1970 Pontiac Trans Am

Coupe

8 - Cyl.

Manual

228870N119885

Gasoline

For sale is a 1970 ½ Generation II Trans Am with Ram Air III engine and a four-speed transmission, PS and PB but no AC, not running and mostly disassembled, rear quarters and rear valence carefully removed for replacement. It is a real PHS documented Trans Am, shipped from Norwood, Ohio on 6-4-70. I have fallen heir to the “Now that I am retired, I don’t know how I ever had time to have a job” syndrome. For 40+ years in my career as an automotive engineer, I repaired, repainted and restored dozens of cars and trucks, and purchased this Trans Am several years before I retired to be my last hurrah. As my wife suggested, the plan was to make it nice and start hitting the cruise-ins. Recently, I have come to the realization that I am just too busy to ever see it through, so I will be selling both the car and all of the extra parts I have acquired in the last few years. Initially, I will try to sell it as a package, but if that doesn’t work, I can always part it out. We shall see. (More about this at the bottom of this ad.) The History: The original owner bought it in Columbus Ohio, and then traded it in to a Ford dealership in June of 1973, when it was purchased by a friend of mine. He drove it until the late ‘70s when he purchased a newer “Smokey” version, and backed this one into his garage. It ran when he put it away, but was never touched again for roughly 27 years when he finally agreed to sell it to me, after 20+ years of pestering. I have the title from the second owner, notarized over to me in 2005 but never transferred. I will get the title work done if somebody buys the whole car. In 2006 I requested and received the Pontiac Historical Services documentation for the car. Two points are worth mentioning. One, the original color was Polar White, but the second owner had it repainted blue. Two, the numbers stamped on the engine block do not match the vin code. The second owner told me that he never had the engine replaced, so if that was done, it happened in the first three years of its life. However, the engine date code precedes the vehicle build date by nearly two months, so it is very possible that this is the original engine the car was shipped with. Factory options on this car included AM/FM radio, rear seat speakers, console, HD radiator and tinted glass. General Condition: As far as I can tell, the vehicle was never wrecked. However, it spent its entire life in central Ohio, often referred to as the “rust belt”, which is not a good thing to begin with. However, that is complicated by being stored badly for 27 years. No attempt was ever made to store it in a way that would preserve it; rather it was backed into a garage, shut off and left. There will be much cutting and welding, but the package includes most of what you need. There are high-dollar beauties out there that started much worse. The car is largely disassembled, but still rolls and steers. Below I will try to accurately describe everything I can about the car’s condition. The Basic Body: Here we have a combination of surprisingly good and completely awful. The floors and the trunk floor are very good and solid with only a couple of pinholes. The rear quarter panels, however, were quite badly rusted, particularly forward of the rear wheels, where they join the rocker panels. My solution to that was to purchase the rear quarters from a very solid 1978 donor car from North Carolina. We cut them off with a plasma torch and took lots of extra metal, both inboard and forward. In addition, I have new quarter panel skins for both sides which will help take care of the differences in model years. As can be seen in one of the photos, the left side quarter is farther along in the process. Also, I have the entire rear from a 1970 donor car, as shown in the photos. It is entirely rust-free but has some minor accident damage, mostly low. Again, there is plenty of extra metal to allow you plenty of choices in how you choose to match it up. I did not cut the center brace at the rear of the trunk, and the entire trunk rim is intact and undamaged, so no critical dimensions have been lost. The cowl panel at the lower corners of the windshield is rusted, but again I have a new replacement panel that comes with the car. The doors from the original car were total disasters and have been discarded and replaced with solid ones from the same donor car from S.C. There are some small areas of rust coming through in the lower corners so I have purchased new full door skins which come with the car, though I only planned to use small pieces from the lower portion as needed. Finally, the front fenders have the typical rusted bottoms, but since the ones from 1970 are somewhat unique, I chose to purchase lower patch panels for them rather than try to find replacements. The right front fender has a minor crease forward of the wheel, which extends into the soft nose piece, requiring some work. The hood and trunk are both original to the car, and are dent-free and have only surface rust. The front lower valence panel is excellent and I have a couple of different filler panels which go between the trunk and rear glass. Miscellaneous Small Body Stuff: The rear spoiler parts are all in good condition. There is an assortment of fender flares, some better than others, but not enough good ones to do the whole car. The front spoiler is broken but present. The plastic valence above the rear bumper and between the taillights is good but has a chunk missing out of a lower corner, hidden by the bumper and will be an easy fix (see photo). The original taillights are awful but I have purchased other ones (OEM used) that are quite good. All of the small lights and trim are in decent condition. The headlights and buckets are good, and the headlight trim is pretty good. The plating is a tiny bit dull in areas but not pitted. The front bumper is good except for the far right hand edge which will need a tiny bit of work but not much. The rear bumper is an OEM replacement which I found. There are no dents or dings, and no pitting on the reveal surface and the chrome is nice. There are several grills, some better than others, but enough good parts to make one really good set, I think, including the bright trim. All of the aluminum window reveal trim is in good condition without any dents or damage. It’s probably good enough for a driver, but will need to be stripped, buffed and re-anodized for a show car. Also included are two brand new, OEM door latches, brought home as “engineering samples” from the GM plant that made them originally. These are not Chinese knockoffs, but the real thing, and therefore, pretty rare (as in expensive). Power Train: As mentioned previously, the car ran when it was put away, but has not been started since. I have not been able to get the engine to turn by hand and chose to not damage anything by trying too hard, though I did pull the plugs and filled the cylinders