TAC Central => Lobby => Topic started by: FormTA on April 16, 2024, 07:25:57 AM
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I know I have a picture thread going but I'd like to see some less glamorous photos of your current project as it sits or your finished project as it sits without cleaning or getting it ready for a photo. So go out, snap a picture and post it here, dirt, rust and all.
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Still working on the inside, i'll get a messier photo later lol
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Nice! I don't think I've seen your car before. If I have then I forgot, which it totally plausible with my memory these days.
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Going to be installing motor/tranny in two weeks.......for now she's being used as a paint drying booth and parts shelf.
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Nice! Great pictures of the parts being painted hanging from the roof! Love it!
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Willie, thats about what my car looks like. Moving blanket interior and all :grin:
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(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53658990835_d27cb0b416_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pKEmwp)20240414_164811 (https://flic.kr/p/2pKEmwp) by Kerry Grubb (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156399515@N07/), on Flickr
This is the most current photo I have of my car. Taken Sunday evening!
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(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53471933404_e5a15f33b9_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pt8CSh)20240112_124609 (https://flic.kr/p/2pt8CSh) by Kerry Grubb (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156399515@N07/), on Flickr
Most recent pic I have of the 77. This was back in Feb I think? We had a really nice day and I took it out for a pizza run!
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When its not out and about
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Kerry, your 77 looks great!
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Looking great Fellas!! Rich, now that my car's getting sorted out, we should pick a Saturday to meet at the Cars and Coffee in Richmond. I'll text you.
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Looking great Fellas!! Rich, now that my car's getting sorted out, we should pick a Saturday to meet at the Cars and Coffee in Richmond. I'll text you.
Sounds great! Would love to. We still need to make a date for me to come up and do some wrenching on my car, still don't have those things done we chatted about.
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I am usually disappointed in the post a picture of your car because most just aren't interested.
This is my original paint 1980 TA, in September it will be 45 years old. While far from perfect it still looks pretty good. No where near as nice as a modern paint job. To me it looks like it might have been buffed out once and the person with good intentions hurt it more than helped it.
It's probably 95% Done and probably will never be 100%. Last fall I did an AC compressor upgrade and due to some problems with the vendor sending the incorrect compressor, it was too cold to charge. Recently we had some nice days, I discovered the system was no longer holding a vacuum. Today I believe I fixed that problem but will wait a week or so to make sure it's still holding a vacuum before charging.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53665033848_717ebd5dc1_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pLcjUh)IMG_3282 (https://flic.kr/p/2pLcjUh) by Lawrence Alexander (https://www.flickr.com/photos/188552644@N06/), on Flickr
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I have seen your car in person and I was just amazed at its condition! I felt like I was standing at the dealer in 1980, I could have looked at that car for hours. I think like most of us, you are to critical of your own car, it is awesome! On a side note, it helps me to be less critical of my car (not really) at I could see how they were originally. You have a really cool car Larry!
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I really love the white and the rally’s. I gotta get new tires on mine and switch back to them
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SUBJECT: "Current picture of your project or finished car."
Question... what is a finished car? :lol:
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Nice rides, great projects! and of course Mike causing trouble...
SUBJECT: "Current picture of your project or finished car."
Question... what is a finished car? :lol:
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Larry, Your car is beautiful! My favorite colour combo on a trans am by far. I may have said it before, but I graduated in '82. There was a local dealer that specialized in trans ams, z28s and vettes. It was actually a used car lot for a big chevy dealer. I would go there about every other weekend and take a Trans Am out for a test drive dreaming of the day I would have my own. When I graduated I finally made a deal on the car of my dreams. It was an 81 trans am looked exactly like your car. I had put a deposit and was scheduled to pick it up on a friday evening after pop got home from work. He came home and told me he found another car I should look at first. SO, we went to the local Pontiac dealer where I ended up buying my first new car. A 1982 Firebird, of course it was white but had a burgundy interior. In 1982 it was a no brainer to buy a brand new firebird over an outdated trans am. My car was a base model, fully loaded though. The price was around $9500. The new trans ams were about $16,000. The 81 trans am I had on hold was the same $9500. $10k was my all in budget as I was paying for the car myself. I took out a bank loan for 4 years, made double payments and had it payed off in 2.
