Topic: Fresh Meat

[Smeezor]

Freshmeat reporting, I just got my very own 78 Trans Am and well, I've got a very long and hard road ahead ov me.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/Smeezor/DSCN1213Large.jpg
Before I started ordering parts from dealers online, I wanted to see if anyone here had parts collecting dust.

The interior is as bad as the exterior, so I'm basically looking for everything.
I'm going to make a bandit-mostly, black and black scheme
And here is the torrent of my noob questions for all to laugh at

First:
-I thought I saw a thread here by hitman about door panels but I can't seem to find it now, ggrr.
-Anyone have a stove for the thermastatic regulator? I've got a 403 olds
-PUI seat covers seem to be the recommended cover maker, but should I shoot for cloth seats or vynl ones?  And will I be able to install these myself, or will I find myself slapped with another 200 dollar charge to have them put on the seats?  At least the foam is good....i think
-I'm missing one of the little plastic buttons that go on the inside of the door and hold it firm against the frame and prevent it from making a load of noise.  What is this thing called, I don't need to sound like a bumbling idiot on the phone in addition to a novice when i'm talking with a parts dealer  =P
-What do people recommend among sports/performance shocks, my car feels more like a ride on a pogo stick when it hits a bump.  I don't want super l33t racing shocks or anything, but semi-sports would be nice
-The guy who I bought the car from put on these stupid a** locking nuts that require a special key to get them off.  It's a + symbol with a dot in the middle basically, anyone got a trick for getting these off?  If I hassle him enough he'll probably mail it to me at least.  An oversized socket is basically hopeless because the bolts are so close to the inside rim of the wheel.
-Anyone got extra floor mats?
-It seems like GM slopped roofing tar all over the inside of the T/A as sealant.  It's horribly rotten, so I've been tearing it off with a putty scraper.  I'll re-apply it with longer lasting silicone sealant, in less liberal amounts too.  Any suggestions on a way to speed up this process of getting rid of the old? =P    
-I picked up the charcol filter tank and it was empty, can I just grind up a load of charcol that you use to cook burgers and shove it in there:twisted: ?
-Window trim is freakin 130 bucks a window in the catalog I have, is there a cheaper way to get trim?  Like is there trim from other cars that will fit the T/A I can find in a junkyard?

Thanks to you men who have read this far, I'm sure I'll have more questions in the future.  Tomorrow I'll try to get out and take some pictures of what I need or is missing.

Answer me these questions and the tale of how a 19 year old male in college with little mechanical experience and no income tries to make a nice car will be furthered.

Thanks

I wasn't really sure where to post this, in parts or here since it's mostly a mishmash of different things, but eh...

[Klatt87]

well i dont think that is a 78 trans am... trans ams had that nose cone from 1979-1981, enless someone put a different nosecone on a 78 body.

[Gold78Spc]

Smeezor, it looks like you have a pretty decent car to start with so let the fun begin.  I am not sure what you were looking for when you wanted to know about the door panels.  However the first thing you should do is draw up a game plan.  Car restoration is a long and tedious process especially on a tight budget and limited mechanical experience.  Most of it is not diffucult but there are certainly things that you will want to leave to the pros (paint job, decal application, engine rebuild if needed etc..)  

You need to decide what you want to do with your car.  Do you want to restore it factory original, make a clone of a certain year special edition, or design the hot rod from hell.

Does you car have to remain drivable during the process or do you have other transportation will determine how far you can tear your car down at any given time.

There are very few interchangeable parts with other cars when it comes to interiors. A camaro of a similar year is your best bet but not all camaro parts will fit in a TA.  The door panel trim piece you are looking for will but any thing on the dash is out.  I think just about anything else in the interior will.

Call every junk yard in a 50 mile radius and ask them if they have any 70 - 81 Trans ams or Firebirds.  Most will not but you are bound to find a few that do.  Go to the junk yards that have one, take a digital camera and take lots of pictures and notes so you can document what was good on each car so you can remember which one to go back to.  If you find a car with an extreme number of good parts and you have somewhere to keep it see if they will sell the whole car.  Take the good parts you need for your self and sell the rest on Ebay.  I have paid for a large portion of my rebuild selling parts that I don't need on Ebay.

Those things that hold the door panel on are simply called door panel clips and are available at almost any chain parts store.  They are usually seperated by name of manufacturer (Ford, GM, Chrysler etc..). If your car has manual windows and you have to have a special tool to take the door window crank off.  Don't worry about feeling like an idiot when you call the parts store and have to try to describe what you need. Half the people that call a parts store know what they need but not what its called so they have to spend time trying to describe the piece and what it does to the guy or gal on the other end of the line.  Brett sells an excellent parts and restoration manual.  It can be very difficult to learn to navigate your way around a factory manual but once you get the hang of it you will always know the name of the piece you need and the original part number which can make it very easy for the parts guy to locate your part.

Ebay, Ebay, Ebay.  There are lots of good parts available at reasonable prices depending on the quality you are looking for, but there are a lot of people competing for them so the great bargains will few and far between but for the most part you will be able to get a decent part at a fair price.

Cloth or vinyl?  Well once again which do you prefer?  Going original then put in what came with it or in not then its whatever you prefer is fine.  Make sure you know what bucket seat style you have before you order because there is more than one.

