Happy New Year! 2009 40 Anniversary of Trans Am

_________________________________________
Volume 7. Issue 1, January 2009
The Official Newsletter of the Charter Oak
Firebird -TransAm Club
Updated Club News
All the members of Charter Oak Firebirds and Trans
Am Club (COB) have made an alliance with The
Firebird Nation Car Club and we have become
their Connecticut Chapter. What this means to both
clubs is that we will have increased exposure to a
larger and more diverse membership pool. If you
check our Web site you will notice a few
enhancements, Classified and Discussions have been
expanded, and there is a Club page (if you are a
member and logged in) and you will see that it is
linked to the Firebird Nation Web site. We will be
setting up a Club Store where you can order a Greater
selection of Club products from both Clubs. We hope
with this alliance with The Firebird Nation Car Club
(FBNCC) and enhancements to Our Web Site, all our
members will utilize this site as your place to go to
for all things Firebirds. For additional information see
Rick Holloway Webmaster Membership Secretary,
Charter Oak Firebird and Trans Am Club.
Happy New Year! 2009
40th Anniversary of Trans Am
The Trans Am is my shepherd; I shall not want.
It maketh me burnout on black pavements;
It leadeth me beside busy freeways;
It restoreth my soul;
It leads me in the path of quickness for its names
sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of rice, I
shall fear no turbo, for Torque art with me;
Thy rod and thy piston they comfort me.
Thou preparest a Track for me in the presence of
my enemies;
Thou hast anointed my bearings with oil;
My car overpowers. Surely traction and victory
shall follow me,
All the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in the house of the V8, Forever.
Originally posted by rebird86 and bigbird on Firebird Nation
Charter Oak Firebirds and Berlin
Turnpike Cruise Nights
Larry Erhart, Editor, Newsletter, P.O. Box 715,
Gales Ferry, , CT 06385, 860-441-4133, or Please
mail submissions to the editor; [email protected]
Joe Genera, Senior Vice President, 900 Route 80,
Guilford, CT 06437, 203-457-9340, or email
[email protected]
Max Heim, Treasurer, 82 Hockanum Dr. East
Hartford, CT [email protected] or via
phone:(860) 568-2889.
New Members Encouraged to Join
Neil Silberkleit, Vice President, 26 Rolling Hills Dr,
Oxford, CT 06478, 203-881-1411, [email protected]
Welcome to our local Firebird club for the State of
Connecticut - Charter Oak Firebird & Trans Am
Club. With your help and volunteer support our club
can become one of the most active Firebird clubs in
New England.
Rick Holloway, Membership Secretary, 17 Lincoln
Road, Waterford, CT 06385, 203-447-1988, or email
[email protected]
Winter Storage Tip
If you park your car outside on the driveway this
winter please remember to pull the windshield wipers
up and away from the windshield so that they do not
freeze to the glass. See how I did it last year!
Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way.....
Club Officers:
Brad Benoit, President, 174 Coe Road, East Haven
CT 06512, 203-467-4482, or email
[email protected]
Club News New Members:
Welcome to our Newest Members:
John and Mary Perelli (1983 Trans Am)
David and Linda Geng (1995 Firebird Trans Am)
Angelo and Amy Arduini (1984 Firebird Trans Am)
David and Penny Marquis (1971 Firebird Formula
and 1968 Firebird Convertible)
Jeff Magarian (1973 Firebird Espirit and 1974
Firebird Formula 455)
Stuart Somers (1971 Firebird)
Keith Lulek (1979 Firebird Trans Am and 1989
Firebird Formula)
Feature Car of the Month
Although I didn’t purchase my first Pontiac until
1993 (the 1955 Star Chief), my love for all things
Pontiac goes back to my days as a young boy when
my Father bought his 1955 Star Chief. . Dad owned
several Pontiacs over the years, including a 1963
Bonneville and a 1968 Bonneville. I “bought” the ‘55
from him when he bought the new 1963. I guess he
got tried of staying home while I was out driving his
car. We were only a one car family at the time.
My wife Lucille and I dated in the ‘55, drove the ‘63
on our honeymoon, and in fact took our new daughter
home from the hospital in the ‘55 in March of 1968.
