The next project....1970 Trans Am 400

[The Boss]

I have at least one bumper if you need it & have a tail panel too.

Cool car, looking forward to the build.

[jasonL78]

Thanks Steve I just ordered the trunk pan from a local rep so I hope it is correct. That is good to know about the trunk drop offs. From what I can see that rear tail panel looks good. But I do see some filler from a previous repaint.

[jasonL78]

I was already told it had a complete front nose because the fenders have ridges I guess but here you go steve.

Jason

[njsteve]

That is the entire front clip from a 73. Including radiator support, fenders, nose, grills. Probably the hood as well. Each year had its own hood, differentiated by the way the underside stampings were cut out. The 73 fenders differ from the 70-72 in that they have the two bolt mounting boss for those flat, steel reinforcement bars. They did use the 70-72 hood latch and jury-rigged it through the grill. The 73 used a cable setup because all of the 5-mph bracing got in the way.

The 70-72 radiator supports are impossible to find. They had a flat top without the two recesses for the 73-only, slab steel, fender reinforcement bars, that were also part of the 5 mph crash rules. Here is what it should look like:

[jasonL78]

Thanks Steve,

I haven't talked to the owner yet to see if he knows about the nose change. All good info to pass along to him.

[70TA]

I have a 70 radaitor support that needs some repair under the battery. PM me if you need it.

[jasonL78]

Well I talked to the original owner today. As I suspected he had no idea the front clip was changed. It must have been done after he sold it. He's just happy to own the car again. So he just wants to leave the 73 front clip on it. He plans on driving the car. I'm just going to fix the problem areas then hang quarters and paint it. This is the driver side floor pan all done.

Before



After



I still need to add the seam seller. I will do this after I finish the passenger side.

[leach]

Looking good so far Jason [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/flag.gif[/img]

[tom406]

I don't blame the owner for not wanting to deal with something he didn't even notice. But with all of the good work he's having you do, eventually he will regret not going ahead and having you fix it properly. Even if its not until he or his family sells it, it would still be better to deal with it now. Perhaps after it sinks in for a few days ask him again. In terms of selling (or even appraising its value, which is what I do professionally) the value of the car will essentially be diminished the cost of redoing the front end and painting to match or repainting. At any rate, thanks for sharing and good luck

Tom Breske
Vintage Viewpoint LLC
Seattle, WA

[jasonL78]

Moving forward just finished the top and bottom of the passenger side floor pan. It wasn't as bad as the drivers side but still needed to be replaced. Onto the trunk pan.