Lastly don't be afraid to ask questions.  No one including guys like Chip Foose and Boyd Coddington were born experts.  They all had to learn and made mistakes along the way.  Take your time as you disassemble something, label your parts and bolts because you will forget where they went. Take photos, watch car shows and spend time in forums like this.

Good luck with your project

I did just see the other post.  Your car does have a 79 - 81 nosepiece on it.  Its very common that people will switch these to the year they prefer.  Go with your vin# and cowl data to determine year.  If thats the one you like then stay with it, if not you have a part to sell (once you locate a replacement for yours)

[ta78w72]

Smeezer, that's a California car.  It probably was registered in the state in 1980 or thereabouts.  Go here: http://www.smogcheck.ca.gov/vehtests/pubtstqry.aspx
To get the smog check hisory of the car.

What are those funky little chrome pieces on the end of the fender?  Does it also have a sun roof?

Are you in California?  If you're close to San Jose, there is a salvage yard that will have most of the parts you will need.

It looks like a solid car.

[evilways]

As far as the locking lug nuts go, you can try your local parts store and see if their locking lugs have a key that'll work.You'll have to buy a set of 5 to get the key that fits.  If they are from a parts store, chances are there are some like them availible. If you have no luck with that, then try AFS wheels' web site. They carry alot of obscure lug keys. If still no luck, hammer an old air socket over the lugs and remove them as normal. This is a last resort kinda deal, as it screws up the socket and the lug, but at least you'll be able to get the wheels off. Good luck.

[Smeezor]

Thanks for the quick responses men, sorry I've been so slow tho, tried in vain to fix a friend's computer for about 7 hours yesterday, but I'm here now to clear up any confusion

The car is a 78, according to hitman's VIN codes page, and the last owner told me he did put on a 79 front.  Fortunately I was able to salvage a 78 front end from my local pick n pull.  Those things hurt like hell, danm fiber splinters...

So about the door panels, I thought the thread said hitman knew a place or had a friend that had access to good door panels, and he was passing the offer onto the forum members.

The guy I bought it from said he rebuilt the engine 5000 miles ago, but it still looks dirty and crap; I'm not sure how good a job he actually did.  It did pass smog in november, and my dad and I agree it does smell clean.  No bursts of black smoke when it's been sitting for 3 days and I start it, so the gaskets are good at least.  

This is the primary reason I jumped on this vehicle, It would pass smog.  I can take care of the grunt work.  I always planned to leave the paint / decal application to a professional, and hopefully I'll be able to skip rebuilding an engine / tranny (i would have to leave that to a pro too) and i plan on basically doing everything else myself.  Oh, and I'll need someone to put in the windows.

The car doesn't have to remain driveable, I have a 78 Nova that's been taken much better care of that is my primary vehicle.  

The only junkyard I've hit so far is Pick n Pull, and they say no cameras inside, does anyone have any clue why?  They actually had 3 gen 2 firebirds, unfortunately they looked like they had been there since 1977.
I'll bury my nose in the yellow book and find every last one soon.


ta78w72,
It is a CA car, thanks for the link, unfortunately they only logged a test from 04 and the nov 05 the former owner told me it had passed.  It did pass both of the smog checks at the DMV at least.

The last owner put those funky little chrome pieces there, I'm not sure why, they're like little lights or something.  I'll leave them on for now I guess.  It does have a third party installed sunroof, I hear all these horror stories about leaky sunroofs, but actually the rear window is the bigger problem right now  =P.  Thank god summer is here.

Unfortunately I'm not near san jose, i'm north of SF by about 40 minutes.  I guess I am close enough to take a day and make a run with a trailer for a load of parts tho.  

As I remember more I'll post, Thanks for the help so far guys, time to don my work clothes and get out there.

[Smeezor]

Here are the seats I have, I was under the impression there is standard and deluxe, and I think these are just standard
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/Smeezor/DSCN1244.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/Smeezor/DSCN1245.jpg

[ta78w72]

If you get to San Jose, go to GM Sports Salvage.  They carry only Firebirds, Camaro's, Corvettes and some other GM cars like GTO.  The number of second generation birds is going down rapidly.  I check them out every couple of months.  I've picked up lots of stupid stuff that you can't find on ebay...like original radio brackets, passenger side A/C duct, numerous fasteners and lots of small stuff that's hard to find.  They have a web site and it certainly would be worth your while if you need little brackets and things.

And if you have a 403, well that's about all they get in so you could get all kinds of spare things for the engine.

About two months ago, I was picking through a blue one just like yours.  They had door panels but by now they are probably ruined because of the rain.

I told them I wanted to take a couple of pictures of how the door locks were wired and they told me to take all the pictures I wanted.  I think I'll go there next week to get a fastener and retainer for my daughters inner wheelhouse on her 77 T/A.  See stupid stuff.  But I like walking through the old cars.

[Gold78Spc]

I'd need to see a more straight on shot of the seats but they actually look like the deluxe seats.

[Tin Indians Rule]

What are those funky little chrome pieces on the end of the fender?

They look like the top of deer whistlers!  Is that what they are??

[Smeezor]

The chrome thingies are like flashers, except they are aimed at the driver.  In case..uuhh..the driver forgets which flashers are going...?  They work suprisingly enough.  I'll get a back picture tomorrow.