My Tenth Anniv.

[5th T/A]

When I first started this project it was to be a quick paint job, throw some stuff together and sell. I have a friend locally that has a 66 gto. He bought a 1979 formula brand new. It was stolen and he ended up with some scrap parts off of it. A 79 trans am is his dream car. We have joked multiple times about doing a trade once I was finished, his '66 for my '79. As much as I have put into this car I would have to think a long time on that one. His car is a nice driver but for my tastes it would have to go under the knife for a full restoration

We are seriously looking for a new suv for my wife now that I have scrapped the faithful expedition. She tells me the other night that she was considering trading her mustang! That was a major shock as that car is her baby. She said the new car WILL NOT sit outside! AND she will not park her mustang outside, thus we are running out of garage space. She also said that I dont need 2 trans ams either and once the silver car is done one has to go NEW FLASH: Its time to build a bigger garage, I am not parting with either car

I have been thinking about a 4 post lift for parking because the reality is that I AM running out of space. I have 10 bays worth of parking and no room.

You have so much time invested in your TATA, I bet you would forever regret parting with it. I am kind of surprised your family members aren't jealous of the time you spend with it!

Not that it would solve all your problems, a four-post lift sure would come in handy for doing undercarriage work, without laying on your back. I am envious of all the space in your shop and high ceilings.

[ryeguy2006a]

Oh, I had no idea you were actually toying with the idea of selling! I was just teasing since the level of detail that you have invested is amazing. I completely understand though, I think if selling my car frequently. I'm all over the place though.

[roadking77]

No thoughts of selling at all at this point.
Yes, my son has been wanting a lift so he can do some of his own maintenance work on his car. I can maybe sell the idea to my wife if I say that he and I are going halvsies on it I will have to get her a new car first though, LOL. I had to buy her the Mustang after I got the 77 on the road. The 79 is really close but that has nothing to do with getting her a daily driver. I despise buying cars (unless theyre junk of course, and Trans Ams) and I hate a monthly payment. I bought a used expedition almost 10 years ago as a second work truck. I paid a little over 4k for it. It has been a great vehicle. But the frame is now rusted, the emissions was going to cost more than what I wanted to put into it. So I took the tags off and it now needs to head to the scrap yard. She wants a small suv as a daily driver so she can quit driving her mustang everyday. She was laid off from her job of 20 years in Aug so it wasnt really a big deal not having a DD. She has recently landed a great job and is ready for her 'new car'. I may budget a 4 post into the price of the new one

[tajoe]

When I first started this project it was to be a quick paint job, throw some stuff together and sell. I have a friend locally that has a 66 gto. He bought a 1979 formula brand new. It was stolen and he ended up with some scrap parts off of it. A 79 trans am is his dream car. We have joked multiple times about doing a trade once I was finished, his '66 for my '79. As much as I have put into this car I would have to think a long time on that one. His car is a nice driver but for my tastes it would have to go under the knife for a full restoration

No disrespect intended, cause you're doin a great job on your bird, but I wouldn't think twice about the GTO swap. A 79, for a 66 Goat? He probably wouldn't do it. Depending on his car, (its drivetrain, and condition), I believe it would be more valuable, and will only increase over time. Of course it basically depends on your likes. I've had 5 Goats over my lifetime, (2 of them were daily drivers for 10 yrs, over 2 different decades) and the only reason I haven't tackled another GTO, was because of my 2 T/As, and the price of "any" GTO is insane. Even for a condition 5 car. But a 70 455, 4 spd is on my bucket list.
But back to your doors. I just stripped out a passenger door last fall, to junk the rotted sheet metal shell. I think I still have some glass, maybe hrdware. Let me know if you need anything. Maybe I can find something you can use, and have. (Probably a little too much too late.)

