1977 W72 Trans Am Restoration

**99WickedSS** · 02-04-2011, 06:53 PM

Posting a few pics on the progress of my restoration. Carb has been rebuilt and replated by Cliff Ruggles and I have started sandblasting and powder coating some of the small parts.

**Firebirdjones** · 02-06-2011, 10:47 AM

Neat, these cars are coming into their own now.

Good ole Cliff, out of Ohio. He has a little blue ventura that he bracket races. I've went a few rounds with him at the tri-power nats.

**99WickedSS** · 02-06-2011, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by Firebirdjones

Neat, these cars are coming into their own now.

Good ole Cliff, out of Ohio. He has a little blue ventura that he bracket races. I've went a few rounds with him at the tri-power nats.

Yes Cliff is great. He is by far the Rochester Quadrajet guru..

**pajeff02** · 02-06-2011, 01:36 PM

Looks like a fun project. I remember from working on a '78 that the front ends on these cars are kind of a PITA. Lots of parts to them.

**99WickedSS** · 02-06-2011, 01:41 PM

Originally Posted by pajeff02

Looks like a fun project. I remember from working on a '78 that the front ends on these cars are kind of a PITA. Lots of parts to them.

Yea thats an understatement...I have all of the original hardware labeled and in packages but I know it's gonna take weeks to get the front end back together...At least that's a few years away at the rate I'm going. I want to pull the body off and send the frame out to get blasted and powder coated although I haven't found any place local.

**pajeff02** · 02-06-2011, 05:30 PM

You can easily blast the frame yourself in just a couple of hours, provided you have a decent size compressor and a pressurized pot sand blaster. In lieu of powdercoat, I strongly recommend painting your frame with POR-15, or an equivalent product. Powdercoating does not do well on sharp edges and has a nasty habit of peeling. Use foam brushes and you will be amazed at how nice your frame will come out. I have completed three frames this way and wouldn't consider any other method. You'll also save yourself a couple hundred dollars in the process.

**99WickedSS** · 02-06-2011, 05:45 PM

I'm all about saving money

I have heard of that stuff but have never used it. I have a cabinet blaster now but figured I couldn't do as good of a job on the blasting (if I bought a pot blaster). Now that you mention sharp edges I have seen that before on small parts where the coating on the sharp edges doesn't seem very good.

**pajeff02** · 02-06-2011, 05:55 PM

Originally Posted by 99WickedSS

I'm all about saving money

I have heard of that stuff but have never used it. I have a cabinet blaster now but figured I couldn't do as good of a job on the blasting (if I bought a pot blaster). Now that you mention sharp edges I have seen that before on small parts where the coating on the sharp edges doesn't seem very good.

If you are anything like me when it comes to working on cars, no one is going to do a better job than you. As long as you have the right tools all it takes is time. With POR-15 the frame does not even have to be perfect as "POR" stands for "Paint Over Rust". I will confess that I did have some of the suspension pieces on our Corvette and Cutlass powdercoated... but the only reason I went that route was the fact that my brother owned a powdercoating business. The frames, crossmembers and a good portion of the frame hardware were all done in POR-15.

**99WickedSS** · 02-06-2011, 06:08 PM

Well I tend to be a perfectionist so I do spend more time than normal on projects. I have never taken the body off a frame so this will be something new.

As for the body work and paint, I don't have the tools so I have to find someone good to do the work.

**Firebirdjones** · 02-06-2011, 06:29 PM

You're too far away for me, but I would imagine there are good body shops local to you.
Like Jeff said, you can pickup a fairly cheap pot blaster and do the big stuff outside. You'll go through alot of sand, and cover your body well

. There is a guy local here that does soda blasting, and he charges $200 for a full frame.
Your front sub frame would be cheaper still, but you'll find many other uses for the pot blaster. I use it basically for anything that doesn't fit in the cabinet blaster.
Nothing beats the detail that a good sand blasting brings out of a part.

**pajeff02** · 02-06-2011, 06:32 PM

As FBJ stated -- you only get to play with a subframe on that car. Basically remove 4 bolts and it is off once you have everything else removed.

**awray** · 02-09-2011, 12:45 PM

99WickedSS - where in OH is the guy that did your carb work?

**99WickedSS** · 02-09-2011, 04:52 PM

Originally Posted by awray

99WickedSS - where in OH is the guy that did your carb work?

He's located in Mount Vernon...you can ship the carb to him as well if that's too far of a drive.

**67CamaroRSSS** · 02-09-2011, 04:57 PM

Silver with red interior - NICE!

Few years back I almost bought an 80 Z28 that was red with silver interior.

I passed as I have too many projects already...

**99WickedSS** · 02-09-2011, 05:21 PM

Yeah I like the silver and red...I know the black and gold of the bandit is cool but I always liked the colors of the firebird on the hood of the silver car and think the red interior is sharp.

I know what you mean about projects...I find myself looking for a GTO to restore and then reality hits me...finish the T/A first...

**fat50** · 02-10-2011, 12:46 PM

I would like to second the suggestion for POR-15 on the frame. The stuff is amazing!! We had to paint it on some free weights that were being used in a salt spray test chamber, 2000 hours later (simulated) they looked as good as when we painted them. Even the glossyness <--is that a real word? was like new. Weird thing about it, we brushed it on and when it was dry there were no brush marks in the finish. They look like they had been sprayed and polished!

**pajeff02** · 02-10-2011, 03:46 PM

Originally Posted by fat50

I would like to second the suggestion for POR-15 on the frame. The stuff is amazing!! We had to paint it on some free weights that were being used in a salt spray test chamber, 2000 hours later (simulated) they looked as good as when we painted them. Even the glossyness <--is that a real word? was like new. Weird thing about it, we brushed it on and when it was dry there were no brush marks in the finish. They look like they had been sprayed and polished!

The stuff is pretty amazing. It isn't a whole lot thicker than water and a little bit goes a long ways. Have to be careful not to get it on you though -- about the same as getting a tattoo it is so hard to remove once it dries.