Hitman's Pontiac Trans Am Forum
Trans Am Photos => Restoration Projects => Topic started by: Andy78TA on February 20, 2010, 02:25:58 PM
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With all the work that I am doing to the trans am i figured I should go ahead and make a restoration thread. A lot of pictures if not all of these are somewhere on this forum but here they are together. In the next coupld weeks and months the drivetrain should be done (for now) and the interior will start to get reworked. Than I can work on the paint and body.
I figured I should just start from the beginning so here it is ...
Well last summer I was lucky enough to pick up a 1978 Pontiac Trans Am. I drove it throughout the summer and the fall as the car drives, but it needs a lot of work. The body is good as far as rust issues (the only rust is on the drivers fender) but the car has some dents, a lot of scratches, and the body panels need to be lined up again.
As for the engine, I got it with 53,7xx original miles on it and it now has just over 54,000. The engine is pretty much stock with a performer intake and an edelbrock carb. The engine left a lot to be desired for so starting over the winter break (I am a senior in college) I started to tear the car down.
The first part of this restoration is going to be the engine and drivetrain so that is pretty much all that is being worked on now. I am working on the interior a little bit and the last step will be the paint and body which I am hoping will be sometime this summer.
This whole thing started as what I wanted to be a simple header install... No luck. I broke bolts in both heads, so they came off and got freshened up. Here are some pictures of my escapades so far. These are all in the period of a week)
engine before
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/001-14.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/002-15.jpg)
the beginning of the tear down
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/006-5.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/005-6.jpg)
why I needed to have the heads cleaned, milled, painted, valve job, new guides installed
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/009-4.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/003-9.jpg)
The new and improved heads back from the shop
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/013-4.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/014-3.jpg)
intake manifold before
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/010-4.jpg)
intake manifold after being glass beaded, painted, new chrome water neck
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/003-12.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/015-3.jpg)
What this whole thing started for
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/001-11.jpg)
putting it back together
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/002-13.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/015-5.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/005-10.jpg)
and last, my workspace
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/009-5.jpg)
I also freshedned up the air cleaner housing and a bunch of brackets with high temp black paint to continue the clean up. I will take more pictures in the coming weeks as the engine gets completed.
The car is not up and running yet as I am back in school but I have spring break coming up in 2 weeks. I plan on having the exhaust completely done and the engine back together during that break so it will be up and running.
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Looks great, what a difference! Keep those pictures coming :)
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nice build, i hope i can get mine to look that good.
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she's looken good. there is no such thing as to many pic's ;)
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Nice headers, but is the flange upside down on the driver's side? Looks like it should be in the same configuration as the passenger's side, but I don't know. Just an observation.
Nice work so far. the engine looks great!
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The flange rotates. Its not welded to anything, thats just the way it fell in the picture
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3 tubed headers? I didnt know those came on the trans am.
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Engine looks 30 years newer. Great work. You're going to feel proud to pop the hood to show it off now.
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lookin good man lookin good
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I know I really wish I got the ones with 4 tubes, now everyone is gonna think its a v6... ha
As for the restoration I just put in my order for a new pypes header back exhaust system, new wires, plugs, that stupid bolt for my trans kickdown and wrap for my starter. Hopefully I will get some snow thursday into friday to pay for everything!
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Keep us posted
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Looks great dude ... congrats on all the work.
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I came home today to snow and a couple of boxes from summit :) Pics to follow shortly
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As promised... pictures!!
The first thing I saw when I got home
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/007-10.jpg)
opened it up right away
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/008-10.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/009-9.jpg)
AND A FREE HAT!
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/012-8.jpg)
Here is what the old exhaust looked like that I pulled off a month back
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/001-15.jpg)
I don't know if you can see it but the pipe is actually flattened in some parts
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/002-16.jpg)
old vs new
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/003-16.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/004-14.jpg)
and the trans kickdown stud I needed and new wires
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/010-8.jpg)
Thats it for now. Hopefully I will have more pictures next week of the install if all goes well
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Just spent some more money on new competition subs, speakers, and hopefully an amp will be on the way shortly. Not really necessary for the restoration, but necessary for me. Plus I will need more sound with the new exhaust :)
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Right on!!!
Ddi you get the exhaust on yet or are you waiting for warmer weather?
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When you get your exhaust on we need a video! Looks like you are doing a great job. Keep up the good work!
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The exhaust is not on yet. The cold doesn't bother me at all, but I am in college and am not home so that unfortunately I can't work on the car. Spring break starts Friday at 12:30 for me though so I am hoping to have the engine running and exhaust installed by.... Tuesday ha
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Well after 3 months of hibernation I started the bird for the first time today. She started and ran great... in the beginning. After about 15 minutes at idle I revved the engine a little and my dad yelled at me to shut it off. There is a coolant leak somewhere :( . The car was not overheating but something is going on. I am borrowing a pressure tester from a coworker tomorrow to try to pinpoint the leak. I think and am hoping it is one of the intake manifold gaskets, which of course, no auto store around me has so I will need to order. I will post back tomorrow with my findings hopefully.
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bad news... the passenger head gasket is leaking right at the back near the oil filter. No matter what I do I can't get it to stop. After all this work I am going to have to take the car into a shop :(
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Can't do it yourself?
It's really not that difficult especially if you have a repair manuel to follow
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I already did it once and it didn't take, now I am worried the deck is not flat. I would rather just bring it to someone and know it is done right. A local person said he can do it for 300 give or take. He is one of the members on another forum I belong to and has a restoration shop
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well that's not too bad
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300 isnt bad beats the snot out of 1800 like most cars now adays.
