TeamCamaro when they are dug up). It's basically a group of guys that have gone through all this on Camaros and gathered their collective knowledge, but there are still a few unanswered questions.

[RAJ7395]

Hi Dave. I personally have not seen those rubber end grommets on the e-brake cables either.

I can see how they are needed as they would keep water out and the cable lubricants in. Should be a simple and relatively inexpensive item to reproduce.

[1RAMAIR1]

Originally Posted by SnakeEyes

Wow, buying and cutting up a survivor is serious dedication to your goal.

I had originally considered removing major body parts from my green Firebird until this one came along. Some of the smaller items like stainless trim, door handles, etc....... will be trading from the blue parts over to my green car. The components from the blue car are nice but more along the lines of driver quality. I'll take the nice parts from my green car and keep them for the Trans Am project. I've decided to start driving my green Firebird again so I'm not worried about it looking like a Show vehicle anymore. I've even bought low value/non impact cars in the past just to get the original Carpet! They were not Pontiacs though! (lol)

[1RAMAIR1]

Originally Posted by SnakeEyes

Wow, buying and cutting up a survivor is serious dedication to your goal.

I am thrilled that I was able to find such an unmolested vehicle in order to find so many original build characteristics that are usually long gone. This "parts car" is providing a plethora of data that will be useful when restoring the T/A. Many restoration facilities leave these small details out and do not put them back because they are unseen when the vehicle is put together. I am documenting every tiny nuance that was factored into the original build of the vehicle. Every single nut, bolt, fastener, part, hose, etc......will be scrutinized to the nth degree before it is re-assembled.

Below are a couple of photos that show trim labels that were used with the installation of each Water Shield opening. (4 labels total) Also shown are a few shots of the original Ash Tray that I worked on to look new again. It was in great condition and only needed to be carefully detailed. The goal is to preserve all factory features when ever possible, as long as the components can be made to look new again. If the condition of the part does not look new, it will be restored to emulate an Assembly Line correct piece. Stay tuned!

[4dblnkldude]

Awesome thread!!! Looking forward to the process.

[1RAMAIR1]

Originally Posted by 1RAMAIR1

I've collected a large assortment of NOS parts as well as original Assembly Line parts for this project. I'm going to start posting photos of these components. There are are subtle differences between the replacement and Factory parts. For instance, consider the Emergency Brake Line Cables.....

As the project moves forward I'm deciding which pieces to use that are original and what to use that is NOS. If the NOS part does not have the same appearance as the Factory unit, then I will do whatever is possible to make the old original piece look new again.

I decided to use the original E Brake Cables because the NOS versions have minor differences. Below is a "Before & After" comparison of the two originals. They both looked identical before I restored the Driver's side. One has been restored to new condition and the other still has 45 years of wear & tear. After working with the Driver's Cable for about 2 weeks and using acids to re-color the metal components, here are the results.

[keith k]

Wow - nice!

[68lemansman]

Very nice looking 69 Firebird!

[1RAMAIR1]

Here is a subtle detail that is briefly mentioned in the assembly manual but is sometimes left out when putting a vehicle back together. It cannot be seen once the pieces are bolted together. (I was guilty of leaving this spring washer out on my last project.) It was used by the Factory to hold the Radiator Core Bolt & rubber Cushions in place until the remaining hardware could secure the Core Support to the Sub-Frame at a later stage in the assembly. I won't be leaving this Spring Washer out of the re-assembly process this time. (lol)

[wovenweb]

Did someone hit an e-stop?

[6 Grrrs]

Subscribed. The '69 T/A is most certainly one of my all time favorite cars. I've always enjoyed reading anything I can on them.