Hitman's Pontiac Trans Am Forum
Trans Am Information => Trans Am Information => Topic started by: 78w72 on March 06, 2010, 06:46:06 PM
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i just picked up a 1979 t/a that has alot of cosmetic indicators that it could be a y84, gold birds & gold steering wheel spokes as well as the se stripes, looks to be a repaint though. it has the tan interior & steering wheel. the vin is a "w" 301 car. there is no y84 stamped on the cowl tag but it's a van nuys car & i remember reading they didn't always stamp the cowl tags with y84. & it is a 19l 19u cowl tag. so until i locate the build sheet... ::) just wondering if the 301 kills the remote chance of it being a y84.
thanks
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http://www.78ta.com/production.php
573 of them
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cool, thanks for the fast reply! i forgot about that section of the site, i looked up the vin but didn't think about actual production numbers.
my fingers are crossed on the build sheet. thanks again!
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congrats on the find if it is!
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wow! the 301 se is the rarest car for 1979! too bad this doesn't have the original engine anymore.
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What engine code would you need to make numbers matching?
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What engine code would you need to make numbers matching?
It's not the code that makes it numbers matching, it's the partial vin on the block.
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Hmm so no matter what he's SOL!!
Would it be worth more if a 301 went back into it even though the partial vin would be off?
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I'm not sure if another 301 would make it more "valuable" or not. I think lots of people aren't that excited about the 301. He'll have to do some research and decide what direction to go. Either install another 301, or upgrade the engine to something with more power.
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My opinion is this: in either case it is not numbers matching, therefore put the bigger moto. For resale alone it is the better choice and you'll enjoy the performance while driving it.
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That's a good point!!
I'm only partial to the 301 because I have two in good shape and 1 needing help which it will never see
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hey i found the build sheet but some rodents ate most of it so the vin# is gone. once i pulled it out of the back seat i could see something that said "y84 blk spec edit" but the "y" is missing, the little buggers stopped chewing just in time!!!
i was upset to find it didn't have the original engine, would have been a pretty rare find. but i was happy to see that the engine in it is a 78 w72 400, but the prev owner said it was parked because of a rod knocking. :( i will probably keep the 400 for a future project.
i don't plan on restoring this car, i bought it as a parts car but now may decide to see if there is any interest in a 79 y84.... with no engine.
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even without the #'s engine thats a rare car someone could put a 301 in it to have it correct again and oh yeah wheres the pics?
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long shot but i would try to track down the original engine, find the preveous owners and find out which one changed it and where it is at
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i'll have to get some pics of the car & post an add here to see if anyone would be interested. its got some rust issues but the floors & frame look good. here's a couple pics of the build sheet, does this confirm the special edition? i know there isnt a vin# or the big "y84" typed out but all the other "gold" signs are there. 99% sure its real.
(http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee44/78w72/IMG_4906.jpg)
(http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee44/78w72/IMG_4907.jpg)
(http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee44/78w72/IMG_4909.jpg)
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you may have other build sheets. I found 2 in 2 separate cars. Behind the seat and above the gas tank on both. Congrats on the find.
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i was debating on dropping the tank. i am confident its a y84, just need to decide if proving that to a potential buyer is worth the effort.
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Not hard with little to no gas in it. Undo the 2 strap bolts behind the bumper and lean the tank down. The gas spout neck will catch it. Reach up and feel on top. If it is there you'll want to take it all the way down as the sheet would be stuck by tar paper and likely very worn (though one of mine was very legible except where the tar paper covered it). You can run PHS for $65 I believe and they will fax a copy within 24 hours and mail originals.
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thanks for the tips. i have removed quite a few tanks in my time. i found the only build sheet for my 78 w72 on top the tank, it was in great shape except for the tar paper area like you said.
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have any pics of this y84? you know a long time ago i had a y84 and i thought rpo was y88 for all se's lol. (young dumb) so i ended up selling it to attempt to find a 79 y88 lol yep i had a 79 y84 and if i would have really known waaay back then i'd probably still have it. whoops.
this one had y84 on the trim tag so i thought wtf? darn i dont have a y88 lol hehehehe dumb kids.
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You can run PHS for $65 I believe and they will fax a copy within 24 hours and mail originals.
Just keep in mind that PHS will only give you the dealer invoice for the car and not the build sheet. Build sheets were considered "disposable" by the factory and were not archived. If you don't have one in the car you are out of luck.
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the dealer invoice should include the special edition in the "car description" field at the top left of the dealer invoice & possibly in the options section at the right. the phs for my 81 pace car says "turbo trans am special edition" hopefully it does that for 79 se's too.
can anyone confirm this with a y84?
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it did on the 79 s/e i used to have
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it also did on my y88's and also on my y82
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thanks for the confirmmation guys, good to know i can fall back on the phs if i don't find the b.s. on the gas tank. i'll try & get some pics now thats its a little warmer outside.
& y'all may see a for sale add soon too!
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WHY!!!! :o :o :o :o ??? ??? ??? ???
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he bought it for parts until he seen it.
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he bought it for parts until he seen it.
yep, didn't know what it was untill i got it home. i have too many "projects" as it is, i don't need another one... yet. ;)
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makes sense i guess ;)
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quick update on this car. i dropped the tank & found what used to be a build sheet... it had basically rotted away into nothing, but i could see the outline of it! >:(
so i decided to go ahead & order the phs for the car last week. that way i can prove what it is to a potential buyer. i am not looking to gouge anyone because of the "y84" aspect of the car, just going to ask a fair price for a restorable t/a with a w72 400 & be able to back up that it's a real y84 car.
i will be posting an add in the for sale section probably by this weekend & will update this thread when i do. & i can email specific pics to anyone that is seriously interested.
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say under it and tail along with quarters woud be good
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here's some i took today when i had the back tires off. the insides of the quarters & wheel wells are very nice with no rust, the outter has some issues in the common areas, mainly on the bottoms in front of & behind the wheel. floor & frame look good from what i can see. the tail panel seems to be surface rust & some scaling & flaking but no holes! i will be getting better pics in a couple days. it's the one on the right....
(http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee44/78w72/IMG_5282.jpg)
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what is the price tag going to be on this thing?
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what is the price tag going to be on this thing?
not quite sure yet, :-\ i have to look it over real good & confirm the y84 for sure.....
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What is it with mice and build sheets, do the mice have a anti T/A agenda? By the way you don't have too many projects you just need to add on to the garage, that's what 4 Speed is doing and what I would like to do :)
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What is it with mice and build sheets, do the mice have a anti T/A agenda? By the way you don't have too many projects you just need to add on to the garage, that's what 4 Speed is doing and what I would like to do :)
i know they seem to like the taste of the build sheets! a bigger garage would be nice but i don't really have the land space to build on to it, unless i went up.
thats the only problem with this addiction...it consumes space!
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sorry it took so long, car is listed in cars for sale section.
http://www.78ta.com/smf/index.php?topic=23167.new