New Project - 76 T/A - NEED IDEAS!
 

I have agreed to resto-mod a 76 T/A with t-tops and a 400 engine. The car is being shipped to me now. The owner wants to make it fresh...unique, fast, and fun.

I have only seen pics on the web. He is paying about $11K for it shipped. He realizes it may have serious rot and hidden damage. However, on face value it has nice black paint and buck skin interior, including the t/a treatment and shaker hood.

So....if you had one, what would you do?

Big wheels....of course.

However, this is the first 2nd gen F body I have ever gotten involved with and don't even know who the players are...where to get stuff...what's hot...and not on these bad boys.

After the car gets here I will go over the immediate structural/retoration items, then talk to the owner about his "vision" for the car and intended use. From that point we can dream it up. I believe I have him sold on some sort of forced induction and an overdrive. That's about it for now.

Thoughts...comments...links...hot birds you have seen??????

A '76 with T-tops will have Hurst Hatches. Hurst Hatches is American Indian for "leaks water and rots floors," so you will probably have some work there to deal with. Also, I don't think there were any structural changes made for the Hurst Hatches, so some sort of stiffening modifications will be in order.

Good Luck!

Shiny Side Up!
Bill
'72 442 "Inamorata"
www.FQuick.com/ProTouring442

Dang it! I got mixed up. This car DOES NOT have t-tops. The other one he was looking to buy did. He had asked me if T-tops could be installed aftermarket. That's how I got it on the brain.

Anyway....here is the actual car.

http://classicauto-showplace.com/mor...auto-showplace

new bird
 

chris

id could spen all this guys money!!! :lol:
id call dse and get my suspension stuff form them? does he want a minitubbed car?..that would be damn cool.if not id go with dse springs . some new spindles with the vette brakes and new control arms..id go with a 18 inch boze wheel with gold mesh centers.kinda t/a style but new .. goes good with the gold accents .
id put in newer trans am bucket seats covered to match his interior....real light and fit great nice take outs are 300 aprox a set....ebay...
motor ? is he wanting to change it ....if so, id yank the tank and put in a ls?with a 4l60e and a shrifter .......dont stop me now.....lol
call me

radrambler

Bonus! No t-top T/A must be fairly rare and IMO, very desirable unless he has a mullet that he wants to feel the wind through. Beg him to leave the roof intact and hammer that thing on some 19" HRE 540s with gold centers as a stylized modern version of snowflake wheels. A little mild shaving and you'll have a unique runner.
Good luck!

Just picked up a 76 T/A myself to build and sell. Sweet car, with the 400. I think I'm going to go bright blue with some gold forgeline wheels. 18s and 19s new interior, with summit racing seats, covans dash, etc, DSE goodies, etc. I have that project, and a 70 camaro to build. Fun fun.

What are your ideas? What is the customers budget? How much is enough?

The owner is thinking?

R.P.

76, that's my favorite year TA. Here's a concept for a red 81 model.
You could keep it black and add these gold center Kinesis K28 wheels.

SR-71/Stealthy TA
 

Keep it black but ditch the gold... it's been done before. Dark charcoal/flat black a 70-73 T/A stripe up the hood, over the roof, down the deck lid spoiler... same style wheels as mentioned above but with a matching charcoal/flat black center/polished fat lips.

2nd Gens don't need tubular A-arms... get an HO Racing front sway bar (1-3/8) and a 1" rear with some Koni reds and be done with it. Poly bushings everywhere if he wants to drive it regularly.

An aluminum headed 400-stroker (461/3/7) will easily make 500hp...
Again budget and hp... Auto or stick? T-56 is an easy swap... I've got some low compression cast 4X heads (110cc) if you want to go the power adder route on the Poncho 400... Low comp 400 with 6-8lbs boost will be around 450-75hp with tons of torque...

Stock interior redone in black but with better seats... Flowmaster T/A had an incredible interior... again budget?

I've built this car a thousand times in my head for my Formula... both on a budget and without... let me know if you want more input... have names/numbers for the people who really know what they're doing in the Pontiac hobby as well... (c:]

V/R,
Ty

I would do it like this, but hey, that's just me...:unibrow:
http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/5782339.jpg

When modding a second gen TA there are a few things that I think should be considered:
1. As mentioned above, solid body mounts and SFC's. I went with a lowered Camaro mount which required slight alteration to the air cleaner base (since the motor is chassis mounted and the shaker is protruding). Also, the front indicators need an extension to lower them since they are mounted on the bumper (chassis).
2. The TA's appear higher in stance than Camaros since they have a different, rounder shaped wheel opening. I think they look best with at least a 1-2" drop. This is most easily accomplished with drop springs. Any additional drop will seriously affect ride/performance unless going to measures such as I mentioned above. They are also able to take a slightly larger wheel.
3. IMHO No mod should be performed that prevents the shaker from being motor mounted. Go with a 455 or whatever you like, but aftermarket intakes are often too tall to fit under a shaker. There are other means to achieve HP numbers. Shaker hoods are what defines the TA and differentiates it from it's second gen cousin (Along with the air extractors and spoilers).

Suspension performance is way above average for the period, nothing major needs to be done. Besides the subframe connectors I would add poly bushings and 4 wheel disc upgrades. Also some traction device is nice to avoid squat, wheel hop. I would recommend those with j-bolts that replace the bottom perch and factory u-bolt/t-bolt setup.

BTW, here's my 79 TA project:
http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/galler...0/2TA_0603.JPG