That was just before our first new car, a ‘68 Catalina,
was delivered. We purchased our “new” ‘55 in
November of 1993. The ‘68 Bonneville was added in
November of 1997. The ‘67 Firebird Sprint came
along in March of 2000. Lastly, the ‘67 Executive
Safari joined the family in February of 2006. So you
see there is a pattern that was followed from the ‘55
to the ‘68. I’m a retired VP of Computer Systems in
several major northeast banks. Actually, I was only
hired at three banks; the other three were due to those
banks continually buying one another. Since 1993,
I’ve been involved with several local, regional, and
national Pontiac clubs. I’ve served as both the
Treasurer and President of the Little Rhody Pontiac
chapter and Vice President and Treasurer of the
Overhead Cam Chapter. I have been a northeast
director of POCI for three terms. Our cars were
restored so they could be driven. I am always looking
for period correct options to add to the cars. There
is no intention of selling them; they will be left to
the Grandchildren. The following are some
detailed accounts of Rick’s Pontiac collection
mentioned above.
1967 Firebird Sprint Convertible
Rick & Lucille DiGiacomo •
North Scituate, Rhode Island – by Rick D.
As the Pontiac hobby grows, so often times does
the Pontiac collection. Some people feature
Note that Rick’s car was a featured story in Pontiac
Registry Magazine in July 2008.
specific years, or models, and others build a more
eclectic collection based on various different wants
and likes. So it was with Rick and Lucille. What
started with their rekindled ‘55 Star Chief and ‘68
Bonneville love affairs was now growing on the
simple premise of “it would be nice to have a
convertible.” The following is Rick’s story in his one
words of how the “convertible requirement” would be
fulfilled. It was the summer of 1999 and we had been
looking for a convertible, hopefully a Pontiac variety,
for about a year. I met a friend who I have known
since my days of coaching youth basketball. He had a
‘67 Firebird convertible but it wasn’t for sale. He
recalled that an acquaintance of his had one and that
it might possibly be for sale. He’d let me know. I
didn’t hear form for several months and quite frankly
forgot about the conversation. Then he called one
rainy, cold October morning. He had spoken to the
other Firebird convertible owner, and he was willing
to sell it. We agreed to meet at the car’s location; it
had been in storage since 1990. It was in a dimly lit
garage and
parked against a wall. Unfortunately, the battery was
dead and I wasn’t able to get a thorough look at it. It
did, however, show enough potential to warrant
another look It turned out to be the rather unique
OHC-6 cylinder with the “Sprint” option. So several
weeks later, we met the owner at the garage. The
battery was now alive and the brakes (which also had
been frozen where now free). A brief test ride
indicated a very noisy engine and no brakes. It was
brought back to the garage. After a brief negotiation,
I passed on it. Unfortunately, it was what I wanted.
After several weeks, I called with an offer
that was rejected. After another few weeks, I called
again. I made one last offer and told him that it was
the last time we would speak unless he decided
to call me. When we returned from a California
vacation in January 2000, there was a message that he
called. He had split the difference between
his original asking price and my first offer. So, this
Firebird convertible was off to a new home.The car
was in original condition, was very complete and
solid. The engine noise was a bad camshaft, common
to the OHC-6 engine. The car had also had been
repainted, and it was covering some very poor
bodywork. It would have made a good driver as it
was; but it deserved more. I decided that a complete
restoration was in order. The first phase of the
restoration was to get it mechanically sound
including, new brakes, clutch, camshaft, tune-up, and.
a rebuilt carb. All of the oil and water leaks
(seals, water pump, etc.) were eliminated. The engine
was detailed. Before treading off to phase two (the
body work}, a new rear window was installed. The
interior didn’t require any work although some
interior components would be painted with the car.
Once the mechanicals were complete, the body
restoration began. This was also completed in stages.
First the hood, trunk, and doors were removed, bead
blasted, minor repairs completed, and primed. They
were then reinstalled on the car. The car was then
driven to the body shop to begin the next steps in the
restoration. Two new rear quarters were installed.
New fenders were put on along with new inner wheel
wells. While the fenders were off, the engine
detailing, which was partially completed while the
engine was under repair, was completed.
The car was painted with two coats of base coat and
two coats of clear. The final base coat and final clear
coat were wet sanded twice. Now it was time to make
sure everything fit correctly. Once that was done, the
car was reassembled. Virtually, all of the trim is new,
along with new bumpers. The engine compartment
from the radiator support forward; which had also
been bead blasted and painted the correct low gloss
black, was put back together.
