[64speed]

I think everyone here is familiar with my build by now and I drive it almost everyday. In fact my truck is having the front end rebuilt right now so it’s my only car besides my wife’s.

[FrankieT/A]

Originally Posted by FrankieT/A

This is my biggest concern. I guy that is at repo can make your car disappear in seconds regardless of security system.

Sorry, I had fix that sentence:

A guy that is good at repo can make your car disappear in seconds regardless of security system.

[Squidward]

How would insurance work? Last I knew, our classics were treated like throwaway trash by the insurance companies. Do they do a comp/collision policy that comes close to market value?

[RocktimusPryme]

Originally Posted by Squidward

How would insurance work? Last I knew, our classics were treated like throwaway trash by the insurance companies. Do they do a comp/collision policy that comes close to market value?

It depends. My normal insurance company insures stated value classics with no miles restrictions as long as you have a normal car insured through them. I think they underwrite through Hagerty but don’t quote me on that.

Others have said anyone who isn’t a specific classic car insurer will try to weasel out if and when you need a claim. Idk. I’ll deal with that when I get there. I have an actual insurance agent rather than just a faceless internet policy.

On the downside they wouldn’t do stated value on my wagon because it’s a beater and doesn’t look “restored”

[64speed]

Hagerty has a default mileage when you get your quote. You can tell them your usage and increase or decrease the mileage, of course this affects premium. I wouldn’t tell them you’re gonna drive it everyday all day as your only transportation which I don’t think you’re gonna do anyway.

[JLMounce]

Originally Posted by Squidward

How would insurance work? Last I knew, our classics were treated like throwaway trash by the insurance companies. Do they do a comp/collision policy that comes close to market value?

You can get normal driving policies on the car, but it typically won't be a stated or agreed value.

If you have a high dollar car, or a big money restomod type deal that you are dailying, this is probably an issue.

If you've got something like a low trim tempest that hasn't had 10's of thousands of dollars sunk into it, probably not an issue.

I could drive my Firebird daily if I wanted to. It's nice enough and reliable enough to do that. But I'd have to change the insurance and if something happened, I'd be out quite a bit of money. So I don't.

[HWYSTR455]

I had a fender-bender in the firebird one time, was a regular Allstate policy. Think they offered me $650 for it and considered it totaled since the parts weren't available from a dealer.

I contested it, showed receipts, and they sent a classic car appraiser out. This was late 80s, and they revalued it at like $18,500. I was offered the option to buy it back, which would be normal scrap fee of $500, and I accepted.

So they cut me a check for about $18k, minus a couple fees and deductible. Of course I fixed it, think I paid like $5k, parts, body work, and paint. I did a color change at that time too.

You can still do that even today, contest, if you have a reputable insurance company. I think I was paying in the $85-$120 every 6 mo as a premium at that time. (EDIT: Liability only)


.

[Dragncar]

We have a guy at work who drives his Yenko Camero to work on sunny days. Its a real one.

[Dragncar]

Originally Posted by twilightTA

Well I love my Chevy Trans Am then. 430 dependable, smog legal horsepower instead of an 180hp L78 400 is such a better experience. It’s a ton of fun to drive now.

Lame. Do you know how easy it is to drop a set of lower cc heads on a 400 with a few other tricks and get 400 reliable horsepower ? Better yet, put a 4" or 4.25 crank in the engine .
You simply FIX the problem PMD had to have shoved down their throats. Make it right.
You are not living the Pontiac experience. When you turn the key your car does not sound like a Pontiac and drive like a Pontiac.
Pontiacs have a certain sound to them and people who know, know.

[Dragncar]

Originally Posted by RocktimusPryme

What if its got a ford 9 inch? Is it just a bit Ford curious at that point?


Jokes aside it all comes down to what you are comfortable with. How much do you drive? How long are your average commutes? I currently live in deer country. I would not personally be comfortable driving anything daily around here that didn't at minimum have 3 point shoulder harnesses. Even then, no airbag concerns me. I don't like driving my Firebird at night here for that reason.

Considering retrofitting airbags would be a huge project, I think for me to daily a classic where I currently live, it would need 3 point belts (which a 70s T/A would have) and dramatically upgraded over stock brakes, which is going to mean 17" or bigger wheels. I just don't want to lose all my teeth because of a stupid deer.

The drivetrain stuff, that's all semantics for the most part. My DD Ram gets like 17-19 mpg. A decently sorted out muscle car with OD would be in that neighborhood. I don't get as hard up about engines swaps as others do, so I could take it or leave it. I don't feel the average junkyard 5.3 swap would be any more reliable than a decent vintage pontiac engine. Now if you were talking about an LS crate motor and trans? Different story.

I would also personally spend a ton of effort on sound deadening. I don't mind the normal classic car rattles on joyrides but on a daily, I would want to be able to listen to football podcasts and talk on Bluetooth calls without yelling. AC obviously a must. Modern replacement wiper motor, because 90% of the classic ones are weak as hell. Stock style enclosed filter housing so it doesn't smell like gas.

