[J GLASGO]

I love the look of those Firestones.Too bad they don't repo those. Car is awesome too!!

[njsteve]

Looky what the FedEx man delivered today: The original three spoke steering wheel that Rick took off the car in 1975 and replaced with a Formula wheel.

For those who are not in the know, the "Formula Wheel" was the official name of the foam-rimmed, aluminum three spoke wheel that came standard on the Trans Am but was optional on all other Firebirds. Don't ask me why they didn't call it the "Trans Am" wheel...that would have only made sense.

Rick even shipped it in the original box (packaged inside another box so the original wouldn't be harmed) that the Formula wheel came from the dealership in:




Shipped March 3, 1975 from PONTIAC, Michigan!!!





Rick even labeled it for posterity back in 1975:





Check out the grain texture in the rim. I bought several used rims off ebay recently before I learned that Rick had the original. All of them were worn smooth from use. This one is amazing.





And back on the car where it should be. Looks nice and classy and matches the interior and the saddle colored steering column, too. (Cars that originally came with the Formula wheel also came with a black steering column to match the black, crinkle finish, wheel hub on the Formula wheel.

[njsteve]

And since the Polytech Autobody class started up again this week I started working on the polyethylene front valance that will be going back on this car. If you recall, I repaired a blue valance back in 2006 for the 1972 Trans Am. it ended up being a spare when I repaired the original white valance from the T/A. Here is the link from the original thread where I plastic welded the valance back together:

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...433662&page=12
http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...433662&page=13

Since I had to recreate the outer edges of the valance with polyethylene welding rod, it was about 1/2" too short to match up with the fender edges and the lower portion of the nose.

Similar to the process of making a fiberglass mold off of an original, I used masking tape to cover the mating areas on the car, installed the valance (after redrilling the mounting holes in the valance to match the location of the mounting points on the radiator support). I then used a liberal slathering of rubber bumper repair compound and let it cure.











I then pulled the polyethylene valance back off and started hand sanding to get the contours. I also added the bumper repair material to the back side to mate up with the new flange areas. I reinstalled the steel valance and I brought the polyethylene valance to the Polytech class last night and started prepping the rest of the valance for primer and paint.

[Neil E]

I’ve been following this tread and was really surprised when I stopped by a local car show on Sunday and there was another 73 Formula SD there, and in NJ none the less.

The show was at Konner Chevrolet in West Caldwell, NJ. I spoke with the owner, he is a retired airline pilot and he purchased the car new.

The owner said the car had about 100k miles on it. It was in nice original condition, but needed detailing.

Unbelievable that of the 43 SD formulas cars made 2 are still around 40 years later and probably within 30 miles of each other.

[keith k]

As always, great attention to detail, Steve. Such a cool car-

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by njsteve

Looky what the FedEx man delivered today: The original three spoke steering wheel that Rick took off the car in 1975 and replaced with a Formula wheel.

For those who are not in the know, the "Formula Wheel" was the official name of the foam-rimmed, aluminum three spoke wheel that came standard on the Trans Am but was optional on all other Firebirds. Don't ask me why they didn't call it the "Trans Am" wheel...that would have only made sense.

And here is why its called a "Formula wheel", an excellent history of the Pontiac Formula wheel..
"A Piece of Pontiac History Survives: The Prototype Formula Wheel"
http://www.highperformancepontiac.co...tory_survives/

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by Neil E

I’ve been following this tread and was really surprised when I stopped by a local car show on Sunday and there was another 73 Formula SD there, and in NJ none the less.

The show was at Konner Chevrolet in West Caldwell, NJ. I spoke with the owner, he is a retired airline pilot and he purchased the car new.

The owner said the car had about 100k miles on it. It was in nice original condition, but needed detailing.

Unbelievable that of the 43 SD formulas cars made 2 are still around 40 years later and probably within 30 miles of each other.

OHH, Florentine red.. that have the burgundy interior?

[johnta1]

Neil, is he on PY?
(or ask him to join?)

That car looks great also.

[Neil E]

Formulabruce

No, it had saddle interior.

John

I did tell the owner about the PY Forum and about this thread, but he looked to be in his mid to late seventies, so I don't think he surfs the net very much.