Original Options:
AM radio, door edge guards, whitewall tires, full disc
hubcaps, front floor mats, custom interior (includes
special door panels, chromewindow pillars, and
black/clear steering wheel), power steering
Added Options:
Tilt column, wood wheel, wire wheel covers, FM
added to original radio
OHC-6 “Sprint” makes this a rare ‘Bird!
Who says the Firebird back seat isn’t roomy?
You just have to be kid size!
Once complete, the trunk was detailed and trunk mats
put in. Lastly,. the underneath, which earlier had been
scraped and POR’ed, was undercoated to meet the
originate specs. A number of people came together to
help restore this unique Firebird. Palumbo’s garage
did much of the mechanical work, Ralph Pagano did
all of the engine work, and Dennis Ducharme was
responsible for the body and paint work. There were
some problems encountered along the way, especially
while rebuilding the top half of the engine. My
network of Pontiac people did not include Firebirds,
much less OHCs. But many others helped with
information on this “Cammer” like Jim Black and
Jerry Woodland. Their support was very helpful in
identifying solutions to problems and helping to
locate parts. I did eventually build up quite a support
network for this car, and even have had three
complete engines given to me for free.
Firebird Sprint Specifications:
Color .................................. Coronado Gold with
........................................... black top and interior
Top ..................................... Manually operated
Engine ................................ 230 cu. in. OHC-6
Carburetor .......................... 4-bbl. “Sprint”
Transmission ....................... 3-speed manual
Mileage .............................. 81,000
Production Numbers:
There were approximately 250 Sprint Firebird
convertibles built in 1967 with a manual transmission
2008 - The Year in Picture Review
Charter Oak Firebird & Trans Am Club or Charter
Oak Birds was formed in June, 2004.
Your ideas for activities and club direction are
encouraged.
This is a fun club and all are invited to join.
The Charter Oak Firebirds club is a contributing
member of the Firebird Nation Network.
We have on our website an application.
It is a club by the members and for the members.
Ed. Note: All information in this Newsletter, albeit
technical, instructional, alternative viewpoint, fiction
or factual, is either opinion, general knowledge,
public domain, or if obtained from a copyright source
is footnoted for credit to the original source.
If any further information is needed, please contact
our President, Brad Benoit at (203) 467-4482.
The only requirement is your interest in the Pontiac
Firebird - you're welcome to join & get involved.
All model Firebirds and Trans Am are invited - from
1967 through 2002.. For membership questions,
please contact Rick Holloway at (860) 447-1988.
We would like members to send in a story about
their car. This months story is submitted by John
Perelli on how he found his car, how he modified the
car, how he found the parts, for the car, and who did
the work on the car.
In order for us to keep this paper interesting for
the club members, we need your ideas!
JOHN .HERE I purchased my 1983 black/gold T/A
on June 26th 1986 with the odometer having just
28,000 miles on it. I saw it on the front line at
United Auto in East Windsor ant took it for a spin
and decided I needed this car. .The T/A was
completely disassembled for repaint in 2001 The car
had a pretty good paint job (factory) at the time but I
thought she needed to be freshened up Koss
collision works in Vernon did the new paint work
which came out perfect and it was done at a very
reasonable price. This past August. with 200.000
miles on the car, the factory 305 engine gave out on
the way home from a Mark’s Monday Night Cruise.
The next day I put in a new GM factory performance
350/330hp with 385ft lbs of torque. The car is an
original 5 speed car with factory ram air (dual snorkel
air cleaner ). I’m hoping to see you all at many of
your cruise nights in 2009 . Unill then put them
away and find something else to do CHOW!
President’s Column
No Column this month
Contact info: 203-467-4482 or
[email protected]
There is a department– Restoring My Firebird. It
is a column written by members about how they are
restoring their cars. If you wish to have something
published in the newsletter, mail any time. There is
no cut off date.
Meeting Minutes
None Submitted
Go to the club website
http://www.charteroakbirds.com
Bird Talk
Can U Guess It?
Everyone loves a contest. Do you think that you
know everything about TransAms and Firebirds?
Each month we will try to post a picture of a
TransAm or Firebird wheel. If you can correctly
identify the name of the wheel and the year or years
of production, please email me with your answer at
[email protected]. All winners will be announced
in the next month’s Newsletter.
Letters to the Editor
Under the Hood
Rick H. found this article on subtle differences in
1970 to 1973 Trans Ams on the Internet, from Eric
Vicker of The National Firebird and Trans Am Club
and wanted to share this with you guys. Reprinted
from: National Firebird Club.
