TAC Spotlight => Projects & Restorations => Topic started by: stros on August 15, 2021, 04:37:29 PM
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Hi TAC folks - I'm going to attempt to reboot my restoration thread, be it a bit condensed vs the old version.
2013 purchase: 1977 Trans Am. Found out later that a TAC member (no longer on here) had owned it previously. Car was bought in Sacramento, CA. It was a very base Trans Am with the L78 Pontiac 400. All of the other TA's in CA had the Olds engine so I was excited to get a Pontiac engine. It has the 400 because it’s actually not a CA car. It moved to CA from Minnesota in the early 80s.
This T/A didn’t have much in the way of options. No A/C or power anything.
In terms of the shape it arrived in, well, it wasn't great. Paint was rough, the bird had rusted into the hood, headliner material was shot, and pretty much every rubber item in the suspension and gaskets in the engine bay were also shot. It really needed a new paint job.
Original plans were to restore it to stock setup. No plans to restomod at all. This was my first resto and any mechanic skills I have no have been from restoring this car.
I'll be re-filling in the details over the next few days.
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How she looks now with the E-Rod (CA emissions legal LS3) with 4L70E transmission. I'll add the parts list shortly. Last pic is the LS3 before all of the covers, close out panels, and the hydroboost addition.
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Beautiful transformation, I like the Pontiac blue on the LS engine. Looking forward to hearing and seeing more on your restoration.
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Thanks 5th TA! Yeah the LS3 is a bit of an ugly motor and I had some leftover paint from the original 400 :D
Here are the engine and transmission details for the LS3 and Engine
• E-Rod GM Chevy LS3 Engine (425HP/425TQ).
• Holley Mid Mount Accessory Drive Kit (includes A/C, Alternator & Steering Pump
• BRP Muscle Rods LS3 Conversion/Mount Kit
• AC Delco Starter
•. Chevy Performance Oil Pan, Pump, Windage Tray
• Dewitts High Performance Radiator
• Lokar flexible oil dipstick & tube
- Custom Engine Covers with Pontiac paint & emblem + Close Out Panels
• Ram Air Restoration Dual Exhaust System with Pypes Exhaust Tips
• EFI Fuel Tank, Fuel Pump and fuel lines
Transmission:
• GM Chevrolet 4L70E Transmission & install kit.
• B&M Quicksilver Shifter with custom Firebird Shifter Ball Decal
• Eaton Truetrac differential and differential cover
• upgraded Dutchman 30 spline rear axles.
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I like it! I have a soft spot for 77's...My Dad got a '77 TA in like '83. That 400 powered TA cemented my love for these cars acting as my daily driver for my last year of so of High School.
I love the engine covers in blue, looks great. Where did you get those?
Looking forward to getting to know it better.
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On to the Tires, Wheels & Suspension
• YearOne 17x9 Snowflake Wheels and center caps
• Nitto NT555 255/45/17 and 285/40/17 tires with about 5000 miles
• Replaced all bushings and ball joints
•. PTFB front & rear sway bars
• New Viking Double Adjustable Front & Rear Shocks
• PTFB GT Front & Rear Lowering Springs
• PTFB Subframe Connectors & Solid Body Mounts
• PTFB rear spring anchor plates
• GM 800 Racing Steering Box
• TurnOne Steering Pump
Brakes:
• Hydroboost brake kit
• Wilwood Corvette C5 Front & Rear Disc Brake kit (red)
• Wilwood Master Cylinder & Prop Valve
• Corvette C7 Hubs and C5/C6 Spindle
• Lokar Parking brake cables
• Stainless brake lines throughout
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I like it! I have a soft spot for 77's...My Dad got a '77 TA in like '83. That 400 powered TA cemented my love for these cars acting as my daily driver for my last year of so of High School.
I love the engine covers in blue, looks great. Where did you get those?
Looking forward to getting to know it better.
Thank you! The engine covers were actually from a guy on eBay. I checked today and unfortunately they no longer appear for sale. They did require a bit of cutting to fit correctly.
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Exterior: in general while everything is new I’ve stuck with the original colors, decal and emblem styles. It originally had argent snowflake 15x8 wheels so I went with silver 17x9s. Over the years I’ve contemplated going with gold snowflakes.
• New Paint - long story but it was in paint jail for about 2 years and then went thru another repaint sans body work last year.
• New Phoenix Graphix Decal Set
• New glass – windshield, Auto City Classic gray rear window and door glass
• Restored / rechromed original window trim as I couldn’t find any good repops that fit.
• All new Metro weatherstripping
• Custom E-Rod 6.2 Shaker Decal
• New Headlamps, Parking lamps, Marker lamps and tail lamps
• New lower front spoiler and grills
• I cleaned & repainted entire undercarriage about a year ago.
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Interior:
• NOS Vinyl Seats - they do show some patina given how old they are.
- Morris front and 3 point rear belts with GM buckles
- B&M Quicksilver shifter (much improved shyer than my original Megashifter
• New Legendary Door Panels
• New Leather Dash with custom stitching
• New carpeting throughout and new headliner & parcel tray
• Restored Dash Bezel by Randy Combs
• Upgraded LED gauge lighting
• New floor mats with Firebird logo
• New stock replacement gauges from OER
• New add-on digital map pocket gauges from Speed Hut: Oil Temp, Fuel Pressure and Transmission Temp
• New Power Window Kit from Nu-Relics with 77 style center console switch.
• New Pioneer Stereo, Dash Speakers, Kick Panel Speakers, Rear Speakers and Subwoofer and amp.
• Dynamated the entire interior & underneath the hood & trunk.
• Repainted all interior plastics, replaced several of them, two tone black and beige/camel.
• New sill plates with Fisher emblems
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Alright that pretty much catches things up to today. Overall I’m very happy with the T/A now. 430hp/430tq is a lot more fun to drive than what likely was quite a lot less than its original 180hp.
I’d estimate it’s about 4 seconds 0-60 given the weight loss. The Challenger Scat Pack I posted in one of the pics above next to it definitely was slower and it’s 4.3 seconds 0-60.
It handles like a modern car but the ride can bash you aound a bit. The ride seems to be improving as I’m finally getting a few miles on it now. It has about 2500 miles on the new engine. The L78 came out with 77K on the odometer if that was accurate.
