WQIK.NET

Welcome to WQIK.NET, the web page dedicated to the restoration of my 1978 Trans AM. The car was purchased in December 2006 for $4100.00 from a used car dealer in Massachusetts. I had it delivered here to Jacksonville, Florida for $550.00 so right off the bat  I have $4650.00 in it. Here are pictures.

Here it is on delivery day February 03, 2007.

Included in the deal was a bunch of Pontiac engine parts. A Block, Two heads, Rods, a crank, water pump, fuel pump, cast iron intake, timing gear cover,  and flywheel. That's it. The guy I bought it from said there was a complete engine that went with the deal but I think it's missing too many parts. On the bright side, all the parts I DID get look like they just came from a machine shop. Clean, reworked and painted Pontiac blue. Thankfully, the parts are covered in some sticky stuff that has kept them from rusting.. so far...

March 02, 2007. Finally getting around to doing some work. After I started looking at the car,  I found out it wasn't  quite as nice as I thought. The trunk has big rust out areas. There is a rust hole under the back seat too. I found some places online where replacement sheet metal can be had at a price so we press on. Open the hood and have a look under the shaker scoop. Now this really looks like crap! The previous owner had installed an Edelbrock Performer intake manifold and matching carburetor. This raises the air cleaner up so high that it is smashed against the bottom of the hood. Not only that, but they had to modify the air cleaner so it would set level. Their solution was to cut a gaping hole in the bottom. Now there is no filtration of air at all. Brilliant!!! I looked on ebay to see what I can find to fix this dilemma. I found a kit that is supposed to fix the  problem and then googled for the manufacturer. The solution looks easy enough and at $175.00 it seems reasonable since I was going to have to spend more than that to get the stock air cleaner replaced. 

The water pump was leaking so I decided to replace it along with the leaky power steering pump. Went down to Harbor Freight and got a $99.95 sand blaster to clean up all the mounts. Nancy wanted to do some blasting too.

The seals in the picture below are supposed to be included in the felpro water pump kit.

Below are pictures of the Trans Am's in my garage.

More updates as the progress on this car restoration continues..

March 2007 I purchased an almost fully completed 1978 Trans AM. It is absolutely the best one I have ever seen in person. I flew out to Texas to check it out and decided right then and there to complete the deal and drive it back home. It was a great trip. CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES

JULY 2007: This is going to turn into a long project. I have now decided to take this car and try to replicate the gold Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Kammback. The first thing to do is price the glass out for the side windows. In pictures, they open like gull wings. I'm not sure the exact dimentions so it would be nice to know where the original concept car is located. There is only one 1979 Kammback out there. It sold for over $150,000.00 at auction! Click here for info on the Kammback.

July 2009: It's been two years sitting and I got another 78TA for the  T-top and various sundry parts that could come off of it. I've never done anything like this but will eventually give the Kammback a go.

May 2010: Trying to interest Chop Cut Rebuild into featuring the project.

Buddy Harris

904-786-7300

Why wqik.net? Well why not. Nobody else was using it. It's mine now. So is WAPE.NET and WPLA.NET.

Various sticker scans for your enjoyment (full size)
CAUTION FAN STICKER	EMISSION CONTROL STICKER Note: Silver background did not scan properly and appears white.	TIRE JACKING INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSIDE TRUNK LID