[72projectbird]

Shows how long I've had the car apart when I can't remember the damn coat hooks lol

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by Formulabruce

IIRC the 70 std interior = No coat hooks..

mine always had them.

I had never known cars to NOT have them.

EDIT: attached the first example of a standard interior car showing the coat hook location.

[72projectbird]

Got the exhaust manifolds in. They look awesome and fit excellent. Also started prepping the rear sway bar for installation. Don't worry, those shiny gold bar mounts are already blasted and awaiting the appropriate paint.

[unruhjonny]

Third quarter 1970 wires huh
(I tease, because that’s the only game I got)

[72projectbird]

Question on the interior door handles. The car previously had the inside handles that use the black insert, but still show the exterior chrome.

I ordered the handles for a standard car, which come with a plastic bezel that cover the entire chrome bezel. Looking at a bunch of pics, it appears that the plastic bezel should be painted interior color, but I'm also seeing a lot of cars that appear to have deluxe handles despite being a standard interior.

I attached pics of what I have. What say you guys?

[unruhjonny]

You’re hitting some of the details people tend to not pay attention to…

I had thought the full cover was for standard cars, and that it was always color matched;
I had also understood that the color matched full cover was always with an unchromed latch mechanism - but honestly, I haven’t got this detail quite straight in my own minds eye at the moment…

I will look into this and reply when I find some good images (and have time).

[72projectbird]

Well, I'm officially done with trying to make the PUI seat foam work. It sucks, it's too fat, missing the correct indentations, they dont fit inside the covers worth a damn.

I've heard good things about ACI, but they don't make 1970 foam.

Al Knoch has foam, but the foam that looks close to my originals is listed as deluxe, and the standard they show looks like Camaro foam. I can't spend $450 on foam that sucks again.

I see OER has the same issue, the ones that look correct are listed as deluxe. Plus they seem to be out of stock.

Which should I take a gamble on?

[unruhjonny]

how bad are your originals?

Incase you're interested, I have a spare set of originals that are probably really good donors;
I parted out a set of 1970 seats about twenty years ago before I recovered my seats because I had assumed my foams needed to be replaced;
The seats I took apart were in really decent shape, which is why I opted to part them to (theoretically) use those foams in my seats.

(looking to see if I have images)

... I also believe that someone here recently said they used 1969 seat foams - maybe that's an option?

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by 72projectbird

...
Al Knoch has foam, but the foam that looks close to my originals is listed as deluxe, and the standard they show looks like Camaro foam. I can't spend $450 on foam that sucks again.
...

Incase it's worth mentioning, the standard and deluxe seats foams are the same;
The foams are different for 1973-1977 when the deluxe used a "horsecollar" style seat - but for 1970 through 1972 the standard and deluxe seats used the same foams for their yearly style.

I could be mistaken, but I also thought that the 1970 Camaro and Firebird used the exact same seat foams.

[72projectbird]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

Incase it's worth mentioning, the standard and deluxe seats foams are the same;
The foams are different for 1973-1977 when the deluxe used a "horsecollar" style seat - but for 1970 through 1972 the standard and deluxe seats used the same foams for their yearly style.

I could be mistaken, but I also thought that the 1970 Camaro and Firebird used the exact same seat foams.

Seems like the deluxe foam is correct for a standard interior Firebird, and the standard foam would be correct for a standard Camaro, but not a Firebird.

I'll get in contact with Al Knoch and ask about their foam.

[HWYSTR455]

Call Restore-A-Musclecar and ask what they suggest.

Firebird Central lists a foam that is correct, with listing wire etc, can call and ask for details:

https://www.firebirdcentral.com/1970...8dOqkqyN9HH8CE

Those would be my suggestions. PUI will never get my money again. ACI is a general go-to, but not sure on the T/A stuff.


.

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by 72projectbird

Seems like the deluxe foam is correct for a standard interior Firebird, and the standard foam would be correct for a standard Camaro, but not a Firebird.

I'll get in contact with Al Knoch and ask about their foam.

oh - ok.

[72projectbird]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

oh - ok.

See how yours has the grooves cut almost the entire length of the foam? The ones marked as standard stop only about 1/3 of the way, which clearly isn't what the Firebirds use.

I called Al Knoch, and they said their foam is actually produced by them, not drop shipped junk from PUI. That said, they said they're about 6 weeks out on production.

Do you wanna part with any of that original foam? lol

[72projectbird]

Chipping away.

Installed the vapor barriers in both doors.

Detailed and assembled the throttle pedal.

Got the re-cored radiator installed.

New horns modified with original horn mounting brackets. The reproduction horns look great, but the brackets are not anything like the originals.

Got a battery topper. I mocked it up for a pic, but it's not installed permanently. That's why the hold down looks funky.