The hydroboost brakes are a big improvement with the upgraded steering pump from TurnOne. Not quite a modern feel but close. Performance wise combined with the wilwood setup they can knock you back in your seat. The Wilwoods are the Corvette C6 design.
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First major update in a while. Initially I was trying to keep the exterior look stock including the silver wheels. I’ve always kinda regretted that decision. Now that Classic Industries has their 17x9 gold snowflakes back in stock for about the 1st time in 2 years for a little over $600, I couldn’t pass ‘em up.
As I have almost 10 years on my Nitto NT555 tires I thought I’d be safe and also replace them. Bought some Continental ExtremeContact Sport tires. They’re quite a bit lighter than the Nittos, and a bit more expensive. Same 255/285 combo as with the Nittos.
Still sticking with the red center caps to match the sail panel emblems. Will take some better pics later.
I believe there were some early teething issues with the OER wheels but I had no issues mounting and balancing the tires on them and the quality looks the same as my YearOne wheels. Exact same specs as the YearOne wheels too.
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I really like those 17's. They just seem to fit the wells so perfectly. And that T/A 6.2 making torque. That has to be a dream to drive, with everything you have done inside and outside. It's just awesome front to back!
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She sure looks outstanding Darryl!!
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Thanks Mike and Jeff! Appreciate the kind words!
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The gold snowflakes fit the color scheme of your car well. It ties it together. I am so used to 17's now that when I see one with 15's, it looks funny and old.
I have been using Continental tires for about 8 years now as my stepdaughter works there. The give a good ride and good handling; let us know how you like them.
You have really done a lot with the car and quality parts too. You have stuck with it over time and I'm sure you got a lot of satisfaction in the process.
4 seconds to 60 is fantastic and makes for a fun car! Just to put that in perspective, my SRT8 Jeep is 420HP with a 3.73 and is somewhere in the 4.7-5.0 second range (and seems plenty fast).
Congratulations for all your hard work.
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I'm glad you reposted, LS swap is the best of both worlds, congrats.
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Thanks Bob and Jack! And thanks to you both and everyone who has been so helpful to me figuring out this project over the past 8 years! Definitely a lot of mistakes and frustration along the way, but a lot of learning too.
Regarding the Continentals, I've only gotten in a couple of drives so far. Obviously I need to break them in more but they do immediately feel more planted than the Nittos did under acceleration. Not the best comparison given the age of the Nittos though. Will report back as I get more miles on them.
Nice to see traffic picking up a bit on TAC again.
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Quick update on the new wheels. I think the old backspacing was better. I do have to be very careful to not hit my sway bar in u turns or or other tight turning scenarios.
I believe the Continental tires are significantly better than the Nitto NT555s so far, in all aspects.
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Happy holidays! Couple of recent upgrades.
Added the fast steering kit from PTFB which includes tie rods, tie rod sleeves, center link and pitman arm from 2nd gen Camaro. Need to get more mileage on it but it seems to make a good difference so far.
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Redid the trunk carpeting and the subwoofer setup. First pic is how it looked before with the sub just laying right in the middle. I bought a JBL Fuse subwoofer that can split in 2 and mounted one in each corner. Not quite the booming bass from before but now less rattling going on. Also hid the tail light wires with some carpeting as well
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What a car!!! You have created a dream ride!
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What a car!!! You have created a dream ride!
Thanks Mike!
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As it’s been a while here’s an update on my 77. Overall it continues to run well. Now that they’re broken in I think the Continental tires were a huge improvement over the Nittos.
The rear bumper has gone in for surgery - the same surgery the front bumper went in for a while back. After starting to put some decent miles on the TA the paint started cracking in about 6 different places. This will make it 3 paint jobs on that bumper now :(
When removing the bumper I found the lower brace to have about 30 rust holes in it. Going to take a stab at patching it myself this weekend as I can’t find any used braces in good shape available. The top brace is still in good shape. While the bumper was off I painted the under structure as it had some surface rust. It helps make the missing rear bumper less noticeable when driving it back to the bumper repair shop.
I’m also trying to figure out why my AC is blowing cold when the engine is cold but hot when the engine is hot.
Non specific to TA items:
We redid our garage flooring with some PVC tiles. The only thing I don’t like about them is the light color staining where the tires normally sit. Should’ve bought black tiles instead for those locations.
I also bought a Jeep Gladiator a while back to make up for my lack of T tops on my T/A😀.
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Hopefully 3 is the charm for the bumper paint. And a Gladiator too? I'm definitely jealous :D
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Ya those bumpers are a pain. I did so much work to alivat any cracks showing through mine and you can see ghost lines now after 4 years. But hey, we're enjoying the cars.
Yous looks amazing!
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I posted in the other thread about the bumper piece. Looking at what you have I would try to patch. It looks about 100% better than what I had. You guys in CA know nothing about rust!,lol :grin:
Im not really a jeep guy but that is a pretty nice looking vehicle. My wife wants one bad.
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Thanks guys - regarding the bumper repair, I had tried a repop front and rear bumper in the past, but the fit was horrible. Since the urethane repair looks to be holding up well so far on the front, I decided to take a stab with the same shop on the rear.
Regarding the bumper brace, thanks Kerry and Wallington for the suggestions. I'll proceed with trying to patch it and add some washers to cover up where rust was close to the bolt/rivet holes.
I won't spend too much time reviewing the Gladiator here, but we really do enjoy having a convertible pick up truck. That being said, it's had a few teething issues. Biggest issue I had was a rear axle leaking fluid on to the rear brakes - that took the dealership 4 attempts to repair. And now the auto/start stop feature is broken. It could also benefit from more power than that from its archaic 3.6L Pentastar minivan engine. MPG is about 16-17 as it has the aerodynamic qualities of a brick but it's not a huge deal since my commute mileage has decreased a ton since COVID. I haven't modified it too much so far, other than adding a pedal controller (which helps mask the weak engine a bit), a steering stabilizer and a rear sway bar. It is pretty easy to work on, especially after all of these years messing with the TA.
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Just got the rear bumper back from the shop. I also used a JB Weld Steel stick to fill in the holes in the bumper brace and gave it a new coat of paint. I managed to resolve the AC issue as well. It was low on refrigerant and the valve under the hood which switches between A/C and Heat was stuck. Seems to be blowing nice and cool now.
