FORGOTTEN Pontiac Trans Am Rescue! Will it Run after 17 Years? Part 1 

Come on Milwaukee. Lets get these guys sponsored with some battery powered tools. They deserve it.

I have a 02 firebird v6, & I cut a rectangle panel out of my car an the pump came out easy. Also don't forget to install a new fuel filter inwhich I did.😊

Being able to work with your dad. Best job ever. ❤

Guys that car really came back to life, really great job ❤

I have a 94 formula that sat for 20 years, my gas tank rusted out also. Family of pack rats was living in the car, when it was towed to the mechanic they went with the car. They tried for weeks to kill those rats . Much respect for you guys, it took them 3 months to get it running.

I had a 95 formula. It needed a water pump, which I replaced, but along with the pump I did the following the motor leaked about a quart per week, so all of the seals on the front of the motor were replaced. While things were apart, my son stated that on a few occasions he had overheated the car. No better time to remove the heads right? Both heads were sent to the machine shop to check for flatness and cracks, both checked fine. The throttle body is water heated, so it was sent out for pressure testing, it checked ok. The opti looked good, but was replaced with a NOS item because the opinion on line is that Delphi makes the best one, better than any of the aftermarket brands. The motor was reassembled, with a new Bosch water pump, a new radiator, new belt, all new hoses new plugs and wires. I replaced as many vacuum lines as I could find. The fuel pump and sender were replaced by cutting the floor, just one afternoon is all it took. I cleaned the injectors too. Trouble spots? Yeah, there were a few, the fuel pressure regulator had a bad diaphragm, all of the associated vac lines to it were rotted, low coolant sensor was bad, that’s on the side of the radiator below the filler neck. The vac line to the charcoal canister, also bad, that is in the same bundle with the fuel lines that go towards the rear of the car, only about 2 feet needed to be replaced. This car went from a 140k oil leaking, over heating hooptie to a strong runner, my kid, at that time worked at Disneyland, so the poncho was driven from the east coast all the way to Anaheim my 20 year old son had no trouble. After California it was driven home, followed by my him going on a 1000mi. run to Disney world. That Pontiac was a fun reliable car, the LT1 motor always ran strong never missing a beat. A small car, with a big motor, you can’t go wrong! .

That tank removal won my subscription! Great job!

I love it. That thing is gorgeous considering the state you found it in. Makes me want to get another T/A (I've owned 5 in the past). Nice job saving that one and it looks surprisingly good underneath too.

Great job guys! I absolutely love this car. Can't wait for part 2!!

Good Seeing You & Your Father Back At It On That 90’s LT1 Pontiac TransAm, I Love Seeing You Guys Keeping Them From The Crushers, Keep Up The Great Work Guys!!

My dad had an old 79 ford truck that sat in the shed for a year or so without running. When we got it to chooch off we watched mice and corn get thrown from the exhaust for a couple minutes. It was pretty entertaining, wish we would have rounded up some cats first.

The first design of optispark was a sealed unit, while the second design had a vacuum port to get rid of ozone buildup.

Great job!!! NEW GAS TANK YES!!!!!! What about doing a ford mustang foxbody?????

This is my favorite all time cars I love firebirds! Good job and I cant wait to see that car back on the road!

I saw the Car Wizard pull a fuel tank on a Camaro for Hoovie he had a lift of course. It's a PITA to remove that style of tank on the ground. I feel your pain man. 😆

Nice I’m in the same situation I found a 93 camaro z28 parked in a barn since 1999 having to rebuild the motor tho definitely replacing fuel system

Outstanding. I'm actually glad to have to wait for another installment to see if/how she runs and drives.

I’ve always liked the looks of that car…..especially in red.

I had the same problem with my Fiat 600 petrol tank. I cleaned it with gravel, poured in and good shake, came up really good. Old technique 😄

Great job guys. I appreciate that you decided to get a new tank as well as putting in a new water pump etc, when you are already in there. It's going to be great when it's complete.

You guys really need to get a lift in your work shop, I hope someone like Bendpak are paying attention!

Sound healthy. Can’t wait to see the next one. Great work and thanks for sharing this with us take care

Michael love your and dad's methodical approach to fixing up these cars ..when these buy to get running cars are finished plz tell us if you sell them and a drive away to the new owners too video .

This Video Activated my PTSD. I never did get the #8 Spark plug on the back passenger side changed out on my 96'. The ICM almost always goes at the same time as the Opti. The heat from the heads cooks it. You can shim it out with some washers to help it live a little longer.

Man nice job in getting her started! Looking forward to seeing you driving her around!👌😎👍it’s looking great!

This series is so interesting to me as I am dealing with a similar case myself. In my case the fuel pump died (it starts and runs as long as starter fluid is sprayed into the induction) and - as you did in the video - in order to replace it the entire rear axle, exhaust, and fuel tank need to come down, which is something I can't do myself because of space restrictions.

Make sure to red loctite the two little small bolts inside the opti spark.

While watching and loving this video, as you were deciding to leave that exhaust in place, I could not stop thinking, "oh, that needs to come out". Could not believe you got that tank out with the exhaust hangint there!