Got the rear sway bar and fuel tank installed as well, but no pics yet. Unfortunately the gas cap doesn't fit on the tank. The tank, sending unit, straps and cap were all sold as a kit, but after speaking with Ames tech, it's looking like the stamping in the fuel neck is slightly too long, not allowing the cap to turn and lock in. We're in communication working on a solution.

[unruhjonny]

I kick myself every time I see a rad tag;
Mine was still in place when I sent it to be re-cored (in 1998) - when I got it back, it was MIA.

[72projectbird]

Very cool update, and story. It might be a little long, but definitely cool!

I was looking thru the original paperwork for the car the other day, and started studying the sales receipt from Village Pontiac. On the receipt was the original owners name, address and what he paid. He lived about 14 miles from the dealership.

I decided to look up the guys name to see what I could find. Turns out he owned a printing company in the same city he lived in. Unfortunately, I also found an obituary for him. He passed in 2007 at the age of 55.

While looking for info, I stumbled across a tree service company a few towns away that turned out to be his son. I called and left a message explaining that I owned a car that I believe he father bought brand new. I honestly didn't expect to hear back, as I figured it was a long shot. My phone rang about a hour later, and turns out he was the son of the original owner!

He remembered his parents talking about the Trans Am. He was blown away that the car still was around, and being put back on the road. He said he was going to call his mother and tell her, as she had a very strong connection to this car.

Here's where the story gets really cool:

I got a call from a woman the following day, and it was the original owners wife! We started talking about the car, and it has quite a cool story behind it. Turns out she was a car girl, and was really into muscle cars.

She explained that while on a date with her boyfriend (later, husband) she saw a 69 Mustang Fastback with a front spoiler. She was explaining to her boyfriend the importance of front spoilers, which he apparently took notice of, as not that soon after he surprised her with his new 70 Trans Am, complete with a front spoiler lol

She owned a 4 speed 69 Grand Sport, and he now owned a 4 speed 70 TA. Quite the cool cars to be running around in a congested city! She was talking about the places they went in the Trans Am, and the memories made along the way.

Here's a wild coincidence: It turns out that sometime between selling the Trans Am and now, she moved. Turns out she lives in the same town as me, and not just that, but only about a mile away! She is going to come over to see the car. She seemed a little emotional over knowing the car still exists, and it seemingly followed her. Makes you think, doesn't it?



So the car found me, after seeing it since I was in kindergarten, because the owner of it saw me driving my 71 on a random day when he was picking his wife up from the train station despite not living in the same town. Now the original owners wife lives a mile away. Crazy how things work out sometimes.

It makes me even more happy that this car was saved. Knowing what it meant to the previous owners, and the stories the car has makes it awesome.

[srmmmm]

[QUOTE=72projectbird;6583715]Chipping away.



Got the rear sway bar and fuel tank installed as well, but no pics yet. Unfortunately the gas cap doesn't fit on the tank. The tank, sending unit, straps and cap were all sold as a kit, but after speaking with Ames tech, it's looking like the stamping in the fuel neck is slightly too long, not allowing the cap to turn and lock in. We're in communication working on a solution.

/QUOTE]

I had the same problem with the filler neck on my replacement tank and found it would not accept a vented cap. I had to use a non-vented cap, so I drilled a couple of 1/16" holes in it and added a baffle to control any slosh out.

[72projectbird]

Originally Posted by srmmmm

I had the same problem with the filler neck on my replacement tank and found it would not accept a vented cap. I had to use a non-vented cap, so I drilled a couple of 1/16" holes in it and added a baffle to control any slosh out.

Your comment made me grab the cap of my 71 and try it. Sure enough, it fits. The tank in my 71 is original, but the cap isn't. My 71 is a Van Nuys car with factory emissions junk (that's long gone).

Here's some pics of the cap situation. The far left is the original 1970, the middle is the one Ames supplied with the tank, and the right is off my 71.

[72projectbird]

The original owners wife and one of their sons came by yesterday to check the car out. Ended up staying for almost 2 hours, sharing stories and reminiscing about days gone by. It was almost like watching someone meeting a long lost family member.



She was extremely nice, and she knows her 70 TAs very well. She kept picking up on all sorts of 70 only items, and mentioning what she didn't like on the later cars. One thing that was pretty cool was she picked up on the incorrect thickness of the steering wheel. She knew right off the bat 70 had a very thick wheel, and the one I currently have on it is a thinner wheel found on later cars.


It's funny what people will remember of something, even decades after last seeing something.



She gave me a Firebird dealership promo item that she got from the local Pontiac dealer back then. She got two of them back then, and gave me one. I've never seen one before. I'll get a pic of it today.

[Hunter98TA]

that is an awesome story!!!!! what a history