Hitman's Pontiac Trans Am Forum
Trans Am Photos => Restoration Projects => Topic started by: JupiterBandit on September 01, 2014, 12:34:25 PM
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Okay guys I made the biggest mistake you can possibly make. I started off restoring a 77 SE automatic and it was going great until I needed a parts car. I went to go buy a parts car and the worst thing possible happened to me, that dang parts car turned out to be a 77 SE 4 speed. So then I was in a real pickle. What to do, what to do? I added insult to injury and decided to take on both cars at the same time. But, this isn't my biggest mistake. My biggest mistake is allowed someone to talk me into taking a 79 SE off his hands and now I've been fixing it up too. So here we go. Three SE's being done by a novice who has a fulltime career and a family who needs me. Yup, I got them out there scrubbing parts and stripping paint. lol
Here's where we start
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/1979%20SE%20ttop%20delete/10356358_723437741035243_3182699213851260134_n.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/1979%20SE%20ttop%20delete/10296848_723442484368102_7401039883543054128_n.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/1979%20SE%20ttop%20delete/1798004_723440671034950_3411406592981188779_n.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/1979%20SE%20ttop%20delete/10409466_723442667701417_6541484921407115211_n.jpg)
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Now that I got her to my house this is where I am at.
I've blocked the car to see how much work is there and it was very minimal. I will continue to sand the car down to the metal and then shoot it with epoxy and start filling my low spots.
As I wait my turn over at my father-in-law's shop I went ahead and started to restore the engine bay. I stripped it down, removed the grease and rust and POR 15'd it.
I pulled the A/C blower, wiper motor, brake booster and re did them.
I'll be adding new steering, body mounts (Poly) and new brakes and suspension.
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/1979%20SE%20ttop%20delete/20140809_174639-1.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/1979%20SE%20ttop%20delete/20140814_162058-Copy.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/1979%20SE%20ttop%20delete/20140814_160005-Copy.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/1979%20SE%20ttop%20delete/20140817_175135.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/1979%20SE%20ttop%20delete/20140809_182515.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/1979%20SE%20ttop%20delete/20140812_163637.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/1979%20SE%20ttop%20delete/20140819_170636.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/1979%20SE%20ttop%20delete/20140828_195102.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/1979%20SE%20ttop%20delete/20140828_195028.jpg)
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Okay, so I got the car stripped and all the parts cleaned up and painted. It looks freaking awesome. I have to admit, this is the fun part. I got the brake booster installed, I replace the rotted gas and brake lines, I restored the brake master and it pops. I couldn't be happier. I now know what it feels like to put the car back together. The motor is getting put back together and repainted as we speak. I am hoping tomorrow is the big day of installing the motor, tranny and driveshaft. I feel like proud new father. ;D
I'd post pics but it's a lot of work and it looks like I'm the only one who read this thread anyway. Ha
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I'd post pics but it's a lot of work and it looks like I'm the only one who read this thread anyway. Ha
I'm reading, sorry for not commenting. Looks great. People seem to be kind of scarce around here lately. But go ahead and post away some more pics!
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Will do.
Right after I finish painting my block. I'm just in between coats right now
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Things are definitely slow around here lately, but I'm checking in from time-to-time.....
Looking good. Blaster is being put to good use apparently.....
Keep the momentum!
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Great work, Wow 3 cars..I can barely get my 01 and 79 together.
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I don't much see how this could be considered a mistake!!
But I sure could see my A.D.D. kicking in and jumping back and forth......SQUIRREL!
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I don't much see how this could be considered a mistake!!
But I sure could see my A.D.D. kicking in and jumping back and forth......SQUIRREL!
My A.D.D has been upgraded to A.D.H.D lol
I have been jumping back and forth and it is killing me
So I've decided to stay on just the 79 SE for now and get that one out of my garage so that I can work on my 77 SE auto and get that over to the paint shop and bring my 77 SE 4spd back from the body shop so that I can finish stripping and prepping the car for paint. Slowly but surely I will have these cars complete and I'll never restore a TA again lol
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So I finally sat down to load some pics. Sorry if it's picture heavy. I was excited that the motor was coming out pretty nice.
Thanks for the people who responded. It's nice to be encouraged. Doing these cars are a daunting task.
