Project 78 Trans Am

I keep looking at how clean this car is! Do you know if it was bought new without the decals? I've seen a few like that, and I believe mine came without them too originally.
 
JoeP. said:
I keep looking at how clean this car is! Do you know if it was bought new without the decals? I've seen a few like that, and I believe mine came without them too originally.
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No it came with all the decals. My dad removed them soon after the accident in the hopes of getting it painted and he didn't want them taped off and painted around. You can still see the outline of the decals if you look real close.
 
My dads first new car was 78 T/A I have picks of that car from way back in the day. One day I'm gonna get one just like his. I've always loved the 70-73 and 77-78 T/A's
 
nice car, awsome story!please save this for your son to fix next :)
The onlt thing I would add would be a Lsx 427....
 
Nice car and great story. Is it a Marty by chance? I know there's a few different shades of blue that year and the Marty was a one year only thing. Don't forget to let the folks over at 78ta.com know all about it...They'll go apeshit on it. I have a 77 my self and a 69 GTO so happy it has the 400 also. Have fun and you can't beat the fit of those original GM panels...Lucky dog! Mike
 
iceman411 said:
Nice car and great story. Is it a Marty by chance? I know there's a few different shades of blue that year and the Marty was a one year only thing. Don't forget to let the folks over at 78ta.com know all about it...They'll go apeshit on it. I have a 77 my self and a 69 GTO so happy it has the 400 also. Have fun and you can't beat the fit of those original GM panels...Lucky dog! Mike
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Yes it is an original Martinique Blue car. I just signed up on 78ta.com and they love the car. Yeah i'm glad it has the Pontiac 400 as I have heard that the 6.6L Oldsmobile engine wasn't the greatest. I am also glad my dad bought the replacement panles from GM back in the day because those repop panles just don't cut it. really the only thing that needs to be done is the bump the door an then it's ready for paint.
 
Well I got plates and insurance but after I started tearing into the cooling system to fix a leaking heater core I started to realize how much work it needed before it was road worthy. The coolant has been in this engine for at least 10-15 years with little to no movement. It has caused the radiator to plug up and create deposits through the system. I have decided to go ahead and pull the engine and transmission and go through everything right away.

So far the front clip has been removed. The transmission is out on the bench and the engine is ready to come out except for the motor mount bolts. So far I have taken this car apart without breaking or stripping one bolt. Even the exhaust bolt came right off. It's like this car was built yesterday. I'll have pictures up soon to show my progress.
 
Wow you better knock on wood and pray you didnt jinx your self. Everytime I have that same thinking while working on my car something always happen.
 
Oh I have...but the only reason it's working that way is because everything is covered in nasty undercoating. So the bolts come off great but I'm covered in black tar afterwards.
 
Haven't updated this in a while but then again I haven't gotten a lot done. I removed the trans and the front clip to remove the engine. Engine is ready to come out but it's been just too cold.

Also it looks like my goal of getting the car finished for my dad to see before the cancer takes him might not happen. After a few trips to the hospital the doctors determined that the tumors are getting larger and can't be removed without causing other serious problems that could kill him sooner. I was really hoping to acomplish this but I guess that's life.
 
Good luck with the project. Too bad you and your Dad couldn't restore her together. My Dad and I did resto on a '70 Shelby before his motorcycle accident. I'll never forget the nights and weekends working on it.
 
The car sounds like it will be beautiful when completed! Sorry to hear the news about your dad. Don't give up hope, my mom went through a tumor removal last year and chemo treatments, and has been doing better since. Science has certainly come a long way, and miracles do happen everyday. I hope you still have time to share part of the project with him, even if it's not complete.
 
Well today I ordered the replacment interior door panles, headliner, engine gasket set, heater core and engine paint. Next will be to finish pulling the engine, tear it down, have it hot tanked, put back together and painted. The radiator is going to superior to be hot tanked if possible. The carb is going out to be rebuilt. Hoping to have it back together for summer so I can drive it while I save for the paint job.
 
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