[grd777]

tis could be a big job to repair ,anyone see the car form the underside

[1969 Ram Air]

Originally Posted by dreamn69

How do you find out the number made with Ram Air? what is a reliable source for 73 numbers?

533 is also the number I have seen for ram air cars in '73 and I believe that includes 400 and 455 cars. I have a 73 with ram air and it has a 400.

[jackbox]

Nice project for someone

[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by 2manyT/A'S

The rust in the cowl corners is not that uncommon around here......and it's caused from sitting/being stored outside when there is ALOT of humidity (rain) in the air..

It's NOT really always an indication of a seriously rusty car....

It's far easier to repair.... than rear quarters/tail panels or frame rails...and can be done standing up....

I thought it was also due to those corner plastic deflectors not being in place? Pressure would force water past the windshield along the panel seam and it would collect in the corner on the inside. Guess I could be mistaken, but that was one of my memories.

.

[SD455DJ]

Originally Posted by 2manyT/A'S

The rust in the cowl corners is not that uncommon around here......and it's caused from sitting/being stored outside when there is ALOT of humidity (rain) in the air..

It's NOT really always an indication of a seriously rusty car....

It's far easier to repair.... than rear quarters/tail panels or frame rails...and can be done standing up....

I can vouch for the rusty A-pillar bases as both sides were bad in my car. Moist salty ocean side air is a killer and in weird places. It is less work than rear frame rail/trunk floor replacement.

Dennis

[njsteve]

Quite right. That is no easy repair. That is a structural area where three or four different panels come together and are welded to each other in sequence. Once the rust is that visible (like the yellow ebay car) there can't be much left underneath to "repair". Such a shame. That was a really neat car. The abundance of rust makes me think it has 127,000 not 27,000 miles.

[RAIVJUMB]

I had a 73 the came from the coast (cape cod) that was a summer car with very low miles. The salt air did some seriously wierd things to the car in the world of rust all in areas that were not normal, it had less than 30K on it. The shifter rods were frozen on the trans so it would not shift, bottoms of the fenders and quarters however were nice.

[71GP76TA]

Years ago I had a black '76 Trans Am that had some weird rusted out areas on the passenger side only.. the drivers side was cherry. Only thing I could figure is that side faced the ocean... it was a bay area car BTW

[dadsformula]

I can help with the numbers on this one. There were 730 Formula 455's in 73, and
503 were TH400's The other 227 were four Speeds. 533 I believe is correct for
total Ram Air Cars, and this does include 400 and 455 auto and stick. With the Original
motor this is a rare and very complete Car. Still Lots of Rust repair, but a nice project
for sure. Tuff Car to value, but I do think the price needs to come down to match the condition.

[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by SD455DJ

I can vouch for the rusty A-pillar bases as both sides were bad in my car. Moist salty ocean side air is a killer and in weird places. It is less work than rear frame rail/trunk floor replacement.

Dennis

That one looks like it had leaves or pine needles built up there and held moisture. If it's just one side, it could have sat under a tree on that side.

That plastic shield/deflector I mentioned can also hold leaves/pine needles.

I don't think one side facing the ocean would do it, it would still be the whole car if it was salt air that compromised it.

If the deflector was removed or was missing, the rot starts on the inside of the windshield, if it's a build up of leaves/pine needles, the rot starts on the outside of the windshield. Or that's my thinking/logic.

.

[HWYSTR455]

Here's the plastic piece, which I believe is a dealer installed item, to address the leaks. Someone may be able to correct me on that, but that's how I recall it.

So on the one example, actually, since it was both sides, it looks like the classic leak at the seam. (open circle in the pic). The gap there between the glass and the cowl seam allows water to pass, and collect to the outside of the cowl under the glass, which is hard to see, since it's tinted right there. (circle with lines in it). You can see at the base of the windshield where the seam is that the rot hole is bigger, which looks like where it leaked.

My one old-school glass guy always doubled up on sealant at the seam, to prevent water from passing, and prevent that type of damage.

If the damage is outside the glass perimeter or the seal, then it's leaves/pine needle build up and/or clogged drain.

.

[HWYSTR455]

On the for sale car, you can see the plastic deflector is missing, and where the water penetrated the windshield seal.

.

[RAIVJUMB]

I have always thought the rust in the corners was from windshield leaks which seem to happen due to flex in these cars and worse still in T-top cars. I looked at a red on black 73 formula 455 with RA project and passed, in hindsight it probably was not a bad deal, but I had too much already.

[njsteve]

That plastic deflector is a factory installed piece, not a dealer installed one.

[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by njsteve

That plastic deflector is a factory installed piece, not a dealer installed one.

Thanks Steve, yeah, I wasn't sure if it was factory, or a TSB/dealer installed, or what year they started installing them.

.

[J GLASGO]

If somebody is serious about this and need me to look, let me know. I have never seen it!!!

[2manyT/A'S]

The rust in the cowl/dash corners is an internal thing...

The roof has an inner sheet metal frame/ liner......With temperature changes...the inside of the roof sweats...just like the underside of the deck lid.....

This sweat/moisture runs down the inside of the windshield pillar causing the rust you see in the windshield lower corners....one side only rust...means car was parked on an angle
If it was stored outside and regularly driven....the heater would take care of the moisture...and reduce the incidence of rust....

The only way water could get past those plastic deflectors would be if car was driven at highway speeds...as it would need to be driven uphill...

[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by 2manyT/A'S

The rust in the cowl/dash corners is an internal thing...

The roof has an inner sheet metal frame/ liner......With temperature changes...the inside of the roof sweats...just like the underside of the deck lid.....

This sweat/moisture runs down the inside of the windshield pillar causing the rust you see in the windshield lower corners....one side only rust...means car was parked on an angle
If it was stored outside and regularly driven....the heater would take care of the moisture...and reduce the incidence of rust....

The only way water could get past those plastic deflectors would be if car was driven at highway speeds...as it would need to be driven uphill...

Hm. Well, for that much moisture, from sweating, the carpet would have to be wet. Or that's how I am thinking, not saying it's right. Or there must be some other kind of leak.

Water would get past the deflectors, if the deflectors were missing, no? As in the example of the sale car? And if it's under pressure, as would be at highway speeds, don't think it matters if you're driving uphill or down, no?

Eh, not a big deal, was doing a brain dump, and some of what I picked up from others over the years. Grain of salt.

.

[30TYBIRD]

Just looked at the car yesterday and inked a deal, it is coming home with me.

The car is actually 27,000 miles. All the telltale signs show it and the paperwork.

The interior bits are in amazing shape. The only things it will need is sound deadener, carpet, and a package tray.

Runs well but will need some carb work and the emissions vacuum lines sorted out. It is all there just the hoses were removed and capped.

The rust issues are not as bad as I feared. Frame rails are good with just surface rust in a few areas . Tail panel is bad down low. Lower quarters need patches, but not replaced. Same with trunk drops down low. The molded yellow plastic front valence will need a small repair around a turn signal lite. It will propably be easier to replace the front fenders than repair . Any body have any real 73 fenders for sale? Doors are near perfect with only very minor surface flaking on the bottoms. Even the weather stripping is fine.

Will post some pictures when I get it back to West Virginia this weekend.

Rick

[carguy66cars]

Congrat's on the purchase Rick, looks like it will be a great car! Nice early Christmas present?

Lyn.