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Gonna go look

R

RustyRed

Active Member
Tomorrow I am planning to go look at a '79 Trans Am.

Been looking for something along those lines in a half hearted manner for a while.

This one has the 6.6 and T-tops.

Taking my buddy that runs a restoration shop with me as a second set of eyes.

Have the storage worked out where I can alternate having one car home for a couple weeks then trade them out. Or trade them out as needed should I want one car over the other.

I was surprised the wife might even be willing to park the pos PT Cruiser on the drive then I can store them both here at home. I figure one battle at a time though...

The current owner recently rebuilt the motor (about 5k miles ago). In the pictures it looks decent but we all know how paint can look good in a picture and like crap when you see it up close in real life.

We'll see...could be a good deal or a piece of you know what.

I've been looking for something new to play with. I don't want another Mustang coupe and it seems like fast backs and convertibles are much too pricey. Always loved old TA's so we'll see what happens.
 
I've got a soft spot for that era of T/A's and have looked at a few also. Does it have the t-tops? While the t-tops look nice, getting them to seal out the rain is a completely different matter.

My ex used to drive a '79 Formula 350 and I regret ever selling that car.
 
My BIL had a 78 with a solid roof when we were in school. Had a lot of speed runs in that car!

Co-worker sold his 77 last year after a complete resto. It was a Bandit model with a solid roof and 4 speed. He never did let me drive it, not sure why!

Good luck.
 
"daveSanborn" said:
I've got a soft spot for that era of T/A's and have looked at a few also. Does it have the t-tops? While the t-tops look nice, getting them to seal out the rain is a completely different matter.

My ex used to drive a '79 Formula 350 and I regret ever selling that car.
Click to expand...

I've been in love with those cars since I was about 8 years old.

I used to have an '80 back when I was about 16 and always regretted selling it.

The '79 has basically the same front end and it's hard to tell the difference between the two. Wish I still had a custom leather bra I had for my old car. It may still be in my Mom's garage but I would imagine someone has pitched it in the last 20 give / take years.

The car has T-tops. I figure the car isn't going to be my daily driver so if they leak a little it's not a deal killer.

It was raining yesterday and I was hoping it would be raining today. No better way to check if they leak then a good rain storm or a water hose.

Either way, I was planning to have a pretty close look at the floor pans.
 
Went and had a look at it.

Alarm bells were going off in my head when the car was missing a battery. Claims it runs and drives but the battery went out and he hasn't gotten a replacement yet. With knowing people are coming to look at it? Guess I didn't think to bring my own battery, LOL!

For a rebuilt motor with only 4k miles as he claims...looks like it's got more wear on it than that.

No A/C compressor because they switched the car from another motor (original was a smaller V8 but I can't recall what size) to the 400.

Needs a few spots of minor rust repair and paint.

Engine bay is in serious need of a detailing (ok, actually needs motor pull, sand, paint, reinstall)

No idea re: the transmission.

Interior looks pretty decent and does have the original snow flake wheels on it. Appears to all be there.

Needs a ton of little stuff and for certain needs the door hinges rebuilt due to door sag..they all need that though.

Not a bad car if you're looking for a project but at $5k I think he's a bit on the pricey end. There is one I've seen in Bryan for $2k and you'd probably have to put almost the same amount of work into either car.

My resto shop buddy said it would be at least $4 - $5k if he were to get it presentable and running...of course that does not factor in any drive train issues the car may / may not have. It also doesn't factor in I would do a good deal of it myself instead of paying labor to have it done.

All things considered...I think I am going to pass and keep my ear to the ground for something cheaper.

I think I'd rather find one like one I saw a while back that a guy was selling for $800 and just build it from the ground up over time. Or I may say screw it and just spend the money on getting an A/C unit put in the Mustang.
 
Probably a smart move. Honestly, one classic car is usually enough for the typical "working man". Even when life is great and your classic car is in perfect condition, it's just a matter of time before the next "uh-oh" comes along and you're dumping another chunk of your savings into it.

I tried explaining this to my hard-headed son. He owns his Ecar, a '57 F100 and a custom Exile cycle. At any given time there is something "not quite right" with any one of them. At one point all three of them were inop to some extent. Joe is working back overseas for another 1-2 years and buying a brand new truck is high on his list of things to spend this next round of money on.
 
I know several folks in the car club that have two cars but that is certainly my limit.

The way the ad read this sounded like a much better car then it ended up being. Sounded like a steal at $5k, guy saying he needs money for a wedding (I told him to call you by the way Dave...LOL!), etc.

Might be an ok deal if it's the only car someone has and they want to fix it up but he wants too much far as I am concerned. I talked to a guy about a similar Firebird with T-tops in Austin a while back and he only wanted around $1,500. But of course that was a Firebird and not a TA.

Just something about the whole deal but I got the feeling the guy was trying to pee on my leg and tell me it's raining.

My guess is the car has a lot wrong with it that he isn't letting on about and would be a money pit. Not a big deal if it's a resto project you're picking up for say $1k and planning on it needing one of everything but if that's what the car is then he should be selling it as such.
 
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