Making a '78 Trans Am into a '77 Esprit

[CorvairJim]

I did this conversion once before using the AMT '77 Trans Am as my starting point. Someone I know asked if she could buy it as a gift for her father who owned a '77 Esprit when he and her mother were first married. I didn't want to sell that model but I offered to build her another. That way, I could do it in the correct colors (The one I'd done already was bronze with a tan interior - a replica of the car from the old "Rockford Files" TV show). She sent me a copy of the onlyphoto they have of the car, but it's enough for me to work from:

I had to use the Revell 1:24 '78 Trans Am kit from the "Real Muscle" series as my basis because I couldn't find one of the AMT kits at any of the stores in my area. This presented me with some problems, most especially that the rear spoiler and wheel "spats" are molded into the body!

I filled the hollow area beneath the spoiler with a strip od Evergreen and carefully ground it down with my Dremel. I glued the T-tops in early on to help heep the body stiff with all the handling involved with the body mods I'll have to do. Here's what it looked like after I got done removing the spoiler, roughing in the T-tops, and filing down the fender scoops:

Those spats are going to be rough! I wracked my mind to come up with a workable way to get rid of them since they're not backed up with anything. I finally came up with the idea of laminating several thicknesses of sheet plastic behind the spats, then grinding it all down until all I was left with was the original contour that would have been there beneath the add-on spat. Here's what it looked like before grinding it down... Scary!

After grinding, it doesn't look so bad. I still have a ways to go as can be seen by the pencil line showing the contour I want for the wheel well once I'm done reworking it.

Stay tuned - There's more to come!

[Dr. Cranky]

We'll be tuning in for more. Looks like a cool project underway.

[Eshaver]

Most interesting ........................... Ed Shaver

[Haubenschild]

Very neat , will you be using the 400 from the kit?

Edited January 4, 2012 by Haubenschild

[Badluck 13]

I gotta watch this!!!!,I so wanna build "Rockford Files" Bird myself......sweet job on the rear deck and quarters...

[Tony T]

Neat build. Looks like a lot of work to get the wheel spats out of the way.

By the way...Will you be using the decal sheet from the kit? If you're not using the decals, would you be interested in a trade? PM if you are.

[CorvairJim]

I gotta watch this!!!!,I so wanna build "Rockford Files" Bird myself......sweet job on the rear deck and quarters...

I built mine for a "Mail in the photos" contest held by Scale Auto magazine back in the late 1990's on a "TV and Movie Cars" theme. Here are a few shots of my model. It was the only "Rockford" Firebird entered! I went so far as to get the license number correct:

That A/C compressor took me a while to scratchbuild and get the plumbing right!

Neat build. Looks like a lot of work to get the wheel spats out of the way.

By the way...Will you be using the decal sheet from the kit? If you're not using the decals, would you be interested in a trade? PM if you are.

It has been a bunch of work and it's not over yet. The ones on the front fenders are fighting me all the way, and I might have to come up with another way of repairing the fenders to a stock configuration.

I don't plan on using the decals. The sheet has some gauge decals on it, but since the T-tops are glued in place and will be painted, those gauges will be well nigh invisible anyhow. I'll just paint the dashboard and detail the rings around the gauges.

Edited January 5, 2012 by CorvairJim

[CorvairJim]

Very neat , will you be using the 400 from the kit?

Yes I will, but I'll have to rework the air cleaner to get rid od the shaker scoop.

(I would have included this with the other "Mulit Quote", but it wouldn't let me! )

[Badluck 13]

I built mine for a "Mail in the photos" contest held by Scale Auto magazine back in the late 1990's on a "TV and Movie Cars" theme. Here are a few shots of my model. It was the only "Rockford" Firebird entered! I went so far as to get the license number correct

That is way cool model of "Jimmy's" car,I have gotta be one of the biggest fan of James Garner and the "Rockford Files"ever,the plate is one very important feature on the car,According to James Garner, the license plate number (853- OKG) was thought up by his agent. It represents August of 1953 when James Garner got his first acting role and the OKG comes from his home state of Oklahoma and the first letter of his last name

[CorvairJim]

That is way cool model of "Jimmy's" car,I have gotta be one of the biggest fan of James Garner and the "Rockford Files"ever,the plate is one very important feature on the car,According to James Garner, the license plate number (853- OKG) was thought up by his agent. It represents August of 1953 when James Garner got his first acting role and the OKG comes from his home state of Oklahoma and the first letter of his last name

Now there's a piece of trivia I hadn't heard before! I'm every bit as much a fan of Garner and "The Rockford Files" as you are... at least I thought I was.

