Mark

I will be Back to fill this

Tim...I got ya man... Good to see ya again...

Mr Sullivan...lol

I remember one like that before...oddly...

I want the doors the guy gave me permission to copy if I want to...

He will only install if I drive the car to cali...

I also am eyeing the new center console its for auto or manual...

The seats and set up in first picture is awesome I would love it...

Anyhow... The Panels for the Tee Tops I made for like 15 bucks when I kept asking if the guy who makes them for newer models would make a few sets he said no...So I made my own shit to keep the sun off me and the heat out...

For now it will work...

So I started off painting the Bezel Gold instead of the silver they came with...

Then I built a wiring harness for them...

Then I installed them only problem ...

I forgot the blinkers and High beam indicator so I made some...

And that was that...

These are 5" Racing Gauges and the factory are 3 1/3rd something like that...

So then when I got the last engine in a deal with it came along a Painless wiring harness a 10 point cage... the engine transmission but I painted the engine and all new... it only has 20 miles on the engine...

anyhow so I got approx 1400 in Gauges and sensors so I figured why not...part of the selling point the fact the guy took a Factory 1977 Bandit Edition then did that to the engine added a 10 point roll cage none of the factory wiring used just went painless with a giant racing flip switch box on the floor and giant hurst shifter the giant gaudy one...I was shit man...

He could ruin a wet dream I got the car for the engine and electronics...and put them all to good use...

Oh yea I added Cup Holders Too whod thought...

Then I toned the brightness down using some electrical Tape...

kinda nice... drink holder...

So These tired Gauges with their old technology wire template...

with dark barely usable gauges... yeah its time for the change...

So I white Faced them for the cheap 30 bucks or whatever...

Helped considerably...

Until I tried Red Led lights then it was no better than the black face with a white light...

yea they looked cool except the two main center ones that were still bright white...

again Fail...

This baby bolts right up to the factory locations and I can remove them and install factory or leave them whatever...

this is how they look but I hated the cheap cipher seats I got so Swapped them out for some reall racing seats with memory foam and Ill be getting them covered in Camel tan leather later...

I use them more for the lap seat belt and to be somewhat legal... However any time you modify the factory stuff you break safety laws...

A cop may give you a nod or a ticket...

I got the bar painted with TA so it matches outside Blue to the tee...

Ok So you can shop used...

You can find some shops who redid them and charge you an arm and leg may as well contact a shop and ask how much to recover yours...

If your mechanical functions are all there great...

If you need to replace things start changing for ya to a degree...

First now you need to find out the exact measurements of your set up now...

You also need to see if you can remove and reuse anything like is there an angle cage built under your seat or is your seat a unimold kinda thing... only fits your car...  I made that word up to get my main point across...

Ok

So I would remove the front seats and the rears why the hell not... then Search for replacement seats and you can see a great number pop up with adapter kits for cages to mount any seat to to thin shitty ones to Im not driving grand prixx style ones...for two arms and a leg special...

Then you get into other things like do you think your going to flip over and go  under water?

why is that important...

Here are a few facts:

I could bore you for hours...

But to cut to the chase...

You have a couple options..

Stay Factory always Legal 100% and factory preserved value...

You could also DIE... using Factory over some of the improvements on accident prevention and protection...

Or you could Die using one for the wrong reason...

All different set ups require different circumstances to provide the proper and correct protection for you...

Ill cover a list of some of the most common ways to get protection the right way...

Oh and by all means feel free to research and discover what you want to believe and do, its all up to you and in your hands...

1) Factory seat Belts and options...

So you decided to stay factory... thats fine its a weekend rider thing classic and your cruising hell a lap belt is probably more than you would ever need then your fine this car is good for you and other than some freak accident you should be perfectly fine with the factory installed equipment...

Make sure its all in good service condition and not frayed or showing signs of wear that would make it possible to fail rather than protecting you... the aut lock feature works on shoulder strap yada yada yada...

2) Harness seats and Bars....

This one we see done a lot and its fine as long as you understand the mechanics of an accident...

(You do remember the crash test Dummies and all the commercials we see of smashing a car head on into another vehicle...)

Well all that data is why we know what we do and continue to make improvements moving forward...

Ask Dale Earnhart

So The biggest part to understand is bto too tricky at all as your body is flipping over inside with the vehicle your in your head and neck are angled the opposite direction... so if your car is about to flip over to the right your head is actually behind you a bit to the left so if the car were to land on its roof your head isnt directly under it where the main impact would be...its to the left of that spot...

