Frosty

Aloha Bob. A friend of mine went through the same thing with his mother. I can't imagine what its like to watch your parents forget virtually everything - even who their own children are. While my father is 90 and does not have this disease, he still has some level of dementia. It is still hard to watch a brilliant man and engineer degenerate before your eyes. A man who has seven patents to his name, was in aviation, rocket science, and automotive engineering, now sits and watch TV all day. There are some days I just want to sit down and cry.

While the angry dumpster on wheels gets a lot of the blame, it was a symptom of Pontiac's demise, not the cause. Decades of mismanagement and bland styling and "brand engineering" are the ultimate cause of Pontiac's demise. The Aztek was a risk Pontiac took (in styling) to help differentiate itself from the pack. It's easy to criticize it but honestly, it worked, people remember it - good or bad. I agree that GM failed to market any of these cars properly. Expecting the GTO to sell well when production was extraordinarily limited to around 13,000-16,000 units a year by the Monaro specialty line is something people often forget. The resurrected GTO died when the Monaro was due for a re-design. Solstice and G8 were the right cars at the wrong time. GM spent virtually no money marketing these cars (as it barely marketed the GTO) since they were nearly out of cash at the time.

You got to love free parts when you can get them.

Thanks for the support bud! Excellent additional points too.

Reminds me of my '73 Lemans Sport Coupe! It was my first Pontiac. I got it with my graduation money. Mine was blue with a white top and interior, which is entirely the reason why I purchased Lucy nearly 23 years ago. Thanks for sharing the pictures. That interior is pristine.

From a Michigan perspective, driver's education training use to be funded through the school systems. It was part of the summer education program. School districts would get driver's ed. cars from local car dealerships. Students were required to attend typically one of two summer sessions - it was a combination of class and in-car driving. As funding for public education was cut in the early 2000s, driver's education was dropped as a cost savings measure by most school systems, thus opening the door for private companies to teach driver's education. This meant that driver's education was no longer "free" via public tax dollars and now became a real additional cost to families. Furthermore, the driver's learners permit to driver's license rules changed too. Student's needed to log so many hours in day time and night time driving before moving up a higher learner's permit or driver's license. When I was a teenager, once I successfully completed driver's ed, I was at least sixteen and with my parent's permission, I could get my license. Also, kids don't want to drive like we did. I think they'd rather continue to let mom and dad chauffeur them around and keep their heads stuck in the iPhones. This may also be a possible source for the appeal of Uber and Lyft. We saw driving as a right of passage, and a form of independence. Kids don't look at driving that way. It's not quite as important to them as was to us. Pity.

The 66th annual Detroit Autorama will be held at Detroit's Cobo Hall on March 2-4, 2018. Admission and other details are available at the link below. The show is home to the Ridler Award, the oldest and most prestigious trophy in all of hot rodding. This year will feature displays on Bonneville Salt Flat streamliners, cars from Fate of the Furious, plus the Ridler competition (the Great 8). This year's scheduled celebrity appearances are Barry Meguiar (Car Crazy), WWE's Roman Reigns, and NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. Legendary car customizer Gene Winfield will be back again to chop the top on another car. https://autorama.com/attend/detroit/

The third annual Chrome and Ice indoor car show will be held at Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center on Friday and Saturday, February 9-10, 2018. This is another event sponsored by the Back to the Brick's organization. Details and admission prices can be found at the link below. I plan to attend on Saturday morning. https://backtothebricks.org/chrome-ice-2018/

I agree with you Ringo. My dad turned 90 this past December. In the last year I've seen the most mental deterioration ever from him, along with a great deal of physical deterioration as well. It's been extraordinarily hard to watch. We started 24 x 7 care with him at the beginning of the year because he simply cannot take care for himself anymore. It's very sad to watch a great engineer come to this point. However, the girls have put weight on him (he lost 20 lbs in the nursing home) and stabilized his medications and his routine. I am fortunate that my dad's dementia is not so bad that he still knows who my brother and I are.