Anyhow, on to this evening's progress. Here, you can see some of the trouble I was having with the front fenders, filling the area where the "spats" were. I resorted to a different method to try to correct the problem - gluing a thin sheet of plastic behind the area and using that as a backup for thicker plastic to build in the area. Also, this shows that the fender vents have been filled with more sheet stock, and the hood scoop plug that I described last time has been glued in and smoothed:

Detail of the hood scoop plug:

Out back, the quarter panel "spats" have gone away and the areas are ready for primer before moving on to putty:

The interior would look pretty bad with the sealed-up T-tops showing through. That would never do, so I fabbed up a headliner to cover it all up. The notch in the leading edge of the headliner corresponds to tabs on the windshield that are there to locate the rear view mirror::

And here's what it looks like installed:

Meanwhile, the car I'm replicating had an automatic transmission, and the model is a 4-speed car. Out comes the Dremel, and the molded-in brake and clutch pedals magically disappear. Well, sort of. It's hard to do a perfect job with a dremel in that tight area, so all I had in mind to do was just get them out of the way, then I glued in a thin sheet of plastic to cover up the gouges left by the Dremel. I'll be suspending a larger brake pedal from underneath the dashboard. I added another piece of plastic stock to hang the pedal from. I also added a new gas pedal to make it look more three dimensional... and to cover up a minor gouge in the molded-in pedal left by the Dremel. Interesting how the console is already set up for an automatic shifter!

[Tony T]

Coming along nicely!

Let me know if you want to work a trade for the decal sheet if you are interested that is!

[Rdkingjay]

Your doing a great job and a monumental amount of work!! Anxious to see it done.

[CorvairJim]

IIRC the Revell '70 Firebird kit has a turbo 350 automatic behind it's engine

Shoot... If I had known that a week or so ago, I would have bought one of them as a donor kit and just swapped out the drivetrains. (As you'll see below, it's pretty much a moot point now... ) I'm a big fan of the early 2nd generation Firebird's styling, and considering I need the Rally II wheels from that kit too (well, needed them - I have some coming), I could have justified buying another model to put in storage with the other couple hundred in my workroom that I haven't built yet. I'm sure I could find a decent set of 1:24 Cragar SS rims for the '70 kit.

Your doing a great job and a monumental amount of work!! Anxious to see it done.

Thanks. It IS a lot of work, but I love a good challenge. I hope to have it done in time to get it to the person I'm building it for within a month or so.

Anyhow, on to today's progress. I finished roughing in the bodywork and shot the first coat of primer to help highlight any areas that need more attention - and there were plenty of them, just as I expected. I don't like to use putty on bare plastic anyway, so the primer was a necessary step. The trunklid and quarter panels where the spoiler was removed turned out to be nearly ready, and the driver's side quarter extension where the "spat" was removed wasn't to shabby either. Other than that, well, I still had some work to do. Here's tonight's Happy Snaps, showing where it stands at the moment:

She looks pretty good after the first shot of primer... Looks can be decieving!:

See what I mean? Here it is after a skim coat of putty and sanding:

The other side was roughy the same. This shot also shows that I've added an insulation pad under the hood to cover up the shaker scoop plug. I figured that since the car is now going to be the luxury "Esprit" model, it would most likely have had this sound deadener there:

I got a start on the engine the other day, gluing the basics together and painting the engine Pontiac Blue. I was pondering whether or not to change the transmission over from a 4-speed to an automatic, since this detail might go unnoticed by the casual observer, but I would know, so I lopped off the 4-speed and grabbed the TH350 from the AMT '70 Nova kit. Funny how a 1:25 transmission looks to be a slightly LARGER scale than the 1:24 4-speed that came off the engine (That's it standing off to the side). This shot also shows the air cleaner base that will need some major modification - the shaker base HAS TO GO AWAY! I want to use the basic part because the snorkel and intake hose are correct. I'll just have to fab up a lid or cut up a parts box air cleaner to make the standard style lid:

[Tonioseven]

Coming along nicely.