If you were secured in a racing seat Four five or six point harness then your head would be in that exact same place as not the brint of the force of the flipping car is now going to land...

But just before it does you have a split second that you realize your about to roll over and the roof is going to take the direct blow...to wonder... Did I built the roll bar strong enough... if you did you dont end up with a broken neck...

If you didnt then you may die or worse survive and a vegetable...

What the number 1 mistake people who install racing seats with four way and five way harnesses they make your body so rigid and centered in a fixed position that unless you have re enforced steel cage around you your odds of getting injured or killed are actually increased...over if you simply left factory alone...

Now...

With that said... its up to you the decision is all yours to define and make and follow through with...

also a simple bolt in cage with bolts and screws isnt the same I dont care what anybody tells you...

Ask them for crush proof evidence and see what they say...

Can it be done sure... do they come like that now...NOPE...

Now here are a few other things to consider...

Submarine is to squish down in the seat by the force of the safety belt to a degree which it can cause a spinal injury...this usually is a result of 4 way harness that will permit your body to semi fold as it slides down towards the floor without restraint...

a 5 way harness has a strap up in between your legs that prevents this from occurring.... its also the type of impact that this can happen with... that matters... where you could basically come out of the harness vie where your legs are at ....

Also do some research in the type of quick release your buying some have been known to fail...in race cars for example there are a couple of brands that if your inverted upside down they dont release with dead weight on them with that force...

So if you thought you may end up inverted upside down and in a lake would you be concerned?

Things like those make a difference...now we all know if your riding in a jeep in racing four way harness seats and you dont have a cage bar directly over your head you are taking a risk where a normal seat belt may save your life over a pro seat that puts your head right in the path...

I opted for 4 way seat harnesses for my Trans Am I have not opted for them in my jeep...

I figure in my jeep the odds of me landing on the roof are greatly increased over the TA...

I also bought race quip harnesses and rear race cars run the same gear.

the rest Ill show ya know...for my particular set up I designed a different Harness bar and set of connections for the following reasons...

My seat belts were shit frayed old faded and looked like shit...

I decided I was getting new seats harness bar and belts...but not a cage...

I also figure I will ride slightly loosened but not where I can come out or anything...

Just not where I cant reach the dash like the first times when you harness up...lol

So Here we go factory seat belts...

Hell you can see a fray tear there now... you also can see the crease over time basically they arent safe...Im not stopping the run to the store until new ones come in but im hoping and planning my life doesnt depend on it either...

So now the harness bar...

So I paid like 152 for it somewhere. and everywhere I saw them mounted was on the back floorboard with the strap through the seat then straight down and I thought of submarine stuff. and I keep looking up thinking why not where my regular seat belts go... but how?

Plus I dont loose the use of the back seat and it also adds some strength to the T top section which I did pop one in the past for twisting up and the body went a little too far also...

Lets start with Carpet...

So I did...

Then I said man these seat suck and are broken...

So I decided to fix that problem...

So anyhow think about how you want the end result to look and then get it done...

Dont get confused yet....

Those above are just the filler and blending this last set of two are the ones I trimmed and painted in then you see...

Then you notice down here at the bottom the mirrors look cut in and filled a lot better...

also I trimmed the mirrors in painters tape all along the edge line and then I painted Jet Gloss black... all over the transition from hood to seal to part...

shaker whatever...cross brace...

then when I peeled the painters tape this left me with a preitine edge and all on the actual reflective surface of the mirrors by using the glas the lines are crisper and cleaner and the tape removal went like a snap...

So here are a couple of tricks for the mirror hood installation...

You can locate them Ill grab links in a minute for yall

So you get your box and your ready...

Wash your shit before you even start...

And then clean it some more...

Then when your ready you can wipe it and would eat peanut butter from that spot...

grab the kit only instead of using the brown Liquid nails the guy sells in the kit...

Grab some real Marine Grade Adhesive chalk and look at each mirror and exactly how its gonna fit...I would suggest taping them up in position all at least once to make sure they all look and fit proper...

Now keeping this in mind... remember the reflectors are like a thick plexiglass with a bit of flex but so is distortion...in the bend...so the idea is to get them as flat and clean installed as possible this means you may have some gaps and voids and you also may not be professional at everything Like I am so if your not at installing Chalking and making really nice smooth lines and working with the shit...