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Hi guys - not much happening on my TA until yesterday when the rear diff started leaking.
Question about adding fluid. I’m planning to put the TA up on my ramps to do the repair. Does it need to be on flat ground to add the fluid or should it be ok to add it when up on the ramps?
The diff cover also has a fill valve but it sounds like it’s best to add it in tue factory location until full.
I’m thinking to use a lube locker gasket this time.
Lube Locker GM 8.5" Corporate 10 Bolt Truck Differential Gasket
https://a.co/d/aFc1K2G
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We’re officially back under construction again. Gotta love fixing something that was replaced once before due to an inept repair shop.
Both my diff and pinion seal are actually leaking. The diff was installed without a gasket. Instead they used a horrible sealer that made it nearly impossible to get the cover off. Had to use brute force and hammer the diff off. Now I need to get a new diff cover. The shop also overtorqued the load bolts and stripped them, and stripped the drain plug as well.
Awaiting the replacement diff cover and as mentioned above bought a Lube locker gasket which requires no sealant. This should make this serviceable again.
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Hope you have been able to get some miles on her before it started leaking.
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Hope you have been able to get some miles on her before it started leaking.
About 8K miles since the pinion seal was replaced in 2015, about 5K miles since the diff cover was replaced in 2017.
The goal is to drive the TA to work at least 2x/week after getting the rear end issues dealt with. I had just started that 2x/week routine and that's when the seals gave out.
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...Both my diff and pinion seal are actually leaking. The diff was installed without a gasket. Instead they used a horrible sealer that made it nearly impossible to get the cover off. Had to use brute force and hammer the diff off. Now I need to get a new diff cover. The shop also overtorqued the load bolts and stripped them, and stripped the drain plug as well...
Who are these meatheads?
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Good that youre driving your car, bad that some idiot didnt know what they were doing and messed stuff up.
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...Both my diff and pinion seal are actually leaking. The diff was installed without a gasket. Instead they used a horrible sealer that made it nearly impossible to get the cover off. Had to use brute force and hammer the diff off. Now I need to get a new diff cover. The shop also overtorqued the load bolts and stripped them, and stripped the drain plug as well...
Who are these meatheads?
It is really hard finding good mechanics in the Bay Area now, especially for old cars. If I hire anyone now, I will only be using mobile mechanics where I can watch the entire job myself. You can't trust the reviews on google/yelp any more either - all of the folks I have gone thru over the years seemed to have fantastic reviews/ratings but they still sucked. I've gotten a little better at doing this stuff over the years myself, but this is why this will be my last resto ever. From crappy aftermarket parts to crappy mechanics to the sheer amount of $s invested, this is not an easy endeavor.
Luckily the end result of this is having a car that is really fun to drive, but as the subject says it was a long, painful, yet sometimes rewarding journey :-D It has been a nice hobby/distraction to have though.
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All back together again. New diff cover, new diff cover gasket, new Valvoline 80w-90 gear oil, and new pinion seal all done. Just picked up my daughter from her dance class and got her some Mickey D’s. TA sure seemed to drive smoother than I ever remember. Makes me also wonder if the shop used the right gear oil. I have an Eaton TrueTrac diff which takes non synthetic fluid without friction modifier (like the Valvoline I just added).
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I missed researching parts and working on the T/A so I decided to upgrade the sound system with some new 6.5” kick panel and rear 6x9 Infinity Reference speakers. They just arrived. I’ll install them over the weekend.
I added some similar speakers recently in my Gladiator and they were really impressive for the price.
The T/A is driving well and I’ve had a chance to get some freeway miles on the LS3 recently. We’re starting to go back into the office much more frequently now so I’ll have some more chances to drive it to work. Gives me some incentive to go in.
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Very nice.
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Have you had a chance to calculate your mileage?
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http://www.transamcountry.com/community/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=83837.0;attach=7362;image
Is your rear bumper cover still the rubber type? I noticed the 499735 strip installed. My 78 bumper cover was close to immaculate but had slight ripples or waves between each hole where riveted. So I've also sourced a couple of the strips to clamp it all down. Not original, don't care. The jacking brackets often had me thinking too. Originality aside, not going to ever use them and they are a tad clumsy otherwise. Could just as easily unbolt, leave off and panel over the cutouts if respraying covers. I'm sure others have done it but not really noticed. And cheaper to do nothing.
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Have you had a chance to calculate your mileage?
I haven’t paid much attention to the MPGs. I’ll track it next time I fill it up. I have 3500 miles on the LS3 now.
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http://www.transamcountry.com/community/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=83837.0;attach=7362;image
Is your rear bumper cover still the rubber type? I noticed the 499735 strip installed. My 78 bumper cover was close to immaculate but had slight ripples or waves between each hole where riveted. So I've also sourced a couple of the strips to clamp it all down. Not original, don't care. The jacking brackets often had me thinking too. Originality aside, not going to ever use them and they are a tad clumsy otherwise. Could just as easily unbolt, leave off and panel over the cutouts if respraying covers. I'm sure others have done it but not really noticed. And cheaper to do nothing.
It’s the original urethane bumper that I had a shop near me repair. The fiberglass ones I could never get to fit.
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The stereo project is done. As mentioned in another thread I also decided to swap out my center dash speakers. That was a bit of an effort but in the end not that bad. Added two 4” Infinity reference speakers to the dash in addition to the 6.5s in the kick panels and 6x9s in the rear deck mentioned earlier.
I still have the JBL Fuse split subwoofers hidden in the trunk with the dedicated SSL amp ($90 1000 watt 2 channel amp off Amazon).
I added a new JBL 8 channel DSP amp to power the 6 new speakers. Using 6 of the channels as it doesn’t have enough power for my subs. A pretty good deal for <$300. The DSP allows you to specifically tune every single speaker separately. Given the unconventional speaker setup it’s really great at allowing me to put different amounts of power to each speaker so they sound better together. It’s a bit complicated to dial in but I think I’m happy with my settings now. I’ll continue to fiddle with it.
The DSP amp has no presets and it has to be adjusted using a windows laptop. Would’ve been nice to adjust it on your phone instead.