This is gonna be one fine little Trans Am once you get the new tank installed and have it all buttoned up! Really enjoying watching this car come back to life! Also, I'm in Love with that little Baby Blue Mustang you found in the basement!!! That is one sweet 'Stang!!!!

It’s great to see someone fixing a Pontiac! I have a 95’ Formula. Also the stock intake elbow is not very good. It’s better to replace it with a metal one

You never know about those old batteries. They will surprise you. I ran the used battery program for a junkyard for several years. I once got a 17 yr old battery that had been sitting for 9 years to hold 10.9 under a load. New batteries aren't much better than that. I slow charged it for 4 days, then ran it through a cycle on a speed charger, but I didn't even change the acid. You just have to take it slow and wake them back up. I once knew a guy with 2 '67 Mustangs that still had the original batteries in the mid 2000's.

You all are doing a great job with these videos. Just keep'm coming

Enjoying the content on this car. Looking forward to what you do to it next.

Glad I found this. I'm just getting ready to try and fire up the LT1 I put in my project 48 Chevy street rod 20 years ago. I bought the wrecked 95 Z28, pulled the motor, put it in the 48 then kids and job took over. Finally getting back to it. I had a custom tank built and put in new fuel pump, changed the oil and as soon as I get exhaust on it will try and fire it. This video gave me things to look at if it doesn't work out of the gate. Thank you

Love this effort to get this monster back on the road !!!

Bro you do what you do so well, but I have to say your Dad makes these videos!!!! His reactions to things you say is priceless!!! Plus that Lil Porsche is looking sweet!!

This car is so cool! There's just something satisfying about bringing and old car around and making it run and drive! I wish you best of luck

looks like such an awesome car, love firebirds. when it first fired up sounds rough in video, love all the work you have put into it

Rinse, rise again with white sprit/turps, fill with tank restore, two in line fuel filters job done :-)

Watching you two double team that tank was great. Remind me to never tackle one of those Firebirds.

I know you guys have no chance of seeing this since its been so long, but I feel your pain. I decided to resurrect my first car after sitting 19 years. Its a 92 Chevy Blazer and of course one of the things it needed was a new fuel pump. Getting the tank out wasnt as bad as this. The catch was GM in their infinite wisdom gave you 4 inches on the main line to try and attach when you put the tank back back. The car is incredibly clean considering it sat out side the whole time so cutting was not an option. With all my cussing I came to the conclusion Satan must have taken a stint as a Design engineer at GM in the early 90's.

If I had the money, I would give you whatever you would want for this car. I absolutely love this car!!

Great video,I enjoyed your diagnosing of the car,you’ve accomplished a lot on this part of the project,keep doing what your doing and carry on 👍👍👍😎😎😎

Very nice editing on recent videos! Appreciate your hard work!

Confirmed. Pontiac firebird Trans Am coupe for a lot of more old school cars in the Future, has been completely different work.

Hi very good keep on bringing these kind of videos bringing nostalgia bek.phenomenal👌👌👍👍👍👍

I bought myself the exact same Year and Model as this one, red too, a year ago and its always been giving me starting issues, as in it takes a second for it to really fire up. all ive done was change the coil and it didnt do anything but it looked like the factory one from 28 years ago! I hope its not the Optispark because I see all the issues people have with them and im not ready for that challenge yet. Love seeing another TransAm come back to life, Ill be following this series closely in hopes it can solve my own problems with my car too!

Another cracking episode in the lives of “Budget Buildz” , just loved your dads little snigger laugh when he was under the car, and you mentioned getting the job knocked out in 14 hrs. 😂😂😂

It sounded okay for sure! Can’t wait to see it run! Great job done, great video and I enjoyed watching it 👍😀

It's really hard to wait for these videos to come out. I'm enjoying them!

Great content buddy . Can't wait to see in run properly

Another good video . I always look forward to your videos Thanx for your hard work and entertainment awsome job . Peace out

Great video glad you posted keep them coming thanks for

Us to do tune ups from underneath those cars. Why they put distributor cap behind balancer is anyone's guess. I forsee a outside lift lol Your still young enough to get up and down, but will make you old in a hurry. The fuel pump is a job on those also.

Big win. Sounds great

Oh what a pain...did one on a camaro and had to cut the exhaust... I feel you brother !

I have a 95 Trans Am and have built my LT1 350 and reinstalled and it's not as bad as most people think and that was from the top out of the hood, but afterwards I removed the heads alone and had them polished and ported and rebuild with a few small mods and reinstalling the heads with the engine still in the car was more of a challenge!! Your going to love the Trans Am after you experience driving in it!! By the way most don't know this but the transmission perform button on the shifter console gives a very firm shifts as well as giving you about an extra 500 rpm higher shift point!! Really makes a big difference!! Only available in 94 and 95 cars!!

"Pretty good lookin' plugs," and you toss them on the ground and buy news ones. So much for budget buildz.

Great find. Worth effort to get running.