[CorvairJim]

Not much new to report on this guy. I've given it a second skim coat of putty and had to run a bead of C.A. around one of the T-tops that was cracking out a little. I'll be using the same color both inside and outside. The interior is in gray primer and nearly ready for color. I'll be shooting the body in red oxide primer before it's color coat to deepen the color a little to contrast the interior. Between the primer and the polished clearcoat there should be enough contrast.

[CorvairJim]

It's Saturday (well, nearly 1:00 AM Sunday now... ) so I had a bunch of time available to get some major work accomplished on the Esprit. The body is finalized with the addition of the Esprit's wheel opening and rocker panel mouldings and the drip rails. I also added the dealer-installed bodyside moulding that the 1:1 car that this is a replica of had. The body is now in red oxide primer. I used that to help differentiate the color from the interior. This car was "Tone On Tone" with the exterior and interior nearly the identical color. I shot the interior color over gray primer this evening. I still have to make the standard-style Firebird steering wheel for the model - TheT/A piece isn't even close. While everything dries for a day or two, I'll be moving back to the chassis and drivetrain toimorrow evening. Here's a couple of shots of where it stands as of now. The first one shows pretty clearly all the trim I had to add:

And here we have it in primer along with the basic interior in color. On the one hand, the paint turned out to be much brighter than the cap of the spray can suggested, but on the other hand, will the recipient really remember it that well after 25 years? The other thought is that it came up with an awesome shine - I was trying to shoot it as dry as I could to flatten it some and it still came up that shiny! This was my first time working with RustOleum brand automotive touch-up paint, and I WILL use it again. It's very easy to work with and there's that shine right from the can with no clearcoat or polishing. It's definitely gonna need some semi-gloss clear before I flock the carpet:

Does anyone know where I can find a photoetch set for this car? I tried to carve out a set of the Firebird badges from thin sheet stock for the sail panels and trunk lid, but they came out so-so at best. I'm sure the "Firebird" and "Esprit" nameplates will look even worse if I were top attempt them.

[Deathgoblin]

You might check Model Car Garage

[Rob McKee]

Very impressive work Jim. I am looking forward to seeing the end result.

[Scalper]

Looking Really nice so far..You made me pull out my Gold 78 T/A that I am working on..

you going to do the mismatch rims like in the picture?

[Tony T]

Looks great, Jim!

[Ron Hamilton]

That looks good.

[Ron Hamilton]

I like where you are going with this one.

[Gluhead]

Lookin' good. Nice work on getting the body de-TA'd. One suggestion if I may - pick up a sheet or two of real thick styrene sheet for when you need to build up a new shape. I've found I have a lot less nit-pick finish work to deal with when I use an oversize chuck of plastic whittled down in comparison to laminated thinner sheets. Just makes it a lil' easier.

What I've ended up doing on several cars with the same color on the body and interior is give the interior a once-over with Dullcoat, but then rub it back to a semi-gloss with skin oil (yep, just like it sounds. lol). The Dullcoat clouds the color ever so slightly, and the oil from our skin rubbed into it is a pretty convincing vinyl sheen.

Keep it up!

[ROB213]

heck ya jim, its coming along nice!!! my crazy aunt had a t/a just like this one and a few other camaros.(those cars where her thing) i remember sitting in the back seat as a kid and driving like a bat out of hell lol. it was a blast ah the good ol' days

well im staying tuned to this, i cant wait to see the finished product

[dodgefever]

Nice work. If it matters, the trans in the AMT Nova is actually a Powerglide. You could cut the pan off and stick a TH350 shaped one on there and it'll look OK from underneath. As mentioned, the Monogram '70 TA has a TH350, as does the Monogram Chevy van. There may be others, those are the only ones I've come across...