Original single stage metallic 1979 Trans Am!

J

Justins00ss

Active member
So my engine tuner and builder Don Kinder of Slowhawk performance in Bridgewater has been tinkering with this Nocturn blue 79 TA. Like most he can never leave it stock so out came the 301/4speed and in went a A/A Vortec supercharged LS motor with a 6 speed. This car is a blast to drive. Fun fast and loud!

This car is pretty clean considering the age. Especially the original camel colored interior.


The single stage metallic paint was a swirled mess and definitely needed some brightening. Given the age some things couldn`t be fixed. Like the front and rear bumpers and some of the ground effects.

Foamed wash with Hyper wash.

Decon with nanoskin handy towel

Wheels/tires- McKee foaming wheel cleaner gel, LATA, Hyper dressing

Paint- M100/M205- Rupes Duetto/swirl killer mini

Lsp- High Def Paint Sealant

Interior- Mckees 70/30 leather shampoo, IGL dash uv protectant, McKees carpet and upholstery cleaner

After wash and decon

























 
Always preferred the Firebird`s over the Camaro`s ( still will take either though). Looks great!! Very nice job
 
Love those cars; not the fastest but what was back in 1979? Friend had a black/gold one and man, did we think we were the sh*t rolling around in that thing way back when.

Good to hear Slowhawk still doing his thing; back when we were deciding what to do with the Vette, he was extremely well regarded in the LS community. Pondered driving up from NE Ohio to have him do the headers and tune; his reputation was that good.
 
Justin:
When you say that some of the plastic pieces, like the bumpers and ground effects, could not be "fixed", is this because they have a "different" paint on them due to the plastic?? I noticed it says "original single-stage metallic" in the thread subject line. The OEM paint looks in fantastic shape for the age of the car.
Did you apply the IGL dash protectant to the leather as well or does the McKee`s leather shampoo leave them looking that way (IE; shiny)?? Again, the leather looks in excellent shape for the age of the car.
When compounding/polishing the paint, did you tape off the edges of the decals?? Again, decals look in pretty good shape if they are the OEM ones that came with car. Someone preserved and care for this particular vehicle!

I must also comment on the McKee`s37 emblem/decal on the red (air compressor or water treatment??) canister/tank I see in the background in one of the pictures.

Thanks for improving upon the preservation of a late 70`s muscle car (what little there was back then). Performance GM F-body`s (their designation for the Chevy Camaro Z-28 and Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am frame and suspension design they shared) are still highly sought after. I ordered a new `79 Camaro Z-28 with a black exterior and gold interior, but in came in with a black interior, so I refused it. Good thing! I ended up buying a used `77 Datsun (Nissan) 280Z with a rare 5-speed that could burn regular leaded gas because of the fuel injection it came with. Most vehicles after 1974 required unleaded gas to be burned due to new emission laws and the required catalytic converters needed to meet those regulations and, hence, the use of unleaded fuel. I say "good thing" because the US Embassy take-over and hostage incident in Iran caused a gas shortage in mid-1979 that led to the rationing of unleaded gas where you could only get 10 gallons of gas every 2 days based on your even-or-odd license plate number or no gas at all, if gas stations ran out. Commuting 65 miles round-trip daily from home to work would not have allowed me to buy enough gas for the Z28 to do that, BUT because the 280Z burned regular leaded fuel, I could get all the gas I needed at that time. The gas rationing lasted about 3-4 weeks and made the USA realize how dependent we were on OPEC (Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries) oil and was the impetus for federal legislation for nation-wide 55-mph speed limits. (More personal and history lessons than I needed to know!)
 
yamabob said:
Always preferred the Firebird`s over the Camaro`s ( still will take either though). Looks great!! Very nice job
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Thanks! Yeah I really like these cars but also have a thing for the early 70s split bumper Camaro!

SGM2008 said:
Great Job!

I`m not usually a fan of gold wheels, but that color combo is killer!
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I agree! The combo works!

BudgetPlan1 said:
Love those cars; not the fastest but what was back in 1979? Friend had a black/gold one and man, did we think we were the sh*t rolling around in that thing way back when.

Good to hear Slowhawk still doing his thing; back when we were deciding what to do with the Vette, he was extremely well regarded in the LS community. Pondered driving up from NE Ohio to have him do the headers and tune; his reputation was that good.
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Thanks bud. Yup he is cranking out work and staying very busy. I have been doing business with him since 2005.

Lonnie said:
Justin:
When you say that some of the plastic pieces, like the bumpers and ground effects, could not be "fixed", is this because they have a "different" paint on them due to the plastic?? I noticed it says "original single-stage metallic" in the thread subject line. The OEM paint looks in fantastic shape for the age of the car.
Did you apply the IGL dash protectant to the leather as well or does the McKee`s leather shampoo leave them looking that way (IE; shiny)?? Again, the leather looks in excellent shape for the age of the car.
When compounding/polishing the paint, did you tape off the edges of the decals?? Again, decals look in pretty good shape if they are the OEM ones that came with car. Someone preserved and care for this particular vehicle!

I must also comment on the McKee`s37 emblem/decal on the red (air compressor or water treatment??) canister/tank I see in the background in one of the pictures.

