Hello. My name is Chris and I have just obtained a 1983 Pontiac Firebird-TransAm. It is a limited edition 25th Anniversary of the Daytona 500 Pontiac Pace Car, and is made to look like the pace car itself. Only 2,500 were made, 1,980 with an auto transmission, and 520 with a manual transmission. I have one with an auto transmission. It has a 305 V8 Cross-Fire Injection engine in it, as well as a brand new transmission. The prior owner had given up on it about 8 years ago and had let it sit in a covered barn with the windows open. I am going to attempt to restore the car by deep-cleaning it, repairing the engine, and performing minor body work. The one article of the car that I am going to spend alot of time on is the Recaro Interior, that alone is worth a hefty amount of money, depending on condition. It has the optional aluminum wheels on it, which need to be re-tired, as the tired on it now have alot of dry rot in them, and am very surprised that they are holding air in them now. The brakes are rusted, but not seized, as I had towed the car out of the barn briefly with my pick-up truck. The windshield had a crack in it, which obstructs my view, so I have to replace that in time. The engine is rusted a bit. The throttle control is rusted open, and the pistons are more than likely frozen up as well. The interior isn't as bad as it should be. Of course, theres mold, dirt, and must in it, but it should'nt be more than a few bottles of cleaner with fungicide, some cans of carpet cleaner, and some armor-all to do the trick. The interior is completely stripped now except for the console, the carpet, a few panels, and the back rests for the back seats. The exterior had rust in places, but can be repaired with sanding, sheet metal, and touch-up. It has T-tops, which are in very good condition. Thats it for now but check back for updates! Update 1: 7/27: I was able to pull the circuit wires for the power windows and I hooked them up to a battery charger, and to my surprise, the windows actually went up! With the car all closed up, I now have a reason to start cleaning. I gathered up all of the plastic panels, the seat belts, and the carpet for the trunk and went to work on it. I used a heavy duty cleaner called "Mean Green" on the plastic parts, and it worked really well. For the carpet I used a special carpet cleaner made by Turtle Wax that removes dirt and stains, but also removes the musty smell as well, solving that problem. I haven't got the special cleaner for the Recaro leather, but that can wait a little while, as the seats aren't bad. For the vinyl on parts of the seats and the doors, I used the Mean Green, and they're actually tan again! I used Mean Green on the dash and bottom half of the center console, and the shine black again. The arm rests on the doors were so green with mold and dirt, that you would'nt know they were really black unless someone told you or you already knew. Once again, Mean Green to the rescue. I haven't touch the t-tops yet, im putting that off as far as possible. Im still waiting for the prior owner to find the keys, so that I can look at the other problems that I have, and also so that I can turn the steering wheel and get that out of my p.o.s barn. I've put the panels back in the car that i have finished, and it is coming along really well. Thats all for now, but will have a new update asap!
Good Links to '83 Trans-Am Sites