I have a couple of issues I decided to deal with some other time - my quartz clock died again…it was working fine before I removed it. It’s a repop Classic Industries tach that I’ve had replaced under warranty due to the last clock dying. This one lasted a few years. It seems super fragile. I’m going to live with it not working. Maybe an excuse to go with digital gauges for a future project. My light socket behind the fuel/battery gauge - which wasn’t working earlier - also completely snapped off when I was trying to replace the bulb.
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Pics of the new grills on the kick panel speakers that clear the parking brake much better and also included a pic of the DSP windows app in case you’re interested (this is a generic image not my current settings).
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So, is that OER tach the 79-81 version (function, not font) or is it the earlier version jist with a quartz clock? It’s too bad you have a 77. I have a nice set of 79 gauges. I may have that secondary gauge bulb socket if you want one.
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Thanks Brian. I actually ordered a replacement socket already.
The OER tach gauge is the one for the 1977. Not going to spend another $360 on another one.
https://www.jegs.com/i/OER/691/5659065/10002/-1 (https://www.jegs.com/i/OER/691/5659065/10002/-1)
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Alrighty no problem
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Is there an OER 79-81 tacho/clock offered yet? Never used to be.
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Turned out that I had blown a fuse. Figured out that when my AC wasn’t turning on. After correcting that issue my clock is functional again and I also have my secondary gauge bulb back in business after crimping a new socket to it. That bulb is really dim though - need to find a brighter LED bulb for it.
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Pics of the new grills on the kick panel speakers that clear the parking brake much better and also included a pic of the DSP windows app in case you’re interested (this is a generic image not my current settings).
What's the switch or cable or something on end of the park brake mechanism, where the Camaro handle goes?
And surely that park brake isn't applied?! I don't think I've ever seen a photo of one applied that originated in the US! Oh wait, the speaker holds it down?! I thought you'd simply add a few washers for packing to the park brake studs off the side to tilt it away. Maybe you have already.
I have similar situation on the opposite side, park brake modified, and AC kick panel modified so it works inside the opening for clearance. I don't have the round plastic cover in place, although I do have a few ideas as I don't like the unused screw holes either.
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Sorry the angle of that pic isn’t great. The parking brake is actually applied in it.
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Made a few more changes to the stereo system. Added a bit more bass as my new interior speakers seemed to overpower the sub.
Added a 12” Kicker down firing sub with a dedicated 500 watt MTX amp. I swapped in a new Kenwood KDC-X305 deck with 5 volt preouts that made a huge difference. Sounds amazing now. Natural but powerful sounding.
I’ve been messing with the DSP amp settings. The delay, gain, and crossover settings have been what I’ve focused on. I’m using the equalizer preset settings from the Kenwood deck instead of the amp ones. What I like about the DSP is I can adjust the center channels to have higher frequency and volume, while toning down the kick panel and rear speakers. Given the odd 7 speaker setup it works great.
The 12” sub I thought may be too much at first but the smaller box keeps things under control. It takes up more room in the trunk but given how it’s downfiring it blends in with the carpet a bit. There aren’t many flat areas in the trunk so you’ll notice it positioned a little oddly.
I got my first car in the 1990s and was very into custom stereo work then. I love how easy it is to mess with the stereos in the classic cars (though the center speakers were a bit of effort. New cars these days are tougher to modify.
I’ve been keeping the TA on a tender in the garage and using it as my Bluetooth speaker when I use our garage gym.
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Successfully fixed my driver side hood alignment issues. The nearly 50 year old hinges just needed some adjusting - not replacing. Before and after pics below.
Also had a chance to drive about 30 miles today in 102 degree weather. The LS3 stayed within the same temp ranges as our modern cars did. The A/C is blowing warm air though so looks like I need to recharge it or check if I have a leak somewhere.
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Nice job! I can't wait to get AC back in my TA
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Thanks Dave! A/C was low on refrigerant and recharged it this morning. All better now, though I wish the center vents could be aimed at the driver better.
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Pics of the new grills on the kick panel speakers that clear the parking brake much better and also included a pic of the DSP windows app in case you’re interested (this is a generic image not my current settings).
How do those kick panel speakers work with your aftermarket AC unit?
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More questions:
How do you like the quick shift?
How do you like the mufflers?
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Pics of the new grills on the kick panel speakers that clear the parking brake much better and also included a pic of the DSP windows app in case you’re interested (this is a generic image not my current settings).
How do those kick panel speakers work with your aftermarket AC unit?
They don’t😀. The aftermarket AC only pumps air out the dash vents. The kick panels blocked those kick panel air vents. That’s one drawback from using them.
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More questions:
How do you like the quick shift?
How do you like the mufflers?
The quick shift is definitely better than the Megashifter I had earlier. The Megashifter broke several times. I haven’t had any issues with the Quickshift though it could operate a bit more intuitively. FYI I had to go with these shifters to support the 4 speed 4L70E tranny.
The mufflers sound pretty good with the LS. No drone issues. I think I’d have gone with a transverse option if I did it over again though. They sit down a bit low underneath the car and I have to be careful with speed bumps.
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Pic of the low hanging mufflers. The PTFB subframe connectors sit pretty low too so I think they’re hitting the speed bumps before the mufflers are getting hit.
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Pic of the low hanging mufflers. The PTFB subframe connectors sit pretty low too so I think they’re hitting the speed bumps before the mufflers are getting hit.
I believe those are Spintech mufflers. I have Pypes mufflers on mine and I very much dislike them so I was looking at the Spintechs. Like yours, mine sit low but it seems like my Subframe connectors also rub first
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Yes they’re Spintechs.
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I have the transverse exhaust and PTFB SFC on my LS swapped 79. I drag the clamps on the exhaust over speed bumps and dips on the road if I have my wife and kids in the car (not big people either).
I like the sound. It's different but still a good sound.
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I have the transverse exhaust and PTFB SFC on my LS swapped 79. I drag the clamps on the exhaust over speed bumps and dips on the road if I have my wife and kids in the car (not big people either).
I like the sound. It's different but still a good sound.
Cool - I don’t think these cars were designed to be lowered. I’ve had many lowered cars over the years but this one is the first one where I don’t have to worry about the front lower bumper hitting. Instead I get to stress over something in the middle of the car getting whacked.
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I have the transverse exhaust and PTFB SFC on my LS swapped 79. I drag the clamps on the exhaust over speed bumps and dips on the road if I have my wife and kids in the car (not big people either).
