8E45E Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 That car is starting to look great! It is one of the very few Malaise era cars I actually like. Craig 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 11, 2021 Author Share Posted July 11, 2021 2021-07-11_02-13-56 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr New fuel tank, all cleaned, cleared, and plumbed. Waiting on the install of the rear before it can go back in. 2021-07-11_02-14-12 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Rear end to date. I sent the break plates and the spring perches to be powder coated. Once theyre back I can finish this up and re-install. Then put the tank back in, and everything underneath will be refreshed, new and FINISHED!! Put the wheels back on and I can start the interior work, whilst waiting for the motor.2021-07-11_02-14-20 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Bench full of parts waiting in line. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 11, 2021 Author Share Posted July 11, 2021 2021-07-11_02-13-47 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr The latest edition to my shop. 30" fan from Harbor freight, was around $100. So far worth every penny. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 29, 2021 Author Share Posted July 29, 2021 2021-07-28_06-46-42 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Got the mounting brackets back from powder coater. Need to hook up the lines and this can go back under the car. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95Cardinal Posted July 29, 2021 Share Posted July 29, 2021 Looking great, Kerry. What coating did you use on the axle tubes and differential cover? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 29, 2021 Author Share Posted July 29, 2021 Eastwood 2k steel. Its supposed to mimic the look of bare steel, but IMO its just paint, not even close. The sway bar is bare steel coated with shark hide. I wanted to bare steel those parts but they were pitted just too bad. So a bit of filler and paint. The hub is original cast with shark hide. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted August 13, 2021 Author Share Posted August 13, 2021 2021-08-10_03-56-42 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Rear end and gas tank has been installed. Time to get the car back on its feet and start to work on the int. stuff. I am happy to mostly be done with laying on back covered in dirt and grease whilst working on the bottom of this beast. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom M Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 Kerry, Looking good. Keep it up you will have it running by the end of summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted August 20, 2021 Author Share Posted August 20, 2021 Tom, Thanks but wishfull thinking. IF by the end of autumn I would be happy at this point. My motor has been stuck in Machinist Jail since January! Stopped by the shop an hour ago to get an update, builder wasnt there so no luck. Not that Im worried (too much) but the shop bay where he was rebuilding motors, with at least 7 or 8 lined up, now is devoid of any motor building activity and has a car parked in there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9 Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 (edited) Keep the faith brother. That car is gonna be a beauty when done. I remember a friend owned one brand new back in the day. The silver leather was too cool. He kept real good care of it. Good luck with your motor guy. Edited September 3, 2021 by Steve9 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted September 5, 2021 Author Share Posted September 5, 2021 Thanks Steve. A couple of things going in my favor are 1. I am very patient 2. I am very stubborn. I have been super busy with work, weather has been unbearable, at least to me, and I have been spending my free time trying to find a new truck. Got the new truck yesterday, and autumn weather seems to be upon us. I can get back to work in the shop now. Im not worried about the motor at this point. I know the guy very well, and not really in a big hurry so I dont bother him a lot. He is an active drag racer and I know his schedule is tight during the summer. That is one of the reasons that everyone (me included) takes stuff to him over the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted October 26, 2021 Author Share Posted October 26, 2021 2021-10-20_03-45-22 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2021-10-20_03-46-34 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2021-10-20_03-46-47 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2021-10-26_11-46-16 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2021-10-26_11-46-36 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2021-10-26_11-46-25 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Have been working on getting the interior put together. Had to make a new headliner board, new material and installed. I have been dying some parts I have, had to get some new trim that came in today. Still waiting on the carpet to get here. I have all of the trim parts now to button things up on the inside. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted November 2, 2021 Author Share Posted November 2, 2021 2021-11-01_02-45-20 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr New t top trim dyed and ready to go. 2021-11-01_02-23-32 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2021-11-01_02-23-20 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr New windshield installed yesterday. 2021-11-01_11-51-25 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr And I got a package of gold (really silver) delivered Friday. I got lucky with the door panels, every vendor was out. I got the last available pair in the country! I spoke with the good folks at legendary and they told me at least 8 months to get a pair made. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2Wrench Posted November 2, 2021 Share Posted November 2, 2021 (edited) There will be new pandemic in 8 months so you can imagine the delay would really be forever. You're doing a great job, can't wait to see it complete! Edited November 2, 2021 by Luv2Wrench (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted December 26, 2022 Author Share Posted December 26, 2022 Not a whole lot going on for the last year! I took my motor to the builder Jan 5, 2020! He sent me a pic on Christmas Eve of his progress. He is all but finished with it, YAY!! I dropped off the carb to him last week so he can rebuild it. I have had it on my workbench for the last couple of years. 1979 was the last year Pontiac used a branded motor. The only way to get the 400 was with a 4 speed. Very few were made that way. The carb is specific and highly desirable. I looked for quite a while before I found one and did not want it out of my sight!! That was one of the few original pieces to the motor that was missing. For the motor, the original intake was cracked so I went with an aftermarket aluminum job. Same with the water pump. I sold off the original exhaust manifolds to a buddy that is also building a 79 4 sp car. He wanted a date correct part as his were missing. I had intended on using a repro manifold but they are on back order for many months now. Now I need to find another pair someplace! The block itself was very rusty and I had my concerns of it even being serviceable, luckily enough it was as thats where the value of this car is. He warmed it over a bit from stock and I am excited to see and hear it run. Before he turns it back to me he is going to put it on the dyno. He painted it the wrong colour, but that is easily changed. Hoping to get it back very soon and progress can start to go forward again on this project. 2022-12-23_07-32-42 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 Looks good - I'd shave the 'Edelbrock' from the intake before you repaint the engine. Where did you get the new door panels, SMS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted December 27, 2022 Author Share Posted December 27, 2022 I did ask him if he could get the name off of the intake, but at this point I dont want to be overly picky, LOL. A year ago around Oct I think I started to look for interior parts. Basically 2 companies make interiors for these cars. PUI and Legendary. The PUI stuff is ok but not always 'correct' and imo not 'show worthy'. Legendary IS as correct as can be and def. a higher quality but you pay for that. I wanted the Legendary products, I have them in my black car and am very happy with service and quality of their parts. Anyway, the Tenth Anniv. stuff was sold out everywhere. I even called Legendary direct and they gave me an estimated delivery date of 8 months out. I figured by that time my car would be on the road (boy was I naive) so decided to try and save my original pair. I found online that Classic Industries was showing one pair, I called and the guy checked while I was on the phone and lo and behold they had one pair left which I bought immediately. They are still sitting in the box in my bedroom🥴. For the past couple of years I have been getting a end of year sale flyer from Legendary with 10 - 15% off. I have been holding out for this years sale to order the leather seat covers but have not seen anything yet. I guess I will have to bite the bullet and pay full price. That is the last item I need for the interior. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 (edited) Hi Kerry, I don't know how I missed this thread but I am now subscribed. I had a four speed car back in the 80s that I did a partial restoration on but nothing to the extent you have done! Looking forward to the rest, can't wait to see how you handle the 3 piece hood bird... Edited December 30, 2022 by TexRiv_63 add photo (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted December 30, 2022 Author Share Posted December 30, 2022 Glad I reeled you in Tex! Hopefully the motor will be back home very soon now and I can start to progress. I would like to have it on the road this summer, would love to have it at Hershey for the show! As for the bird, all I can say is 'I aint skeered none!' LOL. When I did the the bird on my 77 I was very apprehensive. Finally worked up the nerve, had my son help me with it. Came out perfect and I told Ali (my son) that I had no idea what I was worried over. Went out the next day and it looked like the surface of the moon. More bubbles than a glass of champagne. I was sick, and my first thought was to rip it off before it set too hard. I started with a squeegy working everything to an edge. It did ok but was not the answer. A couple were large enough I poked a hole with a needle and went to work like they were big zits. Then upon encouragement from others in the know, I parked it in the sun everyday for about a week. Then started to drive. Between the sun beating down on it and the heat from the motor it straightened out perfectly flat. So now I know better! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted December 31, 2022 Share Posted December 31, 2022 22 hours ago, TAKerry said: Glad I reeled you in Tex! Hopefully the motor will be back home very soon now and I can start to progress. I would like to have it on the road this summer, would love to have it at Hershey for the show! As for the bird, all I can say is 'I aint skeered none!' LOL. When I did the the bird on my 77 I was very apprehensive. Finally worked up the nerve, had my son help me with it. Came out perfect and I told Ali (my son) that I had no idea what I was worried over. Went out the next day and it looked like the surface of the moon. More bubbles than a glass of champagne. I was sick, and my first thought was to rip it off before it set too hard. I started with a squeegy working everything to an edge. It did ok but was not the answer. A couple were large enough I poked a hole with a needle and went to work like they were big zits. Then upon encouragement from others in the know, I parked it in the sun everyday for about a week. Then started to drive. Between the sun beating down on it and the heat from the motor it straightened out perfectly flat. So now I know better! When I did my TA I was still able to order all the decals at the dealer. I bought all the nametags and the bird but I did all the outline tape striping myself even though it was all factory available at the time. I broke down and paid a dealership guy to come out and apply the bird and felt it was money well spent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted June 11, 2023 Author Share Posted June 11, 2023 (edited) 2020-12-10_12-45-11 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2023-06-09_03-46-24 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2023-06-09_03-59-44 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 3-1/2 years in, I finally picked up my motor on Friday!! First pick is what was dropped off. Considering the lack of parts and the condition, I consider a near miracle was accomplished. When I bought the car, the motor was in pieces and not all of them were there. I still need to get a lot of the peripherals, and I suppose I should have been doing that whilst waiting. The install should keep me busy over the summer. My goal is to have it at Hershey, however there is an all Pontiac show in Lancaster the middle of Aug, that would be nice to make that. Also, had to buy a new engine hoist from HF. I had one awhile back but it was lost in my fire. I had no reason to replace until the other day. I bought the biggest one they had, around $300 but it seems like it will do the trick. Edited June 11, 2023 by TAKerry (see edit history) 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy J Posted June 11, 2023 Share Posted June 11, 2023 I have one of those HF hoists.It pulled my Pontiac straight 8 flathead with the hydramatic transmission attached without incident. I'm following your progress,so stick with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted June 12, 2023 Author Share Posted June 12, 2023 Be patient, nothing I do is in a hurry, LOL. But I do intend to get to this thing asap. It has been sitting way too long whilst waiting on the motor rebuild. All of the burn out, down time etc. should be long behind me at this point. Full speed ahead!!! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted June 19, 2023 Author Share Posted June 19, 2023 2023-06-18_12-42-00 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2023-06-18_12-41-26 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2023-06-17_06-13-13 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2023-06-18_02-18-46 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr A buddy sent me the pulleys and brackets I needed. Got the stuff cleaned up and mocked up on the motor. Still waiting on a pile of parts. Eating the elephant one bite at a time. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericmac Posted June 19, 2023 Share Posted June 19, 2023 This is an interesting thread about a most interesting car. Please keep us posted. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted June 25, 2023 Share Posted June 25, 2023 On 6/12/2023 at 7:35 AM, TAKerry said: Be patient, nothing I do is in a hurry, LOL. But I do intend to get to this thing asap. It has been sitting way too long whilst waiting on the motor rebuild. All of the burn out, down time etc. should be long behind me at this point. Full speed ahead!!! Everything I've seen up to this point leads me to believe this will be a better than original restoration! You'll do it!! Thanks for the updates. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 15, 2023 Author Share Posted July 15, 2023 2023-07-15_09-03-29 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr Picked up my exhaust at the Camaro Nationals in Morgantown Pa yesterday. The show was at the Classic Auto Mall. Im only about 40 min away and have been wanting to go there just because. I bought the exhaust in May from a vendor in Kentucky. Delivery to the show saved on shipping. Funny part is the HQ of the exhaust company is maybe half an hour away from Morgantown! Still waiting on some parts to get the motor buttoned up before I do the install. I sent the trans to the shop for a once over. I think its ok, but wanted someone to open it up and see for sure, put some new lube etc. A specialty part needed, water pump studs, is the tail wagging the dog right now. A buddy from the Chi. area sent me a set he had as they are hard to come across. They were lost in the mail of all things. Ordered another set from a vendor, storms knocked out their computer system and all orders were lost! Strike two. I ordered them from another vendor and they were placed on back order BUT should be around any day now so I am holding out hope for those. There is a 2 piece dipstick tube on this motor. The bottom is available the top part is unobtainium! I had ONE that I gave to the builder when it was needed. When I picked the motor up, NO UPPER DIPSTICK TUBE! The shop lost it, long story. So I found a used one and ordered it. 3 delays in shipping, supposed to be here on monday. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2Wrench Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 This is going to be one sweet ride! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 18, 2023 Author Share Posted July 18, 2023 2023-07-18_08-16-01 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2023-07-18_08-16-09 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr A buddy of mine from another forum sent me this vent pipe. It goes from valve cover to the air cleaner. This straight one is a bit harder to find than some of the others. A little cleanup with a roloc and its ready to go. Went to install the power steering pump last night and had a bit of trouble. Things just would not work out right. Finally figured out that NAPA sold me the wrong one and the bolt pattern was not correct. So back to square one with this. I did get my parts from Franks in Cali. as well as most of the other fasteners and such that were ordered. Once I get this steering pump going I should be able to start moving forward. Gonna check on my transmission today hopefully its good news. I talked to the guy that has my dash bezel yesterday and he said he will move it to the front of the line. August will be 2 years on that part. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted August 3, 2023 Author Share Posted August 3, 2023 2023-08-03_02-33-25 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2023-08-03_02-33-17 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr I think I have the front buttoned up at this point. I ordered the power steering pump twice to get the correct part, there are some special studs that the fan blade mounts to that were a bit hard to come by. Had a buddy send me a set, lost in the mail then ordered another set, then another set on backorder etc., etc. I had to relocate the vent tube from the rocker cover to the air cleaner box. I was under the impression that the air cleaner I have was very limited in use. Also very hard to find. But the vent tube location was off and I found this part was actually for an earlier car. The short squatty snorkel is correct though, which is the part that makes it hard to find. SO, I had to cut in a new hole for the breather tube, now I need some welder gas so I can patch up what I left. My clutch kit is supposed to be here on Sat. Hoping to get some time on Sunday to get that installed then I am planning on getting this thing put back into the car finally. Making a trip Saturday to pick up another motor for my next project?? I should concentrate on getting this one done first! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 Looks great - and familiar... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted August 4, 2023 Author Share Posted August 4, 2023 (edited) I wish mine were in that condition, LOL. Hopefully soon it will be settled in place. Is that your car? I have compiled a Tenth Anniv. registry. Shoot me a pm. Edited August 4, 2023 by TAKerry (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted August 11, 2023 Author Share Posted August 11, 2023 Had a bit of a panic mode the other day. Someone posted on a trans am forum that they were looking for tenth anniv. stripes. Said all of the vendors were out of stock and no one planned on making replacements anymore. I immediately went to the graphic supplier website and ordered a complete set, which is quite extensive inclusive of the hood bird etc. Order went through and I got an email confirmation. I called the next day when the business was open and found that they do have in limited quantities of the stripes in roll form but nothing in pre moulded which is nice going around wheel wells etc. So that crisis has been diverted for the time being. I typically dont like to buy parts until they are needed for many reasons. I called the stripe people a year or so ago and he told me they had a few kits in stock but not sure if and when they were going to make any more. Also said the demand is very low and that he anticipated them sitting there for quite a while. Hence my procrastination. Will think twice next time around. Mechanic still has my transmission and I would like to have that before I put the clutch and bell housing together just to make sure everything fits together as it should. He is away on vacation this week, assured me I would have it back next week. Also have had my dash bezel out for restoration 2 years this month. I talked to him and its supposed to be done anyday now. This car will miss its debut at Hershey but will shoot for something in the spring now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted August 11, 2023 Share Posted August 11, 2023 Surprising this happening for the Trans Am as popularity seems to be growing for these cars. However, this is becoming very typical for vendors of older cars. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted August 12, 2023 Author Share Posted August 12, 2023 I was def. surprised. One of the good things about these cars is parts availability. The second gen did not change alot over 10 years which creates a lot of overlap, not to mention parts sharing with other gm models. There are a few hard to find items, but I would never think a 'sticker' would be one of them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 12, 2023 Share Posted August 12, 2023 22 hours ago, TAKerry said: Had a bit of a panic mode the other day. Someone posted on a trans am forum that they were looking for tenth anniv. stripes. Said all of the vendors were out of stock and no one planned on making replacements anymore. I immediately went to the graphic supplier website and ordered a complete set, which is quite extensive inclusive of the hood bird etc. Order went through and I got an email confirmation. I called the next day when the business was open and found that they do have in limited quantities of the stripes in roll form but nothing in pre moulded which is nice going around wheel wells etc. So that crisis has been diverted for the time being. I typically dont like to buy parts until they are needed for many reasons. I called the stripe people a year or so ago and he told me they had a few kits in stock but not sure if and when they were going to make any more. Also said the demand is very low and that he anticipated them sitting there for quite a while. Hence my procrastination. Will think twice next time around. Mechanic still has my transmission and I would like to have that before I put the clutch and bell housing together just to make sure everything fits together as it should. He is away on vacation this week, assured me I would have it back next week. Also have had my dash bezel out for restoration 2 years this month. I talked to him and its supposed to be done anyday now. This car will miss its debut at Hershey but will shoot for something in the spring now. When I did my car back in the 80s all the factory striping was still dealer available but quite expensive. I ordered all the names and the hood bird from the dealer but I bought all of the red / charcoal dual striping in roll form at my paint supplier. Yes, a bit of a challenge on some of the curves but really not that hard. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted September 12, 2023 Author Share Posted September 12, 2023 2023-09-09_06-22-06 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr For those that followed my quest for the correct pilot bearing here it is in place. Thanks for all of the help! Got the clutch installed over the weekend and the transmission installed last night. Hoping to get the motor in the car over the weekend. 2023-09-11_05-54-16 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2023-09-11_05-53-24 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2023-09-11_05-53-09 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted September 12, 2023 Share Posted September 12, 2023 Progress! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted September 13, 2023 Author Share Posted September 13, 2023 Ran into a slight hiccup. One of my fears that I have been putting off forever (procrastination is my downfall). The motor mounts have been welded onto the stub frame, and NOT in the correct place. I have no idea why this would have happened, maybe the po was planning a motor swap? I knew they werent right, and kept ignoring. Now its time to pay the piper and get them relocated. Slight setback. Also I left the dr. side sheet metal off for ease of installation, but came to the conclusion last night that I am going to take the pass. side off and remove the core support for ease of motor install. Just a few bolts, its all been restored so that part should be easy peasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted September 13, 2023 Share Posted September 13, 2023 6 hours ago, TAKerry said: Ran into a slight hiccup. One of my fears that I have been putting off forever (procrastination is my downfall). The motor mounts have been welded onto the stub frame, and NOT in the correct place. I have no idea why this would have happened, maybe the po was planning a motor swap? I knew they werent right, and kept ignoring. Now its time to pay the piper and get them relocated. Slight setback. Also I left the dr. side sheet metal off for ease of installation, but came to the conclusion last night that I am going to take the pass. side off and remove the core support for ease of motor install. Just a few bolts, its all been restored so that part should be easy peasy. Been there, but I was able to leave the fenders in place. That sucks about the motor mounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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