Update:

I picked up the car from paint yesterday. The shop painted the four GFX pieces as well as the hood. Unfortunately the hood had minor surface rust under the Firebird decal and some paint chipping away at the base of the hood scoop.



Installed





Notice the new sail panel decal.



Hood



Unfortunately the shop decided to buff the front bumper and burned through the original paint. They offered to repaint the front bumper cover which I probably will have to do now.



Hood scoop insert and grill installed. I repainted the grille with trim black since it had faded to silver.

 

New window sweeps for the door panels. As you can see the old sweep had seen better times....



I also refinished the headlight trim and front markers.

Pontiac emblem before





Completed

 

the body gaps on the hood, fenders and headlights look really good on this car. usually these panels didn't have great fitment from the factory.

 

Update:

The interior is mostly back together. It's missing the dash pad, a pillar covers, and under dash panels. I am also waiting on the upholsterer to complete the seats. Unfortunately it may be a couple more weeks before they are complete.

The car has a few more odds and ends that I hope to take care of this weekend. The wheels and center caps will also need some attention.

Here is a shot I took earlier today. It feels good to be finishing up!

 

Wow! Looks great, quite the transformation.

 

Except for the seats I finished assembling the rest of the interior today. Afterwards I took the car out for a two hour drive throughout the LA area. I'll be out of town for work for a few weeks so this will be it for now. Hopefully the seats will be ready to go when I'm back.

Picture from earlier tonight.

 

Looking good! Had to be fun to take it out for a few hours.

 

i cant believe the condition of the floors! 12k or 112k miles? amazing car, good luck

 

Great! It's gonna look fantastic when all done. So glad it's very well taken care of. These early third gens are getting more and more tlc and attention the last few years. I think people are realizing that they're kinda special and can be better than the day they left the factory.

Here's mine. Not yet 100% stock looking but it's getting there slowly.

 

Update:

Back in town and working on the car again!

The new steering wheel came in. I went with the optional for '83 leather wrapped wheel.

New wheel:



Old sunburnt wheel:



Side by side:



New wheel installed:

 

Looks great!

 

Wow! Where did you ordered that new steering wheel? The leather looks kinda dull. Maybe it's only on the picture. I'm curious to see how the seats turned out.

 

Nice car, and great work! Glad to see you back in the earlythirdgen game! We missed you!

 

Thanks!

Steering wheel was from Third Gen Ranch.

Thanks Dan! Good to hear from ya!

 

SEATS! FINALLY!

After a very very long wait the upholsterer finally completed the front seats. I installed them today and took the car for a cruise. The rear seats should be completed soon.





Was debating whether to install the hood bird or not... Went ahead with it today.





Full moon on the cruise.

 

Quickie photo shoot today:

 

Great car. Well done. Great seats. Love how functional the torso bolsters are. Didn't know how useful they were for these cars until now. Would have been beneficial in my old IROC.

 

Stunning!!!!

 

Looking great!
I have a 82-84 NOS headlight bezel for the right side if its needed

 

The minimalist hood bird works on the '83. '83 wins (over '84) with the black mirrors and spoiler. IMO '83 was the thirdgen TA pinnacle. And while some would say a manual is preferred over the '83 4 speed auto, the '83 clutch linkage was not ideal. Auto is the way to go. A perfect TA. I don't know the motor, but when viewing this car no one is thinking CFI or carburetor?

 

Just noticed you have an '83 with T5.

I drove an '83 Z with T5 last week and found the clutch sensitivity problematic. Might have been only that car. Interested in your comparison of the T5 vs auto.

Thanks.

 

I got a 5-speed in my 83 and I love the way the clutch feels better than the hydraulic. Enjoyed watching this 83 getting refurbished.

 

I'd bet the clutch in that '83 I drove was wonky. Thanks.

 

You did a terrific work on that red Trans Am. I mean look at how the car was like when you purchased it and how it is now. My hat's off to you!

 

I got the pleasure of seeing this car in person last Friday night. It was at night, but regardless, car is damn clear. Attention to detail everywhere. Car really puts you back in time and how these cars looked factory showroom. Car got plenty of attention at our car meet too. Nice to see people both younger and older appreciating these cars.

 

great project love the car

 

Looking great

 

very nice. Even nicer to see that there is another person who appreciates the factory UQ7 sub set up! I too restored my set in my 86. I had 84TA put a aux in my UT4 radio and I am very happy with the sound I get out of my system.

 

I finally restored this thread, which was destroyed after the Photosucket disaster. I will be posting some new content soon!

 

Excellent! Good to see these threads being rebuilt.

 

Lookin' good, 13!

 

Looks amazing. I love 82-84 Birds. My first Fbody crush when I was 13-14 haha! Always had a vision cruising in a silver one. Can't wait to see more updates.

 

Well done on all your hard work, car looks amazing. Looking forward to the coming new content.

 

Your car might have been old and worn but the body was still in very good condition. Nice find! No doubt the car is now in good hands and is going to be enjoyed a while longer.

 

The end?

 

Sorry to see/hear that. I saw the car posted on CL earlier today and felt bad after all the hard work you put into it.

 

Sorry to see it's reached an end for you. I hope it finds a good home.

 

Great effort! Sorry to see that. Hope it finds a great home. I'll spread the word on it.

 

Why get rid of it? It's a nice car. Put a 350 crate engine in it...

 

Yes - put her to the side for a bit and let your mood calm down a bit. You might regret getting rid of it. If you still feel the same way a few months from now, then sell it. An engine is not too much money for that car and you can go bigger. It only requires different injectors and a Corvette computer.

 

I agree. If you have room, put it to the side for a while.

 

There is no such thing as "the end" only in movies. You have done too much great work to let it go. I do have a question for you. Earlier in the thread you mentioned that you adapted your radio to have an acc input. How did you do it, does it have to have a tape in it to work.

Louis

 

I have to agree with the crowd, you need to keep it. Put it aside and start saving to redo the motor. Even if you pick up a small block just to keep driving it you can save the original motor and get new internals for it later on.

 

That's a bummer, but I would agree. Hang on to it, you won't regret it later.

I recently picked up a couple of '84s, one with an LG4 and one with an L69. They both need some TLC, like yours. Your post has inspired me!

A couple of questions:

Where can I find the decals for the defroster and trunk release?

Can you post on how to add the AUX port? I've got the same radio. My daughter is helping in hopes that she might drive it in a couple of years, but would like to keep the radio and have a way to play digital music.

Thanks!

 

Years ago I sold my first Formula because it was getting up there in miles (145,000) and had some rust issues. 8 years later I ended up buying another Formula...so from experience, you really might end up regretting getting rid of it.

 

Agent13, this has been a glorious transformation you've shown us. I know I enjoyed seeing it all unfold and it even gave me things to consider doing to mine - my switches look like crap and they need a redo like you've done.
Hopefully, you don't let her go, but I'm sure we're all on the edge of our seats here wondering - what's next??
I know it'd be awesome to hear you say "I'm gonna save it - But it won't be easy" lol

 

All,

Thank you for following the progress of my '83 TA. I hope that you have enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the new owner picked it up today and is taking it to its new home in Las Vegas. I received full asking price for it.

The point of this car was to clean it up and have fun with it. Unfortunately, my '83 Daytona TA has been waiting 10 years for a full rebuild and I am not up for two major projects at this time...

What's next? Stay tuned...

Off to its new owner as of an hour ago.

 

Is that how they towed it home??
If so that front chin spoiler probably didn’t make it.
Can’t wait to see the next project!

 

Congrats! What a cool looking neighborhood!

 

Must have been hard to watch that dumbass load the dolly?