I like the sound. It's different but still a good sound.
Is the transverse a Pypes muffler?
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More questions:
How do you like the quick shift?
How do you like the mufflers?
The quick shift is definitely better than the Megashifter I had earlier. The Megashifter broke several times. I haven’t had any issues with the Quickshift though it could operate a bit more intuitively. FYI I had to go with these shifters to support the 4 speed 4L70E tranny.
How easy/hard was the install on that trans? I was looking at a beefed up 200R4 but those are getting expensive. The 4L60/70Es are half the price
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More questions:
How do you like the quick shift?
How do you like the mufflers?
The quick shift is definitely better than the Megashifter I had earlier. The Megashifter broke several times. I haven’t had any issues with the Quickshift though it could operate a bit more intuitively. FYI I had to go with these shifters to support the 4 speed 4L70E tranny.
How easy/hard was the install on that trans? I was looking at a beefed up 200R4 but those are getting expensive. The 4L60/70Es are half the price
I think as long as you go 4 speed you shouldn’t have any fitment issues. I bought a conversion kit from BRP Hot Rods that installed nicely.
https://search.app/LqXgbk3QGPQJvGXB8 (https://search.app/LqXgbk3QGPQJvGXB8)
If I had to do it over again I’d have gone with slightly more aggressive gearing. I went with 3.08s as I initially thought I was getting a built 461 stroker with a ton of torque but that obviously didn’t happen.
The Eaton TrueTrac differential is really great though. Of all the parts I’ve had to buy for this car I have it near the top of my list in terms of satisfaction. It keeps the TA planted really well under hard acceleration, and is absolutely quiet. That actually may be why I think I could use the aggressive gears.
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For all of the work on this car over the last 12 years - finally driving the car without a crooked hood for some reason just feels like one of the biggest improvements. That had been bugging me forever :D
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More questions:
How do you like the quick shift?
How do you like the mufflers?
The quick shift is definitely better than the Megashifter I had earlier. The Megashifter broke several times. I haven’t had any issues with the Quickshift though it could operate a bit more intuitively. FYI I had to go with these shifters to support the 4 speed 4L70E tranny.
How easy/hard was the install on that trans? I was looking at a beefed up 200R4 but those are getting expensive. The 4L60/70Es are half the price
I think as long as you go 4 speed you shouldn’t have any fitment issues. I bought a conversion kit from BRP Hot Rods that installed nicely.
https://search.app/LqXgbk3QGPQJvGXB8 (https://search.app/LqXgbk3QGPQJvGXB8)
If I had to do it over again I’d have gone with slightly more aggressive gearing. I went with 3.08s as I initially thought I was getting a built 461 stroker with a ton of torque but that obviously didn’t happen.
The Eaton TrueTrac differential is really great though. Of all the parts I’ve had to buy for this car I have it near the top of my list in terms of satisfaction. It keeps the TA planted really well under hard acceleration, and is absolutely quiet. That actually may be why I think I could use the aggressive gears.
Mine has 3.08 and it was recently completely redone. Mine is built more as a cruising car, not really a drag car. I would have to go with a shifter like yours I am guessing
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Im not aware of any other shifters out there let that are made to fit our cars that can handle the 4 speed auto setup like the 2 b&m ones either.
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Found a couple of leaks - apparently driving it more often is working out some kinks.
Transmission output shaft was leaking. I had done the rear pinion seal a couple months back and should’ve caught that back then. Found a new seal that seems to be designed better to avoid the dirt that got up there and appeared to cause the leak. For a moment I was thinking about replacing my driveshaft but I think it’s ok ($15 deal is a much cheaper project).
Diff cover was leaking again. Decided to take this opportunity to upgrade the gears to 3.73s from the 3.08s. I had a local shop install Motive Performance gears - so far they seem quiet. Having fun breaking them in now. Drove it 100 miles in the past 24 hours as per the directions I’m supposed to drive it 100 before going a max of 65 for the next 400. Will use it as my daily driver for now to speed up this break in. Glad I put the new stereo in now - getting my $s out of it.
Axle seals also were replaced when doing the diff. Thought those were replaced when I upgraded the axles so that was a surprise.
Also adjusted the parking brake on my Wilwoods- much better now. Seems like it needs adjustment nearly annually.
Officially hit 4000 miles on the LS3 today.
Let me know if anyone wants the 3.08 gears. Bought them new - oem GM ones that have 4K miles on them.
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Darryl, since my memory isn’t as good as it used to be I went back and read your thread from the beginning. I thoroughly enjoyed because I forgot how much you did to your car. Is there anything you haven’t touched? Everyone is different and we all do what is important to us. I personally like the fact that at first glance the car looks pretty original. Although as you said it drives like a modern performance car. I mentioned before, I like the LS engine dress up, blue paint and Pontiac lettering, nice touch. Probably some who really don’t know these cars will think this is how Pontiac built it. All the audio upgrades, you must really like listening to tunes while driving. Glad you are getting to drive your car, it’s good for you and the car. Sadly I think I have only had mine out half a dozen times this year.
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Thanks! I had that same feeling when I thought I might need to replace the driveshaft. It felt like that’s the only original part left now. I believe the front control arms, the driveshaft and the 10 bolt rear end are the only items untouched (though everything in the rear end has been replaced).
I did the sound system project mostly because I missed working on the car as it felt like it was done and I hadn’t done much in the last couple of years. Then it sprouted a few more leaks after adding some miles.
I went into buying this car with no plan at all - first resto project ever. Just was looking for a fun distraction from work and needed a hobby as my kids got older. Gradually managed to get a few
mechanical skills along the way - I had zero at the start as most could tell. Thanks to everyone on this site that’s helped me out over the last 11 years.
Pleasantly surprised that these cars have gone up in value so amazingly I’m not totally upside down financially on this project, though I can’t imagine ever selling it. Lots of blood sweat and tears into it at this point. I really enjoy driving it now - can’t quite say that 11 years back.
It does drive like a modern car power and handling wise. The ride is obviously a bit rougher and it’s noisier but it has “character”. It’s been nice driving it the entire summer with working A/C and the engine staying cool even during the high 90’s days here recently.
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...Also adjusted the parking brake on my Wilwoods- much better now. Seems like it needs adjustment nearly annually...