Thanks for improving upon the preservation of a late 70`s muscle car (what little there was back then). Performance GM F-body`s (their designation for the Chevy Camaro Z-28 and Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am frame and suspension design they shared) are still highly sought after. I ordered a new `79 Camaro Z-28 with a black exterior and gold interior, but in came in with a black interior, so I refused it. Good thing! I ended up buying a used `77 Datsun (Nissan) 280Z with a rare 5-speed that could burn regular leaded gas because of the fuel injection it came with. Most vehicles after 1974 required unleaded gas to be burned due to new emission laws and the required catalytic converters needed to meet those regulations and, hence, the use of unleaded fuel. I say "good thing" because the US Embassy take-over and hostage incident in Iran caused a gas shortage in mid-1979 that led to the rationing of unleaded gas where you could only get 10 gallons of gas every 2 days based on your even-or-odd license plate number or no gas at all, if gas stations ran out. Commuting 65 miles round-trip daily from home to work would not have allowed me to buy enough gas for the Z28 to do that, BUT because the 280Z burned regular leaded fuel, I could get all the gas I needed at that time. The gas rationing lasted about 3-4 weeks and made the USA realize how dependent we were on OPEC (Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries) oil and was the impetus for federal legislation for nation-wide 55-mph speed limits. (More personal and history lessons than I needed to know!)
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So for whatever the bumpers and ground effects are slap worn out and super thin. Which seems to happen to these cars a lot. Most likely due to the material used.

I did use the IGL dash on the whole interior to add a bit of uv protection. The factory seats really aren`t leather but more of a vinyl.
 
Great result and very cool car. As a general rule, do you treat single stage paint any different than modern clear coats?
 
[Accumulator`s first Fun Car was a `77 TA and he loves ss metallic paint...]

Justins00ss- Hey great work, and I love that it`s original and in an uncommon color.

Lonnie- They botched up the order on my `77 too, but I was a lucky kid to get it so no refusal here. The front half of the rear wheelwell flares got abraded with stones/etc. something awful, looked like [crap] within a few K miles.
 
jatleson said:
Great result and very cool car. As a general rule, do you treat single stage paint any different than modern clear coats?
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To be quite honest with you, I will probably get flack for this but NO I don`t. Unless there`s special circumstances involved.

Here`s my reasoning behind it. Weather I`m polishing clear coat, tinted clear coat or single stage I am abraiding the surface and removing material. Weather it be clear coat or actual paint. Only difference is that I have to change pads more often and blow them out between every pass to keep them from gumming up.

Accumulator said:
[Accumulator`s first Fun Car was a `77 TA and he loves ss metallic paint...]

Justins00ss- Hey great work, and I love that it`s original and in an uncommon color.

Lonnie- They botched up the order on my `77 too, but I was a lucky kid to get it so no refusal here. The front half of the rear wheelwell flares got abraded with stones/etc. something awful, looked like [crap] within a few K miles.
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Thanks bud. I guess between the color, interior color and the type of t tops its a pretty uncommon optioned car. Something to do with the t tops only being a certain California type t top.
 
Very subtle resto-mod type additions. Those new snowflake wheels look stock. And that interior looks great for nearly 40 years old. Awesome work, thanks for sharing.

Does your customer want a 1998 Trans Am with an LS and 8,400 miles:)
 
Justins00ss said:
To be quite honest with you, I will probably get flack for this but NO I don`t. Unless there`s special circumstances involved...
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Hey, no flak from me, I do it the same too even on the `85 Jag. Yeah, a case of "do as I say, not as I do" but other people aren`t me ;)

.. I guess ..[given]..the type of t tops its a pretty uncommon optioned car. Something to do with the t tops only being a certain California type t top.
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Huh, learn something every day. As a hater of T-tops of any kind, I never paid enough attention to know that.
 
Accumulator said:
Hey, no flak from me, I do it the same too even on the `85 Jag. Yeah, a case of "do as I say, not as I do" but other people aren`t me ;)


Huh, learn something every day. As a hater of T-tops of any kind, I never paid enough attention to know that.
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Haha! Right after he bought it he posted it on some TA forums and people were offering 10k over what he paid for it.
 
Justins00ss said:
Right after he bought it he posted it on some TA forums and people were offering 10k over what he paid for it.
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Heh heh, if that`s really $10K of real money over what he has in it, then IMO he oughta take the money and run...some day for some reason it`s just be a "no longer original old TA" and he won`t get quarters on the dollar.

Yeah, I`d keep it and plan to drive the wheels off it, but I tend to, uhm...accumulate silly possessions.

Thinking back on mine, I hope he puts as much into the suspension as he did on the engine. Even 40 years ago they needed a whole lotta upgrading to be livable and I`m sure there are better parts available now (used to be basically two choices; I was a Herb Adams guy).
 
Accumulator said:
Heh heh, if that`s really $10K of real money over what he has in it, then IMO he oughta take the money and run...some day for some reason it`s just be a "no longer original old TA" and he won`t get quarters on the dollar.

Yeah, I`d keep it and plan to drive the wheels off it, but I tend to, uhm...accumulate silly possessions.

Thinking back on mine, I hope he puts as much into the suspension as he did on the engine. Even 40 years ago they needed a whole lotta upgrading to be livable and I`m sure there are better parts available now (used to be basically two choices; I was a Herb Adams guy).
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Suspension is already done. Coilovers, Strange Dana 60 built rear. Upgraded brakes etc
 
Wow, great work, and thanks for posting. This brings back memories.
I haven`t heard of this TA model with 301. They came with a Pontiac 400 or the slightly less powerful Olds 403

Edit: I should have researched this before posting. Apparently there was a 4.9 TA, I thought they were all 6.6 (400 or 403). I had the 79 Formula and a few friends had 76 through 79 TA`s and we never knew of a 4.9. The internet is amazing.
 
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