[roadking77]

I agree on the value thing. His car is a nice driver, has a replacement 400 motor, I think originally a '66 would have been a 389. It is a 4 speed and a legit GTO. I really like it. But he has had it for quite a few years and I really think if push came to shove he would keep it over my 79. I do have a 66 chevelle to work on IF I ever get this T/A finished, not quite the same as a gto but close. I have the same mind set with that car right now as I had when I started this tata build. I would like to finish it nice enough and sell. Then maybe I could look for a GTO.

I had a guy approach me several years ago at an all Pontiac show. He had a 1970 lemans convertible. It was really nice. He wanted to trade me for my 77. Both cars were in equal condition. I wasnt ready to let it go for a lemans. If it was a GTO, maybe. I thought he was joking but before the show let out he approached me again. I politely declined. A couple of years later at another all Pontiac show he was there and came up to me. Asked if I remembered him of which I did. He still had the offer on the table. I had to turn him down again.

[roadking77]

Ordered glass on Monday, it was on my doorstep Friday. Minnesota to Maryland, shipping was $50. I didnt think that was too bad.
Well packed, and nowhere on the box did it say fragile, glass, handle with care etc. I suppose they figure if they put that on there it will purposely be damaged
20250215_104104 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250215_104556 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250215_105425 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250215_105707 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250215_113157 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250215_113157 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr

I made a cardboard template to measure the curve of the original and put it against the new piece. It was as perfect a match as could be, so I felt pretty good about that after hearing horror stories about the repro glass. I got the new hardware installed and its ready to go.

I started to put the misc items back on the driver door. I installed the keyless lock actuator, the cleaned door lock/latch, lock rod, outside lock, etc. I bought new nuts for the new door handle but they do not work. I think I read at some point that one of them is metric the other standard. Will have to run into town tomorrow to get the right ones. I installed the window regulator with the new motor. Here is where the fun starts. I DID NOT bench test like I did on the pass side. No reason, just didnt do it. It works ok going up, but it will not go down unless I add some pressure. It looks like everything is clear and I cannot see where it may be binding. It was time to let it sit for the night, look at it with fresh eyes in the morning. I hope I dont have to take it back out but I will if need be.20250215_143955 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250215_144717 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr
New nylon bushings at door lock rod. Door lock was super stiff, but the latch itself was working nicely. I figured it must be the bushings. I took them out and ran a drill through them to open up a bit and a spot of grease. The lock rod works perfect now.
20250215_145928 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr
Here is my ginormous rivet gun

[roadking77]

20250216_122733 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr
The felt rub strip was 'bald' on the window guide channel. This part is riveted into place and I did not want to take it off. I searched hi and lo for replacement 'felt' only to be looking through the Ames catalogue and found they had replacement felt for the window guide clips.

First was to remove the old stuff. I used a razor to cut most of it out. There is a thin metal plate that this stuff attaches to. The edges are folded over the 'felt'. I used a small flat screwdriver to pry it open, then flattened the edges with a pair of plyers after I cleaned everything up.20250216_123824 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250216_123927 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250216_124243 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250216_125221 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr
New piece has a sticky back. I cut to fit, stuck it in place and bent the sides back down with the plyers, a small hammer and a nail set. Not the prettiest thing, I was kinda rushing it but I think it will work just fine. And its better than the wore out piece.

[roadking77]

Got the proper metric nuts for the outside door handle and installed. I drilled the rivets out again, and removed the regulator. I cannot see any reason why it is acting the way it is. I pulled out the old motor and both the old and new one work fine on the bench. I can move the regulator freely on the bench. Hooked up the new motor barely moves it without my help. The old motor will move it but slowly. I am using an old battery charger for power that is 6 amps max. I am hoping that is the problem. Again, I had to leave the shop. Letting it sit may make it better

[5th T/A]

If you are just using a charger and no battery, it may not be enough. Can you measure the output voltage of the charger when you are lowering or raising the window? It should be roughly 12 volts or higher. Can you use a car battery as your power source instead of the. Charger? You should use a fully charged battery that would read 12.5 volts or more with no load on the battery.

