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#1
08-10-2018, 11:01 AM
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69 Trans Am Tribute
Back in September I came across a great deal on a very clean 69 Firebird dressed up as a Trans Am. As long as I can remember I have always loved Trans Ams, even before Smokey and the Bandit. I've owned several of them starting with an 88'. It was my first brand new car. I've had 2 78's and a 68 project car that I had to sell mid tear down. I currently have an 02 white WS6 that I'll never part with. But I never had, and never will be able to afford the elusive original 69 Trans Am. So the best I can do is to have a clone. I've been putting work into it to make it as close to a TA as possible. Anyone can add a hood, spoiler, air extractors, and paint. But the only difference I want between mine and an original is the tag. The first thing I did was to make those air extractors functional so I took it to a hot rod shop and had them do the work. They cut the hols and fitted the extractors to the body so there's no gaps. They look like they came from the factory. While the fenders were off I had them shave the holes for the Firebird Emblem too.
The next thing was the interior. The dash carrier was cut up around the radio and really butchered so that the radio was just set in there and not screwed in. The console was warn and different colors so it was obviously pieced together and it had a t handle shift knob. That was an easy temporary fix with some burl wood vinyl. The steering wheel was wrong, there were no speakers, and lots of wiring issues behind the dash. I pulled it all apart, fixed the wiring, got a new carrier and a Retro Sound radio that fits the dash perfectly. I found a good deal on a repro steering wheel that has little to no wear and put it all back together. |
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#2
08-10-2018, 11:04 AM
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I couldn't add the pics of the completed dash in the original post so here it is. It's so much better and everything works!
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#3
08-10-2018, 11:14 AM
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looks great!
Not that it matters, but what did this car start out as? I hope you enjoy it! Some people poo-poo clones, but I'm all for it - as long as you don't monkey with vin or cowl tags, and don't do anything to pas it off (to any potential buyer) as the real deal...
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1970 Formula 400 Carousel Red paint on Black standard interior A no-engine, no-transmission, no-wheel option car. Quite likely one of few '70 Muncie three speed Formula 400's left. 1991 Grand Am: 14.4 @ 93.7mph (DA corrected) (retired DD, stock appearing) 2009 Cobalt SS: 13.9 @ 103mph (current DD; makes something north of 300hp & 350ft/lbs) |
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#4
08-10-2018, 11:20 AM
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The next project was the wiring for the halogen headlights. All the breakers and relays were screwed to the wheel wells and the wiring strung across the top of the radiator. It was a huge eye sore and needed attention. I was able to find space on the front of the core support and run the wiring between the front bumper and the radiator. So now everything is hidden and the engine bay is nice and clean except for screw holes left in the wheel well. But now that the wires were gone I was able to install the power steering cooling line.
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#5
08-10-2018, 11:24 AM
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Are you going to put the power steering cooler and the RA pans on the car?In for a penny,in for a pound!Tom
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#6
08-10-2018, 11:25 AM
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Saw the cooler in the 2nd pick,nice.Tom
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#7
08-10-2018, 11:26 AM
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I put it in one show and entered it as a 69 Firebird, anyone who believed it was the real deal did so on their own. But I'll admit that I didn't correct them...lol. BTW I won first place in the 1960's class that day. |
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#8
08-10-2018, 11:28 AM
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When I did mine I did no trans am decals,left the firebird on the fenders.When I park next to my friend real TA thats what I tell people that ask,ones a Firebird and one is a TA.Tom
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#9
08-10-2018, 11:29 AM
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#10
08-10-2018, 11:51 AM
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Quote:
__________________
1970 Formula 400 Carousel Red paint on Black standard interior A no-engine, no-transmission, no-wheel option car. Quite likely one of few '70 Muncie three speed Formula 400's left. 1991 Grand Am: 14.4 @ 93.7mph (DA corrected) (retired DD, stock appearing) 2009 Cobalt SS: 13.9 @ 103mph (current DD; makes something north of 300hp & 350ft/lbs) |
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#11
08-10-2018, 12:01 PM
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The silver prototype and the car used for publicity pics were the only ones with the script. When it went into full production the script was dropped. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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#12
08-10-2018, 01:36 PM
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Clones can be far more liberating than real cars - you don't need to be so worried about them and can have fun without caring about the value. One of my absolute favorite cars on this board is a 69 TA clone that has a weathered look to it.
