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Another Tojan Owner Intro


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Hello all! Another Pontiac Tojan owner here. Discovered this forum because of the other Tojan owner’s post.
 

My car has been in the family almost since new. Based on the Firebird Formula, it is one of a handful of convertibles built, originally with black leather interior. It was first owned/used by a company my dad was part owner of. The sales rep for the company put the bulk of its 140k miles on it, then it was used as a loaner for business associates until the late 90s when it was gifted to me. By this point the Tojan back plate had been stolen and replaced with a piece of plexiglass. I started fixing it up and learned about the rarity of it while in high school. My parents thought there were thousands of them, not hundreds, they were shocked to find out that less than two dozen were convertibles. After learning about the rarity they garaged it and used it as a second car for a number of years, also fixing the fiberglass, new paint, and the interior redone. I got the car back a few years ago and am slowly doing electrical and mechanical repairs my parents neglected. 


One of my dad’s business partners was in contact with Russ Knudsen back in the mid 90s, he gave me some of the documents that were sent to him from Knudsen Automotive. The convertible top uses the same conversion performed on Cameros from the mid to late 80s.  
 

I always thought that it looked kinda funky, which is part of what I love about it. And even with the somewhat anemic 305 it has a great exhaust note and is fun to take out for a weekend cruise. I plan to continue to fix my Tojan up and hope to start taking it to some shows this year. 

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Thanks for the welcome!

I love my Tojan, drive it once every week or two and taken it on short (160 mile) road trips around Florida. It was one of two Tojan Convertibles at a Fort Myers Pontiac dealership back in 1988 or 1989. The other convertible was white with camel interior. My dad's company took the red one in on a trade for an airplane, meanwhile the white one was used for a stunt, ended up damaged, got a rebuilt title, then purchased by the person responsible for supplying the cars for Miami Vice. I can still find the white one online, but one of the owners has customized it since I saw photos of it in the late 1990s, the rear end has been changed and I think the interior redone. It was verified by Russ Knudsen that only two convertible were sent to Florida.

 

It runs well, but there are lots of little things to work on.

  • SES light comes on at random, codes point to MAF, which has been replaced a couple times. Could be bad wires or vacuum leaks
  • Vacuum leaks, due to 30+ years old vacuum lines. I started replacing them and it has helped a lot 
  • I'm pretty sure it suffers from sort of vapor lock issue, need to leave the gas cap loose or else it may not start hot
  • No parking brake
  • Trunk release in dash is broken or disconnected
  • Brakes need to be refresh

What I have fixed over the last couple of years

  • New cap, plugs, and wires
  • Replaced MAF
  • Repaired the convertible top release circuit (wires were cut some time in the mid 90s due to an electrical short)
  • Replaced vacuum lines for cruise control
  • New stereo and speakers (original speakers were blown, original stereo long gone)
  • Assorted electrical repairs to fix interior and trunk lights, turn signals, etc

My garage space is limited and I have too many projects, so I only work on my Tojan once every few months. I have toyed with the idea of doing period correct engine modifications, but the original 305 has around 150k miles on it and I don't want to blow it up. I have not done a compression test, but it starts right up cold or hot (as long as the gas cap is loose), runs strong, doesn't burn oil, and has one tiny oil leak that I need to track down. For now I'm focusing on fixing what I need to for safety and reliability. 

The VW bus has been my main project for the last couple of years, it was mostly a shell a few years ago, needing an engine, electrical, interior put back in, poptop reinstalled, etc, but is now my daily driver. Learned a lot putting the bus together. I also have a ratty '74 Mercedes sedan which is my current project, and a '62 Chevy Impala Sport Coupe that I plan to rebuild again after my next move. 

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8 minutes ago, aradiogurl said:

Fort Myers Pontiac dealership back in 1988 or 1989

Funny, I'm in Naples, just south of Ft. Myers. Curious, do you know which dealership it was? Bought my Pontiac from DeVoe but also looked at Dixie. Are you in Ft. Myers?