I was trying to decide to pay hundreds for a reman booster or clean mine up. I went with clean mine up. All I can say is I like it. It looks great in person.
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140908_213425.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140908_213742.jpg)
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I installed it temporarily just to get an idea of how it would look. I like it so it's going to stay.
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140909_220525.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140909_220438.jpg)
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I'm putting in a new combination brake valve. I also replaced the rotted brake and fuel lines.
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Here's a shot of the booster in the car and of my freshly painted oil pan.
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140910_182059_1.jpg)
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Here's the 403 I am planting in the 79 SE
I thought it looked like a whore and I don't care for the Corporate Blue being in my Pontiac so I'm painting it Pontiac Blue. I like the contrast of the color better.
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140910_181158.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140910_181150.jpg)
The engine was pretty clean, no sludge. It runs great and no smoke. Hard to kill a 403
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140914_144440.jpg)
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I went further than I thought I would on this motor. I wanted to just paint bomb it but I decided to put more love into it than that. It took me a lot longer but I am happy with the results
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140914_110738.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140914_144630.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140914_213357.jpg)
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Getting closer and more picky. I decided to tape everything off that I could and remove most of the lines
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140915_181943.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140915_181911.jpg)
[imghttp://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140915_181849.jpg][/img]
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I was just going to was and degrease everything but now I am stripping brackets and replacing all the hardware with new grade 5 bolts.
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140925_171436_1.jpg)
I also chased all the threads and cleaned everything out. I torqued everything down properly. I feel good about this motor.
Here's the alternator after bench testing it and cleaning it up
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140925_171426_1.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140925_171442.jpg)
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Test fitting the brackets and new hardware. Wanted to make sure my spacing was right.
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140925_184334.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140925_184340_2.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140925_200233_1.jpg)
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Thought I'd show 2 of my Birds sitting in the background.
The one to the left is a 77 Y82 SE and the one to the right is the 79 SE. My other two TA's are at my father in-law's shop
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140925_200254_1.jpg)
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Before
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140910_181158.jpg)
After
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140925_200239.jpg)
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I'm thinking about keeping the Flex Fan. Any opinions?
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No opinion on the fan. What brand of engine paint did you use?
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It's in! It's in!!!!!!
Now I got to run all the lines and wires.
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140928_181700.jpg)
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20140928_181556.jpg)
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How did you clean the brake booster, I tried a spot on mine and it looked like the cadmium plating wore off.
Skickat från min D5503 via Tapatalk
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How did you clean the brake booster, I tried a spot on mine and it looked like the cadmium plating wore off.
Skickat från min D5503 via Tapatalk
I used Rustoleum Metalic Gold Paint.
It worked awesome.
It's not Cadmium correct buy it plays the part well. I'll wait till the booster goes bad before I pay hundreds to replace it,
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Nice work man. Inspirational :)
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nice work. thats a nice looking engine compartment... hmm I didn't think of painting the booster and master cylinder... New once dont cost much :-)
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nice work. thats a nice looking engine compartment... hmm I didn't think of painting the booster and master cylinder... New once dont cost much :-)
$300 vs $10
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Ahem... 239$ ( firebirdcentral ), well, enough with the hairsplittin'
Seeing how good yours result looks, I gotta try painting mine too...
How bad was your master cylinder? I was thinking of having mine blasted and paint it in a correct steel gray. What did you do to yours?
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Ahem... 239$ ( firebirdcentral ), well, enough with the hairsplittin'
Seeing how good yours result looks, I gotta try painting mine too...
How bad was your master cylinder? I was thinking of having mine blasted and paint it in a correct steel gray. What did you do to yours?
Is that $239 with tax and shipping and did it come with the distribution block? If so that's a good deal. Still more than $10.00 lol
I sanded my master and then acid dipped the outside with phosphoric acid. Then I primed with a light coat of self etching primer and painted it with Rustoleum Metal paint.
It came out great and durable.
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OK it's $239 plus tax and shipping. and it's on sale. That's pretty good. On my 77's I'll use this. I live by Ames Performance, I wonder how much they are. No tax and I can pick it up
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Ames has it for $229.00
https://secure.amesperf.com/qilan/Search_Web
(https://secure.amesperf.com/qilan/Search_Web)
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Yes that's a very good price.