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2 new sets of intake gaskets will be picked up tomorrow and this weekend hopefully the car will be running without leaking fluids. I am supposed to have a car show this sunday so I am really keeping my fingers crossed!!!
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I didn't mention I did the head gasket myself and now I have an intake gasket leak (I was not able to run the car long enough to see if the head gasket took)
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I hope everything works out for you! You should be able to knock out an intake gasket really quick. Good luck.
Any news with the exhaust?
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Yeah thats nothing but I ordered 2 sets just in case. I didn't put the exhaust on yet because I needed to take the passenger head/headers off for doing the head gasket. Provided I don't have any leaks the exahsut will be going on saturday into sunday
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Yeah thats nothing but I ordered 2 sets just in case. I didn't put the exhaust on yet because I needed to take the passenger head/headers off for doing the head gasket. Provided I don't have any leaks the exahsut will be going on saturday into sunday
Great news, We all look forward to hearing it!! :)
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Today at approximately 7 PM EST I started the car and let it run for about 20 mnutes. At first there was some smoke but by the end everything seemed pretty good. The temperature topped out at around 205-210 degrees with a 195 T-stat. Tomorrow I will be taking the car for its first drive in almost 4 months. Here is hoping everything works out!
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Today I took the car out for a ride and assembled the exhaust system. I unfortunately did not take any pictures but will next week. At the moment everything seems to be working out okay. I was even able to go to a show for a few hours near my house. The temp again stuck around 210 degrees running. It sounds a little hot to me but seems to be steady.
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Your killing me with no pictures or a video! haha Good to hear your car is up and running and back at the car shows!
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Here are some new pictures of painting under the hood. I was in a rush so there are not many and they aren't great but I will take more. I also still need to take pictures of the exhaust system but they are clamped on not welded on and I am eaiting for the welding haha
Before:
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/PICT0227.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/PICT0228.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/PICT0229.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/PICT0235-1.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/PICT0233.jpg)
During
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/PICT0234-1.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/PICT0236-1.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/PICT0237-1.jpg)
After: (More after coming soon!)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/PICT0238-1.jpg)
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Everything is looking great! Thanks for the pictures. It is amazing what a little clean up and paint will do to get your ride looking good.
Are you going to clean up the underside of your hood? I did mine and it really made a huge difference when you pop the hood. Here are a couple pictures.
Keep up all the great work.
Before
(http://www.78ta.com/gallery2/main.php/d/21358-1/DSC03186.JPG)
After
(http://www.78ta.com/gallery2/main.php/d/21349-1/DSC03780.JPG)
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Yeah the underside was done but I am going to need to sand it and do it again as it doesn't look that great haha. More pictures will be up in about a week
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time to ressurect a dead thread... i told everyone it was going to get painted... here are some pictures now that I saved up some absurd money :)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/0328111640b.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/0328111640.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/0328111638b.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/027-2.jpg)
i also have about 1200 worth of parts coming in from classic industries on wednesday... more pics to follow!
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Nice work. Looking forward to the pics after painting.
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WAIT.....WHAT? Is that double sun roofs?
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Hey Andy, what made you stick with headers? Just asking because I've been debating whether to upgrade mine or go back to to the RAM Air Manifold.
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WAIT.....WHAT? Is that double sun roofs?
Yeah double sunroofs... they open to the side ha. Its a weird mod but nothing I can do now ha. Its not too bad though.... as for the headers I had to relocate a fuel line or 2 and I like the idea of headers but I am would not recommend the three tube design. I am thinking about getting another set of 4 tube headers. After taking these on and off a few times its not the biggest pain to take off but it takes some work . I can't speak for RAM air manifolds though, I have never had them. Let me know if you have any questions. I would be glad to help!
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Gotta love a 1978 T/A---- nice work brother
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some new pictures from today, the body work is pretty much done. They put it in primer so that they can see the last of the body work that needs to be done. The rest of the body work will be done tomorrow morning and its getting painted tomorrow afternoon and friday if everything goes according to plan.
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/031-1.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/029-1.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/0272.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/022-3.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/017-6.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/015-10.jpg)
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Wow Andy, Everything is looking Great! I can't wait to see it painted.
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some pictures from today...
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/046-1.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/036-1.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/038-1.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/049-1.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/025-3.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/020-5.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/014-12.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/009-15.jpg)
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some new pictures for everyones enjoyment :)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/033-3.jpg)
I love not being able to get into my garage because car parts are blocking my way
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/036-3.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/038-2.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/036-2.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/030-3.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/021-5.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/020-6.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/019-6.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/017-8.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/012-15.jpg)
(http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/belyeodezhdy/002-26.jpg)
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Looks like Christmas at your house. Thanks for posting all the pictures. Everything is looking awesome!
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Thanks for the comments, it still needs a lot of work but its definitely coming together
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Brother your T/A is looking sweet.
I like your black and red interior combo.
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thanks, i actually just got another set of back seats too :)
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car looks good, the interior looks really good. I love the Quicksilver shifter...
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Coming along nicely. She's looking good.
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I like the door panels. What did they run and do they come in white? Very nice car man!!!
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Honestly the quicksilver shifter is much much nice than i imagined. It really pulled the interior together. As for the door panels they are the recaro limited edition trans am ones from i believe PUI from classic industries. The fit is not perfect but i am working on it. They were 450 but i had a 15% discount so a little under $400. I think they do have white.
Thanks for the comments!
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Getting parts is always fun; those front tires are massive?!