72 TA : New Project

[napa68]

Please go find another car to restore so you will continue to entertain me. This is better that Saturday television on Speed.

[njsteve]

If someone wants to trade me a 1973 Super Duty I'd be happy to do Trans Am Restopalooza Part Deux.

[njsteve]

Does anybody have any extras of these trim screws? They are the weird hex/philips screws that I believe are the correct ones used for attaching the flares. I need another 10 of them.

They were used on a ton of different GM applications. On the Firebirds they were also used to hold the rear window filler panel (the one between the window and the trunklid) in place.

[njsteve]

Belay that order!

Turns out that those aren't the correct screws after all. The guys on the Pontiac website provided me with photos of what the original screws are...and they coincidentally look just like the regular, round indented, philips head wheelwell trim screws I randomly grabbed out of my toolbox and used on the car in place of what I thought were the right screws.

You gotta love when the haunted tool box knows more than you about what the right fastener is, for the job at hand.

[njsteve]

Found them at Napa! The large, flat ridged head looks just like the originals from the Pontiac guys' photos.

[njsteve]

Nose in final (hopefully) primer:

[njsteve]

It's nice to get your faith in humanity refreshed once in a while. I got a recent email from southernfriedcj (Jim), here on the site asking me if I wanted the leftover box of parts he had found in the garage from the 72 T/A he sold a while back. I replied that I'd take whatever he had. I asked him what he wanted and he said just pay the shipping and you can have it all!

You can imagine my astonishment when two large boxes arrived and all this stuff was in it. It was like Christmas in April! A lot of the misc parts were things I had been searching for, unsuccessfully, for years.



Here's some of the stuff:

The original, correct zinc chromate colored, cowl weatherstrip clips (next to the not-so-accurate repro clip)




The correct A/C compressor rear bolt spacer:



Original 455HO valve cover bolts (yes, they had their own bolts as they were longer than the regular Pontiac bolts due to the fact that the 455HO used a much thicker valve cover gasket to allow the valve covers to clear the rocker oiling guides.)



An original set of rear bumper guards - very rare item:



An original 455HO A/C compressor rear bracket (yeah, they had their own unique part designed with a cut out to clear the shaker hot air stove pipes.)



A really nice set of the assembly line, heavy gauge steel 1972 exhaust tips (after cleaning and chiseling off the remnants of the still attached exhaust pipes):




All I can say is Jim, you are one heck of a carguy!

Thank you!