Good to hear you are wringing the gremlins out!
That was always something that irritated me about both the Wilwood and GM drum-in-hat setups - very lazy engineering. You have to pull everything including the calipers to adjust the shoes. If a small shop like mine could dope out a solution why couldn't they?
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Update after a full week of daily driving it for the first time. I’m halfway thru the gear break in - 250 miles on them now. RPMs at 65 are about 1700…not too bad.
I can’t be too hard on them yet but I think this is a good ratio that adds some more oomph off the line, still easy to modulate without spinning the tires, and not too high of RPMs at cruising speed. I don’t do a huge amount of freeway driving anyways and I actually prefer taking a few more minutes to go to work but backroads.
Unrelated to the gears - found a few more gremlins but fairly easy to correct. My hood was vibrating on the left hand side a bit and also was rubbing up the fender. I had previously adjusted it to finally get it level with the fender on both driver and passenger sides but the driver side fender was too close. Had a friend help me pull the fender out a tiny bit while I tightened the front top fender bolts. That cleared enough room and made it look pretty even with the passenger side hood gap.
The hood latch was also a tad too high up leading to the play in the hood. I was able to get the radiator support to lower a bit by adjusting the bolts in the middle of the support. It’s a little harder to close the hood now but it fixed the vibration issue.
One thing I’m noticing is that the rear suspension is a bit noisy / creaky sounding. I don’t think it’s squeaking. Guessing this has to do with the leaf springs. The top leaf spring pads look like they’re cracking. I had replaced them when installing the PTFB springs many years back but wondering if the wrong lubricant was applied to them and screwed up the rubber. If anyone else has suggestions on how to best lube the rear suspension let me know. I think the entire suspension needs a full lubrication but the rear noise is much more noticeable. However the handling is still really good despite the noise. Between the stereo and exhaust I can drown out that noise but I’d like to address it. I bought some new spring to install and will lube it up at the same time I replace those.
Last item I noticed is that my front spoiler on the driver side is hanging much lower than the flares. The spoiler and flares are Danko repops and look to be missing the brackets to connect the flares and spoiler. For some reason the passenger side is aligning without the bracket. The flares aren’t drilled with holes to mount the brackets so I’ll have to drill into them. Bought these spoiler brackets off Amazon.
https://a.co/d/aSiqkxk
That all being said I’m starting to like driving the Trans Am a lot more than my truck so we may keep this going post break in.
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Update after a full week of daily driving it for the first time. I’m halfway thru the gear break in - 250 miles on them now. RPMs at 65 are about 1700…not too bad.
I can’t be too hard on them yet but I think this is a good ratio that adds some more oomph off the line, still easy to modulate without spinning the tires, and not too high of RPMs at cruising speed. I don’t do a huge amount of freeway driving anyways and I actually prefer taking a few more minutes to go to work but backroads.
Unrelated to the gears - found a few more gremlins but fairly easy to correct. My hood was vibrating on the left hand side a bit and also was rubbing up the fender. I had previously adjusted it to finally get it level with the fender on both driver and passenger sides but the driver side fender was too close. Had a friend help me pull the fender out a tiny bit while I tightened the front top fender bolts. That cleared enough room and made it look pretty even with the passenger side hood gap.
The hood latch was also a tad too high up leading to the play in the hood. I was able to get the radiator support to lower a bit by adjusting the bolts in the middle of the support. It’s a little harder to close the hood now but it fixed the vibration issue.
One thing I’m noticing is that the rear suspension is a bit noisy / creaky sounding. I don’t think it’s squeaking. Guessing this has to do with the leaf springs. The top leaf spring pads look like they’re cracking. I had replaced them when installing the PTFB springs many years back but wondering if the wrong lubricant was applied to them and screwed up the rubber. If anyone else has suggestions on how to best lube the rear suspension let me know. I think the entire suspension needs a full lubrication but the rear noise is much more noticeable. However the handling is still really good despite the noise. Between the stereo and exhaust I can drown out that noise but I’d like to address it. I bought some new spring to install and will lube it up at the same time I replace those.
Last item I noticed is that my front spoiler on the driver side is hanging much lower than the flares. The spoiler and flares are Danko repops and look to be missing the brackets to connect the flares and spoiler. For some reason the passenger side is aligning without the bracket. The flares aren’t drilled with holes to mount the brackets so I’ll have to drill into them. Bought these spoiler brackets off Amazon.
https://a.co/d/aSiqkxk
That all being said I’m starting to like driving the Trans Am a lot more than my truck so we may keep this going post break in.
Any day you can drive your Trans Am is a good day. Glad you are enjoying it, good inspiration for all of us!
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Thanks 5th TA!
The $20 spoiler brackets worked pretty well after drilling a hole into each side flare this afternoon. Used the existing hole on the main lower spoiler. While I had it on the ramps decided to take care of the oil change as it was about due. Before / after pics below.
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Looking good!!!!!!
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Looking good!!!!!!
Thanks Dave!
A few more updates, regarding my noisy rear suspension. I ended up largely resolving the issue by removing and re-greasing all of the sway bar bushings and the leaf spring rear shackle bushings. Removing the rear shackle bushings were a pain and required me getting a friend's help to get them out, but I think it was worth it in the end. Hopefully these don't require re-greasing too often.
The front leaf spring eye bushings I couldn't figure out how to get out without fully removing the leaf springs themselves altogether - so just sprayed those with white lithium grease. I also sprayed the white lithium grease on the rubber isolators between the individual leaf springs themselves. I believe most of the noise was coming from the rear shackles though.
As far as I recall the rear suspension has been noisy forever and likely wasn't greased properly from the beginning, though the PTFB leaf springs have been on the car now for nearly 10 years (installed "professionally").
It's not necessarily Cadillac quiet but I'm very happy with the outcome. Overall I think it is driving smoother now too, which makes sense given that it's lubed up now.
So for those of you who with a rear suspension that is is creaking and groaning, these are a few items I think lubing up could help.
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Looking good!!!!!!
So for those of you who with a rear suspension that is is creaking and groaning, these are a few items I think lubing up could help.
Can I use this on my lower back? hahaha
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I def. need to take care of those things on my car. Squeaks horribly now I know what to do with it :grin: Thanks.
I didnt think it needed anything with rubber bushings.