Then I suggesting paying attention...lol

hehehehe

Just seeing whos reading really...

So anyhow kinda keep this in mind...

I went ahead not knowing and used the shitty Liquid nails... and it drips brown poo look and its really messy and well it basically sucked...

Before i did too much damage I ran and grabbed some really heavy duty Black marine grade silicone Sealant... and went at it...

Then after I got it all secured and looking in the best location I later went back and filled in underneath where the gaps and voids were so I could get a nice shiny and smooth blend in I also added the Shaker to the hood Just sick of messing with it...

Well hell I found these pics and I can explain...LOL

So since the 79 and 77 shaker are different as you can see the 77 sat thinner and lower but since it will be mounted to the hood anyway a sleeker look to me will be nice also the engine still fits the hood the same... The air filter now a full air flow draws from all sides including the top itself...

So I switched shakers painted it then decided I didnt like the gold and the clear coats keep messing up the paint would look cracked so I said screw it went black and mounted it with electronics for the installed shaker back light then sealed it to the hood... if you notice you see the brown liquid nails and a void gap like I was attenmpting to explain...  first pic below here...

Ok so The Whole Mirrored hood well we think of World of wheels and Show cars But to be honest I like them on just about any damn thing kinda like tinted windows a good friend of mine back in High School... Gary Burns...said man go out to the junk yard...

Look at all the cars then imagine them with tinted Limo windows...

They all even that shitty one on blocks will look better so the value is increased...

Makes sense to me...

Mirrors looks cool if you do them right they can add a touch of class or if half ass done they can look hideous and way overboard and outta place...

First Try to have something worth reflecting...

We dont lounge in front of big glass windows looking at ourselves do we...

So think even a really clean stock engine when maintained is a nice reflection...

And while we are at it Ill cover a couple things all kinda related to engine pulling your hood is off you may as well take the nose off and do headlights or whatever you feel the need to get done while everything else is out of your way...

Also adding Driving Aux lights Underglows or rock lights...

Sand Blast the engine bay and paint again with like 12 cans of rattle Black gloss...

lol

Dont forget to re install the rubber section for the nose support Like I did once...

That engine was built by a Marine Shop for high speed boats in Miami Florida and has had approx 8800 done to it, punched a 400 to 469 CI Not the best block either for it but holding up surprisingly with 550 ft lbs of torque out the rear... and 518 Horsepower as she sits...

If I add EFI and Brain I gain instantly 100 more Horsepower...

Then I plan on adding a Tremic TKO 600 Manual six speed with Overdrive... running these 2:73 gears... I really want to drop even lower to a 2;21 or so...

this car will clock at 160 in the configuration I have now minus the transmission...

This is where I say look at the passenger Firewall notice anything different?

Like the Heater core duct and AC are walled over...

I personally dont even care about AC or Heat at this junction I drive jeeps so I am good and I also grew up sweating in these beast... and also cruising at 120 up the highway at 3 am with Tees out also... some trade offs are just fine...

It will only be pushing the power-steering pump and the Alternator...

Everything else is electric controlled...

Also all the head lights have been converted to LED and (the Spots are still Quartz Halogen) Hot... but the Water pump is now electric and the fans also are now electric and have a controller...

Yanking that one out... to put this one in...

Now take that pretty wrap and shove it in here...

I also added the shocks...

Clear Distributor Cap...

But first...

Ever wanted to get better Burn from your fuel and more efficiency from your engine?

Me to thats why I support Holley 850s and up...

Ok seriously...

Dont ever wrap a set of headers yourself (Unless you work for NASA and have access to an EVA Suit because that shit gets everywhere...

I itched for five days...

Got kicked out of bed twice and had to change and do laundry twice...

So dont even wrap your own to gain what you get from the added insulation for detonation precision...

because well its not worth it...

Also headers...No more just run manifolds I watched as race car drivers were running manifolds and I was running Headers and I said how come you guys dont run headers they all laughed and said what a useless waste of time and energy for nothing...

You may not even be able to tell it at all... Im thinking at 7000 rpms everything matters to a big block...

anyhow so I did it never to do again...

And bolt up of the two headers takes me about 3 hrs...

First Fan Shroud sold from American Radiator for Trans am this model with dual electric fan cutouts I had to cut the fans down so make them fit...

Screw it I also installed the after market AC pump didnt quite work for me as well so I ripped it all out so I could change things a bit later...

Ill show you what happened...

Ok I still have quite a ways to go on the TA...