Chad's 1981 Trans Am

[Chadman27]

Well after some coaxing, I'm finally pulling the trigger on the build thread... as I've stated before, I tried this once taking about an hour to write, and lost it all when posting... doh! So here goes... again...

I've been a long time forum stalker since 2004, forgot password and had change my username not so long ago. I've posted every now and then with questions and always get top notch help and advice. The guys on the forum are truly awesome and a wealth of knowledge!

So the car is a 1981 Trans Am and it was my first car in high school... its been my baby ever since! Growing up I was lucky enough to have a father who was willing to buy me the car and tear it apart with me to teach me how to wrench. 2nd gen's were a little more reasonably priced back in 2004, and 81 being a little less desirable, it was a modest project and I learned a ton. Basically the car was torn down, the puny 305 rebuilt, and all the drivetrain blasted/painted and worked over. Pretty much everything you don't see - interior & paint was worked, but the car wasn't in toooo bad of shape to start and a young chump can't be too picky. I loved it.

Modifiedthe car a little bit in High-school, which included custom Autometer gauges, some refurbed 15x8 Snowflakes, and a ZZ4 crate engine. To make these things happen I rang couple million groceries, dug a couple thousand feet of ditches for electrical conduit, and a couple hundred feet of hand built HVAC systems duct. Even at a young age, you could say it was my money pit .

During college the car stayed at the parents, and I knew once I was making some money I wanted to take the car further. I remember seeing the DSE Quadra-link setup and their 2nd Gen Test car for the first time and saying... right there, that's it

Fast forward a few years after graduation and I now have the means to satisfy my car lust.



I started my project in October 2010, so I have a lot of pics to update to where I am now... so instead of posting everything and risk losing my post again, I'll piece meal this thing out a few pics/descriptions at a time.

Here is how it started in 2010 before the full teardown: 1981 Trans Am, white, red interior, BW 4 spd, ZZ4 crate, 10 bolt 3.73's: 1 of about a ton, but its mine and that's all that reallymatters to me











To be continued...

[Chadman27]

So here's the initial tear down:

Interior gutted...




Clearing engine bay...




Clip removed...


Removal of drive-train/rear/rock-auto tank...

[Chadman27]

Now actually getting into some work...

I knew I wanted as much rear wheel clearance as I could get myself so I rolled the fender lips with the Eastwood Fender Roller tool... which is an awesome tool btw. Technically this would be before the rear was removed, but I wanted to separate the few tear down pics I posted (there are many more as you can imagine) from the actually new work I started...

Here is the tool mounted up...


Pre-roll...


Post-roll...


I estimate roughly 3/8 to 1/2 inch gained clearance depending on the region of the wheel well circumference.

[LeighP]

Now that is one neat tool! Those fender lips are really wide on a 2nd gen....I had my body guy roll mine "just in case" I went for something really wide in the future.

[Chadman27]

So early into the project I place my big order with DSE and S&W for majority of the fab items I would need. I justified the purchase as a "B-day" present to myself

Delivered items included: Moser/DSE built 12 Bolt Quadra-link rear end - 4.11 gears, Eaton Tru-trac, 33 spline axles, powder coated gloss. DSE subframe connectors, rear sway bar, mini-tubs, quadralink kit (poly bushing upgrade), Baer 6 piston Pro+ rear brakes (13 inch rotors), and S&W 10 pt roll cage.

Now some of you may ask why put a IHRA/NHRA spec cage that S&W offers into a pro-touring car. My reasoning is due to the fact that I will not be doing door-door SCCA/NASA events which have their own rules... yet I will be occasionally going to the "local" drag strips - the IHRA/NHRA spec is a better fit for me. I still get the safety and added benefit of the cage rigidity, but suits my needs more specifically. Anyways, lets get to some pics...

Here are the items laid out after unboxing...



Rear...



Brakes...


Test fit of brakes to rear...

[Chadman27]

Now it came to putting alllll that stuff in... Now since I have only done a little bit of welding during school... I knew I had to buck up to this stuff right. So during this time I enrolled in a weekend welding school class in which my employers offers to pay for for its engineers if they choose to take it to "familiarize" themselves with the "process"... my TRUE motives may have been a little different. To any fellow ME's out there, I do highly recommend taking a such a course if available. Unfortunately the course was all stick welding, which you are required to learn prior to MIG. I figured once I got stick down, I could figure the MIG out on my own, much simplier. You will see throughout my build how my welds gets better, so don't be to hard on me on some of my stuff I get better.

So first thing to do was to square the entire car so I can start fabbing and install items. My first task was the subframe connectors.