Answer to last month’s puzzle: Last month’s
column, the wheel in the last Newsletter, the correct
answer was the 82 83 84 Trans am Firebird SE 15 x
7.5 GM Cast Wheel..
SUBTLE DIFFERENCES IN 1970 TO
1973 TRANS AMS
This article is aimed at subtle, and sometimes not
noticed differences on the 1970-1973 Trans Am.
I’m a real Trans Am enthusiast and have been into
them for 12 years now - since age 17. I have 3 TransAms, all original # match 4-speed cars; 1969 RAIV,
70 1/2 RAIV auto. and a 1972. I’ve owned eight in
the past and have seen and studied a lot of them, I
feel they truly represent Pontiac’s muscle car image
from 1969-1981 the best. I also have a ’70 Judge
Convertible, in Orbit Orange. Most people know that
the ‘70- ’72 TAs has stripes and the ’73 had the large
hood bird. But there was a difference in the white
stripes on the blue cars. The ‘70 stripe had a different
black border than the ‘71/’72 cars had, I’m not sure
why there was a change made, there might of been
a problem with peeling, like the nose birds had, or it
might of been a purely cosmetic change. The repros
are fashioned after ‘71/’72 stripes. The headlight
bezels were slightly changed also after 1971. The
difference is the ‘70/’71s had a narrower indentation
where the screw went in than the ‘72/’73’s. I have a
NOS one and a pair NOS, the box is dated ‘72 and it
is the later style, so the supply of the early type must
have depleted fast. My thoughts are that there might
have been two different suppliers, upon inspection of
the two showed a different style of numbering of the
part. I luckily have a RH, LH or the early type in
excellent condition. .Under the hood more than the
change of the 400 cu to the 455 cu was evident or
maybe not so to all. The functional hood scoop was
used till 1972, but in ‘72 its operation was altered.
The ‘70/’71s had a plunger type switch mounted on
the left front of the carb, which would activate the
solenoids when the accelerator linkage hit it. The ‘72
was different in it had a 400 turbo kick down switch
on the gas pedal which activated scoop, although the
72 Pontiac shop manual does not illustrate this. The
’72 Pontiac Service Craftsman News does
illustrate this. The fenders and radiator support are different after ‘72. The ‘70- 72 had a flat top
radiator support, and ‘73 had two indentations for the
braces that went to the fender tops, which had a
raised area with holes for the braces. The ‘70-’72
fender tops are different in that they do not have
these holes because no braces used, since there were
no federal regulations till 73. From 1970-1973 there
were three different front turn signal lamps used, and
two different front valence panels. The 1970-early 72
turn sig- nal light was comprised of clear lens, date
code ‘70, a metal housing for the bulb and fiberglass
insert that holds it all together in the valence. The
first type of valence used was metal, and it had a
mount hole in the center and the nose bolts were
exposed, because the center section was open. The
late 72 and all 73s had an injected plastic front
valence that covered up the nose bolts. These
valences were very brittle with not many surviving.
I’ve seen some molded in body color and some
molded in gray. These, to the best of my knowledge,
were never available over the parts counter, only the
earlier metal replacement could be had. The plastic
ones are extremely hard to find because of their poor
durability. I called all over the country with no success
till I found a real nice one on a low mileage ‘72 Esprit in a
Ohio junk yard. The turn signal lights used in the
plastic valence were of two types, both date coded
‘72. The first was clear used in the late ‘72s and an
amber one used in the ‘73s, they were both a one piece
design. .Moving to the back, the taillights from ‘70’73 were the same except the ‘70-’72 were date coded
‘70 and ‘73 carried its own date. All ‘70-’78 rear spoiler
corners are not created equal as the part # dictates,
the ‘70-’73s were cut square on bottom and the ‘74-’78
were rounded. I believe this had to be done because
of the ‘70-’73 chrome bumper. The ‘70-’73 chrome
exhaust extension carry the same part # but the ‘70s are
more rounded at the opening. I’ve seen some factory
photos showing ‘71s like this also, but I’m not sure if
any ever made it onto the ‘71 cars. Most all of the ‘70
tips are scraped up - I believe they did not clear steep
upgrades, so the ‘71 - ‘73s were cut more on an angle to
rectify this. The later ones are still available from
GM. The rally 2 trim rings, and center caps, were the
same from ‘70-’72, the only differences were the
codes 70 JW, 71/2 KR. I’ve seen some with a KN
code, which I believe was an over the counter replacement. The ‘73 and up rallies were all the same.
