Today I reached a milestone on a side project. I’ve been converting a manual milling machine to a CNC over the past year and a half. One of the main reasons was to make small custom pieces and accents for the Trans Am and GTO. I finally reached the point to where I could make some decent 2D profiles. I still have a little work before I can make 3D profiles. One of the first parts I plan to make is a custom CNC radiator cap with the Pontiac Indian Head emblem. The pictures below show the first test cut to make sure the program I created was working properly. I’ve purchased a smaller tool which will tighten up the profile. I’ll post more pictures of the finished product when it’s finished in the next week or two. If anyone is interested in a radiator cap or other custom Pontiac themed machining please leave a comment on this post for more details.
Master Cylinder and Brake Booster
April 10th, 2010 by ZachThe brake booster and master cylinder were installed on the firewall. The two pieces were painted with Eastwood Brake Gray which has a nice cast appearance. Today I got a hard lesson in double checking the headers to make sure there’s nothing contacting them before starting the engine. The steering column is not yet connected to the steering box. The plastic cylindrical case that snaps around the steering column was touching the headers as they heated and melted. This left a round black spot of melted plastic on the header. I bought some plastic scrapers to try and remove the burn mark next week.
Fuel Pump Problems
March 25th, 2010 by ZachToday marked the installation of the second fuel pump. I thought the first fuel pump was bad since it quickly stopped pumping fuel. Enough to fill the lines to the pump but sent no fuel to the carburetor. The pump’s lever arm could be depressed a slight amount which was enough to produce noticeable suction. After turning the motor over for a few revolutions with the pump installed, no more suction. It appears that the pump is being damaged. The fuel lines were then disconnected and the inlet tube was placed directly into a bottle of fuel. Curiously, the inlet tube pushes air into the bottle of fuel every revolution instead of sucking. When the pump was removed and operated by hand, no more suction like before. The two pumps were for a Pontiac 301 motor. This pump was chosen for the correct direction of the fuel inlet tube. I stopped by CLC Machine Shop in Lynchburg to pick up a pump for a ‘73 400 motor. I’ll try this pump to eliminate any possibility that there may be a difference between the two pumps. If anyone has any ideas, please feel free to leave a comment.
**Update, 3/27/2010** CLC supplied a fuel pump for a ‘73 Bonneville which had the fuel inlets pointing to the driver’s side which is correct for the ‘81 Trans Am. It is still unclear whether the fuel pump for the 81 was the problem or it was actually two bad pumps. At any rate the pump for the Bonneville works fine.
Be Cool Radiator
March 24th, 2010 by ZachToday a Be Cool Direct-Fit aluminum radiator (model 10010 from Summit Racing) was installed. The stock fan shroud had to be modified by notching the plastic at each inlet and outlet tube of the radiator. Also, the stock radiator bushings cannot be used. Custom brackets will need to be fabricated.
It’s Alive!
March 1st, 2010 by ZachAll of the front end brackets are now finally installed. A hex nut was welded to the rear power steering pump bracket in order fasten the lower alternator bolt. I machined a spacer out of 1″ aluminum bar stock to match the original spacer height minus the hex nut height. This was necessary since the cylinder heads don’t have a tapped hole like the later heads.
More importantly though, today the engine turned over by the starter for the first time! The motor was primed and oil pressure gauge connected. With some starter fluid and gas in the carb the motor turned over and fired for a few strokes. Unfortunately that was about it. It looks like the fuel pump may be bad. The pump pulled some fuel up to the inlet but nothing in the outlet of the pump after quite a while. I’ll try again after the new pump is installed.
Motor Brackets
February 21st, 2010 by ZachThe front end motor brackets were mocked up to ensure all the correct parts were there. It turns out that all of the standard ‘73 brackets fit will work after all. A tapped hole was missing from the ealier 1970 heads. To correct this, a nut will be welded on on the existing rear power steering pump bracket and a shorter alternator spacer will need to be machined to clear the nut. Pulleys and the fan were painted and allowed to dry.
Aluminum Valley Pan
February 15th, 2010 by ZachToday the aluminum valley pan from Butler Performance was installed. I’m glad pan was finally changed out since there was still crud coming out of the old pan when tapped lighly. As per the instructions, the cork gasket was glued to the pan with high temp gasket maker. Studs were installed into the block at no more than 0.75″ as any further may cause cam bearing damage. I elected to install my studs roughly 5/8″ deep. After the studs were measured and installed to depth, gasket maker was applied in a continuous bead all the way around, slightly heavy on both ends of the block. The studs were held in place with an allen wrench and the nylon lock nuts tightened until there was pressure on both ends of the gasket. I’m uneasy about how well the pan is going to seal and how tight is “too tight” for the nuts. I’m not overly impressed with the fitment. Unfortunately I had to bevel the edges heavily to get the Tomahawk intake to clear. The baffeling in the PCV hole was very slight. I guess only time will tell if there will be any problems. If I had it to do all over again I’d go with the Tomahawk two piece stamped steel valley pan that will also clear roller lifters.
PCV Grommet
February 8th, 2010 by ZachI finally made a little progress after two consecutive snow storms that conveniently happened to both fall on weekends. The distributor and Taylor custom fit spark plug wires were installed. Unfortunately I’ll have to remove the intake to replace the valley pan. I’ve decided to use an aluminum valley pan from Butler Performance. I mistakingly left the PCV grommet in place before I dropped off the valley pan to the machine shop. Not long after installing the intake, it quickly became evident that the grommet could not be removed without breaking apart and falling into the motor. The ‘73 fuel pump was swapped out at Napa for an ‘81 style. They are practically identical except for the direction of the fuel inlet tubes. The ‘81 style faces the opposite direction from the ‘73. To finish out the day, a rebuilt quadrajet carburetor from Sean Murphy Induction was mounted to the Tomahawk intake.
Fuel Pump, Water Pump, & Oil Filter Housing
January 25th, 2010 by ZachThe Trans Am restoration continues. A Flow-Kooler water pump was purchased from Summit. The water pump and fuel pump were cleared with Rust-o-leum’s Engine Enamel. The clear should prevent aluminum oxidation in the future. The fuel pump was purchased from Napa Auto Parts. The fuel pump was for a ’73 Pontiac. It turns out that the fuel lines are on opposite sides of the car for ‘73 and ‘81 because the fuel inlets point in the wrong direction. On the ‘73 the inlets point across the motor. This is a problem since my fuel lines are on the driver’s side. I could get by with looping a fuel hose around to the inlet but getting the later pump should make the setup cleaner and more safe. Lastly, the oil filter housing was painted metallic blue to match the block. The engine should be ready to start in a few weeks.
