Buying a 1980 trans am need some advise

I'm looking @ purchasing a 1980 Pontiac Trans Am . It's gonna be a total resto!What are the basic things to look for, so not to fall into a bottomless pit.I know to check uni body but what would be terminal? sorry for the newbe questions!!
Thanks  

You didn’t say were the car has been all of its miles.  In the rust belt – make absolutely sure the sure the rear frame is solid – especially the part under the rear seats. Replacement rails are available for the part over the axe and back; but the part under the seat will need to be fabricated and that will require some skill.  

The Rear Valance, between the bumper and the gas tank and under the trunk level rust badly.  I don't think you will find one for the 80 and my guess is that you would need to make it yourself; or if your lucky, a salvage yard may have one they will sell. Either way, this is not an easy, or a cheap repair.

I bought my car from Arizona and every bit of rubber from the street up was rotten.  It also had a rust spot on passenger side floor pan caused by a leak in the cowl. So, pull up the carpet and look at the floor. Cowl leaks cause them to rust there - mine looked fine from the underside but all I was seeing was paint held on by rust. The sun and heat took there toll  - The paint and glass were bad because of all the sand. Sand is in every nook and you may never get all of the sand out of a desert special; and when you start your paint job some more will show up.

The 301 engines in the 80 were low on power; aftermarket parts were rare, and the bottom end was week.   I put a 330 HP 400 in mine which makes it a resto/modification but it wasn’t a numbers matching car anyway.

Restoration is something you do because you love to do it.  It is extremely labor intensive and can be very expensive.  The more you do yourself the less cash you spend but it can take years of work and probably some blood.  If restoring cars is a passion with you and that is why you are buying the car, have fun.  If it is to recapture the memories of a car you had or just because you want one – spend the money and buy one that doesn’t need much work and enjoy it.  

Hey Scott,
I've had several 78 through 81's in all states of condition, and have still fixed the worst. Here is my list of things which I would look for to make or break the deal.

First find out if the car has been wreaked, causing the frame or subframe to be crooked. It can be straightened, but it might indicate a lot of other damage such as extensive body work with bondo. This alone would make me look elsewhere.

If the frame is OK, see if the floor pans are rusted through. This also can be repaired (I'm doing it now), but could indicate a lot of water damage and hidden rust elsewhere. If the paint is fairly original and not hiding a lot of rust it should be OK.

The engine and drivetrain will naturally probably need attention, but that's the fun part. To sum it up, if the body and frame of the car is not all rusted out I would get it for a reasonable price. But every piece of rusted metal is another $100 out of the pocket.

Hope this helps!
Brazil  

Mr. Milts last statement is really true. Unless you've done it before, and the car is already in fairly good condition, you can get some great deals on already good looking and running Trans Ams on eBay and Auto Trader. It's definantly a time consuming commitment, and there are a lot of special tools you'll end up needing along the way.

Good Luck! let us know what you decide.  

Mr. Milts and Brazil thanks for the info and encouragement.This is a $1000 car and needs a lot of work.That's the fun part, knowing what it going to run and look like this helps motivate.Got a brother and friends who I've helped on a couple full resto-mods.I've also gone to the Right Coast Association car show at Syracuse, NY. I'm now a member and hooked for life.The car also has Chevy 350.I believe it has a 400 tranny.Any way to tell for sure?Web site to check numbers to be sure.What parts sites do you prefer.Thanks for taking time to comment constructively.

                                                  Trans Am NUT  

The 400 trans is easy to ID, three forward gears, no kick down cable, vacuum modulator sticks straight out the right side pointing towards the frame and the pan is an odd shape. The th350 (also 3 spd) has both a kickdown cable and a vac modulator that sticks straight out the back on the right rear, the pan is square with one corner cut off at 45degrees. If it is a three speed that has a cable but no vacuum modulator, you have a th200 and it isn't worth squat!
As for parts, since you have a Chevy engine (likely it was a 305 powered car from the factory), Summit racing is one of the best for performance parts. I like Classic Industries and Year One for resto parts and PST and Pro-Touring F-Body.com for suspension upgrades.
Plan your buildup and stick to the plan and you will be happy in the long run.
Steve

PS: I would like to see you swap out the SBC and put real Pontiac V8 power in there, but that's just me, it's really up to you!  
Trying to help... 'cause we don't all have to learn the hard way!