I love the camaro's, but the 70-73 trans am was just a beautiful car. I have always wanted one since I was a young boy.

I can see the second gens taking off, well they sorta have any way. To give you a example, I could have picked up a 1972 trans am for 3500 8 years ago. The car looked like it was only 12 years old cosmeticly. It boasted a 455/4 speed and 8 track. I couldn't touch one of these trans am's, so original and virgin like this one now for less then 10-15 grand easy. I miss that car and wish I could have bought it I would still have it if that were the case.

I will say this though, after driving one of the late 70's trans am's I am glad I bought my 65 GTO.
The second gens have a lot of plastic and extremely heavy doors.

Agreed.

I had a '74 455 T/A and hated how heavy the doors were on that thing.

No kidding. My 79 TA is a heavy pig overall. 3800 pounds easily.

I think the spike is good and bad. More good than bad though so I'm ok with it for now. Maybe in another 5 to 10 if I go to get a second I'll be bitching because of the price tag. For now though, I'm good.

1974 was the first year for side impact standards. Pontiac welded in I beams inside the doors to pass. I have one, I know. They're VERY heavy.

The only thing they should have done differently is kept with the fiberglass instead of the urethane parts. The late second gens bumpers and spoilers would hold paint alot longer if they were fiberglass. You can do everything right on these cars and still have hair line cracks after just a couple of years...

Love the early 2nd Gen cars and have been fighting the good fight since 1980 with mine...:yes:
Overall,much better handling car than the 1st Gens with the relocation of the steering box,bigger wheelwells means you can stuff bigger rubber there as well.

Had Penske & Donohue stayed with GM for the 1970 season,there is NO DOUBT in my mine they would have been the SCCA Trans-Am champions and not Ford.The '70 cars were designed with racing in mind.

I'm dealing with the rubber under the bumper cover sagging and thus the nose sagging for lack of support. The rear isn't so bad but the front ends do not hold up well you are right

You guys are hitting the nail on the head. A few years back I thought the doors were so heavy just because of the size. I've been around some earlier F-bodies and what a difference! I'm going to replace the hinges on my '81 this summer and it looks like somebody already has. If my doors weren't in such good shape, I'd replace them. I have yet to see a '74-'81 F-body with original doors and hinges that don't sag. On the subject of fiberglass and urethane, fiberglass noses and rear bumper covers are available, you just have to look a bit. The rear bumpers (in fiberglass) seem to always include the tail panel and I don't know what effect that will have on structural integrity. My paint looks great everywhere but on the bumpers and where one fender was hit. The nose probably won't look perfect no matter what I do to counteract the sagging (filler I guess?) and there isn't a flex agent on the market that'll keep the paint intact for any lengthy amount of time.

I was lucky enough to come across a new GM nose cover for my 80 TA before they stopped producing them. It was expensive, but worth it. 78 TA's are getting some love from Year One with their fiberglass bumpers which I'm sure will hold up better. - Ron

One of the reasons I obught my Z is I opened the trunk and saw GM stickers in them. OE stuff when they were replaced.