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Don't have the name of the dealership, it had gone bankrupt by the late 90s and I never thought to ask. I don't have much documentation besides what I have from Knudsen Automotive. My dad's business partner, who first kept the Tojan after the business closed up, has since passed away. He had been in contact with Russ Knudsen back when Knudsen Automotive was still in business.  I'm over on the Space Coast of Florida in the Melbourne area. Except for a few year it was in Massachusetts, my Tojan spent most of it's life in the Clearwater/Tampa area. The white one was in Florida for a number of years; it was for sale in the Lake Wales area, but looks like it went to Iowa.

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1 hour ago, aradiogurl said:

Don't have the name of the dealership, it had gone bankrupt by the late 90s and I never thought to ask. I don't have much documentation besides what I have from Knudsen Automotive. My dad's business partner, who first kept the Tojan after the business closed up, has since passed away. He had been in contact with Russ Knudsen back when Knudsen Automotive was still in business.  I'm over on the Space Coast of Florida in the Melbourne area. Except for a few year it was in Massachusetts, my Tojan spent most of it's life in the Clearwater/Tampa area. The white one was in Florida for a number of years; it was for sale in the Lake Wales area, but looks like it went to Iowa.

Ah, gotcha. Bummer, was curious about the dealership as both of those have been around for quite a long time, well by Florida standards, around the 1930s.

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2 hours ago, aradiogurl said:

Thanks for the welcome!

I love my Tojan, drive it once every week or two and taken it on short (160 mile) road trips around Florida. It was one of two Tojan Convertibles at a Fort Myers Pontiac dealership back in 1988 or 1989. The other convertible was white with camel interior. My dad's company took the red one in on a trade for an airplane, meanwhile the white one was used for a stunt, ended up damaged, got a rebuilt title, then purchased by the person responsible for supplying the cars for Miami Vice. I can still find the white one online, but one of the owners has customized it since I saw photos of it in the late 1990s, the rear end has been changed and I think the interior redone. It was verified by Russ Knudsen that only two convertible were sent to Florida.

 

It runs well, but there are lots of little things to work on.

  • SES light comes on at random, codes point to MAF, which has been replaced a couple times. Could be bad wires or vacuum leaks
  • Vacuum leaks, due to 30+ years old vacuum lines. I started replacing them and it has helped a lot 
  • I'm pretty sure it suffers from sort of vapor lock issue, need to leave the gas cap loose or else it may not start hot
  • No parking brake
  • Trunk release in dash is broken or disconnected
  • Brakes need to be refresh

What I have fixed over the last couple of years

  • New cap, plugs, and wires
  • Replaced MAF
  • Repaired the convertible top release circuit (wires were cut some time in the mid 90s due to an electrical short)
  • Replaced vacuum lines for cruise control
  • New stereo and speakers (original speakers were blown, original stereo long gone)
  • Assorted electrical repairs to fix interior and trunk lights, turn signals, etc

My garage space is limited and I have too many projects, so I only work on my Tojan once every few months. I have toyed with the idea of doing period correct engine modifications, but the original 305 has around 150k miles on it and I don't want to blow it up. I have not done a compression test, but it starts right up cold or hot (as long as the gas cap is loose), runs strong, doesn't burn oil, and has one tiny oil leak that I need to track down. For now I'm focusing on fixing what I need to for safety and reliability. 

The VW bus has been my main project for the last couple of years, it was mostly a shell a few years ago, needing an engine, electrical, interior put back in, poptop reinstalled, etc, but is now my daily driver. Learned a lot putting the bus together. I also have a ratty '74 Mercedes sedan which is my current project, and a '62 Chevy Impala Sport Coupe that I plan to rebuild again after my next move. 

Hmmm....some of these issues sound familiar as I own an '86 Trans Am myself.

The SES light that points to the MAF may not be the MAF but rather the MAF burn off relay. The burn off relay is mounted on the firewall. 

The vapor lock issue has been around for awhile. I owned a '84 TA with a 305 HO (non-TPI engine) before the '86. There was a dealer service bulletin back then about vapor lock. This meant dropping the exhaust, the fuel tank and running new fuel lines around the exhaust. Mine was still under warranty at the time and I had my local dealer fix at GM's expense.

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