Fitup..



Weld...


Etch primed...

[Chadman27]

Next up were the mini-tubs. Pictures won't express the many many many hours it takes to get these babies in. But when the meats are stuffed, it makes it all worth it.

Setting up new cut lines and removing original tub...









Removing original tub reinforcement and cutting template lines...




This post is getting pic heavy, I'll continue on the next...

[garickman]

Very cool build. I'll be following this one for sure.

[Chadman27]

Time to build back up the reinforcement area












The original DSE tub is outfitted with seat-belt notches, but since I will not be running rear seats due to the cage, I decided to pound these out round to match the wheel well profile. I don't have pics but the notched section of the template, I cut and ground out the location. This allowed the wider tub to fit snugly. I used a torch and the round section of my engine stand to hammer out the shape... You will also see in one of the pics below is my pops ...aka the self proclaimed "Garage Supervisor" aka "Provider of Methods and Techniques" haha. His kidding aside he is always there to tell me a better way to do something or lend a hand when I need it. Couldn't do this without him. If you ever get a working knowledge of how internet forums work and actually read this, thanks dad you rock












On the home stretch its fitting and plug/seam welding in the tubs...









After a little sanding and primer things start looking right...









Now that I have developed carpal tunell from these posts I'm gonna call it a night, my bed calls and work in the AM. I'll keep updating to where I'm at currently sometime soon, lots more to come. As always, both compliments and criticisms are welcome, so share some replies.

Later,

-Chad

[Sneke_Eyez]

Awesome project. I've always liked these Trans Ams in white and your build thread is inspiring to me because its exactly what I hope to do with my Mopars. I bought my Dart in HS and my Coronet in undergrad and have done nothing but wish and hope to get their builds seriously going as I continue with law school. I can't wait to get out and be able to build, just like you are doing!

[Chadman27]

Awesome project. I've always liked these Trans Ams in white and your build thread is inspiring to me because its exactly what I hope to do with my Mopars. I bought my Dart in HS and my Coronet in undergrad and have done nothing but wish and hope to get their builds seriously going as I continue with law school. I can't wait to get out and be able to build, just like you are doing!

Thanks Sneke Eyez! I might be able to help you with your build "financially" after you are done with law school... Once I get this thing on the road I might be getting a few tickets that I will need some solid defense for Haha.

[CruizinKev]

project looks great so far Chad! nice parts n good work!!

[bhcustomdesigns]

Great project,I will be watching this one

[yellow1098Greg]

Awsome build and it's exactly what I want to do with 77TA so thanks for the details and sharing. The only one teaching me how to wrench is guys like you and your builds. It's great to see you building the car after waiting so long to do it and it gives me hope since my situation is following right in your foot steps. I graduated in April and have been interviewing ever since with building my car on my mind. Actually got another one in the morning....someones gotta say yes sometime right

[twosaturns]

awesome. seeing an '81 T/A that's NOT a turbo is pretty cool, EVEN cooler that it's a 4 speed! I like the white on red too, it's like the turbo T/A that Jeff Schwartz is building.

[srh3trinity]

Great looking car. I am pumped for another second gen build that is well documented with pics. I am going to use posts like these and the Second Chance Camaro as a photo instruction manual for my build.

[ryeguy2006a]

Chad, nice to see some other 2nd Gen Trans Am's here. I have many of the same parts that I want to get for mine. the Mini-tubs are looking good. Can't wait to see some more progress.

[sr73bu]

Great build! looks like a real solid start! Good luck with everything!

-Sean

[Chadman27]

Thanks for the replies fellas... and for those of you who have questions that will be doing this stuff with your 2nd Gens don't hesitate to ask me any questions... If you have the question, I've probably had to cross it at some point myself.. that's why we're all here!

Anyways, I got some free time before I head over to work on the car tonight, so I'll post some build pics up here while my dinner is cookin'.

[Chadman27]

So after the mini-tubs it was time to move onto the Quad link brackets and reinforcement plates...

Here is the rear frame notch fill panels which allow the lower links to articulate:


Template cutout...




Weld primed the inside...




Fitup/scribe of fill plate...




Tacked in...






100% weld...




Flapper disc smoothed out...




Etch primed...





Note that there is some oddball stuff you gotta do between these steps... like notice in the first pic the radius of the floor pan would contact the 90 deg of the fill plate... you gotta take a punch or BFH and create clearance... you can kinda see it in the 2nd pic how the bulge has been recessed. This does effect the smooth look of the rear floor pan, but if your running seats or a carpet, its hidden.