EmTee Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 FYI, I had a stubborn coolant leak at the T-stat housing on my Riviera. Turns out someone over tightened the bolts at some point such that they stretched enough to bottom-out in the blind hole in the intake manifold. All further 'tightening' accomplished was twisting the head off of the bolt. Fortunately, there was enough sticking out of the hole for me to grab with my Vice Grips... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom M Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 (edited) 22 hours ago, TAKerry said: To finish up this novel I found that the tower clamp (which I had on there for authenticity) which I re-used at least twice was not holding. Kerry, I had purchased tower clamps from a well known vendor and also have run into these new tower clamps not holding. I too had to reuse the band style clamps on some of the hoses. Glad to see you found your issues as well and moving forward with your project. Keep at it. Edited July 7 by Tom M (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 7 Author Share Posted July 7 6 hours ago, EmTee said: FYI, I had a stubborn coolant leak at the T-stat housing on my Riviera. Turns out someone over tightened the bolts at some point such that they stretched enough to bottom-out in the blind hole in the intake manifold. All further 'tightening' accomplished was twisting the head off of the bolt. Fortunately, there was enough sticking out of the hole for me to grab with my Vice Grips... I thought that may have been what I was up against. I guess I got lucky this time around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 On 7/6/2024 at 4:45 PM, TAKerry said: I suppose I will have to sacrifice 4 points but I want function before form. You might try slipping the tower clamp on the hose behind (inside) the worm-gear clamp. Use the worm-gear clamp to seal the hose, as you have it now, but leave the tower clamp there just snug enough so it doesn't move. Wait a couple hundred miles until the hose has taken a 'set' (i.e., has welded itself to the nipple), then remove the worm-gear clamp, slip the tower clamp into the position where the other clamp was and then tighten it down. I'll bet that will hold since the initial clamping and compression of the hose was accomplished by the worm-gear clamp. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 15 Author Share Posted July 15 No leak for a couple of weeks now, that issue has been put to bed. I only wish that Matt H could solve the water problem with Lincoln as easy! I got the long awaited parts in for my exhaust. Everything has been cut to fit and is sitting in place. I need to figure out the hangers before I go any further. I hate to have too many irons in the fire at once, and prefer to get one task as close to finish before I start the next, but decided to go ahead and start the front sheet metal. Had to take the fender outside and wash a couple of years of dust off. Got the inners installed and the pass side fender. Parts are just loosely bolted in place until I can get everything on and aligned. Fender, front end and hood alignment on these cars is a bear to say the least. I have done it enough times now that I am not intimidated, just careful and methodical. 20240712_161526 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240712_165916 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240713_164047 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240713_170216 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 Beginning to look like a car again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 Indeed! Kerry I haven't thought about replacing the pass fender on my HS 71 Camaro in a long time. It wasn't too bad but hanging the whole nose I know is more involved. I took care of both a dent and dreaded rust at the bottom rear of the fender. My (blue) car is mostly obscured here. The car in foreground was a classmates. He rolled it afyer this pic at my house in 79 or 80. Well, the only untouched panel was...the RF fender!! I bought a ton of stuff from that car but cannot recall most of it now... Your car is looking great!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 15 Author Share Posted July 15 3 hours ago, EmTee said: Beginning to look like a car again! When I restored my 77 I had it on the rotisserie. My daughter came by the house and made a comment that she didnt know a car could even look like it did. It was just the body shell. My older brother stopped by, walked in the garage, looked around a bit then said "I hope you know how that thing goes back together" then turned around and walked away. Those words were and are my inspiration to follow through the project till the end and the car is driving down the road. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 (edited) 20240720_170159 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240718_133216 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240718_133358 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240718_133415 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Go the dr side cleaned up and installed. The Tenth Anniv. car was the top of the line Trans Am. It had a power antennae located in the front fender. All others had the built in wire in the windshield. I did a favor for a buddy of mine and he gifted me this NOS unit, still in the box and complete with instructions. Its too nice to use and people ask stupid money for these in the box, I almost dont want to use it! But there are no exact repro's made so I suppose I will have to bite the bullet and use it. Edited July 22 by TAKerry (see edit history) 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 20240723_103514 