1979 Trans AM

Just picked up a 79 TA Got a screwed up paint job on it lots of over spray. But car seems pretty solid me mostly monte carlo man but couldn't walk away from it and its 403 for 500 bucks runs smooth little overheating in trans looking for comments on what to look for on mostly the body and chassis once I start to tear down.

Thanks in advance Jeff  

Congrats on your new vehicle. It should be fun to rebuild, then cruise in.I had a 79 bird back in 92 or 93. The door hinges were shot and the front floors were rusted out. If you havn't noticed yet, there maybe rub-lines going down both side windows.There is a padded guide bar that keeps the side window glass pushed against the rubber seals on the doors.Sometimes you can have these marks polished out,or replace the windows,(don't forget to replace the pressure pads as well).I never did a complete tear-down on mine,but that will give you a starting heads-up on whats to come

  good luck  

Likewise, I've had three '79's and they are great projects. My daughter has the 403 Trans Am and it kicks. It's great when they are fixed up and everyone on the road respects them, but the sweat is half the fun.  Another thing that will help is to order a catalog from "Year One" (www.yearone.com) for 1967 thru 1981 Firebirds. That, and my old worn out green Haynes manual from Auto Zone will help emmensily.
Plus, this forum will end up being a life support system when all else fails - we are all in this together.
peace,
Brazil  

Oh, and in answer to your question - the first thing I would look for is if it's been in a wreak. You can tell if there's bondo everywhere under the paint, and the front end is badly out of alignment.  

Hey good deal! Since I don’t know the history of the car I can only make suggestion based on what I would look for in the Midwest. 79 Firebirds rusted badly on the rear valance.  That’s the part behind the rear bumper and the gas tank on the underside of the car.  If it is bad then you will be forced to fabricate it or get one from the salvage yard. No one reproduces it for the 79(that I know of)

Next take a look inside the rear frame rails.  Just under the rear seat where the body attaches to the rails it is often rusted. The part over the axle and back can be bought new but the part under the seat and upward to over the read axel cannot; and it took me a week to cut, fabricate and weld in the replacement.  If the gasket around the trunk lid leaks you will have rust in the trunk but that is an easy fix and I think the whole trunk floor is available.

Inside, take out the rear seat (note: you will find a original build sheet there) and pull up the carpet. If you see rust, clean of the loose stuff, and put a strong light under the car – that will reveal pin holes where the cancer is all the way through. You can find the various parts, including a whole floor pan, and they are not very expensive. If the seam sealer between the floor pan and the rockers is bad you may have rust there you can sometime tell by looking at that are from the underside.

As noted in the other post, the doors can have problems.  They weigh 125 lbs each and that stresses the hinges over time.  The weather strip is often bad; and the bottom of the door can rust.  Fenders and quarter panel rusts should be visible and can be fixed since the parts are not hard to find.

Use a magnet to look for plastic filler.  If the magnet sticks you’re good.  The paint is another thing.  You said it has a “screwed up paint job” and that indicates that it has at least one paint job over the factory paint.  In order to do this right you need to remove the old paint since three coats is just too thick.  Soda blasting would be your best option to get rid of the old paint. Then quality aircraft paint stripper (messy) or sanding (lots of hard work) are your other options.

Soda blasting or Dry Ice blasting will take it down to the bare metal without warping panels or etching chrome or glass (it will not remove rust).  Bare metal needs a coat of self-etching primer followed by epoxy primer; and of course some nice paint.  There will be lots more to do if you’re  planning a full restoration.  You may want to check out Classic Industries, National Parts Depot (NPD), Year One and the Eastman catalogs.  

The other regulars on the site can tell you a lot more about the drive train than I can so I will leave that up to them.  There is nothing in the world better than cursing in a car you restored yourself – it takes blood, sweat, tears, money and sometimes a good command of expletives.  I wish you good luck and good fun, and keep us posted on how you’re doing.  

Thanks guys for all the input. Took notes of all. Got the trans back running good engine smooth and quite(except valve covers leak a little)after a good tune up oil change and all vacum lines replaced some so bad when you touched them they just fell apart in your hand. Like I said before body is solid ran a good magnet across the body high and low and held in all areas. Bad news is needs at least front floor pans. But considering the price thinking about doing whole pans left and right.I am a welder so this swap seems fairly simple to me. My only concerne is the limited work you can do on a 403 olds to step it up that notch we all want.  

Find the post called "Barneyformula's Floor Pans." The whole post deals with the rusted pan replacement issue. As far as the 403, although the Pontiac 400 and 455's are a focus on the Pontiac forum, don't discount that Old's power plant. I know from doing it that a cam swap and a perky turbo 350 transmission and 1969 corvette torque converter alone will give the same results. There was a dude named Nunzi in the '80's that was the guru of the time. He gave specific details on how to make all Trans Am engines come alive with the right combo.  

You should be able to get that puppy up and running, without "flintstone floors" in no-time(sorry Barney) Over the winter, you could give it a new coat for christmas and have it back on the road before spring thaw!

  Sounds like you have it well under control.

 karl  

Anyone out there whats the best way for stripping paint off of the nose, wheel spoilers and trunk deck spoiler that won't score and what exactly are they made of.

Thanks Jeff  

Hey Jeff,
Hope the holidays are good. I have bought every front end I ever saw on 79 thru 81 Firebirds from salvage yards in various states of condition. The most luck I've had is with a paint stripper especially made for plastic. BUT! They don't work very well and usually leave the nose with a textured rough surface which I had to smooth out with sandpaper, an electric sander, and some kind of liquid filler. And no matter what you do, it still is brittle from age.

As bad as I hate to admit it, Plunking down $300 for a new one from "Year One" or a similar company is the best option. They are smooth and ready to paint.
peace,
Brazil  

The soft parts you mentioned are probably all polyurethane if they are original.

In my opinion sanding with 180 is the way to go for knocking the old paint off.  Don't sand all the way through it though, step up to 240 or 320 grit to clean it up to bare plastic and avoid bad scratches. Consider using an adhesion promoter before applying any new coatings. You will probably need to prime and sand a couple times at least to get a real nice finish for paint.  

That's exactly the way I've done it as well, right down to the sandpaper grits.
I could get a nice smooth finish, but the 30 year old polyurethane is prone to cracking at the slightest bump. That's really the only problem with refurbishing the original. New ones are more forgiving of someone bumping you in a parking lot.
(Either way, definantly use that adhesion promoter).  

Glad we think alike!  

all you guys forgot to mention the gas station.my buds 77 403 could not pass one.  

What? Sounds like a carburator issue.