[FormTA]

Absolutely. A charger won't run them.

[roadking77]

Yes, talking with Larry we have pretty much decided that the charger hopefully is the problem. Although my charger is putting out a consistent 12V with no load, once hooked to the motor and running the regulator the charger is only putting out about 8V.
That and the fact that I do not have the glass in which would add some counterweight to the spring. I went ahead and put everything back in place, AGAIN. What had me concerned is that the charger worked fine on the pass side. I started wiring up the relays for the window switch. Almost finished with that mess. Once that is done I should be able to operate the windows the way they were meant to be.

[FormTA]

Interesting. Must be a pretty good sized charge. Plus it has to be old if it doesn't have the dang sensing technology. Hopefully it's all good.

[roadking77]

Luke, the battery charger I am using is a Sears model. It has dual output 4 amp and 6 amp. I put my multimeter on it and on the 4 amp setting it was putting out about 9V +/-, on the 6 amp setting it was putting out about 12V +/-. Again under the load of the window motor it did drop off. OLD, I guess you can call it that. I remember 'us kids' giving it to Dad for either his birthday or fathers day one year. Pop has been gone for 22 years I know I was maybe 3rd or 4th grad when we got it. So that would have been 1972/1974 era. Yes, its OLD, LOL.

As far as progress, I got the relays wired up for the window motors. I need to get the main power feed hooked up and the grounds wired together then that will be finished. It got cold here this week (like most places I think) and although I have heat in the shop it wasnt worth firing it up for a couple of hours after work. It takes a good 40 minutes to get up to comfort level at which about that time I would be ready to go back into the house for the evening. I think tomorrow looks like I should have some good shop time. Hope to get some things accomplished.

[roadking77]

20250222_140418 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr
Luke, this is my charger. After all of these years I though it was a Sears , maybe we bought it there? If not there it would have been the local Western Auto.

[roadking77]

20250222_144322 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250222_143935 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250222_143928 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr

Driver door is finished! New glass in, power door lock etc. Everything wired up permanently.
Relays for the windows are finished!
The next big thing is to get the stereo hooked up. I think that should do it for wiring then I can start the closeup of the interior.

[N PRGRES]

Yay!  I need to adjust my drivers side glass and for whatever reason it's just a task I don't want to do

[FormTA]

Looking really good Kerry! That door is perfect! I can't wait to see it all completed! Maybe one day I can drive or maybe Dayton sometime but I want to see both of them!

My large 200A charger on wheels came from Western Auto. Been a minute since I head that name.

[Nexus]

Having the stripe on the door like that, really starts to tie it all together. Also makes it exciting as the end is near!!

Love it!!

[roadking77]

I agree Charlie, it surprised me how much a difference just putting the stripe on made. I cant wait to get the rest of the striped out.

[ryeguy2006a]

Looking great Kerry! Looks like she's getting close to being roadworthy.

[roadking77]

2 tires are just ok and 2 are bad. Not even good enough for me to be comfortable driving down the lane. I started looking a few weeks ago for some new rubber. Once I get new tires on its time for a test drive. Then I saw that my work truck was getting desperate for tires instead. So I ordered 4 new goodyears for that. 3 of which came in yesterday The fedex guy said the 4th one should be around anytime now
This past Monday, my truck died at the job site. Turned the key and nothing. Luckily there was no tow bill as I have AAA. I picked it up from the shop yesterday afternoon all fixed and ready to go. The transmission position switch went bad to the tune of $1300. Needless to say between the tires and the trans the TATA budget is taking a hit for a couple of weeks.

[5th T/A]

Kerry, I hope that dark cloud that has been hanging over all your vehicle issues blows away soon. In the meantime, once your TATA is ready for a quick trip down the road you could always borrow the tires and wheels off your 77.