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240723_102912 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Set the hood in place for alignment. Front edges of the fenders needed to come in just a fraction but other than that things looked good. I am trying to get the nose put on today or tomorrow but I have a few small things that need to be done first. The silver hood is an original Tenth ann. hood that I plan on using for wall art. I will be using the black hood. They both need about the same amount of work. This is the one part that I have yet to paint. I had been planning on getting a better hood all along but finally gave up. The used ones are not as plentiful as they once were. I had about 8 of them at one time, some really nice that were lost in my fire. I have heard both good and bad about the repro's and would rather take my chance on this one than spending hundreds of dollars on junk. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 20240724_143217 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240724_150502 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240724_152415 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240724_152415 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240724_155307 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240724_155342 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240724_145429 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Got a little more accomplished. The stripe tape was put on before the wheel flares so I did it the same way. Unfortunately they do not make a 'pre molded stripe kit' for this car anymore, and all they have is roll striping. I talked to the guys at Phoenix Graphic and they said originally the cars were striped with a roll and not pre bent stuff so that much is fine. However I have looked at dozens of original paint cars and the termination end of the striping is a pre-made arrow point. At each one within about 6 inches is where the roll stripes meet up. So now I have to figure out how to terminate the ends. I made a mockup but it needs to be tweaked just a bit. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 22 hours ago, TAKerry said: 20240724_143217 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240724_150502 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240724_152415 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240724_152415 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240724_155307 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240724_155342 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240724_145429 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Got a little more accomplished. The stripe tape was put on before the wheel flares so I did it the same way. Unfortunately they do not make a 'pre molded stripe kit' for this car anymore, and all they have is roll striping. I talked to the guys at Phoenix Graphic and they said originally the cars were striped with a roll and not pre bent stuff so that much is fine. However I have looked at dozens of original paint cars and the termination end of the striping is a pre-made arrow point. At each one within about 6 inches is where the roll stripes meet up. So now I have to figure out how to terminate the ends. I made a mockup but it needs to be tweaked just a bit. Nice work. When I did mine many years ago the pre molded stripe pieces were still available at the dealer but were crazy expensive so I did it with roll tape - only they did not have a combined red and black so I had to do it all with separate rolls! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 25 Author Share Posted July 25 2 minutes ago, TexRiv_63 said: Nice work. When I did mine many years ago the pre molded stripe pieces were still available at the dealer but were crazy expensive so I did it with roll tape - only they did not have a combined red and black so I had to do it all with separate rolls! YIKES! That doesnt sound like a whole lot of fun. I would never have imagined that they pre moulded stuff would not be available. About a year ago someone posted on a trans am forum that it was no longer. I panicked and called Phoenix Graphics, the go to guys. They did confirm no more pre moulded and no idea if and when it was going to be available. They did still have the roll's so I bought a couple of them. The top clear holds the 2 colours in place but once you apply them the top layer peels off and they are actually 2 separate lines. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 29 Author Share Posted July 29 20240728_144210 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Front is now bolted in place and finished! A major milestone. I have a little to do to get the underside buttoned up then I suppose I will be ready to start the interior! 13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 Looking good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 29 Author Share Posted July 29 Thanks Don. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted August 30 Author Share Posted August 30 20240806_183936 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240810_115440 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240822_105623 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr I have been working on getting the hood ready for paint. Last big piece of the puzzle. I had been holding our for something better but in the end decided to bite the bullet and put this one to service. I have 3, this is the best of the bunch. Repros are expensive, I have heard complaints about them not fitting correctly and the gauge of the metal is thinner. That is the big reason to re-use an old one. I had a little bit of 'bondo' work to do on this, everything is ready for the next coat of primer. Too damp right now to do so but it looks like Monday might be good. 20240822_151457 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240822_111208 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr The girls wore out from a hard days work in the shop! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted August 30 Author Share Posted August 30 20240830_114200 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240830_123615 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240830_130530 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr This was the only bad spot on the hood. Cut out and weld in a new metal patch. Clean up with a little bondo and a couple shots of primer. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom C Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 You are doing great work ! Enjoy it while you can. You will miss the work when it’s completed. I know I did! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted August 30 Author Share Posted August 30 1 hour ago, Tom C said: You are doing great work ! Enjoy it while you can. You will miss the work when it’s completed. I know I did! Fortunately I have a car (1977 Trans Am) that I can drive and enjoy during this long drawn out episode. For the most part I enjoy working on these as much as driving around. I do have another project waiting in the wings once I finish this. Working in the shop keeps me off the streets, LOL. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursst Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 You picked one of the hardest cars to restore, but looks like it's coming through beautifully! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted August 31 Author Share Posted August 31 Its not overly hard but as far as trans am's go, it is by far the most expensive one to restore! Its crazy being a 1979 and the support that Trans Ams have, that there are quite a few parts that are very hard to find. These were collectible from new, and I think a lot of them were more well cared for than the average t/a. There seems to be a high survival rate. That and the parts are so expensive = not many people restoring this model. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted Friday at 07:50 PM Author Share Posted Friday at 07:50 PM 20240831_135605 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20240903_165106 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240903_171504 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Hood has been ready for paint for awhile now. I spoke with the paint store today and they told me the material will be shipped today. I should have it by mid week. In the meantime I made a template off of an original paint hood that will become wall art at some point. The hood is two tone, I am planning on putting on one colour, then when that has dried a bit I will reverse templates and paint the other colour followed by clear coat over the entire thing. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted Friday at 07:54 PM Author Share Posted Friday at 07:54 PM 20240905_145620 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20240905_145944 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20240905_153604 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20240905_154028 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr I took a break from the big stuff to restore the spare tire inflator bottle. My last pic of it in final colour did not download so I will have to post it later. It was pitted pretty bad so I used high build primer and a coat of glazing putting. Turned out pretty nice. I ordered a new decal but it was wrong so one that is closer to original has been ordered. I could not find an exact sadly enough. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted Friday at 07:59 PM Author Share Posted Friday at 07:59 PM 20240919_085004 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr My latest struggle is again with brakes😬 They were one thing I knew next to nothing about before this resto. I am quickly becoming an expert! I think the manufacturer marked them wrong causing me to put a pass. side caliper on the dr side. I went to hook up the park brake and found the dr. side clip was facing the wrong way! I had another new caliper on the shelf so I pulled it out to see what was going on. In the pic, the one on the far left is the original that came off the dr. side, marked L. The one in the middle is a new replacement, clearly marked R. The one on the right end is also a new replacement marked L. If I had known from the beginning how the park brake worked I would have known just by looking at it that it was wrong, I will know for the next time. So now I need to address the caliper issue to get the park break hooked up. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted Friday at 08:00 PM Author Share Posted Friday at 08:00 PM 20240920_154211 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20240920_154216 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr20240920_154239 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr I finally got around to ordering a replacement window sticker and epa sticker. These are very high quality. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom C Posted Friday at 09:24 PM Share Posted Friday at 09:24 PM Cool, I like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt G Posted Friday at 09:34 PM Share Posted Friday at 09:34 PM You have an outstanding car and are doing incredible work. WOW. thank you for sharing all of this with us. Just to see all the tubes/wiring etc that is under the hood reinforces my choice to stick with pre WWII era cars and as age sets in perhaps go up into the post war era to 1956 or so pre government regulated era. We all have our own passion. I would be completely lost working on something like you are. Thanks again for taking the time to share all of this with us. Walt 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted Friday at 11:04 PM Author Share Posted Friday at 11:04 PM Interesting side note, The 4 speed car stickered for more than the automatic, however when the 4 speed box was checked there was a cruise control delete, which showed up as a credit. The bottom line was, the 4 speed ended up costing just a bit less than the automatic. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted 19 hours ago Share Posted 19 hours ago 22 hours ago, TAKerry said: 20240919_085004 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr My latest struggle is again with brakes😬 They were one thing I knew next to nothing about before this resto. I am quickly becoming an expert! I think the manufacturer marked them wrong causing me to put a pass. side caliper on the dr side. I went to hook up the park brake and found the dr. side clip was facing the wrong way! I had another new caliper on the shelf so I pulled it out to see what was going on. In the pic, the one on the far left is the original that came off the dr. side, marked L. The one in the middle is a new replacement, clearly marked R. The one on the right end is also a new replacement marked L. If I had known from the beginning how the park brake worked I would have known just by looking at it that it was wrong, I will know for the next time. So now I need to address the caliper issue to get the park break hooked up. The rear caliper design with the parking brake integrated into the piston was also used on the 1979 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, which was the basis for a station wagon conversion I owned for many years. I also had nothing but trouble with these, trying to rebuild them or buying reman units multiple times but constantly getting leaks and failures. I found out the only way to solve it was by installing brand new pistons or calipers which were still available from GM at that time (1990s). Where did you find the new calipers? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted 17 hours ago Author Share Posted 17 hours ago Nice Fleetwood wagon! My grandmother would get a new Fleetwood broughm every 2 years. It turned out I put the wrong side caliper on the driver side, it was clearly marked R. I ended up removing it and putting the replacement part I had on. It worked perfect. All of the Firebird supply houses say that the rear calipers are no longer available. Some wont even sell a replacement. The fronts at least up to a year or so ago were still available (may still be, I just havent checked) and could be bought readily from NAPA and such. I suppose because all of the second gens had front disc brakes and only a select no. had rear disc. I bought the first set of rears from a specialty house that sold them as direct fit replacements but not correct. I had a lot of problems (again, mostly self imposed from my ignorance on the topic) getting the lines hooked up last winter. So I ordered a new set that compared to my original ended up being an exact copy! So, I found by accident that there are replacements available for the rears!! I honestly cant remember where I got them from as I was sourcing fittings from all over the place. It may have been EBAY? When I compared the first one I had on it was nowhere near close to the original. Now I need to get it bled and I can move on to the pass side. I am curious as to what I will find there🤔 although my first glance I think it looked correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted 17 hours ago Author Share Posted 17 hours ago 22 hours ago, Walt G said: You have an outstanding car and are doing incredible work. WOW. thank you for sharing all of this with us. Just to see all the tubes/wiring etc that is under the hood reinforces my choice to stick with pre WWII era cars and as age sets in perhaps go up into the post war era to 1956 or so pre government regulated era. We all have our own passion. I would be completely lost working on something like you are. Thanks again for taking the time to share all of this with us. Walt Thanks for the kind words and encouragement Walt. I think one of the great things about this forum is the diversity. I go on a Trans Am specific forum as well and it is nice as most of the members there have experience with the same type of car. Troubleshooting something usually gets a few answers and some of them are right, LOL. But the AACA forum is great as I can learn about a pre war car whether mechanical or its history from someone as knowledgeable as you. Someone like yourself that has little interest in 'modern cars' can gain a bit of insight as well, as to what we go through during a restoration process. I think we all end up with the same in a finished auto but some of the steps in the process can be different. Its nice to see what others are going through even though we may never attempt to do that type of a restoration. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom C Posted 16 hours ago Share Posted 16 hours ago Well said TA . I have to tell you, just separated by 10 years, your restoration is so much more tedious than mine was. I certainly admire your patience and attention to detail. I can appreciate the feelings of walking away from the big stuff for a bit to work on things like the inflator bottle and other small items that will never go unnoticed in the end. Superior work ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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