TAKerry Posted September 14, 2023 Author Share Posted September 14, 2023 Those pics look great! I have had the dr. side metal off for a couple of years now, contemplating the pass side, looking at what needs to be done to remove the stuff, a couple of bolts. Decided may as well take it all off for easier access. IF I had to leave it in place that would be ok, but I wont really be out anything with removal. The panel alignment on these cars is a nightmare at best, I have done it enough to know the nuances, so that takes a bit of the angst away. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted September 19, 2023 Author Share Posted September 19, 2023 2023-09-19_02-29-45 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr After a very long wait (seems to be a theme with this car) I got the dash bezel back today. The guy did a phenomenal job with it. One more piece to the puzzle 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted September 19, 2023 Share Posted September 19, 2023 Very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drhach Posted September 19, 2023 Share Posted September 19, 2023 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted September 19, 2023 Author Share Posted September 19, 2023 2023-09-19_06-35-19 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr And with the trim rings. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95Cardinal Posted September 19, 2023 Share Posted September 19, 2023 Nice jewelry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted November 22, 2023 Author Share Posted November 22, 2023 2023-11-22_10-00-33 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Motor fought me all the way but it is finally installed. I am working on getting the electric and vacuum lines hooked up. Engine harness had been hacked up so I got a new one. Went in perfect. The shame is the front harness is in great condition and with the cost of these, does not warrant a new one. It would look so pretty if it were new though! 2023-11-22_10-00-43 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2023-11-22_10-00-55 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Jake Moran Posted November 29, 2023 Share Posted November 29, 2023 I came in this section and I do not visit often. I happened upon your story here. I have located a similar car with low miles that would need restoration for asking $7200. I doubt I buy it to restore, but am actively looking for a 79-81 Trans Am, Formula or Camaro Z28. I will follow your restoration of this worthy car. I had a 79 Trans Am brought up from Arizona 10 years ago and did not do a thing with it, sold it cheap. Big mistake. It also came with some 10th Anniversary parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted December 6, 2023 Author Share Posted December 6, 2023 For those years, a Trans Am will be more expensive and have a stronger value than a Z compared car to car (unlike the earlier years where the Camaro is King). Is the 7200 car a Tenth Anniv. ? Depending on the overall condition that may be priced a little on the high side. Trans Ams are relatively cheap to restore, (at least they were), but the Tenth is by far THE most expensive one to do. I had always joked I would never restore a tenth car but here I am stuck in the middle. The 79 was the high water mark for Trans Ams and there are lots of them out there. The 80 is not as desirable because of the motor combination same for the 81 and not a lot of 81's compared were made. The three look the same, If it were me I would stick with finding a nice 79. 4 speed trans were very limited and will command a premium. I am very close to getting things buttoned up on the motor to have it running. I am currently working on a large job of restoring a pile of 19th century shutters which is creating havoc in my shop. The car is buttoned up tight to prevent dust from getting into everything. Once these are done I can get back to the car stuff. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted December 6, 2023 Share Posted December 6, 2023 I would stop at 79 with the Trans Am. And then stop at 80 with the Z 28 both because of the engine transmission combinations that you could get. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianV Posted December 26, 2023 Share Posted December 26, 2023 On 6/16/2020 at 9:33 AM, TAKerry said: 2019-03-08_12-28-51 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Temp straps to hold it in shape. 2019-03-04_05-18-32 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2019-03-08_12-27-23 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr2019-03-08_12-27-30 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2019-03-08_05-14-57 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr2019-03-08_05-14-43 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2019-03-08_12-27-37 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2019-03-08_05-13-59 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr I know this post was a few years ago...I just found your project and started to follow. I owned 10th anniversary Trans Am four-speed 400 for almost 20 years now. I redid the engine and transmission 17 years ago and am about to begin restoring the interior. My console is in a little better shape than the one you have in these pictures, but still need some work. Did you use the same product to fix the broken areas that you used on the dash? Would you be willing to share what products you used to restore the center console? Nice work on everything and I am incredibly impressed by your craftsmanship. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted December 27, 2023 Author Share Posted December 27, 2023 Hi Brian, glad to hear of another 10th out there. When you get a few more posts send me a pm. I have compiled a Tenth Anniversary Registry. I have over a hundred cars now and would love to add yours to the list. The console was basically trash before I started. I was looking for a replacement but used in good condition were not to be found and I have heard too many stories about repro stuff not being up to snuff. I felt I had nothing to loose trying a repair. It was literally broke in half. I put it back together in the correct alignment and bolted the 'plates' to hold it in place. The back side was fibreglassed for reinforcement. The underlying structure is a hard plastic. For the surface repairs I used 'Polyvance-padded dash filler'. It works just like bondo, it gets hard to sand into shape but stays flexible enough not to crack on the finished product. A few thin coats sanding in between to get things just right. Once that was done I used all SEM products for the finish, starting with a primer, then a light texture coat, followed by the colour coat (I would have to look at my file to see what colour it is) then topped off with a satin clear. For the filler, it comes in a very small can, I think I used one and a half on the console, and its a bit pricey. Mix about the size of a quarter then use it. It sets up super quick. Although a small can cost something like $40 or so, I think I have less than $100 into the repair of this or any dash I have done. To date I have re-done 5 dashes and 6 or so years on they still look good. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianV Posted December 28, 2023 Share Posted December 28, 2023 14 hours ago, TAKerry said: Hi Brian, glad to hear of another 10th out there. When you get a few more posts send me a pm. I have compiled a Tenth Anniversary Registry. I have over a hundred cars now and would love to add yours to the list. The console was basically trash before I started. I was looking for a replacement but used in good condition were not to be found and I have heard too many stories about repro stuff not being up to snuff. I felt I had nothing to loose trying a repair. It was literally broke in half. I put it back together in the correct alignment and bolted the 'plates' to hold it in place. The back side was fibreglassed for reinforcement. The underlying structure is a hard plastic. For the surface repairs I used 'Polyvance-padded dash filler'. It works just like bondo, it gets hard to sand into shape but stays flexible enough not to crack on the finished product. A few thin coats sanding in between to get things just right. Once that was done I used all SEM products for the finish, starting with a primer, then a light texture coat, followed by the colour coat (I would have to look at my file to see what colour it is) then topped off with a satin clear. For the filler, it comes in a very small can, I think I used one and a half on the console, and its a bit pricey. Mix about the size of a quarter then use it. It sets up super quick. Although a small can cost something like $40 or so, I think I have less than $100 into the repair of this or any dash I have done. To date I have re-done 5 dashes and 6 or so years on they still look good. Thank you very much, sir, and I will work on getting you that dm with details. I really appreciate you responding so quickly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted March 14 Author Share Posted March 14 20240202_110502 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Took the gas pedal out and cleaned and painted then re-installed. I find these little things are a bit therapeutic when big stuff slows you down. 20240202_134334 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240223_132740 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240223_135505 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr A bit of a search to find the correct vacuum tree for the back of the carb. Finding one with the hard line to the brake booster was the tricky part. 20240303_150313 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Just about everything is ready to go engine wise. I had a bit of a struggle with the vacuum lines and finding the correct switches etc. Everything in place now. I got all of the new fluids last week and ready to install and get things fired up. 20240314_165818 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Got the steering column installed tonight. First time I have seen this in place as it was out of the car when I bought it. 20240314_171043 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Did a quick hook up of the battery, just because and lo and behold the footwell lights work! Thats one step in the positive direction. I tried getting the hurst shifter bolted to the transmission. Previously there was some too small through bolts, so I bought some bigger bolts. Went to install and realized that the linkage on the trans. is threaded. I went through my pile of bolts and could not find one that fit correctly, so its on my to do list for tomorrow. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 After many tries with every type of bolt I could muster up, I finally bought a tap, cleaned out the hole and installed new bolts in the shifter handle. All fluids in and ready for the big test. Key in ignition....................and ....................NOTHING! I was disappointed but not completely surprised. I figured it would not fire just because that is my luck. Went back under the dash, checked wire connections, fuses, etc. found nothing. Still have int. lights when the battery is connected as well as the clock is running, all good. As I backed off in disgust my son said 'maybe you should try pushing in the clutch?' 'No, they did not have that feature when this car was made.' 'OK, but I think I would try it anyway' 'Wont make any difference, something is messed up with the wiring' SO, I got a remote starter and figured I would start at the base point. VIOLA! Fire to the motor! So now I at least know it will fire off. Did some investigation, made a call to a trusted friend/mechanic and as he is going down the check list of what to look for he briefly mentioned "Did you check the clutch switch?" Epilogue: Out to the car, hook up the battery, get in, push the clutch to the floor and YES, it has a clutch switch and it fired off flawlessly! Now to put some gas in the tank and get it running. Kind of appropriate as the build date of the car is the 4th week of March. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom M Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 Beautiful Looking forward to seeing some outdoor photos of it. 😎 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 At least it was simple fix. 😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted April 1 Author Share Posted April 1 Gas in the tank and motor is running! I have a leak at the t stat housing, may be a bad gasket will have to address that next then on to getting things buttoned up. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted April 7 Author Share Posted April 7 Gasket was fine, installer (me) goofed it up. My builder had the stat housing in the wrong direction. So I took it off to locate it correctly as well as paint. He had the gasket in place so I let it be. First time installer🤪I put the stat on top of the gasket. Not until I took things apart and took the original gasket off did I realize that there is a recess in the manifold for it. Put back together correctly this time and had about a 5 minute run with no problems. Next big thing is the exhaust however I need to get the drive shaft in first. New UJoints, no problem. Or so I thought. This thing seems to fight me at every step. The factory set them in some kind of wax, I melted that out but still need a press to remove them. One thing I do not own, so off to the shop tomorrow to take them out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 52 minutes ago, TAKerry said: still need a press to remove them I use my bench vice, though some people use a BFH for removal. I would never use a hammer for installation... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted April 8 Author Share Posted April 8 I tapped somewhat gently with a hammer and they didnt budge. I figured a press would make the job much easier. My shop will change them out for a minimal cost. I decided to clean up the mess of stay dri from the coolant leak. While doing so I found my heater is leaking! New one ordered will be here on thurs, not a fun thing to change but better now than after the interior is in. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted April 9 Author Share Posted April 9 Took the heater box out tonight. Actually a blessing in disguise. It was a mess. Rodent home, rust and dirt. Cleaned, painted some parts and did some derusting. Had to re do a vacuum port/switch thingy to get it working, the one line leading to it was crapped out so I changed that as well. Core supposed to be here thurs. hoping to get it buttoned back up over the weekend. 20240409_164312 by 20240409_165226 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickrhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/156399515@N07/]Kerry Grubb[/url], on Flickr20240409_165235 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240409_172515 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240409_180316 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 20240409_182020 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted April 11 Author Share Posted April 11 20240411_132146 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr New heater core arrived today. Ordered from napa. Supplier A - $130 B - $100 Napa - $60 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted April 12 Author Share Posted April 12 20240411_200634 20240411_200310 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickrby Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Heater box is all finished. I dug into my shop manual last night for a better understanding of what makes all of the doors work as well as when they will work. Need some clean up under the dash then I can re-install. I used a combination of roloc, evaporust, then silver paint on the metal, used simple green on the plastic. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 Looks good! You'll be glad later this summer that you got all of that mouse-related paraphernalia out of there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 Did you check all your vacuum blend doors to make sure there's no leaks? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted April 12 Author Share Posted April 12 3 hours ago, Laughing Coyote said: Did you check all your vacuum blend doors to make sure there's no leaks? Yes I put a bit of air to each valve and everything operated as it should. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted April 12 Author Share Posted April 12 Can someone tell me if an aluminum heater core is more or less efficient than the original copper heater core? It really doesnt make a difference to me as I doubt the car will be driven that much when a lot of heat is needed. The heater in my 77 doesnt even work and I have made out fine with that one. Just a curiosity as to the material difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted April 13 Share Posted April 13 (edited) Found these: https://markhammetals.com/copper-vs-aluminum-which-is-the-better-conductor-of-heat/ https://www.alusat.com/conductor-aluminum-or-copper/ Thermal performance of copper is better and coefficient of expansion is less, so I'd expect joints to last longer. Aluminum is less expensive, but if the part is engineered properly I wouldn't expect that you'd notice any difference in heater performance. I think more aluminum pieces show up today because of cost and the fact that modern antifreeze additive packages are better able to handle the dissimilar metal corrosion problem. If it were me, I'd probably go with a copper core if given a choice, however, I don't think I'd loose any sleep if all I could find was aluminum. What was wrong with the original one? Could it be reconditioned (assuming it was copper)? Edited April 13 by EmTee (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted April 13 Share Posted April 13 Aluminum is typically used in performance radiators to allow the material to be thinner so heat can be transferred more readily. So I guess that and more fins. The thermal transfer is less than copper but made up for by the extra fins. At least this is was always what I thought. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted April 14 Author Share Posted April 14 One of the tubes was broken loose. At first I thought that it could be repaired. It doesnt look like the unit itself has any leaks. There is a radiator shop near me that I thought about taking it to. I have experience soldering copper plumbing pipe and also thought about that. I would not mind getting it fixed just as a spare, but hopefully I wont be needing it. The packrat in me doesnt want to throw it away. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 1 hour ago, TAKerry said: I would not mind getting it fixed just as a spare, but hopefully I wont be needing it. The packrat in me doesnt want to throw it away. That's probably what I'd wind-up doing as well. If there's a shop who can fix it, I'd do it now rather than waiting until I need it later. The local repair option may be unavailable or certainly more expensive later. Besides, given that your screen name begins with "TA", do you really think this will be your last one... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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