Topic: Matt's 1975 Trans Am Restoration (finished product, NEW PICS!)

[Matuna]

So, we have the car back from sand blasting.




The inside of the trunk is bad. Really bad. The sand blast guy said that if he blasted on it anymore, it would just eat away the metal. Trunk pan should be fully replaced. We shall see what we can do.


Then we painted various front end pieces and the oil pan, heater box, braces, etc.



and of course the sub-frame is finally painted with the same gloss black.


We started to form a bit of sheet metal for the front passenger toe board.


The rear passenger got cleaned up a little bit from blasting, we now have a little clearer idea of the work we need to do.....a lot!



So thats it for the updates today. Been a slow last 4 weeks. The car was in the shop being blasted and I went on a week-long Alaskan cruise with the family, so not much work got done on the car in the last month. Hopefully after today I can get the ball rolling again. One more coat of paint, then we can start reassembling the front end and the sub-frame and get the motor and tranny all set up.

[NWW-79 T/A]

Nice work on the subframe and the other parts. Too bad about the trunk, but I think they make the trunk pans new. And if not im sure someone on here would have one.

[NWW-79 T/A]

Hey Matt, how's the car coming?

[Matuna]

Its going well. We got the toe-board floor pan area welded in and puttied around. Re-shaping that big hole in the back seat area is challenging. The guy from whom we were borrowing the welder needed it back, so we are looking to borrow another or break down and buy our own. Got all the pieces back from sand blasting. Had the rear end blasted (removed the rust) and I painted that with the epoxy style paint, same as our sub-frame. We have been ordering most of our parts through a friend at the Napa distribution center, so we have been getting everything for about 50% off retail, which is nice. Only thing left is the rear leaf springs and we should have everything to get the car back in rolling stock condition. So aside from painting a few various pieces, we are about to reassemble the front end, then we need to get that floor pan and side in the rear seat done. The trunk has been tough mentally. We have been giving it a lot of thought and I really didnt want to have to replace the entire trunk pan. So we might patch the little holes in it and then someone else suggested to us to maybe have it Rhino-Lined all on the inside, which would toughen the whole thing up. Then we can carpet it and no one would be the wiser. Its just a trunk, and Im not necessarily going for show quality. I mean a new trunk pan is like $200 and then another $200 just to have it freight shipped here, so I might cut that corner. I have a family friend who is an upholsterer, so he will be sewing together my new seats (probably next summer). But we have plenty left to do this winter while we have less daylight and its cold out. My boss/buddy who is helping me with this project has hunting season coming up, so that will slow us down for a few weeks. Other than that, everything seems to be coming along rather nicely. The sad truth is that this project financially will take me probably 2+ years to complete. Not looking forward to the bill when we need to order a completely new dash and center console and door panels. Plus sound deadener, carpet kit, leather for seats. Oh and Im also going to buy the conversion kit to put A/C in the car. All that adds $$ to the project and thats what will slow me down. But Im optimistic and love working on it, so it will be really rewarding. Thanks for asking! I will provide more picture updates as I take them.

[NWW-79 T/A]

Good to hear. Be sure to post some pictures when you get it put together. I don't think 2 years is too bad for a full restoration. You've made good progress already

[4speed76]

Cool project, looking forward to seeing this one done.  It makes me want to get out in the garage and start on my 76.

[sixgunsblazing]

Can't wait to see more progress!

[NWW-79 T/A]

How's it going matt?

[Cbled56]

Matuna-
Nice project!!  Why don't you try and repair your dash, console, and door panels to save some money.  I have seen far worse repaired and look nice.  There is a thread either here or on Trans Am Country, or either PY which shows how others have done it.  What do you have to loose?  The materials are inexpensive and I'm sure you have the skill to do it.

[RayB]

Just browsed this thread and i'll have to come back and read it in detail.
Saw some "been there done that" when doing my 75.
You go!!! 

[Matuna]

Thanks everyone for all the interest and encouragement! I never thought of repairing the dash. I just figured since its been baking in the sun in the field for almost 20 years that it was too far gone. I mean there is a crack in it and the harder plastic shell around it is very brittle.

Sorry I havent posted any progress updates or pictures. As the winter came and then the holidays, Ive had less and less time to work on it. The shop that the car is in, isnt heated or insulated, so its damn cold to work on when its 20 degrees or less outside. That being said, Ive sort of been taking this off time to order parts and read up on whats in store. Also we messed up when we ordered the main bearings. We forgot to take in account, that the engine had a complete overhaul not long before it was parked 20 years ago. So the bearings we got were the wrong size. I have also been talking with a local GM wrecking yard owner who has tons of parts. I need new leaf springs for it as well.

So once it warms up again, I will start to really make some great progress. 2013 will be a great year for this project. Again, thank you all for your interest and support. It is so great to have a helpful community here!

[Trans Am Mike]

Thanks everyone for all the interest and encouragement! I never thought of repairing the dash. I just figured since its been baking in the sun in the field for almost 20 years that it was too far gone. I mean there is a crack in it and the harder plastic shell around it is very brittle.

Sorry I havent posted any progress updates or pictures. As the winter came and then the holidays, Ive had less and less time to work on it. The shop that the car is in, isnt heated or insulated, so its damn cold to work on when its 20 degrees or less outside. That being said, Ive sort of been taking this off time to order parts and read up on whats in store. Also we messed up when we ordered the main bearings. We forgot to take in account, that the engine had a complete overhaul not long before it was parked 20 years ago. So the bearings we got were the wrong size. I have also been talking with a local GM wrecking yard owner who has tons of parts. I need new leaf springs for it as well.

So once it warms up again, I will start to really make some great progress. 2013 will be a great year for this project. Again, thank you all for your interest and support. It is so great to have a helpful community here!

Keep up the good work, I love the 75's!

[jeff s]

Nice work. I also have a 75 in need of a restoration.

[Matuna]

So just an update, I was already talking to some of you earlier with my seat question. I wanted to say that I should have some more work done in the coming weeks as the temperature warms up a little more. I have done a few things here and there on the warmer days, but nothing that I have taken pics of yet. We got a little more welding done, and put a few of the front end parts together, various bushings inserted and ready to go. I will post more pics in the coming weeks. I did want to post what I am thinking about as far as color scheme for the car. I wanted some feedback. The exterior color I have in mind was never offered as an original option, so I guess I will never get credit for original/correctness.

Exterior color that I've been considering. I believe they called it Candy Apple Brandywine?



Obviously the car above is not a TA, but we saw it at a car show last summer and that color just popped. It spoke to me. I have this REALLY wild idea, that a lot of you might frown on, but we know a paint guy who can paint in "ghost" objects, most people get flames, but I was thinking maybe instead of a decal, have him ghost in the Firebird on the hood, so it comes through the paint. Thoughts?

And the interior colors I was thinking about:

[BlackTransAm]

Awesome , what a nice solid car to rebuild, keep up the good work