My new 1988 T/A

[DynoDave]

Busy time of year at work, with family, fall chores, Holidays. Trying to get a few things done to the car here and there. Would like to have it for a trip in May.

I've been blotting the carpet and pulling coolant out of the weave and padding. Won't get it all until I pull the carpet of course, but I figure anything I can get out now is a good thing.

The plan was to do the interior this year. Opened the generic Alcantara material I bought last year for the headliner. Quite a bit more lighter / silver than I had planned on. May have to get something else.

Has a small electronics project in mind since 2017. Sent those parts off to an electronics shop. If it works out, I'll post more about it. But at least the ball is rolling.

Went through my stash of parts, and found the O.E. used heater core I bought some years ago. It's off at Superior radiator being tested. Left it up to them to say what is right (tests OK, use it.....tests OK but re-solder the joints just to be sure.....tests OK for the moment, but re-core it to be sure). Again, at least the ball is rolling.

[DynoDave]

Electronics project completed. There's still a lot for me to do with that one before I report out, but the part of the project that I could not do for myself is completed.

Got a few other tasks done, though not T/A specific.

Herb Adams signed T/A art piece framed and hung in the garage.

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First set of shelves up in the back garage. This is about 4 hours of work...3 to clean out the corner, and about an hour to get the shelves together and into place.

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[DynoDave]

Well, that's filled up pretty well.

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Spot next to it cleaned out and ready for shelf number 2.

[DynoDave]

Stopped by Curt's shop yesterday. If the timing works out, we'll get it over that by the end of March so he can install some sub-frame connectors for me, before the interior goes back in. I've got LOT of interior work to get done before then.

Got a 10% Summit discount code from a guy, and used it last night to get the Alston sub-frame connectors ordered, and one other item. So if I can make the timing work, I'll have the Alstons on hand when it's ready to go to Curt's place.

[DynoDave]

I'm a little behind on updating this, so let me catch it up. Electronics project done, but far from installed. More later. Heater core cleaned up and passed testing.

Well, I guess I'd better get started, or she won't be ready in the spring time.

Had planned on interior updates this winter, so pulling the interior out was already planned. Heater core is back from cleaning, inspection and pressure testing. It's good to go. And a few other odds and ends ordered. Starting with the passenger seat at lunch, got the covers off (or their remnants) and added a few drops of penetrating oil to the nuts.

Anyone come up with a clever fix for the oversized hole?





This one was missing. I have a replacement around here somewhere, or maybe the broken original. Maybe both. I'll have to look.



So both inners good, both outers broken/missing.



And more surprises. All pre-date my ownership. Corner of an M&Ms bag and a piece of a corn chip....no food allowed in the car while I've owned it. Foil seal for a bottle like like "Heat"....again, I'd never open something like that IN the car. But I am up a quarter. Is it too late to add an item to my Summit order?

[DynoDave]

Belt from seat.



And out she goes. Why, oh why, couldn't the General spend 1/16th of one cent and dip the ends of these rails in black paint so they didn't make a rusty, unsightly mess?



Back seat out. Again. We just did this last year.



And this is as far as I got at lunch today.



But this little cap stumped me. It appears to have been out before...has a crease in it where it looks like the plastic was bent a little too far over. Turning it didn't help....didn't "thread" out. Lifting the edge with a pic, I can see the slot it is in (it slides up and down a 1/2" or so), and I can see it has a tab that is under the seat belt sleeve by an amount greater than the size of the slot it might otherwise come out of. Not sure how one gets this out without resorting to violence. Anybody???

[DynoDave]

Took a peak behind that trim disc again, and was able to find that "open" spot in the disc that goes inside the sleeve. Again, signs that someone has been in here before with those scratches in the plastic.



Was then able to lift the edge of that gap with a small screw driver.



Using this large stainless fender washer to turn the slotted disc (it was a near perfect fit by the way) while keeping the screw driver behind that inner disc, I was able to "unscrew" the cover.



And out she came. For future reference, here is the backside of that round trim disc that covers the bolt, and you can see the gap in it.



Out with the Torx bolt that holds the buckle to the floor (T50).



No issues.



Next, out with the console. Two 10mm screws from the bottom of the glove box. Passenger side was no tighter than you could do with a socket by hand. The driver side was completely loose and doing nothing.



Up to the ashtray next.



Removing the nut on the outside of the MP3 jack.

[DynoDave]

And out.



And then the 7mm screw hiding under the ashtray.