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This week I hit the 500 mile mark on the new gears. Took about 5 weeks to hit 500. Not bad as I’ve had a few years where it hasn’t hit 500. Changed the fluid and got to get it over 65 for the 1st time. It’s a tad louder as expected but not bad. It’ll definitely knock you back in the seat now too off the line if you get aggressive with the pedal.
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Some smaller updates:
Got the flares professionally wrapped. I tried to do it myself but I just don’t have the talent for this job. The flares just looked horrible before with dozens of rock chips. Nice and shiny now and they seem to be holding up well thru a couple hundred miles.
I replaced my lower control arm bump stops. A bit of an awkward removal that required my impact driver. I went with a set of progressive stops from Belltech (part #4922) with a little more room for articulation (about 1 inch from the frame vs barely a 1/4 inch). My original stops were old and cracked - I think I was hitting them a bit more often after lowering it too. Seems to drive well so far with these ones.
I sprung a small leak from my coolant reservoir jar and tightened up the hose. So far so good with that fix. The diff also finally seems to be sealed properly after the recent gear change.
I also decided to try to paint my under steering wheel panel a color that better matches the pinkish beige of my dash but that was a failure (I think it was camel tan before - tried saddle tan this time). Trying to find a spray paint out there that actually matches still. I do regret just not making the entire interior black. This 50 shades of beige interior drives me nuts sometimes.
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The interiors were that way from the factory.
That being said, black interiors are pretty boring. I wish I redid mine in the 70-72 bright blue.
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Great choice on the gear ratio, 3.73 is about perfect with an overdrive transmission. Congrats on hitting 500 miles!
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What RPM are you turning at highway speeds?
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It’s about 1700 rpm at 65 mph. Very happy with the 3.73s so far.
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Did a few more upgrades over the Thanksgiving break.
Swapped my original PTFB sway bar for their new Blade sway bar. This is an impressively engineered part. Super heavy duty and I am nowhere near hitting the bar any more like I was constantly with the old one. The old bar handled well too but this is a bit tighter around corners. I’m on the middle setting.
After much debating I decided to just replace the upper control arms with SPC arms that have rubber bushings as I was a bit concerned about NVH issues with the Delrin/poly options. I could’ve probably gotten to 5 degrees of caster with more effort but ended up with 4. The suspension seems to operate smoother and it seems to track better on the highway. The SPC arms look very well built and are extremely adjustable with the twisting adjusters instead of shims. It took about 2 hours to get it aligned to my liking at the alignment shop though, so I think they’re a bit more effort to dial in.
I decided against the lower control arms as I initially purchased Ridetech upper and lower arms where the welds in them just scared me to put all that weight on them. The SPC uppers are welded better than the Ridetechs were. I may revisit SPCs lowers down the road but they are extremely expensive. Got a good deal on the uppers. I didn’t want to mess with my ride height either.
Overall the Trans Am handles fantastic now. It’s not a Cadillac but I don’t think the ride is quite as harsh as it was before.
I did add a steering stop to my lower arm since my aftermarket ones are missing. Still debating what materials to use for the stop after I see how it holds up.
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For the swaybar I also had a shop help me weld in the PTFB swaybar mounting brackets shown above. Dave from PTFB recommended adding them given the stiffness of the Blade bar. PTFB includes them with the bar itself along with the end links and bushings.
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Very nice. Why did you choose these uppers as opposed to the PTFB ones?
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Very nice. Why did you choose these uppers as opposed to the PTFB ones?
SPC offered a rubber bushing option that PTFB and pretty much all other manufacturers did not offer. I was a bit worried about adding NVH issues (no clue if this was a valid worry or not).
I also liked the adjustable turnbuckles vs the shim based approach that PTFB and others have for the adjustments. I have done control arms upgrades in the past which required a ton of shims. Adjusting these control arms did take 2 hours at the alignment shop so I think these arms are a bit more effort to adjust though.
Lastly I just like that the SPC arms appear to have less welds to worry about failing.
Nothing against PTFB arms - I’m sure they’re great but for the above reasons I decided to go a different path this time. Got a good deal on the SPCs too though the PTFBs are still cheaper.
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Some serious front suspension upgrades you have there. Most people just want ultimate handling and could care less about sacrificing ride and NVH to get there. Nice to hear you were able to improve the handling without compromising ride and noise.
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What is NVH?
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What is NVH?
Noise, Vibration and Harshness.
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Some serious front suspension upgrades you have there. Most people just want ultimate handling and could care less about sacrificing ride and NVH to get there. Nice to hear you were able to improve the handling without compromising ride and noise.
Thanks! Hopefully one of these days I can get it on a course and track it a bit. Only track around here is Laguna Seca but as far as I’m aware they only let super rich folks run their own cars on that track once or twice a year.
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Some serious front suspension upgrades you have there. Most people just want ultimate handling and could care less about sacrificing ride and NVH to get there. Nice to hear you were able to improve the handling without compromising ride and noise.
Thanks! Hopefully one of these days I can get it on a course and track it a bit. Only track around here is Laguna Seca but as far as I’m aware they only let super rich folks run their own cars on that track once or twice a year.
You shouldn't have any problems then!
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Some serious front suspension upgrades you have there. Most people just want ultimate handling and could care less about sacrificing ride and NVH to get there. Nice to hear you were able to improve the handling without compromising ride and noise.
Thanks! Hopefully one of these days I can get it on a course and track it a bit. Only track around here is Laguna Seca but as far as I’m aware they only let super rich folks run their own cars on that track once or twice a year.
Here Ya Go... https://www.motorsportreg.com/ Just sign up, and once a month they send you an email with events "Local" to You.
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http://www.nelsonledges.com/2024/02/16/nelson-ledges-track-days-with-reed-kryder/
Not sure where you are but I am going to attend one of these this year. It's less than an hour from my house
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Been gone for a while as my mom had major health issues out of the blue and then passed away on 1/17. I had checked TAC a few weeks back and assumed it had taken a similar path to my mom. Just noticed it’s back alive and kicking again today.
I had completed a couple of projects that I hadn’t shared on TAC just before my mom got sick.
Most exciting one is that I finally have a hole in my hood again and the shaker is back on top of the engine. Worked with friend of mine to craft some brackets to mount the shaker to the LS. Always felt like my Trans Am was neutered with that shaker bolted to the hood.