I know I can make the booster look good by painting it, but I am worried about the work required to get the master and the valve prepped for paint. I think I tight be too much work having them blasted. Considering the price of a new set
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Making good progress on getting the front end put back together
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20141002_155231.jpg)
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I can't wait to get this car done. It will be up for sale so that I can free my garage space and put the money into finishing the other cars I have.
I hope someone may be interested in a 1979 Y84 ttop delete.
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I had a busy day. I installed all new u-joints in the driveshaft then installed the driveshaft.
I installed the rest of the linkage, trans mount, exhaust mount and hooked up the speedo
Put a new rubber fuel line in at the firewall. No need to take any chances.
I then went ahead and installed the poly bushings.
I was shocked at what a difference having new bushings makes. The driver side was almost nonexistent.
Here's a pick of the passenger side. could barely squish my finger in there
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20141005_165316.jpg)
Here's the new bushing. Almost 2 whole fingers. This should make the car line up much better and ride nicer.
(http://i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/gettingitfirst/20141005_165340.jpg)
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I'm so freaking excited, I am putting the frontend together. Finally the front bumper will be back on the car.
I love this experience because I believe it will make putting my 77's back together so much easier.
I am going to be sad to see this car go. I put a lot more into it than I wanted to. I just couldn't leave things half @ss'd.
This is going to be a really nice driver quality car. I didn't do a nut and bolt obviously but I did take off 20 plus years of age off of her.
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Just a note. Once this car is running, I'm taking over to my father in-law's shop and throwing it up on the life. I'm going to wire wheel it and degrease the bottom. I will tend to any rust and make sure that the bottom looks as good as the rest.
Just thinking out loud. Things I'm doing next:
New Brakes and bearings
New tires and alignment
New shocks
New exhaust tips
New Carpet
New seat upholstery
New Headliner
New package tray insert
New speakers
New Interior Light
New window regulators
New Window Sweeps
That should do it.
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Okay, it's looking better. I just got the inner fenders mounted and the bumper installed. All I have to do now is line up the hood and off to the paint shop. I was impressed how nice she's coming out.
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Rebuilt the carb today. Looks a lot better and should work great. Got my kit from Cliff Ruggles
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All set to go to the paint shop.
I thank everyone who's leant me their expertise through this journey.
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This thread is done now.
I will be starting up the 77 SE 4spd thread hopefully this week. I can't wait to get that car done.
It will be a Driver restoration and I will be selling it when it's finished. So if you know anyone looking for a 77 Se Y82 4spd W72 with firethorn red interior loaded with options please keep me in mind.
Thanks
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Not going to add finished pics? :(
Have enjoyed following your progress.
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I got to see the end result please share. thanks for updating this thread. really exciting.
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I'm a little late seeing this thread. Wow!! Three SE's. Do you think selling the first two will cover the cost of the one you're keeping? That would be nice.
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I have A 77 SE numbers matching w/doc's , blk/blk standard interior, Y82, Hurst T-Top ,L78 engine , auto tran ,w/ 30K , been gathering parts to do a complete restore , but with a up grade to the interior to the Deluxe complete will this improve the re sale $$ or that it is a SE w/standard interior better as far as the numbers produced with this options ?????
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I have A 77 SE numbers matching w/doc's , blk/blk standard interior, Y82, Hurst T-Top ,L78 engine , auto tran ,w/ 30K , been gathering parts to do a complete restore , but with a up grade to the interior to the Deluxe complete will this improve the re sale $$ or that it is a SE w/standard interior better as far as the numbers produced with this options ?????
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Keeping the car true to the build sheet is better for value than installing a more expensive option, but in this case, I don't think it matters, neither will get you more $. As far as I know, Pontiac didn't keep track of numbers produced with this or that option.
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If you're not doing a nut and bolt restoration, I'd guess it wouldn't matter what interior you used. Concourse cars demand big money but it costs way more to make it concourse. I couldn't see it being a big deal to upgrade to deluxe.
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People wanting a Bandit prefer deluxe interior. I had a Y82 with standard interior, it looked a little bare to me. I would add deluxe personally but only if you change the door panels and add the pull bar to the dash. Do it all or stay standard.