Topic: Solar Gold 1979 Trans Am "Goldie"

[NWW-79 T/A]

Alright guys as promised here is the restoration thread for my new 79 Trans Am. Bought her.. then drove her 300 miles home.. and started working. Today I semi dismantled the interior and pulled all the spare parts stuffed in there out. Here's some pics

Stuff is out but seats still in
 
Seats out
 
Some of the things the car had inside...
 
 
Rear seat
 
Package tray is sub faded but cheap fix
 
Dash is cracked. Will buy a dash cover for it someday
 
Trunk empty (orange stuff at the top is carpet that is stuck not rust)
 
Trunk with parts inside
 
Shaker
 
And an extra goodie, a 403 complete air cleaner assembly. I don't need it but could sell it
 

As of now the front clip is off and waiting for the engine to be put it, which will be this Saturday. I have some SEM that will cone in soon so I can start freshening up the interior 




 

[NWW-79 T/A]

Rained all day today. Checked the floors when I got home and no wet spots so the t tops don't leak there was some water collected on the passenger side sill plate and the bottom of the door panel was wet. Not sure what from. That door doesn't sit very well on the car and protrudes a little from the side of the car so maybe that's why. Have to fix that later on. The passenger side door panel isn't very secure on the door and every time I push the tabs back into the door they just pop back out. Idk what's wrong there.

[NWW-79 T/A]

 Oh and my SEM paint came in today so ill be starting the interior panels tomorrow if it doesn't rain again

[NWW-79 T/A]

A little more info on the car and my plans for the restoration. Its a 79 Trans Am built in Van Nuys, California. Haven't started looking for the build sheet yet but options I know of are 403 auto, power locks & windows, tilt wheel, ac, Fisher T Tops, standard interior. The engine going in her is a 1972 YS code 400 with 7K3 heads freshly rebuilt and a TH400 transmission also rebuilt. I'm going to completely redo the interior (carpet, redye of panels, headliner, dash pad) and add the chrome decor and decals. Eventually when I start working ill do some performance upgrades like dual exhaust and a lower gearing, but that's a good bit into the future.

[Elz]

Are you really 15 years old? If so it is refreshing to see a kid that is interested in restoring a car and not sitting around playing his game console and living in a virtual world. Times have changed since I was that age. Good luck with your project.

[Greenbird76]

Nice start to your thread Nathan.  Keep it up dude!.  If it's really damp outside due to the rain, I would hold off on the painting.  High humidity and spray paint don't mix well. 

[NWW-79 T/A]

Alright guys, a little good news and a little bad. The good is that I got the steering wheel horn button dyed. I think I did an ok job but I'm having trouble with how heavy the coat is. I'm putting it on a bit too thick.
 
 
 The bad is that while I was prepping a t top trim y piece a screw was stuck in the hole, I tried to get it out and broke the screw hole on the back

[eroc022]

much too thick.... the best way to describe how it should be is use the minimum amount of coats, to get full even coverage at a "thin" point

[NWW-79 T/A]

much too thick.... the best way to describe how it should be is use the minimum amount of coats, to get full even coverage at a "thin" point

I figured it was too thick. I'm going to keep practicing on a few trim pieces I don't need. I figured I might make a mistake, so i did a small item like the horn button first

[gilbertsta]

Just found this thread....big job! looking forward to see how it all turns out!

[David Green]

much too thick.... the best way to describe how it should be is use the minimum amount of coats, to get full even coverage at a "thin" point

I used SEM on my interior parts and the best luck on the coats came from holding the can off the part about 10-12" and just dusting the part with around 4-5 coats letting each dry before doing it again and this will eliminate the thickness to the part.

[NWW-79 T/A]

Today I installed a door handle cup (small news) and I also painted the center console bin lid and rebuilt the bin assembly. I did much better this time around with the SEM.
 
 
 
I'm having trouble putting the curly spring back on the bin. When I go to open the bin it flops around and pops out sometime. Could just be that it's old and bent though.

[gilbertsta]

Today I installed a door handle cup (small news) and I also painted the center console bin lid and rebuilt the bin assembly. I did much better this time around with the SEM.
 
I'm having trouble putting the curly spring back on the bin. When I go to open the bin it flops around and pops out sometime. Could just be that it's old and bent though.

the funny thing is I sprayed my lid today too. I was thinking " I hope I remember how to put back this spring" lol   ... I kinda recall a fbodywarehouse video how to on this subject.   Yours looks like mine. I think that is a good thing....ha

[NWW-79 T/A]

It actually came out pretty well. Thing is though, I think i have a low quality reproduction bin lid. The texture is the same but its not soft and padded, its a dense hard plastic. But for $80 I will survive lol

[Justin]

SEM is the best I have used for holding up to wear. The horn button looks like you were about 5 inches away. Just be back about a foot. Maybe start further away and "misting" the coats on. If you do very thin coats and more of them rather than heavy, you will be able to keep the texture looking some and it chip off either.