The edge of the wheel was not as flat as the ‘70 ‘72’s and the trim was more rounded. The ‘70 - ‘72 7 in.
wheels are extremely hard to find as they were used
only on the Trans-Ams. The‘73 and up wheels, trim
rings and centers are plentiful and shared by most all
of the model line. The ‘71 and up honeycombs were
the same, but ‘71 did not have the Pontiac crest on the
center cap. .The next area to be explored is the interior
and optional equipment. The ‘70-’73 Trans-Am engine
turned dash faceplate looks the same, but the ‘70-’72,
where the lights plate was, had a bar separating the
plastic tag and the ‘73 and up had a larger plastic tag
with no bar. The ‘70/’71 gauges had chromed plastic
bezels, the ‘72 and up did not. On the nonA/C cars, there was a small bird to the right of the
gauges. The ‘70 cars had the bird all the way to the
right and the ’71/’72 and up cars had the bird close to
the gauges. Door panels varied also - the ‘70-’71 lower
door panel was made of molded vinyl, and 72 and up
was plastic. The ‘70/ ’71 bottom piece is most
always cracked and very hard to find. In ‘73,
the style of the deluxe door changed but the standard
remained un -changed. Up top, the headliner was
a little different in ‘73. It had a long plastic seatbelt
cover, and ‘70-’72 had small plastic clear hooks which
are always broken. The style of seatbelt heads was
smaller in ‘73. My ‘72 is a late car and it had the 73
plastic headliner covers and ‘73 seat belts. So nothing is
written in stone. The factory used what it had, if they
had a lot of older parts they used it or if something ran
out they used the newer parts. The center console from
‘70-’72 had small plastic clips for the front seat belts
and ‘73 did not. The ’71 rear seat panels had a small
stitched square pattern on them, no other years shared
this. .Optional equipment was sparse on the ‘70-’73 cars.
These are some of the various differences I’ve
noticed: the ‘70 door edge guards were screw in type
and the ‘71 and up were push on. Power trunk
setups were the same, but the ‘70-’72 had a
green release button and the ‘73 and up had a yellow
one.
In 1970, and up to, you could order a rear defogger,
which was a blower type. A rear window defroster
with heated lines in the glass was not available till ‘70.
This type would become a lot more popular in
upcoming years, the switch for this had a red light
indicate it was on. In 1975 and upswitches had
different lettering and a green light. The defogger had
no light because it sounded like a jet motor - you
could hear it was working. The ”wash” was written
smaller on the ‘70/’71 wiper switches. 1970 was the
only year the power door locks could be teamed up
with the rare power seat back locking system. The
last thing I will compare are the 4-speed knobs. Used
from ‘70-’73, there were three different types used.
The 1970 had a larger than the ‘69 round black knob
and a “auto style” ‘71 up, screw in type, with a red
raised insert with pattern (it also said “Pontiac Motor
Division”). This insert was the same as ‘69/’70 wood
shift knobs. This knob might have also been on some
‘71s -it is extremely rare. I have a NOS one and I’ve
only seen one in a 1970 Pontiac magazine ad. The ‘71
and up knobs were the same, they had a raised black 4speed pattern, the ‘77 and up had the insert recessed.
Send in some more photos of ‘Fallen Birds that no
longer fly’ or ‘Gemstones in the Rough’… these birds
may be real bargains in disguise…
CLUB CALENDAR 2009
…At a glance…
Charter Oak Firebirds
Benefit Car Show
2009 Charter Oak
Firebirds Cruise Night
Location: Panera Bread
3120 Berlin Turnpike
Charter Oak Firebirds
Club Meeting
Location: Panera Bread
3120 Berlin Turnpike
To Be Determined
Starting May16th 1st and
3rd Saturday Nights each
month until Oct 3th 2009
at 5:00 PM
Time/Date:
Saturday
To Be Determined
Classified Advertisements
___CARS FOR SALE
CARS FOR SALE
CARS FOR SALE
CARS FOR SALE
None for sale this month.
__BIRD PARTS
WANTED
WANTED
BIRD PARTS
BIRD PARTS
Parts Wanted: 1970 – 1972 Trans Am Air Cleaner
Base, 1970 - 74 Firebird BLUE interior parts, 1979
T/A – Digital AM/FM 8-track radio, bell housing,
clutch linkage. Contact: Joe Genera (203) 508-3180,
(203) 457-9340 or [email protected]
We are looking for new Sponsors