Newbie Here - 1978 Trans Am Questions

[Jim's '78 Y88 SE]

Hi there, everyone; I am about to start a restoration of my '78 Y88 TA, and I would like to know how if there are any diagrams, pictures, or manuals that exactly show how the undercarriage, suspension, and engine/engine bay are to be painted appropriately and presented correctly?

IE: was the undercarriage and all the suspension parts painted black or just certain parts and others with an undercoating?

The engine bay too? Some parts are Pontiac blue, others black, and other areas may be left with natural metal.

I've seen some pics online, but they all, in some manner or another, seem to be different.

TIA.Jim

 

[willy lump lump]

You're absolutely right. People do different things as a result of research. There's a lot of information out there that's inaccurate.

I grew up in a GM house and the first car I was under was a 73 Buick estate wagon so I kind of missed out on all the muscle car fun. Besides that my exposure to concourse restoration is all a body.

My car's is 78 trans am from California that's never been restored. I bought it from the second owner. I can tell you my car was painted underneath, on the firewall, subframe, crossmember, radiator support,and underneath the hood with the same semi-flat black. If I recall correctly the body man said it was 30% flat. The same black is also used on the pulleys and brackets for the engine and battery tray.

The wheel houses are undercoated from the outside and it gets faint near the bottom. There is also undercoating on the panel that drops straight down from the trunk and attaches to the quarter panel at the bottom. If I remember correctly the inside of the inner fenders did not have undercoating when I sandblasted them but I could be wrong.

I will be happy to use my car as a guide to help you do your car because I know what parts of it are stock. Mine is a Van nuys car. I don't know if that makes any difference. Best wishes if I don't hear from you.

 

[DToominator]

I have read conflicting things about the original color of the panel below the headlights on the Y88.

I know the window trim and the tail light bezel are black.

Is the lower panel of headlights supposed to be black or gold?