This channel is about cars, trucks and motorcycles. Over the years, I have owned many cars, trucks and motorcycles...I have not only loved driving and riding them, but working on them to the best of my ability. I am NOT a trained professional, but I have done many things (wrong and right) with all my cars and bikes and love learning and improving the best I can.
Dude, you're doing exactly what I've been doing, only my car is not a trans am, mine is a 78 formula, but the bodies are almost identical. I have the twin scoops up forward on the hood, instead of the shaker, and I dont have the wheel well spoilers. I really like your videos. I took my car down to bare frame,and made a rotisserie to do my metal work. Had to replace 2 quater panels and the roof. I'm presently working on hood and fenders. Love your videos. Keep em coming.
@@LmurWheelums-xu9or your car looks to be in much better shape than mine. I've had this car since 86, bought it from a friend whom I served with. Got the car, and the wife the same year, still got'em both.
@@leetotty7703 Hahaha Congratulations on keeping them both. I bought this car in 1987 while on leave and it had stayed in my Dads garage till just last year.
Your T/A is looking awsome, iv been trying to catch up on all your videos, thank you for your great perservirance, and keeping the pontiac going,. We hav a 1976 6.6, needing fuel lines, brake lines, which company did you use? I had redone the front calipers, hoses a year ago on it and all ways try to use autozine/orielly, they had them at great prices, then its NAPA then the other specialty internet stores/restore"ers , like fireb central, , classic ind...cant wait to see the finished car, hopefully crank up the 6x9"s
@@JoelCardenas-nx7vs Thank you...I use several places, but for the brake lines, I bought stainless steel lines from Firebird Central. I haven't gotten fuel lines yet. I think I will do the fuel system after I'm finished with the brakes. Thanks again for watching...Good luck with your build!
Keep an eye on that side with the rust in the frame. The chunks that you were pulling out was the torque box. I had to replace my drivers side it was in rough shape and had rot around one of the leaf spring mount holes
Oh shit big dog look like you getting serious about that damn welding got that drive safe all painted up shit boy are you gonna look like happy marvel on that thing!
Believe it or not, the front sections of the frame rails are easy to fabricate using 1.5" wide plates, can't recall the gauge though. On my '79, I fabbed up a front section for the passenger side that looked absolutely identical. I did the same on the driver's side but didn't bother with trying to make it look perfect, it's a bit more squarish. The rear portions of my rails were shot as well but I just bought damaged sections of reproduction frame rails off of Ebay for an excellent price. BUT, I have to admit that I was using a rotisserie and a plasma cutter. I wouldn't wanna try it otherwise. I like the idea of boxing in the frame rails. Use extreme caution with 60's Mustangs; automatically assume you will need a complete floor, trunk pan, frame rails and torque boxes. Also, the 60's are the most often flipped of the classics and are usually done poorly with a lot of rot damage purposely hidden. We had a 66 and a 67 that were both complete debacles. I do have to admit though that they were just a bit easier to work on than the Firebirds.
Thanks.....If I had a rotisserie, that would have made things a lot easier for sure. Thanks for the input on the Mustang...the way the seller responded to my questions made me think twice and refocus on my TA. It did look like a rust bucket. 😆
Which brackets are you referring to? The headlight mounting panel is made from fiberglass...whoever owned mine before me, tried to glue it together with bondo or something. Very sloppy IMO.
@nfnumber1fan805 I don't have junkyards around me that carry these older cars anymore, but there are places on the internet that does. I bought my headlight panel from Second Gen Graveyard. He specializes in these cars and has a lot of stuff...you may want to reach out and see if he has those brackets that are mangled. He sells new stuff (when avail), and good used stuff.
I have a 78 Firebird I am about to get started on. I think most of mine can be done with some patching except for the trunk pan. Truck freight has gotten insane since the last resto I did about 10 years ago.
It is crazy... $400 for shipping of a fender...but adding a full quarter, wheel well, and trunk drop down, it was still $400. Careful, it's a slippery slope hahaha
0:03 Space heaters pull alot of amps. If You have to use extension cord. Use a heavy gauge and dedicated one. Don't have multiple things plugged into it. Be safe and smart .
I loved these cars when I was a teenager back in the 70's. Everybody wanted a Trans Am back then. It's understandable why they are becoming popular again with so many people doing restorations and "rustorations". I don't doubt that somebody will come out with a factory original build kit like they are doing with other classic cars these days.