Sorry for the hijack.
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Ok, here are mine. Ya, never finished.
79 formula 301 and soon to be 4 speed. Plan is this summer/fall to just drop in a new motor and trans (which I already have ready). The original us fine but automatic and it needs valve seals or heads redone (smokes after you let it sit on start up). No paint, just black primer and a nose swap to 77 because I have one 79 already and an extra nose laying around.
I have a problem of micro focus and it would take years to put it on the road "finished" so hopefully I can force myself to just get it running and driving so my new driver son and I can have fun with it.
The covered car is my 67 Camaro which is half painted and TPI swapped from a Vette back when that was a thing. Never started or broke in the engine, probably no good now)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53666524621_3c242f0bbf_z.jpg)
And my 79 trans am I ls swapped and drive whenever I can. Still no front flares on it and no wiper motor, power lock motors, radio that works (I use a Bluetooth receiver in the trunk connected to a 800 watt amplifier). Still haven't installed the spitter tips either...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53666970714_cf6d824cd2_z.jpg)
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I won’t jinx it by calling it finished. Last time I said that a diff leak broke out :D
Not much new outside of fixing that diff leak. So far so good. I’ve had a chance to get the LS3 a few freeway miles recently. Here are pics from today - put my fender gripper to use to avoid door dings from the kids.
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Current pic of mine undergoing a little undercarriage work. Parts supplied by Dave Nasello.
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I know I have a picture thread going but I'd like to see some less glamorous photos of your current project as it sits or your finished project as it sits without cleaning or getting it ready for a photo. So go out, snap a picture and post it here, dirt, rust and all.
Luke, great idea you had, I take back the part where I said people aren’t interested. It’s always fun to see members cars. Hopefully there are more pictures to come. Stories behind the cars are always interesting as well!
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I cheated by uncovering mine a little for a better pic. It might not look like a project in pictures but i still have plenty I want to do. The biggest being I have a small rust hole in my drivers side floor I need to pull the interior and patch. I’d like to add sound insulation while it’s all out too. My rear armrests are both cracked where they wrap around the pinch weld where the door jam is. I have two good ones I need to clean, paint and install as well. Also want to replace the body bushings soon. And countless other things I won’t mention in addition to the new things that will inevitably pop up from driving the car as much as I do. But that’s also why it’s not a restoration. I bought the car when I was 24 and never had or expected to have the money or skill for a full resto so I’ve just tinkered away at it little by little while trying to drive and enjoy it along the way and learning as I go. In some ways that’s slowed me down a lot but it’s worked out overall
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Looks like you waxed it before you put it sleep for the winter. Your paint looks great! I need to dry wash mine, polish and wax it this spring.
I am surprised by the lack of participation in this thread, almost like a Wellington thread....
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Lol I keep it covered just cause if my small working space and don’t want grinding dust and whatnot getting on it so yea, before I cover it I try to clean it up well. Had you posted the start of this thread a day prior I could’ve taken a pic of it covered in dust as I had it uncovered for a while.
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I cheated by uncovering mine a little for a better pic. It might not look like a project in pictures but i still have plenty I want to do. The biggest being I have a small rust hole in my drivers side floor I need to pull the interior and patch. I’d like to add sound insulation while it’s all out too. My rear armrests are both cracked where they wrap around the pinch weld where the door jam is. I have two good ones I need to clean, paint and install as well. Also want to replace the body bushings soon. And countless other things I won’t mention in addition to the new things that will inevitably pop up from driving the car as much as I do. But that’s also why it’s not a restoration. I bought the car when I was 24 and never had or expected to have the money or skill for a full resto so I’ve just tinkered away at it little by little while trying to drive and enjoy it along the way and learning as I go. In some ways that’s slowed me down a lot but it’s worked out overall
Your car looks great, I feel like you are teasing us a little by not having the cover pulled completely off.
You were very smart to hang on to it all these years. I wish I had that kind of foresight to keep any of my old TA's.
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He's 25....
Just kidding
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He's 25....
I got mine when I was 17/18. I'm 46 now and still have it.
Just kidding
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Lol close. I’ll be 38. I’ve had it almost 14 years so not quite as long as most other guys here.
