The Dodge Challenger Message Board

I took delivery of my 455 SD Pontiac Trans AM yesterday, I took me so long cause it was at the other end of the country more or less, I aint got a tow bar or a trailer so I had to hire a tilt and slide.

Well she has seen better days, she is white in colour and needs a good clean to start with, I will post pics soon. I reckon I will have to take off the carb and clean it as she has a shaker style breather so its probably full of crap!!! She has a minor fire at the nose on the drivers side.

Anyway Im bringing a fresh battery up at the week end and I might try and start her, any points or tips before I do as she aint been run for a good 3 years.

Make sure there is decent clean oil in the engine. If there is any doubt about the condition of the oil, drain it and fill it up with fresh stuff. Dont worry about the filter keep it nice and full. I would remove the spark plugs and crank it over with the fresh battery for a few seconds at a time, with the old sparkplugs out and install a fresh set before you fire it up. This will help get some oil in the top end and make the engine start easier. You might want to look inside that 'shaker' for debris. Of course the G.M. 'shaker' wasnt a true Ram Air function? I thought it was to copy burt reynolds or somethin like that! BTW, congrats, nice car for sure man.

Ok Eddie. so

1. Drain the engine and put in fresh oil, leave the filter.
2. Take out the plugs and try and start her is this right?

It will not start without the plugs in Wayne.

He means spin the engine on the starter to get the oil pressure up. Then put the plugs back in (or if they look crap, new ones) and see if it starts.

I would swap a new filter on too Wayne. But that might just be me being a fanny.

Oh I see Thanks Dave!!

You might want to slap on a new see-thru fuel filter also, so you can gauge how much crud is in the fuel tank. Or better yet, run a short length of fuel line from the fuel pump to a gas can so you are running fresh fuel. Thus bypassing the fuel tank altogether. Also, only if you're comfortable doing it, pour a small amount of gasoline down the carb throat to start it as the fuel pump and lines will most likely be dry.
Have a fire extinguisher nearby as you don't know the cause of the fire on the driver's front, though I suspect an electrical short

fal308 wrote:You might want to slap on a new see-thru fuel filter also, so you can gauge how much crud is in the fuel tank. Or better yet, run a short length of fuel line from the fuel pump to a gas can so you are running fresh fuel. Thus bypassing the fuel tank altogether. Also, only if you're comfortable doing it, pour a small amount of gasoline down the carb throat to start it as the fuel pump and lines will most likely be dry.
Have a fire extinguisher nearby as you don't know the cause of the fire on the driver's front, though I suspect an electrical short

Yes I have a transparent filter, its on my Challenger hehe, I can use that for a test I suppose, I think the fire was due to the electrics, I have a co2 extinguisher with me, I will try that with the fuel tank alright, I will give the carb a clean then pour a cup full of fuel down her neck would this be enough??

After you have cranked the engine to get oil pressure you should also have fuel pressure. So just shoot a couple of squirts of fuel into the carb.

A cup full will "flood" the engine and it will not start.

dave-r wrote:
A cup full will "flood" the engine and it will not start.

This I will remember. Thanks

what year trans am? 455 big power motor, my bro has had 6 trans ams,he used to auto cross his, good handeling cars, and very fast too!

Yeah they were some torque monsters werent they Drew. The SD 455 is a pretty rare car. Most were 400 4V or standard 455 4V. The SuperDuty 455 was Pontiac's top dog wasnt it? The 1970 GTO 'Judge'(Probably borrowed from Rowan&Martins laugh In Sitcom of the late 60's, Here Come The Judge,Remember that?), was a special package. It had some pretty special pieces in it like Cam, Compression, Carb, Exhaust, ect..Give us more details Wayne, were High-Perf. addicts! Does it have a tachometer outside on the hood? 160 MPH speedo? Console shifter? If it's 4-speed your sitting on a lot of potential cash! We have a member here called 'Daytona' who owns a Judge!

Here she is guys shes a bit dirty but I like her that way!!

eh a litle dirt never hurt no one, looks like a sweet car, i like the white my bro had a white one, and yes ed i think the sd 455 was there top dog, but not quite the torque monster buick did in the stage 1,and2 motors, i saw a torgue figure above 500 ftp,yes the general has alot more r&d, so they built some good motors, but those t/a,s are really nice inside with the dash, looks like an air plane cockpit, and the plush seats, they are kinda a luxury ,sport, muscle car in my opinion,and really have a nice ride quality for a good handeling car,and remember "BODY BY FISHER", on the door sills, cool cars, i like em alot!

did someone cobble some kinda light on the back spoiler for your regulation laws or something? just wondering?

RedRaven wrote:Here she is guys shes a bit dirty but I like her that way!!

Cool! Pontac´s way of making a vanishing point replica!

Nice 74' T.A., Wayne. An old buddy of mine, used to have a 75' T.A., with a 455. Very scarey! One of the three car's that I've been 150 MPH in.
Take Care, Pat

Well I checked out the fire damage and it looks like it was just the indicator connection so no big deal, I removed the breather and the carb is as clean as a can be.

Nice ride Wayne!

airfuelEddie wrote:Nice ride Wayne!

RedRaven wrote:

airfuelEddie wrote:Nice ride Wayne!

So it's an automatic transmission equipped car Wayne? BTW, does it have the 'machine turned' dash? I always thought those were the best looking dashes ever made. A German Tiger II Panzer Tank, A MoPar 440 SixPack, A 455 Pontiac all have the same thing in common. They all consume fuel at the exact same rate!

Yes Eddie it does have the machine turned dash..I will post a pic later.

Thats a nice bit of info, it seems these 455s have a bit of respect!!

Cool Wayne. Yes, they have the respect any large cubic inch plant like that has and they made em when Ford and Chrysler had gotten out of 2-door big block cars. Plus Sally Field looked pretty good with a pair of shorts on in the passenger seat.(30 years ago)!

shot of the dash eddie

airfuelEddie wrote:Cool Wayne. Yes, they have the respect any large cubic inch plant like that has and they made em when Ford and Chrysler had gotten out of 2-door big block cars. Plus Sally Field looked pretty good with a pair of shorts on in the passenger seat.(30 years ago)!

and she was a nun and could fly too!

I made a dash panel just like that once for my Aussie Charger.

I like that.

I like that a lot.

How did you come by that car Red?

Tim wrote:I like that.

I like that a lot.

How did you come by that car Red?

I bought it from a mate a while back, its really grown on me....for a pontiac!!

My first love was a Trans Am like that. Earlier model though (70 or 71 maybe?) with the more rounded nose.
It had a 454 I think? Gold metallic paint and the Honeycomb wheels. It would have been just a couple of years old back then.

The owner was the son of a local used car dealer. He blew the transmission trying to outrun the police one night. Ended up with a driving ban as well as a broken Firebird.

So the car sat for a couple of years in the front window of the showroom. I used to take a long detour home from school so that I could press my nose against the glass and dream of owning a car like that one day.

I prefer GTOs but this one has grown on me, not to hot on the nose Dave is right the 71 looks better.

Thanks for the pic Wayne. It's beautiful! Those cars are very cool and fast! I remember racing them on the street. You couldnt underestimate them due to the massive torque that plant is capable of. 455 is awholelottacubes