2 more 7mm screws back here for the console trim plate.



Now to the next stumbling block. This clip for the shifter handle. I "think" I had this out before. But it sure doesn't want to come out now. I have two pair of needle nose pliers that can get inside that slot in the handle, but they just slip off when I try to pull the clip. Can't do much with a pick or small screw driver. Factory Serve Manual (FSM) is no help. Time for dinner and to consider my options. Any tips on getting this out?

[MP81]

Can't see your pics on the last post - but if I recall back to my IROC shift knob, that should just be like a big staple that pulls right out.

My IROC also was missing like basically all of those track end covers.

[DynoDave]

I have tried to get behind it...I can see the clip in the service manual, but it's driven in too far for me to get to any sort of gap for a screwdriver or pick. There's hardly anything sticking out to grab hold of. I can get on it with some very fine needle nose pliers, but they just slip off before the clip budges.

My needle nose locking pliers are too bog to get in there, so I ran to Harbor Freight and bought this cheap micro locking pliers set. Figured if I bought cheap ones, if I have to modify them, I only have about $2.50 in them, so why not.



Here are the needle nose from that set inside my Otter Box belt clip for reference to the size of them. Looked promising.



The nearly flush clip.



Still could not get it. The spring loaded lower jaw of the pliers would get pressed closed by the surrounding leather and foam, leaving no room between the jaws to get on the clip. Off to the grinder to create some extra space.



That gets them in there. Locked on super tight.



And they still pulled off of the clip before the clip would even start to move. Tried a half dozen times, pushed, pulled and wiggled on the knob (it has zero play in it) to try and take pressure off the clip....nothing. It is STUCK in there.

I'll keep trying, but I'm running out of ideas here. I have another shifter assembly I planned to install on the car, so I guess I could cut this shifter in half on the shaft, but that's going to be messy, destroy my original shifter, and I'd still have a stuck clip holding the handle to the cut off shaft of the shifter.

Any other ideas?

[DynoDave]

Doing some weekend chores, waiting for the Lions game to begin, and trying to think through how I try to get that shifter handle off in a non-destructive way.

Studying the attachment points for the handle on this "spare" shifter...



....we have the grooves on the side that the clip lives in, and the open space behind that.



So the only thing filling the gap behind the clip (generic e-clip standing in for the factory piece to help me thing through this)...



....and preventing me from getting a tool behind it...



....would be the thickness of the shifter handle that goes over the shaft.

So, what if I came in from the back side with a small drill bit, and removed enough of that thickness of shifter handle (without boring into the shifter cable) to create room to get a tool behind it?



Haven't tried it yet, but this is about the only thing I've been able to come up with. I'll try all the previous approaches a few more times before I resort to this.

[MP81]

I'm pretty sure I got mine out with a cotter pin puller. Try using that or a pick tool while maybe simultaneously kinda twisting the knob a little back and forth.

[DynoDave]

Yep, tried those things....there is zero up/down, side-to-side or rotational play in the knob. Tried pushing and pulling while tugging on the clip with the modified locking pliers, and got no where. It's frustrating.

A TGO member I respect suggested the drill bit method I mentioned above, except to use a heated screwdriver instead of a drill bit. Seems like a good idea, so I may try that this evening.

[DynoDave]

The last few months have been a whirlwind of activity. Just not much of it on the Trans Am.

I can't recall if I mentioned it, but had a family member pass back home. So I took a few days over Christmas to to tun home and visit with family.

Got back in January and went with my son and his fiance to a local swap meet. I found a few baubles and supplies. A fun way to pass the time. German language Smokey and the Bandit poster anyone?




Can't recall if I mentioned this either...a small side project to clean up the factory Goodwrench alarm install. The horn bracket was a little rusty, had a broken mounting screw in it (when that one broke off, the added another), crimped connectors with electrical tape that had long since unraveled, and wires run here and there with no real attempt at neatness. The bracket had a little rust, and the carriage bolt holding the horn to the bracket had a ton. Removed the bracket, and put the corroded fastener in an acid metal prep bath. The between work, the holiday, and family, I forgot about it. When I cleaned it off, it was hopelessly eaten away and undersized. This bolt is close, but will have to have the square area behind the head reduced in size a bit.




End of January saw us in Lansing, wife and brother-in-law seeing a play, so I spent some hours at the R.E. Old museum. I'd heard good things about the place, but had never been. IT was worth the drive and the time spent, if you are ever in the area. A few pics from there.

[DynoDave]