Neil

[72projectbird]

Originally Posted by Formulabruce

And here is why its called a "Formula wheel", an excellent history of the Pontiac Formula wheel..
"A Piece of Pontiac History Survives: The Prototype Formula Wheel"
http://www.highperformancepontiac.co...tory_survives/

Did Pontiac ever get in trouble for taking MoMo's wheel?

[njsteve]

I just found another NOS early 1973 Firestone 500 so now I have three and need one more for the display set. (Not counting the trunk mounted spare that has never been bolted on the car).

I found this one on a Corvette forum. They guy had it for the past 20+ years. This size (GR70x15) was the same size used on the Corvettes in the 1970's.

[njsteve]

I just got the original master cylinder back from Whitepost Restorations who installed a brass sleeve and rebuilt the internals. If you notify them beforehand that your master cylinder is from a survivor car and that you don't want it repainted, they will honor your request and leave the finish as they found it. I was very happy with their service. Got everything hooked back up this morning and I then bled the system. Looks good as old.






And some close up shots of the stamped part number "CS3190" and the various paint markings and stickers.

[Held for Ransom]

You posted in another thread a couple days ago about the three NOS tires, so it's not "just"
Just saw the CS decal on the booster, must be why they list CSCS on the build sheets. I would have been so tempted to paint the master black. And a brass sleeve, huh. I think the local folks I contacted stated theirs were stainless. I might have to ask about that again.

[Brewster]

That CS was a pain to duplicate since its on both sides of the decal and the decal is one piece of tape folded over and stuck together. I used an OS on the one side and erased part of the O making it a C.
You could always rub Luge Pro 6 to keep the master from completely rusting away, It will also turn it back to a darker shade close to original as I did on my 13k mile car. It had 90% percent paint however thus keeping it from aging any further.

That valance looks great and want to know what product your using on it Steve?

Love getting a car back to an original state without restoring the complete car/piece. I know sometimes thats NOT an option however in this case its a no brainer.

Looks great Steve and hope to see it in person someday soon!
Thanks again for sharing with us all,
B

[njsteve]

Originally Posted by Held for Ransom

You posted in another thread a couple days ago about the three NOS tires, so it's not "just"
Just saw the CS decal on the booster, must be why they list CSCS on the build sheets. I would have been so tempted to paint the master black. And a brass sleeve, huh. I think the local folks I contacted stated theirs were stainless. I might have to ask about that again.

Now I have four of the three NOS tires. :-)

When I mentioned the earlier three, I included this car's original spare which I don't want to mount on the car. So now I have four NOS early, 1973 tires with the white "F" shield logo. if you consider the original spare to be NOS, of the five total tires required. So I need one more to make the full set of five.

The extra 1974 NOS tire I have has the later black outline shield logo. It is mounted on the 15" honeycomb which I assume was an unused spare tire from the trunk of a 1974 Firebird.

[Brewster]

Originally Posted by njsteve

Now I have four of the three NOS tires. :-)

When I mentioned the earlier three, I included this car's original spare which I don't want to mount on the car. So now I have four NOS early, 1973 tires with the white "F" shield logo. if you consider the original spare to be NOS, of the five total tires required. So I need one more to make the full set of five.

The extra 1974 NOS tire I have has the later black outline shield logo. It is mounted on the 15" honeycomb which I assume was an unused spare tire from the trunk of a 1974 Firebird.

I have a few sets and will check if I can help you out on this quest?

[njsteve]

Brewster, That would be great. I only need one more NOS tire and we are ready for the show.

[Brewster]

Here is a pic of my old restored duty and notice the tag on the proportional valve which was documented off my low mileage car.
This was done before I completed the paint dabs on the booster so NO blasting me for that!

Will follow-up on the tires by the end of the weekend.

[Held for Ransom]

Originally Posted by Brewster

That CS was a pain to duplicate since its on both sides of the decal and the decal is one piece of tape folded over and stuck together. I used an OS on the one side and erased part of the O making it a C.

I would think making the sticker would be easy, example...

[Brewster]

Computers, programs and software have come along way in 5 years let alone 12 to 13. I thought it was pretty creative back in the day and it looked perfect.