Zaino even for the 70's

[Bill Burkholder]

After 25hrs on the body with a buffer this club members car came out great. What a special Trans AM, It spent tooooo many years in a barn/ garage. This thing is a beast!!!

[Norm Clemmer]

Looks like Barret Jackson material. Is it as good looking on the inside as the out?
Norm

[Bill Burkholder]

Yes 1 1/2 days on the interior, the same for the engine compartment. After the 25 hrs. with the buffer 4 coats of Zaino. I think I'm getting to old to be in this heat working on a car.:D;bl

[Joel Fellman]

25 hrs. with a buffer on our '76 & there'd be nothing left but some primer & bare fiberglass!!

[Bill Burkholder]

25 hrs. with a buffer on our '76 & there'd be nothing left but some primer & bare fiberglass!!

All buffing does with the proper pad and finishing material is to clean and smooth out the finish. Very little if any clear coat or paint is removed. It makes a big difference in the finish before polishing, after polish is applied the shine just keeps getting deeper.

[hcvone]

Nice work Bill. :)

[Mike Campbell]

Bill, what kind of buffer do you have. I'd sure like to get Sweetie to get me one for my birthday.;yn She won't go for headers...too bad.;ee

[Bill Burkholder]

Porter Cable random orbit. have my "little sister" contact me and I'll give her all the info and where to get the buffer and pads. ;bt

[Mike Campbell]

Okay you're on. I Zaino'ed the "bullet" today. (my silver calvalier) It looks great!;yn You won't see a better looking "beater" anywhere. :D Of course my arm almost fell off. Need one. ;bt

[bowtieollie]

Hi Bill,

Sorry to read that you spent 25 hours with a Porter Cable buffer.

If you switched to a rotary Makita, it could have been done in under 9 hours and looked even better.

Not to sound like a wise guy, but the Porter buffer is like a Cobalt engine, and the Makita would be the Z06R version.;bl

[Bill Burkholder]

The car was NOT rubbed out by the body shop...If it had I would have only spent 4 hrs. on it. As you can see it looks great...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v149/billburkholder/TA011.jpg

[Joel Fellman]

not to change the subject, but 2 questions: how much HP did that 455 put out?? And is that the same as the 6.6 engine??

[christian]

not to change the subject, but 2 questions: how much HP did that 455 put out?? And is that the same as the 6.6 engine??

Factory rating I believe was about ??? HP and 455 ci is (let me get my magic calculator out and presto) roughly 7.4 L.

Very nice car :cool:

[carboman]

To create the 455 HO, Pontiac borrowed the cylinder heads and camshaft from the previous year's 345-hp Ram Air 400, and added the aluminum intake manifold from the rowdy 370-hp 400 Ram Air IV.

The 455 had less advertised power than the '70 T/A mills, and it couldn't wind as high. But at 8.4:1 compression (compared to 10.5:1 for the retired Ram Air 400s), it could run happily on a wider range of fuels, was less temperamental than the Ram Air IV, and with 480 lb-ft of torque at a usable 3600 rpm, it packed a real wallop around town. Plus, it had four-bolt mains for strength.


©2007 Publications International, Ltd.
Trans Am retained its styling and blue-and-white
paint scheme in its sophomore season in 1971.



A three-speed replaced the four-speed as the standard gear box; the four-speed (now with a larger clutch) and automatic cost extra. Factory axle ratios were a touch tamer, but a 3.73:1 was still available on cars without air conditioning.

It all made for a Trans Am that was as quick as the best '70 models. Demand for such performance was about to bottom out. But among cars born of the muscle car age, only Trans Am would survive through the dark ages of the late 1970s and 1980s with its reputation intact. Pontiac always found a way.

The 1971 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
Specifications
Wheelbase, inches: 108.0
Weight, lbs: 3,580
Number built: 2,116
Base price: $4,595

Top Available Engine
Type: ohv V-8
Displacement, cid: 455
Fuel system: 1 x 4bbl.
Compression ratio: 8.4:1
Horsepower @ rpm: 335 @ 4800
Torque @ rpm: 480 @ 3600

Representative Performance
0-60 mph, sec: 5.9
1/4 mile, sec. @ mph: 13.9 @ 103

[moose13]

Since we're sort of on the subject of horse power, what's the deal with the SAE rating system changing, old muscle car HP compared with modern HP, etc. Sorry if this has already been discussed.

[carboman]

Since we're sort of on the subject of horse power, what's the deal with the SAE rating system changing, old muscle car HP compared with modern HP, etc. Sorry if this has already been discussed.

To put it simply,
1970 and back used a gross engine rating system. Just engine output without accessories, etc to drag things down.

1971/72 and up use net ratings which are closer to actual installed HP.

Of course we can get into a full discussion of rear wheel HP and parasitic losses but I'd need charts and graphs to fully explain.


NET HP VS GROSS HP:
Contrary to what many will tell you, Gross and Net Power are BOTH measured at the flywheel! Gross is atmospherically corrected to dry air, 59 F, and sea level; Net is corrected to 32% humidity, 77 F, sea level. There's a 3% difference right there in power quotes. Many people argue that there's no place on earth with totally dry air at sea level so I applaud the Net correction made in 1972. If your dyno tests were done at elevation and temps other than this, then they need to be corrected to NET conditions. Check to see if the dyno shop already has done so and see what conditions they correct to. Everyone likes big numbers, so lots of 59 degree days are still used.

The biggest difference between Net and Gross is the accessories that are omitted for Gross testing. Net is measured with full exhaust system, full intake system, v-belts on, mechanical fan on, all accessories installed but not operating (ie a/c). We should all compare Net power because it provides direct comparison with all production vehicles since 1972. The Gross stuff in pre '72 generally is around 25% higher but that number really varies... it depends heavily on the test engineer's methods; some would leave on the fan and water pump, others would remove them and use an electric motor, some would use stock cast iron manifolds, some would use open headers, etc.. Most everyone would run very good gas and tweak the distributor at each rpm point to find a max - even though that might not represent the factory ignition curve. You get the picture.

[Mike Campbell]

Bill, just wanted to let you know my brother Dave was very impressed with the Zaino he bought from you at the Calvacade. He used it on his Chrysler 300 SRT8 & his very nice 79 Firebird. :Dhttp://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb50/soupyvet/Dcc2.jpg