1978 Trans Am Freshen Up

[andy78TA]

Well last summer I was lucky enough to pick up a 1978 Pontiac Trans Am. I drove it throughout the summer and the fall as the car drives, but it needs a lot of work. The body is good as far as rust issues (the only rust is on the drivers fender) but the car has some dents, a lot of scratches, and the body panels need to be lined up again.

As for the engine, I got it with 53,xxx original miles on it and it now has just over 54,000. The engine is pretty much stock with a performer intake and an edelbrock carb. The engine left a lot to be desired for so starting over the winter break (I am a senior in college) I started to tear the car down.

The first part of this restoration is going to be the engine and drivetrain so that is pretty much all that is being worked on now. I am working on the interior a little bit and the last step will be the paint and body which I am hoping will be sometime this summer.

This whole thing started as what I wanted to be a simple header install... No luck. I broke bolts in both heads, so they came off and got freshened up. Here are some pictures of my escapades so far. These are all in the period of a week)

engine before



the beginning of the tear down



why I needed to have the heads cleaned, milled, painted, valve job, new guides installed



The new and improved heads back from the shop



intake manifold before


intake manifold after being glass beaded, painted, new chrome water neck



What this whole thing started for


putting it back together





and last, my workspace


I also freshedned up the air cleaner housing and a bunch of brackets with high temp black paint to continue the clean up. I will take more pictures in the coming weeks as the engine gets completed.


The car is not up and running yet as I am back in school but I have spring break coming up in 2 weeks. I plan on having the exhaust completely done and the engine back together during that break so it will be up and running.

[BonzoHansen]

Nice! Get some more engine paint and dab over the head bolts.

[LTb1ow]

Why are there only three primaries for a V8 header?

[Knipps]

Because there are only 3 on the heads.

[LTb1ow]

Ah yes... my bad..


Looks nice though!

[andy78TA]

Yeah its the type of headers they are. Only 3 tubes ha

[T69SS]

What a difference, looking good man.

[andy78TA]

Thanks, and last week I just picked up a 1967 pontiac 400 engine complete from pan to carb for $100. The engine turns but I plan on using this just to learn on, and than maybe later rebuild it into something special ha

[WildBillyT]

FYI- Jim Taylor Engine Service in Phillipsburg is who you may want to talk to regarding building up a Pontiac Engine.

[andy78TA]

Thanks for the tip Bill


Today I ordered a pypes header back exhaust system, new plugs, wires, and some other odds and ends to try to finish up this project. Hopefully I will be up and running in a couple weeks. I'll post some more pictures when I get the goods in ha

[89 Iroc-Z28]

nice resto i had to take the whole top of my engine apart after a bolt snapped so said hey why not

[FASTKNIGHT]

good luck with the resto.... thats 1 of my favorite cars.

[andy78TA]

new exhaust system, plugs, wires, and alternator just came in I am all ready to put everything back together next week

[andy78TA]

pictures!!

The first thing I saw when I got home


opened it up right away





AND A FREE HAT!



Here is what the old exhaust looked like that I pulled off a month back



I don't know if you can see it but the pipe is actually flattened in some parts



old vs new





and the trans kickdown stud I needed and new wires



Thats it for now. Hopefully I will have more pictures next week of the install if all goes well

[BonzoHansen]

I wonder if there is a hat in the big box in my garage. Hmmmmm.

[andy78TA]

haha, I was really excited to see the hat. I don't think I am going to be putting any stickers on my car to advertise but its possible I will wear the hat some days

[Blacdout96]

This thread is worthless without Sound/Video!!!

[siguy]

Originally Posted by andy78TA

Yeah its the type of headers they are. Only 3 tubes ha

the middle tube shares the exhaust port on those engines

[andy78TA]

Originally Posted by Blacdout96

This thread is worthless without Sound/Video!!!

I know I know I am sorry, but the car is not running yet and the exhaust is not on. I am hoping that I will have the car running late this week or early next week (spring break) and than provided I can borrow another set of jack stands from someone I will have the exhaust on shortly after. Give me 10 more days!


And yeah the center port is shared. Some of the headers you can get for the car are 4 tube that split off imediately but apparently the 3 tubes are better against gasket blow out. We'll see.

[T69SS]

Gotta love new parts! Post more pictures once they are installed

[LTb1ow]

No cats?




Looks good man!

[WildBillyT]

Originally Posted by LTs1ow

No cats?




Looks good man!

Regardless of the smiley, since it's a car with regular insepection he will need them, at least in 8/2011.

[andy78TA]

Nope, no cats, I bought the car from a mechanic and he threw in an "inspection" in the price. I plan on having it classic for 2011. Thanks for the comments

[andy78TA]

well after all this work my worst fear has come true, my brand new passenger head gasket is leaking and I can't get it to stop no matter what I do. I will have to find a shop tomorrow and bring it in

[79T/A]

Spooky. Were those heads decked at the machine shop? Could be that the block surface needs to be decked too. Real good excuse to pull that motor and make the bottom end as tight as you made the top. Great looking project!