This was recently posted in the Performance Years forum with an update on Jim Wangers. Old Man Taylor posted the information but the information came from JIm Wanger's nephew, Gordon. "Below is a note from Jim Wangers nephew, Gordon. On Jan 25, 2018, at 9:02 AM, Gordon Wangers <[email protected]> wrote: Merrill Gardens 760-659-3543; 3500 Lake Boulevard; Oceanside, CA 92056 Dear Pontiac Enthusiasts, As Jim Wangers' next of kin and legal guardian, I wanted to update you on his condition as there seems to be some misunderstanding out there in Pontiac land. Like my father, his brother, Robert, Jim is stricken with Alzheimers and dementia. It is a terrible disease that destroys the mind slowly and also affects physical capabilities over time. My father died several years ago of the same symptoms, but his illness lasted over four years and it was difficult to watch the slow deterioration that is characteristic of this ailment, for which there is no treatment. With the TLC and lovingkindness demonstrated by his primary caregiver, Jeanne Weiss, assisted by my longtime PA Barbara Rush, Jim is living very comfortably at age 91 in a lovely facility called Merrill Gardens located just off Highway 78 and College in Oceanside. The contact information for Merrill Gardens is listed at top of this message. The real purpose of this is to encourage you all to come and visit Jim. Visitors are strongly encouraged and help keep the mind and memory stimulated. You can call ahead to let them know you are coming but is not critical as to be blunt, he most likely won't remember even if you call the day before. You can just show up around lunch time ideally, the dining room is quite good and you will be our guests. Just check in at the front desk and let them know you are looking for Jim. It varies from day to day but he will almost certainly remember you all and be thrilled to see you. Thanks in advance for making the trip. Please contact Jeanne or Barb via email if you need further info or want to just confirm your visit. Sincerely, Gordon Wangers [email protected] 760.801.1708"

Install a rear sway bar once you've installed the rear boxed lower control arms. The control arms should have two holes in them to bolt the sway bar too. The largest factory sway bar was a Chevelle 1" bar. I have an Addco 1" that I got for $125 from SummitRacing. The rear sway bar will make a huge difference. I have a 1.25" front sway bar from a parted out 2nd gen Trans Am with a WS6 package. I bought the sway bar off Craigslist for $25. The front subframe geometry of the 2nd-gen F-bodies is identical to the A-body. I bought new sway bar end links and bushings from my local Autozone. Using polyurethane or poly-graphite bushings instead of stock rubber ones will firm up the suspension long term as rubber will break down over time. The down side is they are noisier than rubber bushings. I wouldn't bother replacing the rubber ones you have until your need to replace them again. Replace all your body bushing/mounts with new ones. They have probably collapsed or shrunk over the last 40-50 years. You don't have to take the body off the car to do this but you will have to jack it up a few inches to get the old/new pucks in and out. Did you inspect / replace your upper and lower front ball joints when you upgraded the suspension? I hope so. You could install a Hotchkiis or Global West front upper/lower control arms to change your front geometry and add coil overs but now we are starting to get expensive. You can add wider than stock wheels and tires. Most factory wheels were 14x6 or 15x6, a 7 or 8 inch wide rim is the max you are going to get under the stock wheel wells without modifying the fenders, or other going to mini-tubs. Be sure you have the proper offset when you increase your wheel width. Now to improve steering, inspect your entire drag link from tie-rod end to tie-rod end, including the idler arm and pitman arm. Replace any worn out components. Inspect/replace the rag joint if necessary. Replace the the stock steering box on the frame with one from a 3rd-gen IROC Z-28 Camaro (check the price at your local auto parts store - should be around $125-175). This is high ratio box from the factory (16:1 or 12:0 instead of the original 24:1), it is externally the same as the stock unit but instead of 4.5 turns lock-to-lock it should closer to 3 turns. So your steering will be more responsive after this swap. Going with the IROC Z-28 unit is significantly cheaper than getting an aftermarket high ratio (numerically low) unit from Jegs or SummitRacing. You might want to inspect/replace your power steering pump and hoses when you do this too. Is fair to assume that you have front disc brakes already? If not, get them for safety's sake. I have a set of adjustable rear upper control arms from Edelbrock that will help control the differential pinion angle under hard launches but they have not been installed yet. This will replace the stock U-channel units. I run premium gas shocks up front and Monroe Load-master shocks (think of a shock/coil spring combination) in the back. This is because I do parades. I have had as many as 7 people in my convertible (5 people in back if you include my two small nephews). So these shocks help keep the car from bottoming out when I have that much weight in the back.

Let me ask a clarification question. Are you trying to find out what transmission your car was built with or what is in it now? It is possible that the transmission you have has been replaced at some point in time. If you want to find out what it was built with, contact Pontiac Historical Services, give them your car's VIN number and $75, they will tell you everything about your car as it left the factory. The best $75 you will ever spend, im my opinion. http://www.phs-online.com/ The model year of the transmission is stamped onto the transmission tail housing of most TH350/TH400s on the left or right side. The tag should look something like this:

Good Gawd - nothing screams "stay the hell away" from a city like a fee just for the right to enter a city during peak congestion - which is 7 am to 6 pm. This oughta do wonders for business too. What are they thinking? Everyone's going to walk or take the subway? Helicopters? Jet packs? Roller blades?

