Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

what kind of rust remover did you use

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

This stuff is great: www.safestrustremover.com.

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

I'm short on projects at the moment so I decided to tackle to original busted-up shaker so I have a spare eventually.

As you may recall the original was damaged in the carb fire and the edge was run over during the prior owner's rush to get the fire put out. I had my body guy strip it but when he found it was so damaged I told him to stop the work on it.

The basic shaker domes are interchangeable from 71 to 76 (1970 had a thin edge version) but were modified depending upon the year it was used. From 70 to 72 they had a flapper valve that would be activated by two solenoids but starting in 73 the flapper was cancelled and a riveted cover and frame took their place in the rear opening.

Here's my busted original:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006099.jpg


Here it is with the mounting flange set on it. These were riveted to the shakers in a process that usually caused stress cracks in the fiberglass. The 70-72 mounting falnges have a two stud mounting system that attaches to the air cleaner with two wing nuts. The 73-76 units used a large ring that used a single screw to retain it to the air cleaner.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006102.jpg

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

I found a 76 shaker dome on ebay for $70. I got it rather cheaply, since nobody wanted it because the metal mounting flange was unuseable as it was rusted with holes in it. The fiberglass, though was in remarkably nice shape with only one rivet stress crack and a small edge of the lip missing.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006096.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006097.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006094.jpg

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Removing the rusted late model base plate flange was rather easy. There are a dozen or so rivets and I gently used a drill to cut the bottom of the rivet off, allowing the base plate to be removed.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006117.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006114.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006125.jpg

The remaining portion of the rivet can then be popped out of the hole with the tip of a pencil.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006121.jpg

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

This is the flapper door assembly. Sorry I didn't take any photos but I was so busy fixing it, I forgot. The frame was a fiberglass jigsaw puzzle busted into four different pieces but I was able to reassemble and repair it with epoxy and fiberglass bondo.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006104.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006105.jpg

This assembly was originally glued into the shaker domes with some type of red resin epoxy that gets rather brittle with age, which is actually a benefit since it is easy to chip away in order to free either the flapper door assembly or the block off plate assembly. Here it is set into its original position in the busted shaker.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006107.jpg

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Luckily the prior owner of the 76 shaker dome had already relieved it of the block off plate and frame, leaving only some excess red resin epoxy to remove.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006095.jpg

That's it at the moment. Next step is to strip the paint off the red shaker and do the repairs of the rivet crack and the missing edge.

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

I used some paint stripper and got the majority of the original red paint off the dome. Went pretty quick. I then washed and sanded it down with a handheld Black and Decker mouse sander.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006133.jpg

You can see the missing edge that needs to be reconstructed on the lower left. Also, anywhere I thought it looked like a stress crack was forming from a rivet hole, I grooved that area out with a Dremel tool.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006134.jpg

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

To map out the area for the reconstruction, I taped some cardboard underneath and then estimated the outer dimensions.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006135.jpg

I then used a plastic bag under the supporting cardboard to prevent the fiberglass filler from sticking to the cardboard. After mixing the fiberglass Bondo, I applied it "liberally" to all the grooved areas and the edge area.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006141.jpg

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Here's what the repair looked like from the top side, after pulling the plastic bag and cardboard off. You can see one of the rivet hole stress cracks on the upper right rivet hole.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/SDC10007.jpg

And after some preliminary trimming and sanding. Once I got the underside flat, I used the busted shaker as a stencil, placing the two, flange to flange and traced the correct curve with a pencil onto the new shaker dome's underside.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/SDC10008.jpg

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Once all the underside repairs were done, I grooved out the corresponding areas on the top side and applied more fiberglass filler to repair the remnants of the stress cracks on top.

Here is the semifinished shaker dome after all the fiberglass repairs were done. Still needs some primer, redrilling of the rivet holes to the correct size, and epoxying of the door assembly into the opening, before the metal base plate can be riveted back on.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006159.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006158.jpg

And the underside:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006160.jpg

The before and after of the reconstructed missing edge:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r.../S7006093b.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006161.jpg

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Nicely done Mac! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Hey, I gotta do something while we have this blizzard snowing us in. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img]

Just finished playing Stratego with the boy. He wanted that game for Christmas. It's amazing how things come full circle. I remember playing that game decades ago. I even remember the TV commercial. Turns out his 4th grade teacher taught the kids how to play the game. I had to go to four different Target stores on Christmas Eve to find it. It was sold out everywhere! I had no idea it was so trendy and back in style!

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

I played that game daily during breaks in 5th grade. Its the BEST!!!!