I will add though, since this is a picture thread, a favorite angle to photograph. I love the interiors of these cars. Specifically the dash. No offense to anyone who disagrees or has done so but I’m not a fan of swapping out the gauges in these cars. Sure, I have no doubt there are others that are more accurate but I just don’t see how you can improve upon this look. Between the gauges, bezel (engine turned being a biased favorite but even the wood grain I’m a fan of) the dash itself and that gorgeous formula wheel. To me. just can’t get any better.
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I really need to do a deep cleaning and maybe redo my dash bezel. Yours really looks good! I too like the stock gauges, that's why I worked hard to maintain all functional stock units with my LS swap. Those seem to be the first thing folks toss with a engine swap.
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Thanks. I lucked out that it was in good shape. It’s got a few bad spots on it though. I have a spare I’m gonna have redone to replace it soon
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Brian, I could not agree more with you. One of the reasons why I love Trans Ams. They are beautiful cars right out of the box. Can improvements be made? Sure. But do they have to? Absolutely not! The interior is perfect as is, as well as the exterior. I see a lot of cars gussied up to make them a bit flashier but nothing needs to be done to the mighty T/A :grin: Although a sister car the Trans Am interior looks so much better than a comparable camaro.
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Yes but man, couldn't they have put a cup holder somewhere?
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Brian, I could not agree more with you. One of the reasons why I love Trans Ams. They are beautiful cars right out of the box. Can improvements be made? Sure. But do they have to? Absolutely not! The interior is perfect as is, as well as the exterior. I see a lot of cars gussied up to make them a bit flashier but nothing needs to be done to the mighty T/A :grin: Although a sister car the Trans Am interior looks so much better than a comparable camaro.
Yea it’s almost unfortunate how bland the Camaro interior is in comparison. I like 2nd gen Camaros but the interior kills it for me.
Yes but man, couldn't they have put a cup holder somewhere?
At least automatic cars have a few options between cutting the console or there’s a guy on FB that sells magnetic ones that attach in front of the map pocket. I’d try one of those if I didn’t have a 4 speed
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My current project is this 67 Bronco, Trans Am come in next for a clutch change.
Tom H
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Yes but man, couldn't they have put a cup holder somewhere?
Ha, thats a good one. Again a sign of the times Luke. There werent convenient stores and fast food at every corner. I dont think people even thought about cup holders until the first gen mini van came out.
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I am usually disappointed in the post a picture of your car because most just aren't interested.
This is my original paint 1980 TA, in September it will be 45 years old. While far from perfect it still looks pretty good. No where near as nice as a modern paint job. To me it looks like it might have been buffed out once and the person with good intentions hurt it more than helped it.
It's probably 95% Done and probably will never be 100%. Last fall I did an AC compressor upgrade and due to some problems with the vendor sending the incorrect compressor, it was too cold to charge. Recently we had some nice days, I discovered the system was no longer holding a vacuum. Today I believe I fixed that problem but will wait a week or so to make sure it's still holding a vacuum before charging.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53665033848_717ebd5dc1_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pLcjUh)IMG_3282 (https://flic.kr/p/2pLcjUh) by Lawrence Alexander (https://www.flickr.com/photos/188552644@N06/), on Flickr
In my opinion it gets more points for being a survivor
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Pretty current
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What year?
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'78
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Although this is an old photo, it still looks exactly like this!! A while back I was able to bolt some part back onto the engine, but it's still far from being together so it sits on the engine stand. My goals are still to just this thing back together so I can drive it!!
BTW - Hello Everyone!!
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53331636756_bc914a1fbf_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pfJzyy)20231014_112355 (https://flic.kr/p/2pfJzyy) by Charles Marson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/155880712@N06/), on Flickr
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Hi! Good to see you back here!
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Same to you Charlie, and what Mike said.
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What they ^ said Charlie. Nice to hear from you!
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Front and rear PTFB GT suspension (springs), new gas tank and sender, new lower arms and new tubular upper arms with the longer PTFB ball joints. Koni shocks all around. PTFB aluminum solid body bushings. Alignment and shims this morning. Trying to ready it up for FirebirdFest 4 in a week. Still have a few things I want to do to it before the trip.
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Mike, that’s a pretty serious suspension upgrade. When you get a chance I would love to hear your critique on the changes to handling and ride.