Looks great!
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Some guys they just give up living And start dying little by little, piece by piece, Some guys come home from work and wash up, And go racin' in the street. Bruce Springsteen - Racing In The Street - 1978 |
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#13
08-10-2018, 01:39 PM
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I sold my real one,paid off my house and had enough left over to build the clone!Tom
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#14
08-10-2018, 02:25 PM
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Wow! And that is the reason I’ll never own a real one...lol Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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#15
08-10-2018, 03:11 PM
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Thanks! She’s a beautiful girl and getting better. I agree with clones having more drivability. If I had an original I would hardly ever drive it and enjoy it. The only thing I worry about is my hood. It’s an original steel TA hood. |
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#16
08-10-2018, 03:47 PM
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Great looking car! What's the plan on the engine and what rear & gears?
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Chris D 69 GTO Liberty Blue/dark blue 467, 850 Holley, T2, Edelbrock Dport 310cfm w Ram Air manifolds, HFT 245/251D .561/.594L, T400, 9" w 3.50s 3905lbs 11.59@ 114, 1.57/ 60' |
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#17
08-11-2018, 09:15 AM
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You should sell that and let it go back to a real one - pick up the repop metal hood and be way ahead $$$$ wise.
__________________
Some guys they just give up living And start dying little by little, piece by piece, Some guys come home from work and wash up, And go racin' in the street. Bruce Springsteen - Racing In The Street - 1978 |
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#18
08-11-2018, 11:38 AM
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#19
08-12-2018, 01:04 PM
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So here's a little history about why I decided to rebuild a perfectly good running motor. Bottom line, it had no balls! It's a 73' 400 block and 4X heads. 73's weren't the most powerful 400's built but this one felt like it had less than stock power. I posted on another forum that it was old and tiered and may need a rebuild and I was referred to Paul Carter here in Tucson. Some of you may know him, he's very active on PY. I talked to him about getting to 400hp and rebuilding the heads and he suggested going to a #16 head with more compression and that's what I decided to do as well as replace the cam. He asked me about what cam and pistons I had and of course I didn't know because I didn't build the motor. I had it in the back of my mind that this might end up being a complete rebuild because of the low power. Sure enough I pulled the heads and got my first look at probably the most dished piston on the market. I can't remember what the exact piston cc's calculated to but Paul calculated the engine compression at 6.7/1! Did I mention that it had no balls? So it came out and the planning began. And the clean up! There were 4 layers of paint and the last layer was painted on with a brush. It was a total mess. I did my best to strip everything down then took it to Paul for machining and some bead blasting and we started ordering parts. While I waiting for everything I cleaned up the engine bay, plug welded the holes in the wheel wells from the halogen breakers and relays, repainted the bay, and rebuilt the Quadrojet and power steering pump.
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#20
08-12-2018, 06:46 PM
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Nice!! I do think selling the hood to a person with a real T/A is a good idea. They are worth a lot of money that could go toward your build, and you'd be doing a great service to a car that needs it. I've bought one of the repop hoods and they are pretty good looking. I'm building a tribute convertible to sit next to my hard top, like you, I cant afford a real T/A convertible and that is my dream car. That engine would have been perfect for a boosted application with those pistons!! Are you planning on Pontiac Heaven later this year?
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When people tell me they HAD to sell their car when they started a family, I show them the three car seats in the back of my 69Trans-Am..............and we didn't even use car seats back then!! |
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