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Primed the shaker today and epoxied in the flapper door. More sanding on the schedule for tomorrow.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006179.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006175.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006177.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006176.jpg

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

as stated before your talent is amazing.ive read your t/a thread many many times and still go back and look at it over and over.i love the blue and white.my first real car was a 1975 t/a 400 4 speed.grey with red interior.the first night i got it i loaded it up with my buddies and went cruising.after a few hours of tearing it up i thought darn this car spins the tires to easy lol i blew the clutch the first night i had it.the look on the guys face that i bought it from was priceless the next day when he saw it coming back to his shop the next day on a flatbed.
i painted the car white and painted the honeycombs white too.darn i loved that car.when my camaro gets done i may look for a t/a project.funny thing is smokey and the bandit was on yesterday and the sound of burt revving that bad boy up flying down the highway gave me goosebumps.well sorry for the long winded poor grammer read but i know you can decipher it.hats off bro

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Viperich, thanks for the good words! We still have my grandmother's 75 Firebird that she bought new from Ruckles Pontiac in Yonkers, NY in 1975. Unrestored other than a paint job 20 years ago. I let my daughter, who was named after my grandmother (her great-grandmother) take it out for her first drive when she turned 15. Neat family heirloom.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...bird75001b.jpg

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Almost done! Got the final layer of primer on and the detail work on the seam where the trap door mounts.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/SDC10026.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/SDC10024.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/SDC10029.jpg

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

I did the preliminary mounting of the base plate ring. I carefully drilled the holes in sets of two at a time, and then secured the plate to the shaker with 13 small nuts and bolts that are the same diameter as the rivets in order to get everything fixed in place and mated up properly.

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/SDC10030.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/SDC10031.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/SDC10032.jpg

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

just read your article in Hemming muscle machines Steve.. Nice work.... Very nice..

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Thanks, Frank. It's the never-ending project...that just won't end. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

OK, this is insane. I just got through several hours of saving this entire thread as per the directions on the &quot;print an entire thread&quot; thread:

https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbt...560#Post438560

So, I went to the &quot;Topic Options&quot; at the upper left side of the thread and hit print topic, which opened the thread into a printable document. I then saved that document in two versions: The Web Archive Single File MHT was 102 MB!!! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/eek.gif[/img] The Webpage Complete HTM version was a much more manageable 987 KB.

It ended up being a 773 page document. Took an eternity to load. Holy Cow! No way I'm gonna actually print a hard copy. I'd go bankrupt buying ink cartridges! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/no.gif[/img]

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

You could probably save ink and money by saving the file on a thumb drive, or CD, and taking it to a local Kinkos for them to print out.

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Hi Steve, I've been away for a long time with eye problems and your thread was the first one I wanted to catch up on. I was troubleshooting your electrical/ignition problem along the way and basically came to the same conclusion (as though the coil wires were reversed). You probably dealt with Donny Bock at American Autowire. He's a good friend and knows his stuff. He's helped me several times with my cars. Glad to hear Donny &quot;fixed&quot; it for you.
Verne [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

So did reading my thread cause your eye problems in the first place, Verne?

After 115 pages I think that would be your doctor's opinion.

(Glad to see you back) [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]

I think Donny was the guy I dealt with. I can't say enough about a company that would warranty something 6 years after you bought it. That's stellar customer service.

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Thanks for the info......

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Had to change out the muffler today. Recently noticed that I must have blown out the existing one from all that carb tuning and electrical bug-chasing a couple months ago. I guess if you get enough unburnt fuel downstream, it's eventually going to ignite! Never heard anything, and it wasn't leaking even with the double sized bulging.

I bought a new one from Gardner and installed it today. Went in with no issues whatsoever. Just had to borrow my buddy's exhaust pipe expander contraption to re-round the insides of the pipes so they would fit in nicely into the new muffler. Took her out for a drive while it was still sunny out. It was a nice ride...can't wait for Spring to come in a month or so.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...11muffler2.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...8/SDC10095.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...8/SDC10094.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...8/SDC10090.jpg

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Yikes Steve that was a BOOMER!

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

The bodyman stopped by the house yesterday to rivet the shaker flange to the dome. It's a two-man job as one person has to hold the upside-down dome with the rivet inserted, tightly against the flanging &quot;chisel&quot; which has a cupped section that holds the rivet head in place. The cupped chisel is set in a vise, with the shaker and rivet placed on top. The bottom of the rivet is then peened over with a flat ended chisel to permanently set the rivet.

Worked out well, all thirteen rivets went in without any damage to the fibreglass. (NORWOOD, thanks for the rivets, BTW)

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006238.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006239.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006242.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/S7006241.jpg




Now I have to find another car to set under the shaker. Hmmmmmm.