[roadking77]

Not a bad idea
The 4th tire for my truck arrived today.
TATA work continues: Working on audio. One of the original parts I did not have for the car was the radio. I bought one (I apologize as it has been awhile) from a member on here but forget whom that was. It has been on a shelf in my office for many years now, me patiently staring at it waiting for the day when I can see it in the dash belting out some Lynyrd Skynyrd!!
SO, getting it ready to go I notice that the power plug in the back is missing. There are 3 plugs, 1=power, 2=front speaker, 3=rear speakers. Did some quick looking and found a new compatible plug on Amazon. Got it the other day and of course it was the wrong part. I need the male adapter and I got the female adapter. A quick phone call and I was able to get the part no. of what I needed. Back to amazon and a day later the part is on my stoop. To the shop and a miracle IT FITS I hook up power and another miracle the face lights up No antennae but hooking up the speakers (thanks Larry) I have static. Another good sign. Looking around on the net a bit I found someone that may be able to do a conversion to modern guts and I am strongly thinking about going that route. I am waiting back for answer right now.
I had a buddy that used a guy in FLA and he was very happy with the work, however that particular fellow will not work on a radio with a built in tape player.

[roadking77]

20250304_160334 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr

Radio is in the car and working as it should Albeit it is just temporarily hooked up at this point. 5thTA was kind enough to give me a couple of speakers seen in this pic hooked up. I tried hooking up to the speakers in the car but nothing. SO, I need to dig into that a little deeper. May need to run some new wires. I am leaning towards taking them out and putting the ones I know work in. I need to figure out the wiring a bit better and get my antennae hooked up before I tackle the installation. That will be fun all on its own

There is a fellow on the AACA forum that rebuilds GM antennae's. He informed that there is something plastic inside the power ant. that deteriorates with time and will break. He replaces that with a metal part. He said even though mine is NOS and never used he has still seen them fail. So I sent it off to him for a rebuild. It should be back any day now at which time I can get it hooked up.

[FormTA]

Thats cool. That radio has to be pretty valuable! Would hate to have to source that.

[roadking77]

Luke I was lucky to get it from a member on here a few years ago. I honestly forget who it was I dont think the price was too bad. I was looking on ebay for the wire connector and there are a few on there but most are listed as parts only.
It was actually harder to find the am/fm for my 77 than this one. Speaking of which, the radio in that car has never been hooked up. IF I ever get this silver car finished I would like to put the black one in the shop over the winter and clean up some details that were overlooked the first time around. Getting the radio working is one of those things.
That is one of the reasons why I am trying my hardest to make sure everything is working on the TATA before it leaves the shop.
Most of the original parts came with the car with the exception of a few things and of course they were probably the hardest things to source. Missing parts I had to find:
1. Mirrored T Tops
2. Correct Carb
3. Radio

Fortunately the drive train was complete and original to the car including the 4 speed transmission.

[FormTA]

That awesome! You will have a very valuable car when you're done.
It will also be a stunning car and I don't even like silver cars.

[N PRGRES]

My TA also came with a power antenna although its long since gone as the left front fender was replaced at some point in it's life.  I go back and forth on putting one back into the car just for nostalgia sake.

[roadking77]

In regards to the antennae, the car came with one. I got the NOS from a friend for a favor. It seemed too nice to use so I was going to have my original rebuilt. It looked close but was just different enough from the NOS unit I have. I sent some pics to the guy that was going to rebuild it and he told me it was a Ford unit I drive Ford cars but I will not have Ford parts in my Pontiac, LOL. So it became a no brainer using the new one.
As well all know most of these came with the built in unit in the windshield. From back in the day I remember them barely working ok. Although I like the uncluttered look of a car without a visible antennae. When I bought a replacement windshield it was impossible to find one without the antennae. SO, I will have both in my car


I swapped out the original passenger side glass yesterday with the new one I recently got. I have to say after doing so multiple times, I have that process down pat. I can now do a window swap in about 10 minutes

Luke, I dont mind silver/grey cars but with the TATA I cannot stand the horrible silver seats! At one time I was going to use a dark grey seat but since I have decided to stick with 100% original I will get what is right. Silver/grey is my wifes least favorite colour on a car as well, though she really could care less about this one. She did want me to paint it another colour at one time until I explained the significance of the paint job.

