[BDH79TA]

I had been second guessing putting all that equipment into such a low optioned, poor man's Trans Am. I had a Solar Gold 78 back in the 90s with delay wipers, tilt and PW. I didn't need every option available but I wanted a few luxuries. Now that I had some disposable income, and the extra from mom I started looking for an upgrade to the car itself. At one point I even considered the 1980 Pace car. You can still find them fairly reasonably priced...even in running condition. But then there's that freakin' 301. I already have a drivetrain so I focused more on non running cars.

If you're looking for half finished, hacked up projects that are wildly over priced you can find them about anywhere. Rust buckets with a $3500 price tag. No title Bill of Sale nightmares. I looked at "restored" cars and everything in between. I finally remembered seeing a TATA years ago on a "lot" while checking out a 67 LeMans. I found the guy's info and contacted him. He still had the car and it fit most of what I was looking for.

It was missing the engine, transmission, the wheel spoilers and most every piece of interior plastic. Dash and gauges are immaculate. It's still got the original leather seats and front door panels. The console and all switches are missing as well as the buckle side of the front passenger side seat belt. This is actually beneficial in my case. Stay tuned for those plans.

After a couple weeks of consideration and self debate I pulled the trigger and purchased the car. I did something I never do and don't typically recommend. I bought the car without going to see it in person. While I had glanced it over a few years ago, I hadn't spent a lot of time on it as it wasn't what I was after at the time. I didn't get it for a steal, but I didn't get hurt on the deal either. I think it was a fair transaction for both of us. The guy even delivered it to the house. So December 18, 2021 there's a TATA sitting in the driveway.

The car has no major dents. No significant rust I could see at the time. To be totally honest, as far as body condition goes, it's in the best shape of any TA I've owned to this point. The doors shut like the thing is new. After cleaning out the junk in the seal channels, the T-Tops don't even leak. Looking in the glove box I found the original window sticker, some original paperwork from the sale to the original owner, the original shifter knob and a small maintenance notebook. The build sheet is long gone it would seem Unfortunate.

The notebook states 7/20/88 with 98,000 miles "exhaust, water pump, brakes, head gaskets and front wheel bearings". on 8/24/88 at 00003 and 6/10 miles they changed the oil, new tires and a radiator. Current mileage shows 00335. My assumption is they were chasing an over heating problem and that the car has been parked since 1988 considering there's only 332 miles difference.

After being able to really tear into it and inspect it I found a very small rust hole in the passenger side quarter and some rust through in the toe boards and the first 10 inches or so of the front floors. Everything else is rock solid and still has most of the original factory grey paint on the under side. There's surface rust where the sun finally baked through the paint but that's expected after 34 years sitting outside.

Considering I had already purchased all the parts for the other car I decided to strip this one completely down. Luckily I had not started installing these on the other car. I'm not doing a show car restoration. Just a quality driver restomod. Other than the doors, if it can be unbolted and removed the car is completely disassembled now. I hadn't planned on removing the subframe but I am glad that I did. The original bushings are completely shot and need to be replaced. This also makes it easier to repair the toe board, floor and the driver side body mount brace.

This is the current condition and state of the car.