72 TA : New Project

[njsteve]

I've been working on some minor sub assemblies lately. Removed the tilt column and repainted it, and replaced the burned up universal joint rubber boot on the firewall end. (the boot is available on ebay as a Jeep CJ part, along with the column bushings, for about $10). I also pulled out the guages and got the original clock working again. Easy to do, just get a small fingernail file and file the points flat and then reassemble the case back on the gauge. Then spray the heck out it with WD40. Works every time.

I pulled the fuse box down from the firewall and found a nice surprise inside. Here's the fuse box:

[njsteve]

And here's what I found inside when I pulled the fuse box apart: a factory riv-nut with white overspray on it, wedged between the main power distribution wires, between the two halves of the fuse box assembly. These were the steel collapsable nuts that they used to mount things like mirrors to the doors.

As you may recall, this car was built while the UAW was still deciding whether to go on strike (which later occurred in early calender year 1972, shutting down the entire F-body plant for the rest of the 72 model year).

So far this is the second "mystery gift" left in this car by the disgruntled assembly line workers. The first was the extra side marker lamp bezel stuck beneath the mastic sound deadener, under the rear seat. Left there, no doubt, to make some mysteriously, un-locatable road noise.

Can you imagine this car going 114,000 miles with that little piece of metal just hovering above the main fuse terminals? That was a complete electrical melt-down just waiting to happen.

[Rat_Pack]

Steve, man that is a unbelievable! I have seen some weird stuff over the years but never anything like that sandwiched between the two halves of the fuse panel. Everyone that has owned that car over the years has been extremely lucky. This just proves my point with customers who worry about "penny pinching" during a restoration of the electrical system of these old cars. An extra grand on the restoration can mean the difference between a really nice done car or a car that is as DONE as toast from an electrical fire. Thanks for posting that picture and story...........RatPack....................

[njsteve]

It just makes me wonder what other little booby-traps are waiting to be found in this car. Maybe I should open the trunk and see if Jimmy Hoffa is in there.

[njsteve]

I just finished restoring the Trans Am's air cleaner base plate. The original had been run over by the previous owner in his haste to put out the engine fire that was attempting to immolate the entire car. I ended up using a small chisel to remove the passenger side snorkel and transplanted the passenger side snorkel from a standard four barrel dual snorkel 1972 air cleaner (they use the same snorkels), that I got off of ebay reasonably cheap. Instead of trying to weld that paper thin metal back together, I used some 2 part steel epoxy. It is actually holding it together better than any weld would and looks just like it was factory installed.

The fun part was removing the thermactor heat riser valves from the snorkels. It's easy to bend the tab and get the units out, but to reinstall the retaining tabs you need to use a special tool: My late Grandfather left me a pair of long wood vise clamps. You put one leg of the clamp down the mouth of the snorkle and the other on top of the thermactor bracket and tighten. It bends the interior tab forward perfectly. Sure beats trying to pry and tap with a long chisel and hammer. Thanks Grampa!

I also used paint stripper to remove all the factory paint. Once it was together I used Rustoleum Satin Black which duplicated the factory finish exactly. Another backyard auto restoration success story.

BEFORE:

[njsteve]

AFTER:

[njsteve]

The finished result looks just like this $2000 NOS air cleaner from ebay a few months back! Total repair price: $3 for epoxy, $3 for primer, $4 for paint, $75 for extra 4 bbl air cleaner, which I can probably resell on ebay for the same amount I bought it for. Total investment, minus labor = $85.