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Took her out for a drive yesterday. It was record-breaking 78 degree winter day here in Joysey. She ran very nicely. It is quite a kick to hear the secondaries on the Quadrajet kick in and simultaneously watch the shaker trap door open up, doubling the volume of the angry, engine noise.

Still tinkering. Found a near-NOS quality, interior rear view mirror on ebay to replace the de-silvering glass, original. I found it with an hour to spare on ebay and ended up paying only 34 bucks for it. Since it costs twice that amount to get one redone and you tend to break things when trying to take one of these apart, I think it worked out quite well.


http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/SDC10165.jpg

Also, the alleged reproduction mirrors all the repro companies offer are completely wrong, as they have a chrome, not textured black, housing. No one correctly reproduces the black painted mirrors.

Here's a shot of the original one:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/SDC10166.jpg

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Steve, you always find the odd stuff cheap [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif[/img] Wish Jinx was ready last friday! Still redoing the gas lines and tank (winter project, just a little late :))

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Hey, it's officially Spring now, so get movin' [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif[/img]

Any word on a replacement location for the Jackson Outlet cruise?

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Any word on a replacement location for the Jackson Outlet cruise? </div></div>

Word is the new cruise location is supposed to be at the Shoppes at Hamilton which is on rt 130 north, just south of I195.

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Steve, any time you want to go to a free cruise night, let me know. I am compiling my NJ 2011 cruise/show calendar and have my email chain up and running. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif[/img]

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Not being satisfied with the wrinkles that were left in the back edges of the headliner after my amateur installation a year or so ago, I took the car out for a 70-mile round trip drive today, to a long-time upholsterer I have used for other work.

He's been doing this stuff for 45 years and he still says he's learning new methods every day. After about an hour or so of tugging, heating and massaging, all the wrinkles are gone. He said one of the mistakes people tend to make is not to trim away enough of the fabric channel that holds the metal bows. If there is too much of the channel still attached to the headliner on the ends, it will cause bunching and wrinkles in the edges and corners.

All in all, he said he has seen a lot worse backyard jobs than mine, so I guess that was a compliment. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img]

(P.S. I think it's time I cleaned the camera lens.)

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...headliner1.jpg

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r.../headiner2.jpg

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Nice! Just took mine for a spin too. The gas is flowing! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif[/img]

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Did the annual oil change yesterday. I put 1,150 miles on her since April last year. Five quarts of Castrol GTX 10W40 + a can of STP + 3 ounces of Camshield zinc additive.

Changed the plugs back to the NGKs. It really runs a lot smoother with those NGKs in. I had swapped back to the set of Autolites during the ignition trouble-shooting episode a few months ago but I noticed it runs &quot;different&quot; with the Autolites - it kind of surges at a steady RPM. That doesn't happen with the NGKs.

Took her out for another spin today to test drive the new oil (needed an excuse). I'm beginning to like this thing. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif[/img]

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Still fine tuning the tuning: [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img]

I bought a one step colder set of UR5GP NGK plugs to see how they burn. After 35 years of wrenching I'm still learning about stuff, like how to read the electrode and where the burn mark should be.

Here's the UR4GP, burning a bit too hot, as the flame mark on the electrode is closer to the base than it should be. (Too close to the tip would indicate too cold of a heat range).

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/ur4gpngk.jpg

And the UR5GP burning the preferred area, halfway up the electrode:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...UR5GPngk-1.jpg

And here is the base ring color with a consistent brownish tone, allegedly indicating proper carb jetting/fuel mixture:

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/ur5gpngk.jpg

Any tuning gurus out there, feel free to chime in with your opinions!




This looked like an interesting article on plug reading:

http://www.wallaceracing.com/plug-reading-lm.html

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

In case anyone is still following this insane thread, I started on a new project - my Gramma Rose's Firebird that we've owned since new:

https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbt...019#Post449019

[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif[/img]

Re: 72 TA : New Project
 

Had a fun time at the Performance Years Open House yesterday in Hatfield, PA. Great bunch of people there. Hung out with a few Performance Years site members. Here's a shot of their 71 and 70, next to my 72.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...8/S7006630.jpg

Also spent some time with Tom D, and his High Performance Pontiac Magazine crew. They spent a good two hours shooting the T/A at a nearby barn, in the early evening. (You have to shoot a white car either first thing in the morning or the last thing at the end of the day, in order to get the exposure right. Here's a sample shot with my point and shoot camera at about 7:00 PM.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...68/may2011.jpg

The car performed flawlessly. It was only 45 miles or so, so my son and I drove the leisurely hour to get there. The only stop was to rescue a female box turtle trying to cross Route 202 in PA.

The return trip was fine too. Ended up using a quarter of a tank of gas for about 90 miles of travel. We had the A/C going full blast on the way home. It was definitely a hot and humid day. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif[/img]