Wrecked 1970 TA on ebay

[1969z280]

Steve:

Thank you very much for posting the pictures. It's a great tutorial. Ed

[njsteve]

Here's some more quality photos of that "95% original" white T/A...

Just a little surface rust here. I guess the wind took the spoiler corner off:



Needs a little tail panel work...actually it needs a tail panel - there's nothing remaining:



Here's the "95% original" aftermarket Holley spreadbore carb:



And the pies de resistance, the cowl tag that has nothing to rivet to:



On the plus side it does appear to have the $1500 to $2000 set of JW coded 15" Rally wheels with the 14" centers - a unique wheel that was used from 1970 to 1972 on T/A's and Formulas.

[markjohnson]

Man, that quarter panel is something else. I agree that this thing is being bought for the title, tags, and a few select parts. It's a shame, but that thing is just too far gone. I've always had a thing for those early '70's 'Birds, especially the Trans Ams. Bitchin' cars!

[njsteve]

It doesn't even have a title! The ad says sold on bill of sale only.

I think the only useable parts are the shaker setup (it has the 1970-only, thin rear lip shaker top - with broken edges), the 1970-only, single snorkle air cleaner, and the JW wheels. That engine has to be toast. At a minimum it needs eight sleeves due to rust, if it hasn't been blown up (a common occurence with Pontiac 4 speed cars - they didn't like to rev!) which is usually the reason these things were parked and abandoned. The M21 trans and 12 bolt rear end are possibly salvageable. So I see about $5000 in parts there.

[69cmaroluver]

The description says the state it's licensed in (Alabama) doesn't have title on vehicles from 74 back. Also says title can be obtained with notarized bill of sale and tag reciept. I bought my 69 RS in Georgia and had the same situation with getting a title. My license commisioner stated there are 3 or 4 states that handle vehicle titles that way for vehicles after a certain age.

[njsteve]

Yup, NJ is the same way - if the state you bought it from uses a bill of sale only for old cars, they accept it. They then issue you a NJ title (of course after you pay a bunch of typical NJ extra fees...)

If you want to see an awesome blue 1971 455HO, M22, A/C equipped Trans Am barn find, check this out...and he bought it for $2000.

http://forums.performanceyears.com/f...d.php?t=592887

[69cmaroluver]

The car is located about 2.5 hours from me. The owner agreed to let me take a look at the car today. Car is rough but truly not as rough as I thought it would me. The rear body panel and rails are very nice and will pass with ease. Deck lid and panel beneath rear glass will need replacing, the owner has a deck lid off a mid 75 TA that he agreed to give to the auction winner. Deck lid is very nice and looks the same but I'm not sure if it will fit due to year??? Trunk floor has rust in a 4" x 6" area. In my opinion this rust can be cut out and patched without a complete trunk floor. I had a tough time looking at the entire floor from the inside since all the interior was still in the car. Looking from beneath the car, there's rust in all 4 floor pans. Again not real bad but in my opinion the easiest fix would be to replace the entire floor panel from toe kick to area beneath rear seat. Section under rear seat looked very good and will clean up nicely. Cowl has surface rust across top but nothing rusted through, it should clean up. Drivers door shell is solid with exception of the outer skin. Based on what Steve said finding a skin in near impossible. The passengers door shell is wasted and will need replacing. After looking at Steve's fender pics I can say both fenders are correct and will need replacing. Subframe will need replacing, its bent in the front crossmember area. The owner had a subframe from a 73 Firebird with disc brakes rolling. It also has the front urethane nose attached with both left and right brackets. He agreed to sell the rolling subframe to the buyer for $500. The nose will need some repair because of spider webbing in an area but it's really a pretty nice nose. Next I went to the engine, the oil stick had some rust on the bottom 1/8" with no other signs of liquid's. Evidently the original owner pulled the oil plug at some point and time, I found it in the drivers seat. The engine isn't stuck, I did see it turn for what it's worth. Radiator is bowed in the center but didn't damage the fan. I've had radiators rebuilt years ago if the tanks are good. Both tanks appear to be good, not sure but possible to have this radiator recored? Transmission and rearend both looked okay, no visible damages to either that I could see. All 4 wheels are correct JW and what I'm guessing was the original spare in the trunk with jack assembly. In summary, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. My brother in law is a superb body man and he's agreed to help me restore the car. He was ith me today and looked it over with me. There was a old tarp lying around the car, it evidently rotted off years ago. I just can't believe the guy actually let the car set and didn't attempt to keep it covered or inside. I really don't know if I'm ready to give up the time, money and endless complaining by my wife and sister in law. A restoration like this could certainly cause divorces.

[njsteve]

Goood for you for checking it out in person!

1) The deck lids are interchangeable from 70 to 81.

2) The 73 nose is very different internally. That was the first year of the 5 mph impact requirements and there are at least 40 pounds of extra brackets and mounting hardware in there. The beak is also about an inch longer than the 70-72 urethane nose. They look similar but are not correct and may not bolt up unless you use the 73 and up radiator support which as we know would look incorrect.

Here's the 70-72 nose. Note there are only 2 steel "L" brackets that hold the nose to the frame. Also note that the two grills have a honeycomb pattern in 72 and a small mesh pattern in 70 and a still different pattern in 71. 73 was entirely different with a large egg shape mesh pattern and was shallower in depth.



Here's the 73 nose with a bunch more hunks of metal.



3) If the left and right tanks are ok the radiator can be recored. That 4 speed radiator will not have any tranny cooler fittings. That is the telltale that it's a four speed radiator.

4) I guarantee that there will be extensive rust under the left and right lower corners of the windshield. That is the bad spot on the 2nd gen Firebirds and Camaros. If you look into the lower corners of the windshield next to the A-pillar you will probably see a bunch of scale - a real bad sign.

5) They do sell nice, accurate full floors for these cars. You'd probably be better off replacing the entire floor rather than welding piecemeal if there is rust in all 4 seating positions.

6) Trunk floor rust is common. They do also make good full trunk floors. I'd buy the full floor and use what you need and stay away from the smaller 1/2 floors, they're not as accurate.

[69cmaroluver]

Pics of the 70-72 Nose in white look exactly like the set up he has. The nose is attached by the 2, somewhat, 90 degree brackets and the grills look very similiar. The left side grill is broken and right side is good. Thanks for the pics.

[Dave Rifkin]

[ QUOTE ]
Here's some more quality photos of that "95% original" white T/A...

Just a little surface rust here. I guess the wind took the spoiler corner off:



Needs a little tail panel work...actually it needs a tail panel - there's nothing remaining:



Here's the "95% original" aftermarket Holley spreadbore carb:



And the pies de resistance, the cowl tag that has nothing to rivet to:



On the plus side it does appear to have the $1500 to $2000 set of JW coded 15" Rally wheels with the 14" centers - a unique wheel that was used from 1970 to 1972 on T/A's and Formulas.



[/ QUOTE ]

Nothing a little Safest Rust Remover won't fix.