Great video enjoy watching keep the great work

Nice TA man' I have the same exact car right down to color and interior but i put a 4 barrel intake' holley sniper EFI and HEI disy in mine lots of power and fun! good luck with your TA.

We have 99 TA ram air ws6 only 2k miles on the clock that's been sitting in a garage its whole life. My dad bought it new in 99. It has never been rained on. Gonna get it running and sell it. This helps

What a sweet ride , im really enjoying the videos. Its funny when you mess up up on dialogue but thats no problem unless your not a human 🤔 😂. Keep up with the rescues you and your dad are awesome. I wish i had that relationship with mine. Thanks for your channel.👍✌

thanks fpr posting guys. Lov the builds. pity that Ya ant's round here. in southern la. boy could I give ya some work

You are right, they really don't consider the work needed to fix anything. Almost like a "throw away" car

Holy cow, the Porsche is looking good. Can’t wait for your next video.

Yes, new tank and sending unit. Its worth it.

I feel u brother, sometimes the simplest sounding jobs like changing spark plugs can take a month of Sundays cause engineers hate mechanics apparently. Some of the cars gm threw the transverse mounted 3.8 in were just a hoot to try to get at spark plugs and things too. That’s why I love old trucks, just sit there on the inner fender and work on whatever u want cause it’s all nice to get at. Love the channel 👍

Y'all need a hoist. C'mon BendPak, help these guys out!

Love to watch you guys 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 greetings from Germany

Looks like a good start!

I'm glad to see you and your dad work well together and that you both have brought many makes and models back to life. BUT!! How about finding a Mopar that needs a little help?.

The Lt1 was a good engine with some reversible flaws. The opti-spark was a big issue but theirs a few aftermarket substitutes including coil on plug conversion. There's quite a few b-body cars still on the road with 200k+ on original drive train. Issue with f-body LT cars is that people get them and drive the life out of them with minimal to no maintenance. I have a 96 formula with 88k on the clock and it runs flawless.

Awesome video as always. Cheers from California..!

Love this build!

6:02 LT-1 is a MAJOR pain in the rear to work on. The LS-1 was a big step forward on the 1998 and up 4th gen. F bodies. I have a 1999 Z/28.

My wife has a 95 daily driver. Gas the 3.4L in it. Hers is fire mist green metallic with flint interior and a 5 speed manual.

Yellow mark on the spark module is from pick n pull. Used to work there.

As soon as I saw that they had to drop the gas tank I was like oh my gosh this is not going to be easy I feel so bad for you guys. Nightmare tank drop.

Fantastic job.

Awesome episode!! Lobe your videos i just cannot find another channel out there thatbis as good as yours!! Piece out!

This channel deserves more sponsors!

I enjoy your radios problem is I just don’t have time to watch them all LOL i’m from Pennsylvania so I can’t help but notice how nice and warm it looks

Never been a fan of those TA, but man, that car is clean ! The underbody looks as new ! Impressive. And yes, it deserves a new, shiny fuel tank ! That 200$ is money to the bank when you'll sell it !

WAY TO GO GREAT VID!!!

Whoever designed the fuel system hated mechanics. I wouldn't blame you guys for being frustrated, but hearing that engine fire was encouraging, for sure.

that's my dream car, every since i was a teen, wish i can buy one

Looking Great

It sounds good at least you didn't waste your time 👍 I used to buy insurance auction wrecks and had 1 82 Pontiac trans am, it was a complete nightmare, now all I work on is speak water and one ton Chevy and GMC 4x4 trucks, 86 and older, on occasion I do other stuff but I really don't like to 👍☮️

Should’ve reused the Mitsubishi sensor in the new opti. That’s the main benefit of the better replacement optis if you can still find one that uses them. Also, should’ve opened the new opti and used loctite on the rotor screws. They work themselves out and you’re right back in there replacing it again, and and then need to put a bead of silicon around it when done. Also easiest way to check power to fuel pump is 12v to prime wire by the pcm

Really cool man!!

Cool video. That is a nice car. I once spent 5 hours doing an oil change on a Nissan. That's the thing about German cars. Usually easy to get to everything. Same on Japanese bikes. On Korean bikes...OMG...I feel ya.

Just shows if your parking a car you still need turn it over or take care of the fuel system. Car are made to drive not to sit. Enjoyed the video

I remember the Car Wizard doing a fuel pump on a Camaro of a similar year. He had to drop the rear end as well to do the job.

This brought back memories 😬. My buddy had a 95 camaro with the lt1 and I helped him change ( by helping mean I did it lol) hands down the most ignorant engine I ever worked on . Like even the plug wires are ignorant. I have a 99 trans am and I will say the ls1 is easier to work on .

Dude I had a 94 formula and I changed the plugs and wires and I'll never forget the nightmare lol! One of the toughest tune ups ever!

Can’t wait tell you get the tank and stuff back in I bet it’s gonna hall ass 💪

I got a 95 lt1 formula firebird, love it. Mines purple, aka cyclamen!

This video is proof why mechanics hate engineers…..Great video by the way

Unbelievable Great content Be well