10th anniversary Trans Am help

[pontiac59]

A buddy just got a '79 10th Anniversary Trans Am as a basket case from an aborted restoration. It's solid and seems to be all there, but the motor (a 403) was torn down and left sitting where it got wet, so it is pretty well a boat anchor at this point. The interior and front clip are all apart and a lot of it just stuffed back in the car. I did look a little and see that parts for these aren't hard to come by, as far as that goes.

But we're probably going to need some help sorting out how to put it back together, are there any good manuals besides a factory service manual to figure out what bolts hold what parts together? I kind of hate when cars turn up that someone else took apart and nothing is labled or bagged.


Also, I was thinking since this is a 403 car maybe the way to go on it would be to have him use a '69 Olds 455 in it, which is a better motor than a 403 but would let him build the car to look like a correct original, sort of a sleeper. I have the whole front frame stub from the Toronado that was in. I also have a Pontiac 400 out of a '77 Gran Prix which he could use in it, but those only came in the manual trans cars and to really wake it up would call for tracking down some better heads. I know either one is a bolt-in.

Probably will need to go to a TH400 for that swap, the trans that came with it is a 350. Will one fit under there without a ton of work?

 

[melsg5]

Even the factory manual wont tell you what bolts hold what parts together. The parts and illustration manual would give you a clue but they dont list every nut and bolt. What block you use depends on the end game. If you want a restored vehicle top dollar the correct serial number block has to be in the car. If you dont care by all means go for a larger motor, you could even go to a Chevy engine and trani.

 

[cammerjeff]

What you really need is the Factory Assembly Manual, I do not know if it is available for a 1979 Firebird though, I was able to find a 1973 Lemans Assembly Manual to help put mu basket case 73 Lemans Wagon back together. I did find a site that sells a CD with the Service Manual, Fisher Body manual, and the 76-81 Firebird parts manual

http://www.78ta.com/sale/1979comp.php

I will ask around the Firebird Guys I know and see if the factory manual is available for your year.

 

[pontiac59]

Like I said, the original motor is junk, it looks like they pulled the heads, top end and oil pan off then left it sit in water or where it got rained on. The only way it's coming apart is if somebody breaks the pistons up with a hammer and chisel and then who knows how much overbore to clean it up - .030, .060, more, once what's left of them is driven out. If you can even bore a 403 very far, for all I know they're thin-wall like the 301s. I know little about Olds motors.

The 455 is at least all together with the heads on and it's supposed to be about the best stock 455 you can start from - C heads, high compression, etc.. Only someone checking numbers is going to figure out it's different. And since no one seems to be too interested in buying the core, he may as well put it to use.

And I frequently see modified cars bring more than restored cars; in this case, from what I see the 10th anniversary cars only bring big money if they're nice originals. This car is never going to be a nice original again, it needs paint, a full interior, the deck lid has a rot hole in it (hopefully a '75 will swap on, as I have one I saved somewhere), etc. -

______________________________

 

[melsg5]

Then by all means go for the 455, your buddy wont get regret that choice.