[Mister Pontiac]

Finally had a chance to sit down and log in tonight, Jeff. WOW!! She's looking absolutely gorgeous! I'm super excited to see the great progress, and can't wait to see her all together again.

Now you've got me excited to get the 72 GT painted...

Hope to meet up again soon for lunch or the like!

[1965gp]

This car is really coming together nicely- going to be amazing when it’s done

[Gator67]

Randy just finished polishing the last area on the body shell. He needs paint a few other pieces. Valence, parking light bezels, rear panel piece, filler panel in front of deck lid, etc. Should all be going into the booth for sealer later today, and maybe paint tomorrow. Glad this phase of the project is nearing completion.







Ordered Pilkington glass from Fesler, same folks who are helping me out with the seats and interior. I forgot that they make/sell flush mount glass kits for custom cars/trucks, and Pilkington manufactures the glass for those kits, so all set there.

Every couple days I realize I've forgotten about something that I need or need to address. This week has all been about two things. First is the headliner. I knew where the rods were (been tripping over those things for like 10 years) but had to hunt for tack strips and screws. Had to buy new clips...hope they work. Second, is door stuff. I think I have everything I need to put them back together, except I have to replace the felt on the guide plates. I thought it would be easier to buy new plates, but apparently no one reproduces them...the first gen ones look close.

[Gator67]

The remaining pieces got painted yesterday.



Rear seat bottoms were easy to modify to fit with mini tubs. The seat back is more involved...I knew we had to trim 2" from each side for the mini tubs, but I completely forgot about the need to move springs around to accommodate the upper link pockets of the Quadralink. The frames will be blasted and powder coated before they go to the upholsterer.



Just got word that the material from Legendary is on the way. But still waiting or the Recaro seats to show. I did, however, receive the Wedge seat brackets.

Turns out that I do not have everything I need to assemble doors. I thought I had the original windows with the hardware still affixed in a box in storage room, but when I opened the box, I found it contained the original windows for my GTO. In the back of my mind I think I remember using the hardware for my TA and tossing the windows because they were so scratched up. Thankfully door glass mounting kits are available with everything I need.

My wife and I will be celebrating our 20th anniversary tomorrow, on July4. We're both trying to finish work-related projects today so we can take some time the next few days to smell the roses...or cactus flowers. With so much going on and all the craziness in this world right now, it's easy to forget how much there is to appreciate and be grateful for.

[Gator67]

Yesterday we installed the rear suspension and hung the doors. We thought about installing the subframe as well, but easier to work on the car up higher for now, so we left it on jack stands. Interior paints should be ready later this week, and paint for the trunk is on the way. I decided on black/dark gray with light gray spatter which I think is more or less correct.



Turns out Pilkington in Phoenix only had the windshield and one side glass. The other two items are being shipped from Ohio...if all goes well, will pick up everything at will call by the end of next week. By that time, hopefully, I'll have everything needed to put the doors together. Still need to order door glass hardware kit.

I also need the screws that are used to attach the window sweeps to the doors. Must have used these on my TA. I can't seem to locate any in the aftermarket...or used on eBay. Anyone know of a source for these or have any available?



Still have a long way to go on the rear seat back and interior armrest panels...not rocket science but it takes a lot of thought and time to do it right.

[Gator67]

It's been interesting to make decisions about where to draw the line between what's correct and what might look cleaner and more at home in a pro-touring type car. The trunk is a good example.







The Legendary materials came in. I gave the upholster the material, rebuilt OEM plastic upper door panel rails, NOS inner weatherstrips, and a set of used deluxe door panels to use as a pattern. Upholster will also do the visors. Still waiting for the Recaros, and we haven't quite finished modifying the rear seat back frame, so seats will have to wait. I finally got the rear armrest panel to fit right...so now I can move forward with that little project as well.

Frank said he should have my block by the time he gets back from Norwalk, so hopefully I'll have an engine soon...I'm guessing mid-Sept. My plan is to use a conventional cooling system--19" 7 blade clutch fan, Cold Case aluminum radiator, etc...I'm hoping I can use a factory shroud. I have a '70 or so factory pulley set-up, but might go with a CVF v-belt or serpentine system...with black brackets it would look OK...but need to do more research on that.

[Formulabruce]

I would recommend the '70 only top air deflection plate that bolts to core support and makes sure the air going through the grills, goes to the radiator

[Gator67]

Are you referring to this thing? Not sure where I picked up or what years (if any) it went to.

[Gator67]

Not much news to report.

After a lot of research, finally ordered headlights...Dapper LED Seven with OE glass option and no halo. I wanted more light but also wanted to avoid having to add relays and modify the buckets...and I didn't want anything that would look more at home on a space ship. These should fit the bill, but I'll know for sure when they arrive in 4-8 weeks.

Also ordered sound system components...wanted simple, and non-obtrusive. RetroSound Long Beach, 4x10 stereo dash speaker, Kicker 4 channel amp, Alpine 6x9s (to be bottom mounted under the package tray), and an Infinity powered sub that will fit under one of the seats.

I was thinking about running a Momo Prototipo steering wheel...look very similar to a Formula wheel, but decided to try one of those leather wrapped Formula wheels from Lecarra since I already have everything I need to install it (the Momo requires an adaptor).

Dropped off my headers to be ceramic coated...titanium finish, which is medium dark grey with faint silver metallic. They're going to do my clutch fan as well (but in black). I like ceramic coating on a cooling fan (rather than regular powder coating) because it's very thin.