[roadking77]

Got some work done to the car this morning. Installed the NOS 10ohm speakers. Finally took the old window tray trim out. I had to re-wire the connectors on the stock speakers as the wires were cut to short to splice. Took the old connector apart and soldered in the existing speaker wire. Everything is as it left the factory now. I am starting to get to the point of installing trim. Carpet, and interior plastics. This is just about the last step and not a whole lot left to being finished enough to get it on the road.
20250307_101531 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250307_101737 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250307_102912 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr
Aftermarket Pioneer speakers that I took out.20250307_103741 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250307_112435 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250307_112321 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250307_112325 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr

I was surprised and happy to see the bracket in place to hold the jack into place. Rusty in this picture but I have taken it out and painted.

[roadking77]

I got a few things put into place this morning including new rear deck trim temp installed, sill wire covers, door weatherstrip, jack in place and trunk buttoned up again. Also cleaned up the interior trim that I dyed a couple of years ago, had to touch up a couple of pieces and had to dye a rear side panel.
20250308_125323 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250308_140926 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250308_123017 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250308_141225 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250308_115438 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250308_120440 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250308_135553 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250308_122018 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250308_140654 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr

[FormTA]

Looking good! Black hobnail driver seat, odd choice... 😃

[roadking77]

Looking good! Black hobnail driver seat, odd choice... 😃
[/quot
e]
They're much cheaper than what is supposed to be there, LOL.
When I bought this car the interior was literally packed to the underside of the roof. The guy also had a ton of TA parts that I filled my truck with as he had shifted his focus to a boat and didnt want any of the car stuff. I did get 2 pair of seats. The original TATA's that are just shreds and this set of black hobnails. I put that one is a temp. The ONE HUGE purchase I have been putting off is seat covers. So these black ones may have to do for awhile. At this point I have no idea what the lead time is IF I were to order them today? Honestly I have the money saved up in my piggy bank to get the new seats, I just hate spending it I know one of these days I am going to have to get the big hammer out and smash the little guy, but its one of those things I keep putting off.

[N PRGRES]

Looking great!

[roadking77]

Working on int. trim, I retrieved my console from the other garage. Its been sitting there for a couple of years now since I did a rebuild. As a reminder it was literally broke in half. I was going to throw it away but decided to try and salvage for to save a few bucks. I was surprised that it had a couple of cracks where I made the repairs. I am not sure why. I ground out the cracks put some filler in reinforced with fibreglass tape, sanded with 60 gr then 120 gr then touch up with 220 gr. Using all SEM products, I primed, textured, primed again and colour coat. It came out pretty good, again Found my ashtray, it is surprisingly nice on the outside, inside has a bit of rust so its now sitting with rust removal gel. Same thing with my shifter boot metal ring. It was pretty rusty so it will need a little work.
20250313_094853 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr
20250313_094910 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250313_150023 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250315_124710 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250315_141612 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250315_144637 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250315_144633 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250315_140524 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20250315_141829 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr

[5th T/A]

Kerry, forgive me for stepping on your toes here. I don't think people can really appreciate the finished console unless they see what you started with.

2019-03-04_05-19-11 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr

2019-03-04_05-19-19 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr

2019-03-04_05-20-07 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr

[wheels78ta]

Agree 100%.  The work you do to make it look new is amazing.

[N PRGRES]

Awesome job!  I can't wait to see this car done, even with the spendy silver interior

[roadking77]

Not at all Larry! I forgot that it was THAT bad, LOL.

[ryeguy2006a]

Nice work on the interior Kerry! That console looks great compared to what you started with!