RIBS
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2021
- Messages
- 761
- Reaction score
- 958
- Location
- Metro Atlanta
- My Car
- 1971 Sprint Tribute 302 C4 Convertible
Hello all,
I will start with the history I know of the car, whether real or imagined.
1971 Grabber Blue/white top/white interior 302, C4 auto, 2.79 rear axle.
Apparently the owner in the mid 90’s had restored the car to show condition in NJ, and took it to shows often. The story is he was at a car show, and the show tent next to him caught on fire and fell onto this car. It thought the story was a reach until I saw the car. That owner did some repair work and then sold the car in 97 to the guy I bought it from. In the 23+ years the last owner had it, he lightly bolted on an aftermarket front fender, added an Edelbrock intake and 4v carb, and halfway installed a new white top. In the entire time he owned it he drove it 80 miles. Supposedly the engine and transmission are original and rebuilt, I have not dug deep into that yet.
I have been all through the car and it does appear to be an older restoration, in very good shape, but still needing a lot of work. It has rust in the trunk, and the door latch pillars, they will need some metal work at the base. there is also rust in the area of the fire, mostly surface stuff to repair. The biggest challenge is going to be the electrical system, apparently Half the engine bay wires, and some of the dash wires were destroyed..it appears a 73 harness was hacked into place poorly, with at least 20 exposed bare wire ends hanging in space, I will probably rewire the car after metalwork, before paint. The interior was also burned somewhat, the dash and front sets and steering wheel is out of a 73, the steering column needs a rebuild…the entire white interior has now been sprayed black…there’s still burn marks and scorched hardware to replace some 25 years later!
Marti Report and a billion pics to follow!
To date I have done the following fixes:
wheels and tires on order to replace 25 year old rubber
throttle linkage and kick down lever rebuild, the zip ties are gone!
added a fuel filter, there was NONE
Engine tuneup, plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor
Oil change
stripped interior to check body integrity and for rust
repaired top hydraulic system
degreased
fixed stripped oil pan drain plug
currently the car is on jack stands getting a full brake job.
I will start with the history I know of the car, whether real or imagined.
1971 Grabber Blue/white top/white interior 302, C4 auto, 2.79 rear axle.
Apparently the owner in the mid 90’s had restored the car to show condition in NJ, and took it to shows often. The story is he was at a car show, and the show tent next to him caught on fire and fell onto this car. It thought the story was a reach until I saw the car. That owner did some repair work and then sold the car in 97 to the guy I bought it from. In the 23+ years the last owner had it, he lightly bolted on an aftermarket front fender, added an Edelbrock intake and 4v carb, and halfway installed a new white top. In the entire time he owned it he drove it 80 miles. Supposedly the engine and transmission are original and rebuilt, I have not dug deep into that yet.
I have been all through the car and it does appear to be an older restoration, in very good shape, but still needing a lot of work. It has rust in the trunk, and the door latch pillars, they will need some metal work at the base. there is also rust in the area of the fire, mostly surface stuff to repair. The biggest challenge is going to be the electrical system, apparently Half the engine bay wires, and some of the dash wires were destroyed..it appears a 73 harness was hacked into place poorly, with at least 20 exposed bare wire ends hanging in space, I will probably rewire the car after metalwork, before paint. The interior was also burned somewhat, the dash and front sets and steering wheel is out of a 73, the steering column needs a rebuild…the entire white interior has now been sprayed black…there’s still burn marks and scorched hardware to replace some 25 years later!
Marti Report and a billion pics to follow!
To date I have done the following fixes:
wheels and tires on order to replace 25 year old rubber
throttle linkage and kick down lever rebuild, the zip ties are gone!
added a fuel filter, there was NONE
Engine tuneup, plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor
Oil change
stripped interior to check body integrity and for rust
repaired top hydraulic system
degreased
fixed stripped oil pan drain plug
currently the car is on jack stands getting a full brake job.
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