with Marvel Mystery Oil a couple of years ago. As far as I have been able to determine, it was stock and but perhaps not original. The numbers stamped on the front of the engine are 0559429 WS. The part number cast into the rear of the block is 9799914 and the block date code is D300 (Apr 30, 1970). The date codes on the heads are A270 and A280 (Jan 27 & 28, 1970) but I’m not too sure about the casting part numbers. Please note that the block date code and the head date codes precede the vehicle ship date by nearly two months, so it is possible that the motor is actually the one the car was originally delivered with. If you have specific questions, just ask. I removed the carburetor to make room for the lift plate when I pulled the engine. The carb numbers are 7040273 and 0970 suggesting this is the OEM piece. Beyond that, I have spent no time on the engine, transmission, clutch or rear end. However, when I began the disassembly process, all of the engine fluids were full to the brim. No radiator leaks or heater core leaks, no hose leaks, coolant as clean and green as a new car. Oil was full and without any trace of coolant. The gas tank looks solid, but who knows without having it cleaned and tested. The radiator core support needs rust repair at the bottom at the mounting points. The transmission is a Muncie, with 10 splines on the input shaft, and a single groove. I am not an expert, but something I read in several places on the web suggests that the single groove means the M21 close-ratio gearset. If you know differently, please let me know. I can’t find anything on the PHS documentation that tells. Also, the number stamped into the case matches the vehicle VIN. On the downside, one of the mounting tabs has been broken sometime in its life (see photo). When I disassembled it, there was a sort of crows-foot device holding that corner together. The best welder I know for this type of work says the welding job is not tough, but he wouldn’t do it without full disassembly. I’ll leave that for the next owner to decide. Hurst Shifter: I have a friend who is in the restoration parts business, and he borrowed the shifter one day and returned it a few weeks later, totally restored. All parts bead blasted and replated to original specs, and the chrome stick is a work of art. It has the original Pontiac 2” knob, and also, a smaller Chevy knob. Please see the picture. Sub-Frames and Suspension, Brakes, etc: Nothing to report. Just haven’t gotten there yet, though I did confirm it still has the 12 bolt rear end. Wheels and Tires: As shown in the pictures, the wheels are good, minimal rust, none damaged that I can tell, of the four that are on the car. The spare rim shows some minor damage. The tires are nearly new and 27 years old, but they hold air. Included is an absolutely pristine set of OEM centers (see photo). Glass: The side windows and rear glass are good, but I cracked the windshield in the upper corner while removing it. Because there is some rust repair to be done in the lower corners of the windshield recess, I kept it to use as a template. Interior: As received, the interior was complete but moldy from sitting for 27 years. The dash is solid without cracks or modifications. The seats are without cracks or splits, but the vinyl is hard as a rock. However, I have a full set of new reproduction seat skins in the original black color that seem to be a dead perfect match to the originals. (See photo.) The seat springs and frames desperately need a sandblaster. The seat belts are pretty rough and in need of replacement. All of the miscellaneous plastic and metal trim pieces are present and in relatively good shape. The carpet has been discarded, and the door panels are pretty horrible. On the plus side, there is a set of new, in the wrapper OEM door sill moldings – GM parts! – which come with the car. Miscellaneous Ramblings: Included in the photos below are three shots of the car the day I brought it home. Beyond that I have tried to show the current state of the car, plus evidence of the extra parts I have purchased since then, just to try to represent the value of the package. I know that I can probably get more money by parting it out, but that is lots of time and work, and I am aware that whole, documented Trans Am’s are increasingly hard to find. I’ve been watching this site for more than a year and can’t recall the last time I saw an offering of this type. Overall, the repair body panels (all from NPD) came in at about $600. The seat skin set was something over $300. The GM rocker sill moldings were nearly $100 as were the beautiful set of wheel centers. There is an extra flexible nose, though I don’t think it is a 1970 (different mounting points), several grills and taillight sets. The restored shifter is a work of art, with similar items on eBay at $400+. The doors and quarter panels from the South Carolina donor were nearly $400. At the opening price, this package is a bargain. And it is a real, documented and complete Trans Am. The only modifications were done by age and Ohio road salt. No Shipping. The car will be sold as-is, where-is. It is located in West Jefferson, Ohio, which is about 10 miles west of Columbus. The rolling jack stands and the engine stand ARE NOT included, but I will have a portable engine hoist available to move and load the motor, and the rest of the car rolls and steers. Please plan to bring a large enough truck to haul all of the loose pieces, and bring lots of boxes and blankets or pads to prevent damage in transport. It is my desire to sell the car in one complete package, but if I can’t get a reasonable price for it, I will consider parting it out. If you have particular items that you are interested in, please bounce back via “Ask Seller A Question” and give me your contact information and what you are looking for and what you would like to pay for it. I will maintain a list and contact you if the entire car doesn’t sell. Please feel free to ask questions. My eBay 100% positive rating is important to me, so I don’t believe in withholding information. I have hundreds of photos of the disassembly process, and will be happy to burn them onto a cd for the winning bidder. Naturally the PHS documentation comes with the car, but I also have a pile of manuals and assorted printed literature which are part of the package. If you have individual areas that you want more photos, please ask. A $500 non-refundable deposit via PayPal is required within 48 hours of the close of the auction. Complete payment, in the form of cash or cashier’s check must be made within 7 days or the item will be relisted. We are leaving on an extended vacation in early May and the car must be gone from our property before we leave. (We are retired. We may never come back!) Parties without an extensive positive feedback must talk to me before we will accept their bid. Again, feel free to ask about anything. I have nothing better to do this week than pay careful attention to this sale.