They were at the Rock, Alcatraz Island. I hear tell that the Mrs couldn't find a key to keep the door locked.

I can think they might be used for one of two reasons. First possible reason would be to locate and support the locking rod in position within the door in order for it to move properly as the key, manual door lock switch, power door lock button, or remote key less fob button are pushed - thus moving the rod. My second guess would be insulators and/or guides for the door glass to prevent the glass from contacting the sides or bottom of the door and breaking.

Okay - a YC code block for 1973 is a 455 ci 215/250 HP tied to automatic transmission. It would've had 4X heads and a 8.0:1 compression ratio. It would not have had the unitized distributor. As for heads, you definitely have 6X heads and 100 cc chambers. Pontiac didn't cast the 4 or 8 into the heads in 1967. So we can eliminate it as a '67 head. Did I mention I was an AC Delco bigot? The nice thing about NOS plugs, they never go bad sitting on the shelf. Good luck 360!

You forget Pro, that's what makes notallthere tingly! Ohhh, and don't forget about mace and tasers too!

In case I have not given them to you, keep these places in mind for possible used parts. East West Auto Parts Inc. https://www.eastwestautoparts.com/ Franks Pontiac Parts http://www.frankspontiacparts.com/ According to the latest Smoke Signals - Thomas Manning (785) 238-3471 has rust free fenders for 73-77 Lemans, GTO and Can-Am for sale. He appears to be in Kansas. He may have other things you need too.

A '73 455 motor should take an AC R44TS. A '77 Trans Am with a 400 would take an AC R45TSX. One heat range different. However both plug sets should be tapered seats with no crush-able O-ring.

Awesome to have it back on the road and running under its own (albeit Chevy) power. Now you have better fenders. What else are you planning to do to it once you have the time and the money?

Is someone trying to become a member of the mile high club?

I understand that. No one that I know re-manufacturers body mounts for Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles, or Cadillacs of that era. Chevy is the only one that gets any love here, unless you can find New Old Stock (NOS) parts (which will be expensive). Which is why I said that I know some parts between Pontiac and Chevy during these years were shared, and why I asked if you've looked at the Chevy mounts, are they even close and could be adapted? Also I gave you some contacts that claim they have NOS parts. They may have what you need or they might be able to give you a lead. Have you reached out to them yet? The only other thing you can do is fabricate your own, which is not the ideal solution, I know.

360 - are there any markings left on the front of the block, by the water pump, on the passenger's side head? The A187 should be the casting date which would translate to January 18, 1967 or 1977. If it 'is a 77 then, it should be a 6X head. Look for the identification code on the raised portion of the head. This is code for the number of cc's the head has. Assuming this is a '77 head for a moment, it would have been a 6X head regardless with 2.11" intake, 1/66" exhaust valves. A "4" would mean 93 cc heads from a 350/400 W72 engine. A "8" would mean a 100 cc heads from a 400 engine. So for now, my suspicion is you have a bastardized motor. A '73 block with '77 heads. So try spark plugs for a '77 Firebird or Trans Am and see if they fit.

Perhaps you are relieving the Brownsville Station classic tune "Martian Boogie" in your head Ringo! "So I ordered me up a Couple of those grease bombs Waitress brought 'em over Lifted up the bun, checked 'em out Damn, no ketchup So I nudged the guy sitting next to me At the counter, I said, "Hey, partner How about passing the ketchup over?" Suddenly, this little bitty green hand Holding a ketchup bottle came into view And I freaked cause the guy sitting Next to me... was a Martian!! Now in twenty-eight years of eating hamburgers I ain't never run into no Martian Not at 2:30 in the morning and certainly Not at a fine scarfing establishment like Eat"

It would be different if I was getting the latest version(s) of the software (e.g. new functionality and patch fixes to prevent hacking), much like my monthly IOS and Windows updates. However, most software upgrades have to flashed into the car by the dealer and are not typically done via the airwaves/wi-fi - like our PCs and smart phones. So this is just a money making scheme that someone obviously fell for. Savy buyers will avoid this like the plague. I don't see auto manufacturers wanting to get into the automotive car patching business either. It's not something I expect to pay for on a regular basis either. I am with you Ringo, one and done.