Just a heads up for others; don't buy the cool looking red poly bushings like I did. They'll turn pink in a few years. LOL! IIRC, the return on the fuel line was to prevent vaporization during idle and it was usually only on A/C cars of the era. Been awhile since I last looked this up for my project but I'm fairly certain that you'll be fine with 2 port fuel pump. If you're gonna replace the pump then I'd go with the return just for drivability concerns. Researching it can be a rabbit hole as many people just delete it without issue and others say it causes problems. When I got it, my '79 was setup exactly as yours with a 2 port and plugged return and I had no issues but did run a new return line when I had it apart. As to the heads, #12 are RA heads but #13 are identical and are not RA. IMO, this is all about marketing and cheating a little on the numbers for the race guys and the insurance industry. Again, another rabbit hole that you'll spend hours researching. I have a set of #13's on an XH block from either a Bonnie or a Catalina. I plan to run it someday but have been advised to use dished pistons because these are high compression heads and can lead to issues with today's fuels. Also, if you put these heads on a 350 you'll end up lowering the compression ratio. I only have a basic understanding on how these things work so check with a real engine builder. You're making great progress! keep it up and thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the input. I'm debating whether to get an electric, in-tank pump with a pressure relief valve near the carb, or keep mechanical. Seems todays quality is hit and miss with the mechanical pumps - Still TBD. Everything I've read says the 13 heads are RA heads...but I'm not knowledgeable enough to debate anyone 😅 The heads are currently on a 350, but I'm not sticking with this engine...just going to use it temporarily after the car gets together. The bushing selection is quite the rabbit hole...rubber, poly, metal. I read poly squeaks, rubber is status quo, and metal is a harder ride... I went with metal. You are definitely not wrong when it comes to rabbit holes... so many options, so many opinions. Hahaha, definitely a minefield. Thanks again for the input.
since you said you were going back with camel tan...which is what i have...and its hobnail same as yours...if youre getting the whole interior kit like i did youll probably have to wait. i ordered mine from firebird central in oct 2020 and it trickled in. in feb of last year matt from firebird central emailed me and said company they were using was discontinuing their seat covers. i had to go through legendary interiors and finally received my seat upholstery mid december 2023. it was 1500.00 basically. so if thats the way youre going you might want to check into it. the 1500 was just for the front and rear covers
Hey thanks for posting these videos. I'm patching up a crusty '76 and it is great to be able to see everything I'm in for beforehand. I like your attitude and practical approach, too.
I’ve got the same goal with mine, just a fun driver! Mine is just a 78 firebird but has a mildly built Sbc 350, 4000 stall and 4.11 gears from the previous owner
@@LmurWheelums-xu9or for sure. I had a 78 TA when I was 18 so super excited to get this one out and cruise Have to rebuild the rear panel like you did, weld new rear frames in and LH torque box. Thank god for RU-vid, so much easier with videos like yours!
Paint colors whether for the engine, frame or body are up to the guy paying the bills. Everyone else can go pound sand! lol. My P 400 is GM Corporate blue. Why? Because none of the stores carry Pontiac Blue, there's 2 or 3. That patch looks pretty darn good. I'll throw out some advice that I got from the Old Timers, don't treat these cars or their pieces like they were perfect when they came out of the factory because they weren't. Aim for perfect but settle for good. Sorry about your puppy, I know how that feels.
Thanks...and as I've torn this car apart, I, too, have seen many imperfect things from the factory. Makes me feel a little better with where my work stands hahaha
You know you can buy a new fender from YEAR ONE You can even build a 1969 Fisher body Convertible Trans am as a kit From YEAR ONE 😎 They sell GM repop parts for old school cars
It's $600-800 for repro fenders and they are not always available even though the vendor says they are. His repair cost less than $50 and a few hours that can be charged out, at least in my mind, as a hobby expense. LOL, hobbies can get real expensive real quick.
@chrisford8403 Building, fixing, or fabricating things is what I enjoy the most about this. Also, knowing the car has my mark (good or bad) is satisfying.
I couldn't figure out how I was gonna weld the front lower portion either. On my '79, at the front lower portion just before the wheel well, the inner quarter/striker support was rotted away. I replaced the rotted metal and moved the support gusset in about 1" and added a tab that flushed to the outer edge of the rocker. For the outer quarter panel, I cut off the flange in the forward area and used a few spot welds to attach it to the tab. Then I fully welded the gap between the rocker and quarter. Sort of similar to the way guys eliminate the flange between the top of the quarter and the roof. Looks great under primer but I can't say if it was a good idea or not, my project still has a long way to go before hitting paint or the road. Also, I used the AMD full quarters. Be careful with them! My passenger side panel is a near perfect repro; the driver side is also near perfect except that the body line between the door and wheel well is slightly tilted upwards and doesn't match the door's body line. My fault for not catching it before installing. I talked to a few body guys I know and folks on a few forums and everyone tells me to just leave it BUT I'm probably gonna cut it out and replace it. It's just enough to bother me. LOL!
That tab idea sounds like a great option...I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the input and good luck...do a little each day till we're across that finish line.
That’s considered a quarter panel skin. I wasted money on one because they fit like💩. I did both sides on my convertible. I sourced to full quarters from original cars. But I will say convertibles are easier because you don’t have to deal with the sail panel and window gutter. But original are 💯% better if you can find em because you get all the metal at the spot welds, and there’s minimal body work.
I may have mentioned it, but when I bought these back in around 1992, I was looking for full quarter panels, but was unable to find them...so I bought these. Thanks for the input.
Agree with you completely. Now, tell where I can find NOS or non rotted full quarters for 2nd gen F bodies. LOL! I did find a pair of NOS for my '72 a few years back but the seller wanted $2k each and wouldn't deal with shipping.
This is an example of what a bird turd weld looks like. Turn up the f,,,in heat and do some practice welding . Learn how to run that new welder before attempting to ever weld on any panels. Take a welding coarse?