Wiring kit is in. I'll be picking up the side windows and windshield from Pilkington tomorrow...still waiting on the rear window.

[vertigto]

If you don't mind me asking...what do the Dappers you ordered go for?? Link??

I was thinking about a halogen upgrade, but want to avoid relays and keep it stock looking as much as possible with increased brightness.

[Gator67]

Originally Posted by vertigto

If you don't mind me asking...what do the Dappers you ordered go for?? Link??

I was thinking about a halogen upgrade, but want to avoid relays and keep it stock looking as much as possible with increased brightness.

They were not inexpensive....here you go...

https://www.dapperlighting.com/collections/7

I could have saved $100 and went with the OE7s, however, by all accounts I would have had to trim the buckets. Not a big deal, but I'm sure I would have spent 2-3 hours on it, and I already had the buckets powder coated. The wait for the OE7s is a few weeks longer as well. There are other quality LED options around the same price as the OE7s, but each had a different issue. For example, Philips has some 7" LED lights, but they have a thick horizontal bar in the middle of the light that I thought might look out of place on my car.

[Gator67]

Almost finished with the first rear armrest panel. The texture isn't quite OEM, but I think it will look fine once I knock it down slightly with an ultrafine sanding sponge, and paint. I probably spent 15 hours on it so far. The LH side won't take me as long, but still a lot more time on this project than I anticipated. It hasn't held things up though, for progress has slowed due to a number of other factors beyond my control...still waiting on a bunch of stuff to arrive, and Randy has been focusing on another project (and will be for a few more weeks).



I picked up the rear glass at Pilkington yesterday.

This week I'll lay out the sound system stuff on a table and figure out what I'll need to wire it. I also need to order a fuel system vent from II Much, and fittings and hardware to make and install the brake and fuel lines. With the roll bar, I don't think I'm going to have room for a retractable 3-point seat belt, so I may end up with a 4-point harness from Schroth (Profi II ASM FE).

[keith k]

Nice job!

[Gator67]

Been in a holding pattern for the past 2 months. The main factor is that Randy is still tied up with his other project. I've been super busy with work and family things, so not much time anyways. I went by the shop on Friday to see the car and pick up some stuff to work on, and this sparked my interest again.

I finished the rear armrest panels, they turned out nice so no need to cover them in vinyl unless they start to crack. I coated the interior with Marine Tex, which helped to stiffen them up. I received the headliner and visors from Legendary--took twice as long as they originally told me--56 days turned into over four months. The LED headlights also came in...they fit in the buckets perfectly. The Recaro's also made it finally. Most everything is here, though still waiting on gauges from Digital Dakota....ordered them in March.

This next week I'll modify the rear seat back, and send it off for powder coating. By the time it gets back, the upholster should be ready to start on my door panels and seats, though still waiting on Legendary to send the carpet I need for the front door panels.

[HWYSTR455]

I ordered 2nd gen door panels in early spring, Legendary, still not here, consider yourself lucky! I have visors ordered too, fingers crossed.

.

[Gator67]

My 17 y/o son taught himself how to weld during the covid shut down, so he was able to handle the rear seat back mods (narrow each side by 2" and made room for the upper control arm pockets). It was fun to watch him figure it out. I'm hoping he can help out with the exhaust when the time comes. He's been looking for his own project car for a few months now. For whatever reason, not much available locally these days.

[Gator67]

Test fit the modified rear armrest panels and seat frames. All is good, so I dropped the seat frames off at the upholsterer. Everything is there and ready to go, except the yard of carpet they need for the lower door panels...still on backorder at Legendary...eta is late January.

We test fit the windshield and rear window...good there.

Randy's back on the car now...painted the roll bar in the light Sandalwood to blend in better with the rest of the interior. He also painted the dash top and the piece below the rear window in dark Sandalwood. Those two interior colors look great against the Carousel Red...so happy I decided to stick with factory colors.

Next up will be the door hardware & windows, rear end hardware/lights, emblems, deck lid, trunk, headliner. We'll wait on the front fenders until we install the engine, which should be done in the next couple weeks (waiting on oil pan). If all goes well, may be able to take her home to finish right around Christmas.

I was looking forward to being finished with car projects for a while, but I guess some things are not meant to be. Will be picking up a '79 Y84 TA no t-top project on Sunday for my son.

[Gator67]

I asked Randy to paint the piece under the rear window in the darker Sandalwood, but now I'm wondering whether it should be light Sandalwood to match the sail panel? Or is this how it's supposed to look back there? The abrupt color change just looks odd to me for some reason and I want to make sure this is correct before we install the headliner, package tray, etc.

[keith k]

Looking great, Jeff! And very cool that your son is interested in a 2nd Gen TA project.

Yes, the metal strip across the back should be the dark sandalwood low gloss "suede" paint -- same as on the dash top. Pontiac used the darker colors to minimize light reflection off the glass. The package tray trim should be the darker color, too, which gives the metal painted bit something to "go with".

[Gator67]

Originally Posted by keith k

Looking great, Jeff! And very cool that your son is interested in a 2nd Gen TA project.

Yes, the metal strip across the back should be the dark sandalwood low gloss "suede" paint -- same as on the dash top. Pontiac used the darker colors to minimize light reflection off the glass. The package tray trim should be the darker color, too, which gives the metal painted bit something to "go with".

When you say package tray trim are you referring to the main package tray piece itself (the hard board covered in mesh material) or some part of it? The one I received from Legendary is closer to the light sandalwood. If it’s the wrong color I guess I could paint it (have to mod it regardless because of the roll bar), but not sure how well paint would hold on that material.