Minor project was adding the retrobright headlights I found on eBay new for $80/ea. Still expensive for a headlight but better than the near $200 price earlier.
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Darryl,
My sincere condolences on the passing of your mom. I hope you have some great memories of her to hang onto .
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Darryl,
My sincere condolences on the passing of your mom. I hope you have some great memories of her to hang onto .
Thanks - appreciate the kind words. Lots of great memories - she loved the Trans Am too. She loved cars in general - her 1st car was a 1968 Mustang Notchback with the 289 V8 which she drove daily for about 15 years.
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Shaker looks great, love the blue paint also. Sorry about your mom, mine passed in 09 and also LOVED trans ams
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Shaker looks great, love the blue paint also. Sorry about your mom, mine passed in 09 and also LOVED trans ams
Thanks so much Dave!
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Sorry to hear about your mom. I have to say thank you though about your mention of the RetroBrights. I bought a set of hi/low lights a year or two ago when they were on sale for $80 each. I kind of regretted not getting the high beams at the time but I just cannot justify the cost of them new. It never occurred to me to check eBay but I did today and found a set of high beams, new, listed for $110 each OBO. I offered $80 each shipped and the seller accepted so, thank you! Yes, they’re pricy for headlights. Not worth the normal asking price but $80 each? Definitely in my opinion.
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Sorry to hear about your mom. I have to say thank you though about your mention of the RetroBrights. I bought a set of hi/low lights a year or two ago when they were on sale for $80 each. I kind of regretted not getting the high beams at the time but I just cannot justify the cost of them new. It never occurred to me to check eBay but I did today and found a set of high beams, new, listed for $110 each OBO. I offered $80 each shipped and the seller accepted so, thank you! Yes, they’re pricy for headlights. Not worth the normal asking price but $80 each? Definitely in my opinion.
Thanks Brian. Pretty sure you bought them from the same guy as me. Just replaced my low beams for now. The halogen high beams in conjunction with the retrobright lows seem to work well but debating if I care about how they look a bit different.
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I could’ve probably lived with it. An alternative was to find another lens that resembled the HRB. The truth is, with regard to light output, I’m pretty sure I could disconnect my incandescents and not notice a difference
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Darryl, I have been off for awhile, I am so sorry to hear about your Mother. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
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Darryl, I have been off for awhile, I am so sorry to hear about your Mother. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Thanks Kerry - really appreciate the kind words.
Darryl
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A few interior updates. The mismatching colors on the dash have driven me nuts for years. Found an upholstery place that was able to mix up a custom color for me as I couldn’t find anything out there that ever matched.
Attached after and before pics.
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That was a thing that I never understood: when these cars were new the colors did not match. One would think that large corporations like GM and Chrysler would be able to accomplish this task.
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I would imagine that it was a supplier issue thing. The glove boxes never match the dash I dont know but would suspect they were made by more than one company. Same with the consoles.
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I can’t argue the build quality of these cars when they were brand new was horrible by today’s standards. I bought a 1973, 1975, 1978 and 1982 all brand new. My 1973 rocker panel’s barely were covered with paint and you could see primer showing through when lying on the ground. I do not remember terrible color mismatch between interior components. My 73 and 82 had a black interiors, so it would be difficult to screw that up. The 75 was blue and 78 was saddle. Saddle interior is one of the colors that I have observed mismatched at car shows. So I wonder if they started out matching but as they aged maybe a chemical reaction occurred causing the colors to change?
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I LOVE these cars but they were junk when they were built, as were most American cars of this era. I am surprised some lasted as long as they did! My step dad worked at a Pontiac dealer during the late 70s early 80s and most of the new cars were back for warranty work quite often!
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That was a thing that I never understood: when these cars were new the colors did not match. One would think that large corporations like GM and Chrysler would be able to accomplish this task.
I knew someone that had a Gold 78, with that exact interior. I think at the time, small differences were not really an issue. For the most part it was the thrill of having a really nice car. My 78 was Black, with Black interior, and I didn't notice any miss match. The 78 I have now is Blue with Blue interior, and as its led a pretty hard life, the miss match is very apparent.
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Washed it today and took some pics of it against the foothills we back up to in San Jose.
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Very nice! I always enjoy seeing pictures of your car
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Very nice! I always enjoy seeing pictures of your car
Thanks - realized today that nearly all of my pics from the past 12 years are from inside my garage :-)
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Inside my garage is where mine is hiding, its 7 degrees here
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:grin: :grin:
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Time for a minor update. It was 90 degrees 2 days back and I decided to take the T/A out for a spin. Also thought it would be a good time to see if my A/C actually was working. Nope - it was blowing hot air although I recharged it last summer. Figured there had to be a leak somewhere in the system. Of all places the leak was right at the valve where you add in the refrigerant.
So far so good - much colder. I don’t think this system has ever worked right since the LS went in. This valve was part of the Holley mid mount accessory kit.
Some other good news. Now that my mom has passed I have responsibility for my dad with dementia. He was in a memory care facility up in Foster City which can be a nightmare to get to depending on the time of day from San Jose. We moved him to a place 10 minutes from my house and it has a secure parking garage. So now I have one more place I can feel safe driving the Trans Am to, and I can take my dad for a ride in the car more often.
Luckily my dad still has his long term memory and recognizes us still. He’s like a big kid - he loves model cars, planes and trains. He is also very into cars like my mom and his last car before he stopped driving was a 2002 Corvette Convertible. He loves Corvettes and worked at a Corvette parts store after he retired from his main gig.
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Some other good news. Now that my mom has passed I have responsibility for my dad with dementia. He was in a memory care facility up in Foster City which can be a nightmare to get to depending on the time of day from San Jose. We moved him to a place 10 minutes from my house and it has a secure parking garage. So now I have one more place I can feel safe driving the Trans Am to, and I can take my dad for a ride in the car more often.
Luckily my dad still has his long term memory and recognizes us still. He’s like a big kid - he loves model cars, planes and trains. He is also very into cars like my mom and his last car before he stopped driving was a 2002 Corvette Convertible. He loves Corvettes and worked at a Corvette parts store after he retired from his main gig.
That's so cool your dad is close. My mom had dementia and was a few hours away so I didn't get to see her often, glad his long term memory is still there.