Disco Trans Am Project

[gmcdermit1]

I recently started working on my 79 T/A again. I have had it since I was 15 so why quit now! This incarnation is going to be a pro touring car on A budget. I don't have the money for all the fancy stuff but want a quick reliable decent handling car. I have a lot of metal work ahead soit will be awhile before I have to spend much anyway. The car was just a plain jane nocturne blue 79 with a 403 and 2.41 rear.No A/c,no tilt wheel/no t tops no options. It is going to have a 406 pontiac 7k3 heads(ported by Kauffman racing 263cfm intake at .500,solid lifter cam 256 &265 @.050 .550 .560 lift.850 demon torker 1. That is the engine(at least for now since its what I got even though I'll freshen the bottom end up). I picked up a ls1 t56 that was a stage 2 from 6 speeds inc and plan to get the mcleod adapter. Will this trans fit into the tunnel without cutting it up? How about with .5" lower solid body mounts? I want to go 3 link with watts link in the rear and just get some upper control arms and good springs and sway bar for the front.I would also like to get some good lower a arm bushings. While I'm doing the metal work I am also going to mini tub it since it needs wheel houses anyways. For wheels I may have to run the GTA wheels I have for now with some 255 50s. At least I have all 4 front wheels. How does this sound so far. I think it should be cool with the right stance and sound! Any suggestions.....There are some current photos and some of the car about 10 or 11 years ago how it looked as my daily driver in high school!

[WS6]

Welcome. You're going to want to post these questions in their respective forums. You're in the project update section now which isn't the best suited for asking questions of this nature.

[Ishmael]

Sounds like a good project. There are lots of people, including me, that like to see what can be accomplished with brains rather than a cheque book so be sure to keep us posted with your progress. I like that you are using new pontiac parts. I think the wheels should be fine since they were designed for a newer firebird that keptthe old lineage in mind in its design.

[Code Red]

[Motown 454]

Welcome . I agree where are the pictures.

[gmcdermit1]

I added some pics. Sorry I posted in the wrong spot....I'm a newbie to posting stuff. Always just a spectator. Please be patient. As you can see she's pretty rough. Tail panel was gone. I parted out a 79 y84 4 speed car and got the disc brake rear, tail panel and a bunch of other parts. Don't worry , the y 84 was a total basket case, actually pieced together from 2 different cars right down the middle.I have my work cut out for me now but it isn't a matter of the work involved as much as finding the time with a 1,2 and 10 year old at the house along with the wife. Slow, steady and on a budget. I would love to build something as bad ass as the II much nova or one of those but I don't have the 75k and 1000's of hours to do it at this point in my life. I want to do the best I can with what I have and on a budget of under 10k over a period of a couple years. I will never sell the car as it was my first. I can always add to it later but I want to enjoy it why I and my family are still young. I would love to get a set of the year one billet snowflakes but at 2500 a set, I don't see it happening. I may be able to go with the cast17x9s though. Or the GTA wheels which I already have. I could sell them to fund the 17s which are a bargain at 750 a set. With the right coupons you can get em shipped for about 650 to 700. Not bad and would look great omn the car in silver with the original nocturne blue paint and blue bird kit.What do ya think?

[1971CHEVELLE]

hi welcome to the site Car looks like a solid base to start from

[gmcdermit1]

Yea its solid but it has its bad spots. I just neglected the car for too many years. Sitting outside for Ohio winters isn't nice!

[1971CHEVELLE]

This will be something to be proud of when you finish it. Keep up the good work you are doing. keep us posted

[WS6]

I would go with the cast 17inch rims. they are a great prcie and are1 or 1.5 inches wider than the GTA rims. You also cannot run C5 brakes behind the GTA rims. You should be able to use the 17in cast snowflakes though. You need a 17in minimum rim to clear a real brake up grade. Of course, third gen 1LE brakes may work well for you also. It just depends on your budget. The brake section has discussions on about fron brakes for these cars as well as rears. Good info there. Do a search by looking at the top of the subforum main page on the right. You'll see a search this forum tab.

[gmcdermit1]

Thanks for the idea....That was one of the big downfalls of the gta rims. That and the limited tire selection for 16s compared to 17s. Even if I had the back 2 wheels widened 16s don't have that many good options.

[gmcdermit1]

I guess I need to find a gta or grand national forum to sell those darn gta wheels. I've had em for so long I kind of hate to part with em. MY dad has a black 67 400 4 speed firebird. Those gta's would look great in black on that car!

[WS6]

Post them here after you get up to 50 legitimate posts. There's always ebay and or craigslist as well. Before you make the jump to the 17inch cast snow flakes, you may want to verify they will clear the C5 or other 13in brakes. I think they will but can not say for certain.

[gmcdermit1]

I'll check into that. Either way I think I'll probably have to upgrade in order to clear some bigger brakes. I may have to run the stock brakes with some better rotors and pads for awhile though. Depends on the budget at that point.

[NOT A TA]

Welcome! Year one has had a request banner on the opening page of transamcountry.com for several weeks trying to get people with C5 setups on 2nd gens to bring their cars to Year One so they can test fit the snowflakes. You may have to wait a bit for an answer on that.

[gmcdermit1]

I've got plenty of time. Thanks for the update.

[jackfrost]

PM me about the GTA wheels. welcome to the site - nice to see other Dayton guys.

[Code Red]

PM me about the GTA wheels. welcome to the site - nice to see other Dayton guys.

lol I just now noticed it said Sidney lol

I'm in huber heights

[gmcdermit1]

Yep....I'm a Sidney guy. Lived here my whole life. I like to frequent the Huber Heights area due to restoration world being there!

[Code Red]

Yep....I'm a Sidney guy. Lived here my whole life. I like to frequent the Huber Heights area due to restoration world being there!

yeah its like 2 mins from my house lol they know me pretty well in there lol