Underrated aspect for me, and this would be model specific. I HATE, all capitals HATE, putting gas in the Firebird. It has a tiny short filler neck to the tank and you have to pump it slow or it spits back out at you. So I would choose a model that didn't have that flaw if I was going to be driving it every day.

I drag race the car. Broke every GM rear end I put in her. Even broke some 9" gears and billet axles.
All the breaking stopped when I went to 40 spine axles and big bearing Pro gears.

[Dragncar]

Originally Posted by w72

Not trying to be dismissive, but I believe you may be overthinking this. Grab a 78-79 WS6, put your favorite flavor of overdrive transmission in it, and enjoy.

This right here. The last and final real Pontiac. Improve it and you have a winner.

[twilightTA]

Originally Posted by Dragncar

Lame. Do you know how easy it is to drop a set of lower cc heads on a 400 with a few other tricks and get 400 reliable horsepower ? Better yet, put a 4" or 4.25 crank in the engine .
You simply FIX the problem PMD had to have shoved down their throats. Make it right.
You are not living the Pontiac experience. When you turn the key your car does not sound like a Pontiac and drive like a Pontiac.
Pontiacs have a certain sound to them and people who know, know.

There’s no way that combo would pass smog in my 1977 Trans Am in CA. The E-Rod LS3 I have has a CARB certification. I did my best to get my Pontiac 400 up and running again but it wasn’t worth it. Any other replacement engine I’d have gone with would’ve been a big risk while the LS3 was guaranteed to pass smog. That’s why I took this path. Else I’d have happily gone with a monster 461 Pontiac stroker.

[Squidward]

Originally Posted by twilightTA

There’s no way that combo would pass smog in my 1977 Trans Am in CA. The E-Rod LS3 I have has a CARB certification. I did my best to get my Pontiac 400 up and running again but it wasn’t worth it. Any other replacement engine I’d have gone with would’ve been a big risk while the LS3 was guaranteed to pass smog. That’s why I took this path. Else I’d have happily gone with a monster 461 Pontiac stroker.

For a daily driver, I totally get the LS. My GM trucks with 5.3's have turned 300k and 200k, with little repair other than alternator, PS pump, etc., and still run nice. I've never been able to achieve that with a Pontiac motor. Most every 400 powered FB/Tran Am I ever owned had bearing issues right at 100k.

I can't imagine needing daily driver power enough to break 10 or 12 bolts. That sounds more like a brutal toy. But individual preferences vary widely, and it's all good.

Concerning smog: For this purpose I think aftermarket EFI with timing control is ideal. Tweaking AFR on a handheld could fix the fails, and the same goes with timing control. I love the idea of crude simple tech for reliability, but there is something to be said about technology that can make it easier to fit within the constraints of the world around us.

[Formulajones]

I can see where smog would have people thinking modern fuel control.

When I bought my formula in California, it had to be smogged before the sale. It passed easily. It was all stock back then too. All the smog station did was unplug the vacuum advance and it passed. If I remember right it had something to do with hydrocarbon levels. They even put a sticker on the inner fender that the vacuum advance must remain unplugged. Of course as soon as I pulled out of the lot I quickly plugged it back in lol.

It's not that difficult to get these old cars to pass smog, if it's stock like my bird. But I've always made sure I lived in areas that dont smog anyway. Which is why I'm in Prescott and not Phoenix. Yavapai doesn't smog up here.

[Joe-Touring]

Originally Posted by twilightTA

There’s no way that combo would pass smog in my 1977 Trans Am in CA. The E-Rod LS3 I have has a CARB certification. I did my best to get my Pontiac 400 up and running again but it wasn’t worth it. Any other replacement engine I’d have gone with would’ve been a big risk while the LS3 was guaranteed to pass smog. That’s why I took this path. Else I’d have happily gone with a monster 461 Pontiac stroker.

Just out of curiosity, why would it fail? I’m assuming it had 6X-8 heads from the factory, those combined with a stroker crank play nice together. Is it just cuz of the tailpipe sniffer?

[Dragncar]

Originally Posted by twilightTA

There’s no way that combo would pass smog in my 1977 Trans Am in CA. The E-Rod LS3 I have has a CARB certification. I did my best to get my Pontiac 400 up and running again but it wasn’t worth it. Any other replacement engine I’d have gone with would’ve been a big risk while the LS3 was guaranteed to pass smog. That’s why I took this path. Else I’d have happily gone with a monster 461 Pontiac stroker.

You did not try hard enough. All that effort got you was turning your car into, well , NOT a Pontiac.
Its all about the engine, the engine IS the car.
I live in CA, but do not live in a area where you have to smog your car every 2 years. Just get it to pass smog when you but it and thats it.
I am a total die hard on this. This is a PONTIAC site and I am sure there are ways to get a PMD engine with 350 ot better HP to pass smog. Might not be easy but it would be worth all the effort.
Politically, the way things are going maybe we can get something done about this stuff. People are sick of being over controlled.
In CA what is it, 72 and earlier you can do whatever you want ? Maybe that will change.